Today, we celebrate 25 years since a bloodless revolution toppled a dictatorship in EDSA.

We witnessed a new government, new faces, and some changes. But were these changes for the better? Some argue that nothing changed. The same corrupt system, the same “palakasan” woes plague our society. Only the time and the personalities changed and we’re still stuck in a rut.

A lot subscribe to that notion. You can’t blame them.

But as Filipinos, is it fair to look at our situation from outside the box? Even though you belong inside it?

25 years ago, we were filled with hope, with expectations… that our lives will change for the better. Pero inaasa lang natin ito sa mga tao na nasa pwesto, mga tao na nasa kapangyarihan. But we never once considered that society’s greatest vehicle for change lie within the individual and the family unit. You don’t need to read frickin’ books to make sense of that logic, do you?

As a nation, look at what we did…we elected personalities not fit to govern. Only to be toppled again and replaced with yet another inept leader. It’s a vicious cycle. Foreigners are quick to point out that we “never learn”. We are also too forgiving.

Some of the very people ousted from power 25 years ago are once again occupying seats of influence across the country. Wealthy clans have dominated provinces for decades… and that has never changed. We elect convicted felons to represent us in congress, we send rebels to seats of power, we pity those that we have sent to jail to suffer for their crimes… and it’s okay for them to be released once more, we take souvenir photos beside the bus that led to the massacre of our foreigner guests (which could have been avoided if only common sense prevailed)… the list goes on and on.

Corruption is at its worst. There are big issues in the military that are driving us to the brink of another coup. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

It’s hard to be a Filipino if you can’t trust those whose jobs are to help the common people.

Yet, the shroud that is “EDSA” still screams like a false prophet amongst us.

As a Filipino, I believe that all is not lost.

If we only vow to contribute to society in our own little way. Wake up each day and ask yourselves; “What can I do today that will make me proud to call myself a Filipino?”

No, Virginia. It’s not the Herculean tasks that will make one stand out. It’s the little things we do that matter. Work hard, give back to society, respect your parents and elders, obey the law, don’t give in to corruption, be honest, be patriotic, be proud to be a Pinoy.

Let’s show the world our positive side and (slowly) stay away from the negative traits that foreigners brand us for.

Those, my friends, for me, characterize the real essence and the real spirit of EDSA.

And if that’s what it means to keep that hope, that dream alive, then count me in… I am A FILIPINO.

(Feel free to share. Thank you)

Only in the Philippines.

Two days before newly-elected President Noynoy Aquino assumed office, then PAGCOR chairman Efraim Genuino issued a check worth P21 Million big ones to Pagcor president and chief operating officer Rafael Francisco.

According to them, this was a blow-out for cops… WTF?!?

The Inquirer has a detailed report on the matter. According to the article, Former Pagcor senior vice president Edward F. King, who made the request for payment on June 25, said the check was meant to reimburse Genuino who paid for the food that was donated to policemen “for their activities and operations in line with their thrust to provide security to the population.”

But Pagcor spokesperson Jay Santiago said the new management could not believe that policemen ate that many cheeseburgers and fried chicken.

So, let’s do a small computation.

Each Big Mac meal is about P150. For 21M, that’s around 140,000 meals. The PNP only has around 130,000 police officers last I checked at their website.

That must be a big feast. The Aquino administration, IMHO, should make an example of this if it wants the public to believe in its promise to eradicate corruption.

Sigh.

(Photo above shows Chairman Genuino)

The elections are over. Most of the winners have been proclaimed. It’s been a great “first” for our country, the first (and fastest) automated elections. I think it turned out pretty good.

You already voted, now what? This isn’t the end. It’s just a start.

Here’s what you can do to make your vote count…

It doesn’t matter if those on you ballot won or lost (that’s the reason it’s called a democracy). What’s important is that we monitor the new leaders of our country. How do we do that?

• Stop bickering sa tindahan, stop the chismis about the candidates. Let it go. In an election, there are winners and there are losers. My president didn’t win, but at least he conceded gracefully. It’s time to move on and accept the winner and give him the chance to start anew.
• Monitor the winners. From your mayor, your new congress representative, governor and the senators. If you’ve been following them online, you might have read some of their platforms or promises. Save the damn text file on the website and return to it after 100 days, after several months, after a year. See if that candidate made true his promise, if not, let him know by sharing your opinions online via social networks, tweets or blogs.
• Check on their accomplishments. Follow the news, check their websites (I hate it if the politicians just made their site for the political campaign) and take notes.
• Let them know about the issues – comment on their Facebook pages and tell them about issues in your community, industry, etc. Let your voice be heard.

May 10 was a historic day for our country. If the corrupt system is still in place and we just changed the personalities, then we’re back where we belong. We’ve been saying that it’s now time for a better Philippines for the past 3 elections ever since we ousted a dictator, yet we let the politicians alone solve the problems. It’s not about them, it’s all about working together for a better future for our children. Let’s start caring and make a difference.

It all starts from the person we all know best – ourselves.

Yesterday, like the millions of other Filipinos, I braved the searing heat and trooped to the local High School in San Juan where I was registered. Today would be the acid test of the first-ever automated elections for my country, the Philippines. It would be a testament to modernizing our electoral process and, should it succeed, bring the fruits of democracy on its wings by helping us select the new leaders that would shape our next 6 years and the years yonder.

I knew that I was already registered, but this new “clustered” precinct system, I had to ask for help. Good thing the people manning the Voter’s Assistance Booth just outside the gates of the school were kind enough to help me. After rifling through reams of listings, I found my precinct, 115-A.

I was slightly terrified of going through the long lines which I saw on TV earlier. I was elated to see that the classroom assigned to my precinct was almost empty. I went in, signed the registration form and was handed a ballot. Boy, was this ballot looooong. Damn Party List system should be abolished, I told myself silently as I found the tight, cramped seats (which could barely fit a nine-year) and started to vote.

I was finished in less than 5 minutes. The PCOS machine, now butt of jokes and surrounded by controversy for reports of failures and technical glitches across the country, accepted my ballot in one, fell swoop.

I won’t go into details and tell you who I voted for. Most of them lost, but I’m proud to have voted with my conscience, didn’t take any money for my vote, and exercised my right as a citizen of the republic to partake in this most sacred of processes under the altar of democracy – suffrage. My right to choose who I want to entrust my future and the future of my children and grandchildren.

Segue into Iron Man 2, yeah the movie. I know that it doesn’t seem to “connect” with this article, but hear me out first.

In that movie, Tony Stark, speaking to a crowd and about to launch his Stark Expo, said; “You know, it’s not about me, and… it’s not about you… it’s about Legacy. What we are about to leave behind. That’s what counts”.

Looking back at the historic events yesterday, I think I tend to agree with Mr. Stark.

Yesterday proved to everyone that we, Filipinos, can be resilient, we can make things happen. If we just put our minds and soul to whatever it is we want to achieve.

Despite some technical glitches and some PCOS machines failing, I believe that the automated elections were a success. We just have to improve on a lot of things. It’s a good start. Kudos to Smartmatic and the Comelec and a thousand thanks to our unsung heroes, the teachers and volunteers who are part of the system. Without them, everything would fall into oblivion.

The new leaders of our country would be well advised to heed Tony Stark’s words… it’s about legacy. What can they do for future generations? What can they do NOW to protect our future? We have scores of issues and problems that need to be addressed. Some of those who lost graciously have great ideas on how to do things right. Our new president should listen to them and work with them and throw aside politics.

I applaud those who have graciously conceded. They have honored the will of the people and submitted to the democratic process. Your sacrifice and your fight will not be forgotten. You should be welcomed to serve in the new government.

I call upon the new administration to unite everyone for a common goal. What separates a mediocre leader from a great one is Vision.

And he has to know that, in essence, it’s not about him…

Best of luck, Mr. President. May God bless this great country and its people!

Why would anyone want to be President of the Republic of the Philippines?

Would stress and a paltry P60,000 salary be enough to dissuade anyone? Perhaps not. Why would political candidates spend BILLIONS of pesos just to be the most powerful person on the country?

Maybe the pork barrel sounds reasonable. There is an unholy amount of monies at the personal discretion of the chief executive. I’ll show that after the jump…

THE PRESIDENT’S PORK BARREL

According to this source, here’s a listing of the funds which can be disbursed at the discretion of the country’s highest official;

Kindly note that the total is in THOUSANDS OF PESOS. That means that the President has around 59.2 BILLION at his/her disposal. If you look at a 10% rip-off (corruption rate), that’s still a potential take home of around 6 BILLION PESOS for the entire term of office or 1 BILLION for every year of tenure (roughly around 2.7M every day in office).

Whew! That’s massive. You can forget about the 60K monthly salary and give that to your PSG driver in tips, right? According to a simple calculation that I did, the entire salary of the president’s six-year term is only 0.00061% of the pork barrel.

Here’s more. The President DOES NOT NEED to report on how most of these funds were appropriated. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) says that “Confidential and intelligence funds, along with other discretionary funds, do not undergo the usual auditing procedures.” That simply doesn’t sound right.

So, whoever wins, if this system is still in place, corruption is as easy as pie.

Still believe in their promises?

Vote wisely. Thanks!

Feel free to share and pass along.

Follow me on Twitter and Be my Facebook fan

*Image courtesy of quezon.ph

If the May 2010 presidential elections were fought over with Facebook fans, Noynoy Aquino would come out on top. Noynoy leads the Facebook “fan page” war with around 516,000 fans and growing. Manny Villar comes a close second with a 480,000 fan base.

Of course, users of Facebook are not the only voters in the country. They comprise just a small fraction of the “masa”, those who would rather find a meal than share what they’re eating online. Perhaps Erap’s magic will work on non-facebook/Internet users as he has only 5,700 fans, 5th overall behind Gibo and Gordon.

Rounding up the fan-wars-list are Nic Perlas with 2,600 and Jamby Madrigal who has a paltry 600++ fans.

I’m quite interested to see if this trend will mirror the May 2010 election results. Of course, Villar may have a significant edge as most of his marketing efforts are geared towards the poor… and yes, he has the money and machinery to implement it.

Meanwhile, here are the official fan pages of all the 2010 Presidential aspirants

• Noynoy Aquino
• Manny Villar
• Gibo Teodoro
• Dick Gordon
• Nic Perlas
• Jamby Madrigal

Let’s see if I can catch up with their fans, haha. Be my fan now. Thanks!

~ GM Tristan

(Hey, I have more fans than Jamby…*wink*)

Image courtesy of this site

To help campaign for her brother, NoyNoy Aquino, Kris is ready to sell her house. This is according to an exclusive interview at PEP posted at the news section of Yahoo PH

NoyNoy recently announced his candidacy to run for President of the Philippines next year, 2010

Details after the jump.

Here’s an excerpt from that report.

“Sinabi ko kanina sa interview, kailangan kong magtrabaho nang magtrabaho, kasi the less people na pagkakautangan mo, puwede naming maipagmalaki. Kanina, sinabi ni Noy sa akin, kasi nag-text ako, sabi ko, ‘In-interview ako at sinabi ko, ‘Yung bahay ko, para sa ‘yo.’ Sabi ko, ‘Handa akong ibenta ang house and whatever the proceeds, alam kong kikitain ko ulit. Pero this happens only once in a lifetime.’ Tapos, sinabi niya, ‘I can’t do that to your children.’ And then, I said, ‘But Mom did it for Dad twice,’” kuwento ni Kris.

Read the complete story here

After the $20,000 dinner at Le Cirque by the president and her entourage, I recently found out that Malacanang is shopping around for a private jet worth at least P1.2 Billion!

OMGWTF!?! Have we gone to the dogs? Imagine how many projects for the poor or better things to do with that money. And to think that the president only has a few more months left in her term. This is unthinkable.

Interested suppliers are required to place a non-refundable P100,000 bond. Details after the break…

Malacanang’s Requirements for the Private Jet

• factory new, twin-engine (turbo-fan engines),
• pressurized, fitted with auxiliary power unit,
• with VIP cabin configuration
• should have been used as a VIP/Executive aircraft by the country of origin and by at least two countries
• Bidders should have a repair shop within the Southeast Asian region with the necessary tools, equipment, and skilled personnel.

All these details were in a recent ad posted by the Philippine government at a national broadsheet.

Thoughts?

Via Yahoo Philippines

This just in.

Malacanang has declared August 5, 2009, Wednesday as special non-working holiday as the nation pays our last respects to former President Cory Aquino and honor her burial.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the proclamation would “give Filipinos a chance to pay their respects and appreciation” to the late former president. Wrote the Inquirer

The Aquino family has declined a state funeral for the former president.

I will have to say that I am deeply saddened by the loss of our dear former president. US President Obama was right to call her an “Icon of Democracy”.

We owe the freedom that we enjoy today to Cory Aquino. Of all the presidents that served after Marcos, I can honestly say that she is the only one who did not see power to wield as her own… but rather as a means to serve the Filipino people.

I was a young lad when EDSA I happened and I was there. I am glad to have been a part of our history and to have lived through Cory’s presidency.

I think the “miracle” that we hoped to happen when we prayed for her is now a reality, Cory has shown us how it is to be a leader, how it is to serve.

I just hope that the future leaders of this country will follow that example.

Rest in peace, madam. You will live on in our hearts forever!

My condelences to the Aquino family.

The US presidential elections are just a few days away. Next week, the US will have a new president and a big chance that they will see their first afro-american president too.

Targeting gamers, Obama’s crew placed a campaign ad in Burnout Paradise. Check out the photo above. Well… I hope the Americans vote wisely. Best of luck to Obama and his opponent, McCain. May the best dude win!