Category Archives: current events

FIGHT DICTATORS

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Black Friday Press Freedom protest

I timed my walk-jog in UP Diliman this evening to coincide with the Black Friday Press Freedom protest. I missed the first one held in Scout Area last week because I was covering the BSP Bankers Night.

The press has been under heavy attack since Duterte came into power. Incessant attacks on Philippine Daily Inquirer (and its owners) forced the Prietos to sell the opposition paper to businessman Ramon Ang (San Miguel Corp [PSE:SMC] president). Now Rappler is under threat with the revocation of its registration by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). ABS-CBN’s franchise is in danger of being not renewed…because broadcast franchises are hostaged by Congress (really archaic rule, by the way).

We are living in dangerous times. Anyone critical of this administration is being silenced, be it on social media, in mainstream media, or even in the streets of this country.

freedom protest, UP Diliman

Everyday is a struggle but we must not lay down our arms. Once we give up, we will let ourselves die a slow and painful death.

Some bankers have asked me what do I think about Rappler’s Philippine Depositary Receipts. As an SEC/PSE reporter, I have my own take on it, which may be separate from the issue on hand. But this does not negate the fact that this administration is out to get us those who criticizes its policies and actions.

I will post later my opinion about the PDRs, which I had first posted on Facebook.

Martial law

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My head is aching right now. I could not write a single word for work. I’ve been having a hard time sleeping here in Singapore because martial law has been declared over the southern region back home. And just as I suspected, the president has been wanting to declare it since November. Now he has the perfect excuse to do it.

All I can think of right now is Plaza Miranda.

I don’t think I’ll be sleeping well for quite a while.

Martial law on Duterte’s mind as early as November —Lorenzana 

Published May 24, 2017 6:43pm
By TRISHA MACAS, GMA News

President Rodrigo Duterte has thought of declaring martial law as early as November to combat ISIS, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Wednesday.

“Actually, matagal na iyan pinag-iisipan ni Presidente iyan. Matagal na naming pinag-uusapan iyan,” he told reporters in NAIA after Duterte gave a press briefing.
Lorenzana said they advised the President against it.

“In fact, iyong pumunta kami sa Butig last year, sinabi niya na, ‘You prepare for martial law. Pero saan ba ito? Island by island ba or whole Mindanao or Philippines?’ Sabi namin hindi pa naman dapat. So the thought process niya nangyari na eh long ago pa,” he added.

Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao on Tuesday while he was on an official visit in Russia.

He cut his trip short and arrived in Manila on Wednesday afternoon. —NB, GMA News

 

ANGER

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Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23)

If there is one thing that this new administration has inspired, it is anger. And I am not immune to it. My anger has been a long-burning one that caused me to banish temporarily people from my vision (i.e. unfollow on Facebook).

I lost it. I’m losing it.

Dear Lord, save me from my anger.

 

Social media, I now declare, is an evil creature

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As a communicator and as person who lived towards the end of the repressive regime of Ferdinand Marcos, I applaud that the ordinary people are given the power to express themselves and not be subjected to the caprices and sometimes questionable filters used by some media gatekeepers to be able to have their voices heard.

However, there are limits to this freedom: your freedom ends when you are already stepping on another person’s own freedom.

Facebook and Twitter (but more of Facebook) have become toxic places for public discourse as these now sow hate among users. It has become an effective vehicle for misinformation of a population that has become a parody of some sort. The bullies are now silencing whoever is opposing them; sowing fear or ambivalence among those who have become wary or tired of offering contrary views.

And it doesn’t help matters that the owner of Facebook is playing god.

Mark Zuckerberg accused of abusing power after Facebook deletes ‘napalm girl’ post

Norway’s largest newspaper has published a front-page open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, lambasting the company’s decision to censor a historic photograph of the Vietnam war and calling on Zuckerberg to recognize and live up to his role as “the world’s most powerful editor”.

3000

Read the rest here.

CARMAGEDDON

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For several quarters, car sales in the Philippines has grown by double-digits. Thanks to very low interest rates and down payments, car ownership has become so easy in a country that has managed to expand above 5% for several years. Unfortunately, roads have not expanded at the same rate as car sales. Add to that the incompetent MMDA chief who has made election campaigning his top priority. Metro Manila roads now are hopeless.

It’s carmageddon all the way until the end of Christmas holidays. 

The 3-hour travel time from Makati to Quezon City used to be just a one-off thing–something you will encounter during really bad traffic situations like last-week-before-Christmas-break rush or during freak events like huge rallies in some parts of the metro.

But no, 3-hour travel time now is the norm. I encounter this at least once a week. It’s better to drive from Makati to Los Banos, Laguna on any given day because it’ll only take you 1.5 hrs compared to Makati-QC, which can take you 2-3 hrs after 5 pm. 

If only the effing trains really work. Not the kind of sh*t you encounter at 6 am-7 am: the kilometer-long lines leading up to the train platforms. Not the kind of crap you have to face when the trains break down because maintenance work could only salvage a small part of the whole system. Because the government has been dilly-dallying for so long, pandering to populist noise. Because officials had been milking the rail system for heaven knows how long.

Because people refused to pay up as well. You want convenience, you pay for convenience. Train rides are not free. 

I used to take public transport because I can. Now it seems like it can kill me in so many ways.

Already declared my desire to move back south. It’ll keep me sane for a few more years, I think.