Bongbong Marcos is the only Filipino REALLY qualified to talk about the future of Mindanao!

June 18, 2015

by benign0

 

First of all, why do people who favour the passing of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in its current unconstitutional form see themselves as “peace advocates”? Does that imply that war is a certainty if the current draft BBL is not passed? What does that say about the Moro Islamic Liberation Front — that terrorist organisation the Philippine government foolishly got in bed with? Obviously, it implies that they will be flooding the Mindanao countryside with blood if they do not get their way. That seems to be the logic in the notion that pro-BBL Filipinos are “pro-peace”.

Faced with my expression of dissent to the passage of the fatally-flawed BBL now being debated in the Philippine Senate, some bozo on Twitter challenged me to provide a “better alternative”. So I gave her this response:

.@tatancast #Federalism. Grant autonomy to 1 group & it sets the precedent for others. So far only the MILF get its way coz it’s got guns.

After that there was silence. Or, to be more precise, some further inconsequential waffling that failed to address the pertinent points made during the short “discussion”.

And that little micro-debate, in essence, is a microcosm of the Philippine “debate”. You can easily see now why Filipinos stick to old, traditional, obsolete, and even fatal ideas. It is because they habitually fail to explore ways forward. Instead, they cling to the quaint historical myths that imprison their small minds.

Step further back and we will note that, today, the only Filipino politician providing real thought leadership in this time of abject national confusion is Philippine Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. He stands out amidst all the other politicians — more astoundingly those who have categorically proclaimed their intent to run for no less than the Philippine presidency in 2016 — who are spending their days contributing to the drivelous national noise of traditional Filipino-style political ‘debate’.

Marcos is the only Filipino politician who habitually maps a way forward. He was the first to do that back in the dark days following the cold-blooded massacre of 44 of the Philippines’ finest police officers by elements of the terrorist Moro Islamic Liberation Front. While Filipinos waited for days, utterly baffled by Malacanang’s silence following that tragedy, Marcos had been busy developing a roadmap forward to guide fellow Filipinos who had been reeling from the shock of that hideous atrocity.

Today, still consistent with that proactive approach to leadership and going against the tide of Filipinos’ renowned retrospective style of thinking things through, Senator Marcos is exploring viable alternatives to what is evidently the failed “Bangsamoro” enterprise of the administration of President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III. By all accounts, Marcos had done his homework. He spent months travelling the islands consulting with a soundly representative cross-section of stakeholders in that affair, making sure that all sectors of Philippine society are heard.

On the back of that hard work and unprecedented statesmanship, Senator Bongbong Marcos is the only Filipino national government official truly qualified to talk about the future of the people of Mindnanao.

Note the words in the statement above: the people of Mindanao. Senator Marcos has made this about all Filipinos who happen to be living in Mindanao. He does not make it about the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, nor about Muslims or Christians. Even Malaysia has been cut out of the discussion altogether.

Why then do Filipinos need to continue listening to the moronisms being served to them by the likes of Teresita Deles, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, and the man still known as “Mohagher Iqbal”? That’s not a difficult question to answer. Filipinos habitually listen to idiots and allow themselve to be mesmerised by their ululations because they are too lazy to think like modern human beings.

A Filipino faced with a sound argument that runs counter to the body of ancient pre-21st Century beliefs she holds sacred acts like a cat frozen in its tracks in the middle of the road blinded by the headlights of a car barrelling towards it. Like that Twitter bozo I mentioned earlier, Filipinos, like the imminent roadkill that they are, simply lack the brain power to process alternative views essential to their very survival.

What does Senator Marcos get for his trouble? Well, when you are a bright strobe standing amongst dim bulbs, you become a target of the ambient dimness. According to a GMA News report, the following constitutes the “intelligent” response of the Philippines’ community of so-called “peace advocates”…

In a statement, the coalition of 32 peace advocacy groups called Marcos’ plan to draft an entirely new version of the BBL as indicative of the “depths of megalomania he is capable of and the utter disregard he has for all government institutions and peace process.”

Classy indeed.

If Filipinos can call spending months meeting with the people who are most affected by the BBL fantasy a “disregard” for the “peace process” with a straight face, that by itself describes the profoundness of the intellectual bankruptcy that grips this former American colony which, by the way, was given its independence by the United States in 1946 (not “won” in 1898 following some mythological “revolution”).

It’s time Filipinos step up and catch up with the modern way the rest of humanity thinks and put a stop to their comfy relationship with mediocrity.

Denial Syndrome: The Pinoy Big Problem

June 17, 2015

by Grimwald

So far, three major issues are being discussed just about everywhere right now: There’s Lea Salonga’s tweet about the apparent lack of freedom in the Philippines which is discussed by these articles. Then there’s the housing and squatter problem in Manila as depicted by a certain aerial photograph and this article here by Benign0 analyzes it at length. Lastly, there’s the issue with the trains, the traffic and the air pollution that go with the latter as shown in this other article by Benign0.

Now, here’s the rub:

Why are we even surprised by any of this? Why are there people who act like they never knew about these things when these issues have been plaguing our society for more than a decade now? Why are there those who refuse to even acknowledge these problems and go on to even label these as “publicity stunts”?

Sadly, while these glaring issues are only just a few of the Philippines’ many problems, majority of its citizens turn a blind eye to just about anything they find unpleasant and bash those who call them out on their stupidity. As demonstrated by just how so many reacted negatively to Lea Salonga’s comment about our alleged “Independence Day” and the ills of our society, majority of Pinoys will always prefer to deceive themselves than face their problems directly and solve them. Also, while the heavy pollution that saturates Manila is beginning to take its toll on the citizenry, one can only wonder how many citizens are willing to even care about the issue, let alone do something about it.

Now, this may seem a bit off-topic, but I remember George Carlin saying that, if God made us and loved us, why would He send people to Hell? While I’m not going to dispute George Carlin (and no, this isn’t really about religion), I have always believed that people send themselves to Hell, choosing voluntarily to turn away from what’s good (in this case truth) in place of evil (which is delusion). I have always thought that Socrates was right about his ideas of good and evil, with good being concerned with knowledge and truth and evil being primarily ignorance and apathy. There is also a reason, I think, why Satan is called “The Father of Lies” and it ties in with the way some people prefer comfortable lies and self-delusion rather than coming to terms with reality and doing what they can about it.

In the end, no matter what religion you subscribe to, unless you can face the reality of what’s happening, what you’ve done and what you can do about it, you can never be free of regret and misery. Once, I was like many of the other common Pinoys out there, seeing only what I wanted to see and knowing only what I wanted now. But now, I have awakened and, with the help of allies both here in GRP and beyond, perhaps we can wake others into facing the harsh realities that now besiege the Philippines.

As long as we continue to delude ourselves as a people, I can assure you that our lack of freedom, overpopulation and pollution will just be the beginning of our problems…

The parallel nation-fixing challenges of Jeb Bush and Bongbong Marcos

June 16, 2015

by benign0

I don’t like the idea of finding “parallels” between United States politics and that of the Philippines’. They are miles apart. But it is hard to ignore the one thing about a recent development that Filipinos can relate with — the presidential candidacy of Jeb Bush and how he faces the formidable challenge of pitching his value to the American people despite his family name.

Jeb, brother of former President George W Bush and former governor of Florida has finally announced his bid for the United States presidency vowing to “take Washington out of the business of causing problems”. That statement alone would already sound familiar to Filipinos.

To be fair, unlike most Republicans, Jeb’s language skills are not limited to just American English. He speaks fluent Spanish, is a graduate of Latin American Affairs at the University of Texas and is married to a woman of Mexican descent, Columba Bush. If Bush becomes president, Columba would become the first Hispanic First Lady in US history. Obviously, all of these potentially endears Bush to the Hispanic vote.

Enter the Filipino politician similarly saddled with family legacy. Senator Bongbong Marcos, for his part, has demonstrated statesmanship even further beyond his own comfort zone. He is from the province of Ilocos, the far north of the Philippines. Yet he has built strong ties with the Philippines’ restive deep south where, in the past year (and more) he tirelessly consulted with his fellow Filipinos there to get an on-the-ground pulse check on how they really felt about President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino’s fundamentally-flawed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) project which aimed to carve out a vast chunk of Mindanao and hand it over to the terrorist Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Unlike many Filipino politicians who spend their days delivering lip service on the subject of “social justice” from their offices in Manila, Marcos has, in a brilliant seizing of a rare opportunity over the last 18 months, imprinted his name in the minds of Filipinos across the Philippine archipelago from top to bottom on the basis of real results. He has averted the trainwreck that was the Aquino administration’s ill-conceived BBL adventure and broadened the discussion on regional autonomy to the more encompassing and universally-empowering idea of federalism at a truly national level.

So, like Marcos, Jeb Bush is also saddled by his family’s baggage — a big thorny bush (pardon the pun) to tiptoe around. He is running with a logo, just “Jeb”, that noticeably excludes his surname — perhaps to divert the public’s attention from this little detail.

“Our country is on a very bad course,” said Mr Bush. “The question is what are we going to do about it. I have to decide what I’m going to do about it and I’ve decided I’m a candidate for president of the United States of America.”

The US, indeed, is on a troublesome trajectory. Americans have, over the last couple of decades, watched helplessly as their industrial might eroded under their feet thanks to Corporate America’s wanton palming off of manufacturing capacity over to China taking along with it Western civilisation’s most prized technologies. Yet even as Western capital — led by Big American Corporate — funded China’s rise to economic and military dominance, America’s grip on the oriental shipping lanes through which commerce vital to its economy is shipped has softened.

Add to that Silicon Valley’s relentless churning out of technologies aimed at progressively rendering expensive First World labour increasingly obsolete and one can’t help but wonder too how Bush could make good on his promise of “creating 19 million new jobs for Americans”. He is up against two fronts in the jobs-creation challenge — goose-stepping cheap Chinese labour and the onslaught of cheap human-replacement technology.

While Bush still has to formulate his strategy for changing America’s fortunes, Marcos already has the kernel around which a truly transformational platform could blossom…

In a press briefing held at the Royal Mandaya Hotel, Marcos supported the idea of federalism being pushed by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

“In political theory, it is almost axiomatic to say that a single center of power is much less stable than many centers of political power. For a more stable government, federalism is a good idea,” Marcos said.

However, the process of overhauling the current unitary government into a federal form must be studied very closely.

Granted, as a Third World country, the Philippines’ opportunities are mostly low-hanging fruit. Indeed, it only takes a Filipino politician who can rise out of the Philippines’ Juan Tamad archetype of lying on the ground mouth agape waiting for said fruit to fall off in order to reap those opportunities. Jeb Bush is, of course, faced with challenges at a different level and on a different scale. But both men are, ultimately, politicians plying their trade in similar types of democracies in uniquely interesting times where doing things differently will spell the difference between failure and success.

A Culture of Exploitation

May 5, 2015

by Grimwald

Greed has always been a big problem here in the Philippines, from the criminal syndicates that now run the country to the media moguls that dumb down the people. Almost always, it is the Filipino people who suffer and, at the end of the day, it’s almost like no one even cares anymore. However, upon closer observation, it has baffled me whether greed is the only problem that we have or do our issues run even deeper than we’d care to think. Going back to some of my earlier posts here in GRP, it’s like some of us are just too submissive to resist the much more powerful and much more corrupt elements of our society.

I think that our biggest problem is the fact that while some of us may indeed be “awakened” in some way, these few are far outnumbered by exploiters and the exploited, as mentioned by one commenter here in GRP. This system of exploitation is essentially a slave-master relationship, no matter how people choose to phrase it because it doesn’t seem at all that different from the way colonists treated their native slaves in days of old. One guy or one party holds the whip and the rest do what the holder of the whip says or else.

Need me to elaborate? Well, okay…

Everyone Tolerates Political Corruption

Okay, this page as well as the various protesters we see here and there are evidence that not everyone puts up with corruption. Unfortunately, the fact that many of these scoundrels remain in power gives you a good idea that not that many people are willing to do anything about them. Sure, you can name all the politicians who are either corrupt or outright thugs, but I strongly doubt that you can get people to rise up against them and oust them from power.

Of course, one can surmise that most people are probably just scared. Well, I don’t blame them. A gun in your face or the face of your loved ones is one sure way to convince you to keep quiet. However, how many more tragedies do we have to put up with before enough becomes enough. After the death of the SAF 44, the loss of Mei Magsino and other journalists as well as the dangers faced by OFWs like Mary Jane Veloso and all those who need travel overseas just to make ends meet for their families, you’d think that most Pinoys would have learned their lesson by now.

Unfortunately, that is simply not the case. While lauded as a hero, Manny Pacquiao is still in cahoots with people like Chavit Singson who could probably be considered the Philippines’ champion asshole. Take note also that despite trying to make himself out to be another hero with the ousting of former President Estrada and a rather hilarious grade-B movie to promote his image, a lot of people still remain subservient to the current system and refuse to even acknowledge the fact that Chavit has cheated, bribed and killed so many in his career in politics.

Credit Grabbing Has Become The Norm

Now, a lot of Filipinos are indeed hard-working and industrious. Indeed, I applaud those who manage to succeed in life honestly and with a clear conscience. Unfortunately, like those who are politically awake, they are few and far between and are plagued mercilessly by those seeking to take credit for their successes.

Indeed, this is the true essence of “crab mentality”. In fact, I find it silly that many accuse us here at GRP for having “crab mentality” when its true meaning is forgotten by many of our accusers. Crab mentality is essentially trying to bring down others by either taking credit away from them or seeking to discredit them with the intent of tearing down their hard work.

Anyway, while I can attest to the fact that it took the effort of many to free Mary Jane Veloso from her predicament, it strikes me as wrong that only one or a few people want to claim credit for rescuing the poor OFW. At the end of the day, MJ Veloso has become similar to Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter whom a lot of people were fighting over because of the wealth she could bring to her potential foster parents.

Look, before you react again, let me tell you this. If you want to get somewhere in your life, then you have to go out there and do it yourself. The people you voted for, the celebrities you admire or your next door neighbor who became rich through the lottery probably won’t be doing anything for you. Remember, be your own hero. Don’t rely on others to bring you wealth or credit. Any positive changes must start from within you.

People Are Happy With The Status Quo

Let’s face it, our system is deeply corrupt. As a nation and as a people, we are largely insignificant on the world stage. Sure, there are quite a few of us who make it big like Manny Pacquiao or Charice Pempengco, but again, these people became what they are through dedication and determination. While they certainly support our people spiritually and, occasionally, financially, they can’t change the fact that a lot of Pinoys are content with being parasites. Just take note of the squatters who are all too often squatters by choice as while the government does indeed support them, they often leave their free homes out of sheer stubbornness and go back to being nuisances to society.

While this mindset remains in place, I can promise you that whatever progress we can make in our country will either be too late or insignificant, resulting in an even worse condition for our beloved country. While I do not believe that it’s too late for the Philippines to rise up and become something truly great, I think it is now trapped by distractions provided by the media and restrictions placed by the government. Unless we can free ourselves, then I can only imagine a bleak and terrible future awaiting the Filipino people.

A Submissive Nation, A Culture of Slavery

May 1, 2015

by Grimwald

After the various reactions to one of my previous articles, I cannot help but have quite a few reactions of my own. Anyway, now that we have our sentiments out in the open, I harken back to when I first started writing here to one of my very first articles. Again, with the recent events unfolding like a runaway train from the unsolved case of the Fallen 44, the BBL which the Aquino administration continues to endorse despite the outrage of the general public, the spared life of Mary Jane Veloso to the up and coming fight of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, I once again find myself asking an ever familiar question.

“Are we truly free?”

Well, according to our history books, we have been free for decades now. After being allegedly “freed” from the yoke of tyranny of the Marcos regime, I find myself wondering just what is it that makes so many Filipinos believe that they are free. I, for one, don’t see our country us as “free”.

Instead, when I look at my countrymen, I am briefly reminded of the film District 9. Yes, the movie with the human-cockroach aliens that people kept calling prawns. Anyway, if you observe the aliens, majority of them simply wander about aimlessly with no real purpose and are taken advantage of by humans on a regular basis. While they could easily retaliate and get humans to give them more respect, they simply lack the sense of direction or independence needed to present their own terms to the world. That is how I essentially see my fellow Filipinos in this otherwise promising age of rapidly advancing technology.

What many don’t know or simply won’t admit is that we are essentially enslaved by the powers that be in this country. What’s worse is that many of us don’t even know it. Like the Matrix, we are all metaphorically trapped in a prison we can’t see, taste or smell but can nonetheless feel to a certain degree.

Want proof? Well, here are my observations…

We Are Slaves To The Government

“People should not be afraid of their government. The Government should be afraid of it’s people.”

~V for Vendetta

The quote makes perfect sense when you consider the fact that, being a democracy, it is up to us, the common people, on whom we elect as the next leaders of our country. Unfortunately, there is certainly a clear discrepancy when the same bunch of crooks end up in power every election. Now, it would be nice if some of these people were actually helpful, but one can probably guess that they are mostly just a band of brainless celebrities or immoral thieves.

Year after year, even with a constitution that insists that it is “free”, we are left with no choice but to vote for the same criminals who ran in the last election. It’s almost as if in the common Pinoy mind, we have nothing else to choose from asides from the people we know from experience. It never even occurs to some people that choosing a new and relatively unknown leader might prove to be more honest and competent than those whom they’ve always known.

So while we may claim to be a democracy, we don’t seem to exercising our rights as voters the way we should. Instead, we are almost always at the mercy of criminal masterminds who, with the use of bribery and threats, remain in a position of power.

We Are Slaves To The Media

Okay, I’ve summed it up in this article but I think I need to mention it again considering the reactions to this article and this one. Well, from what can be seen, people almost openly worship their favorite celebrities. To a lot of Filipinos, famous movie stars are gods or goddesses in their own right even when they are actually far from being good examples of human beings.

Like cheap drugs, many Filipinos fawn over their favorite celebrities and place them on a pedestal well above the rest of their household. Also, like junkies, when someone cries afoul of their favorite celebrities, they tend to act very negatively as if their lives or families are somehow being threatened.

While I believe that people should be free to watch what they want, I tend to think that the way most Pinoys treat their media is almost similar to drug addiction.

We Are A Slave Race

Now that I have time to think about it, I’ve come to think that most Pinoys aren’t really as free as they’d like to think themselves as. If we are indeed free, I have to ask, why are all the good business opportunities out there beyond the Philippines. Why do so many of our countrymen have to travel beyond the borders of our beloved homeland just to make ends meet?

If we are truly free, then why are the job opportunities available here in the Philippines so lackluster? If we are indeed free, shouldn’t there be promising career choices for the common employees of the Philippines? If we are free, why are so many Filipinos choosing to take unpleasant and potentially dangerous jobs as OFWs rather than stick with the jobs that are available in our country?

The bottom line is that year after year, millions of our countrymen have to leave behind their families and homes to work elsewhere often at great danger to themselves. At the end of the day, they are often seen by their employers and the society they work in as second-class citizens at best and actual slaves at worst. Whatever salary they earn may seem quite a lot to the people back in the Philippines but, more often than not, the common employee in where they work probably earns more.

I have always believed in the idea that freedom is more than just being able to do what you want. Freedom is about choices and knowing which choice sits well with you the most. Believing that freedom is just about doing what you want is both immature and irresponsible.

5 Big Reasons Why I Think Lea Salonga Is Right

June 16, 2015

by Grimwald

Again, I find myself forced to respond to the many disappointing criticisms leveled against Ms. Lea Salonga as written here in this article by Kate Natividad. Also, I’d like to congratulate both Kate for defending Ms. Salonga and the commenter Mr. Dale Gozar for his in-depth comment on the Pinoy condition and why we can never call ourselves “free” in the true sense of the word.

Truth be told, I’m not exactly a big fan of Lea Salonga but she is one of the few celebrities I know that can be considered truly talented. While not exactly drop-dead gorgeous, her singing voice has graced many Disney animated features which I think is a true achievement just like Manny Pacquiao’s victories in boxing. It came as a surprise and delight to me when she commented on how the Philippines could not be considered “free” just a few days ago during the Philippines alleged “Independence Day”.

Going back to my very first article here in GRP, I would like to ask again: What does it mean to be “free”? Can we really claim to be “free” all things considered? Can we really call ourselves a “free” country?

Well, here are my answers as to why I choose to agree with Lea Salonga:

No Career Options For The Common People

They say that a free country is a place where people can be what they choose to be. If that’s the case, then the Philippines is most certainly not a free country. Because of a lack of opportunity due to the current “yellow” constitution, many of our countrymen are forced to leave the country to do menial jobs. Worse yet, even professionals like doctors, engineers and lawyers are forced to demeaning jobs like cleaning toilets because laws there keep them as second-class citizens or worse.

I need to repeat these questions, endlessly if I have to: Why is it that we have to force our citizens to leave the country just to give their families a decent life? Why do they have to force themselves into jobs that are either embarrassing or degrading just to make ends meet? Why do they have to seek opportunities elsewhere when we can always bring said opportunities here to the Philippines instead?

I will only consider the Filipino people free when they can finally live their dreams in their own country.

No Choice In Politics

Don’t need to say much here.

Year after year, very little changes when it comes to the selection of politicians. They either tend to be the same person or simply relatives of the people who ran last year. It never changes. Ever.

Again, it’s always about personality and popularity. Heck Nancy Binay even made the analogy that families of politicians are like families of doctors which, unfortunately, is similar to comparing a mouse to a meat grinder.

No Freedom From Foreign Invasion

To this day, we seem to be at the mercy of foreign powers. We can only rely on the United States to help us when China lays claim to our islands or when terrorists from the south threaten our countrymen. Until we can truly stand on our own as a people and fend off enemies with our own military strength, we will always be beholden to foreigners.

It’s sad to see that many Filipino fishermen of late have even begun selling their boats because they’ve simply lost hope in being able to fish in the same waters again because of China’s power plays in the South China Sea. The United States has always been a staunch ally of the Philippines but I long for the day when we won’t need their help anymore. The day when we can emerge as an independent power in our own right. Sure, we may never become anything like United States or Russia, but I at least hope we can be something like Japan or South Korea with a sizable and formidable military force to defend our country from enemies both beyond and within our borders.

No Freedom Of The Press

There’s no denying the fact that the Philippines is still one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. As an example of that, I’d like to point no further than Mei Magsino who was a strong proponent against political corruption but was shot dead by a hitman when she began to unravel a political conspiracy. The government’s reaction?

Well, in Belgium, Noynoy Aquino made it quite clear that he had no interest in protecting the lives of Filipino journalists. In fact, he went on to imply that Filipino journalists are often killed because they tend to snoop into the corrupt nature of Philippine politics. He was implying that journalists have no business whatsoever in delivering the truth about politics to the common people.

Without knowing the truth, ladies and gentlemen, we can never call ourselves free.

No Freedom Of The Media

As a Russian friend of mine said, a free media is one with variety. There should be action shows, horror shows, dramas, comedies, animation for children and animation for adults. However, similar to the second point above and tying in with the point directly above this one, viewers have no choice when it comes to local shows.

It is almost always about romantic love and sordid affairs. While these are common story elements, the fact that they seem to be the only thing on seems to show just how “free” our media is. Worse yet, many shows today have been proven to have strong detrimental effects on its viewers and are all too often used by politicians to further their own agendas.

Until the media is free of biased shows and has something for everyone, I can never call it free as it will always be a tool that fits neatly into the pocket of greedy politicians.

Grimwald

Thaddeus Grimwald is an avid writer and supporter of the GRP website and writes his own fiction in his own Grow Up Philippines website. To check out his works of fiction, you can check the following: Hired Help.

To all Lea Salonga bashers: Get Real, the Phlippines did not gain independence in 1898!

June 15, 2015

by Kate Natividad

So now Lea Salonga is suddenly labelled talangka (crab-like) because of her supposedly anti-Pinoy tweet. The trouble with Filipino international superstar Lea Salonga is that she is tweeting to a bobo audience. She may have millions of followers but that number is more a case of quantity and less of quality.

But I don’t really know what it is about her tweet that so riles up Pinoy nationalist sensibilities…

Our country is not yet debt-free, poverty-free, crime-free, or corruption-free. So what are we free from exactly and why do we celebrate it?

See, the thing I don’t understand is that GRP people here have for so long harped on the topic of the questionable nature of the supposed “independence” we celebrate on June 12, 1898. I mean, WTF, we have an extensive body of work where we deliver real thinking on the real deal about Philippine Independence! Why do we celebrate something we did not achieve at all?? But then a celeb like Lea goes off and tweets something to the same effect and out of the woodwork scurries all the cockroaches in a frenzy over the outrage of even questioning the wisdom of celebrating Philippine “independence” on June 12.

And, yeah, there’s lots to question about the belief that June 12, 1898 marks the Philippines’ “Independence Day”. Here is a Facebook note posted by John Silva which Lea also shared on Twitter following the brouhaha raised by her ealier tweet…

As for 117 years, advertisers delude themselves. A year later, June 12, 1899, war had been declared months before between the Philippines and the United States, and I don’t believe there was any mood for commemorating the event because the country was not independent in reality. The following June 12’s until July 4 1946 cannot be remembered as “independent” because we were a colony, transitioning to a 1935 commonwealth without full sovereignty, and invaded to be a Japanese colony. That totals 47 years and should be subtracted from 117. That leaves us 70 years of a status that really asserts no dependency with another country, in effect, independent.

Silva was referring to the 117 years since 1898 that we consider to be an “independent” Philippines. There’s that small detail of the American colonial government that ruled for half a century since 1898. How do Filipinos describe that period? Indepenent ka mo??

In the end, Silva kinda disappoints because he reverts back to the safe side of the discussion writing, “Despite it all, I do acknowledge and commemorate that a republic was born today by a declaration in Kawit, Cavite by a man under 30 years old with a coterie of other brilliant, wealthy, and patriotic gentlemen. Emilio Aguinaldo went against all odds but he was determined to fulfill the aspirations of a people.”

Zzzzz… Bilib na sana ako. People really have big problems with reality — which is not surprising because as we can see in Silva’s ok na sana blurb, Filipinos lackedge in their routine thinking.

What’s wrong nga ba with celebrating Philippine Independence on July 4? I mean, it is still debatable whether the Philippines was truly independent after July 4, 1946. But at least it is quite clear that we were, at least on paper, no longer a colony of another country.

I leave you with this gem. One of the anti-Lea tweets that represents quintessential Pinoy thinking:

Lea Salonga is a living proof why Filipinos are typically stereotyped as having crab mentalities! Lea Talangka Salonga! Yak!

Oh, the irony!