Tag: Senate

Whether called a bribe or an incentive pork barrel funds MOTIVATE Filipino politicians

October 1, 2013 benign0 25 Comments

Bribe or incentive? Why does this question even matter? For many weeks now, Filipinos have been left to sift through mounds of information pouring out of traditional media and the Net to make sense of what’s going on as more “revelations”, “confessions”, and “testimonials” emerge about who got how much. Indeed, whether it is a…

Crime, Government, Politics

Enrile former aide Gigi Reyes hung out to dry!

September 23, 2013 benign0 14 Comments

What are we to learn from former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s “betrayal” of his former chief-of-staff and right-hand-person Gigi Reyes? The lesson, for me, is perhaps one that escapes most Filipinos’ common sensibilities: that in any line of work one should be loyal not to any one person but to the job and the…

Crime, Politics

The tragedy…

September 9, 2013September 10, 2013 Ms. Mike Portes 7 Comments

This cover of the BizNews Asia magazine has been making the rounds in social media. I shared many skeptics into thinking that this could be another well rendered fake magazine cover remiscent of the Time magazine parody that trolled Inquirer. So to quell doubts, off I went to the nearest bookstore. I was supposed to…

Pork, Paybacks and Picnics

August 28, 2013August 29, 2013 John Bay 5 Comments

Droves of tax-paying citizens flocked to Luneta and other public areas around the Philippines on Monday August 26, 2013 (coinciding with National Heroes Day) to protest the “Pork Barrel” scheme and allegations of corruption perhaps triggered by the recent exposure of P10-B Napoles Pork Barrel scam. The event was largely mobilized through the social media…

Government, Politics, Society

Taxpayers’ money will continue to be wasted even if Pork is spent honestly

August 27, 2013August 27, 2013 benign0 17 Comments

There’s lot’s of argument surrounding the fate of the Priority Development Assistance or “Pork Barrel” Funds already flying about. Should legislators be allowed continued access to all those billions of pesos in taxpayers’ funds? The answer to that had already been settled under the really simple principle — that executives execute, and legislators legislate. Quite…

Crime, 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

Hardly surprising: Institutionalised prostitution in the Philippine Government’s Middle Eastern outposts

June 21, 2013 benign0 12 Comments

It’s hardly even surprising that such things have been happening all along for so long. The Philippines’ Overseas Foreign Workers (OFW) export industry is huge — at least 2 million Filipinos residing overseas can be classified as OFWs. The National Statistics Office (NSO) reportedly estimates that more than 52 percent of these are females and…

Civics, Crime, Lifestyle, Politics

Now that Senator Enrile has resigned, should the ‘Christmas bonus’ controversy die?

June 6, 2013 Ilda 8 Comments

After months of speculating on a supposed “plot” to oust him, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile has finally resigned as Senate President. We can only hope that the drama in the senate halls will go along with his resignation or at least simmer down a little bit. As Senator Antonio Trillanes correctly pointed out, Senator Enrile…

Politics