The Philippines has long had a love affair with self-imposed tragedies. Whether it’s sinking ships, buses flying off cliffs, hostage-taking, and continuously voting for rogues as their leaders. Everything was fine and dandy – until the Internet came along.
And so on that eventful day of 8/23, a microcosm of Philippine society was placed under the glaring clinical lights of the Internet. To me, 8/23 is to the Philippines what 9/11 is to America. Post 9/11 America has been in a state of flux as it still recovers to the aftershocks of the tragedy. It wasn’t only the US, the UK had its share in the train bombing, as did Spain, and India. Certainly, 8/23 will not match the direct damage that 9/11 caused on property, lives, and the snowball effect it had on the global stage. The damage on national self-esteem however, was the same. Delusions were shattered, outrage ensued, and a period of soul-searching followed.
What Next Philippines?
Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube provided an on-demand platform for distributing information. The commentaries on the stream of reports and videos were happening in real time – for all the world to see. Without the Internet – it would have been so easy to impose a gag order – the presses stop rolling, the TV stations don’t mention the story, case closed. Those days are gone.
The Internet and social media networks have provided more opportunities for transparency and validating “facts” dished out by mainstream media and hold it more accountable.
8/23 however is a nexus, a crystallization of Philippine society’s total breakdown, ineptitude, and misguided national compass. It exemplifies the disastrous effects of flawed thinking from the point of inception to point of execution in the entire value chain. Whether it is the MPD, the PNP, the DILG, the entire Philippine government machinery is so stacked in favor of incompetents!
“When the people lead the leaders will follow”
- Gandhi
P. Noy was stating a fact that he “inherited” the problems of the PNP from the previous administration. But, that’s only a half-truth. The other truth being that the previous administrations’ can also claim that these problems were “inherited” from the previous administrations.
In September 2008, GMA News reported that Improved PNP performance negated by lack of personnel, equipment
“MANILA, Philippines – The performance of the Philippine National Police (PNP) posted improvements over the last few years but these remain largely unfelt as they are overshadowed by bigger problems of lack of personnel and equipment.
This is among the primary findings of the September 2008 agency budget notes of the House of Representatives’ Congressional Planning and Budget Department released Tuesday.
According to the report, the PNP’s efficiency rate or rate of crimes solved against crimes reported from January to June 2008 posted a high 89.2 percent, a 3.1 percent improvement from 2007.
Similarly, the index and non-index crime rate went down from 7.2 in 2006 to 6.6 in 2007.
The study, however, noted that undermanning and ill-equipage of police forces have hindered in its “optimum performance.”
It noted that the 2007 ratio of police officers to the population was one officer for every 500 people – already an improvement from the 1:700 police-to-civilian ratio in 2005. This is a far cry from the ratio of one police officer for every 300 civilians which is the standard maintained in developed countries.
The House report also said that out of 125,893 police officers, only 38 percent are armed with pistols.
It added that while the PNP receives the biggest share in the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) budget, 88 to 90 percent of the PNP budget goes to personal services, leaving “a very small portion” for maintenance and other operating expenditures (MOOE) and capital outlays.”
So, yes, Aquino “inherited” a police force that is perenially lacking personnel and equipment. But so have all the administrations before him. Aquino is solving this problem like his predecessors – just throw money at the problem – money we don’t have. This complicates things further – we dig ourselves deeper into a grave of debt when we could have just as easily dug ourselves out of it by improving the economy. But I digress.
“When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.”
- Benjamin Franklin
How exactly will doing the same thing all over again- throwing more money and hiring more people – achieve different results? What the Filipinos and the Philippine government are glaringly missing out on is – PROCESS. Putting in more money and people to execute FLAWED PROCESSES is throwing good money after bad. At a personal level, that is akin to the Pinoy’s penchant for electing rogue dumbass incompetent celebrity figures – and then wonder why the Philippine government is in deeper shit than ever.
The Philippines was seen as corrupt during Arroyo’s time. After Aquino, the Philippines is still corrupt, and worse it is full of BUMBLING BABOONS, LECHEROUS DONKEYS, headed by a SMILING DOG. No thanks to the 15 million retards who voted for Aquino – shame on you, the blood of the HK tourists are in your hands – as are the blood of the farmers who died in Hacienda Luisita Massacre. Please spare us of your victim mentality crap – you are frakking retards who need one hell of an ass whooping. You have done enough embarrassment to the country, and you all – starting with P. Noy Aquino, to his lieutenants Lacierda, Coloma — his sycophants Esposo, de Quiros, ABS-CBN, and the Inquirer – and the 15 million Filipinos who voted for Aquino and brought him to the Presidency – are a monumental SHAME and PERPETUAL SOURCE OF EMBARRASSMENT to Filipinos from Aparri to Jolo, from Tokyo to Riyadh, to London, Frankfurt, Paris, New York, Sydney.
The rest of the 35 million Filipinos who did not vote for Aquino ARE VINDICATED!
Alas, there is no glory in achieving payback through the blood of innocents. Nor is there an assurance that 8/23 will not be repeated in the future – not while Aquino is around.
“Is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dream?”
- Edgar Allan Poe
Aquino will do what he has to do to survive politically. That the Philippine press has recently ramped up the noise about P. Noy’s visit to the US is an indicator that the Philippines is playing the US card against China. And the US of course – is very much eager to get allies in a region that is more and more becoming friendly to “the Middle Kingdom”. Countries of course will negotiate based on their national interests.
This early, Aquino’s US visit gives the impression that Aquino will be going to advance the interests of his political survival and tie it to the Philippines national stability. It will not be beneath Aquino’s team to raise the specter of “people power” if Aquino is ousted. The US, of course, being more interested in regional stability will shore up Aquino, provide him with assistance, and Obama will have a speech endorsing the Philippines.
Beware of the smiling dog. It is rabidly STUPID.
This will be material that will played up by ABS-CBN and Inquirer on the TV screens till you forget 8/23 and puke to death as ABS/CBN replays scenes from Aquino’s visit 24/7.
Mark my words – it will be a PR event that Aquino will milk for all its worth – and the Filipinos shall forget and fall into a stupor once more. Where does that leave the Philippines – and the Filipinos?
The truth shall set you free, but first it shall piss you off.
Just to get a sense of where the Philippines is possibly headed, I didn’t have to look further than Facebook where the Filipinos reactions to the hostage-taking. What I found ranged the gamut from Trixie’s Hallmark-ish feel good statements about an imagined grand past. Another was Lacson’s 12 Little Things Filipinos can do. I need not cover Esposo’s piece of crap that was sliced and diced by The Australian.
Then there’s that thing about “the Filipino race”. The Human Genome Project has already proven beyond reasonable doubt that “race” is a fallacy with no scientific basis. According to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Human Genome Program,
DNA studies do not indicate that separate classifiable subspecies (races) exist within modern humans. While different genes for physical traits such as skin and hair color can be identified between individuals, no consistent patterns of genes across the human genome exist to distinguish one race from another. There also is no genetic basis for divisions of human ethnicity. People who have lived in the same geographic region for many generations may have some alleles in common, but no allele will be found in all members of one population and in no members of any other.
The concept of sub-species within Homo sapiens sapiens (i.e. Homo sapiens philippinensis) called “races” came about four centuries ago. It was a time when supremacists and slave traders were rationalizing slavery and bigotry. However, the most comprehensive, most well funded, well equipped research on the Human Genome has shown – RACE DOES NOT EXIST – THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS THE FILIPINO RACE, YOU FRAKKING IGNORANT OAF!!!!
New and sophisticated methods for studying the relationship between human genetic differences, the environment, health and behavior, all made possible by the completion of the Human Genome Project, have made traditional race-based measurements of human differences obsolete, according to numerous authors writing in a special issue of the American Psychologist devoted to Genes, Race, and Psychology in the Genome Era (January, 2005).
At the rate I am reading comments about the Filipino race, it feels like reading a Bizarro Nazi comedy of errors. I REPEAT – THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FILIPINO RACE – YOU FRAKKIN RACIST. STOP THE IGNORANCE!!!
Understanding the Filipinos’ Response
The botched hostage taking’s effect on the Filipino psyche is just starting to be felt. The public cries of outrage are the easy part. It’s the economic impact to an already impacted stubbornly protectionist economy in the horizon that will be felt hardest – canceled bookings and reduced sales – it’s your wallet people.
Having said that, allow me to take it this further to the edge. I noted that if Aquino is caught lying about the hours where he went missing, hours which led to the shame and embarrassment of 90 million Filipinos – I believe I am within reason to allege that LYING is a betrayal of the public trust – an impeachable offense. It’s not going to fly, not when Filipinos have lowered the bar for honesty. It’s not like Filipinos in the Philippines don’t lie everyday – you will get a look that says “you are so naive”. So much so that when Bill Clinton was on impeachment for lying about his steamy indiscretions with Monica Lewinski a Philippine head of state joked that he can teach Bill a thing or two – and we, Filipinos even enjoyed the joke. Hahahaha – stupid talaga, they will impeach a President who lied about oral sex. A great majority, Filipinos can’t relate to it – that’s how LOW our standards have become.
For discussion’s sake, say Aquino is indeed impeached – a lot disagreed with having Binay take over. Hello, that’s the Vice-President’s job remember? Kung hindi ba naman tanga ang mga Pilipino. The VP and the President are supposed to have an element of continuity. Where can you find a country where you have a President from one party and a Vice-President from another party? Results of the election are valid for the Presidency but not for the Vice-Presidency? What next? Mislabeled coffins shipped to HK – that’s next The Philippines just never runs out of stupidity.
8/23 is indeed a watershed moment. In a manner of speaking 8/23 has brought Filipinos together and split them apart as well.
It has brought Filipinos together to come to the following conclusions:
1. The Philippines is still in deep shit – and it can get deeper.
2. Someone better do something fast.
3. Incompetence is dangerous, incompetence kills.
4. The leaders who claim to be “matuwid” and “honest” are lying bastards.
It has also divided Filipinos on how the nation should move forward. The general categories of the existing sentiments can be:
1 – We are the victim. We should not be condemned, rather we need more help.
2 – We made a mistake, but so does everyone else, get off our back, mind your own business.
3 – We made a mistake, we need to ensure this does not happen again.
4 – The mistake is but a manifestation of our cultural malaise, we need a revolution from within – and without.
Beware the Ides of March have come but they are not gone.
Get your sh*t together, Philippines.
1. The Philippines is still in deep **** – and it can get deeper.
–sir BongV, it will get deeper, since our current prez intends to finish his term..God bless the Philippines..
–it all boils down to our culture, to our morals, and to our level of standards.. only people who are exposed to people and culture of other countries are able to realize the faults of the Philippine culture and society as a whole. ‘Get your sh*t together, Philippines.’, hell yeah, if our countrymen want to have something else for the better…but, considering the mediocrity of our society, I’d say this change will, well, take years at most haha
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You’d think SuperFerry14
would be Pinas 09/11 — didn’t happen.
with so many Filipinos dead would be “Pinas 09/11″, but didn’t happen, either.
grandstand becoming the two-by-four strike to Pilipinas psyche to lead to 
catharsis? I actually don’t think so — I mean, it can’t be. No Filipino (except the hijacker) died — the Ampatuan Massacre should cause more anger among Filipinos.
You’d think Princess of Stars
Aug 23 Quirino
In other words ……abangan ang susunod na kabanata. Nonoy Aquino administration has many more months to await the 09/11 tragedy-strike to Pilipinas psyche.
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BongV Reply:
September 5th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
MikeH, In hindsight, it did occur to me that we had lots of 9/11s and Katrinas – we went through the ritual blaming game – then what next? Back to square 1.
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This is a classic, Bongv. It shows the depth of your understanding and insight of the problems that our mother country is facing, and of our leadership vacuum. It looks to me like Aquino is having difficulties putting the right people in positions of responsibilities. I think this is because his range of choices is extremely limited to a barren field of political patrons and creditors. Unless he learns the benefits of multi-partisanship in making appointments, he will have to make do with mediocre characters like him resulting in a non-performing, mediocre government.
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BongV Reply:
September 5th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
Bencard, I agree P. Noy needs to expand the scope of his executive search outside of his campaign bankrollers and reach out to the professionals who can get the job done.
Aquino’s campaign team is running the show like a a startup when it already needs to move to the next stage – actually running a government. In this phase the game has changed because the campaign has seized the advantage of winning the incumbency.
The metrics therefore are no longer about who has the most number of votes – but having a balanced scorecard that gauges performance. P. Noy needs a different team – time to switch gears. This is no longer the Daytona 500s – but the Paris-Dakar rally.
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aboy Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 12:28 am
“Bencard, I agree P. Noy needs to expand the scope of his executive search outside of his campaign bankrollers and reach out to the professionals who can get the job done.”
I second this statement… govt post which are not mandated by polls should go through disciplined process. For example, I read of Lee Kwan Yeuw’s style is that they actually hire officials of govt and not appoint. They go through HR process with interviews and offer a very competetive package which can go head to head with private companies…. In his ideology, he considers a govt work as a business… you have to get the best, a country is like a company and your people is your stakeholders…
but then again, 15million people from the philippines doesnt know how to hire the best CEO… which should be the starting point…
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As was pointed out, the Mahatma Gandhi say:
“When the people lead the leaders will follow“
And indeed:
====start of quote
====end of quote
The government of the Philippines merely REFLECTS the character of the people it governs.
It’s simple, really™ — though not for the small-minded.
.
Look who got caught
Smiling all the way to the bank…
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frustrated citizen Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
yep… whatever the characteristic of the people is, the same goes with the leader and the system..
maybe that’s why there are 15 million people who voted for the president. it’s because the president is the same as the people – lazy, lackluster, no sense of urgency(presidents use sirens(wang-wangs) so that they won’t be late, and here you go, you have a president right now who is like the common Filipino, ‘na late ako dahil sa trapik’ — classical indeed)
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I figured the country was divided from the start anyway. With the current culture we have there is no real unifying force that holds the nation in a cohesive way. Even more so against times of adversity since good leadership in those moments are cohesive factors. The people complaining about lack of pakikisama don’t know what they are talking about.
Thankfully I’ve prepared for these dark days. Too bad for those who are going to vilify Noynoy much like the Jews did when Jesus didn’t prove to be the military savior they were hoping he’d be. Of course noynoy can kill himself, but don’t expect any miracles after that.
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A friend of mine made the following note. I show it since it somehow sums up hoi polloi (For maximum emphasis, I skirted the censors):
ALL ABOUT FILIPINOS! no offense, just for laughs! haha!
by Karl Jake Cabatana on Sunday, September 5, 2010 at 11:02am
RULES ON BECOMING A FILIPNO
* Be shameful of your heritage and language, be a clone of an American.
* Any Caucasian or American is God (even if they rape your daughter).
* Carry a Nokia Cellphone, and use TXT msgs (never call it SMS or you will be PWNED!!! LOLZ)
* Avoid trailer parks.
* You must start a “peaceful” riot and then throw any crap you find when the police comes.
* You must like anything the Americans throw at you and immediately hate it for not being Filipino enough.
* When interrogating someone, beat them up. When they give in, throw them to the cats.
* Talk in “taglish” to sound rich.
* Think that basketball is the most popular and only sport in the world.
* Assume that any Filipino who can’t speak english is BOBO while praising Japanese (who speak crappy english)intelligent and adorable.
* Go to a private school to learn English as it is the best language in the world and have you fined if you speak in Tagalog.
* Join Definitely Filipino in Facebook and NEVER EVER post a comment in Tagalog.
* When you give a comment on an internet community, always begin with “I’m filipino” even if they don’t give a sh!t where you came from.
* Beware of “evil demons”.
* Beware of dwarves.
* Act black.
* Elect actors and actresses into public office then clap your hands.
* Believe in superstitious bullsh!t.
* If you’re a balikbayan from the states, never ever speak Tagalog.
* Always climb a volcano.
* When a typhoon hits, STAY OUTSIDE AND PLAY!!!
* Point with your lips.
* Shop til you drop folks, that’s why our malls are bigger than those in the West!
* Complain to foreigners that the Philippines is the poorest country in the world and then spend all day shopping at fancy malls, drinking Starbucks coffee, and riding taxis.
* Eat rice all the time.
* Use your fingers to cook rice (best done while afflicted with a fatal, contagious disease )
* Ditch utensils!!! Eat with your hands, dammit!
* Be updated about Kris Aquino.
* Buy a painting of The Last Supper and hang it on your dining room wall, even if you’re not Christian.
* Desire to be Caucasian.
FILIPINO TALK
* “Well well well. Look do we have here!”
* “Let’s give them a big hand of applause.”
* “Birds of the same feather are the same bird.”
* “Burn the bridge when you get there.”
* “Anulled and void.”
* “Mute and academic.”
* “C’mon let’s join us!”
* “If worse comes to shove.”
* “Are you joking my leg?”
* “It’s not my problem anymore, it’s your problem anymore.”
* “What are friends are for?”
* “You can never can tell.”
* “Been there, been that.”
* “It’s a blessing in the sky.”
* “You’re barking at the wrong dog.”
* “You want to have your cake and bake it too.”
* “First and for all.”
* “I’m only human nature.”
* “That’s what I’m talking about it.”
* “In my 22 years of existence there is nothing major major problem I’ve done because I’m confident in myself and my family.” (FVCK LOL!)
* “One of these days is not like the other.”
* “Time is of the elements.”
* “In the wink of an eye.”
* “The feeling is actual.”
* “For all intense and purposes.”
* “Hi. I’m Jograd, what’s yours?”
* “What is the world is coming to?”
* “What is the next that is?”
* “Get the most of both worlds.”
* “Base-to-base casis.”
* “My answers have been prayered.”
* “It’s as brand as new.”
* “I can’t take it anymore of this!”
* “Can’t you just cut me some slacks?”
* “Trial by error!”
* “I couldn’t care a d@mn!”
* “Its spilled milk under the bridge.”
* “I’m the world champion of the World!!!”
* “That’s beneath the belt!”
WHERE TO FIND FILIPINOS?
* Love hotels
* Under mountain hats
* In volcanoes
* For males: in a white girls ass
* For females: the hospital
* In villages with small houses
* In the ghetto fo sho
* Under rocks, trees, volcanos, mountains, of about
* In church
* In a grave
* Under a Jesus statue
* Anything to do with water buffalos
* Basketball games (you know the ones that aren’t black)
* Black neighborhoods
* Lucky Plaza Singapore
* In the States, pretty much where the black people are in order to n!ggerize themselves and become gangstas and get some shiny-ass blingz. They later begin calling themselves “pi-ggers” for pilipino-n!ggers.
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Anonylol Reply:
September 5th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
I don’t actually remember any Flips ni Love Hotels. He must have meant those clubs in Kabuki-cho. I mean, that’s what I heard. I don’t actually go there.
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ben Reply:
September 5th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
I don’t agree with many points made above. Especially the ones related to speaking English as being a no-no. It’s pure ignorance to think that everyone in the country can speak good tagalog. And comparing Japanese from not being able to speak English is different from the Filipino who has English as a subject starting from Grade 1 (I am assuming, i didnt study here til College). If anything, English should be our national language.
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Jay Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 12:49 am
I think you didn’t get the sarcastic nature of the letter.
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>”For discussion’s sake, say Aquino is indeed impeached – a lot disagreed with having Binay take over”
Huh? Who then?
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kusinero Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 5:36 am
I think pinoys would want Erap. He got the second highest number of votes, and the masses love him
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Hyden Toro Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 11:51 am
Perhaps, DAAANG, will take over. He wii do a better job…
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Bencard Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
yeah, not the idiot but the moron.yyh5
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What’s next? The missing mobile phone of Mendoza as evidence which was given to the HK authorities for being mistaken as one of the bus victims’ property.
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If U.S. Pres. Obama will ask Noynoy Aquino: “What did you do during the the Hostage Incident? Noynoy Aquino may reply: “Nothing…so No Thing happened, except 8 dead tourists and a dead hostage taker.” PAGBABAGO?, My Ass!!!
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NOYNOY is actually
preparing for his trip to USA. Noynoy is hoping to bring a gift-offering.
——————
outlaw Abus as terrorist group
Gov’t asks court to
Philippine Daily Inquirer Posted 09/07/2010
Filed Under: Acts of terror, Crime and Law and Justice
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine government has asked the Basilan Regional Trial Court to outlaw the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist group and blacklist its members, in a move that would allow the authorities to more speedily freeze the bandits’ bank assets and obtain clearance to tap their phone conversations. The Department of Justice formally sought to outlaw the Abu Sayyaf in a petition filed recently with the trial court in Basilan province—the group’s birthplace—in the first known government attempt to ban a rebel group under a 2007
antiterrorism law.
The justice department also sought to blacklist more than 200 members of the Abu Sayyaf, which has an estimated 400 members. Currently, members of the Abu Sayyaf cannot be arrested unless they commit a crime.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100907-290869/Govt-asks-court-to-outlaw-Abus-as-terrorist-group
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http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100907-290867/Aquino-We-will-overcome-crisis
MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III on Sunday night said that the country would quickly get past the Aug. 23 bloodbath . . . .
above ay hindi maipasa sa mga pamilyang namatayan.
“Our problems now, in two or three years we can say that they are laughable when we recall that they were not that grave,” Mr. Aquino said in Filipino.
——————
I hope Noynoy’s words
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lakambini Reply:
September 8th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
This guy is really something. He is s damn consistent in doing and saying stupid things.
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This is a training for APEC in Yokohama in Japan.
You can see they have already learned from Philippines…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdSTdpSWYhg
They have different DNA kc… hahaha…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afpc_EcohcY
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BongV Reply:
September 8th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
@Expat from TW – great video. thanks. practice makes perfect.