thank god for journalists like conrado de quiros

February 25, 2008

this entry is nothing compared to the amount of service you continue to give the country and the citizens.

i’ve always been a fan of the brilliant conrado de quiros. and yes, i’ve been posting some of his articles for a couple of times here…but please, don’t punish me with unauthorized posting of your articles. i’m just sharing your wisdom with the rest of the world.

***

MANILA, Philippines - Heaven plays tricks on earth, on this spot of earth more than others. The last couple of Edsas had one sublime irony and that was that they both came shortly after the rulers had just won a seemingly resounding victory. It was at their moment of greatest triumph that the rulers suffered their greatest defeat.

In Ferdinand Marcos’ case, he had just won the vote in the Snap Election of Feb. 7, 1986. Of course the elections were marked by massive fraud and even more massive violence, the latter most massively visiting Evelio Javier who was shot in front of the capitol building and, wounded and bleeding, was chased all the way down to the toilet of a shop across the park and finished off by his assassins. Despite that, Marcos was proclaimed winner and he strutted about proclaiming himself to have gotten a fresh mandate from the people.

A couple of weeks later, a throng flocked to the camps at Edsa to protect a beleaguered crew of military renegades. Four days later, Marcos was gone.

In Erap’s case, he had just won a crucial vote in the Senate-turned-impeachment court. On Jan. 16, the senators allied with Erap, including Juan Ponce Enrile and Miriam Defensor-Santiago (why am I not surprised?) voted to not open an envelope that presumably contained evidence against Erap. They won 11-10 and danced for joy, literally in the case of Tessie Oreta, metaphorically in the case of everybody else. The court had spoken, Erap said, that was the end of it.

It was in fact the end of Erap. Four days later, he was gone.

In GMA’s case, she had just won a vengeful victory in the House against a newfound enemy. JDV had become unreliable and could not be trusted when the next round of impeachment bids came along. So while GMA continued to profess her undying support for JDV, her two sons distributed the knives among the representatives, with the appropriate incentives to loosen arthritic arms, and mounted a parody of “Julius Caesar” on the Batasan floor. They were so certain of victory they were toasting each other with champagne before the vote, flush with power, drunk with power, blind with power.

But before they could gloat over JDV’s bleeding body, one that the nation little mourned, a bolt flashed out from the blue, like Yahweh sending lightning in the direction of Baal. One unheard-of fellow named Jun Lozada came along to say his piece, to speak his truth. In an instant, the world changed. In an instant life was turned back on its feet, the exalted humbled and the humble exalted. In their moment of sweetest victory, the Arroyos found their bitterest defeat.

If history holds, we should be dancing in the streets very soon.

CBCP head Angel Lagdameo calls this turn of events providential, and truly you’re hard put to find a better word. Exactly three weeks ago, I would never have thought it remotely possible. Exactly three weeks ago, GMA was at her most triumphant, the road open for her to rule forever. Notably through Charter change to be rammed through by Prospero Nograles. Today Nograles stands to be the shortest-lived Speaker ever. Today, GMA is fighting for her life.

What has happened in that small crack of time is that something has roared back to life and given life back to the country. That something is public outrage. Loud, explosive, spontaneously combustive outrage. Only three weeks ago, I myself was slowly drifting into the camp that had given it up for dead. Nothing could seem to shake us from what everyone (rightly) called apathy, no worse act of wrongdoing could stoke our simmering anger into a raging fire.

Then suddenly: You could not have been at Ayala a couple of weeks ago and not seen the outrage ripping through the crowd. You could not have watched “Harapan” on TV the day after and not heard in Lozada’s 92 percent rating the outrage booming like Joshua’s trumpets. You could not have stood at La Salle Greenhills still the day after and not smelled the outrage rising like early morning fog to cover the stench of Pasig River. You could not have walked through any part of Katipunan and the University Belt last Friday and not tasted the outrage like the first drops of rain after a pitiless drought. You could not have breathed, or existed, or lived, these past three weeks, riding in trains and jeepneys and FX’s, listening to radio and TV, talking to classmates, friends and coworkers, and not have felt the outrage throbbing wildly in the pit of this land like a lover’s heart.

A great deal of this owes to Jun Lozada, and I do not know that we have thanked him enough for it. When Danny Lim and his comrades came out to damn the damnable a couple of Edsas ago, they were armed only with the idea of “withdrawal of support.” Today the hordes that will come out to change the changeable, which hopefully will include Lim’s comrades as well—a soldier’s duty is to follow the chain of command, not to become a link in the chain of evil—will be armed not just by the force of “withdrawal of support” but the grace of “expression of support.” Not just by a need to negate all that is rotten but by the need to affirm all that is life-giving, not just by the need to stamp out all that is evil but by the need to uphold all that is good, not just by the need to scorn what we should have scorned long ago but by the need to embrace the hope or possibility we could be ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things, we could be finite beings dreaming impossible dreams, we could be Jun Lozadas saying our piece, speaking our truth before heaven and earth.

If history holds: But then history has always been in our hands.

should i feel good?

February 24, 2008

yesterday, i attended the european high education fair 2008 in makati shangri-la. originally, ooma and i should be going because it was us who first saw the ad posted on starbucks-valero community news corner.

unfortunately, he couldn’t make it yesterday (work and family thing).

i texted my two other best girlfriends, liz and cindy; hoping to scout some euro schools with them. it’s been a long time since we’d been to a fair all together. liz couldn’t; she had a make-up class at franck provost, which would end at 6pm. down to my last hope–cindy.

she’s fine with it. we’re all set to go.

in the beginning of 2008, i’d written–as it is my tradition to write my goals–that i’ll start looking for schools in europe to continue my education. it’s a long shot, i admit. but, why not dream big?

i was so excited to attend the fair. i felt the universe is conspiring to bring me closer to that dream. more than the euro schools’ prestige and the opportunity to travel, i’d been longing to get an education at par with the global standards; consequently, bring the learning to my country. i want to know how they do everything else in europe so i can apply that system (of course with some tweakings) in the philippines. sound too patriotic? but it’s true. i think that’s the only way to help my own nation.  

anyhoo…going back to the fair…

i was running late…terribly late. left the house at past 12noon. well i have an excellent excuse. my sis-in-law scheduled a termite protection thing…and i had to attend to the needs of my 4 nephews and niece before i could leave–familial responsibility of some sort.

on my way to makati, i texted cindy to apologize. then i received her reply:  i didn’t pre-register. i will not go. you said, di ba?

whaaat??? i didn’t know what happen. miscommunication? probably. let me abbreviate the story. i don’t want to relive it again.

eager not to let anything destroy my afternoon, i allowed positivity to emmanate from me.  

then, i arrived at makati shang.

these europeans know really know how to put up a fair, i tell you: amazing freebies, design-savvy brochures, outstanding presentations…men, they know what they want–US! hahaha!

i was innocently listening to a talk from erasmus mundus when the unexpected happened.

standing inside a crowded seminar room, all i could do was to listen to the talk and hopefully to learn something. there was no way i could write down pertinent information. while, again, innocently listening, somebody standing two persons away from me, made his way behind me. he was so close to me i could hear his breathing. i didn’t mind him. he had a reason–the space was too small for the eager souls. it was like on an lrt during rush hours; only this time, everyone smelled good. 

few minutes had passed…i could see from my peripheral vision that his head was almost resting on my shoulders. there were times that i caught him staring at me. then the magical hands made its way to my shoulders–first it was a finger, then two…then the entire palm. my heart started to beat wildly.

i wanted to move my shoulders to send him a signal that i wanted his hands be removed. but i didn’t. i was frozen. my mind starting to float somewhere else.  okay…okay i admit it…i enjoyed the feeling.

i wanted to talk to him. but i was too afraid. my courage left me that time. i couldn’t find the same amount of courage that allowed me to cruise the fair alone.

he was starting to mention things on my ear. i couldn’t decipher what those words were, though.

i couldn’t figure out what he looked like. but he was not the kind of maniacs who attacks helpless citizens like me. he’s a student who happened to be attracted by my allure. ahaahh! just wanted to insert that sentence! he wears a black jacket with two big stripes across it. his fashion sense was actually good.

few minutes passed…

when i finally mustered a little amount of my strength or what was left of it, i leaned back and said, "yes?"

he slowly removed his hand on my shoulder. then, i realized he already left.

whaaaat???? what’s wrong with him???

it’s either he thought that i was too numbed to feel that he was hitting on me or too coward to acknowledge his moves…

either ways, i failed to respond yet again. (yep, this thing happened to me on more than one occasion).

i will not say i was the only one who’s afraid. he was too! why didn’t he just approach me and asked for my name? i could have given him a bonus–my number! ahahahah! the last time this kind of encounter happened to me was roughly two months ago. i was in the spa-greenbelt. well, this story needs a whole new entry. i won’t divulge the details here…

so there…i was disoriented when i went out of the seminar room. a lot of questions was running in my mind: why didn’t i just talk to him? why didn’t i acknowledge his moves? why didn’t i just invite him on to the other talk and probably, we could start from there?

i had to pull my self back together before i went to the next talk courtesy of the british council.

who would have thought that that euro fair would let me exprience something unusual?

being alone entails a lot of risk. you don’t know what will happen to you and how you would respond…but am glad to learn new lessons, which will equip me better knowledge the next time i’m alone…

*sparkles!

more from moore

February 19, 2008

moore is back! oh well, he’s always been around trying to reveal the worse things about uncle sam.

the urge to download michael moore’s award-winning albeit controversial documentary, sicko, was an accident. while channel surfing, i happened to pass by hallmark channel showing oprah primetime. on that particular episode, oprah’s guest was the controversial filmmaker michael moore. oprah featured moore’s soul-gripping film, sicko. although i didn’t eavesdrop to oprah’s talk at that time, i went to my computer to download the said film.

i usually read reviews of any films i download.

but for this one, i did nothing.

i didn’t know that i was up for a shocking revelation from the LAND OF THE FREE; with emphasis on FREE.

the film criticizes the system currently being implemented in the US by health maintenance organizations (HMOs) via the us government. for a nation with a hegemonic status, how come the government cannot provide a universal health care system for its citizens, the film asks.

the answer lies on the thousands of dollars going in and out of the US congress and, more critically, the White House.

i cannot say that i don’t like the united states. the money that was used to finance our education (the three of us…) and kept us afloat came from the big apple. but for someone who, let me say enlightened, i don’t have plans to emigrate to the home of the brave. i don’t even have plans to settle in other countries but mine; but if i really have to choose, definitely, it wouldn’t be the us.

i was surprised to realize i was crying while watching sicko.

watching it is like experiencing pacquiao’s greatest fight, only better. with this film, you not see two men pummeling each other to get the pot money; but a more dramatic reality-tv where crocodile HMOs aided by their staunch mercenaries–the government itself, who should be protecting the citizens–are devouring billions of dollars at the expense of sick and dying people.

i thought the biggest insult to the very essence upon which the United States of America is founded is when moore’s team goes to canada to expose that the health care in the US’s neighbor is absolutely free. two of moore’s relatives whom he asked to go to the us for an interview, don’t want to leave their home country not unless they have travel insurance. they, according to them, don’t want to go to the us defenseless. however, i thought wrong.

moore went to london and even flew to france. americans who emigrated to these european countries testify to how happy they are in these foreign soil. a government-run hospital in london treats patients ABSOLUTELY FREE! they don’t even discuss money at all. the wacky moore tries to look for a cashier. and he finds one only to find out that instead of going in the "cashier’s booth," money goes out to give transport allowance to patients leaving the hospital. a brit doctor employed by the government owns a million dollar 4-bedroom home all for him and his family, drives an audi car, and celebrates life every night. he says, "the system is very good…we have this new system that if you treat your patients better, you’ll earn more…london is an expensive city but we live comfortably."

in france, a government hired-nanny is sent to your home for 4-hours, twice a week to let the parents do whatever they want to do. they even have a 5-week vacation, which they are paid 100% (65% by the gov’t. and 35% by their employer).

then, a question was formed in my mind: is it also possible here in the philippines? it is. as long as we place the right person in the government. as long as our taxes go to its rightful destinations and be used for its sole purpose: to the projects that will aid the citizens.  more than bridges, drainages, and other infrastructural projects, taxes must aid the government in providing the citizens health care, housing assistance, and the list goes on. sweden prides itself to help its citizens from cradle to the grave, if they can do it, why can’t we? forget the industrialized vs third-world nation argument. someone must step up to do what is right.

then, moore brought 9-11 firefighters to guantanamo bay, where the al-qaeda elites are being detained. it is, according to the film, the only american soil where health care is provided for FREE. if the perpetrators of the 9-11 attacks receive free medication from US top-notch healthcare providers, why can’t the heroes of 9-11 receive the same thing? unfortunately, they have to leave the waters of guantanamo bay. and in the course of unfortunate events, they arrive at cuba, the most evil nation in the world, or so americans thought (us included, thanks to the americans).

this is the portion where my tears started to flow.

this is, i think, the most insulting insult to AMERICA. cuban doctors providing FREE HEALTHCARE to american citizens. when they are admitted, the receptionist doesn’t ask for their citizens; only their names and birthdays.

and, as the cuban doctors assure them, they will receive the same high-quality treatment being given to anybody else in that havana-hospital.

when will we learn?

this is the right time to overtake that hegemon! why leave the country? let’s all help one another to make this juan dela cruz’s land far better than uncle sam’s.

let’s open our eyes. america is not the land of the free anymore. my dear oprah may have given free cars and helped you realize your wild dreams, but don’t expect it from the us government.

america is no longer the home of the braves. people are afraid of their government. the government are even afraid of the HMOs. without them, who will support their bids for the succeeding elections?  

although i do not support leaving your country, but if your only hope is to emigrate, by all means, don’t choose america. migrating is always a huge and difficult gamble. if your life is at stake, why place your bets to a country where it allows its own people to die?

God bless those countries who look after their people’s needs…who prioritize their people than any other interest groups.

…and yes, God bless  (and salvage) the people in america.

*sparkles!

 

whew!

February 8, 2008

this song will ring in my head…hahaha!

i wish i had the time to ranscribe it.

"i am your brother, your best friend forever…singing the song the music that you love…"

good job, reynaldo!

watch his interview with fox news:

 

amazing grace

what’s with the title? nevermind…i had a great day today! and i don’t care what’s on the heading.

anyway,

today’s series of events, probably, marks the beginning of a renewed life brought forth by the "law of attraction," which i have (inconsistently) practicing since i was introduced to it.

i started the day right. even before my alarm went screaming, i was already waiting for it. my adorable niece who arrived the night before was sleeping beside me. i miss having her by my side.

i had burger patties and bread for breakfast, matched it with my morning meal staple–hot choco drink and three glasses of water. i also got a chance to chit-chat with my two nephews who were waiting for their school bus.

after that munch-attack, i had to wait for my niece to wake up before going back to the room again, locked the door, and had my (almost) daily "stretching" rituals with dr. met oz’s "YOU:Staying Young" home workout. I spent a li’l over thirty minutes, but i had fun. thanks to the Grammy’s Hall of Famer playing on the background.

past 8, i called fix-training to confirm that i made a mistake. i supposed to have an 8am haircut appointment. but due to some memory and gut feel lapses, i failed to go to that much "coveted" appointment. oh well, god had other plans for me for the morning.

call it a blessing in disguise. i was able to finish at least two revisions of our client’s company profile just in time for the 12nn deadline. and at 12:30, i watched ANTM. after which, i had time to play with the kids–lyle (1), ryle (4), and kyle (5).

since i finished everything by the middle of the day, i let them played online–www.cartoonnetwork.com,ph.

while they played, i read some pages of the book i’m currently reading, "THE NAMESAKE." the afternoon air left me wanting to go back to sleep again. i woke up at 5pm, just in time to prepare for my 8pm meeting in school to watch the performers. i finally gave ooma’s xmas gift, which had been collecting dusts for the past weeks.

my trip–from home to school–was flawless. instead of my planned itinerary, i went the opposite way. ayala via c5–fx was very cool. disembarked at buendia. mrt going to edsa. lrt going to vito cruz. 

after watching the performers, my groupmates and i went separate ways. i met up with ooma. we went to starbucks valero. we waited for her mom. while waiting, i had him check the 3rd revision of the company profile. he is such a consummate writer! learned a lot from him!. 

around 10:45, her mom arrived. i walked from valero to  where the fx terminal is. i walked three to four blocks, probably. but it was okay. 

while on the fx taxi, i listened to my favorite boys! "Boys Night Out" on Magic 89.9.

arrived after less than an hour and, surprisingly, there were still a lot of trikes waiting.

at home, i edited the company profile and sent it to client via mommy ri.

while waiting for the clock to strike 12,  i looked for ronaldo (or reynaldo) lapuz on youtube.

the clock struck 12. texted ace to greet him!

while waiting for youtube, i went to washroom. brushed my teeth, cleansed my body, and pooed (and read reader’s digest).

then, a particular article inspired me to write my first-ever journal entry for the month.

went out to drink 3 more glasses of water…

and will end this entry.

haaay…what a wonderful day!

*sparkles!