I’ve asserted many times in the past that the trouble with the Philippines does not lie in its politics but rather in a profound dysfunction in its society’s character. It is a dysfuinction that is interlaced at the very fibres that make up the very fabric of our society. In taking this view, my over-arching argument has always been that politics are but a mere manifestation — a symptom, one might call it — of this deep flaw in the collective character of the Filipino.
The emerging outcome of this year’s election remains breathtakingly consistent with every single idea put forth by GetRealPhilippines.com since its inception in the midst of the Erap Resign! movement at the dawn of the 21st Century and all through our it’s-the-culture-stupid thesis that AntiPinoy.com itself stands for.
As we turn the page and regard the new six-year chapter in Philippine history that is about to transpire, it is worth revisiting the core idea upon which our view of the world is built:
Who is the Anti-Pinoy?
The answer to the question is encapsulated in the following paragraph from this site’s About page:
In the day-to-day exchange that defines real life for most Pinoys, the daily news, radio and TV broadcasts, our cinema, and in casual conversation, the masa and those who celebrate mediocrity – those who are quick to boast about how ingenious Pinoys are and point to our colorful Jeepneys as examples, or who count the number of look-alike, sound-alike local celebrities or the once-in-a-generation gifted professional athlete as a measure of national greatness – set an UNPATRIOTIC example and lower the bar of public debate.
The more the Anti-Pinoy glorifies these mediocrities and focuses on the vacuous and the trivial, real issues that affect ordinary lives and futures are forgotten or pushed aside. Like the unambitious student who is praised by his parents despite consistently doing poorly in school, the bad habits and low expectations of Pinoy society are reinforced, making it that much harder with every passing day to find the right path.
Not surprisingly, this is a message that Filipinos quite simply find hard to swallow. Indeed, perhaps it hasn’t been swallowed at all, much less digested and internalised. So one is inclined to wonder…
What is the extent of our dysfunction as a people?
As stated earlier, the dysfunction is profound, extensive, and pervades every belief system and approach to thinking that characterises the Filipino. In short, it is cultural — a malaise that is culturally-ingrained, something that is summarised in the About page of GetRealPhilippines.com from which this excerpt is taken:
Any way one looks at things, the reality is this: we’re stuck with each other and that stigma of being Filipino that was aggravated by Erap’s presidency. The first step in the right direction is to swallow the bitter pill and take a good look at ourselves. That’s us! Non-partisan, nothing personal. It’s all in the culture which in GetReal-speak is defined thus:
Culture is the collective character of a people who have given themselves a collective identity.
In short:
The Filipino’s greatest enemy is himself – the Anti-Pinoy.
That Filipinos would go out to give their collective thumbs-up to Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, a man widely regarded by people who apply a bit of brain to the way they generally regard things, as having no character, no vision, and no plans over the next six years as Chief Executive is one thing. But to see Joseph Ejercito Estrada coming in second, a man convicted of plunder and supposedly given a thumbs down (to the tune of more than one million people) back in 2001 by a mob that represents everything that the Aquino clan stands for is quite an amusing revelation to the global community.
This year’s election pretty much describes what the Filipino is all about. To describe all of this as ironic is now too much of a compliment. I prefer to call it moronic.
Given my youthful personal ten-year perspective on this I’d like to defer to a more elderlyDa Pinoy Condition from the venerable F. Sionil José related by Financial Times writer David Pilling in his article “Philippine Democracy Under Fire“: and presumably wiser take on
I was in Manila to see F. Sionil José, the Philippines’ most famous novelist and a trenchant social commentator. I found him several flights up a narrow wooden staircase above the Solidaridad bookshop he founded in 1965 in the city’s old Ermita district. A large, forceful man, with a shiny, bald head, José, now 85, bears a striking resemblance to Marlon Brando’s Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. He was less than enthused about the election. “Nothing is going to change,” he chuckled grimly. “I am 85. I have seen three generations of Filipino leaders fail. They have never been able to transcend themselves, neither their class nor their ethnicity.
“Did you read The Economist obituary on her?” he asked, referring to Aquino. “It said her greatness ended when she became president. Many people were angry. But for those of us who had eyes wide open, her rule was a disaster,” he said, hissing the final “s”. “She promised land reform. She didn’t do it. She restored the oligarchy. I never forgave her for that.”
José is a polemicist, who has been branded both a Communist and a CIA spy. But his views on the Aquino presidency are not that unusual. In spite of the outpouring of emotion that I had witnessed at her funeral, many Filipinos had been disappointed by what her presidency actually achieved. She was, after all, say her critics, a member of one of the biggest landowning families in the Philippines. In the end, she did little to antagonise those from the privileged class into which she had been born.
All that said, here’s the thing: There is really nothing new about the Philippines being stuck with a moronic politician and, as such,
The challenge faced by the Filipino remains the same.
Same challenge, different politician. That’s all it is.
We need to become less anti-intellectual and conduct ourselves in a smarter way. It is a simple approach to participating in governance that democracy demands.
It’s simple, really™ — though not for the small-minded.
About the Author
benign0 has written 140 stories on this site.
benign0 is the webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
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reposting this in UP for Gordon-Bayani 2010
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treena Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
now i am ashamed i went to UP.
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treena Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
i am from olongapo and i say that gordon vote is not only a dumb vote but a suicidal vote for the country.
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sky Reply:
May 13th, 2010 at 6:49 am
Uhh…how exactly?
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Starting today, I will not anymore sing the anthem. This is an embarrassing end to our nation
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Jay Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 1:42 am
I’ll have charice sing it in my place instead.
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The core message still didn’t work. The only way to change Flippers is outsource government. It may be impossible but doable. Reverse colonialism. Request foreign government to colonize Flipland if outsourcing Flipland government is incenseing and rephrehensible to Flip mentality.
Flippers do not have enough kukote to grasp this idea not until we initiate the 1st in history like Manny Pacquiao’s kindergarten-drop-out, academically not suported sport.
Flippers only want is to be the first. This is the pirst. Let us admit that Flippers are not democratically responsible for self-rule.
Lookit, Flppers would kill for a Visa abroad so they can speakengese goot country club englischtzes. Therefore, Fippers are just confused what they are in the whole grand scheme of thengie.
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Ma Xianding Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 1:42 am
Hahahahahahahahahahahhaha!!!! Flippers should just die. The election results prove that Flippers are not evolved human beings but lower than Neanderthals.
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Shaddap Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 2:53 am
Neanderthals were in Europe… I think Flippers are lower than the TABON MAN who was found in Tabon cave in the Phils.
Primitive, stupid, small-brained. We thinking types are the aberration. Filipinos are f@cking stupid.
I must have been a bad person in a past life for me to have been reborn as a thinking Filipino… It makes me hate who I am, knowing that I belong to a race of f&cking RETARDS!
F*ck you Filipinos!!!! You chose morons for top 1 and 2 for president. Even got an asshole trapo as Vice.
Fakken stupid!!!
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J.B. Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 3:06 am
Insults usually leads us nowhere.
The best thing I reckon we can do at his point and forward is to use whatever we have this time to communicate to the people who are deprived of good education to make better choices.
Jay Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 3:29 am
Yeah. Reminding people who they are again and again won’t help unless you give them a new identity they can accept. Gordon is ready to move on and more than likely doing good things the hard way with no recognition whatsoever. Would be a good idea to see what Gibo has planned as well.
Nobody ever said this war is going to be easy, especially thinking of positive opportunities during these negative times.
Wander-ruh Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 5:47 am
I’m with JB here. we’ve got to be creative if we need to move forward.
We have to start somewhere.
treena Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
thank you. i am a filipino. maybe not just lower than the tabon man. maybe the lowest kind of organism. yes. at least, we are not of the same specie as you are. thank you for that.
Renat0 Pacific0 Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 9:50 am
MaX naman, naman. Flips cannot die now. Flips still as pyutyur. The pyutyur of Flippers is either outsource the government or outsource themselves. Meaning, volunteer themselves to go abroad so their lives can be run by white government PROVIDED THAT FLIPPERS ARE NOT TO LIVE IN THE SAME TOWNSHIPs. Because if they do, they will elect same ‘ol corrupt Filipino mayor like in Carson, California WHO GOT INCANCERATED FOR EXTREME CORRUPTION, BIGOTRY AND RACISM.
Hey, yo, SoCal Flips! SAY I’M WRONG! Carson is teeming and crawling with corrupt Flips that elected Flipping Flipper whose englischtzes is sooo attrocious nga nakakahiya ….. TELL ME I AM WRONG … BECAUSE I WAS NEVER WRONG BEFORE.
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Renat0 Pacific0 Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Hey, yo, MaX, sorry thing about that Flip Carson Mayor was he was sooo dumb. When some one came a-knocking on his door he peeked in the hole. Oooops! G-men in their suits. So scurried toward the back door. A G-Man was waiting for him, too.
This is how it went down according to TALES OF FILIPINOS. G-Man asked Flip Mayor where he was going. Flip Carson Mayor saided, “I am going to take a pee”. G-Man replied, “Nice try, put your hands behind you”. Which the Flip mayor did without even saying “Don’t you know who I am?” Which is very common in Flipland. NOT IN AMERICA YOU FLIPS!
Ma Xianding Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 9:54 am
Really? The Carson Mayor showed what Flip culture really is? So all those jologs in Carson hanging out at JALIBI and Seafood City wearing hip hop clothes and speak horrible Englitszches has proven that those who are so Pinoy are also so dysfunctional? All those BSNs in Carson?
ilda Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 1:46 am
Hmmmm…this is not such a bad idea.
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Renat0 Pacific0 Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 9:56 am
Ilda, That is the only way. As what my friend, Benign0 has saided “the Filipinos are (politically) dysfnctional” To put it in lay-man’s term “WHAT GOOT IS A GOOT PRESIDENT IF 99.99% OF FLIPPERS ARE CORRUPT”. To expounded further, “A Goot president has to come down from Malacanang to direct traffic in EDSA because policemen there are corrupt”; “A Goot president has to invistigate the ZTE because the Senators are corrupt” so on and on and on and on …..
Ilda, my friend, if it were easy to go to America the anti-outsourcing of government would wrap themselves around the US embassy to git that precious VISA to America
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May Party Sa Dasma Wala Akong Wheels Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 4:29 am
Pare, for once, I get you.
GabbyD Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
i agree — if u think its culture, then there are no solutions from constitutional change.
there is an easy way to “outsource” govt –migrate… if u feel that way, go ahead…
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ChinoF Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
I would think that culture can change as part of reactions to constitutional change. Otherwise, it could start from initiatives to change culture itself, such as collective boycott, etc.
If I migrate, that’s not outsourcing of government… that’s more like outsourcing of citizenship.
GabbyD Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
“I would think that culture can change as part of reactions to constitutional change”
lets see…, i would certianly hope so. aquino is open to thinking about consti change:
“Aquino also said he will live up to his campaign promise to set up a commission to study charter change and see if the public supports it.” — Abs-cbn
so, get ur best arguments /specific amendments ready!
jethernandez Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
GabbyD… Does “D” stands for “dumb” or “dumber”?
There is no argument to start with.
THE CULTURE IS A CULTURE OF PATRONAGE AND COLLUSION OF OLIGARCHS AND OLIGOPOLIES!!! In the Philippines you can’t beat that. Bastardizing the Pareto optimality of 80/20 rule, we have about 80 percent DUMB voters who’ve voted for a dumb president who doesn’t even have that experience to manage his COMPROMISES… because he’s never had the experience to do so.
This COLLUSION is a fncking mean machine that goes under the pretext of GOEBBELIAN mode of brainwashing the so-called educated ignoramuses and the dumbest masa population… the 80 percent of the electorate.
…and this is not about Noynoy Aquino in the first place… it’s about the WINNING CLANS’ BEST INTEREST…
To analyze this further it takes two sets of wankers to start with:
1. The opportunists type that is subdivided into:
a. Political Clans – The Bautista clan of Cavite (Bong Revilla), Ejercitos (Jinggoy Estrada), Enriles, Ramos/Shahanis, Apacibles and Rectos of Batangas…..
b. Oligopolies – the Ayalas, the Lopezes, Pangilinans, the Linas, Aboitiz, Jimenez (GMA 7)
c. Media takers… National Peso Club and its members, de Quiros, Manolo, Tordecillas et al
d. Religious leaders – CBCP, INC elders, Velarde, Quiboloy
e. Technocrats and lobbyists
f. RELATIVES AND FRIENDS OF THE ABOVE (Lila, GabbyD, Margallo… etc…)
2. THE DUMB ELECTORATE
a. educators/academicians who always want to hear MORAL THEORIES… not applications
b. the low income earning illiterates
c. the unemployed illiterates
d. the academic diploma owners who remained ignorant by WATCHING THE TELEVISION and listening to MORALISTS’ STATEMENTS
If we’re talking how the recent election has been won… we only have one answer… Noynoy’s supporters have handled the media well… NO MORE NO LESS… so what’s the point of argument… everybody conceded… ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR… including ELECTIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES.
So GabbyD… what type do you belong… I think it’s the second one…. 2.D to be specific.
Just a ****ty piece of advise gabbyD… LIFE IS NOT ALWAYS PAINTED BLACK AND WHITE… you have to go beyond what you see, read or hear… The persons who will be managing the Noynoy Aquino government are the same blokes who’ve benefited during the Cory, Ramos and Gloria’s administrations… some of them belongs to erap’s power group. it is the SAME OLD S H I T… we start “nation building”…. which means we start re-building or enhancing our affiliations with the network of OLIGARCHS AND OLIGOPOLIES…
HALLELUYAH HYMEN…
GabbyD Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
whats ur point jet?
is your point, “there is no solution”?
go ahead, wow us all…
jethernandez Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
good question gabby D… “what’s your point?”
it’s in your face…. read between the lines… you may have the educated ignoramuses’ faculty to read my comment… but you don’t have the cognitive ability to understand what’s been written… like what Ilda commented on you on your query a few months ago… “even if i tell you… you wouldn’t understand”
sometimes gabbyd… when you read information sets… all you need to do is to analyze it yourself… sometimes the solution or “point” is apparent… questioning the “point” is another stupid query… hehehehe…
i love you too gabbyD
GabbyD Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
thats so sad, that you dont want to spell it out. i’m sure everyone will benefit. i’m thinking baka hindi mo lang kaya ipaliwanag ang solusyon sa oligarchy problem, but thats impossible, since ur so smart and know “goebbels”.
buti pa si Bong! he’s got a ready solution!
jethernandez Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
GabbyD
In the educated ignoramuses’ world of the Philippine academic community the scientific process of making a thesis is
1. defining your bias on a phenomenon… something that is observed…
2. reading literature and studies with reference to the phenomenon
3. defining your theories and hypotheses on the phenomenon
4. reading more literature and studies and designing a FRAMEWORK… theoretical or conceptual
5. observation and experimentation
6. analysis of what was observed and experimented
7. presenting the observation and analysis… your findings
8. coming up with a CONCLUSION AND A RECOMMENDATION…
in your case… you do not even have the cognitive faculties to understand the logic of this scientific sequence… so how can you understand a SOLUTION OR A RECOMMENDATION… that is what you call a CONGENITAL SCIENTIFIC IGNORANCE…
I love you too GabbyD
ChinoF Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 1:43 am
That’s one of the worries about the Aquino administration today… even if we suggest constitutional amendments and cultural changes, the administration may refuse them to protect oligarch interests. You can believe us when we say this… the oligarchs, landed families and big businessmen… they’ll protect their own interests at the expense of the country’s. Yet that is something worth opposing, or criticizing, at the least.
May Party Sa Dasma Wala Akong Wheels Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 4:36 am
GabbyD, kailan mo makukuha na Noynoy’s administration will be open to studying this and studying that and everything else in between? Parang Philippine National Police yan – kapag nothing is being done about it and they’re waiting for leads to fall into their laps, they call it “iniimbestigahan.”
Aba eh di we’ll be fiscalized from behind for another 6 years.
GabbyD Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 5:37 am
@chino
“Yet that is something worth opposing, or criticizing, at the least.”
i agree. we should oppose it.
i suppose anyone is free to be cynical about the govt.
but if we are cynical ALL THE TIME, how can we make the changes WE CLAIM we want?
i’m not saying its gonna be easy, but we’ve got to move forward expecting an honest exchange. pare-pareho naman tayong may gustong mapa-buti ang bansa di ba? hell, even gordon said he’d engage — i expect no less from him, and everyone else.
BongV Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 8:45 am
GabbyD:
You are WOWing us all with…
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Pinay Goddess Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
“Aquino also said he will live up to his campaign promise to set up a commission to study charter change and see if the public supports it.” — Abs-cbn
Gosh, another commission! Earlier i read he wanted a commission to investigate Garci, fertilizer scam, etc. There are presidential advisers with cabinet rank whose offices can do the groundwork, including sectoral consultations, then make recommendations for possible congressional action.
The soon-to be President’s early pronouncements give us a preview of the type of leadership we’re going to bear in the next six years- indecisive with misplaced priorities.
GabbyD Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
@bong
…with what bong? what are you talking about brah?
GabbyD Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
@Pinay
i think you hit the nail on the head.
You think commissions to study charter change is indecisive because you KNOW all the changes that are necessary.
thats it! since u know what the changes are, do share EXACTLY what those changes ought to be? i look forward to listening/reading about it.
BongV Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
1. go to the search bar AP
2. type protectionism.
3. then come back with your report.
let us know if you need instructions on how to use a keyboard
Jay Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
BongV, I gotta say, sometimes pinoys are just downright intimidated by you. I think you made GabbyD go nearly strawman when the issue is about realistic changes for the country and he tries to apply cynicism to the argument.
Ease up a bit. Next thing you know they won’t even take your argument head on and just rant about you and AP in their blogs since all their reputable sources are not up to the task of solidifying their arguments.
ChinoF Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 2:30 am
That was a suggestion we long rejected thanks to that tontow Manuel Quezon.
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Renat0 Pacific0 Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
HA!HA!HA! Chino, Chino, Chino. Do you know where those rejectors are now? They are now in America speakengese goot englischtzes to their childre. Their children cannot even speak tangalog anymores. SO MUCH OF SHOW OF PATRIOTISM
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Very timely, and big nod of ‘yes’ to this. Time to return to a change IN men at a time when the focus was (understandably) more on a change OF men. The choices have already been made, and it already speaks volumes on how little we’ve progressed (if at all).
Now that the election counting is almost over and the dust begins to settle, it’s time to reflect once again on why Filipinos can’t get over the hump to jumpstart a better future. While we keep our eyes and ears on attention to what our new leaders will/will not do for us, we must also strive for more understanding and unity to get our core message accross to others.
For those still coping with loss through emotions and more speculations, welcome to the real world. This should be taken as a learning experience, especially for first-time voters. It is good “dose of reality” that makes an individual a better person in the future. It is my hope that we will eventually achieve something that may not sound possible at this moment. If AP inspires you, think about what we can achieve if we can inspire others as well.
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Homer Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 3:50 am
Just to expand on what I just said above, I thought of this classic gem that keeps reminding us that it’s NOT the end of the world (or the Filipino race, for that matter):
REVOLUTION by The Beatles
You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it’s evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don’t you know that you can count me out
Don’t you know it’s gonna be all right
all right, all right
You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We’d all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We’re doing what we can
But when you want money
for people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
Don’t you know it’s gonna be all right
all right, all right
Ah
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah…
You say you’ll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it’s the institution
Well, you know
You better free you mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao
You ain’t going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don’t you know it’s gonna be all right
all right, all right
all right, all right, all right
all right, all right, all right
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Guess we’re back to doing what we’ve always been doing… pointing out the flaws and problems in our backward Filipino culture and think of ways by which we can address this.
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Homer Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 5:46 am
@Chino…..As far as I’m concerned, you’ve been great. You, and all the other main writers here have served as a source of inspiration to many (yes…including me), and sana lang you guys continue with the work that’s yet to be done. We can sometimes make mistakes with our words, but that’s because we’e only human…and as we seek understanding from those we may offend (deservingly and undeservingly), it’s the core message of AP that would eventually set us all free.
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ChinoF Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 6:26 am
Thanks a lot, dude, very encouraging. The other writers here are certain to not disappoint… I just have to keep up. Nyahaha.
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Renat0 Pacific0 Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 10:06 am
@Chino, WE ARE UNTOUCHABLES. WE ARE UNENVITABLES in public forums. Because like what happened to Dick Gordon’s debate THEY ARE AFRAID OF THE TRUTH.
The idiyot peryodistas are very very afraid fo the truth! I have plenty of kwestyons from the idiyot peryodistas. I sent them e-mails nothing! NADA! ZILCH! ZERO! NIEN! NIEN! NIEN! NIEN!
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Don’t worry guys. Sadly it’s not that time yet. This is probably the last voting year of the 1940′s people that includes Estrada. And hope in twenty years time, hopefuls like Gibo is really old but still alive. And all the people that voted Estrada are all dead.
Generation gap so to speak.
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Jon Abaca Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 5:02 am
Gah. Then the kids who dream of going on Wowowee start voting.
Que barbaridad!
We’ve got a lot of work to do!
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Homer Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 5:19 am
How sure are you that no one from your generation voted for Estrada? And why wait another 20 years to achieve something.? Sayang lang your purpose in being here. Your words not only shows the coping process you’re going through (which is understandable), but a gap in thought (so to speak). If you wish to speak for your generation with this defeatist attitude, you are denying them a chance to achieve something sooner than later. I know you can do better than this….but if you wish to pack your bags instead, no one’s stopping you.
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ChinoF Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 10:35 am
Not really just the old guys… there’s this commenter on one of my posts who revealed a pro-Erap stance… going to his blog, i surmised that he was young. There may be more young people going for Erap too these days. I think it’s inspired by opposition to GMA. Sometimes people just base their votes on anti-incumbentism – whoever’s in power, they’re the enemy.
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Jay Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Many young pro-Erap are no better. They’ll vote him because his 2 years were showing promise. He’s a champion of the people. Okay stuff if you ask me and honestly, I would’ve been hooked as well if Gordon or Gibo weren’t running.
Erap could make it a good 6 years but ultimately, he still hasn’t changed the people. After his term, they’ll still be off since having been used to having a sole person they call a ‘savior’ in politics, they’ll try find the same qualities in a leader.
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On the brighter said many netizens (including me) are now aware of AP
I wanna be a GetRealist but unfortunately im still afflicted somewhat with DaPinoy condition.
I’ll still be here , tambay tambay lang
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Instead of singing the(ir) national anthem, we should rap some lines from F— tha Police by NWA or Fight the Power by Public Enemy. We shall not be silent.
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Homer Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 6:14 am
Just a reminder:
“We need to become less anti-intellectual and conduct ourselves in a smarter way. It is a simple approach to participating in governance that democracy demands.”
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Jay Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 11:23 am
I was thinking pre-recording of someone singing it and have them sing it in your place instead. Thats constitutional anyway.
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Ian Lopez Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
I’d rather not sing our supposed national anthem. Members of Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t do that (as governments are evil according to their beliefs). Even if we are to be either jailed or shot for not singing the anthem, might as well take the risk and consider our actions as an act of protest. My friend decided not to wear yellow shirts for the next 6 years, no thanks to the 2nd Aquino presidency.
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Oh hay, song related?
Kamusta na by Yano
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sWku0Dd2uU
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ChinoF Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 6:37 am
I have the Greatest Hits CD of these geniuses. Man, I love it.
“Kamusta na, Ayos pa ba
Ang buhay natin, kaya pa ba?
Eh kung hinde, paano na?
Ewan mo ba, Bahala na?”
I’ll get to the good part:
“Pebrero, bente-sais nang si Apo ay umalis
Ngiti mo’y hanggang tenga sa kakatalon, napunit a’ng pantalon mo
Pero hindi bale, sabi mo, marami naman kame
Kahit na amoy pawis, tuloy pa rin ang disco sa kalye
Nakita kita kahapon, may hila-hilang kariton
Huminto sa may Robinson, tumanga buong maghapon
Sikat ka noon sa tibi kase kasama ka doon sa rali
Pero ngayo’y nag-iisa, naglalakad sa may EDSA”
The complete lyrics
Man, these guys hit it hard and right on the point. It’s a classic Get Realist song.
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Mickey Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 7:07 am
I still have a cassette tape from Yano..a hand me down from my aunt who a writer slash activist on Free Press.
I gotta get a hold of the greatest hits CD..I miss hearing the truth from music..
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Anonylol Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
It’s pretty depressing that the lyrics are still applicable today.
“Kamusta na?”
“Eto, ganun pa rin.”
no offense to those who voted for noynoy but i want to throw one big question to everyone… why noynoy? i want a wise answer, not answers like “re-living the edsa days” or “he’s president cory’s son”. i will support the newly elected president because i know that we all have to move on to have a better country.
given 12 years in the senate, not passing even a single bill, not having a wife, and being close to the church (this is a negative thing for a president because this might affect a lot of strategic decisions that he may do in the future), always caught sleeping, and mudslinging towards villar, uhh.. i really don’t know
i’m beginning to wonder the 12 million votes for him… why?
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Jay Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 11:27 am
survey says….
1. Most Winnable Candidate
followed by
2. Mas mabuti kay si Erap
3. Mas mabuti kay si Villar
4. Legacy
5. Humbleness and Integrity
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Ma Xianding Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Because Filipinos deserve to die. I wish anthrax or massive poisoning happens to Philippines. They are so stupid and desere nothing but eradication.
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Dean dela Paz Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
There’s at least 12 million out there that will soon be regreting that they were stupid. But then, of course, they will be blaming societal ills for it.
Dean
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ChinoF Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 9:18 am
And they hate hearing, “taong bayan din ang may kasalanan,” don’t they?
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This problem is very deep. I think we’re in those times when Rizal was writing Noli and El Fili. Only difference is that we are the enemy. Keep it up. I love this site.
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@Joey, the NUMERO UNO enemy is the idiyot peryodistas. Idiyot peryodistas are the one who educate us after we graduated college and to those who cannot afford education.
I learned law reading American newspapers. In Philippine newspapers it teaches you how easy to git away with corruption.
I learn invistigative process thru Streets of San Francisco, CSI: Miami and NY. In Philippines I learn love triangles … love squares … love exponents ….
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Vox Populi Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
@RP, you should have paid more attention when you were reading those American newspapers since your spelling sucks.
It’s “get” not “git” and “investigative” not “invistigative”. You sound like you a Yabis or a Kiwi.
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Jay Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 12:15 am
Vox chill, I think you aren’t used to Renato’s style.
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Emet Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 2:44 am
As they say, there are no legitimate newspapers in the Philippines, only tabloids…
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What do you expect in a nation of ****wits? Of course, the people will elect ****wit leaders like themselves.
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Blame it on Manuel Quezon for saying something like, “I’d rather have a country run like hell by Filipinos rather than a country ran like heaven by the Americans.”
Look what he got us all into. Lol.
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Jay Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
I bet where he is now, it isn’t ran by filipinos. Thats for sure, that lying sack of SH**.
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Then let us unite and catapult Gibo or Gordon to the 2016 presidency!!!
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Agreed with Jeremy, why did Quezon had to open that flap of his. /facepalm