Novelist Kurt Vonnegut dies at age 84

By CHRISTIAN SALAZAR,
Associated Press Writer



NEW YORK - Kurt Vonnegut, the satirical novelist who captured the absurdity of war and questioned the advances of science in darkly humorous works such as "Slaughterhouse- Five" and "Cat's Cradle," died Wednesday. He was 84. Vonnegut, who often marveled that he had lived so long despite his lifelong smoking habit, had suffered brain injuries after a fall at his Manhattan home weeks ago, said his wife, photographer Jill Krementz.

The author of at least 19 novels, many of them best-sellers, as well as dozens of short stories, essays and plays, Vonnegut relished the role of a social critic. He lectured regularly, exhorting audiences to think for themselves and delighting in barbed commentary against the institutions he felt were dehumanizing people."I will say anything to be funny, often in the most horrible situations," Vonnegut, whose watery, heavy-lidded eyes and unruly hair made him seem to be in existential pain, once told a gathering of psychiatrists.

A self-described religious skeptic and freethinking humanist, Vonnegut used protagonists such as Billy Pilgrim and Eliot Rosewater as transparent vehicles for his points of view. He also filled his novels with satirical commentary and even drawings that were only loosely connected to the plot. In "Slaughterhouse- Five," he drew a headstone with the epitaph: "Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt."But much in his life was traumatic, and left him in pain.

Despite his commercial success, Vonnegut battled depression throughout his life, and in 1984, he attempted suicide with pills and alcohol, joking later about how he botched the job.His mother had succeeded in killing herself just before he left for Germany during World War II, where he was quickly taken prisoner during the Battle of the Bulge. He was being held in Dresden when Allied bombs created a firestorm that killed an estimated tens of thousands of people in the city."The firebombing of Dresden explains absolutely nothing about why I write what I write and am what I am," Vonnegut wrote in "Fates Worse Than Death," his 1991 autobiography of sorts.But he spent 23 years struggling to write about the ordeal, which he survived by huddling with other POW's inside an underground meat locker labeled slaughterhouse- five.

The novel, in which Pvt. Pilgrim is transported from Dresden by time-traveling aliens from the planet Tralfamadore, was published at the height of the Vietnam War, and solidified his reputation as an iconoclast."He was sort of like nobody else," said Gore Vidal, who noted that he, Vonnegut and Norman Mailer were among the last writers around who served in World War II."

He was imaginative; our generation of writers didn't go in for imagination very much. Literary realism was the general style. Those of us who came out of the war in the 1940s made it sort of the official American prose, and it was often a bit on the dull side. Kurt was never dull."Vonnegut was born on Nov. 11, 1922, in Indianapolis, a "fourth-generation German-American religious skeptic Freethinker, " and studied chemistry at Cornell University before joining the Army.

When he returned, he reported for Chicago's City News Bureau, then did public relations for General Electric, a job he loathed. He wrote his first novel, "Player Piano," in 1951, followed by "The Sirens of Titan," "Canary in a Cat House" and "Mother Night," making ends meet by selling Saabs on Cape Cod.Critics ignored him at first, then denigrated his deliberately bizarre stories and disjointed plots as haphazardly written science fiction.

But his novels became cult classics, especially "Cat's Cradle" in 1963, in which scientists create "ice-nine," a crystal that turns water solid and destroys the earth.Many of his novels were best-sellers. Some also were banned and burned for suspected obscenity. Vonnegut took on censorship as an active member of the PEN writers' aid group and the American Civil Liberties Union. The American Humanist Association, which promotes individual freedom, rational thought and scientific skepticism, made him its honorary president.

His characters tended to be miserable anti-heros with little control over their fate. Pilgrim was an ungainly, lonely goof. The hero of "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" was a sniveling, obese volunteer fireman. Vonnegut said the villains in his books were never individuals, but culture, society and history, which he said were making a mess of the planet. "We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard ... and too damn cheap," he once suggested carving into a wall on the Grand Canyon, as a message for flying-saucer creatures.

He retired from novel writing in his later years, but continued to publish short articles. He had a best-seller in 2005 with "A Man Without a Country," a collection of his nonfiction, including jabs at the Bush administration ("upper-crust C-students who know no history or geography") and the uncertain future of the planet. He called the book's success "a nice glass of champagne at the end of a life."

In recent years, Vonnegut worked as a senior editor and columnist at "In These Times." Editor Joel Bleifuss said he had been trying recently to get Vonnegut to write something more for the magazine, but was unsuccessful. "He would just say he's too old and that he had nothing more to say. He realized, I think, he was at the end of his life," Bleifuss said.

Vonnegut, who had homes in Manhattan and the Hamptons in New York, adopted his sister's three young children after she died. He also had three children of his own with his first wife, Ann Cox, and later adopted a daughter, Lily, with his second wife, the noted photographer Jill Krementz. Vonnegut once said that of all the ways to die, he'd prefer to go out in an airplane crash on the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. He often joked about the difficulties of old age. "When Hemingway killed himself he put a period at the end of his life; old age is more like a semicolon," Vonnegut told The Associated Press in 2005.

"My father, like Hemingway, was a gun nut and was very unhappy late in life. But he was proud of not committing suicide. And I'll do the same, so as not to set a bad example for my children

The Green Lantern in Me

Hehehe...Try this one, I'm afraid I'm a villain :)


Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 85% Robin 75% Spider-Man 70% Superman 65% Supergirl 60% Wonder Woman 60% The Flash 60% Catwoman 60% Hulk 55% Iron Man 55% Batman 15%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Scylla and Charybdis

12 April 2006
Metrica, Manila


With four blogs I’ve vowed to maintain, I’m steeled in my resolve that from now on, weeks would never pass without any entry or at least fillers to them. There’s no heart-splintering to me than seeing my blogs in state of vacuity. Panic and paranoia it has been causing me; it is as if I’m bowing to the challenge of Stephen King who stated in his “On Writing” that “If God gives you something you can do, why in God’s name wouldn’t you do it?”

However, seldom can I finish articles. Most of them remain incomplete, already mottling with age in my frayed notebook. Although lots of ideas have been constantly playing in my head, I can hardly take up writing them again as I’m afraid I might not be able to put heart and soul and justice to them. Reading these unfinished writings is like watching Lorna Tolentino, they’re good yet they’re lacking of emotion.

Gone are the days when I’d just clack my keyboard and the words would fire off like wayward missiles. A cup of coffee or two, a pack of Marlboro and Nirvana or GnR or Indigo Girls on the background were all I needed before to weave words, enabling me to carry out a thousand-word article in three hours. Today, I have to pass through the ritual of plugging socket in my nose, wringing my brain until it bleeds and trickling buckets of sweat before I can produce a paragraph that can’t even make a single strand of hair raise.

As to what has caused my impasse is still a conundrum. Oftentimes, I point my finger at my overindulgence on coffee, coke and cigarette. Yet this could be because of the age, or dementia or anything that I could easily cite as a convincing alibi.

There are a lot of possibilities. Yet, while mulling over, words are just strutting in front of me, waiting to be picked up. They’re freely floating, waiting to be of service to make a story, a poem or an article ennoble the beauty and madness of life. That is the irony of it: they’re free but remain dormant unless you have the guts to use them. Your fear is that they would become less magical, less powerful or totally futile as soon as you employ them. You’re terrified at the thought of failing them. Because according to the British novelist Samuel Butler, the rule is “we have got to live with them and must make the best and not the worst of them.”

But no matter what, we have to live with the words. That is why, I’m firm that I would keep my four blogs. At least, through them, I’m in no doubt I’d be a good neighbor with words. The only thing is that I’ve to make use of them properly. Otherwise, I would produce nothing but a trash.

E-mode

07 april 2007
makati city




If Jessica Zafra has Synchronicity of The Police as her riposte to the corny surveys “What’s the album that has changed/shaped your life?”, I would definitely single out the Eraserheads. I’m sure everybody in my generation would do anyway, but for an angst-ridden, zits-filled youth who thought that locking himself in his bedroom for a week because Kurt Cobain pulled the trigger of shotgun in his mouth was the ultimate expression of being cool, everything abruptly changed when the Ultraelectromagneticpop surfaced.

I was among those who dared to skip classes to catch videos of Kurt Cobain smashing his guitar into smithereens or Axle Rose doing somersault in his concert with his white skimpy cycling shorts. For us, wearing torn jeans, black shirt with black nail polish was the “in” thing. Failure to do so would mean you’re not cool, or worse, hip-hop, a brand which all of us tried to steer clear of. I was in my “I-hate-myself-I-wanna-die” attitude when Tindahan ni Aling Nena, Toyang, Pare Ko and Ligaya knocked superficial pop from the airwaves and the charts. Instantly, I fell in love with the band and their songs.

Almost spontaneously, I erased the nail polish, unearthed my white and colored shirts, put my old tired boots back into my shoe rack and bought my chucks. I was in complete metamorphosis.

But beyond my makeover, I was spared from learning by rote the entire lines of Estranged, November Rain, and Metal Militia. Nothing’s more mortifying than being pulled up when you’re in top form shrieking the songs of Nirvana, Metallica, Guns & Roses, etc.

Being cool wasn’t measured; I wouldn’t effort to fit in to any crowd or group anymore. There’s no requirement whatsoever, you just had to appreciate the music. I developed the “I-Don’t-Care” stance, as long as I was enjoying what I was doing. Just like Eheads, they never cared nor bothered how some people, even a senator, critiqued and demeaned their songs. For them, these were all for pure, clean fun.


And so Eheads had been my constant companion. Never was I bored listening to them as their music was of great diversity. They worked both in the underground and mainstream with a mix of alternative, pop, rock, reggae, synth rock and other genres. From the first thing in the morning up to the last minute of the day, my ears were all glued to their songs.

Of all the Eheads songs, it has been “Wag Kang Matakot” I’ve enjoyed immensely. I’m sure the hopeless romantic organisms can identify with me. Just hearing the first strum was enough to make my innards coil, no kidding. There were nights I’d just turn off the lights, and listen to the song until I dozed off. This went on for months that it became my lullaby. Until my mom saw our electric bill.

Summer was of particular kick. I bugged my mom to let me spend my vacation in Manila so as to witness Eheads demonstrate their greatness on stage. We squashed our carcass into the thickness of the crowd, rubbing elbows with the other members of the cult the Eheads successfully yet unintentionally established. We religiously parked ourselves along the flowerbox of Shakey’s in front of UST just to catch a glimpse of the band regularly performing at Mayric’s.

That’s how I got attached to Ely, Raimund, Buddy and Marcus. They became my life, the center of my universe. Just imagine how shattered I was when the news of their breakup reached me in mid-March 2002. The reasons were unknown by then, and we had nothing but mere speculations. But one thing is clear for me, that life would never be the same again.

In deed, life was never be the same again. Until now, I cannot identify a band that can be on a par with Eheads. I really miss the Eheads.

***Lesson: it is not advisable to play Eheads in the morning of Black Saturday.

Things that we should know by heart

08 april 2007
makati

Choosing for something to write about is never been an easy for me. As a feelingerong-writer, I can’t just jot down my rambling thoughts, organize them, and presto, I’ve a magnum opus I can proudly display. Unlike before, I’ve to make my brain bleed to be able to cook up something that is somewhat within acceptable limits.

While thinking of a topic, I stumbled upon Jessica Zafra’s entry in her blog regarding the relationship in the office, work-related, that is. This is of particular significance as it tries to shed light to the tricky situations in the office.

Anyway, here’s the entire article. Please make sure to know these points by heart so that the next time we make excuses, they would be flawed-free.


Tough at the top


Overworked, mistreated and underappreciated? Think you're the only one with a right to complain? Think again. Mira Katbamna reveals 10 things your boss hates about you

Monday April 2, 2007
The Guardian

Go on, admit it: you hate your boss. You do. The way they accost you with: "It'll just take five minutes" as you're trying to leave. The way they smile patronisingly when they read your appraisal request for more training. Just them having power over you for eight hours every day is enough to make you spit with fury.

But at least we're not alone in our angst. It seems bosses are also a bit cross: they hate us, too. All of us. Even when we bring them coffee. And, according to Sandi Mann, senior lecturer in occupational psychology at the University of Central Lancashire, they may have a point. "A generation ago, people worked their way up the ladder, hierarchy was based on age and experience, and it was more respected," she says.

"Now, people may be brought in [as bosses] who are seen as the 'young whippersnappers' or 'from outside' so there is much more resentment than there used to be - which makes it much difficult to manage effectively."
And that's not all. In the days before open-plan offices and team-bonding days, managers were better protected from us oiks. "Managers used to be more remote, with their own staffrooms and canteens, and there used to be more middle management," Mann says.

"But now, they are expected to be the authority figure and 'one of the lads' as it were, and it's not always easy to get that balance right."
The result of all this is that while your boss might look like she's fine, inside she's seething. You think you hate your boss? Here are the top 10 things your boss hates about YOU.

1. Lateness
Everyone has days when the bus breaks down, the washing machine packs up, or the alarm doesn't go off. The problem is that some people have those days Monday through Friday. But what really cheeses off your boss is your lame excuse. "It shows you don't care," says Louis Halpern, CEO at advertising agency Halpern Cowan. "Why they can't just tell you that they find it hard to get out of bed and be done with it I don't know. It really makes me furious."

2. Lack of initiative
"Don't ask me if you should buy lunch for the client, if the client is coming at noon," said one infuriated manager. "Call up the client and ask if they want lunch." Actually that's not quite what he said: there was a lot more swearing in the original version. Managers absolutely hate being bothered by stuff that really, if you thought about it for even a second, you could work out for yourself. They also hate constant updates and being CCd in on everything. They pay you to do a job - get on with it...

3. Too much initiative
... unless you're an idiot. A marketing manager for a large educational charity reports that if there's one thing worse than lack of initiative, it's completely ignoring instructions to go off and do something else instead. She recently found herself on stage, ready to announce the winner of an award. When the person responsible for counting the votes turned up, he showed off a new, whizzy and completely redundant colour-coded method for counting the votes. Unfortunately, devising the new programme meant he hadn't actually had time to ... count the votes.

4. Bitching and whining
So Julie from third floor might not have said hello to you this morning, and that might well be because she's an unfriendly cow, but in the context of say, the war in Iraq, does it really merit a four-hour disquisition? Your boss doesn't think so. On the other hand, while bitching is bad, whining is worse. "What really annoys me is when we buy new equipment or take everyone out, and all I hear the next day is 'We should have bought a bigger TV' or 'We could have gone to a nicer restaurant'" says Halpern. "And that's when we've spent £5,000."

5. Disloyalty
Although none of the managers came out and said that they hated their staff for talking over them in meetings, pointing out their errors in public, or preventing the bonus-related project coming in on time, Mann says it's a major issue. "People used to close ranks, but it doesn't happen quite as much as it used to," she says. "Managers usually feel obliged to look after their staff, but if their staff don't feel the same way, the lack of loyalty is always a problem for the boss."

6. Lack of passion. Or interest
It might come as a surprise to you, but your boss has a life outside work. They too find it hard to get up in the morning. And they find the managing director's speeches as boring as you do. But they have to stay motivated, because they are the boss. So, when you fall asleep in meetings, can't remember the names of your accounts and tell them it doesn't matter whether the email goes today or tomorrow, it reminds them that they don't really give a toss either, but that it's their job to make themselves, and you, care. Then they get really, really irritated.

7. Trying to be their best friend
They don't want to go down the pub with you, they don't want to hear about what you really think of their boss, and they most certainly don't want to know what happened between you and Andy in the loos last Friday. They like you, but they know from bitter experience that if they show too much interest, you'll start treating them like a friend and refuse to take orders.

8. Petty lying
Saying that you missed the call because your mobile has run out of power. That you didn't get the email. That you've sent the report but there must be a technical glitch. That the meeting has run over and it's not worth you coming back to the office. That you've lost two big taxi receipts. That you're working from home today. That you have to go to a funeral, the dentist, the doctor, your mum's house, your best friend's cousin's wedding. Whatever. The biggest insult is that you think they believe you.

9. Childishness
I'm paraphrasing, but the key message here is: "I'm not your mum. Don't email me about the brand of toilet paper in the loo. Don't leave the kitchen in a mess. Don't ask me for a new biro. I'm not going to clean up after you and I don't care about this crap." You get the idea.

10. Wanting their job
They spend all their time and energy trying to protect you from the higher-uppers, you spend all your energy complaining about them. And then, on top of that, you want their job? Unforgivable.

The Pseudo-Quasi-Semi Insomniac Slash Nocturnal Slash Catatonic

16 march 2007
metrica, manila



Kuya Boy’s voice was already reverberating around the house. Twisting, turning, coiling and spinning, my mind was still stirring. Allende, Garcia-Marquez and Kundera were of no help. After reading and re-reading them, their powerful words and metaphors turned into mere ants parading before my tired eyes. Sleeping pills were all expired, the Nido can was already empty, Kukay was having forty winks at the doorsteps, and my eyes were still alive and kicking.



For the past days, I’ve been struggling to sleep. Every inch of my nerves has all worn out after several days of pressure from the office, particularly from our PM. Stress has been killing me I have been restless. The last time I had a sound sleep was so long a time I’ve forgotten it. Good thing there’s Marlboro and Coke that somewhat put me at ease.



Times like these bring me back to assessing my life. Which I hate, not only because I feel guilty for the things that I’ve done and whatnot, but I’d be consumed in trying to figure out my status right now and my future, if there is. This I find insufferable because I’m afraid that that would make me down in the dumps, especially with the current condition of my work.



Sometimes, I just think that I’m just overreacting, that I’m seeing things larger than life. I’m just trying to believe that life is as simple as what it had been during our younger years, when all our problems revolve around the zits and JS prom and our crushes. But however I strive to view things in rose-colored glass, this is my life now. And in spite of all the efforts that I’ve been doing to make it look optimistic and upbeat, well, it is as exciting as opening of an umbrella.



Too much for this as I know I’m not making any sense anymore. The sun was in its full vividness and Luningning was now executing her signature steps. Still, catching a doze was far from reality, even though my eyes were already puffed-up. Wait, Maricel Soriano was up next.

Justice for Satur, Justice for All

By Conrado de Quiros
Inquirer
Last updated 01:55am (Mla time) 03/26/2007


MANILA, Philippines – The gall of these people!

Eduardo Ermita says sori na lang: Satur Ocampo would have been spared the attentions the authorities are showering him now if he had merely availed of the amnesty offered by Presidents Aquino and Ramos during their time. Raul Gonzalez choruses, tsk, tsk, Ocampo is not covered by the amnesty given by the two past presidents simply because he did not apply for it. “If the President grants amnesty,” he says philosophically, “you must apply.”

What arrant nonsense.

At the very least, what’s wrong with it is what Ocampo himself has to say about it. He never applied for the amnesty because he never committed the crimes he was accused of. Why on earth, or hell, should he ask to be pardoned for a crime he did not commit? Indeed, why on earth, or on any other planet, should he admit to a crime he did not commit?

It’s the third time now, says Ocampo, that he has been accused of these crimes—during Marcos’ time when he was in detention; during Cory’s time when he was again in detention; and now during Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s time, for which he has been put in detention. And each time, the case against him failed. I thought we proscribed double jeopardy? I thought we observed the principle that a man may not be tried for the same case twice? This isn’t double jeopardy, this is triple jeopardy!

What makes Ermita’s and Gonzalez’s statements doubly stupid is that they openly suggest that Ocampo is not being accused of an ordinary crime but of a political one. One committed in the course of pursuing a political cause and, therefore, deserving of amnesty. If Ocampo were truly guilty of murder in the sense that we normally understand it, in the sense of the spectacle we are being regaled with today (journalists and political activists are being routinely gunned down by assassins), why should he be pardoned whether there is amnesty or not? The killers of James Rowe were not. If Ocampo fell in the same category, then he should rot in hell, or in jail. Ermita and Gonzalez themselves suggest he does not belong in either.

What makes their statements galling is more than the smugness with which they say them. What makes them so is the way they or the government they represent presume to sit in judgment over Ocampo. They should not be judging, they should be judged.

I do know someone who has committed a monumental crime, a crime far worse than the murder of a person, or even the wholesale slaughter of an entire tribe. That is the murder of a nation, that is the murder of a people. Or what is but the same thing, that is the murder of democracy, that is the murder of freedom. I do know someone who admitted that crime, albeit with every effort to mislead the public about it. I do know someone who applied for pardon for it, saying robotically “I…am…sorry…”, notwithstanding that the ultimate rulers of this country, who are the People, have not issued a proclamation of amnesty and who certainly would not have included that crime among those pardonable by God or man even if they had done so.

I do know someone who has not been or will ever be covered by any amnesty. I do know someone who has asked to be pardoned for the mother of all crimes, but has not been pardoned for it or can ever be pardoned for it.

But she has not been prosecuted or harassed like Satur Ocampo. She has been installed in office and, like Marcos, praised by her fawners. She does not have a tiny cell in Muntinlupa, she has an office that dwarfs her in Malacañang.

But far more than any of these, the spectacle of GMA, Ermita, Gonzalez and ilk presuming to sit in judgment over Satur Ocampo is not unlike Imelda Marcos, Fabian Ver, Juan Ponce Enrile and ilk presuming to sit in judgment over Corazon Aquino. The fact that Ocampo is being accused of crimes he apparently committed during martial law only calls attention to who Ocampo and his accusers were during martial law and what contributions they’ve made to this country.

Ocampo was a journalist who, finding that the sword could be an ally of the pen, risked life and limb to join a group that was fighting to liberate this country from dictatorship. For which pains he was caught, tortured and detained for a good many years of his life, while trumped-up charges were filed against him as they were against everyone who tried to cut down the barbed wire strung across this country. By all rights, Ocampo should be hailed a hero for fighting and helping to restore this country’s freedoms, along with all those who died or were scarred for life for doing the same thing—Left, Right, or Center, it doesn’t matter. And by all rights, all those self-proclaimed heroes that sprouted after the bells pealed victory should be dragged to Bagumbayan and made to share Rizal’s fate minus the reverence.

What contributions Ermita, Gonzalez and ilk made during that time only they know. Indeed, what they were doing at that time, other than scratching the globules dangling down their apparent manhood, only they know. It’s criminal enough that we’ve never given people like Ocampo their due for what they’ve done to end a tyranny. It’s an absolute atrocity that they should be pilloried for it by people who may not hold up a cigarette lighter—never mind candle—to them.

During those dark years of martial law, we had a phrase that perfectly captured our common plight of oppression and our perception that a humongous injustice done to one person—Left, Right, or Center, it did not matter—was a humongous injustice done to us all. That phrase was, “Justice for Ninoy, justice for all.” In these dark years of de facto martial law, we have a phrase that does the same thing:

“Justice for Satur, justice for all.”

PALAYAIN si KA SATUR!

KABATAAN PARTYLIST sa KONGRESO

Kabataan, tagapagmana ng bukas, tagahulma ng kapalaran, pag-asa ng
bayan: Panahon na para sumuway at maging mapangahas.

Sumuway sa kasalukuyang ayos ng karahasan. Magpumiglas laban sa lupit
ng kahirapan. Sumalungat sa karaniwang agos ng kawalang pakialam.
Ituwid ang tiwali, iwaksi ng bulok, ipagtanggol ang mga api.

Kabataan:
Magtanong
Maghamon
Magtangka
Makisangkot.

Kailangang mag-aral hindi lamang sa loob ng paaralan, maghanapbuhay
upang maunawaan ang halaga ng paggawa, maghabol ng mga pangarap,
makapagsilbi, makilala ang sarili, maging makabuluhan sa lipunan.

Kabataan, kailangang magpatuloy.

Kailangang pumadyak. Kailangang kumampay. Kailangang huminga. Sa oras
ng pagkagipit nakakakuha ng lakas ang kabataan para lumangoy.
Nakakagalit ang mga nagaganap: Katiwalian, kahirapan, kawalang
katarungan. Pero ang galit natin ang ating armas.

Tulad ng ng ating mga bayaning nagsilbi sa kapwa at nag-alay ng buhay
para sa bansa:

Kung kailangang nasa bingit at pinagmumuntik-muntikanan, doon tayo
lalong nagiging matalas at mas mapangahas.

Dahil sa simula pa lang naman ng ating kasaysayan: Alam nating
nakakamit lang ang pagbabago kung iniluwal ito mula sa pinakamagiting
na pag-iral at pakikipaglaban ng kabataan.
Kabataan, pag-asa ng bayan. Walang ibang tagapagmana ng bukas kundi
tayo. Walang ibang huhulma ng bukas kundi tayo.

Kabataan, panahon na para sumuway at maging mapangahas.

Ngayong eleksyon, susuway tayo sa dikta ng kawalang-pakialam at
kawalang-katiyakan. Hindi tayo magkikimi ni hihingi ng paumanhin. Ang
pagsuway ay isang pagpapasiya. Ang pagsuway ay pagpanig. At pagkitil
sa pangit na kabilang hindi natin pinili. Ito'y pagkikipagtitigan sa
mata. Ito'y paniningil at pagtiyak sa ating mga karapatan. Ito'y
pagtangan sa papel natin sa pagbabago.

At paghamon sa sarili upang kumilos tungo sa isang mas makatao at
makatarungang mundo.

Kabataan:
Magtanong
Maghamon
Magtangka
Makisangkot.

Worst Education Crisis in 2007

The future has become bleaker for the youth under the Arroyo administration. Year in, year out, the crisis of education sector has haunted the youth in the most unimaginable way, in all forms and schemes. Tuition increase, utilization of idled assets, exorbitant fees impositions; these have become normal scenes in the face of struggling youth.

This year isn’t an exemption. The reenacted budget adds up to the crisis, resulting in a huge number of dropouts. Clearly, the education has rapidly become a privilege to the affluent few, and not a right which the Constitution has clearly stipulated.

After reviewing the education sector situation, the Kabataan Partylist has come up with the following analysis:


Budget reenactment spells tuition hikes, more dropouts in state schools


The Kabataan Party today warned of a looming catastrophe for the education sector this year should Congress fail to pass the 2007 national budget.

“A reenacted budget could trigger the worst education crisis in history,” Kabataan Party president Raymond Palatino said.

Palatino explained that a reenacted national budget would only mean huge cutback in education spending as the government will have to do with the same budget it had in 2005. If ever, this is the third straight year that the government will operate in a reenacted budget, he added.

“The budget two years ago cannot in any way compensate the growing needs and population of the education sector, not to mention the urgency to modernize and upgrade school facilities.

He said a reenacted education budget would further aggravate the pitiful condition of education in the country and would make tertiary education even more elusive to ordinary Filipino youth.

He added that the unresolved controversy over the illegal provisions of the new Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) memorandum no. 14 or the guidelines for proposed tuition and miscellaneous fee hikes is bound to create more confusion on February when private schools file their applications for tuition hike next semester.

Last year, the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education said CHEd memorandum no. 14 is illegal as it allows private schools to increase tuition without proper consultation with students.

But an even bigger problem is set to confound tertiary education which Palatino compared to a ticking time bomb in the verge of an explosion.

With a decreasing budget for state schools every year, he said many state universities and colleges (SUCs) may soon follow the 300 percent tuition hike abruptly passed by the University of the Philippines (UP) Board of Regents last month.

Education spending has dropped from 19.3 percent of total government expenditures in 1997 to 15.5 percent in 2004. The average government spending on education per student is $170. This pales in comparison to Thailand ($550) and Malaysia ($930).

“The UP example and a reenacted budget will certainly attract other state school administrators to take the easier path and increase tuition to the detriment of poor but deserving student.”

He said this will consequently lead to an upsurge in college dropouts in the coming years.

“State schools supposedly are the last resort for college hopefuls and private school students who could no longer afford the excessive cost of college education. There is a very limited space left in state institutions and a tuition hike will make college education increasingly intangible and prohibitive even in public tertiary institutions.”

Astig ang KABATAAN!

Where is Joey Estriber?

lifted from Freedom Watch (www.cmfr-phil.blogspot.com)
06 November 2006

In a statement, the Paris-based press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders voiced its outrage over the "indifference of both local and national authorities" to the case of radio broadcaster Joey Estriber who was kidnapped eight months ago.

Still no word of missing radio presenter and environmentalist eight months after his abduction -- RSF

Reporters Without Borders voiced outrage today at the indifference of both local and national authorities to the fate of radio presenter and anti-logging campaigner Joey Estriber, who has been missing ever since he was kidnapped outside an Internet café in Baler, in Aurora province (northeast of Manila), on the evening of 3 March 2006.

"It is eight months to the day since Estriber was abducted and nothing has been done by the authorities to find and identify his kidnappers," the press freedom organisation said. "It seems that complicity between the local police and logging companies has prevented any progress in the investigation. The authorities in Manila must restart enquiries as a matter of urgency."

A freelance journalist who presented the programme Pag-usapan Natin (Let's talk about that) on local radio station DZJO, Estriber was kidnapped by four gunmen. According to a representative of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), the kidnapping took place a few yards from a police station, but the police never questioned the witnesses.

Estriber has five dependants -- his wife and four children -- who have had no source of income since his disappearance.

A well-known critic of deforestation in Aurora province, he often used his radio programme to condemn the intensive logging being carried out by companies with the support of people within the local government, and he had participated in a campaign calling for the withdrawal of the nine licences issued to logging companies in the province.

Estriber also worked for a local development NGO, Bataris, which a military officer speaking on a radio station in February described as the kind of organisation that should be combated.

A Wanton Disregard for Press Freedom

spread, sign and pass to other journalists
(email you name and media network to nujphil@gmail.com)

lifted from Bulatlat.com

There are presently 43 journalists in the Philippines facing libel charges filed by First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo. The sheer number betrays a wanton disregard for freedom of the press and the propensity to use power and influence to silence critics. This statement is to protest the use of the libel law to stop critical reports and commentaries and to fight for the right of every Filipino to seek and receive information and ideas on matters of public interest, which are at the very core of the concept of a democratic society.
-----------------
The law on libel exists to protect private citizens from unwarranted damage to reputation, but in the Philippines libel has been predominantly used by public officials as a tool to cow an independent press.

The most glaring example is the multiple libel cases filed by First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo against 43 reporters, columnists, editors, publishers, and even a subscription manager, of various publications.We will not dispute the merits of the cases nor Mr. Arroyo's right to defend his honor and dignity, as he and his lawyers insist.

What we decry is his propensity to sue journalists so as to muzzle those he does not agree with and sending out a clear signal to others that they risk the same ordeal should they dare cross him.

Mr. Arroyo is, after all, no ordinary mortal. As Presidential husband, he clearly enjoys immense power and influence, not just by his status but also because he does head the Office of the First Gentleman. And many, if not most, of his deeds and pronouncements dwell in the realm of public interest. He is, therefore, both a public figure and public official.

That he is aware of this status and has no qualms of wielding it against his perceived enemies is evident in the fact that, when he filed his latest suit against the Tulfo brothers, he gave his address as Malacañang Palace, as if to stress who he is.

The record number of cases Mr. Arroyo has filed highlight how the powerful in this benighted land regularly abuse libel laws to curtail the democratic right of the press to delve into the truth behind matters of public interest and the people's right to know. It is also the best argument for decriminalizing an outdated law that has been used not so much to protect the innocent as to shield the guilty.

We demand that Congress immediately work to repeal the law on libel, to strike it off the book of criminal statutes, as part of its sworn duty to strengthen our badly eroded and still beleaguered democracy.

We demand that Jose Miguel Arroyo cease and desist from this clear abuse of his power and influence and squarely face the issues raised against him where they are properly addressed, in the arena of free and democratic discourse.
We pledge that neither this nor any other attempts by those in power to trample on the freedom of the press and the people's right to know shall go unchallenged.

We commit ourselves to the continued struggle to realize the true blooming of democracy in our land, when freedom of expression shall be enshrined not just in our aspirations but in practice.

Signed by:
Philippine Media Organizations
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP)
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR)
Bandillo ng Palawan
Sorsogon Organization of News writers, Announcers and Reporters (SONAR)
Manila Chinese Press Club (MCPC)
Negros Weekly
Negros Daily Bulletin
Cobra-Ans
Alyansa ng mga Filipinong Mamamahayag (AFIMA)
Association of Responsible Media (ARM)
Northern Media and Information Network (NMIN)

International Organizations
International Federation of Journalists
Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance
Indian Media Centre (India)
Reporters Without Borders
Committee to Protect Journalists
Southeast Asian Press Alliance
Hong Kong Journalists Association
National Union of Journalists (India)
Federation of Media Employee's Trade Unions
Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)
Hong Kong Journalists Association
Northern Media and Information Network (NMIN)

Individuals
Jose Torres Jr. (Chairperson, NUJP)
Rowena Paraan (Secretary-General, NUJP)
Nonoy Espina (Director, NUJP)
Inday Espina-Varona (Director, NUJP)
Sonny E. Fernandez (National Vice Chairperson, NUJP/ABC 5)
Elmer James Bandol (NUJP-Albay)
Leti Boniol (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Ruben Alabastro (Inquirer)
Julie Aurelio (Inquirer)
Elvira Mata (Inquirer)
Adelle Geraldo (Inquirer)
Lorna Kalaw-Tirol (Inquirer)
Juan Sarmiento Jr. (Inquirer)
Chito de la Vega (Inquirer)
Stephanie Asuncion (Inquirer)
Jun Bandayrel (Inquirer)
Tina Arceo-Dumlao (Inquirer)
Margie Espino (Inquirer)
Corrie Salientes-Narisma (Inquirer)
Monica Feria (Inquirer)
Vangie Baga-Reyes (Inquirer)
Mylene Francisco (Inquirer)
Miguel Suarez (Inquirer)
Ted Melendres (Inquirer)
Jun Cinco (Inquirer)
A. Noel Velasco (Inquirer)
Abelardo Ulanday (Inquirer)
Rosario Garcellano (Inquirer)
Artemio Engracia Jr. (Inquirer)
Jose Ma. Nolasco (Inquirer)
John B. Bayarong (NUJP-Olongapo/Subic)
Romy Elusfa (Business Mirror)
Joyce Pañares (Manila Standard Today)
Marlon Ramos (Inquirer Southern Luzon Bureau-Laguna)
Carla P. Gomez (Visayan Daily Star, Bacolod City)
Arman Toga, editor (Negros Daily Bulletin)
Ire Jo V.C. Laurente (DWOM-FM, Mindoro)
Julie S. Alipala, ( Inquirer Mindanao Bureau-Zamboanga City)
David Santos ( ABS-CBN Zamboanga City )
Vicente Jaime Villafranca (Philippine Graphic)
Ramon Acasio (Philippine Graphic)
Lynette Ordoñez-Luna (Independent)
Rollie Espina, Philippine Star and Negros Press Club
Ma. Ester Espina, Media Advocates for Reproductive Health and Empowerment
Delfin Perez (Manila Bulletin)
Gerry Albert Corpuz (contributor, Bulatlat.com)
Jofelle Tesorio (Bandillo ng Palawan)
Ansbert B. Joaquin (NUJP Olongapo-Subic)
Tony Bergonia (Inquirer)
Raul Marcelo (Inquirer)
Eric Olona (Inquirer)
Linda Bolido (Inquirer)
Chelo B. Formoso (Inquirer)
Fernando del Mundo (Inquirer)
Cenon Bibe Jr. (Inquirer)
Sandra Sendoyro (Inquirer)
Romina Austria (Inquirer)
Princess Daily Omilga (Inquirer)
Ernie Sarmiento (Inquirer)
Keith Bacongco (Business Mirror)
Jun Verzola (Northern Dispatch Weekly)
Delfin T. Mallari Jr. (Inquirer Southern Luzon-Quezon)
Dodong Solis (Radio Mindanao Networks-Davao)
Alexander Martin Remollino (Bulatlat Online Magazine, NUJP)
Dennis Maliwanag (inq7.net)
Ces Rodriguez (One Philippines)
Raffy Jimenez (GMANews.TV)
Ilang-Ilang Quijano (Pinoy Weekly)
Noel Sales Barcelona (Pinoy Weekly, NUJP)
Soliman A. Santos (Pinoy Weekly, NUJP/Elliptical Press Corps director)
Kenneth Roland A. Guda (Pinoy Weekly, NUJP)
D'Jay Lazaro (Pinoy Weekly managing editor, NUJP/NCPM Executive Director)
Rogelio L. Ordoñez (Pinoy Weekly EIC, NUJP/NPC)
Bayani Abadilla (Pinoy Weekly, News Editor, NUJP/NPC)
Roel Pareno (Philippine Star)
Frencie Carreon (Zamboanga Today)
Carol "Rollie" Montilla (Eastern Times, Malaya, KMC Magazine)
Carmelito Q. Francisco (BusinessWorld-Mindanao/Mindanao Times)
Veronica Uy (INQ7.net)
Thea Alberto (INQ7.net)
Noel Godinez (Nothern Dispatch Weekly)
Rudy D. Liporada (Editor, Kapitbahay, San Diego, California)
Lito Banayo (Columnist, Malaya and Abante)
Aquiles Z. Zonio (Inquirer Mindanao Bureau/NUJP-General Santos City)
Edith Regalado
Iris Cecilia Gonzales (BusinessWorld)
Ma. Ceres P. Doyo (Inquirer)
Bobby Tuazon ( Bulatlat.com)
Grace Albasin (Inquirer Mindanao Bureau/NUJP)
Danilo A. Arao ( Bulatlat.com)
Merpu P. Roa (Filipino Express/MindaNews)
Ermin Garcia Jr. (Sunday Punch)
Susan Palmes (NUJP-Cagayan de Oro)
Rommel G. Rebolido (NUJP-General Santos)
Artemio A. Dumlao (Philippine Star/NUJP)
Raymond Panaligan (freelance photographer)
Ellen Tordesillas ( Malaya)
Hadrian Hernandez (Gulf News, UAE)
Carlos Isagani T. Zarate (Columnist,Kris-Crossing Mindanao, Inquirer)
Edwin C. Mercurio (Philippine Press Club-Ontario, Canada)
Ninotchka Rosca (Novelist/journalist)
Michael Sarcauga (NUJP-Pagadian)
Ma. Diosa Labiste (NUJP-Iloilo/community journalist)
Nestor Burgos Jr. (Inquirer-Iloilo/NUJP)
Michael L. Ubac (Inquirer)
Ronnel Domingo (Inquirer)
Tarra Quismundo (Inquirer)
Philip Cesar Tubeza (Inquirer)
Marinel R. Cruz (Inquirer)
Kathryn L. Reyes (Inquirer)
Pamela Samia (Inquirer)
Robert Jaworski Abaño (Inquirer Northern Luzon Bureau)
Vincent Cabreza (Inquirer Northern Luzon Bureau)
Desiree Caluza (Inquirer Northern Luzon Bureau)
Jonathan Cellona (photojournalist, BusinessWorld)
Voltaire F. Domingo
Paul M. Gutierrez (Journal Group)
Gerry Kaimo
Gene de Loyola
Joel Salud (freelance writer)
Edralyn Benedicto (Inquirer Visayas Bureau)
Cheryll Fiel ( Davao Today/NUJP)
Grace Uddin ( Davao Today/NUJP)
Pam Pastor (Inquirer)
Psyche Mendoza
Gil Nartea (Philippine Center for Photojournalism)
Butch Hilario (freelance journalist)
Armando Malay Jr.
Ares P. Gutierrez (Al Nisr Media-Dubai/Gulf News)
Carlos H. Conde
Alexander T. Magno (GMA-News.TV )
Ricky Carandang (ANC)
Allan M. Mediante (Mindanao Trustee, Philippine Press Institute/Mindanao Gold Star Daily)
Jun Galias (NUJP-Sorsogon)
Manny Lucila (SONAR)
Bobby Q. Labalan (Inquirer Southern Luzon Bureau/NUJP)
Jose F. Lacaba
Jun Godoy (NUJP-Ozamiz City)

rey SC Makilan (Bulatlat.com/Silangan Shimbun)
Tony Abejo (Malindang Tribune/ NUJP-Misamis Occidental)
Florfina Marcelino (The Philippine Times, Winnepeg, Canada)
Erwin Oliva (INQ7.net/ cyberbaguioboy.com.ph)
Armin Adina (Inquirer Libre)
Ritchie Sabado (Inquirer Libre)
Bayani San Diego (Inquirer)
Cora Lucas (Inquirer)
Heraldo "Boy" Cabrido (Inquirer)
Raffy Lerma (Inquirer)
Grace Pagulayan (Inquirer)
Dennis Eroa (Inquirer Libre)
Rommel Lalata (Inquirer Libre)
John Nery (Inquirer)
Ariel Dim. Borlongan (Balita)
Rorie Fajardo (GMANews.TV)
Darwin Wee (BusinessWorld)
Leila Vicente (ABS-CBN Zamboanga)
Raul Valino (Philippine Graphic at Business Mirror)
Sonia M. Capio (Womantouch Media)
Allen V. Estabillo (MindaNews)
Al Alegre (Foundation for Media Alternatives)
Vi Massart, Chief European Correspondent, The Philippine Star)
Jon Joaquin (Mindanao Daily Mirror)
Martin Marfil (GMANews.TV)
Val Veneracion (GMANews.TV)
Clarissa Militante (GMANews.TV)
Jes Aznar (GMANews.TV)
Vic Montero (Editorial Chief, ABC 5)
Jackie Sierda (Executive Producer, The Big News, ABC 5)
Jove Francisco (Reporter, ABC 5)
Sherrie Ann Torres (Reporter, ABC 5)
Naomi Dayrit (Reporter, ABC 5)
Ge-Ann Pineda (Reporter, ABC 5)
Jason Torres (Reporter, ABC 5)
Michael Carreon (News writer, ABC 5)
Eric Montas (Senior Desk Offficer, News, ABC 5)
Mel Cabigting (Desk Officer, ABC 5)
Rowena Garcia (Desk Officer, ABC 5)
Paul Mendinuteo (Desk Officer, ABC 5)
Mary Grace Navarro (News Desk, ABC 5)
Greggy Eugenio (Video Researcher, News, ABC 5)
Gigi Gabriel (News Traffic, ABC 5)
Rhoneil Amores (Chief Cameraman, ABC 5)
Joseph Martiin (Graphics Artist, ABC 5)
Reggie Agullo (Chargen Operator, ABC 5)
Arnold Marquez (Supervisor, VTR Editing)
Arnold Macarasig (Playback Operator, News, ABC 5)
Norman Balcos (Video Researcher, News, ABC-5)
Ambet Quitil (VTR Editor, News, ABC 5)
Heinrich Agcaoili (VTR Editor, News, ABC 5)
Yancy Consul (VTR Editor, ABC 5)
Jim Libiran (Head, Public Affairs Department, ABC5)
Ed Lingao (Head, News Department, ABC 5)
Deo Bugaoisan (GMA7)
Lourdes Fernandez (Editor, Business Mirror)
Lyn Resurreccion (Business Mirror)
Dave Llorito (Business Mirror)
Fe Zamora (Inquirer)
Butch Galicia (Manila Media Monitor-Toronto/Philippine Press Club-Ontario)
Tenny Soriano (Balita-Toronto/Philippine Press Club-Ontario)
Mogi Mogado (Balita-Toronto/Philippine Press Club-Ontario)
Hermie Garcia (Philippine Reporter-Toronto/Philippine Press Club-Ontario)
Mila Astorga-Garcia (Philippine Reporter-Toronto/Philippine Press Club-Ontario)
Edwin Mercurio (Philippine Reporter-Toronto/Philippine Press Club-Ontario)
Ramon Datol (Philippine Courier-Toronto/Philippine Press Club-Ontario)
Paul Dela Cruz (Philippine Times Canada-Toronto/Philippine Press Club-Ontario)
Jess Cabrias (Atin Ito-Toronto/Philippine Press Club-Ontario)
Arnel Avila (NUJP-Quezon)
Ely Suyom (Manila Times)
Abner Bolos (Gitnang Luzon News Service)
Fred Villareal (Gitnang Luzon News Service)
Jay Torres (Pokus-Gitnang Luson)
Tonette Orejas (Inquirer Northern Luzon Bureau-Pampanga)
Romer S. Sarmiento (Businessworld Mindanao Bureau)
Carolyn O. Arguillas (Mindanews)
H. Marcos C. Mordeno (Mindanews)
Carmela Fonbuena (Newsbreak)
Glenda M. Gloria (Newsbreak)
Jose Pavia (Mabuhay/Executive Director, Philippine Press Institute)
Ruperto Toga (Publisher, Negros Daily Bulletin)
Elsie Jolingan (Negros Press Club)
Aufred Sa-onoy (Editor, Negros Newsweekly)
Modesto Sa-onoy (Negros Press Club)
Henry Cestina (Negros Press Club)
Jeffrey Gelangre (Negros Press Club)
Edmund Aspero (Congress of Active Media Practitioners)
Ferdinand Yngson (Congress of Active Media Practitioners)
Vicente S. Labro (Editor, Leyte-Samar Daily Express, Tacloban City)
Allan Nawal (Inquirer)
Rollie Carolina L. Montilla (Eastern Times, Malaya, KMC magazine/NUJP-Leyte)
Red Batario (Executive Director, Center for Community Journalism and Development)
Harley Palangchao (Manila Times Northern Luzon Bureau)
Jim Cristobal (Voice of Talamban, Cebu)
Arlyn dela Cruz (Net25)
Amalia Cabusao (Mindanao Times)
Melvin Gascon (Inquirer Cagayan Valley)
Lyn Ramo (Northern Dispatch Weekly)
Hazel Villa (Inquirer Iloilo)
Jay Hilotin (Al Nisr Media/Filipino Press Club-UAE)
Peterson Bergado (NUJP Cagayan de Oro)
Charlie Senase (Inquirer Cotabato City)
Malu Manar (Program Director, DXND Kidapawan)
Noel Punzalan (PNA Cotabato)
Andy Cruz (Periodico Banat GenSan)
Dodge Dillague (Creative Director, News, ABC 5)
Ross Andres (News Programs Director, ABC 5)
Jefferson Tan (Associate Producer, Frontlines, ABC 5)
Arlene Lim farol (Reporter, ABC 5)
Teresa Andrada (Reporter, ABC 5)
Faye Tobias (Reporter, ABC 5)
Divine Bucud (Field Producer, ABC 5)
Vincent Cristobal (Field Producer, ABC 5)
Bart De la Rosa (Technical Director, ABC 5)
Rolly Casipit (VTR Editor, ABC 5)
Gilbert Edradan (Sound Engineer, News, ABC 5)
Noel Malaluan (Sound Engineer, News, ABC 5)
Adonis Silverio (Cameraman, ABC 5)
Rose Silva (Supervisor, Finance Department, ABC 5)
Ariel P. Alimboyao (Lightman, News, ABC 5)
Carlos Jizmundo (President, ABC 5 Employees Union)
George Aquino (VTR Editor, ABC 5)
Peng Lomaad (Property Custodian, ABC 5)
Rose Chua (News Administrative Staff, ABC 5)
John Javellana (Cameraman, ABC 5)
Edward Navarette (Manager, News Operations, ABC 5)
Ali Sotto (News Anchor, Sentro, ABC 5)
Yvette Lee (Philippine Graphic)
Edgar Cadagat (NUJP Negros Oriental)
Julius Mariveles (news director, Aksyon Radyo-Bacolod)
JJ Deocampo (station manager, Aksyon Radyo-Bacolod)
Ely de los Santos (Congress of Active Media Practitioners)
Fred Sapa (Congress of Active Media Practitioners)
Fred Salanga (Congress of Active Media Practitioners)
Raymond Robert Burgos (Columnist, Abante and Abante Tonite)
Williamor A. Magbanua (Anchor/Program Coordinator/News writer, DXND)
Christopher R. Lim (Manila Times School of journalism)
Perry M. Calara (Kaiba News and Features/KNF/Pinoy Gazette)
Edwin G. Espejo (Sunstar General Santos)
Herbie Gomez (Gold Star Daily, Cagayan de Oro)
Adrian Cristobal (Philippine Graphic and Manila Bulletin)
Nick Legaspi (Managing Editor, Philippine Graphic)
Susan Bernas (Philippine Graphic)
Louie Jon Sanchez (Philippine Graphic)
Malou Francisco (Philippine Graphic)
Joel Egco (Manila Standard/Association of Responsible Media)
Anthonnette G. Adanza (Davao Del Sur Diurnal Newspaper)
Arnel Arsolon (DXBB GenSan)
Manny Autida (DXBB GenSan)
Edwin Espejo (Managing Editor, SunStar GenSan)
Bong Gonzales (RMN General Santos)
Cris Guarin (DXBB, General Santos)
John Paul Jubelag (Phil. Star, General Santos)
Jeffrey Jubelag (Mindanao Bulletin, General Santos)
Joseph Jubelag (Malaya, General Santos)
Al Josol (RMN General Santos)
Mel Koronel (RMN General Santos)
Isagani Palma (Manila Times, General Santos)
Arnie Delfin (Radyo Bombo Koronadal)
Jocelyn Uy (Inquirer)
Minerva Generalao (Inquirer)
Mel Lawrence de Guzman (Inquirer)
Maricar D. Tolosa (Inquirer)
Kate Pedroso (Inquirer)
Cyril L. Bonabente (Inquirer)
Sylvia Calderon (Freelance Journalist, Cotabato City)
Brenda S. Dacpano (nordis.net, Baguio)
Kimberlie Quitasol (nordis.net, Baguio)
Pink-Jean Fangon Melegrito (Northern Dispatch Weekly, Baguio)
Nestor Guillermo (Northern Dispatch Weekly, Baguio)
Arthur Allad-iw (Northern Dispatch Weekly, Baguio)
Kathleen Okubo (NUJP-Baguio-Benguet)
Benny Antiporda (National Press Club/Alyansa ng Filipinong Mamamahayag)
Sharon Felipe (Sunday Inquirer Magazine)
Lynett A. Villariba (inquirer)
Hernan S. de la Cruz (Inquirer Mindanao)
Roy Luarca (Inquirer)
Alya D. Honasan (Sunday Inquirer Magazine)
Pennie de la Cruz (Sunday Inquirer Magazine)
Marites Danguilan Vitug (Newsbreak)
Cheri Mercado (News Anchor, The Big News, ABC 5)
John Susi (Anchor, Sentro, ABC 5)
Jade Lopez (Head, Research Group, ABC 5)
Erel Cabatbat (Reporter, ABC 5)
Jesus Ramos (Field Producer, ABC 5)
Ed De Guzman (Cameraman, ABC 5)
Noli Gaya (Cameraman, ABC 5)
Ding Ubaldo (Assistant Cameraman, ABC 5)
Arnel Dizon (Assistant Cameraman, ABC 5)
Antonio T. Gabriel (Assistant Cameraman, ABC 5)
Nonoy Solero (VTR Editor, ABC 5)
Roland Bensan (VTR Editor, ABC 5)
Mando Covate (Systems Engineer, ABC 5)
Crispin Yumang (Audioman, ABC 5)
John Alquel Santos (Chargen Operator, ABC 5)
Pinky Dichoso (Supervisor, News Administration, ABC 5)
Cristina Estacio (Supervisor, Merchandising Dep't., ABC 5)
Raymund Generoso (Supervisor, Post-Production, Guiness Show, ABC 5)
Gail Ilagan (Columnist, MindaNews)
Patrick Cabrillos (dyKA, Catholic Media Network)
John Pagunsan ( HOT FM. 106-9 - HAMTIC,Antique)
Hector S. Udani, jr. (News Express-Antique Bureau)
Romeo Antonio ( HOT. FM. 106-9 - Hamtic,Antique)
Paul Petinglay ( Bombo Radyo Correspondent-Antique)
Jhie Zerrudo ( Jounrnal Visayas)
Peter Zaldivar ( HOT FM 106.9 Hamtic, Antique)
Julito P. Bale?a , Jr. Express --Antique Bureau)
Gina Apostol
Imelda Visaya-Abano (Womens Feature Services, Philippine Gazette, SEJ)
Manuel T. Cayon (BusinessMirror)
Cesar S. Ramirez(Phil.STAR)
Villamor Visaya Jr. (Inquirer Northern Luzon)
Frank Cimatu (Inquirer Northern Luzon)
Maurice Malanes (Inquirer Northern Luzon )
Peter La. Julian (Inquirer Northern Luzon)
Jo Clemente (Inquirer Central Luzon)
Russell Arador (Inquirer Central Luzon)
Jun Malig (Inquirer Centrral Luzon)
Franco Emman von Cena (Inquirer)
Jani Arnaiz (President, Associated Media of Southern Leyte, Maasin City)
Ramon Tulfo (Inquirer/Bandera)
Erwin Tulfo (People’s Journal/DZAR)
Manny Marinay (Bulletin Today)
Ma. Antonieta Lopez (Philippine Star)
Gilbert Bayoran (Daily Star, Bacolod)
Carla Canet (Negros Daily Bulletin)
Annie Calderon (Media Advocates for Reproductive Health)
Rolly Fernandez (Bureau Chief, Inquirer Northern Luzon)
Amadis Ma. Guerrero
Luis V. Teodoro (Professor of Journalism, UP/columnist, Business Mirror)
Oscar Evangelista (Palawan Community Media Council)
Ben Serrano (Philippine Star/Caraga Times)
Walter I. Balane (MindaNews)
Perfecto Caparas
Mela Castillo (Antonio Zumel Center for Press Freedom)
Edgar Crisostomo Cadano (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
Justin V. Nicolas (Adviser, PUP Sociological Review)
Jeremiah M. Opiniano (OFW Journalism Consortium, Inc.)
May Rodriguez (NUJP)
Joel Saracho (ABS-CBN-News.com)
Angelo Gutierez (ABS-CBN-News.com)
Trina Lagura (ABS-CBN-News.com)
Aleta Nieva (ABS-CBN-News.com)


From Abroad:
Christopher Warren (Chairperson, International Federation of Journalists)
Aidan White (General Secretary, IFJ)
Jacqueline Park (IFJ)
Emma Walters (IFJ)
Pi James (IFJ)
Laxmi Murthy (IFJ)
Mike Dobbie (IFJ)
Roby Alampay (Executive Director, Southeast Asian Press Alliance)
Ashok Malik (Chandigarh Journalists Association, India)
Sonia Randhawa (Centre for Independent Journalism, Malaysia)
H.Naranjargal (Globe International)
D.Munkhburen (Globe International)
G.Narangarav (Globe International)
T. Davaahuu (Globe International)
D.Enkhtuul (Globe International)
J.Enkhjargal(Globe International)
Ch.Munkhzul (NTV)
B.Galaarid (indivudual)
Byanbajal (Confederation of Mongolian Journalists)
Sarangerel (CMJ)
Gerard Noonan (The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia)
Jim NOlan (Barrister, Australia )
Alan Kennedy (President, Media Alliance, Australia )
Ruth Polland (President, Media Alliance NSW Branch , Australia)
Wesley Chua (Ming Pao Daily, Toronto, Canada )
Yuko Takei (freelance journalist, Tokyo)
Jojo Pasion Malig (Committee of Concerned Journalists, Washington D.C./Newslink Services Philippines)
Yoshi Okuda (freelance journalist/former president of Japan broadcasting labor Union)
Ati Nurbaiti (The Jakarta Post / Alliance of Independent Journalists)
Darma Lubis (Freelance journalist, Medan City, North Sumatra)
Brent Edwards (Chairman, The Print and Media Council of the NZ Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union)
Dr. N.K.Trikha (President, National Union of Journalists or NUJI)
P. Chaudhuri (Secretary General, NUJI)
Heru Hendratmoko (President, Alliance of Independent Journalists, Indonesia)
Abdul Manan (General Secretary, the Alliance of Independent Journalists, Indonesia)
Khairuzzaman Kamal (Editor, Human Rights News of Bangladesh)
Dharmasiri Lankapeli (Federation Of Media Employee's Trade Unions)
Daniel Coronell (Semana Magazine, Columbia)
Serenade Lai Wan Woo (President, Hong Kong Journalists Association)
Tien Hsi Ju (President, Association of Taiwan Journalists)
Liu Kuei Lan (Secretary General, Association of Taiwan Journalists)
Carol Chou (Journalist, Liberty Times, Taiwan)
Esong Chiu (Editor, Weekly Department, Taiwan)
Ho Jung Shin (Senior journalist, China Times,Taiwan)

(as of October 2, 2006)

Red Tag

Arroyo and Her Goebellian Propaganda*
18 September 2006
metrica, manila

In a desperate attempt to cling to power, Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is now on her way to becoming the Adolf Hitler of this generation. With the number of people denouncing her presidency growing exponentially, her administration has resorted to aggressive red baiting, mercilessly ganging up on personalities and organizations as enemies of the state.

This move is Arroyo government’s response to wind up the brewing political crisis. It has applied the Goebellian propaganda to break the backbone of anti-Arroyo groups. Losing its control over its constituents, it has now become trigger-happy, exhibiting its expertise in employing goons, guns and grenades to silence and cow those who are going against its underlying interests.

The overt singling out of people and organizations as enemies of the state has justified the already intensifying human rights violations in the country. It has given more pretexts to the extensive spate of killings, abductions and political repression which never have been as rampant as these times, even during the Martial Law period. In just five years in power, this government has accumulated a whopping record of more than 300 cases of killings, with abduction and political repression mounting up to hundreds of thousands, enough to put former dictator Pres. Ferdinand Marcos to shame. These atrocious activities have been committed in the broad of the day and the dead of the night, in the market or in school or on the street, in the most gruesome and ghastly manner. Under the Arroyo administration, the Philippines has become nothing but a mere slaughter house.

This red baiting tactic however, falls short to placate and feed the hungry mouths of the Filipino people. Rather than being cowed by the sight and sound of the hails of bullets, they are prepared to face the consequences. Already numbed by the way this government has treated them, they are ready to stake their lives and fight for what have been left for them.

Otherwise, the Philippines will forever be a mass grave.

*a reference to Joseph Goebells, propaganda minister of German dictator Adolf Hitler

Autonomy Under Siege

The Philippine Collegian and RA 9184

The Philippine Collegian bears witness to a lasting tradition of independence as a student institution. It is a publication funded solely by the students, and for years has served as a salient representation of academic freedom and democratic rights. Throughout history, UP students have vigilantly fought for the publication's autonomy from all forms of administration intervention.

Once again, the Collegian's autonomy is under siege.

Using Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act, the UP administration since June 2006 has blocked the release of the Collegian's printing funds. According to the administration's interpretation of RA 9184, all fees collected by the university are government funds—including the Collegian's funds. Under this false assumption, the UP administration insists that the bidding and selection of the publication’s printing press be facilitated not by the Collegian editorial board, but by the administration itself.

However, the Collegian firmly asserts that it is exempt from RA 9184. It is not a government unit, as it is funded only by the students. Moreover, the Campus Journalism Act of 1991 stipulates that the editorial board should facilitate the selection of the publication’s printing press. The administration’s sole task is to collect the publication fee during registration, and thereafter give full discretion of handling of Collegian fund to the duly selected editorial board. The administration may not intervene in any of the publication’s operations.

In response to the Collegian’s arguments against RA 9184, the UP administration continues to deny the institution of its right to bidding autonomy. In our dialogues, the administration even questions the publication’s “independence” as basis for its exemption from the particular law.
We, from the Collegian, cannot accept this kind of reasoning. To allow the Collegian to subject itself to RA 9184 is tantamount to surrendering its autonomy as a student institution. Even now that the publication’s inclusion in the law is still in question, the UP administration is withholding the publication’s printing fund to coerce the Collegian to submission. Such is why the previous Collegian issues were delayed, while pending issues have not been printed. RA 9184 thus compromises the publication’s fiscal autonomy.

Moreover, allowing the Collegian to subject itself to RA 9184 would set a precedent for the UP administration to thereafter inflict the same law and intervene in the operations of publications and other student institutions in all UP units. In fact, the UP Diliman University Student Council’s publication Oblation is also being subjected to this law.

We from the Collegian view the administration’s insistence to subject the publication to RA 9184 as an assault against the publication’s autonomy. We call on the administration to recognize fully the independence of the Collegian as a student publication. We demand that the administration uphold the Collegian’s fiscal autonomy, specifically its right to facilitate the bidding process.

The Collegian is accountable only to the students, who are its sole publishers. Thus, we call on all students to protect the autonomy of the publication. This issue is a clear manifestation of administration intervention, and a direct attack on campus press freedom.

Uphold the Collegian’s autonomy!

Defend campus press freedom!

Protect the independence of all student institutions and organizations!

Paalam Rando

07 september 2006
makati city

Aside from my ability to watch TV, read Milan Kundera's or Gabriel Garcia Marquez's, eat handful of peanuts or any chichiria, do homework and pull strands of hair in one breath, one of the few things that I can take pride of is my sharp memory. For so long a time, it has been my anchor to survive the turbulent waves of life. Time and again, it has proven to be my effective tool in asserting that I am a force to reckon with, as I could make my friends and former classmates pee in their pants by unearthing and reliving their Sub Rosa they are struggling to put six feet under their memories.

The only difficult thing about it is that it can never be overwhelmed. No matter how you try to bury your nightmares into oblivion, they would continuously hunt you. That has been my situation upon learning that Rando, a former classmate, fell prey to the misfortune.

It was exactly Rando's 26th birthday when it happened. Just went outside to buy some food to treat his friends, he was victimized by recless driving. He died struggling to hold on to his breath on the pavement of Nueva Ecija where he was working as an engineer. It was a life too short for a man whose dream was so immense.

Rando never complained. For the six years that we were together, I couldn't think of any instance where he had a fall out with one of my bully classmates. Whenever he was put into a bad light, he would just smile and shrug his shoulders. Patience it was that he used in dealing with the intricacies of life.

It was in the bus station that I last spoke to Rando. I was going back to Manila and he was reporting to his work in Nueva Ecija. I spent the whole time griping about the delay of the bus, while Rando was seriously planning to host a class reunion to trace the whereabouts of our classmates.

When at last the bus arrived, we went in separate ways with different thoughts hovering on our heads - I, still singing the blues of not arriving to Manila at my desired time, and Rando, excitedly outlining the framework for the reunion.

Rando will be absent in the reunion that he initiated. Yet, he will be with his memories indelibly etched on our minds.

Indeed, memories are all we have.

Going Mobile: Text Messages Guide Filipino Protesters

By Mary Jordan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, August 25, 2006; A01


MANILA -- Raymond Palatino's cellphone pinged loudly, and a text message lit up the display: "Other students are already marching. Where are you?"

Palatino and hundreds of others -- nearly all carrying cellphones -- were on their way to Manila's gated presidential palace for a protest rally. Palatino and what people here call a "text brigade" were still a couple of miles away, about to board buses in the steamy midday heat.

"No, not ready," he typed, holding his phone in both hands, his thumbs flying across the buttons. "We're 30 minutes away."

In a string of unsolved murders in recent months, trade union leaders, government critics, students, journalists and others have been killed. Students had begun clamoring for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to do something.

Once they might have called a demonstration by printing fliers. Now, they do it by mass texting. Palatino had spent days getting the word out, banging out text after text on the keypad of his little Nokia phone.

"WEAR RED. BRING BANNERS." The messages -- faster and cheaper than phone calls -- went to thousands of young people, telling them to gather near Morayta Street.

"I didn't talk to anyone," said Palatino, 26, a university graduate who has a contagious smile and aspires to be a teacher. "All the organizing is done through texting. It's affordable and instant."
Cellphones and text messaging are changing the way political mobilizations are conducted around the world. From Manila to Riyadh and Kathmandu protests once publicized on coffeehouse bulletin boards are now organized entirely through text-messaging networks that can reach vast numbers of people in a matter of minutes.

The technology is also changing the organization and dynamics of protests, allowing leaders to control, virtually minute-by-minute, the movements of demonstrators, like military generals in the field. Using texts that communicate orders instantly, organizers can call for advances or retreats of waves of protesters.

This tool has changed the balance of political power in places where governments have a history of outmuscling dissent. In April, Nepal's King Gyanendra ordered authorities to cut cellphone service after protesters against his absolute rule used text messages to help assemble street protests by tens of thousands of democracy advocates.

The Philippines, widely called the text-messaging center of the world, has led the way. When President Joseph Estrada was forced from office in 2001, he bitterly complained that the popular uprising against him was a "coup de text."

This country of 85 million people has only 2 million Internet users and 3 million people with land-line telephones. But there are more than 30 million cellphone subscribers here, according to government statistics, more than double the figure in 2002.

Initially, mobile phone companies offered free texting. Today, a text message still costs just 2 cents, a fraction of a call. A typical Filipino mobile phone user sends about eight texts a day, spending far more time texting than talking.

Every major Philippine political party and nonprofit group has a database of its supporters' cellphone numbers. Many use computers to automatically generate mass text mailings to those phones with news about issues or rallies or upcoming votes.

"When Estrada was ousted, we realized the power of texting," said Palatino, the slight, well-spoken president of a national youth party. "Since then we have never stopped using it to advance our causes."

At 1:30 p.m. on a recent day, Palatino and three students lingered near the doughnut case in the 7-Eleven on a congested corner of Morayta Street. They stood in the air-conditioned cool, cellphones in hand, waiting for a text.

Outside in the sweltering sunshine, amid street kiosks selling goods from iced coconut drinks to 1973 National Geographic magazines, other young people stood around, trying to blend in and avoid the notice of a few police officers who walked up and down, watching. Some of the students carried rolled-up banners that said "Stop the Killings." Each clutched a cellphone.

They knew police had been ordered to disperse unauthorized crowds near the presidential palace and would not hesitate to use wooden batons and water cannons to do it. So organizers wanted to make sure that everyone converged at the same time to make the rally harder to break up.

Soon Palatino's phone was alive with a flurry of texts from coordinators and marchers anxious to start.

One asked: "Are the media here?"

About a dozen TV cameramen and newspaper photographers gathered outside. They, too, had been summoned by text.

At 1:45, Palatino's phone pinged again, this time with the message: "ASSEMBLE RIGHT NOW!"
A smile crossed his face. With a few more taps of his thumbs, he forwarded the command down the text brigade ranks. He sent it to those on his phone list, and each who received it did the same. In seconds, about 1,000 students were in the street, stopping traffic and sending cars and bicycle taxis scattering.

Two students quickly hooked up a public address system to the battery of a vehicle. One by one, leaders climbed on top of it to fire up the crowd. Palatino demanded that President Arroyo do more to end the killings and allocate more money for universities.
"Books, not bullets!" he shouted.

The all-at-once strategy worked: The police were caught off guard. Only a few officers were on the scene, and they quickly pulled out their own cellphones to make urgent voice calls. Within minutes, scores more officers arrived.

They lined up to block the demonstrators. Many wore helmets and carried riot shields. A red firetruck arrived at the intersection. It stopped, its water cannon pointed at the crowd.

Palatino looked at the growing confrontation, worry creeping across his face for the first time. "It will be a success if we can stay long enough to get our message out," he said.

As the speeches continued, a police commander negotiated with a female protest leader.
At 2:38, she stepped away and composed a text, which she sent to Palatino and eight other organizers. In a mixture of Tagalog and English, the country's two official languages -- a popular combination known as Taglish -- she called for a meeting to plan their next move.

They huddled in the middle of the street like a football team. It started to rain.


The protest was a success, the leaders agreed. It had lasted an hour already and surely would make the evening news. They worried about the police, but decided to take their chances and keep going. They agreed to press on toward Mendiola Street, historically a popular protest site within sight of the presidential compound.

They knew they couldn't break through the police lines. So they decided to take a different route, Bustillos Street, which the police might not expect.

Then came the next mass text command. "BUSTILLOS!"

At first, the police looked pleased: The students were retreating. Then, they realized the protesters were only changing course. Officers hustled into new positions and cut off the crowd closer to the palace.

At 3:30, violence broke out. The students retreated, police running after them, hitting them across the back, head and arms with batons. Thwack! Thwack!

Caught up in the melee, ducking from the swinging batons, Palatino heard his phone ping loudly.

"GET OUT OF THERE. You are in a dangerous place," warned the text, from a friend who could see that Palatino was about to be pinned between the crowd and a wall.
An officer grabbed Palatino.

"ID! ID! Now!" the red-faced officer demanded.

A small group of officers closed in around Palatino, whose eyes were suddenly wide with terror.
Students who saw it quickly typed a text alert to others, using Palatino's nickname: "Mong is being arrested."

But as suddenly as they had grabbed him, the police let him go and ran off to help another group of officers who were beating a group of students.

Relieved but shaken, Palatino walked quickly toward a Shakey's Pizza on España Boulevard, where earlier texts had instructed everyone to meet once the protest ended. As he walked, his phone pinged loudly with text after text.

Like other leaders, Palatino was responsible for making sure everyone in his group was safe and accounted for.

Texts of "WHERE ARE YOU?" raced through the crowd.

After an hour, 10 people out of the 1,000 had not replied. So organizers dispatched people to police stations and hospitals to check for the missing.

An hour later, students started filtering home in time for the 6:30 news, which was filled with graphic scenes of police officers beating the young protesters.

Just after 7 p.m., Palatino received a text with the final tally: 34 students injured, eight seriously. Ten people detained, then released.

"Before, we had no choice but to keep quiet and listen to the president," Palatino said, still holding his tiny phone. "This is a development for democracy."

In Defense of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

07 August 2006
makati city

When I was a kid, I never dreamt of becoming a president. I have known that the task has always been hard, and no matter how you struggle to perform well, the fact is that you cannot please everybody.

These days, I have thought of something that is much harder than being the president. That is, being in the shoes of Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Just exactly how hard it is to be PGMA?

1.It takes galls and guts to prove that you won "fair and square" during the presidential polls last May 2004.

While some of us may find it too easy, it would be making things possible if you were to fill in the shoes of GMA as there are a lot of fingers, with overwhelming and sufficient evidence, that pinpoints you not just a loser, but a cheater on that election.

GMA: "So will I still lead by 1 million overall?"
Garci: "Pipilitin ho natin ’yan." ("We will do everything to make it so.")
("Hello Garci" tape, May-June 2004. GMA made no less than 15 calls to Garci for several weeks after the elections. As a result, she got a lead of more than half a million in Muslim Mindanao, universally regarded as FPJ’s bailiwick.)

2.It takes a lot of skills and talent to appear and act in a manner that you are not used to, such as going to the slums to pretend that you are "para sa masa", coming before the public looking sorry for the victims of the spate of killings and human rights violations and appearing to be in fighting form against corruption.

Indeed, who would ever forget the sudden shift of the mood of the president when she explained and apologized for her direct intervention on the elections of 2004? From a tough-looking iron woman who could turn a person into a stone with a single blink of an eye, she suddenly metamorphosed into a kind lamb that looked incapable of committing any untoward activity.

"I was anxious to protect my votes and during that time had conversations with many people, including a Comelec official. My intent was not to influence the outcome of the election, and it did not. As I mentioned, the election has already been decided and the votes counted. And as you remember, the outcome had been predicted by every major public opinion poll, and adjudged free, fair and decisive by international election observers, and our own Namfrel.

"That said; let me tell you how I personally feel. I recognize that making any such call was a lapse in judgment. I am sorry. I also regret taking so long to speak before you on this matter. I take full responsibility for my actions and to you and to all those good citizens who may have had their faith shaken by these events, I want to assure you that I have redoubled my efforts to serve the nation and earn your trust."

(July 2005).

In the harshest possible terms, I condemn political killings. We together stopped judicial executions with the abolition of the death penalty. We urge witnesses to come forward. Together we will stop extrajudicial executions.

(State of the Nation Address, July 24, 2006)

3. It is not easy to cook up reasons and rhetoric to explain the current turmoil our society is battling with. Jargon, statistics and sound bites, however impressive and outstanding they are, have fallen short to overshadow the face of poverty and crises.

"I am not here to talk about politics; I am here to talk about what the people want; details on the State of the Nation and what their government is doing to make progress every single day.Sama-sama nating isusulong ang bansa patungo sa kinabukasang nagniningning.Gaya ng nakikita sa graph na ito, dahil sa ating reporma sa ekonomiya, we now have the funds to address social inequity and economic disparity. Too many ... masyadong marami, ang mamamayang nagugutom.

Hindi ako hihinto hanggang magtagumpay ang ating laban sa kahirapan.We now have the funds to stamp out terrorism and lawless violence.May pondo na tayo para labanan ang katiwalian.Our reforms have earned us P1 billion from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account for more investigators, prosecutors, and new technology to fight corruption. We are matching this with another billion from our fiscal savings.

We now have the funds for constitutional and electoral changes. Sa kasalukuyang sistema, napakabagal ng proseso, at bukas sa labis na pagtutunggali, at sikil ang lalawigan at mamamayan sa paghahari ng Imperial Manila. Panahon nang ibalik ang kapangyarihan sa taumbayan at lalawigan.

For surely, there must be a better way to do politics, so that those who lose elections do not make the country pay for their frustrated ambitions. There must be a better way so that those who win the nation's mandate to govern can work without delay and whimsical obstruction. There must be a better way."

(State of the Nation Address, 24 July 2006)

Aside from that, you have to be imaginative and fictitious to vamp up more pledges and promises especially that the people are now breathing on your neck. You have to explore new and catchy phrases, and have to try every means to deceive/convince people to rally behind you.

"We will expand President Ramos' flagship San Roque Multipurpose Dam with the massive Agno River Project. Another major project is the Banaoang Irrigation. We allocate P200 million a month for small irrigation projects like those in the flood control plan of the Region II Development Council headed by Bishop Ramon Villena. Plus another P200 million a month for farm to market roads.

Also in the works is an international airport in Poro, La Union and the improvement of the 2 airports in Batanes as recommended by Governor Vic Gato. Ilocos Sur will have a seaport in Salomague while the Cagayan Zone Authority will better the one in Port Irene.

To save dollars, windmills in Batanes and Ilocos Norte turn megawinds into megawatts. When Army Commander Romy Tolentino was North Luzon commander, he became a soldier-farmer, planting jatropha as yet another alternative fuel.The Metro Luzon Urban Beltway spans most of Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mindoro and Marinduque. It must be a globally competitive urban, industrial and services center, because it produces more than half of the country's GDP.

To be world-class we invest in five comprehensive strategies for global competitiveness:
1. Make food plentiful and affordable to keep our labor cost globally competitive.
2. Reduce the cost of electricity to make our factories regionally competitive.
3. Modernize infrastructure at least cost to efficiently transport goods and people.
4. Mobilize, upgrade and disseminate knowledge and technologies for productivity.
5. Reduce red tape in all agencies to cut business costs.The most prohibitive red tape is in our outmoded Constitution. We need Constitutional change to bring our rules of investment into the new millennium

The new public bidding process has been shortened to 45 days for infrastructure, and 26 days for supplies, as of today. Even before this, Metro Manila firms paying bribes for public contracts declined from 57% in 2003 to 46 today. Congratulations, Metro Manila

Machine-readable electronic passports will enhance the credibility of Philippine travel documents, improve the mobility and increase the prospects of Philippine business and labor. "

(State of the Nation Address, 24 July 2006)

4. You have to be at ease rubbing elbows with the butchers and criminals. In all the occasions, you have to make sure that you acknowledge them, appreciating all their efforts even these have meant blatant use of guns, goons and grenades to silence those who prefer to speak up. For they are your last recourse, they are the pillars of your own version of democracy.

"Sa ganitong mga proyekto, palalakasin natin ang ekonomiya ng mga barangay at lalawigan. And we will end the long oppression of barangays by rebel terrorists who kill without qualms, even their own. Sa mga lalawigang sakop ng 7th Division, nakikibaka sa kalaban si Jovito Palparan. Hindi siya aatras hanggang makawala sa gabi ng kilabot ang mga pamayanan at maka-ahon sa bukang-liwayway ng hustisya at kalayaan."

(State of the Nation Address, 24 July 2006)

5. Can you spend your nights sharing bed with Mike Arroyo? You have to, because he is your husband (at least in the eye of the people) even though just looking at him spoils your day. You have to project a very good wife to him even if he always steals the limelight from you from his infamous (mis) adventures.

You should keep your blood level, as you have to tolerate his unwanted activities such as his addiction to jueteng, etc.

6. You should accept Mikey Arroyo as your son even if his movies, which all flopped, make you puke. Like father like son as he is, you have no choice at all.

7. No matter how you have glued yourself to power, you are now trembling down to your knees at the sight of millions of people challenging your supremacy. Your tricks aimed at deceiving these people are a failure and you have no resort at all but to silence them with the hails of bullets.

Should I be Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, I would rather go out of my office to save my face.