We beg to differ.
The latest deluge to hit Metro Manila once again demonstrates the sorry state of preparedness of state emergency services in the Philippines and the woefully insufficient flood control infrastructure of the country’s premier metropolis. Flooding brought about by days of southwest monsoon rains pounding the northern Philippine island of Luzon have once again paralysed vast…
The following is a re-post of an article I wrote for the now-defunct FilipinoVoices.com back in 2009 when Typhoon Ondoy wrought destruction across Metro Manila. The original Facebook archive can be found here. * * * In recent days we’ve been hearing and reading the word “Bayanihan” to the point of its being reduced to…
Read More “Stepping up to Manila storm flooding: Shotgun bayanihan!” »
Do Filipinos love their country? If one were to try and answer that question simply by looking around his surroundings, one can be forgiven for thinking that no, most Filipinos do not love their country. For all the arrogance and chest thumping we see amidst shouting with pride of statements like, “Filipinos are the best!”…
Read More “Typhoons reveal Filipinos are living in a dump” »
The Philippines has now become renowned for template disasters. These are disasters that are caused by systemic issues that are profoundly inherent to the country. They are templates and therefore, by design, are highly repeatable. They happen again and again. Here’s the template for the sort of tragedy unfolding in northern Mindanao today… Heavy rains…
Lately I’ve noticed that we are getting more and more of our updates on the President’s whereabouts, views, and positions on some important matters of state from the Entertainment sections of our venerable newspapers. Most recent was the revelation that President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III was at a party “laughing at [the] jokes†and “enjoying…
Read More “Kris along with Ballsy and Pinky use star power to speak for PNoy” »
Social networking sites keep undoing the impeccable image President Noynoy Aquino (PNoy) is trying to project. Gone are the days when Malacañang Palace officials can keep their shenanigans hush-hush while regular folks battle for survival outside in the real world. Facebook and Twitter are social networking sites that act as double edge swords for high…
Read More “PNoy reportedly laughing at jokes amidst the tragedy unfolding in CDO and Iligan” »
The last thing a nation needs in time of extreme crisis is more political intrigue. It seems however, that the administration of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III simply attracts that scourge of useless chatter and even fans its flames. The other night as, reportedly, “the nation mourns”, Noynoy was apparently busy “laughing at [the] jokes”…
Read More “Valerie Concepcion allegedly wows PNoy as Sendong strikes Mindanao” »
The latest “victim” of the most recent media (both old and new) circus is a guy named Christopher “Cris” Lao. The poor sod apparently drove his car past motorists who had prudently stopped at both ends of a recessed and flooded section of a Manila road and ended up with a car submerged and, perhaps…
Read More “Empathising with flood ‘victim’ Christopher Lao” »