• 6 AUGUST - *1907 - Gen. Macario Sakay, one of the Filipino military leaders who had continued fighting the imperialist United States invaders eight years into the Ph...
    11 years ago

......................................................................................

The Daily Tribune

(Without Fear or Favor)

Specials:

Bulatlat.com

World Wildlife Fund for Nature-Philippines

The Philippines Matrix Project

Binay’s recurring ordeal EDITORIAL 01/11/2010

Monday, January 11, 2010


Binay’s recurring ordeal


EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge
01/11/2010
Life becomes very exciting for Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and for that matter most of those opposing Gloria during the run-up to every election, including the one coming in May.

Suddenly all the might of Gloria seems to descend in one broad stroke with perceived enemies either being replaced or slapped with any court case that would stick even temporarily, long enough to disorient until after the elections..... MORE


SourceThe Daily Tribune

ALTERNATE URL: http://www.classicposters.com/commentary/20100111com1.html

A billion reasons? FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 01/11/2010


A billion reasons?


FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares
01/11/2010

Neat trick it is of Smartmatic: That of giving the lowest bid for the automation of Philippine elections with its 82,200 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines leased to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the 2010 presidential polls.

Even as the winning consortium came up with so many excuses to explain away its delay in delivering the machines as stated in the contract —.... MORE


SourceThe Daily Tribune

Why a GMA speakership bid cannot succeed ZOOMING IN Rudy Romero 01/11/2010


Why a GMA speakership bid cannot succeed


ZOOMING IN

Rudy Romero
01/11/2010

A number of commentators and analysts have been writing about Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s post-presidency plans as though they formed a viable national sequence: A run for a seat in the House of Representatives followed by election to the speakership followed by the holding of a constitutional convention (con-con) followed, finally, by approval of a shift from the presidential to the parliamentary form of government.

Is this a realistic view of GMA’s post-presidency future?

... MORE


SourceThe Daily Tribune


Infowar vs national mental rot DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 01/11/2010


Infowar vs national mental rot


DIE HARD III

Herman Tiu Laurel
01/11/2010
Eleven days of our brand new 365 days of year 2010 have passed and instead of getting better, things are getting worse each day. Foremost of the deterioration situation is the rot of the Filipino mind. This is perfectly illustrated by a mainstream news headline: “Disasters doubles devotees,” referring to the Black Nazarene procession Friday. The hordes flocking to the Quirino Grandstand looked so much larger than yesteryears. By the end of the day early Internet headlines declared two dead and 50 injured in the disastrous crush. This “disaster” is now on top of the financial-economic crash, the “Ondoy” devastation, and certainly the Maguindanao massacre among many others. It seems that the Filipino mind has gone back another century to the Dark Ages of superstition and ignorance.
Are there progressive, truthful and concerned priests and Catholics who can help the dispel the notion that idolatry and iconic images, considered blasphemy in other Christian sects and in Islam, can solve real world problems of the economy, storms, or anguishing personal problems?
The Black Nazarene was brought in from Mexico in by Augustinian Recolletos missionaries on May 31, 1606. I assume they’ve been having the processions for it since that time. If it were true that it solves problems then the Philippines, after four hundred years of processions to it, should be the most progressive nation in the world today. Would the late scientist-Jesuit Teilhard de Chardin countenance such voodoo Christianity if he were here today? The Catholic hierarchy is undoubtedly promoting primitive superstition by continuing these processions, supported by two Vatican popes no less.
If the masa have that black statue, the Filipino intelligentsia has many of its own. Some Filipinos who fancy themselves financially literate will tout as great the news that the GIR (Gross International Reserves) of the Philippines is up now to $45.03 billion. The high priests of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have been going around singing Hallelujahs, but the voodoo songs-and-dances of BSP’s Tetangco and Gunigundo show that they are covering up for some things. First, they claim that the reserves represent 7.1 months of imports, but the general rule is that a country needs to cover only three months of its imports. For a debt ridden country like the Philippines with up to $60 billion in debt, shouldn’t the 4.5 months over coverage of imports cost be used to pay off part of our large foreign debt? Why don’t they do this when we are paying high rates for those debts?
The GIR is parked in US Treasury Bills at the lowest interests possible. Between the huge foreign dollar debt and the GIR parked in T-Bills or other bonds that earn much lower returns, the Philippines is losing money while America gets cheap money to finance US bail outs. What Tetangco and Gunigundo may be covering up are their personal as well as the Philippine financial system’s peonage and servitude to the US Federal Reserve. An overly large GIR does not serve Philippine economic interest but US financial interest. The BSP high priests claim the GIR increased also because of portfolio “hot money” inflows, but these can as quickly go out! It is a phantom asset. Maintaining the excessively high GIR, parking it in US T-bills or bonds while sustaining the foreign debt levels end up losing massive amounts of money for the country. Many Pinoys still worship the GIR god, a sign of the mental rot as well.
The Philippine Left has its own idolatry and sacred doctrines. One faction has become the “orthodox” church and dubbed “re-affirmist” in reconfirming its obedience to the Lord Jose Ma. Sison. Of course, central to its doctrine is the “People’s War” with its sub-verses such as “surrounding the cities from the countryside,” among others. Despite 50 years of the failure of these idols and doctrines, and thousands of lives of the youngest, best and brightest, they haven’t updated to the new realities and the lessons of decades. The orthodoxy recently claimed another life, as reported in a newspaper: Kemberly Jul Luna, a beauteous 21 years young lass and state university scholar was killed in an NPA-AFP gun battle. She follows a long line of fallen young warriors over the past five decades which include several of my own friends and comrades. Is this still the right way to fight for national liberation?
A former NPA said of the Kemberly report: “This is still fighting the imperialists with 1,000 armed young guerillas when we should be mobilizing the millions of our people by enlightening them to through political education.” Young idealists, nationalists and anti-imperialists should live and grow to maturity to educate the nation through media, the Internet and schools, especially aiming for the AFP nationalist officers, instead of triggering a cycle of fraternal murder. That’s the lesson of Venezuela and Hugo Chavez. The paper’s style in its report glorified the death of Kemberly Jul Luna, the NPA and their struggle — promoting the Filipino’s internecine war. Yet, this paper is a pillar of US Imperialism’s and its local comprador-oligarchy partners’ economic and culture condition of the nation for the ruling class’ economic exploitation and US domination. It’s a neat set up.
This country’s economic recovery depends on its achieving sovereignty, which requires breaking free of the chains of ignorance, superstition, mental mendicancy and rot to bring about the political underpinnings of economic sovereignty. The first struggle is to liberate the nation’s mind and consciousness. Only education, information and enlightenment of the people, as well as the AFP — an information war, can achieve final and real victory for the people.
(Tune to 1098AM, Sulong Pilipinismo, M-W-F, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Global News Network, Destiny Cable Channel 21, Talk News TV, Tuesday, 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. On “2001-2010: Decade of the Power and Water Oligarchs?”; also visit http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com)

(Reprinted with permission from Mr. Herman Tiu-Laurel)





SourceThe Daily Tribune

ALTERNATE URL: http://www.classicposters.com/commentary/20100111com4.html

Blog Archive