Archive for the ‘elections’ Category
no guts, no gloria
well the woman has guts, and she really doesn’t care what fvr thinks, much less what we who-want-her-out think, not as long as there are people in place who continue to support her.
but it’s offensive, that happy grin she was flashing for the cameras when she filed her certificate of candidacy, gleefully grateful it would seem for the “clamor” from the 2nd district of pampanga. she thinks we’re dumb, she thinks she’s got the world believing that that supposed clamor was is spontaneous and not the result of manipulation and spin, shades of edsa dos.
or maybe it’s an act. behind that gleeful grin maybe it’s a matter of life and death and chacha and she’s a bundle of nerves, the ghosts of the ampatuan massacre haunting her dreams, like andal jr.’s. if so then she’s a damned good actress. she could go into showbiz instead and give aling dionesia a run for the money.
so what now. i think it was dean amado valdez of u.e. who’s saying it’s an impeachable offense, running for congress while still president. a betrayal of public trust. makes sense to me. and fvr is right, the office is diminished. she makes it seem that the presidency is a parttime job, and that right now until may 2010 there’s nothing that requires her urgent attention. good grief. what a president.
GLORIA, RESIGN!
last-minute blues
there must be another way of handling the comelec registration process. alam naman natin na may last-minute mentality ang pinoy. comelec should have expected, and prepared for, the swarm instead of saying, kayo kasi… lalo na’t merong concessions made to the rich and famous, like satellite ek-eks in kris aquino’s case, and good old palakasan as in manuel buencamino’s. these, while masses of ordinary pinoys without connections had to line up for hours to register, if they were able to at all. paano ka naman matutuwa sa ganyang palakad.
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i can’t believe people are raving about the noynoy video hindi ka nag-iisa. what’s so powerful about that torch-lit parade led by noynoy that went nowhere. i’m like, they love this? c’mon people, taas-taasan naman ang standards natin. we already know na hindi siya nag-iisa. tell us something new, let’s hear him talking platform. hindi porke anak siya nina Ninoy at Cory ay okay na, siguradong he won’t lie, cheat, or steal. that’s just too low a bar for a presidential candidate. i need to hear how he’s going to address the problems of poverty, land reform, environment, education, foreign debt, chacha, atbp. i will not take him, or anyone, on sheer faith. i leave that to the pink sisters.
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ayon kay senador nene pimentel tuloy tuloy ang pag-benta ng gma administration ng government assets, tipong ‘midnight sale,’ mostly to raise money pampuno sa napakalaking budget ng 2009 or puwede ring pangkampanya sa 2010. whatever, hindi lang pala ang food terminal inc. sa taguig at ang government shares in san miguel corp. at pnoc energy exploration corp. ang ibinebenta. pati pala the sprawling properties ng national center for mental health at ng welfareville sa mandaluyong, gayon din ng national penitentiary sa muntinlupa city at ng home for the aged sa quezon city, “in complete disregard of their importance in providing vital social government services.” ano ba yan. ubos ubos biyaya. and then what. pag naubos, nakatunganga. there must be a smarter way of handling our resources. let’s demand that presidentiables be honest, yes, but also creative and wise.
my problem with randy david (updated)
i was on the verge of blogging about the tenure case of tibak (activist) u.p. professor sarah raymundo of the department of sociology now chaired by prof. randy david, when the news broke that prof. david intends to oppose gloria should she dare run for congress in his home province of pampanga.
siyempre natigilan ako. here i was all set to wonder aloud why known-to-be-leftist randy david seems to have turned against sarah raymundo who is herself a product of the department, shaped by, among others, the good professor himself, when bigla na lang he’s on the front page of inquirer, terribly macho astride a powerful motorcycle, with tibak kerchief tied ’round his head in lieu of a helmet. macho tibak?!? new politics?!?
the excitement his declaration has stirred among oppositionists, and the pledges of support, do not surprise. it’s great naman talaga that this highly esteemed public intellectual has the chutzpah to challenge gloria arroyo, and, even, possibly make her think twice thrice about taking that inglorious road to perpetual rule.
just the same, like prof. danny arao of the u.p. college of mass communication, i find myself torn, unable to shrug off the unfair denial of tenure to sarah raymundo. pakiusap ni prof. arao kay randy david:
Sa darating na Pebrero 2010 (ang tinatayang simula ng kampanya), maaasahan mo ang pagbuhos ng suporta mula sa iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan. Kilala ka’t iginagalang, bagama’t hindi natin alam kung ang kasikatan mo’t panawagan para sa makabuluhang pagbabago ay magiging sapat para labanan ang makinarya ng administrasyon.
Kasama ba ako sa tutulong sa iyong kandidatura? Pasensiya na’t hindi ko pa sigurado.
Wala man tayong malalim na pinagsamahan at napakalaki ng agwat ng ating edad (sikat ka nang propesor nang maging estudyante ako sa UP Diliman noong kalagitnaan ng dekada 80), may maliit lang sana akong pakiusap na sana’y huwag mong masamain.
Hindi siguro alam ng maraming tao na ikaw ay kasalukuyang tagapangulo ng Departamento ng Sosyolohiya ng UP Diliman. Para sa maraming estudyante’t gurong taga-UP, alam na alam nila ang kaso ni Prop. Sarah Raymundo, isang kasamahan mo sa departamento (at personal kong kaibigan) na pinagkaitan ng tenure kahit na nalampasan pa niya ang mga pangangailangan para dito.
Hanggang ngayon ay wala siyang pormal na sulat na nagsasaad kung ano ang kanyang naging pagkukulang, kung mayroon man. Ang tanging alam lang niya ay hindi niya nakuha ang boto ng 2/3 ng tenured faculty ng iyong departamento, kahit na mataas ang ebalwasyon sa kanya ng mga estudyante niya, nakuha niya sa itinakdang panahon ang kanyang master’s degree at nakapaglathala siya ng mga artikulo sa refereed journal.
Maaari mong ipagwalang-bahala ang isyung ito at sabihing ito ay internal sa inyong departamento. Pero kailangan mong malamang ito ay sumasagisag sa klase ng lideratong ikakampanya mo sa susunod na hinaharap at itataguyod mo kung sakaling manalo ka sa eleksiyon.
Kung ang isang kwalipikadong guro ay hindi mo mabigyan ng hustisya, paano pa kaya ang milyon-milyong pinagkaitan ng kasalukuyang rehimen? Nasaan ang panawagan mo para sa government transparency kung ang mismong departamento mo’y pinagkakaitan ng impormasyon si Prop. Raymundo kaya hindi niya masagot ang anumang paratang sa kanya? Bakit ang paninindigan ng Departamento ng Sosyolohiya tungkol sa kaso ni Prop. Raymundo ay hindi naiiba sa nakabibinging katahimikang ipinapakita ng Pangulong nais mong kalabanin?
Hindi pa huli ang lahat, Propesor David, para bigyan ng hustisya ang iyong kasamahan bago ka seryosong sumabak sa maruming daigdig ng pulitika.
sana makarating kay randy david. it would be awesome if we could all rally behind him without reservation come 2010 should gloria arroyo run in pampanga. in such a campaign, given arroyo’s dismal negative ratings, say ni randy sa big picture, every filipino becomes a cabalen.
the irony is, sarah raymundo herself is a true cabalen, also from the second district of pampanga.
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UPDATE from prof. raymundo’s chronology of events appended to her letter to u.p. chancellor sergio s. cao dated june 24, 2009:
On February of 2008, I submitted my application for tenure to the tenured faculty of the Sociology Department through our then-chairperson Dr. Clemen Aquino. By the second week of June 2008 … I was informed by Dr. Clemen Aquino of the official result of the tenured faculty’s deliberation on my tenure application. The voting that took place among the tenured faculty was to my favor at seven to three.