I heard in the news that the yellow horde will be unveiling a giant photo-mosaic of Missus Aquino (I would have liked to refer to the former president as Tita Cory, but the yellow camp’s annoying overuse of this appellation compels me to do otherwise). According to reports, the organizers of this distasteful gimmick plan to use the event to secure yet another Guinness World Record.

But why? Why? Why? Is that all this country is going to be good at — chasing after useless world records? I hope you get one for the “World’s Biggest Ploy To Keep People Emotional and Stupid”.

Now, I’m also wondering why the yellow horde would even pursue this thing at a cost of P2 Million. Isn’t the president trying to set an example of austerity? Reports say the cost is being shouldered by private sponsors. Even so, this is a wasteful undertaking. Those private sponsors should have just used the money they spent on this thing on something more productive and beneficial.

As I was enjoying my chocolate milkshake, three of those yellow ladies decided to take the action inside. Major anNOYance! One of them decided to chat me up. I tried to be polite, but, God, did she make it difficult. This lady wanted to give me one of their stickers, which had some slogan about pagbabago. I politely refused. It was then that this lady said to me, “Are you not interested in seeing the country change for the better?”

Huwaaaatttt?!? And yes, she said it in English because she was a bit Coño.

This lady who is probably a charming lola when she’s not annoying the hell out of strangers really got my blood boiling. Had I not been able to bite my tongue, I would have probably pointed out to her that there’s no way their Cory stickers would bring about change and that she better just get out of my face.

This is the sort of thing that makes the yellow camp a prime target for criticisms. Instead of just focusing on REAL work, all it ever does is come up with all sorts of showbiz gimmicks. Is this all we’re gonna get in the next six years? Useless events meant to appeal to the emotions?

I hope all Filipinos will wake up and see exactly what the yellow camp is doing. I won’t even blame this thing on Noynoy anymore. I’m convinced this is solely the handiwork of several of his advisers who fancy themselves as media and marketing geniuses, which they probably are. I’m 100% sure though they are not as patriotic as they want others to believe. They’re just protecting their real agenda the best way they can and that is through smoke and mirrors.

Just consider this truly pathetic attempt at getting people all sentimental again over Missus Aquino’s death. The following quote was lifted from Facebook.

“”We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe!” Thank you very much Auntie Cory!”

Hey emo-dude she’s dead. Saying a quiet prayer in her behalf should be enough. Ginagamit n’yo pang marketing tool ang dating pangulo. Mahiya hiya nga kayo!

And to that lola who made me lose interest in my chocolate milkshake: Don’t talk to anyone about change because you suck!

Apparently, the offended mediamen took it as a form of shabby treatment. Oo nga. Ang shabby naman Mr. Secretary. What’s up with that anyway? Are you not aware Mr. Secretary, that you can’t be pissing off members of the media unless you’re prepared to be demonized? You should strive to seem subservient to them. Never mind that sometimes they can really be annoying. Never mind too that half if not most of the time they are actually doing more harm to this country than good.

But, let’s see if Luistro had good reason to say such a foul thing.

According to this report from manilatimes.net, Luistro made that “offending” statement in response to an inquiry on what he thought about former Education Secretary Mona Valisno’s plan to include sex education in the curriculum for elementary and high school students.

Another report from abs-cbnnews.com provides better context. It says Luistro was blaming the media for adding “fuel to the fire between the government and the Catholic Church regarding the sex education program.”

Yun naman pala eh.

Come to think of it, there really is something wrong when an issue as big as sex education is treated as a sabong (cockfight) between one party (the government) and another (the Catholic Church). The problem with the local media is that most of the time all it ever does is pit opposing sides against one another. Instead of  providing the general public with truly useful information, some members of the media just engage in sabong commentary, which does nothing for the betterment of the Filipino as it simply enhances whatever useless noise there is.

Hindi nakakatulong ang media

The Secretary’s statement speaks some truth about media’s shortcomings. Just consider the quality of its coverage of the last campaign season. I don’t know about you but I find the media’s output during that period largely disappointing. Consider the following:

1. most reports, focused on personalities and their showbiz-like activities instead of their platforms
2. the few reports on supposed platforms failed to differentiate between a real platform and a standard-issue list of motherhood statements
3. reports on survey results were sorely lacking in serious analysis; obviously media simply accepted and regurgitated whatever was fed to it
4. so-called election fora organized by media companies provided no deeper insight into the candidates’ plans since so-called highly respected and seasoned journalists focused more on asking trivial and oftentimes idiotic questions

Thanks to these media shortcomings, the campaign and election season ended with the Filipino still none the wiser. In short, hindi talaga nakatulong ang media.

Don’t do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto you

Lest I be accused of taking Luistro’s side here, I will say that the secretary also erred in dismissing a valid question. As a friend of mine pointed out:

Education more than almost any other government function apart from maybe health care demands a high level of community engagement. Essentially telling media people to eff off is not demonstrating an understanding of that.

But more than that, it’s interesting to note that, as a member of the Black and White Movement, Brother Armin Luistro himself is not a stranger to panggugulo. Their target of course was  the administration of then President Gloria Arroyo. I believe at that time not a few level-headed people who saw at least some good in what the Arroyo Administration was doing saw the Black and White Movement as a major nuisance.

So to be fair to both Luistro and those mediamen he pissed off I’ll just say this:

Tigil-tigilan nyo nga yang drama n’yo at ayusin nyo na lang ang mga trabaho n’yo. Tama na ang drama.

I had wanted it to be as comprehensive as possible but after much thought I realized a shorter and generic list would be enough.

So here goes. A list of things I would like the President-Elect to do immediately.

1. Stop making excuses.
2. Stop talking about your parents.
3. Start talking about your vision.
4. Start talking about your concrete plans.
5. Order your media handlers to stop feeding the Filipino people with showbiz crap.
6. Tell your sister Kris to stop talking, period.
7. Don’t appoint people based on their closeness to you. It’s distasteful especially when all they have going for them is their showbiz roots.

As simple as these are, I am confident these recommendations can help the President-Elect become more “presidential” and less “showbiz.”

Related to this, a commenter on my previous post “Aquino Wants Us To Lower Our Expectations” wrote:

Can we just let him be president first, and reserve the criticisms for later?

I think this is a sensible recommendation. However, I will follow it if and only if the President-Elect will start showing us that he is in charge of his camp and that he will no longer allow “showbiz” tactics and gimmicks to dictate his decisions and actions.

It’s time for REAL change. Are you up to it Mr. President-Elect?

Well, according to him he is not. Now I wonder why he and his mouthpieces are making a big point out of this only now.

As I recall, during the campaign period, Aquino and his Yellow horde were all promoting him as this country’s best hope. Remember his pompous slogan “”Kung Walang Corrupt Walang Mahirap”? It can’t be denied that mentally weak voters fell for it, which is exactly why the senator won the election.

Well, Mr. President-Elect you made the claim. Make sure you fulfill your promise. You wouldn’t want to disappoint those who pinned their hopes on you by becoming just another traditional politician who breaks his campaign promises.

I am very sure though you will not succeed in solving poverty and corruption. As PinoyBuzz pointed out in his newly-revived blog, these are all “biblical” problems.

Going back to his I-am-not-Superman-or-Einstein spiel, I suppose with the presidency now in the bag, the President-Elect and his advisers feel that now is the perfect time to clarify that the Yellow One is not The One. As the following report www.malaya.com shows, Aquino is now calling on the public to set reasonable expectations.

PRESIDENT-ELECT Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino hopes that the Filipino people will have “reasonable” expectations of him as the 15th President of the Republic, saying he is humble enough to admit that he does not have all the answers to the problems besetting the country.

Despite the hardships he would face, Aquino vowed to bring more food to the table and reform the “poor” educational system.

“Kung reasonable expectation di ko nakita bakit di natin magagawa,” he said.

“Mas maraming pagkain ang itatanim natin, ang kakainin, palalakihin,” he said. “Lahat ng bagay sa reporma, education system, sa dagdag na two to three years mako-complete yan.”

“Sana reasonable (ang expectations) but I’m sure there are a lot of people thinking there has to be a night and day difference,” he said in an interview at his residence on Times St., Bgy. West Triangle, in Quezon City Monday night.

Are you serious Mr. Aquino? You want us to lower our expectations? Ok, how low is low anyway? I’m sure your fans would like to know and many of them would gladly give in to your request… huwag ka lang mapahiya.

Well, just to be clear, I am not at all inclined to cut you some slack. I will keep score. I expect that will not be too difficult to do after all you never did give us much in terms of plans and platforms just that mumbo jumbo about “Kung Walang Corrupt Walang Mahirap.” I’m sure keeping track of that one thing should be easy.

By the way, I think fulfilling that one promise should also be manageable for you. But, of course, you’re just human and it is possible you’d have some episodes of self-doubt. Should that happen may I suggest that you re-visit your campaign advertisements and be reminded of the conviction you displayed there. Of course, I’m assuming that was real conviction not some showbiz posturing.

I used to be involved in MLM. In fact I once took a one year break from my day job to concentrate on network marketing. I never really earned that much from it though. Nevertheless I found the whole experience quite enjoyable and educational.

So what did I learn? Quite a lot actually. But the most important is the idea that MLM is a legitimate business model that presents a very real opportunity for people to achieve financial freedom or to earn some extra cash.

I know that sounded a little too chirpy and somewhat corny like an overused motherhood statement. But seriously, as a business system, MLM shouldn’t be dismissed as easily as its evil twin, the pyramid scam.

To the newbie or casual observer it would appear that the two are one and the same. As a former networker who had the fortunate/unfortunate experience of attending more than enough business presentations by various companies including dubious ones, I am quite familiar with the inner workings of both systems and I can attest to the fact that MLM is a legitimate and ethical system while pyramiding is simply bad.

It’s really quite easy to make the mistake of assuming that they’re the same system. For one thing, networks formed under both systems take on the form of a triangle or pyramid with the one who enrolled first positioned on top and followed by a number of other people referred to us downlines who are also followed by other downlines below them.

I’d like to point out that this pyramid or triangle structure is not the dead giveaway of “scamminess” as many well-meaning but uninformed pundits think. There is nothing inherently wrong with the form. It is not even unique to MLM or pyramiding schemes.

The fact is the pyramid form is found in every imaginable organization. It’s how corporate organizations look like. Even the government follows this structure with the Head of State at the very top followed by other top level officials who are then followed by lower-ranked officials and so on and so forth. It can’t be stressed enough that there is nothing inherently wrong with the pyramid organizational structure.

What’s wrong with pyramid schemes anyway? The standard complaint is that, like the Ponzi scheme, pyramiding involves an unfair movement of money that puts members at the very bottom at a disadvantage. Moreso when there are no real products involved as this would leave those at the bottom with nothing to show for their investment. To illustrate, member A receives money from member B who then receives money from member C who is then left holding the empty bag unless someone else gets in to continue the cycle.

Unfortunately, in legitimate MLM, money moves in a similar fashion. The only difference is that there are products involved.

But then again most present-day pyramid scams also feature products.

(More to come in part two.)

I don’t know about everyone else, but as far as I’m concerned it ain’t over till it’s over. And, no Mr./Ms. Commenter, Noynoy’s victory is not yet a certainty. It is just one of many possibilities.

Speaking of the Aquino campaign, I’m really wondering what his supporters expect from him in case he does bcome our President. As far those people in his inner circle, well, that should be obvious. They’re in it for the juicy government portfolios and other perks. How about the ordinary folks who profess to love him like he was some kind of messiah? It seems to me they’re in it for the fantasy. A better Philippines under an Aquino administration? That makes the Lord of the Rings more real to me.

incidentally, I was at one of the BIR offices last week and I got to talk to one of the examiners there. Out of the blue he mentioned that he and most of his co-workers are for Aquino. I asked why. He gave me a cryptic response.

“Basta,” he said.

I wondered about that piece of information. I tried to imagine what possible reason a BIR examiner could possibly have to support Noynoy who has been playing the role of an anti-corruption crusader. Hmmm. BIR personnel supporting a candidate who claims he will put a stop to government corruption… it just doesn’t match up. Is the end of the world upon us?

I reflected on his cryptic response. After about 10 seconds of deep thought, it came to me. I realized what should have been obvious to me from the very start.

Those BIR personnel aren’t supporting Noynoy because of what he claim he can and will do to ensure corruption-free governance. They’re going for Noynoy because they know he will not be able to do anything to stop the shenanigans going on at this esteemed government agency. In short, they’re putting their faith on Noynoy’s incompetence.

I don’t know about you but I think this is a sign of things to come should the greater number of Filipino voters think it wise to put Noynoy at the helm of our already troubled nation.

I just want to call your attention to the fact that some of your campaigners have resorted to vandalizing public property. While the campaigners of other groups make use of streamers and posters, yours have resorted to using paint. What’s up with that? I just saw your slogan “No to tuition fee hike! Iboto ang Kabataang Partylist” painted on the post of one of the newly painted footbridges along Quezon Avenue and again on one of the center islands in the area.

While this violation is nothing compared to the bigger problems besetting our country, it is a violation nonetheless. Why must you allow your people to vandalize? if you’re gonna fight the evils of this world you should at least be better in your deeds. Being a vandal is not being better.

Call it nitpicking or whatever, but I think a group that wants to get into Congress presumably to create laws shouldn’t be breaking any. In fairness to Kabataan Partylist, they’re not the only ones among our candidates who are guilty of vandalism. Just look around and you’ll see how messed up our surroundings are right now because of all the campaign materials posted all over the place. What puts Kabataan Partylist on a different level though is the fact that its campaign material will require a fresh coat of paint to remove.

If I weren’t a believer of the “broken window” theory I probably wouldn’t make a big deal out of this. There’s also too much irony here that I can’t help but point it out. Check out the following gem from the Kabataan Partylist website:

Our Common Vision
KABATAAN Party-list believes that the youth should devote its intellect, energy and courage to building a new society devoid of corruption, inequality and social injustice.

And here’s another one under its so called Program of Action:

3. Assert the youth’s right to decent living, equal opportunities and humane living conditions.

Humane living conditions? I think this bunch of youth activists should aim for more modest goals. I would suggest something like ensuring our communities are free from graffiti.

Sa pinakabagong survey ng Pulse Asia lumabas na tabla na sina Senador Manny Villar at dating Pangulong Joseph Estrada. Sa aking palagay hindi naman siguro totoong tumataas pa ang rating ng dating pangulo. Hindi naman siguro ganoon ka-bobo ang mga Pinoy para pagkatiwalaan pa si Estrada sa kabila ng nangyari sa kanyang administrasyon noon.

Sa mga nag-iisip, palagay ko bistadong bistado naman kung ano na naman ang panibagong gimik na ito.  Pero para sa mga hindi makasunod, ganito yan. Posibleng sadyang pinalalabas ng survey na ito na umaabante si Estrada para lalo pang mahikayat ang mga uto-uto nating mga kababayan na bumoto ayon sa baluktot na konseptong “lesser evil.” Napuna siguro ng mga nasa likod ng sarswelang ito na hindi pa rin tiyak ang tagumpay ni Senador Noynoy Aquino kung itatapat siya kay Senador Manny Villar kahit pa sabihing marami ang bumibili sa ideyang “lesser evil.” Ako man kung talagang si Aquino at Villar lang ang pagpipilian, si Villar na ang aking iboboto. Di hamak namang mas kakayanin siguro ni Villar na tumayo sa sarili niyang kakayahan at manindigan sa harap ng mga taong nakapaligid sa kanya. Duda ako kung kaya iyon ni Aquino.

Kung miyembro ako ng makinarya ni Aquino, ganito rin ang aking irerekomendang istratehiya. Imbis na si Villar, si Estrada na lang ang palalabasin kong pinaka-mahigpit na kalaban ni Aquino. Kung tutuusin nga naman kung sa ganitong tapatan mas madali sigurong ma-uuto ang mga tao na si Aquino na lang ang iboto. Sino nga ba naman ang boboto pa kay Estrada sa panahong ito kung hindi ang mga talagang kulang sa tamang pagiisip. Hindi naman siguro kulang ang pagiisip ng mas marami sa atin? Ewan ko lang baka mali rin ang tantya ko.

Pero sa totoo lang bakit nga ba tayo magpapaniwala sa mga survey na ito? Kitang kita naman na may sinusundang script ang mga ito. Mas maniniwala pa ako sa mga survey na isinagawa sa iba’t ibang paaralan kung saan ang kadalasang nanguna ay sina Senador Richard Gordon at dating Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. Bakit nga ba mas naniniwala ako sa mga naturang survey? Unang una, harapan itong ginawa at agad na nalaman ang resulta,. Malinaw na malinaw na may mga tinatawag na respondent. Sa mga isinagawa (daw) na survey ng Pulse Asia at Social Weather Station meron nga kayang respondent? Duda ako dahil sa tagal kong ito sa mundong ibabaw wala pa talaga akong nakikilalang taong na-survey ng dalawang kumpanyang ito. Kahit pa kakilala na may kakilala na may kakilalang na-survey noon o ngayon wala rin.

Kung ako sa inyo, tingnan nyo na lang ang mga survey na ito na parang libangan. Para bang yung mga paborito ninyong teleserye o yung mga noontime game show kung saan kailangan magmukha ka munang tanga bago ka ma-premyuhan. Nakakalibang naman kasi talaga di ba kung papaano nila nilalaro o binabago ang kanilang script. Kung dati Aquino vs. Villar ngayon naman Aquino vs. Estrada.

Uunahan ko na ang mga survey company na ito at baka sakaling makita nila na bistado na ang kanilang sarswela at maisip nilang tigilan na lang ang pinaggagagawa nila.

Sa aking palagay sa mga susunod nilang survey si Estrada na ang number 2 at number 3 na lang si Villar. Posible pa nga na palabasin nila na nauungusan na ng dating pangulo si Aquino. Siempre nga naman para mas maging malakas ang hatak ng ideyang “lesser evil.” Sa totoo lang hindi ako magugulat sakaling gawin nila ito lalo na’t mukhang dumarami na ang nagigising sa katotohanan na marami pang mas karapat dapat kaysa kay Aquino para sa panguluhan ng  ating bansa.

Panalangin ko huwag naman sanang mag-tanga-tangahan ang mga Pinoy.

For the past few weeks you have been propagating all sorts of doomsday scenarios with the obvious intention of conditioning the public’s mind that your victory is already certain. You have been repeatedly saying that the only way you could lose is if you are cheated.

I certainly do not subscribe to your theory. Still, I could easly ignore that as nothing more than a politician’s braggadocio.

I am however deeply troubled by the latest pronouncement you made which ended up in the Bloomberg article entitled “Aquino Says Philippine Poll Fraud May Trigger Turmoil.” Here’s the relevant excerpt so you may know exactly what I’m talking about:

Aquino Says Philippine Poll Fraud May Trigger Turmoil
By Francisco Alcuaz Jr. and Haslinda Amin

April 27 (Bloomberg) — Philippine presidential frontrunner Benigno Aquino said only fraud can stop him winning next month’s election and any such attempt would trigger unrest comparable with the protests that swept his mother to power 24 years ago.

The 50-year-old son of former president Corazon Aquino, who has led opinion surveys since entering the race last year, criticized how a switch to electronic voting machines is being implemented and said a declaration that he is the loser of the May 10 poll would bring supporters on to the streets.

“If we have a correct counting of the votes, I think we will be very victorious,” said Aquino, whose mother toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos amid protests that followed a rigged election in 1986. If “the people’s will is frustrated,” demonstrations could make this month’s protests in Thailand seem “mild” by comparison, he said in an interview in Manila yesterday.

I really hope you were misquoted because, if indeed you said those things particularly that part where you made a rather ominous comparison to the protests in Thailand, then I think you really are so blinded now by your desire to win that you seem to have lost all regard for your countrymen.

Do you even really know what you were saying? Don’t you realize that what you said can be easily misconstrued by your die-hard followers as a call to action? Do you not realize that some of your supporters may actually heed your words and carry out protests that would make “this month’s protests in Thailand seem “mild”? Let me remind you sir that lives have already been lost in the turmoil gripping Thailand. Are you saying something worse than this could also happen here in the Philippines in case you don’t get elected?

Dear senator, I certainly hope you’d be more circumspect with your pronouncements. Do not be so blinded by your ambition that you end up ignoring the possible consequences of your every move. Please do not put your countrymen at risk.

Here’s the video in two parts:

Gordon’s straightforwardness really showed in that interview much to the discomfort of some people. Here are some of their comments:

• Grabe. Inis na inis ako sa vid na yan.
• I’ve never hated a politician interview like this before. Kay Arroyo nga, hindi ako nanggagalaiti.
• What a major turn-off! And to think i considered voting for him initially?!

The first two comments we can easily dismiss as immature ranting. Had the concerned commenters really listened to Gordon they would have realized that what he essentially said were all verifiable facts. Sure, Gordon came across as rather arrogant but that’s beside the point. Arrogance is not crime and in Gordon’s case it’s not even a character flaw. I think those who are making a big issue out of the Dick’s abrasiveness should reflect on this quote:

It ain’t bragging when you can back it up.

As for the last comment, well, all I can say is that this person probably thinks he is being clever. Notice how he made a point of emphasizing that he “considered voting for him initially” in an effort to highlight his disgust for Gordon. Mr. Commenter that style is so passé. Luma na yan.

That’s the problem with many Filipinos. They have this image of a leader that is gentle, kind, considerate etcetera, etcetera. I suspect the type of leader they want is one sprung from the same mold as Jesus or any other benevolent character. These people automatically think being aggressive, straightforward, candid, abrasive or pushy is a negative. I have a nagging feeling these people are the same ones who think Noynoy Aquino is leader material.

I really wonder how these people will feel about themselves should Noynoy, the gentle, pandering one, become president and later it becomes clear that their benevolent leader is screwing up the whole country. Will they continue to hail Noynoy as this country’s hope? Should that happen I will have only one word for them: Arrogance.