Why Enabling Steps Are Not Enough

Political dilettantes talk about “enabling steps” because that’s all they know.

Most people can’t tell how a chess game will go simply just by looking at the opening game.  I think it’s actually the middle game that determines a great game from a mediocre one and the greatness of the game is not seen in who wins — but how it is won.

I believe there is a lot more to chess than simply winning, and I think, the bigger thrill is in watching how one player’s move challenges the other and how the other player surmounts the challenge.

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The way I look at it, people playing chess are in a way collaborating on a performance of sorts — like a dance or maybe even a renga.  Seeing it this way, the opening plays are more like starting postures or a first line, after which follows movements or successive lines which cull from a deep knowledge of the rules and other masterfully played games or other rengas.

While this dance can happen early in the game, in my opinion, it is in the middle game where the real dance or exchange of lines of poetry become most interesting.  You can predict how opening games will go from the first few moves, but you can hardly predict the middle game and that’s where, potentially, something new can emerge or at least some unexpected move will be deployed that will change the entire game.

Perhaps it is this idea about chess that led Russian chess grand master Vladimir Kramnik to say, “In chess one cannot control everything. Sometimes a game takes an unexpected turn, in which beauty begins to emerge. Both players are always instrumental in this.”

peacock show us your willyMost people can be masters at chess game openings.  The funniest one are those who execute opening games with a flourish, then preen themselves brazenly in public, holding up imaginary peacock trains to advertise their supposed intellectual superiority.

They may even have pretty looking boys or girls cheering them on — if at all that is allowed in a serious chess game.

The punchlines comes when the game transitions into the middle game and that is when most bluffers will reveal their ineptitude with blunder after blunder.

In a way, this situation can make for a good analogy of what is happening to the Philippines economically and politically.

Some would say that our venture into “self-government” is littered with examples of pretty good opening games and some might say that this is manifested in the number of Philippine constitutions we have had plus the one that we are currently using.  I would tend to agree with this view because opening games are all about setting up the play and constitutions are all about laying down the rules that will guide the people in governing themselves.

Now, 26 years or so after the ratification of a new Philippine constitution, there are certain sectors who believe that the basic rules or that the new opening game embarked upon isn’t working to our advantage or achieving what it is supposed to do.

Granting that it can be sufficiently demonstrated that the constitution has its flaws, how we will fare with a completely new or amended constitution is given to much speculation.  The speculations made for changes in the constitution can turn out to be accurate or inaccurate depending on the factors you account for and one’s understanding of the dynamic created by the interaction of these factors.

The thing is as far as accounting for factors are concerned, a certain club of self-proclaimed constitutional change advocates fail to include one of the most important factors in determining the outcome of any proposed political or economic change: People.

In “changing the system” this tribe of dilettantes have focused completely on the “rules of the game” and have forgotten completely about “the players”.  Being ensconced in their idealism and naivete, these gang of jokers parade around cyberspace with their idea of change seemingly assuming that people will rationally just follow the rules that are supposedly better suited for them.

Okay, where’s the evidence of that happening?  How many of the politicians running in this year’s election broke election rules?  How many millions of Filipinos will sell their votes?

In the Corona impeachment trial, wasn’t a major part of it just about one side or another arguing about rules?  How did our senator judges fare? How did Corona fare?

Its one thing to read about the parliamentary form of government, federalism, and the liberalization of foreign investment; but it’s a whole completely different ball game to make it function and deliver the intended results.

The dilettantism among this group of bums and moochers who are forever on Facebook or Twitter is quickly revealed when you ask them this question: Okay, so if we all wake up the next day and find that the Philippine government has been re-organized into a parliament, who will the leaders be?

They almost always sidestep this one question because the answers flies in the face of all their claims that the parliamentary system will deliver better governance.

The answer is here:

Politics in the Philippines has been under the control of a few notable families. It is normal for a politician’s son, wife, brother, or other kinsman, to run for the same or other government office. The term coined by Filipinos to describe this practice is “Political dynasty”, the equivalent of an oligarchy in political science.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_dynasties_in_the_Philippines

And guess who supports the idea of a parliamentary shift?  You can look at the names on this list here and just to stress my point, I’ll mention a couple of prominent people after this paragraph:

Florencio Abad

Manuel “Mar” Roxas

Juan Ponce Enrile

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Juan Miguel Zubiri

Edgardo Angara

Confronted with this, all the political newbies have as a response is: in a parliament, people vote for parties… parties will root out ineffective members… the shadow opposition government will police erring members of the party in power… yada… yada… yada…

The response basically props up one set of speculation with another set of speculation or assumptions.

Those who are still supporting the idea of a parliamentary shift as a solution to ending the oligarchy need to think things through because evidence worldwide shows that political dynasties AREN’T INHIBITED in parliamentary governments and there are a number of reasons for this thinking which I’ll write out in the next post.

One question is: In forming a party that will win or dominate the parliament, isn’t it logical that the party takes on members who can assure votes in their district?

(First of Two Parts)

47 Replies to “Why Enabling Steps Are Not Enough”

  1. In chess, there are rules like the pawn can only go forward two spaces on its first move . Your typical Pinoy has no regard for order whatsoever . Hence warped sense of competition. Entitled to victory. Internally cheat like mad. Internationally you either fail in face of real competition or you grasp at straws at somebody with 1/32nd Filipino blood. Pinoys lack discipline and it shows.

    1. Hahaha!

      I wouldn’t go that far in saying that Filipinos don’t know how to follow rules. There are a lot of really good Pinoy chess players.

      My point is that there are real grand masters and there are people who just mastered a repertoire of chess tricks who go around claiming that their chess strategy is the best. Kind of like the guys you see on the sidewalks of Quiapo who sell a chance at winning prize if you solve their chess riddle.

      Then there are people who read a few articles on chess theory as well as memorize a couple classic chess games and suddenly become expert critics of the game.

      In order to become an expert at something, apart from being well read about the subject matter, you also have to have experience in applying what you’ve read about.

      If you want to be a credible expert on politics, it will be good to have a lot of theoretical backing as well as experience in politics — especially if that experience is crowned with success.

      The thing is I wouldn’t take the word of someone claiming to be a ‘political advocate’ if that person has NO experience in politics (whether as an official or as a politician’s staff or consultant).

      Taking such a person’s word on politics is like agreeing to having surgery performed on you by a doctor who just read about the surgical procedure he is about to perform.

      1. How stupid can you get, Paul Farol?

        From the title of your idiotic post alone, it is so obvious that you are such a clueless pest.

        Look at the title:

        “Why Enabling Steps are Not Enough.”

        Bobo!

        Are you really that f*cking stupid, Paul Farol? The term used is “ENABLING STEP” because it is a step that you need to do in order to DO OTHER STEPS that are necessary to accomplish a particular task.

        In other words, Paul Farol THE IDIOT, when we say “Enabling Step”, it clearly implies that it is one among many other necessary steps, and as such implies that IT IS NOT ENOUGH. You really are a stupid oaf, Farol.

        Consider the task of picking up your son Zac from his pre-school…

        You’ll need to drive over from your house to go to his school. But before anything, let’s look at the steps necessary for you to drive over to his school:

        (1) Insert car key into ignition and start the car

        (2) Back the car up by putting the transmission to reverse, then stepping slowly on the accelerator.

        (3) Steer the car properly to get into position to drive out while reversing.

        (4) drive over to Zac’s school.

        * *

        See, Paul Farol, your idiotic brain doesn’t get it.

        You need STEP NUMBER 1 (“Insert car key into ignition and start the car”) as the FIRST ENABLING STEP that would allow you to do STEP NUMBER 2 and 3, etc…

        If you do not do step 1 at all, then you cannot do step number 2 and so on and so forth!

        Step Number 1, which is an ENABLING STEP, is a dependency for the next few steps.

        You cannot drive a car which you haven’t started, can you, huh Troll Farol? That’s why you need to start the car, you idiotic buffoon!

        Starting the car ENABLES you to DRIVE THE CAR. That’s why it’s called an ENABLING STEP.

        Moreover, it’s the First Enabling Step in the series of steps because it’s the enabling step that gets it all started.

        The same goes with Constitutional Reform, Paul “The Troll” Farol. If you don’t remove the anti-FDI restrictions in the Constitution, then it will be HARDER to attract investors to come over and create jobs for jobless bums like you.

        If you don’t federalize the country, then the regions will all continue to be dependent on the whims and caprices of Metro Manila and even if you have really good local leaders in the provinces/ regions, they will not be sufficiently empowered to develop their regional economies.

        And if we actually continue to stick to the lousy and failed Presidentialist System that the Philippines has been stuck with for the longest time, then we will continue to be limited to political dynasts, showbiz and sports celebrities, and other people who bank purely on their name-recall instead of having highly capable and competent people running (and winning).

        Shifting over to the Parliamentary System ENABLES not-so-rich and highly competent people who are not-so-famous to be able to rise up to the top echelons of leadership in the country. WITHOUT doing that, you severely limit Filipino voters only to those people who can easily win in the current system, and these are the politicians that you and Ilda, and Benign0 complain about.

        *

        Why is it so difficult for people like you to understand such simple concepts, PAUL FAROL?

        “ENABLING STEP” means “prerequisite.”

        It means that it is a step that must be done so that OTHER STEPS ARE DONE in order to get a task accomplished.

        Are you really that dense, Farol?

        Your title is so stupid, you know that? Kaya nga “ENABLING STEP” ang tawag eh, kasi nga, Mr. BOBO FAROL, you need OTHER STEPS to be done, and in using the word “ENABLING STEP”, we in CoRRECTâ„¢ clearly imply that there are OTHER STEPS necessary because the “enabling step is not enough.”

        Ang bobo mo naman, FAROL.

        We never claimed that the CoRRECTâ„¢ Three Point Agenda (Economic Liberalization, Evolving Federalism, and Shift to the Parliamentary System) was going to be the magical silver bullet and cure-all “panacea” that fixes all of the Philippines’ problem.

        We have repeatedly said it over and over and over and over again that Constitutional Reform based on the CoRRECTâ„¢ Three Point Agenda is merely a FIRST ENABLING STEP that when successfully put in place will ENABLE US to successfully do the other necessary steps.

        It’s the same thing as the RH Bill.

        The people who pushed for the RH Bill never claimed that the RH Bill was going to be a cure-all. No. Getting the RH Bill simply enables poor people to have access to responsible parenthood methods. That still requires those poor people to MAKE THE MOVE of requesting for them and moreover, it still does not absolve the government of its responsibility to ensure that the economy is conducive to economic development and job creation.

        See the point, Farol?

        Why are you so hateful towards Constitutional Reform, anyway?

        It’s such an easy concept to understand that by fixing the Constitution is just ONE AMONG MANY STEPS and that it just happens to be a prerequisite ENABLING STEP which implies that other steps are necessary.

        You are totally clueless in stating the obvious, FAROL.

        We use the term “Enabling Step(s)” in order to imply quite obviously that IN ADDITION to the “enabling step(s)” there are other things that need to be done in order to fix the Philippines.

        In other words, we’ve made it clear in our use of the term “enabling step” that “Enabling Steps are not enough.”

        So why the heck would you want to pick a fight with us when we NEVER said that “enabling steps are enough” in the first place.

        Go get yourself a real job, Paul Farol. Work in a real job so that you won’t have to be such a pathetic hate-blogging troll.

        1. Whoa! Are you going to use that language when you become PM, Orion? Sheeeet! Where the hell did you come from? Para kang taga Tondo. No offence to the people of Tondo. It’s just an expression to say that wala kang breeding.

          And this is how you try to convince people that the Parliamentary system would change the dysfunctional culture of the Philippines? Eh dysfunctional ka din eh. Sus!

          Nakaka-turn-off!

        2. “pathetic hate-blogging troll” ? Guess he ran out of stooges to slam GRP so he came out himself like when Darth Vader himself got on a tie fighter. Why bother paying attention to GRP if we are as insignificant and as ignorant as Orion claims ? Why even click GRP? I saw that stooge who you pumped full of lies and shared private chats with unleashed here. Is that all you got ?

        3. And I thought this orion guy was different from the malacanang stooges that frequently attack GRP fruitlessly…I was wrong.

          Really disappointed.

        4. Get a job? Like you?

          Naaah! I already own two companies and employ people.

        5. A cut and paste response? Really?!

          It’s like dealing with a call center automaton, just like the ones I frequently encountered in 2009 during the heat of the Noynoy campaign.

          Anyway, it’s really clear that all three supposed agendas are all enabling first steps. So you have three first steps going three different directions and not one of them has been fully plotted out.

          What comes after a shift to a parliamentary form of government? No answer.

          Can’t think beyond first moves and first steps, typical Pinoy.

        6. Benign0,

          It looks like you are just as stupid as Paul Farol when you said this:

          “So you’re saying that shifting to a parliamentary system will (1) cause the electorate to behave differently, (2) cause the candidates to behave differently, and (3) cause the party dynamics to change? How sure are you that it will change for the better? Where is the readily-evident causal chain that proves there is a deterministic relationship between the system of government (within the domain of what is democratic) and the quality of our leaders and the inclination of the electorate to apply intelligence in their election?”

          Of course it will cause the electorate to behave differently. This has already been proven in so many examples, which unfortunately because you do not read at all nor do you do any research and instead just rely on hunches, you don’t know anything about this whole body of knowledge in the Political Sciences which reveals that systems of government and electoral systems cause these shifts in behavior.

          You ought to start looking at things from a more multi-disciplinary approach like I do. I love to read about so many different fields. Unfortunately, you don’t like reading. That’s why you know so little. That’s why you don’t know anything about the research of Political Science PhD’s like Dr. Juan Linz, Dr. Fred Riggs, Dr. Cindy Skach, Dr. Scott Mainwaring, Dr. Alfred Stepan, Dr. Strom Thacker, Dr. John Gerring, Dr. Arend Lijphart, Dr. Yuko Kasuya, and many more.

          You also NEVER READ the book “From Third World to First” by Lee Kuan Yew, which clearly shows that in the end, the QUALITY OF LEADERSHIP exhibited by Lee Kuan Yew and his partymates in the People’s Action Party was mostly responsible for transforming the poor 1960’s city state to become the Wealthiest country in ASEAN as well as the wealthiest Asian country in terms of GDP per capita (besting Japan which for the longest time was always number 1 in ASIA based on GDP per capita).

          You bought the book but you never read it. It has merely turned into a decoration for your living room. Too bad you don’t know anything about how good leadership can work to improve a country’s economic performance and thus improve the lives of its citizens.

          For the longest time, Benign0, you’ve been so intent on proving that Filipinos are destined for failure. While I agree with you that Filipino Culture is unfortunately FLAWED, the fundamental difference between you and me is that I have done a lot of research on the behavioral sciences to know that IT IS POSSIBLE TO REFORM BEHAVIOR AND CULTURE so that a culture that used to be highly dysfunctional and flawed can be reformed through behavioral modification techniques systems.

          You’re so intent on proving that Filipinos are hopeless that you’ve decided to team up with that pathetic hobo-troll Paul Farol who stabbed you in the back when he leaked your photos over to Carlos Celdran using “Kristine Panlaqui” because he wanted you and Ilda to get involved in his personal mission to bring Carlos Celdran down. Well, you not only did not look into the facts about Farol’s obvious involvement in that, you coddled him some more.

          Worse, Farol went into Alan Robles’ blog and impersonated Ilda, you, and Chino, and you still allowed him to get away with it.

          Are you really that stupid Benign0?

          Looks like you are. No wonder you prefer the company of losers like Farol.

        7. Lol! You lost me at the following ASSUMPTIONS that you seem to be in the habit of making and repeating ad nauseum in every forum you could lay your hands on:

          (1) that I am “stupid”;
          (2) that that I’ve “never read” Lee Kuan Yew’s book; and,
          (3) that Paul Farol impersonated me and Ilda on Alan Robles’s blog.

          Kawawa ka naman.

          ha ha! 😀

        8. Mr. Dumdum,

          The documents you keep citing have no bearing on reality on the ground, as far as the Philippines are concerned. You are clearly substituting your poor comprehension of THEORY and HYPOTHESIS for facts.

          Alam mo bang pinagtatawanan ka ng legal staff ni Senate President Enrile? Bugoy ka daw. Tigilan mo na yan, lalo ka lang napapahiya.

        9. *

          And this one’s for you PAUL FAROL:

          I advise you to stop spreading these lies about me and just stick to the issues at hand, for your sake.

          *

          My response: I am NOT the one spreading false information about you, FAROL. I’m simply mentioning – on this comment section – stuff that has been said about you a thousand times by so many different people who know you.

          It is YOU who should stop attacking me or the CoRRECT Movement, because we do not initiate attacks against you.

          When I come here to attack you, it’s because you attacked me/us first. If you didn’t initiate attacks in the first place, then there would be no reason for me to retaliate in a manner that hurts your pride.

          *


          But since you’re so concerned about my family life and finances, here is the truth which I can prove in court.

          1. I have a flourishing communications consultancy business and earn more than you.

          *

          Paul Farol:

          Is that why you said that you were going to sell blood if your projects don’t pay up?

          How about when you said that you were going to buy an imaginary car with imaginary cash?

          Another thing, Farol… Looks like you made a slip over there… You said you have two companies. Next thing you know, you say that you have a “flourishing consultancy business.”

          Why didn’t you say “flourising consultancy businesses?”

          Is it because you’re confused because you just made that up? You say in one part that you have two, then in the next instant, you refer to only having one… Confused troll.

          How come no one knows WTF “Farol Communications” does? How come you have no professional website?”

          How come the only output ever documented for “paid gigs” you did turns out to be stuff like UTAK PUGITA which was aimed at destroying Herbert Bautista’s mayoralty bid? (And the other lousy sites you came up with like QC Chorva and the like?)

          How come the whole PR and advertising industry doesn’t even know who dafuq you are, and if there are those who do know you, they all say bad things about you such as being a hate-blogger, a troll, a paid hack, and AC-DC operator, and worse, a SEX-MANIAC.

          (Don’t pretend you don’t know anything about that sex-maniac thingy, Paul Farol. The lady you attempted to molest told several of us herself that this happened sometime in 1993 over at SPEECHPOWER in España. The story goes that you tried to stalk her once and attempted to lift her skirt and the tough girl kicked you down the stairs. You cried like a baby and peed in your pants according to her.)

          Seriously, Farol… You have such a bad reputation out there that (1) no one will hire you and (2) no one will do decent business with you. All you can do is attempt to resort to TROLL-BLOGGING and ONLINE DEFAMATION, and it seems that you can’t even get your “clients” to pay you!

          (Remember? You said you had “That sinking feeling you get when you just know that the check isn’t in the mail.” You also said that you were planning to “buy an imaginary car with imaginary cash.” You also complained that “going to sell blood if last year’s projects don’t pay up?”)

          Pathetic troll.

          *


          2. My wife and I are happily living together with my son Zac, who wants for nothing (two yayas, frequent trips out of town trips, toys, home teachers, swimming lessons, we’re even buying him a pedigreed dog… why? because it costs more.)

          *

          Happy living together? Really? Pics or it didn’t happen, Paul! And don’t show us pics from 2009. Show us pics with today’s date. Bet ya you can’t do that. No photoshopping allowed.

          Oh and I didn’t make that up, by the way. During that time when you were pestering Carlos Celdran over and over again, he did some research by calling up his contacts over at ABS-CBN. You know how he’s got connections in media… So… He spoke to SEVERAL PEOPLE over at ABS-CBN who all separately told them the same thing: That Arlene Lim-Farol left you.

          I didn’t make that up, Paul. I even asked Carlos Celdran to really verify it and make sure that the reports were true. Well, he double-checked and said that’s what he heard from his contacts.

          According to them: She left yo @$$, Farol.

          *


          3. I own a P4 Million peso property in Manila and a P6 Million peso property in Marikina City.

          *

          Actually, you simply added an extra zero to each of the values, Paul. 😉

          Seriously, when the papers aren’t done yet, whatever Arlene Lim bought herself with her own money and rightfully owns as hers is still technically “yours” too as “conjugal property.”

          Ang kapal ng mukha mo Farol, to use what is your wife’s (and you yourself said that she’s from a rich family in Marinduque) and pass it off as your own.

          What’s more… The Manila property isn’t even yours. It’s your parents’ property which you merely have “custody” over since – as you said before – almost everyone in your family emigrated over to the USA, while you chose to stay and apparently live the life of a palamunin troll married to a professional TV News journalist who happens to also be from a rich Marinduque family. Well, that was until – if the ABS-CBN people Carlos Celdran spoke to are telling the truth – she left yo @$$… Poor you.

          Seriously, Paul Farol, no one brags about their kids having toys. Naman oh. If you are going to be a responsible parent, you are supposed to give your son toys. Given na yan. That’s not something to brag about. Unless of course, you’re covering up the REAL FACTS which might very well be that whatever toys Zac has were purchased with Arlene’s money. You, on the other hand, can’t even afford to buy yourself mentos.

          *


          You know, I still haven’t really acted on the stuff you’ve been spreading and you are in a very vulnerable position at this point.

          But because I choose to be a gentleman about things and I am merciful, I’ll let you off with this warning for now.

          *

          Kunwari ka pa, FAROL. There’s nothing you can act on at all. The fact remains that you are envious of me just because I am someone that you can never become.

          You can’t ever do anything to me, Paul Farol. You are a weak and stupid loser who doesn’t understand why the Philippines needs to at least improve itself by reforming and rectifying the flaws of the 1987 Constitution.

          You are a mentally-deficient troll-blogger who is so weak-minded that you cannot understand how Parliamentary Systems work and why they, despite not being perfect (since there are NO perfect human systems as humans are IMPERFECT) are at least much better than the flawed and dysfunctional Presidential System (where Pres. and VP are elected separately) and where the Senators are elected 12 at a time.

          I already explained it to you back in 2011, NICELY, in fact, how the Parliamentary System works. But you wanted to insist that “it wasn’t going to work.” Well, you never even took the time to read up on the research that all those PhD’s I mentioned came up with.

          I’m here trying to suggest practical and feasible ways to make the Philippines better than it currently is, and there you are trying to stop it from happening. And you’ve even brainwashed Benign0 to stop using his brains because you’ve done a “great job” at massaging his ego.

          Get a life, Paul Farol. Seriously. You ought to get yourself checked, because you are strangely psychotically fixated on trying to attack me and take potshots at me and the CoRRECT Movement at every opportunity you’ve got. Hinawaan mo pa si Benign0. Yan tuloy, naging katulad mo.

          And you, Benign0, you ought to re-assess whatever it is that Paul Farol brought to the GRP table when you decided to have him on your team.

          Anyway Paul “The Troll” Farol, remember, I only attack you when you initiate attacks on me and the CoRRECT Movement. If you don’t like it when I spread the TRUTH about you, then you ought to behave yourself.

        10. Tsk tsk… I think the only reasonable question you really need to ask yourself, Orion, is why you harbour this perception that your CoRRECT “Movement” is being “attacked” to begin with. The way you are sounding here it’s almost as if all of this is really just going on in that little pointed head of yours and not really something that is going on in reality where all the rest of us live. 😀

        11. Mr. Dumdum,

          You clearly want to dig a deeper hole for yourself. Aren’t you the least bit concerned that a court case lodged against you might actually cost you your job in Singapore? Or maybe, you don’t have a job and were one of those retrenched?

          Anyway, I’ve never attacked CoRRECT or its agenda. But evidently, you see that questioning the CoRRECTness or inCoRRECTness your group’s assumptions is an attack and it’s a rather strong indication that you are not at all suited to espouse political change. You are too… how shall we say… Balat sibuyas.

          From your actions online, which amounts to cutting and pasting online articles or including block quoting articles or reblogging articles is in NO WAY an advocacy. You are the typical keyboard activist who doesn’t have any real life political experience or political standing at all, how can you even claim to be an advocate?

          Perhaps, what is even more astounding about your claims of being an advocate for anything, is your utter lack of knowledge and wisdom about how the defamation law works. This is clearly evident in your statement here:

          I am NOT the one spreading false information about you, FAROL. I’m simply mentioning – on this comment section – stuff that has been said about you a thousand times by so many different people who know you.

          The libel laws here in the Philippines, especially with the enactment of the Cybercrime law, punish those who originate as well as re-circulate or re-publish defamatory articles. People who have attempted this defense were convicted as in a lible case of one columnist.

          Now let me respond to your puny attempts to assail the statements I’ve made regarding my personal circumstances:

          1. My income streams. Mr. Dumdum, unlike you, I didn’t aspire to be just an employee — weren’t you molded to be a leader by your university? I set myself up to be a business owner and that business is providing communications consultancy for a number people as well as organizations. I’ve been a communications consultant for 15 years and if I do go to court, I will be able to prove my financial solvency and track record for providing communications services.

          If you can’t understand the implication of this, it’s this simple: I can prove you’ve been lying about the status of my finances in an attempt to defame my character.

          With regard to this: Another thing, Farol… Looks like you made a slip over there… You said you have two companies. Next thing you know, you say that you have a “flourishing consultancy business.” Why didn’t you say “flourising consultancy businesses?”

          Really?! Point out my grammar as evidence of a slip up? Well, Mr. Dumdum, there is only ONE business (communications consultancy) but TWO companies that I am using.

          How come no one knows WTF “Farol Communications” does? How come you have no professional website?” There are many businesses here in the Philippines that do not have a website, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Assuming otherwise kinda lacks of knowledge or understanding, poor showing for someone who claims to be “enlightened”.

          How come the only output ever documented for “paid gigs” you did turns out to be stuff like UTAK PUGITA which was aimed at destroying Herbert Bautista’s mayoralty bid? (And the other lousy sites you came up with like QC Chorva and the like?) Documented? Where are the documents that you speak of?

          How come the whole PR and advertising industry doesn’t even know who dafuq you are, Well, it really depends on who you talk with Mr. Dumdum. By what you’ve written here, it’s clearly evident that you don’t know anything about the “PR and advertising industry” at all, do you? In some cases or in many cases, real and legit PR projects are covered by Non-Disclosure Agreements, in fact, one airline company even emphasized in a contract that the PR agency they hired should just work behind the scenes.

          (Don’t pretend you don’t know anything about that sex-maniac thingy, Paul Farol. The lady you attempted to molest told several of us herself that this happened sometime in 1993 over at SPEECHPOWER in España. The story goes that you tried to stalk her once and attempted to lift her skirt and the tough girl kicked you down the stairs. You cried like a baby and peed in your pants according to her.) Another made up claim, Mr. Dumdum? I hope you have a statement from this girl, not that it would really matter in court.

          Seriously, Farol… You have such a bad reputation out there that (1) no one will hire you and (2) no one will do decent business with you. All you can do is attempt to resort to TROLL-BLOGGING and ONLINE DEFAMATION, and it seems that you can’t even get your “clients” to pay you! Easy to disprove, Mr. Dumdum.

          2. With regards to my family life.

          Happy living together? Really? Pics or it didn’t happen, Paul! And don’t show us pics from 2009. Show us pics with today’s date. Bet ya you can’t do that. No photoshopping allowed. I don’t think pictures will suffice to show you that my wife and I are happy living together with Zac. If you have the balls to come over to my house, I’ll prove it to you. You can send me a text message and I’ll have my driver pick you up.

          3. With regards to property I own.

          Actually, you simply added an extra zero to each of the values, Paul.

          Seriously, when the papers aren’t done yet, whatever Arlene Lim bought herself with her own money and rightfully owns as hers is still technically “yours” too as “conjugal property.”

          Ang kapal ng mukha mo Farol, to use what is your wife’s (and you yourself said that she’s from a rich family in Marinduque) and pass it off as your own.

          What’s more… The Manila property isn’t even yours. It’s your parents’ property which you merely have “custody” over since – as you said before – almost everyone in your family emigrated over to the USA, while you chose to stay and apparently live the life of a palamunin troll married to a professional TV News journalist who happens to also be from a rich Marinduque family. Well, that was until – if the ABS-CBN people Carlos Celdran spoke to are telling the truth – she left yo @$$… Poor you

          Mr. Dumdum, I have bank records and real estate records to prove I paid for (out of my own money) and own property in Manila. These official records will disprove your insinuations here.

          How about you? What property do you own? Nakikitira ka pa rin sa parents mo? How old are you, 40 plus? Pathetic.

          Moreover, anong pinagmamalaki mo sa condong inuupahan mo sa Singapore? Hindi naman sa iyo yan, diba? Gaano kalaki yan, baka mas malaki pa ang bahay ng kalapati.

      2. Moreover, Farol the IGNORAMUS:

        You need to understand how shifting over from the lousy and flawed Presidential System that favors name-recall and celebrity-status over competence and party platforms over to a Parliamentary System will cause a shift in BOTH the behavior of the electorate as well as a shift in the behavior of the candidates and parties themselves.

        Read these articles, please:

        1) By the late Dr. Fred Riggs — “The Problems of Presidentialism and the American Exception.”

        http://correctphilippines.org/problems_of_presidentialism/

        Quote from that essay:

        “It never occurred to anyone to think that the failures of presidentialism outside the U.S. were due to deep structural problems with the institutional design rather than with ecological pressures caused by the world system, poverty, Hispanic culture, religion, geographic constraints, demographic forces, etc. Nor did anyone imagine that constitutional failures could be used to test hypotheses about why American presidentialism had survived, or to learn more about the risks involved in this kind of system.

        A counter-intuitive hypothesis might explain why presidentialism in the third world has been so unsuccessful. The newer presidentialist regimes may have rejected, as -undemocratic,- some practices that, perhaps unintentionally, have helped American presidentialism to survive. If so, these regimes were unconsciously caught in a double bind: to be more -democratic- involved taking risks that could lead to dictatorship, whereas to perpetuate representative government meant accepting some patently undemocratic rules. Unfortunately, I believe, our ignorance of the regime-maintaining requisites of presidentialism blinds us to the negative impact of progressive reforms on the survival of this type of democracy.”

        *

        2) By Juan Ponce Enrile: Privilege Speech

        http://correctphilippines.org/enrile_supports_parliamentarism/

        “Mr. President, there are other defects of the presidential system that must be examined and brought to light. For instance, there is what is called, the choosing process. This has to do with the fitness of the president to be elected.

        Today in our country, Mr. President, more often than not, a demagogue has a better chance of getting elected president than a democrat. The obvious explanation for this anomaly lies in the present method of electing the president. Under our presidential system, the entire national electorate elects the president. Because of this, a vast number of the voters in the country may not really know the personal characters, abilities, and backgrounds of the men and women seeking the office, let alone the needed skills for the presidency.

        Therefore, the mediocre or meretricious becomes more acceptable to the electorate than the meritorious. Popularity, rather than ability and character, is the hallmark for choosing and electing a candidate for president of this country.

        Given this state of affairs, it is not farfetched to say that in our country, a more popular but incompetent candidate will most likely succeed a popular but equally incompetent president.

        Mr. President, this is the emerging reality. We are no longer sure that only the truly qualified will be chosen president of the country. The rising number of voters who tend to develop a fetish for popular candidates whose best qualities qualify them for everything else except public office, has spawned this problem. Even the improvement in the education of our voters has not raised their political maturity and reliability to choose and elect the best and most qualified candidate for president.”

        (You have often claimed to personally “know” Sen. Enrile… Yet how come you, PAUL FAROL, are so ignorant and stupid that you do not even realize that Sen. Enrile is extremely and solidly pro-Parliamentary System?)

        *

        3) By Florencio “Butch” Abad —
        “Should the Philippines Turn Parliamentary?”:

        http://correctphilippines.org/abad_parliamentary

        “Philippine scholar Carl Lande, commenting on the immature state of the Philippine party system, wrote: “The absence of a strong, responsive and responsible party system is one of the major flaws of the Philippine democracy.” Indeed, what dominates in the country is a system of loose, fractious, clientelistic or personalistic parties. These formations are in reality political clans, factions, cliques and alliances that are distinguished not by any coherent ideology and program of government, but by political personalities who lead them.

        Political representatives often behave not on the basis of any issue-oriented platform but in pursuit of parochial and self-interested objectives. The history of democratization has shown that the development of political parties and their legitimation are necessary for democracy to take root. For in stable democracies, political parties are the viable and meaningful channels that closely link the state and society. This is certainly not the direction to which Philippine political parties are headed.

        Those who oppose the shift to a parliamentary system have invariably pointed to this condition as justifiable reason to insist on the status quo. Correctly, they have pointed out that the strength and viability of a parliamentary regime rests on mature and disciplined political parties. Without genuine parties, the parliamentary system will be a sham and will only lead to greater concentration of political power in the hands of the already too powerful political elite, they would add. The logical prescription then is for institutional reformers to postpone any change and to concentrate instead on political and institutional reforms to strengthen the party system. The assumption of this proposition, of course, is that a mature party system can be nurtured within a presidential system of government. But is this possible? Does the framework of government have an important bearing on the quality of the party system?

        Linz asserts that more disciplined and cohesive political parties are structurally compatible with the parliamentary systems, but would be in conflict with presidentialism. They are essential in the formation and maintenance of a system of independence and cooperation that is the hallmark of parliamentarism. Without this condition, the executive constantly faces a threat from being removed from office.”

        * *

        Take the time to READ UP on this, Paul Farol.

        Remember, by the way, I’m not saying that shifting to the Parliamentary System or getting the entire Three Point Agenda is enough to make the Philippines a better country. Nope.

        But getting the Three Point Agenda implemented is a First Enabling Step that enhances the Philippines’ ability to improve itself as we continue to work to do things like attracting more investors and educating our youth.

        After all, if we do not reform the Constitution, even if our government TRIES to attract investors, the investments will be very few since the Philippine environment will continue to be extremely unconducive to investors.

        If we do not reform the Constitution in order to shift to the Parliamentary System, then it will continue to be extremely difficult for good leaders to emerge because under our current system, only people with name-recall are favored.

        See, Farol?

        We still need to do a lot of other things. We cannot just stop at Constitutional Reform alone. We will still need to work at bringing more investors in (and at least when the anti-FDI provisions are removed, more investors will pour in), and we will still need to continue educating our people. See the point?

        No one from our team ever said that Constitutional Reform was the end-all, be-all solution that would end all solutions.

        We never said it would be enough. WE ALWAYS SIMPLY SAID THAT IT WOULD BE A GOOOD START.

        Stop trolling, stop troll-blogging, stop being stupid, and start getting to work, Paul Farol.

        Otherwise, you will never be able to enjoy living in a nice condo with a beautiful waterfront view. Puro ka kasi troll-blogging, Farol, kaya walang asenso ang buhay mo. Iniwanan ka pa ng asawa mo. Poor Troll.

        (I’m sure you keep peeking at my Facebook account, Farol. You’ll see that I live in a really beautiful place here in Singapore. If you want to live a nice life in a nice place, Farol, you have to work hard and work smart. Get a job. Puro ka kasi troll-blogging eh, akala mo kikita ka dyan sa adsense nonsense mo. Get yourself a day-job and stop being a PATHETIC moocher waiting for your OFW relatives to send you money, and waiting for your estranged wife to send you money to care for poor Zac. Kawawa naman si Zac, Farol, maawa ka sa anak mo. Get yourself a real job para naman kung tinanong siya ng teacher “Zac, what does your dad do for a living?”, he won’t have to say: “My dad is a professional TROLL.”)

        1. See, in this statement lies the very flaw in thinking I have been citing all the while: “…a Parliamentary System will cause a shift in BOTH the behavior of the electorate as well as a shift in the behavior of the candidates and parties themselves.”

          So you’re saying that shifting to a parliamentary system will (1) cause the electorate to behave differently, (2) cause the candidates to behave differently, and (3) cause the party dynamics to change? How sure are you that it will change for the better? Where is the readily-evident causal chain that proves there is a deterministic relationship between the system of government (within the domain of what is democratic) and the quality of our leaders and the inclination of the electorate to apply intelligence in their election?

          The other half of the equation is this: How sure are we that bad leaders are what is causing the chronic impoverishment of the Philippines? We seem to take for granted our beholdenness to the notion that Good Leaders equals Good Fortunes for the people. We ridicule Noynoy’s kung walang kurap walang mahirap mantra and yet we lap up this Good Leaders equals Good Fortunes drivel without challenging its most fundamental premises. Ironic, isn’t it? 😀

          Tsk tsk. Weak arguments, kilometric tirades, and focus on personal attacks are signs of a creeping desperation in this “movement” to sell “Constitutional Reform” on the basis of a quaint acronym and a strong predisposition to badger those who only seek to challenge its basic principles.

          nyek nyek

        2. Just to add, the way you drag children and your speculations on the personal circumstances of people you are addressing into this discussion says a lot about your rotten-to-the-core character, Orion. I’m letting this one through so that everyone here can behold the true nature of your personality. But do that again and you’re outta here. You won’t be warned again.

        3. Orion,

          I advise you to stop spreading these lies about me and just stick to the issues at hand, for your sake.

          But since you’re so concerned about my family life and finances, here is the truth which I can prove in court.

          1. I have a flourishing communications consultancy business and earn more than you.

          2. My wife and I are happily living together with my son Zac, who wants for nothing (two yayas, frequent trips out of town trips, toys, home teachers, swimming lessons, we’re even buying him a pedigreed dog… why? because it costs more.)

          3. I own a P4 Million peso property in Manila and a P6 Million peso property in Marikina City.

          You know, I still haven’t really acted on the stuff you’ve been spreading and you are in a very vulnerable position at this point.

          But because I choose to be a gentleman about things and I am merciful, I’ll let you off with this warning for now.

        4. This one is worth re-blogging…

          “Tsk tsk. Weak arguments, kilometric tirades, and focus on personal attacks are signs of a creeping desperation in this “movement” to sell “Constitutional Reform” on the basis of a quaint acronym and a strong predisposition to badger those who only seek to challenge its basic principles.”

          Will do it later after meeting with an airline company and a developer!

        5. Yeah I look at your profile and see that after all these years, you’re still an employee.

          Stop Facebooking and go to work.

        6. That site of yours is a breath of fresh air, Orion. I’ve been reading GRP since 2010 and although GRP articles are entertaining to read when you’re having a bad day in this country, your correct website has some interesting solutions.
          I say solutions because your site really does show solutions unlike GRP where every solutions is implied, no offense to the authors here.

        7. Way I see it, I don’t think Paul is necessarily against the “enabling steps.” After the enabling, you have to take the step and then do many other steps after. The bad character of Filipinos can be a severe obstacle to implementing the right system. Come to think of it, we have a lot of laws but they aren’t being enforced, partly because of bad character. For all else, who’ll read this article, I’d say, let’s enable, but never forget what comes after.

        8. Benign0 said:

          “Just to add, the way you drag children and your speculations on the personal circumstances of people you are addressing into this discussion says a lot about your rotten-to-the-core character, Orion. I’m letting this one through so that everyone here can behold the true nature of your personality. But do that again and you’re outta here.

          You won’t be warned again.”

          * * *

          Wow, may pa-threat ka pa. Don’t you realize how ridiculous you sound?

          I’m not the rotten one here, at all, BenIgn0…

          BOTH YOU AND PAUL FAROL are rotten.

          Paul Farol continues to engage in “parinigs” and personal attacks against me and my advocacy when I’m essentially just minding my own business, while you’re there eating Farol’s crap and enjoying it.

          You, on the other hand, continue to show your disgust for the Philippines and Filipinos because while I agree with you that Filipino Culture is dysfunctional, I am at least SEEKING WAYS TO GET IT FIXED.

          You, on the other hand, are busy trying to desperately find ways to shoot down any suggestions that can help improve the Philippines.

          You’re failing miserably, since obviously, you have absolutely ZERO rebuttals against the facts I’ve already presented. Besides, most of those facts are already confirmed to be true by the research of countless PhD’s. What’s your basis, Benign0?

          HUNCHES? HAKA-HAKA? HULA-HULA?

          You have got to learn to do some research, kiddo!

          (I mean, really, BenIgn0, don’t you see how EVIL you and Paul Farol look when you two nitwits try to put down my efforts to suggest feasible and already PhD-proven solutions to make the Philippines at least a slightly better place than before? Think about it, BenIgn0?)

          * *

          And what are all these THREAT’S about? Can’t fight fair and square, huh BenIgn0? Hoy, you have no hold on me, boy.

          One thing you should know about me is that if you attack me, I attack you back, WITH INTEREST.

          Paul Farol’s miserable loser-life is visible for all to read because he started the whole fight. (Oh, and there is A LOT of online evidence-traces of his suicidal tendencies resulting from when his wife was clearly leaving him. You have to see it, BenIgn0. It’s very interesting to see what kind of miserable smelly turd you let into your team.)

          Were you expecting that I wouldn’t retaliate? Of course I would!

          And now that I came in here to fight with you miserable sh1ts, your trolls here (don’t care who among you miserable idiots is controlling them) like Gogs, Dude, and whoever else are coming in to make stupid comments. Is that all you guys can do? Pathetic trolls.

          Look BenIgn0… You lost the whole plot when you decided to go with FRIENDLY FIRE back in the old days. It shows that you were so freakin’ envious of the fact that my “kilometric” articles just happened to have a lot more hits than you could ever imagine your pathetic self-loathing non-starter articles ever having.

          Hey, don’t get me wrong, BenIgn0. I do not disagree with you that the Philippines is a mess and that Pinoy culture needs an overhaul.

          The difference between you and me is that all you do is bitch about it in your blog without offering solutions. Me? I spent years researching on how the Philippines can improve itself and did extensive research on what other countries did AND factored in the cultural differences and looked at how some culturally-similar countries got their acts together.

          The Philippines is NOT hopeless. Whether it is hopeless or hopeful is contingent upon whether we decide to do things differently or continue to do things the same wrong way.

          You and Paul Farol seem fixated on wanting the Philippines to continue on using the current lousy system we have, while hoping for some miracle that will make Filipinos change the way they vote. That’s not how it works, BenIgn0…

          So many countries around the world have “bobotantes” too. The Philippines is NOT ALONE in having stupid voters.

          The difference is that the systems those other countries use is such that the candidates who get fielded by political parties are not the lousy and stupid kinds who can easily win purely on the basis of name-recall thanks to who their famous parents are or the fact that they are famous themselves.

          In other countries that are way more developed than ours, from the beginning, their systems DID NOT TRUST “bobotantes” to be able to choose properly. So they created “indirect electoral systems”, such as in the case of the USA where they use the quasi-parliamentary ELECTORAL COLLEGE which prevents the huge mass of voters from directly electing the president and VP nationwide.

          In other countries, they use Parliamentary Systems where the masses vote for representatives, and it’s the representatives who sort among themselves who are the best/most competent, where the best from among the Majority will be in the cabinet led by the most competent among them who’ll be the Prime Minister, and from among the Minority, the best will be in the Shadow Cabinet, led by the Leader of the Opposition.

          Have you not even thought of understanding how the Parliamentary System works in your adopted country of Australia, BenIgn0?
          Aren’t you supposed to understand that?

          Because if you understood how the Parliamentary System works, then you could at least try to realize how the Philippines could at least have a slightly BETTER system with better quality politicians because of the “self-sorting” that the parties are forced to do.

          Didn’t you even try to do some thought experiments about how Australia wouldn’t be in such great shape had they used a system of government that was entirely based on what we have in the Philippines?

          (1) President & VP voted SEPARATELY and voted directly in a nationwide direct vote.

          (2) Senators voted 12 at a time nationally, rather than “per state.”

          (3) Seating Arrangement of Senators and Representatives ALL FACING FRONT unlike in the current Westminster System used by Australia where the Government (majority) and the Opposition (minority) FACE-OFF against each other because there is an aisle between the two and they face each other in an open debate, all pros on one side all antis on the other side?

          * *

          Didn’t you even think of that, BenIgn0?

          * * * *

          Listen BenIgn0…

          You, of all people, should have every freakin’ reason to want the Philippines to improve itself: your kids ain’t white.
          Yes, BenIgn0… Your kids ain’t white and they stick out in a crowd in white Australia as being Pinoy.

          Do you even think about how your kids’ Pinoyness suffers because the country of their parents’ origin is such a sh1thole? Because if you recognize this very simple fact that your kids, despite being born in Australia, will always be considered Filipino by all the white kids over there in Sydney, then you will at least want to make the Philippines a better place.

          Constitutional Reform is a first enabling step to making the Philippines a better place, BenIgn0.

          I never said that it’s the ONLY necessary step and after Constitutional Reform, there’s no need to do anything. No sir. I used the term “First Enabling Step” in order to imply that it is a step (or series of steps) that must be done, after which OTHER IMPORTANT STEPS will become possible AS A RESULT of the first enabling step(s).

          You, unfortunately, would rather fight against Constitutional Reform and join in with that stupid nitwit-loser Farol (whom you know did all kinds of weird stuff like Utak Pugita, QC Chorva, and Manila Review — where he posted porn)…

          I think you need to remember – once again – that your kids stick out in white Australia as Pinoys, and if you continue to fight against any solutions that could at least help improve the Philippines, you are making life harder for your children.

          Hope you remember that, Ben-Ign-0…

          (or should I say… Mister PapaRatzi de Loyola… 😉 )

        9. Well, I did warn you. So you can kiss this particular IP address goodbye (go find yourself another computer or use one of those anonymizers you are such an expert at utilising for your quaint tirades). I’ve deleted one comment where you’ve clearly violated the rules and while this one violates all the rules of this forum as well, I’m keeping it in as a continued exhibit of the sort of character you are Orion.

          By the way, you claim you have always been a GRP “original” yet fail to mention that this article of Teddy Benigno slamming the whole idea of converting the Philippine system of government into a parliamentary one has been on the original GRP site since 2003 which, as I recall, you did not seem to have any issues about. To quote the late brilliant man:

          The advocates of a parliamentary system lie shamelessly when they claim the Asian “economic miracle” was nurtured and engineered by this unicameral legislature which originated in Britain in the 18th century. Almost all international authorities on the issue of Asia�s phenomenal economic performance are however agreed that what brought about the “miracle” were three essential factors. The first was the predominant role of “Asian values”. The second was the Confucian culture embedded in these “miracle” countries. The third was the government�s reliance on authoritarian or strongman rule or even dictatorial methods to speed up economic progress.

          Actually, the system of government varied in ritual from country to country. But even as the ritual varied, the orders always originated from above where the “leader” dictated the agenda and program of government. Disciplined work brigades vied with each other to break performance records, and the best were amply rewarded with decorations and even material awards. Parliaments and congresses existed in some countries, but they were largely docile, toothless rubber stamps whose membership was decided by the government. In all instances, they were one-party organizations. This did away with unnecessary, time-consuming debates and florid discussions. The road ahead was cleared by skilled bureaucrats.

          And so…

          I can only warn them they are playing with fire. And laying waste the future of our children and their children in turn. The parliamentary system is not a solution at all. It is a grab for power under the guise of change. More than 50 percent of our people live below the poverty line, and they ache terribly for reforms, for a new group of visionary leaders, for that shaft of political lightning that leads to Damascus. They would perhaps appreciate and agree if the members of Congress who would constitute a Constituent Assembly vote themselves out of the unicameral assembly proposed to be elected in 2004. Yes. Forswear membership. That would convince the citizenry they are noble, serious and sincere. But as things stand, they would be the first to barge into a parliamentary government. And profit handsomely.

          If they fail, and I am almost sure they will fail, they would have poured the additional fuel social unrest needs to explode. In such a situation, they agitate a power-hungry military, already ascendant as the sole political power in violence-prone Mindanao. Tinkering with the constitution when the country is at the crossroads is like playing with a ticking bomb in the schoolyard when the children are at play. That is ghoulish.

          I have said my piece. I say again what we need is not regime change, or change to parliamentary, but a change in our culture, a change in our hearts and minds, in our nature, in our character. The nation heals best when it heals it�s poor and downtrodden. We need a pealing of bells in the night that we might all wake up. If we don�t, what difference is there � really? Between those who colonized and conquered us, and robbed us of our pride and dignity, and our present masters, the Filipino rich and powerful? They too would tighten our chains and laugh uproariously and scornfully when the rest of the nation prays.

          ha ha! Kawawa ka naman.

          And here you are helplessly launching in your laughable ungentlemanly attacks on people. With every post here you simply reveal the underlying rot in your character and, as a consequence, the underlying rot in the CoRRECT “Movement” itself. I think the members of your “noble” movement should think twice about following you, Orion. Indeed, as you cans see, they’re not even willing to follow you into battle here in this forum. Not surprising. When you surround yourself with non-thinking parrots, what you get is a bird-brained army. 😀

  2. p-noy playing political chess is like someone who doesn’t know how the ‘horsey thing’ moves.
    if binay had a better campaign and campaign manager p-noy would be mated by a fools gambit.
    not that i would advocate a binaysty come 2016 either.
    a paucity of options and no grand masters in politics.

    In chess the rules are fixed and the outcome unpredictable, in philippine politics the rules are flexible and the outcome predictable.

    1. PNoy is merely a pawn who likes getting eaten by horses, and who thinks checkmate means looking for girls (or guys) who will make do with him.

    2. In Philippine politics, everything is a variable and there are almost no constants. The results are always dubious.

      1. Paul,

        There IS a constant in Philippine politics — the universal truth that Filipino politicians belong to the political party of “ME, MYSELF and I.” Once you get a handle on that, everything else becomes easy when you try to gauge what the politician’s agenda is.

  3. I’m Hocus PCOS. Checkmate na ang election. Brillantes is the lone player. It is Brilliancy move: Hinocus PCOS ang election…

  4. I’m Hocus PCOS. Checkmate na ang election. Brillantes is the lone player. It is Brilliancy move: Hinocus PCOS ang election…

  5. Now that the elections are finally over, I guess the next thing that our politicians will do is to start campaigning for the 2016 elections.
    No doubt that aquino will become a lame duck president before the 2016 elections since the cycle of traditional politics is starting again.
    No amount of yellow propaganda, trolling will ever change that fact.

  6. When the personal attacks come out, that’s when you know that you’ve won an argument.

    Such a great morning!

    1. Sounds like Orion is having an “Omelette du Fromage” moment from Dexter’s Laboratory:

      That’s all he can say! That’s all he can say!

    1. Yes, but do you need to badmouth people to prove your point? That approach might even scare people off from agreeing with that point.

    2. @Ruel: And what point is that? Unless you cite specifically what this point is and describe clearly and coherently why you believe said point is valid, then you are just wasting people’s time here.

      What separates the men from the boys is the ability to articulate what they think clearly rather than just speak in motherhood statements or think out loud in nebulous Twitteresque snippets.

  7. The author’s chess metaphor reminds me of how I learned the game of chess and the people I encountered/competed against with which are similar to the ones you allude as some people who just learned a repertoire of chess tricks. Without formal training, I learned the rules of chess when I was about 7 or 8 years old from my 11 year old brother who also learned from our cousin who is about twice his age. When I have grasped the fundamentals, I started playing and beating twice or thrice my age on the streets, larong kanto style. The furthest achievement that I made in playing chess was reaching regional meet when I was at Grade 6, without any mentor (my elementary coach do not even know how to play the game, he’s just a chaperone). At high school, I sidestepped chess for other activities because the high school I went into implicitly considered chess as ‘not really a sports’. I rediscovered playing chess again in my 3rd year college. The tambayan we frequented along with my friends have a reserved chess set and one of my college buddies rented the chess set and start playing with others. Apparently, this college buddy of mine is well-versed in chess theory that he could recognize almost every opening moves and its variation, including references to famous chess players that I am not even aware of. Just for the heck of it, I challenged him for a game. And as usual, he could always identify the opening and counter opening moves for the first few moves. At about 10th move, he started to crumble. And like a predator, that’s my cue to pick-up the pieces. Similar happened when I chanced to challenge a member of the university chess team. Same situation, good opening moves, but crumble at mid to end game. My college buddy attributed this to my penchant of doing counterattack moves that are not easily recognizable. It actually came to a point that the university chess team noticed me and asked to join the team but I never did since it was my last few months in the university before I graduate and I thought that there’s no point anymore in joining the team. That was more than a decade ago. I don’t play much chess anymore except when I am piqued by my curiosity to play on the computer or tablet with 70-80% winning rate. To this day, I’m still not familiar with the varieties of chess opening moves beyond Ruy Lopez opening (which I learned from my college buddy). At hindsight, what made me better at chess game was not my penchant of doing counterattack moves, but I attribute this to my training and ability to observe, absorb and practice a paradigm shift on my opponents’ variety of game character and personality during the days when I was enjoying playing the game and beating the hell of those kanto boys where I used to grow up motivated by pustahan.
    ==============
    Sorry if it’s out-of-topic

    1. Nope, it’s actually great that you shared this here.

      This one is particularly good and supports my point that Pinoys have to grow in their ability to follow through in the middle game.

      “At hindsight, what made me better at chess game was not my penchant of doing counterattack moves, but I attribute this to my training and ability to observe, absorb and practice a paradigm shift on my opponents’ variety of game character and personality “

      I am not completely sure about what you mean by ‘paradigm shift’ but if it’s anything like predicting their line of play and upsetting it at the earliest instance, I’d say that this is exactly what the proponents of the a parliamentary shift should be concentrating on solving.

      Supposing that the opening move or enabling step (charter change) can be executed fuly without a hitch, what will the middle game be like?

      Certainly, those who were disenfranchised will find a way to get back whatever they lost.

      If for example, the country votes for parties instead of personalities, wouldn’t it be logical to assume that the 200 or so political dynasties will place a member of their clan in the parties that emerge?

      So, for instance, one member of the Aquino clan in Tarlac will be with LP while another will be in NP or PDP-Laban or PMP. So, conceivably, no matter which party wins they’ll have a member in place.

  8. Mr. Dumdum, you actually lost the argument as soon as you started blaring out ad hominems and personal attacks against me — in addition to replacing facts with speculation, deception, insisting that correlation is causation, and a host of other fallacies. You are clearly ignorant about the rules of argumentation and debate. You are just not decent enough to admit you’ve lost when you have.

    I have no worries about my reputation, I am in good standing with my peers and my community.

    On the other hand, you’ve already outed yourself as nothing more than a bluffer and pretender with a penchant for insulting and defaming people who don’t conform to your views.

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