State of Emergency?

For sure, a lot of the other social/economic issues will have taken a backseat because of the recent political instability in the country. One of the things that is blatantly obvious here, which has also been so in the last years, is that Gloria will do everything in her power, to stay in office. And it really means anything. That's as simple as that.

Jose De Venecia has always had a bad image almost being percieved as the incarnate of the trapo persona. But we see that Gloria is as much a trapo as the rest of them, probably worse. A friend at the office recently commented "Absolute power corrupts absolutely". And I really have to say that on this one, I dont think so. With what I have been seeing for the past years, I am more inclined to believe that she is only what she has always been.

What kind of future do we really see for our country? We have a president that deserves to be booted out of office several times over. We have an inept vice-president who seems to mind his hair better than his job. And then the rest of the usual colorful filipino political community. Should I choose to migrate out of the country like a lot of my good friends have done so? It's a big possiblity. But I will not kid myself in saying that the justification to move to the West is not really because of these wretched politics. I will move there because I see a better life there, and that is primarily related to financial compensation. Who are we kidding here? The single biggest reason is the money. It's not because I love the western culture. It's not because I love their foreign policy... god knows I abhor it. It's not because I think they are a better country. Sure they have some things going for them, but Pinas will and always be my home whether it is in a political turmoil or under the usual coup threat. This is probably the only place where people stil go to malls when a group of rogue soldiers just took a hotel in makati hostage. The first thing I thought about when I heard that was,

"I hope this shit lingers long enough to cancel work next Monday."

In some ways... there is something so pinoy about that mentality that you love. I can imagine how a foreigner would never understand this. It's just pinoy. And these events have just been too common these days. Nothing too special no more. How many rallies have I seen or been to. How many work days have been cancelled? How many presidents have we booted out? How many issues have come and gone?

I know that I will always remember and miss a lot of the simplicities a life in Manila makes possible. The fishball in the street, the stores in every corner, the cheap beer, the cheap cab fare.. relatively of course, the cheap movie tickets, the language, the culture, the people.. The truth is, there really is something so "pinoy" here that is and will always be a part of me. And I dont want to rob that away from my daughter. If there is anything that will be challenging for me and my wife, it will be to try to make that part of her life if she ever ends up having to grow up in a foreign land.

I was in Singapore attending training that time when I saw the report at MediaCorp News that the 10 cabinet secretaries has just resigned. And really... the rest of the news and images as they were presented was quite alarming. So alarming in fact, that I had to call my wife to ask what was going on, and if they were ok. And then you come home and actually see that this will go on for the next year. Yesterday, I got a phone call from my brother in California asking how things were... now I understand why I get these kinds of calls.

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Whatever happened to the stampede issue? Was anyone ever sued? I have always been disgusted when I chance upon watching Wowowee or Kris Aquino's game show where they mask these as benevolent programs that are supposed to be there to help the poor. And the way the show's hosts exploit the poor and old people who go there for scrap of what these big network makes out of having them cry on TV is as evil as evil can get. Sure, I see some businessmen make money from conning other businessmen, but not the media. There is more money to make in exploiting the poor. And if something like the stampede ever blows up in their face... they make it appear that they dont even have to accept responsibility for it. Mga putangina nyo!!!