Tag: activism

Duterte overthrown by a revolt led by Rappler CEO Maria Ressa: a scenario analysis

January 18, 2018 benign0 7 Comments

Though difficult to tell for sure, the Opposition led by the Liberal Party (the Yellowtards) gained some measure of success in spinning what was primarily a citation of lapses in corporate compliance on the part of “social news network” Rappler into an issue of “press freedom”. Led by its embattled CEO Maria Ressa, the Yellowtards…

Media, Politics

It is NOT TRUE that the Philippines’ new Tax Reform (TRAIN) bill is “anti-poor”

January 11, 2018January 11, 2018 benign0 21 Comments

Every woman and her dog is saying that the recently-implemented Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law is “anti-poor”. They cite how increased taxes on commodities will be an “additional burden” on the poorest Filipinos with increased costs incurred in procuring input into businesses being passed on to customers and “trickling down” to the…

Economy, Money Talks

A meeting of liberal minds: Oprah Winfrey for US President, Jover Laurio for “Filipino of the Year”

January 10, 2018January 10, 2018 benign0 18 Comments

This is not to say US Queen of Talk Oprah Winfrey is anything like “Filipino of the Year” Jover Laurio. Oprah is a pillar of the planet’s mightiest showbiz industry (amongst its most powerful people, by some accounts) who worked her way to the top the hard way. Laurio, on the other hand, is an…

Media, Politics, Society

Baffling logic: Maria Ressa blames Facebook for the Philippines’ political dysfunction

January 6, 2018 benign0 8 Comments

There is something disturbingly familiar about the way Maria Ressa, CEO of “social news network” Rappler, blames social media giant Facebook for her troubles and even that of the Philippines’. In a recent tweet, Ressa cites the news report, Mark Zuckerberg makes ‘fixing’ Facebook a personal goal for 2018 (which she republished on Rappler) and…

Politics, Society, Tech Talk

Wait a minute… Why do Filipinos hate the Marcoses so much to begin with?

January 4, 2018January 4, 2018 benign0 65 Comments

Would the Philippines have gone on to be a better country had the late former President Ferdinand Marcos never existed and, as a consequence, the “Martial Law years” never transpired? The way Filipino “activists” keep harping about the “evil” Marcos and the “dark ages” he subjected the Philippines to under his “Martial Law regime”, it…

Culture, Society

UP “activists” are wrong — the Lantern Parade is NOT an occasion for political activism

December 18, 2017December 18, 2017 benign0 2 Comments

Indeed, one’s gotta agree that “everything is political” as far as students of the University of the Philippines’ (UP) College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) are concerned. So political, in fact, that they’d politicise everything — including the Lantern Parade. As expected, mainstream media picked up their float (above all else) which merited a…

Education, Politics

Here is how INTELLIGENT Opposition to the Duterte administration is done…

December 18, 2017December 18, 2017 benign0 4 Comments

The Philippine Opposition continues to suffer from a crisis of relevance and, as of late, a crisis of lack of vision. This bankruptcy of vision has become glaringly evident along two fronts: (1) an inability to frame an alternative strategic pathway to serve as a viable challenge the vastly more popular one being executed by…

Development, Politics

Filipinos are poor because their “activists” teach them to be obsessed with the rich

December 17, 2017April 16, 2021 benign0 33 Comments

Most Filipinos would like to believe that the outrage they feel (or are encouraged to feel by their “activists”) about excessive displays of wealth comes from a deep need to see social justice delivered. Thus, the typical screeching lament we hear when such “social justice warriors” (SJWs) are confronted with displays of wealth goes like…

Glitz and Glamour, Lifestyle, Politics, Society