Category: Politics

Was LTO Chief Virginia “Virgie” Torres Caught On Video Playing Slots in a Casino?

August 14, 2013August 14, 2013 P. Farol 77 Comments

Yet another scandal video has gone “viral” and this one doesn’t involve sex, but someone who looks like Land Transportation Office (LTO) Chief Usec. Virginia “Virgie” Torres playing a slot machine inside a casino. Here is a link to the video which allegedly shows Usec. Torres playing slots, click here. Philippine government officials are prohibited…

Government, Politics

Why the Philippines is forever imprisoned by pork barrel politics

August 12, 2013 benign0 15 Comments

Well now, isn’t it just so not typical of Philippine Congress to shrink away from what could be a media bonanza for the vote-hungry lot. If anything, the Pork Barrel Scam is a gold mine of media mileage for any politician who has the cojones to take the reins on this one. After all, there…

Development, Government, Politics

President Noynoy Aquino should answer for corruption during his term

August 9, 2013October 31, 2013 Ilda 55 Comments

There is something strange about the way Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino reacts to certain issues that plague his administration. When the President talks about people who he thinks are corrupt, he usually goes into attack mode and lambasts them in front of his audience. This was evident when he shamed former Supreme Court…

Crime, Politics

Ban on provincial buses on Metro Manila roads made commuting a living hell

August 8, 2013 Ilda 47 Comments

They say nothing dies harder than a bad idea. That saying is nowhere truer than in the Philippines where bad ideas replace one bad idea after another. What’s worse is that the bad ideas often come from government agencies that affect millions of Filipinos and make their lives a living hell. No wonder international best…

Development, Government, Politics

Of bombs and riddles…

August 7, 2013September 4, 2013 Ms. Mike Portes 9 Comments

Riddle me this, why is there a need to televise the Senate inquiry on the progress of the investigation on the Cotabato bombing? Isn’t this about national security? If it is, then it should be basic measure that the less that the perpetrators know, the better. “The public needs to see that we are doing…

Read More “Of bombs and riddles…” »

Government, Media, Politics

Bloody libel! Janet Lim Napoles versus Maria Ressa’s ‘social news network’ Rappler.com

August 7, 2013July 8, 2022 benign0 68 Comments

Funny how just a short time ago, Rappler.com CEO Maria Ressa was crying bloody libel over Katrina Stuart-Santiago’s article Going to the dogs — an article about the manner with which Ressa’s self-described “social news network” startup precipitated (and possibly encouraged) a broader “ganging up” on the University of Santo Tomas over a perceived favour…

Civics, Media, Politics

Thomas Van Beersum learns what getting in trouble in a Third World nation is REALLY like

August 6, 2013August 6, 2013 benign0 99 Comments

Poor Thomas Van Beersum. He now stands as a shining lesson to Western Europeans of what it means to get in trouble in a Third World country half a planet away. Beersum is a Dutch activist who made headlines after participating in a protest rally during the delivery of the State of the Nation Address…

Crime, Politics

Is there a right or wrong point of view of history?

August 4, 2013June 1, 2018 FallenAngel 43 Comments

Fact is, one will be hard-pressed to find a totally objective account of history. Though ultimately historians either avoid bias to the greatest extent possible or purposefully show it, individual accounts will never truly be free of it. Ultimately each individual’s account passes through a filter which is composed of his/her philosophies, belief systems, experiences,…

Development, Education, Politics, Society