Category: Politics

Noynoy Aquino has become the most divisive Philippine president in history

January 21, 2014January 21, 2014 benign0 87 Comments

Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III has so far proven to be the most divisive president in the Philippines’ history. Ironically, this divisiveness traces its source to the pseudo-nationalist rhetoric on which President BS Aquino mounted his campaign to seize the lucrative seat he now holds in Malacanang. Indeed, rather than foster a spirit…

Crime, Government, Media, Politics

Sen. Bong Revilla’s tell-all pork scam privilege speech: thick on emotional appeal, thin on logical argument

January 20, 2014 benign0 21 Comments

So Philippine Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr today has concluded his privilege speech before the Senate where he supposedly aired his side following his being implicated in allegations of pork barrel thievery surrounding alleged scam leader Janet Lim Napoles. Did we learn anything new from the speech? It seems none — other than that Revilla…

Crime, Government, Politics

New gun law paves way for armed priests, journalists, and accountants in the Philippines!

January 16, 2014 benign0 40 Comments

Gone are the days, it seems, when priests walked around confident that a crucifix in hand and a rosary in their pockets sufficed to protect them from harm and “evil”. And then there is the now obsolete saying that “the pen is mightier than the sword”. Apparently “journalists” have now lost confidence in that notion,…

Crime, Government, Lifestyle, Politics, Society

Emergency powers for President Noynoy Aquino: Like giving a blowtorch to a child

January 12, 2014 benign0 55 Comments

Members of Congress are reportedly proposing the granting of emergency powers to Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III to “give him more control over power generation in the country.” To that, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone also added the country’s commuter woes as further justification saying that development of solutions to these problems “can…

Development, Economy, Government, Lifestyle, Politics

Is the solution to a socio-cultural problem a political one?

January 10, 2014January 11, 2014 FallenAngel 51 Comments

The socio-cultural problem, Filipinos need to be reminded, is comprised of the dysfunctions in Filipino culture that have kept them chained to a perpetual state of impoverishment. The political solution, Filipinos would like to think, is to merely focus on changing our leaders into those “different” from the corrupt bunch that currently infest government. Is…

Civics, Culture, Politics, Society

Pork ‘realignment’: Ph Senators will continue to kiss Malacanang’s ass to get their pork

January 10, 2014 benign0 40 Comments

Members of Philippine Congress are proving yet again that they will not be divested of billions of pesos in “discretionary” funds without putting up a fight. The most recent sleight of hand is coming in the form of “realignments” of some senators’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations. According to Neal Cruz in his Inquirer.net…

Crime, Government, Politics

President Noynoy Aquino cannot ignore his critics

January 9, 2014 Ilda 17 Comments

Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino is setting himself up for failure with his New Year’s resolution for 2014, which is to “ignore his critics”. The fact that he had to make this his New Year’s resolution already means that he is having a hard time ignoring his critics in the first place. Not to…

Government, Media, Politics

Substandard bunkhouses reportedly built for Haiyan victims: Where did the rest of the money go?

January 7, 2014December 22, 2021 benign0 148 Comments

Philippine government thievery seems to remain alive and kicking, this time stealing victims of super-typhoon Haiyan (a.k.a. Yolanda) blind! Reports are emerging of widespread delivery and building of substandard facilities to house the victims all over the devastated region. Safety and sanitation concerns have reportedly been raised by field officers of the Camp Coordination and…

Civics, Crime, Government, Politics