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I don’t like Niñez Cacho-Olivares. She’s not only a bad writer, but she’s nasty as well when she writes. She can be cruel, vindictive and insulting.

Still, those aren’t reasons enough to raid her newspaper, The Daily Tribune! Even if she calls outright for civil disturbance to oust Arroyo, it is still no reason to clamp down on media. Then we hear Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Arturo Lomibao state that the police are there to ensure that certain guidelines are being met by the Press.

The nerve of him! The police can’t even get their act together in curtailing crime. Now they want to step into the purview of journalism and watch over editors, reporters and columnists.

It’s easy to see the reason why the Tribune was singled out: Vengeance. Gloria was simply irked by the tirades of Olivares. The Tribune does not have a big circulation like the Philippine Star or the Daily Inquirer, so what is she worried about, if indeed the Tribune was being seditious? Does the Tribune have the power to bring a majority of people -or the military for that matter- to attack Malacañang and forcibly take power?

There are many legitimate fora through which we can air complaints against media practitioners who we may feel are abusing their influence. Gloria should have gone to any of them. To order a raid on a member of the press is no different than assassinating journalists. The latter snuffs out a person’s life; the former snuffs out the life of freedom of speech.

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Gloria the Liar has done it again! In declaring a nationwide State of Emergency, she said that the State was in danger. The truth is, it’s her throne that’s in danger. Her paranoia got the better of her.

Every Filipino, except her allies and Manny Pacquiao, wants her to step down. We are, in fact, trying to protect the State from her.

Her clones …er… lackeys in government like Ignacio Bunyi and Mike Defensor try to assure the country that a state of emergency is really nothing to be alarmed about. Yeah right! The abhorrent Marcos regime said the same thing before Martial Law was proclaimed.

What they fail to mention, however, is that a state of emergency can give the government powers to snatch away our freedom at the bat of an eyelash. Just look at how they whisked away Prof. Randy David when he tried to negotiate with the police for rallyists that were marching towards the Edsa shrine. He was eventually released.

But look again. They arrested Rep. Crispin Beltran this morning under a warrant for inciting rebellion in 1985! All these years the police did nothing and now arrest him under the state of emergency and on a Saturday when he can’t even post bail.

All this plus the cancellation of today’s festivities marking the ouster of a dictator with People Power, the same force that years later removed an immoral President and catapulted Gloria the Liar into Malacañang. She should be thankful and not be arrogant.

So what do we have here? A liar, a cheat and an ingrate who has effectively killed the Spirit of People Power. In its place she resurrected the spirit of Ferdinand Marcos!

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There is a word most, if not all, Filipinos know, especially our politicians. The word is delicadeza.

I’m not an etymologist, so I don’t know where the word came from or its exact meaning. I surmise it comes from the word, delicate, which in turn conveys sensitivity to the sense and sensibility of others you interact with.

Thus, when a politician is said to have no delicadeza, it can mean he/she is holding on to his/her office (kapit tuko) without the trust and confidence of the people who elected him/her. Another case is when a public official is surrounded by controversy and should step down or take a leave of absence, out of delicadeza, so as to first clear his/her name.

Take the case of President Arroyo. A majority of Filipinos no longer see her as a credible leader. Yet, she’s holding on to the Presidency for dear life. Delicadeza apparently is not in her vocabulary.

Then there’s Pasig Mayor Vicente Eusebio. After a raid was conducted by drug enforcement agents on the Mapayapa Compound, which was discovered to be a shabu "tiangge" or market, a spitting distance from city hall, Eusebio and his men descended on the compound and destroyed the shanties there, including the evidence that lawmen could use to prosecute the arrested pushers.

Did Eusebio wittingly or unwittingly destroy evidence? To show that he wasn’t trying to obstruct justice, Eusebio should take a leave of absence so investigations can be made without his mayoralty influence. But will he do it? Only if knows the word, delicadeza.

Wanna bet he doesn’t?

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It’s remarkable to know that Filipino bloggers are read more and more, especially by those who look for news and commentaries about the Philippines. I believe this is not only because the Web is easily accessible but because bloggers offer a wide range of ideas and color in their blogs.

Not only this but Filipino bloggers are quite an intelligent lot and, thus, readable, if not thought-provoking. They are unshackled by editorial policies, free from any monetary proprieties and unrestricted by government censorship. Yet, what attracts many readers to them is the passion, if not fearless realism, by which they write.

So, if you’re reading this blog, don’t stop here. Go and explore other Filipino blogs, whether they’re writing from the Philippines or abroad. By doing so you’ll get a taste of how richly varied Filipinos are.

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A newspaper reported that it was a gathering of strange bedfellows. I disagree. It was a gathering of kinky bedfellows.

There was former President Cory Aquino, the one they dub as “the conscience of the nation” (spare me, please); Sen. Franklin Drilon, the one who once offered his Ilo-ilo city for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to put up a “Malacañang of the South,” but a week later demanded her to resign; and disgraced former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada.

Drilon said there was no political agenda. They came to celebrate the successful eye operation of Erap and to pray for the Wowowee stampede victims. Indeed, there was no political agenda, but that gathering in itself was definitely a loud, ear-splitting political statement. It was also a stupid one.

Makati city Mayor Jejomar Binay hinted the gathering to be a united opposition front. When will the opposition come to its senses that the problem of the opposition is not unity but credibility? Filipinos no longer trust in PGMA’s leadership but are neither passionate about ousting her, simply because there is no better alternative and no vision we can grasp.

So we sludge along, going around in circles in the wilderness. We hear reports from Malacañang about a bristling economy, but can’t help stare with mouths agape at the unabated rising of petroleum prices and the implementation of the cruel RVAT or EVAT or VATever you want to call it. What’s worse is that Filipinos are giving and giving out of their hard-earned money, but nothing’s coming back except lip service.

So that gathering of the 3 bedfellows generated no more than a “ho-hum.” How can Cory Aquino, once a powerful symbol of the ouster of an immoral President, hub-nub with another immoral ex-President? It only proves that there’s nothing in her head (and, for that matter, where her showbiz daughter inherited hers).

At the height of the “Hello, Garci” scandal, Cory released a taped message advising PGMA to step down. It was a dignified and firm statement that expressed a majority of what Filipinos felt. Yet, she blew her integrity away after playing footsies with Erap Estrada in that gathering. What a waste!

Then there’s Franklin Drilon. He once proudly stated before national TV that PGMA could build a Malacañang of the South in his home city. A week later he was denouncing her and demanded she resign, since he was perceived to be the next Vice-President in the eventuality of PGMA stepping down. (By the way, Cory’s son, Rep. Noynoy Aquino, was there too, but who wants to talk about him?)

So we’re faced with the dilemma of following a political cosmetic like PGMA or replace her with a slew of trapos with hidden agendas.

Perhaps watching Wowowee isn’t that bad after all.

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An anonymous reader asked, "Why do you hate ABS-CBN?"

Whatever gave him/her that idea?

I don’t hate ABS-CBN. What I hate is their –and all TV networks for that matter- exploitation of what is so wrong with our culture. It creates a feeding frenzy so much like sharks feeding on one another after one of them is found wounded and bleeding.

Our country has been bleeding as far as history can recall. We’ve been exploited by the Spanish, the British and the Americans. It was the Americans who introduced corruption and nepotism in Philippine governance. How did they do it? By conniving with the elite. The elite, in turn, used the conquistadors to hold on to their wealth and status.

So it is today that the elite continues to manipulate and influence so that the majority of the country’s wealth would continue to filter to them. The Wowowee stampede was a glaring example. ABS-CBN clearly was exploiting the poor by feeding on our bad cultural trait of looking for dole-outs and the easy life.

They try to cover up the exploitation by saying they just want to make people happy or help the poor. Yet, look at the TV shows they air: gossips, toilet humor, voyeurism, soap operas (Korean and otherwise) and entertainment programs that feature talents who have no talent whatsoever; none of which have any socially-redeeming values. They’re aired to feed people what they want, so they can earn money from the sponsorship. Mao Tse Tung was wrong in saying that "religion is the opiate of the masses." It’s inane TV shows.

GMA-7 fares no better. The only difference is they have has-beens hosting shows. One of them invited people to watch their lunch-time show since there "was no stampede here," thereby treading on the sensibilities of the families of the stampede victims. Their news programs almost gloat at the misfortune of ABS-CBN, yet their TV fare is just the same mishmash but with merely different personalities.

As I had mentioned in previous articles, it’s all about ratings. The higher the ratings, the higher the sponsorship fees. This means they wont air programs that teach, that inculcate values, that encourage hard work and the building of character, because these are not popular.

So ABS-CBN feeds on the desire for junk, while the masses feed on the junk. A feeding frenzy thus ensues. Unless ABS-CBN and the other networks own up to this fact, there will be no lesson learned from the Wowowee stampede.

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A reader, Wizard Oz, sent this email to me (unedited):
Are we really have to point someone to blame? The organizers of the wowowee are trying their best to settle everyone. The tragedy happened. It is obvious that no one wants the incident. The better way is to act with charity to the victims.

Indeed, we should act with charity towards the victims and their families, but if no one is going to take the blame, this is bound to happen again. The brunt of the blame is on ABS-CBN and the organizers of Wowowee. They drew the crowd through its incessant plug-ins day after day and the promise of millions of pesos worth of prizes.

Then, when the crowd showed up, they aggravated the matter by giving out a limited number of raffle tickets and told the rest of the throng to go home, many of whom were there days before.

To top it all, they had no contingency plan in the case of a restless crowd. In fact, the incompetent security head of ABS-CBN admitted they were expecting an unruly crowd, yet nothing was done to nip the unruliness in the bud so it won’t turn ugly, which it eventually did.

As for ABS-CBN trying to "settle everyone," they did help financially the families of the victims but in exchange for their signing a waiver that they will not take legal action against the network. Self-preservation was the motive and not compassion.

Yes, the tragedy happened and no one wanted it. What was wanted was money. ABS-CBN wanted to make money through Wowowee’s anniversary. The people who gathered at Ultra wanted money.

Avarice plus avarice got them total disaster.

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How cunning! When ABS-CBN CEO Gaby Lopez went on air to comment on the report of the DILG fact-finding committee, he effectively turned the tables on the committee chair, Usec Marius Corpus, and made him look like the villain. Lopez centered on Corpus’ comments about ABS-CBN treating the Wowowee spectators like “animals.” Lopez said he was “outraged.” This is what the networks picked up instead of the committee’s report that ABS-CBN officials were culpable.

What can you expect out of a network that has years of experience in manipulation and image-building? ABS-CBN will use every trick in the book to get itself out of the quagmire it finds itself in.

As for Corpus, I admire the man. He went on national TV to apologize to ABS-CBN for his comments, which he said was personal and not reflective of the fact-finding committee. But did ABS-CBN forgive him? Not a chance! Instead, they kept harping on it on their news programs.

Lopez went on to say that there will be no whitewash. I believe him, because they’re going to use their resources, which include “star” power, to make themselves look purer than angelic heavens and influence public opinion instead.

Still, I sure hope the truth will come out. Already there are reports that several members of victims’ families are saying they were made to sign waivers to the effect they won’t sue the network after being financially helped.

Need I say more?

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ABS-CBN CEO Gaby Lopez, in a taped message aired on his sanctimonious network, expressed outrage over the opinion of the DILG fact-finding committee that ABS-CBN treated the Wowowee spectators as animals.

You’re outraged, Mr. Lopez? How do you think the families of the dead feel?

As a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines, I agree with every word of the report that the DILG fact-finding committee produced. Your station did not treat the people like animals? Allow me to remind you of the following facts that your lofty position has benumbed you to:

1. Wowowee kept on plugging the anniversary and the prizes to be had for days, knowing full well that Ultra would not be able to accommodate everyone. What were they thinking, that they could just shoo away those who would not be let in?

2. Raffle tickets were being distributed –yes, Mr. Lopez, like small slices of meat– that only a few would be able to avail of.

3. Your incompetent security chief, Rene Luspo, called the steel barriers, "defenses." Defense against what and for whom?

4. In spite of the growing multitude as the anniversary neared, nothing was done and nothing was planned. Perhaps organizers felt they could "whip" the people into submission.

5. Willie Revillame was willing to go on with the show in spite of the carnage that just happened. He said it was going to be difficult but "the show must go on."

Isn’t the above callousness, Mr. Gaby Lopez? Or perhaps you’re too callous to know what callousness is.

You stated that ABS-CBN records speak for themselves. Oh, indeed! Did you see how Boy Abunda insulted contestants of Star Circle Quest? Did you see how Willie Revillame insulted and made fun of Wowowee contestants? Did you see that segment wherein Jean Saburit verbally abused children in one Star Circle Quest for children episode? How about the two other recorded stampedes in ABS-CBN-sponsored events?

Perhaps you can boast that ABS-CBN did its utmost for the injured and the families of the victims of the stampede. Yet I ask, was this out of compassion or a ploy to mitigate a class action suit? In fact, the call to emergency facilities after the stampede was first processed through station bosses before it was relayed, thus delaying considerably the arrival of ambulances.

Mr. Lopez, you have no right to be outraged! I and countless other Filipinos are the ones outraged. Outraged that ABS-CBN would use the poverty-stricken to up its ratings and make oodles of money. Outraged that your TV network would compel poor people to strip themselves of their dignity in traveling to Ultra and waiting days on end only to die a senseless death for what, an all-expense-paid burial? Outraged, because you can still travel in an air-conditioned car and sleep in an air-conditioned room and use your network to tell all and sundry that you’re outraged.

Just like that shampoo commercial, I have one word for you: Kapal!

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The latest news is that ABS-CBN will conduct its own investigation of last Saturday’s Wowowee stampede. I wonder … to look for answers or a scapegoat?

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