The day before the Ultra tragedy where 79 persons were trampled to death during a stampede to get to the first anniversary celebration of ABS-CBN’s Wowowee show, Gloria Arroyo was reported to be ecstatic over the strengthening of the peso against the dollar.
Arroyo exulted on TV: “I passed by my monitor, it was P51.96. Wow!”
Arroyo’s ecstasy was further boosted by the upgrading given her government by the California Public Employees Retirement System, the largest American pension fund.
The two developments support what Malacañang has been boasting all these months that the economy is doing great under Arroyo’s expert management.
A text circulating yesterday said: “The Ultra stampede that killed at least 74 people is the real state of the economy. Not the P51 to the dollar, stupid! It’s 74 lives to the peso!
Of the many gripping scenes at the Ultra the other day, the one that broke my heart was a pile of assorted belongings of the people who were there. Rubber sandals, worn-out rubber shoes, plastic grocery bags, recycled plastic bottles of water. Trademark belongings of the poor.
Most of those who went there were clad in rubber sandals carried their “baon” in recycled grocery bags. Some of those interviewed said they were already tired and hungry because they had been there for three days to improve their chances of getting a ticket that would qualify them for prizes being given out in the show.
The militant women’s group Gabriela noted that many of those who died were women. “This is a reflection of the reality that women are the ones who bear the burden of the crisis in the country today and who die working to lift the family out of the quagmire of poverty,” said Emi de Jesus, secretary-general of Gabriela.
De Jesus further said it is sad that poor women at Ultra were pinning their hopes on the game show to alleviate their poverty rather than on government institutions that, not only have failed to improve their lives but have instead contributed to their poverty.
What happened in ULTRA last Saturday was merely a breakout of a tragedy that had been with us for a long time which we, not only the government but society in general, have chosen to just pay lip service to.
The Wowowee audience, not only at the Ultra last Saturday but at the ABS-CBN studio daily, who travel long distances by bus and endure the heat give face to the survey of the Social Weather Stations on hunger and poverty released last month which showed that the proportion of Filipino households experiencing hunger hit an alarming 16.7 percent in the last quarter of 2005. SWS said it’s a new high from the time they began surveying hunger in mid-1998.
SWS said 3.9 percent of Filipino families or over 600,000 families have experienced severe hunger, up from 2.6 percent in August 2005. Severe hunger is defined as going hungry often or always in the last three months.
In the same survey, 12.8 percent Filipino families or some 2.1 million families, experienced moderate hunger, down from 12.9 percent in August 2005. Moderate hunger is defined as experiencing it once or a few times in the last three months.
Considering that a family has at least six members, that means 3.6 million Filipinos have suffered severe hunger while 12.6 million Filipinos have experienced moderate hunger. It’s no wonder then that more than 30,000 went to Ultra last Saturday.
No doubt the situation is worsening contrary to Malacañang’s propaganda of an economy taking off. Arroyo’s “wow!” adds insult to the injury being felt by the public from the implementation of additional 12 percent VAT.
Last Friday, I called up Asian Spirit to get a ticket to my province in Antique. I was told that flights to Antique have been cancelled indefinitely because they have been losing in their operations using jet aircraft. I was told that they will resume as soon as they could find a smaller plane that could service the Manila-Antique route.
The reason there are less Antiqueños taking Asian Spirit, despite the convenience of arriving in San Jose directly, is because Philippine Air Lines and Cebu Pacific are offering promotional rates that’s about P1,000 cheaper for flights to Iloilo. Antiqueños would endure the additional two-hour travel by land to save P1,000. For the hardier ones, they take the RoRo.
But airline domestic fares have gone up by almost a thousand pesos. Their special rates now are almost the same as their regular rates last year.
Malacañang’s claim that VAT will spare the poor is baloney. Last Friday, I ate lunch in a fast food chain. Before, their budget meal consisting of two viands, one cup of rice and soft drinks cost P69. It’s now P80.
The food chain’s staff explained that prices of cooking gas and ingredients have gone up. Those have to be reflected in their meals.
In the SWS survey , those who experienced moderate hunger decreased because more are now into severe hunger. With VAT, I won’t be surprised if more and more would be going hungry. Or line up for Wowowee tickets.
It is very sad that lots of lives were lost on the subject stampede, and it is more bitter to see that many people, columnists, and politicians are quick to put blame solely on present poverty and inefficiency of government.
In my opinion, these are the people or groups that must be blamed on this useless loss of lives.
First on the list is ABS-SBN, the lewd and goal-less station, for sponsoring shows like Wowoweee whose main intention is to deceive people, to make people kneel in exchange of money, to show that there is only one hope and that is their show and their money, to exhibit flesh and ideas of flesh, all of these in disguise of helping people. For so many years, ABS-CBN being a leading TV station was unable to come up with any positive or nation-building ideas, it is only good in worldly entertainment, flesh, and homosexual aspects. That is why its teleseryes and shows rate so poorly in comparison with others in this region.
Second on the list is the Philippine government, for allowing a program like Wowoweee to deceive people. What is the intention of Wowoweee, to help people or to incapacitate them? It is very clear, the Philippine government allowed shows like this to divert the attention of people away from government’s inefficiency and corruption. Instead of favoring nationalistic themes and ideas to be aired on TV, the government remained silent, as if, there was an understanding or conspiracy to kill the nationalism in this country in exchange of commercialism.
Third on the list are the professionals, church leaders, civic leaders, columnists, writers, etc. They allowed things like this to proliferate unchallenged. Always thinking that this is a small thing hence is insignificant. Look at our state right now, we export slaves and prostitutes to the outside world, nobody cares about nationalism anymore. For may Filipinos, life’s goal at present is to leave the Philippines and never to return.
The peso’s surge against the dollar is cosmetic. There’s nothing to be ecstatic about! Tell that to the 74 families who have just lost one of their own.
The reality is more sordid – the country is wallowing in shameful poverty while Gloria and her family, her friends and supporters cheat, steal and lie, get fat and spend people’s money like there’s no tomorrow while a poor, ever so poor family in the Philippines tries to survive at less than 1 dollar per head a day.
As Ellen had said, the 74 lives that perished for a chance to win a fistful of dollars is the real state of the nation = poverty and increasing poverty all the way through.
The miserable economist that is Gloria hasn’t quite got it yet – the dollar nose dive against peso doesn’t mean a thing when you have the majority of the population living on a meagre or less than 3 dollars a day.
Has it occured to Gloria that her favorite dog eats for more than 100 pesos a day or almost 2 dollars daily or that her grandaughter’s poney is fed daily with horse feed worth an entire poor family’s daily earnings put together? Gloria’s precious 56.90 pesos to the dollar will buy her a tin of dog food in the U.S.
Why doesn’t she announce that her worthless peso has bounced back against the dollar to the 20 thousand people who trooped to ULTRA and check for herself if they care?
The truth is simple: The peso is worth nothing because Gloria isn’t worth a thing.
There’s no question that life in the Philippines has become quite difficult, more so for the poor. Any source of income is pursued, even the under the table kind, the criminal kind, thru jueteng, sweepstakes, lotto, and the game shows. But for who’s responsible in the ULTRA stampede I believe that organizers and the stadium management are responsible, but, even the victims should share the blame somewhat.
When I turned on TV Channel 10- CNN, newsbreak, stamped in Philippines. Ganito talaga ka-desperado ang mga mahihirap na Pinoy- because of poverty. No food on table, while those occupants in Malacanang, Gloria, her cohort cabinets , and congressmen are sipping every ounce of blood of the long suffering Juan de la Cruz.
How hypocritical is this Gloria.Imagined kneeling before an old woman. Kunyari to show her passion to the poor. Ganyan talaga ang tricks ng diablo, magaling magkunwari.
Her alipores releases information that the economy is gaining – coz of peso v. dollar. Being Ph.D. in Economics is nothing if you don’t know the real reason why the peso is gaining vs the dollar. We Filipinos here in the US know the real reasons why the peso is gaining. The gain of teh pesos is nothing if it could not lift off the quality of life of Filipinos.
Flash..news in CNN; childrens in the Philippines put in jail by authorities. Nakahiya.. The childrens wondering around the streets looking for food to surving because of hunger while Gloria and her alipores living in luxury in the expense of people’s money. Fat Guy Arroyo and his bagmen went to Las Vegas paying $20,000.00 or more(US dollars) in a five -star hotel. They say it’s their money but I say stolen from the treasury .
First of all, let me express my heartfelt condolence to the families of those who died in that unfortunate tragedy at Ultra. It is appalling though that a defender of Gloria Arroyo added insult to injury by calling those
who lost their lives as greedy and undisciplined. Shame on you and may you and your handlers rot in hell.
Such kind of accident has happened before not only in the Philippines but also in other countries. The fact remains that those who had been going to shows that offer prizes and rewards did so in the hope of getting something to alleviate their miseries as this illigitimate, immoral and incompetent president who brags of her doctoral degree in economics has failed not only in improving the economy of the country and to reduce the poverty level but has been leading the Nation to perdition.
Gloria Arroyo had been in power for almost 6 years now and yet has failed to uplift the standard of living or just even provide the basic necessities in life to the greater majority of the Filipino people and sad to say that the Philippines is in such pitiful state economically and morally.
Many Filipinos have left their families and loved ones to work in foreign lands with many more desperate to leave because for them “there is no light that can be seen at the end of the tunnel”.
Oh Lord my God is there no hope for my beloved country and people?
51.96 pesos to a dollar? Ito ba ang sukatan ni gloria na ang economy ng Pilipinas ay umaangat? Akala ko ba nag-aral siya sa US?, akala ko ba ay economist siya? akala ko ba ay expert siya? Donya Gloria kaya ho mababa ang palitan ng dolyar ngayon laban sa peso ay dahil ang economy ng US ay bumabagsak din. Huwag mo kaming lokohin.
At pwede ba? Huwag mong sakyan ang nangyaring aksidente sa ULTRA. Kahit pa tulungan mo ang mga biktima (dapat mo lang tulungan, kasi ipinipilit mong ikaw ang President eh)eh andun pa rin ng problema ng bayan…….KAHIRAPAN. Bakit nagtiyaga ang mga tao na pumila? kasi nagbabakasakali silang manalo sa mga contest at makapag-uwi ng pera. Kung ang mga iyan ay may trabaho, hindi sila pupunta duon. Gutom na ang madla, patuloy ka pa rin sa pagkukunwari na makamahirap ka. Isa kang sumpa!
Mula ng agawin mo ang puwesto ng pagka Pangulo ay sari-sari nang disasters ang nangyayari. Ilang trahedya na ba ang naranasan ng Pilipinas? Quezon/aurora floods, , isama pa ang Calapan ,terrorists bombings, ilang personalidad na ang pumanaw dahil sa pressure ng gobyerno?
Para sa Sambayang Pilipino, hanggat hindi nyo inaalis ang Pekeng Pangulo na alagad ng kadiliman, mas marami pang trahedya ang dadaan sa atin, sapagkat kapag ang namumuno ay immoral (sinungaling, magnanakaw at mandaraya),at illegitimate at kinunsinti natin, sama-sama tayong parurusahan ng Diyos. Itaga nyo sa bato ang sinabi ko!!Alisin na ang Sumpa!!! Kilos na!!!
Napakasakit talaga ng trahedya na iyon sa ULTRA, nguni’t mas napakasakit na isiping ang grupo ni GLORIA ay kinukulta sa ngayon ang kanilang mga utak kung papano makakakuha ng pabor na propaganda para sa kanila. Imbestigasyon? Hello??? STUPIDA!!! Ano pa ang iimbestigahan mo Donya Gloria? Habang nakaharap ka sa salamin mong me gintong palamuti, sana ay maisip mo na ang taong nakikita mo sa salamin ang siyang dapat maimbestigahan. Sapagka’t ang trahedya na ito ay isa sa mga bunga ng KAHIRAPAN na patuloy mo pang dinaragdagan imbes solusyunan. E-VAT ang mag-aangat sa kahirapan ng mga Pilipino, yan ang sabi mo Reyna Gloria? Sabihin mo yan sa pamilya ng sisenta’y kuwatro katao na sumakabilang buhay na. Pero maaari rin nating isipin na mas mabuti pa ang 74 na mga pumanaw nating kababayan na iyon…NAKATAKAS NA SILA SA TALING LAHAT TAYO’Y NAKAGAPOS…hindi na nila kailan man maririnig at makikita si GLORIA at ang mga KASINUNGALINGAN nito.
I tell you now and later will say
I told you so. That ULTRA vicinity
is a goner. Why?
The macabre and bizzare will happen
there: moaning of pain and suffering
and questions with female voices:
What happened? Where are we? What have
we done to deserve this? Who will save
us. Please help us, we are so many and
we don’t know what to do? Who will
help us? And that will continue until
the ULTRA is brought down or become
a ghost’s derelict.
It did happen already in Imelda’s
experimental cinema. Nobody wants
to be there when darkness falls.
Seances and prayers notwithstanding.
The victims they said got the lady
in-charge of construction while on
the Tagaytay highway.
Anybody with the copy of the Kislap-
Graphic Magazine issue during the
Manila International Film Festival.
Sean Connery stayed at Marbella
at the time. There was a well written
piece on the seance done at the
theater. some residential lots
there could decrease in value.
Hello JTL, any comment on this?
a de brux said;
“The reality is more sordid – the country is wallowing in shameful poverty while Gloria and her family, her friends and supporters cheat, steal and lie, get fat and spend people’s money like there’s no tomorrow while a poor, ever so poor family in the Philippines tries to survive at less than 1 dollar per head a day.” How true! Ironic but true.
I was in the Philippines three months back and i saw an old friend of mine who comes around everytime he gets news i’m in town. He said he’s ok but i know deep inside he’s suffering. He’s been in and out of jobs for the past four years. Not because he wasn’t good enough but simply because the companies just couldn’t compete and eventually closed shop. And to see a lot of people just like him queueing for jobs depresses him.
My point is this: Why is this happening? Why is our business and industrial structure so weak? What is the government doing here? I think that the government should focus more in creating and securing jobs, real jobs and making every business stable enough to weather out any storm. Then i hope and pray that we’ll never see another Ultra stampede again.
Ellen,
The foreign exchange rate is just one of the macro economic
indicators of the health of a country’s economy.There are other important indicators like the unemployment rate, the rate of inflation, the balance of payments and the incidence of poverty. I think in our case the last one is the most important. It will reveal not only if the country
is getting richer, but more important if wealth is being
re-distributed in favor of the lower classes.
The per capita GDP of the Philippines is actually much higher now than say 1972 when Marcos declared Martial Law.
But the incidence of poverty has increased in our country
meaning that the rich are getting richer, the poor poorer.
The data I spelled out above are available in the ADB
and World Bank statistics. Those bloggers who have the opportunity can get the comparative figures from the time GMA assumed office in 2001 to 2005 to see if we have progressed during her time in office.
It’s true that the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer. And this is an inherent characteristic of a capitalist economy. One business entity could grow bigger and bigger, until it becomes a monopoly or part of a cartel.
Capitalist Economy – while it encourages entrepreneural skills/creativity would eventually results to monopoly or cartel. In short, it is “survival of the fittest” – NOT a characteristic of normal human beings but of ordinary animals, while…
Socialist Economy – emphasizes equal distribution of wealth; private property, anathema.
It is clear that these two systems have their good and bad attributes, so why don’t we modify them to contain only those good attributes?
Why don’t we regulate capitalism by imposing a cap on the maximum wealth that any citizen could accumulate? In so doing, there will be an equal opportunity for all.
———
To determine how much will be the maximum wealth ceiling, allow me to illustrate it in simplistic terms.
Say, in a country with a population of 10 and a total asset of P100, the maximum that every citizen could accumulate is P10.
Since not everybody are business-minded, the balance or any amount that is not availed to shall be managed by the government which is composed by these same people.
This body would then have the option to invest on any businesses that seem to be successful, aside from providing healthcare and other public services.
On its next fiscal year, assuming a growth of 20%, each citizen now can have a maximum of P10 + 20% or P10.20 wealth cap, and so on…
———
While entrepreneurial activities is still encourage, the possibility of a monopoly and cartel is eliminated, therefore, equal opportunity is being preserved.
Taxation should be based on the wealth gained and should not be passed on to the consuming public – like what Meralco did.
Please educate me on this Ambassador H.C.Cruz, Sir. I want to know if this is feasible. I would be greatly honored with any opinion coming from you.
=======================================================
By the way, analysing what motivated those victims in ULTRA Stampede, i’ve came up with these data:
Wowowee Fans
============
PotMoney/Audience = P 1,000,000 / 25,000 = P40
Lotto Bettors
============
PotMoney/Combinations = P150,000,000/5,864,443,200 = P0.026
———————————————————
Remember:
Total Number of Audience or
Total Number of Lotto Combinations = Probability of Winning
Lotto Total Number of Combinations [6/45]=
45 x 44 x 43 x 42 x 41 x 40 = 5,864,443,200 !
pls. correct me if this’s wrong.
———————————————————
These results indicate that those who went there where “smarter” than Lotto bettors [including me, casually] by a margin of 156285%!- excluding other prices, and is it 2 instead of 1 million?
But there are more smarter than all of us – ang mga nagluluto sa atin sa sarili nating mantika!
Anino,
That’s all very well said and on paper, your idea is wonderful. Incidentally, wasn’t that similar to the Communist idea and the Marx dogma that failed?
There’s nothing wrong with captialism provided the capital is invested right back in home country to keep the wheels of the local economy grinding.
There is flight of capital from the Philippines; capable Filipino investors are not investing in their own country. To cap it all, there is massive tax evasion and corruption is staggeringly high. If these two elements are cut down to a reasonable limit, the discrepancy between the rich and the poor might not be so bad.
It is absolutely essential that the ceiling of corruption be curtailed and not the amount of wealth one is allowed to possess.
Investment doesn’t only translate into private business but investment is also in investing in infrastructure developments.
If for the sake of argument, 100 pesos is the cost of building a 100 yard road but your typical government man only builds 70 yards because he pockets the 30% (and boy, this is an understatement) to invest it in a foreign bank or overseas, you will need to bleed the state coffers another 30 pesos to complete the road. That 30% extra which will now be sucked out of state coffers will be deducted from other investment areas (education, health, security, etc.) so what you have is a losing business proposition, no matter how well you initally put it on paper. The Filipino common man has no tangible ROI and the cycle of poverty remains.
You cannot dip into capital and expect it to remain intact; it’s the income of that capital that one should spend and not the capital – otherwise a company will go bust if you keep dipping into capital.
Foreign investors see it that way too – so why should they invest in the Philippines if they know that their capital will never have a proper ROI and moreover, see the risks of seeing it disappear before their very eyes?
Malaysia cut its corruption to a reasonable level (5%), froze foreign exchange in the late 90s and circulated the ringgit nationally, invested their own in their own local companies – the result: Malaysia prospered and the poverty level was contained to within a reasonable and credible limit!
But they were able to do it because they had a credible leader!
I’m not for putting a cap on the wealth one can accummulate. That’s a disincentive to production. Wealth does not cause poverty as long as it is earned honestly. Wealth honestly earned and used productively generate employment and more wealth not only for one person but for others.
It’s corruption and the thievery of those in power that pushed more and more of our people to poverty. Just look at that fertilizer fund scam. Imagine over P2 billion of money, including recovered Marcos ill-gotten wealth, used by Gloria for vote buying and rigging in the 2004 elections. Those are money for the poor farmers!
Just imagine if those money were distributed to those who patronize Wowwowee.
Absolutely Ellen!
Imagine the ROI from that 2 billion peso capital had it been properly invested in credible national projects?
No economy can survive with such ‘sky is the limit’ corruption practice.
Impossible!
Corruption enriches a few and maintains the majority in dire poverty.
And people said Erap was absolutely corrupt? That he stole million, nay billions from the State coffers?
I don’t believe he stole from the state coffers directly – I can believe that he was stupid to take advantage of the financial largesses of his friends and cronies but he didn’t have the material time to steal those billions direct from the coffers of the state, besides, he wasn’t smart enough to do it in the same methodical fashion as Gloria has been doing it from day 1 of her having grabbed power.
Gloria had the educational background to do it in record time, the training to make it work and the political astuteness and the moral depravation of a desperate housewife to do it.
Erap’s corruption, it seems today, was super tame in comparisson to Catholic Assumption-bred, church going Gloria. (One thing you could credit Erap for was that he was ‘honest’ about his ‘moral flaws’ whereas this midget is totally, completely, utterly, brazenly morally depraved and wants us to believe that she isn’t.)
anino, a de brux is right to point out the Socialist character of your idea, which of course, does not make it automatically bad. Marx himself was a great thinker whose writings we should continue to study. The development experiences of other countries however, have shown that the market is a lot better than government bureaucrats in terms of organizing resources for production and growth.
On the other hand, the experiences in Taiwan, South Korea and China have shown that greater equality brought about by policies like land reform is beneficial for development. Apart from a de brux’ example of Malaysia, the Singapore and South Korean governments have taken an active role in business and industrial policy with good results.
The Singapore government also plays an active role in investing the salaried employees income similar to your scheme above. Aside from the 15% income tax, there is an additional salary deduction of around 20% which is similar to our SSS/GSIS contributions. This 20% deduction is for a Provident Fund and used by the government for investments which will go back to the employee upon retirement. Of course, as already mentioned, corruption is not much of an issue there compared to here.
On the subject of a cap on maximum wealth. I’m just going on memory here. Everybody (almost) knows that Bill Gates is reportedly the wealthiest individual on the planet. Yet the last info I have (by no means being claimed here as accurate) is that he and his wife have already given away to charity almost a third of his net worth. People might say that the 2/3 left is still a lot of money. True, but the point is, he and his wife, including his father who is the chairman of his foundation, have the compassionate heart to share their wealth around. And we are talking here of HIS OWN money. Sure there are others who abused their position and subsidized their opulent lifestyle by stealing from corporate investors, but some or most of them have been exposed and rightfully tried, convicted and punished. As a general rule, almost nobody sa Pilipinas ay naparusahan dahil sa corruption, those who have stolen public money in millions and billions. At paaano nga mapaparusahan e ni hindi makasuhan. Except maybe si Erap na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa tapos ang kaso sa Sandiganbayan pero limang taon nang nakakulong.
alam ko lumang tugtugin na ito….
Just heard that the big man is buying the second biggest port operator through his multi channels and that big guy’s golf mate will control it but it won’t be obvious.
That big man already controls the smuggled goods sold in one one of the low cost stores and his significant other other than we all know is the queen in customs…
Just my opinion
Sabi nila nung kabataan ko si Kung si Marcos(kasama nasa paligid nya)gamit pala(shovel) ang ginamit ni Cory Bull Dozer… at skip tayo sa kaslukuyan simple lang ginangamit
lambat
Apollo’s ‘cry’ is our ‘cry’.
Meron pang isang balita akong nabasa na winarningan daw ang ospital na gumagamot sa mga biktima ng stampede na usisain ang mga nagpapagamot dahil daw may mga fake na biktima (nagkukunwaring nasaktan sila sa stampede pero hindi) na nagpapagamot doon.
Hindi na ako magbibitiw ng salita tungkol sa karakter ng mga taong ganito na pagsasamantalahan ang pangyayaring ito para makalibre sa pagpapagamot o kaya ay makakuha ng tulong ng gobyerno/ngo para sa mga tutoong biktima ng stampede. Ang comment ko ay patungkol sa root cause/s ng ganitong ugali. Balik na naman sa kultura na nangungunsinti ng kasinungalingan, kasuwapangan, at corruption. Ano nga naman kung magsinungaling para makapagpagamot at makakubra ng kaunting pamudmod ng gobyerno/ngo ang isang pobreng mamamayan e kung yung mga matataas na pinuno ay hindi nagi-guilty sa pangungurakot ng milyun-milyon? Maaring may magtanong, bakit lagi na lang ninyong sinisisi si GMA at mga amuyong niya? Kasi hindi lang sila “corrupt” kundi “corrupting” pa. In other words, nagkakalakas-loob ang iba na magsinungaling at magnakaw dahil sa “example” ng mga matataas na pinuno ng bansa. Sa kabilang panig, kung positive ang example ng lider, malamang positive din ang aksyon ng mga tagasunod. I have no personal knowledge of this, pero palagay ko lang, kung mag-appeal si Bill Gates sa mga empleado niya na mag-ambag sa isang charity, na mas maluwag ang loob nilang magbigay dahil nga si Bill Gates mismo ay 1/3 na ng kanyang personal net worth ang nai-donate niya sa charitable causes. Follow the leader, ika nga.
Tomas,
Wasto ang sinabi mo.May corruption sa lahat ng bansa. Ang
kaibahan nila sa atin, sa kanila ipinakukulong nila ang
mga grafters. Si Tanaka dating Prime Minister ng Japan
nakulong ng limang taon sa Lockheed scandal. Dalawang dating pangulo ng South Korea ang nakakulong for life
dahil sa graft. Ang asawa in Benazir Bhuto dating Prime
Minister of Pakistan nakulong ng dalawampung taon. Si
Tommy Suharto anak ng dating Presidente Suharto nakakulong
sa Indonesia. Sa America lahat ng matataas no opisyal ng
Enron ay nakakulong na. Dalawang pinakamataas na opisyal ang binibistahan ngayon. Si Martha Stewart pumasok na at
lumabas sa bilangguan.
Tayo sa bansa natin, walang “high profile” na tao na nabibilanggo. And ating sistema ng hustisya daw ay
nahuhuli lang ang alamang at dilis pero hindi pating at
balyena.
Anino,
Kung pagmamasdan mo ng maigi ang PSYCHE ng mga Pinoy sa Metro Manila pa lang:
Noong Jan 22,2005 , Sunday , ilang oras matapos ang laban ni Pacquiao , LOTTO outlet naman ang dinagsa ng mga tao.
Nagbabakasakali na makakuha ng 6 na mumerong kombinasyon sa 6/49 draw para sa tumataginting na P150,478,099.20 .
Pinuntahan ko ang website ng LOTTO( http://www.pcso.gov.ph/ ) at sinuri ko ang mga lumabas na numero sa SUPERLOTTO 6/49 draw mula noong November 24,2005 hanggang sa January 22,2006:
Ang kombinasyon ng numerong 47/48 ay lumabas ng 10 beses sa labing anim(16) na DRAW mula nasabing na date.
Kung magagawi ka sa mga DEPRESSED AREAS na lugar , ang pinagkakaabalahan naman ng mga ordinaryong Pinoy ay SUGAL, kung hindi BINGO ay “LARO SA BARAHA”(i.e., tonghits,pusoy atbp).
Kung noon ay “NAGHIHINGUTUHAN” , ngayon naman ay “PUMUPUNTOS” SA BINGO CARD!
Sino kaya ang dapat na umusisa sa ganitong klaseng “KULTURA NG MGA PINOY”?
Are Filipinos the only ones addicted to gambling?
Well taken. Thanks for the comment guys.
To summarize your comments:
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Some blame the PEOPLE in charge of the system [government/economy];
Some blame the PEOPLE THEMSELVES [citizenry, culture]
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
These observations lead me back to my first proposal which is Geniocracy. We can never have a competent leader if it’s not chosen by competent voters. This is on top of the full automation of the process which should avoid human intervention from voting to counting of votes.
Online Voting, real time counting. To hell with trending. The integrity of the counting outweighs the danger of trending, which could result to real-time display of votes accumulated by a candidate.
I’ve watched last night’s interview on India’s President Abdul Kalam, and i’ve found out that he is an Aviation Engineer who lead a team that launched one of their first satellites into orbit. Being called as the “MissileMan” he employed Space technologies to medical, communications and other related applications for the benefit of his people. And leading a nation of more than a billion with diverse cultures and religions to prosperity is to itself a great feat. http://presidentofindia.nic.in/
This is the essence of Geniocracy – to elect the right people for the right position.
http://www.rael.org/download.php?view.6
In contrast, how many engineers/scientists have we put to congress or to the presidency? None of prominence.
If we want to progress, we should put a man like Engr. Daniel Dingel [Dingle?] to the highest position of the land. His invention 30+ years ago of a water-fueled car engine has a great impact comparable to man’s landing on the moon! Or even better, because it would save us from extinction. The continued use of fossil fuels is absolutely deplorable.
30 years past, he had perfected this technology to the point that he once said “You may laugh at it when you found out how i did it!”
Geniocracy enables us to produce a leader with truckloads of common sense. People with common sense can come not just from Harvard or wherever but amongst us ordinary Pinoys, peasants or laborers, old and young.
In the present Election Code, once you reach 18 years old, you are eligible to vote. What if sa edad na ito e tumutulo pa ang laway? Nagkaletseletse na! [pardon the pun] Kahit illiterate pwede basta may kasamang literate kung tawagin. And these types of voters are easily bribed. Samantalang may mga bata na inborn genius ay hindi naman makaboto. Those who made these laws really don’t have the capacity to refine it. Hanggang doon lang ang inabot ng kukute nila. Refining it only needs common sense. Pure and Simple.
Since most, if not all, of the bloggers here have common sense more than most politicians who elected themselves to power, may i therefore, humbly, invite all of you to comment on this proposal, and hope to refine Geniocracy to suit our own Philippine setting. Of course we need a revolution in order to effect this. So let’s just assume that we have done this requirement and already in the process of making changes. What changes would you want and why?
Thanks a lot.
http://www.rael.org/download.php?view.6
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Erratum:
Probability of Winning = 1 / Estimated Total No. Of Audience
or
Probability of Winning = 1 / Total No. of Lotto Combinations
“The integrity of the counting outweighs the danger of trending, which could result FROM real-time display of votes accumulated by a candidate.
Ellen,
I don’t think so. Europeans and Americans (viva las vegas!) gamble a lot. The Brits gamble on almost anything – their betting offices in every street corner in London (well, almost in every street corner) is proof that the Filipino gambler has friends there too.
The biggest lotto players in my district according to the superette owner who has a lotto stall are the Middle Eastern immigrants (from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, etc.).
Here in Singapore, gambling is also discreetly popular in the form of ‘Toto’ (their Lotto), card games and mahjong, which is traditionally played during Chinese New Year gatherings. Recently, there has been a national discussion on the opening of an ‘Integrated Resort’ – a Casino complex ala Macao & Las Vegas. From what i can tell, the father (Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew) seems not to be too much in favor, but the son (the current PM Lee Hsien Loong) went ahead and ok’ed the plan.
Ellen at a de brux:
Noong araw, ang bawat pamilyang Pilipino sa tuwing pagsapit ng ala sais ng gabi, sila ay nagrorosaryo sa bawat altar.
Ngayon ibang klase na!
Bago at matapos ang ala sais ng gabi SUGALAN na! Nandyan ang BINGO, LOTTO,-E-Z 2, BARAHA at ENDING SA BASKETBALL GAME!
Pati na mga PATAY NA PINAGLALAMAYAN,Pinagkakakitaan na rin sa sugal!
Attn RELIGIOUS GROUPS sana bigyan ninyo ng pansin ang mga ito.
blah blah blah blah…..walang may gusto sa nangyari, sana tigilan na yung stampede issue n yon, im sure ung mga namatayan nakaka recover na, marami lang taga-“sulsol” sa mga nabiktima para idemanda ang abs-cbn, network giant b naman e, siyempre malaking pera, puwedeng pagkakitaan, mga pinoy talaga, ang babagal nating mag-isip!!!! puro LAWAY!!! ala namang natatapos, MAGTULUNGAN N LANG, WALA NG SISIHAN, WALANG MAY GUSTO DUN SA NANGYARI, HINDI LANG PINOY ANG MAHILIG MAGSUGAL, TIGILAN N YUNG ISSUE N YAN, PATALSIKIN SI GLORIA, SIYA ANG TALAGANG MAGNANAKAW NG PERA NG BAYAN!!! IKULONG RIN UNG ASAWA NYA PATI SI DOJ GONZALES!!! NAWALAN N NG TIWALA ANG TAO PATI SA DOJ, SUPREME COURT, COMELEC DAHIL SA KASAKIMAN NI GMA!!!!! UNG STAMPEDE ISSUE ITIGIL N, AND LETS MOVE ON!!!! MAKUNSENSIYA RIN SANA KAYO SA MGA PAMILYA NG MGA EMPLEYADO NG ABS-CBN N MAWAWALAN NG TRABAHO KUNG SAKALING PABAGSAKIN NILA ABS-CBN….
MAM ELLEN, IPARATING NYO RIN SANA SA ABS-CBN NA KAMING MGA TAGA-TFC DITO SA CANADA AY HINDI NA NATUTUWA SA “PALABAS” NILANG ALAY SA KAPAMILYANG KALOKOHAN NA YON……BIGYAN NILA NG PANAHON UNG MGA NAMATAYAN PARA MATAHIMIK MUNA…..IBANG PROGRAMA NAMAN ANG PALABASIN NILA….YUNG SPORTS, THE BEST OF UAAP GAMES, PBA CLASSICS, BOXING, MORE ON SPORTS N LANG KESA DUN SA ALAY SA KAPAMILYA N YON….SANA PO MAIPARATING NINYO ITO SA KANILA DAHIL I ALREADY E-MAILED THEM, SINUBUKAN KO SA MATINONG PAKIUSAPAN, PERO WALA SILANG “REPLY”
It is really pathetic to see the authorities not wanting to claim responsibility for that tragic incident. I am just so glad to see that ABS-CBN’s Chairman, Mr. Gabby Lopez, was man enough to accept responsibility for last Saturday’s stampede.
Suppose, for the sake of argument, that ABS-CBN did not coordinate with the PNP regarding crowd control, this should not excuse the PNP from doing its job. Crowd control is the expertise of the police, not ABS-CBN’s. When they saw that the crowd was already building up as early as last Wednesday, the responsibility of foresight is with the PNP. Wala ba silang mga mata, o sadyang bulok ang training ng mga kapulisang ito? Hindi ba PNP ang dapat unang umalma sa maaarin g mangyari kapag dumating na ang Sabado?
If some people are blaming ABS-CBN for not having the foresight in anticipating a possible stampede, the more that we should blame the PNP. It is worth repeating — crowd control is supposed to be the PNP’s expertise.
Sa isang bagay lang yata magaling ang karamihan ng mga pulis, ang mangurakot, katulad ni _____.
Dorian Santiago
Tondo, Manila
Dennis, kunting lamig lang. At please, walang murahan. Huwag ho gumamit ng mga bastos na salita dito. Maraming salamat.
Kaugnay nito, nanindigan kahapon si Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Marius Corpus sa kanyang pahayag na malaki ang posibilidad na may kasalanan ang pamunuan ng ABS-CBN at mga organizer ng Wowowee sa naganap na stampede.
“Hindi ko babawiin ang sinabi ko, kahit saan kami makarating. Ang sinasabi ko ay kung ano lamang ang nararamdaman ng mga kaanak ng mga biktima,” ayon kay Corpus sa pagdalo nito sa pulong-balitaan sa National Press Club, Maynila.
– http://abante.com.ph/issue/feb1606/main.htm
BullSh*t!!!!! tigilan na ung imbestigasyon sa stampede, hindi pinilit ung mga tao n pumunta don, walang may gusto sa nangyari, talagang ganon ang buhay, matira matibay, hindi kapabayaan ng abs yon, pasalamat sila at may abs na nagbibigay ng “oportunidad” sa kanila para mabago buhay nila….para s pamila ng mga nabiktima ng stampde, wag nyo ng kasuhan ang abs, para magpatuloy n ulit ung programang wowowee, life must go on….