Filipinos are angry; so much so that even councilors in many cities are falling over themselves to author resolutions condemning ABC and ‘Desperate Housewives’ producers for the racial slur.

The quip uttered by the character played by Teri Hatcher: "Before we can go any further, can I check those diplomas? ‘Coz I just want to make sure they’re not from some med school in the Philippines.".

Yes, it is a racial slur. Yet, we brought it upon ourselves, didn’t we?

How? Consider these:
1. Nursing grads cheat in the Nurses’ Board exam.
2. One of our top officials is allegedly bribed by a Chinese conglomerate.
3. Our president has a secret conversation with a Comelec official during elections.
4. Fake diplomas are sold on a street named after one of our greatest senators.
5. We heartily laugh when noontime hosts ridicule fellow Filipinos in their idiotic shows.
6. We elect a morally corrupt politican (who admitted he was immoral) into the Presidency and then stage a "People Power" uprising to oust him for … guess what … being immoral.

Should I go on?

Indeed, let’s get angry! But let’s get angry first at ourselves.

Let’s get angry enough to give notice to our politians that their days in office are numbered if they continue to pursue their own interests. Let’s get angry enough to elect public officials with unquestionable integrity and political courage.

Let’s get angry enough to let boxers, actors, comedians and media personalities know that they can serve the people where they are (and be highly effective) and that they need not run for public office to do so. Let’s get angry enough to let government agencies quake in their boots if they’re not doing their utmost to serve the public.

Let’s get angry enough to let advertisers know we will not patronize their products if they continue to sponsor TV shows that have no socially-redeeming values. Let’s get angry enough to pursue until the end criminal cases filed against those responsible for incidents such as a disco fire, a day-care center collapse, a stampede, where scores die needlessly.

Let’s get angry enough to be diligent against government corruption and see to the imprisonment of the guilty.

After we’ve cleaned up our national act, then and only then can we have the moral ascendancy to get angry at other nations’ racial slur against us!

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Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos finally had the delicadeza to step down from office. Or was it? He claims he wanted to spare the poll body from further scandal.

It’s too late for that, judging on how he handled the last elections, especially the dispute of the final Senate slot which went to Zubiri.

So why did he resign? Here are possible answers:
1. He wanted to spare his President and her spouse from getting the heat.
2. He wanted to spare himself from a deeper inquiry which will arise if he’s impeached.
3. He’s already made millions from the broadband deal; time to spend them.
4. He’s already tasted paradise with all the cavorting with young Chinese women; why suffer?

Abalos also claimed he would continue the crusade to clear his name and reputation. How noble! But who’s going to clear the name and reputation of the Philippines that by now has firmed up its reputation as a corrupt nation after this scandal?

It is hoped that the bribery charges against Abalos would be pursued with the same vigor as that of the plunder charges against Joseph Estrada. If not, then GMA will only give credence to the perception that her administration is only after its own interests.

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ANC broadcast journalist Ricky Carandang suggests in a couple of his blogs that the ZTE Broadband scandal can lead right to the feet of GMA:

From the Frying Pan…
…Into the Fire

This is probably one of the reasons why Malacañang is distancing itself from Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos. It was Abalos who was right smack in the middle of the ZTE negotiations and GMA was fully aware of it.

Naturally it was Abalos the Chinese would bribe to get the deal going. Yet, the Chinese aren’t wholly to blame. They won’t bribe just anybody, especially a high-ranking government official, unless he’s bribable.

So, do you think Abalos is bribable?

Do take the free poll on this site. Just scroll down until you see the poll on the right. You don’t need to give any information. Just click and vote and you’ll also see immediately the results and what others think.

Technorati Tags: benjamin abalos, zte broadband, scandal, gma, corruption

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If you’re pro-Erap and believe that Joseph "Erap" Estrada is innocent, there’s nothing else you can do but pray for him. He himself got into this mess. Move on and help build this benighted country of ours.

If you’re anti-Erap, don’t gloat. This episode is an embarrassment to our country. We’ve convicted a former President. Move on and help build this benighted country of ours.

No need to say more. Too many of our politicians are falling over themselves in trying to say something erudite about the conviction of Estrada.

It’s sickening.

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Representatives Dan Fernandez of Luzon and Magtanggol Gunigundo II of Valenzuela have called for the MTRCB to shut down the noontime program, “Wowowee.” They cited an anomaly committed during an airing last Aug. 20 where there was an alleged rigging in the contest segment, “Wilyonaryo.”

The show’s host, Willie Revillame, made a public apology about it, complete with watery eyes, but he’s used to that. It’s called, “appealing to the emotions,” because Filipinos are just suckers for it. The guy will do anything to keep his bread and butter. Now every Filipino moron enthralled by Wowowee would swear to the show’s innocence (ABS-CBN said it was a mechanical glitch).

But the MTRCB will not shut down the show, not because of Revillame’s fake emotional appeal nor the audience’s real emotional response. But because ABS-CBN is a powerful institution. And no one in the Philippines really has the balls to come against giants in this country, especially media giants.

Advertisers will not do it. Who cares if Wowowee is such a hypocritical show with no socially-redeeming values? Advertisers’ products are being pushed to millions of people and that’s what matters (I’ll mention those advertisers in a future post).

ABS-CBN, of course, will not shut down a milking cow such as Wowowee. Never mind if Revillame was perceived to be rigging a contest. Never mind if the show is a blatant mendicancy promoter. Never mind if skimpily-dressed girls obscenely gyrate and like to throw their legs up in a supposedly family show. Never mind if more than 70 persons died in a stampede during the show’s first anniversary. Never mind if Revillame, adored by thousands, is accused of wife battery and even child abuse.

Never mind as long as money is to be made. There’s only one reason, really, why Wowowee continues to air.

Greed!

Technorati Tags: wowowee, willie revillame, mtrcb, abs-cbn

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Yesterday I wasn’t able to download my email nor check on my sites because of other matters I had to attend to. So when I reached home around 6:30 PM I was raring to go online.

Lo and behold there was no connection!

So I ventured to call Globe support and got a techie (or so he claims) on the line. He at first read a prepared script: “I apologize for the inconvenience, sir, but we assure you we’re doing everything to restore normal service at the soonest possible time” (or something to that effect).

I asked what was the matter. The answer: Technicians were making improvements.

I asked since when. The answer: Since this morning. (Take note I was calling early evening. So the system was down almost the whole day.)

I asked when I would get back a connection. The answer: I don’t know.

It’s understandable that systems can break down. But what’s important, and here’s an unsolicited advice to Globe, is that they don’t lie to their customers. If it was a system improvement, they would certainly know what was to improve, know the time frame of the work being done and they would do it during times when there is less traffic, sometime between 12:00 and 4:00 AM.

Obviously this was a break-down somewhere. Maybe a cockroach tripped their lines or something.

Furthermore, they should try to give an estimate as to when their system would get back to normalcy. The answer, “I don’t know,” will just infuriate customers all the more and will give the impression that the technicians don’t know what they’re doing; thus, they’re non-committal in giving a time estimate.

I was, of course, infuriated. So I started interviewing the techie on the phone.

Are you a technician? Yes, sir.

Where did you graduate? ______________ State College (I’d rather not mention the name of the school to protect the unaware).

Oh, it’s a government school. No, sir, it’s a public school.

That’s the kind of employee Globe hires.

Here’s another unsolicited advice: Stop paying hundreds of thousands of pesos for those slick advertisements. Channel those pesos instead in getting a better system and smarter techies, both on and off the phone.

Technorati Tags: Globe broadband

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James Yrastorza is a former aide of Congressman Tony Cuenco. When news of a million-peso anomaly at a government hospital in Cebu broke out, Yrastorza hinted that Cuenco had something to do with it, or at least had knowledge of it.

A few days ago, Yrastorza cleared Cuenco by stating that Cuenco had called him up and “explained certain things.”

Yeah, right!

Sun-Star Daily unearthed an affidavit executed by Yrastorza in 2005 swearing to the fact that Cuenco’s son, James, siphoned off close to P3M by making ghost purchases and that Congressman Cuenco may have known about it but did nothing.

The affidavit was signed before COA lawyers. Yrastorza was then a part of a special unit of Congressman Cuenco that oversaw the operation of a P30-million free medicines project.

Did Yrastorza know what was going on? Of course! So, it’s incredulous that he would now claim that certain things were explained by Cuenco after a mere telephone conversation.

Alas, power can either make one talk or shut up.

Power will also get one off the hook. Watch as Cuenco will be able to wiggle himself out of this situation and even be able to drag his son along with him. All he has to do is call on his fellow-congressmen to help him and they, having pork barrels themselves they wouldn’t want audited, would do so. It’s called the “Old Boys’ Club.”

It’s led by that wheeling-dealing master weasel himself, Joe De Venecia.

You’d think that the tragic death of a daughter would cause JDV to mellow down, be more circumspect and noble. Not a chance! Power corrupts and it begins by first corrupting the soul.

Just look how he again acquired the speakership. He just railroaded everybody. Guess who nominated him?

Tony Cuenco.

Technorati Tags: philippine politics, tony cuenco, philippine congress, congressmen, speaker of the house, joe de venecia, pork barrel

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