Tag: voter education

Why can’t Philippine elections be about issues rather than personalities?

June 5, 2015 benign0 11 Comments

In 2009, at the height of a vastly popular but utterly misguided campaign to catapult the reluctant then-candidate Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III to the presidency, we launched our Platform Plez initiative. In that groundbreaking initiative, we provided a simple and intuitive four-point idiot’s guide to formulating a campaign platform and, specifically for the 2010…

Civics, Culture, Education, Government, Media, Politics

The hypocrisy in Filipinos’ outrage over the Jejomar Binay Billions

May 18, 2015 benign0 8 Comments

In most normal societies, the mere smell of a rat in one’s person would be enough for that person to be regarded as a political pariah. Not in the Philipines. For months, smoke has been detected in the camp of Philippine Vice President Jejomar ‘Jojo’ Binay thanks to an onslaught of politically-motivated “probes” into his…

Crime, Culture, Government, Politics, Society

Jejomar Binay is the Vice President of the Philippines. Deal with it.

February 9, 2015February 9, 2015 benign0 25 Comments

What happens if President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III resigns and Vice President Jejomar Binay takes over? Well, it seems everyone knows the answer. The Philippines will be ruled by President Jejomar Binay. Will he be a good president or a bad president? Everyone has an opinion about that. Will he vie for re-election 2016?…

Government, Politics, Society

The [Real] Government

February 6, 2015 Batangenyo 8 Comments

“Boboto ka nang tama, hindi naman nila bibilangin ng tama. Wag na lang” Limang taon na akong botante, pero isang beses pa lang ako naka experience ng pagboto. Masaya. Parang pyesta, andaming tao, andaming tinda, andaming libre,libre pagkain, pamasahe, meryenda, pamaypay na may tatak, sumbero. Na may tatak. Bag. Damit. Pulseras. – na may tatak….

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Culture, Government, Media, Politics, Society

Will mutineer-turned-‘senator’ Antonio Trillanes IV make a good Philippine president?

November 26, 2014 benign0 20 Comments

The vacuousness of Philippine politics is on a roll, delivering yet another no-surprise revelation: mutineer-turned-‘senator’ Antonio Trillanes IV may be inching his way towards a presidential candidacy for the 2016 elections. His statements on the matter are obviously just feelers at this point. He reportedly stated in Tagalog a few days back that he is…

Crime, Government, Politics

It is time for Filipinos to start REFUSING to be victims

November 24, 2014 benign0 41 Comments

Perhaps at the root of all the factors that contribute to the Philippines’ continued and foreseeable failure to prosper is a deeply-entrenched cultural artefact: victimhood. Filipinos like playing the victim card. It is the heart of its politics — a “victimised” people to whom populist appeals to hero rhetoric resonate. As such, Filipino politicians win…

Culture, Development, Education, Politics, Society

Why Voters Should Not Vote for the ‘Right’ Candidates

October 11, 2014 Hector Gamboa 17 Comments

There is a saying that goes: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result”. Of course if we think about it, it’s not entirely true. Tom Chivers, assistant comment editor of The Telegraph in the United Kingdom, correctly points out the flaw of the cliché. He points out…

Government, Politics

Who the next president of the Philippines should be

September 9, 2014 benign0 32 Comments

It’s election season again. So, as expected, a lot of people ask us who we think should be president. Personally I think that is a rude question. Ballots are cast in secret for a reason — because who one votes for is none of anyone else’s business. To be fair, good manners are really not…

Government, Politics, Society