Category: Politics

Many Philippine politicians are corrupt because Filipinos allow it

August 17, 2013August 19, 2013 Ilda 127 Comments

Philippine society’s dysfunctional culture is evident yet again in the latest scandal involving some members of Philippine Congress and how they channel their Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) or “pork barrel funds” into bogus projects. The fact that a lot of Filipinos have predicted that the main character in this sorry saga, Janet Lim Napoles,…

Crime, Politics

Lani Mercado, the pork barrel, and Filipinos’ squatter mentality

August 16, 2013 benign0 171 Comments

This is what ‘actress-politician’ Lani Mercado, wife of actor-turned-senator Bong Revilla had to say about the idea of scrapping altogether the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel: “Basta huwag lang manghihingi sa amin ang mga tao!” Source of quote: PEP.ph. And we wonder why the Philippines is renowned for its beggar culture. To…

Glitz and Glamour, Lifestyle, Politics

Why Janet Lim Napoles is the perfect fall-guy in the Philippines’ P10-bn pork barrel scam

August 15, 2013August 15, 2013 benign0 60 Comments

Janet Lim Napoles is now on the run. That makes her the perfect fall guy for the P10-billion “pork barrel scam” that is rocking the Philippines’ political establishment. A high-profile fugitive attracts all the attention and, not necessarily living up to the principle of scientific criminal investigation, all law enforcement resources. Never mind that the…

Crime, Government, Media, 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…

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Government, Media, Politics