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What she did and did not say in her 2009 SONA (opinion)

On Monday, the President delivered her final State of the Nation Address. People were tuning in, mostly to see and hear about her plans for the upcoming election. The biggest thought on their mind was her announcement for running as congressman next year.

Nobody really wanted to hear about her accomplishments in the economy. If the economy is really doing well, then she need not say it. The result would show itself eventually. What the people wanted to know was a clear response on her political plans. But did she answer the question? Well, yes. Vaguely---- in a way making the gray part, more gray-er.

Being her supposedly last SONA, people wanted to know if she really will she step down after her term. But being a wise politician as she was, she left the people hanging and gave a not-so-assuring response on her plans next year.

“I have never expressed desire to extend myself beyond my term,” she said.

Well, what’s wrong with that? She did not say that she WILL NOT extend herself beyond her term. She just “never expressed desire” to run again. The way she said it was entirely different than what she meant. It again sets in a more gray-er scale on her political plans that do not set the public’s mind at ease.

There was another issue with her final goodbyes in her SONA. Unlike other presidents before her who bid farewell during their final Addresses, Arroyo never did say any “goodbyes” before she stepped down the platform. What we heard was a “thank you” for electing her as president and the usual “Mabuhay Pilipinas!” tagline.

It may sound trivial to some, but we know that whatever left unsaid is a matter of concern. She did not say a proper goodbye, what we are certain was she thanked the Filipinos who gave her support, and might be asking to do so again if she decides to run for congress the next term.

Regarding attacks on her critics, one can see that her biting known presidentiables is a way to discredit her political adversaries in the upcoming elections.

“To those who want to be President, this advice: If you want something done, do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Just do it. Don’t say bad words in public.”

This was a shot against Senator Mar Roxas on the Cheaper Medicines Act that he passed and his swearing during the Rally against Charter Change in Makati a couple of months ago.

“Those who live in glass houses should cast no stones. Those who should be in jail should not threaten it, especially if they have been there….”

This was another attack against former President Joseph Estrada who was sentenced to jail and pardoned by Arroyo.

“The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it”

It may sound like a general attack on all Charter Change critics, but I believe that it was an attack on Jose De Venecia who was once a supporter of Charter Change, but now opposes it due to a fight between the two families.

Instead of talking about the state of the country, it became a battleground for political supremacy. She blasted her critics without the gall of respecting the traditions of SONA. It’s like a State of the Political Nation’s Address instead of the country’s report.

The way she acted feels like I was not yet her final SONA. Who knows, we may get to see her again if things go as she planned.

*photo taken from Yahoo! Images

An Inconvenient Truth about Sexual Harassment

There was a forum on July 15 about battling sexual harassment and how they are affecting the country. To be honest, I was a bit ignorant on the topic as it has nothing to do with me whatsoever. I was just planning to doze off after sitting in a comfy seat just to pass the time. But after a while, I realized my ignorance had taken hold of me. The forum was not boring, nor does it not concern me. What I’ve heard opened my eyes to the horrors of sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse is indeed happening in our country. It may be as small as sexual jokes to as big as near-rape. Whether it be big or small, sexual harassment is happening everywhere.

I remember when Atty. Pinlac talked about the severe cases of sexual abuse. Most of her stories were like what you are used to see in teleseryes involving sex and betrayal. One particular case that stuck my mind was a case involving a certain Korean electronics company. She said that the company only picks women aged 18-21 and trains them for six months in order to be regularized. Sounds normal? No, that’s just part of it.

In order for the women employees to be regularized, they must stand in line to be inspected by the manager. What the manager does is fondle each woman’s breasts to his satisfaction.
I don’t know what that has anything to do with work, but according to Atty. Pinlac’s story, it was the company’s standard procedure. It doesn’t stop there, each woman then bows down to the manager, opens his zipper, and does oral sex. Unbelievable? But it’s true.

Another harassment case I remember was a dad who raped two of his daughters, while the third one was raped by his friends. Atty. Pinlac was handling the case of the third daughter when she heard of the other two. It was sickening. Sickening for someone to do those things to their own flesh and blood. Sickening indeed.

There was also another case, I think I saw this on TV years back, where a grade school teacher molested his male students in his house. The criminal’s defense was that the boys liked it to and did so without any force.

These grave cases of sexual harassments are really happening in our society, and what’s worse is that the only punishment that these perpetrators receive is a six-month imprisonment or a fine of P20, 000.

Senator Escudero, who also attended the forum, said that revising the sexual harassment bill is imminent to curb these sick cases. He said that the current provisions of the sexual harassment act are really not that effective in curbing these cases of sexual harassment.

“In my mind, this is now an issue of enforcement than legislation. The congress should make it more updated to the changing time and ensure that those who commit violations on this line should be punished, and will be penalized,” he said.

But what is the root of sexual harassment? Was it because of the woman’s looks or how she dress? How she acts? No, It was because of our own culture.

“It is not because women were short skirts revealing clothes. It is about power,” Pinlac said.

Both the speakers agree that culture and power are the ones responsible for the abuse. It is inherent in our culture for the women to be submissive. This nature is the reason why men often take advantage into believing that he can do anything to the woman, and because of that, power is involved.

If women learn how to stand up for them---and not cower in fear of peer rejection---- then cases like these ones will cease to exist. Again, culture is the main culprit in our society, and the only way to change that is to change ourselves.

Senator Escudero’s proposal to strengthen the bill will indeed give a bite to those who violate it, but the best way for it not to happen is to change ourselves and fight for our own rights.

"Chizmisan" Muna (opinion)

I’ve just watched the You Tube video of Sen. Franciz “Chiz” Escudero’s forum in the UP School of Economics held on July 8. Escudero mainly talked about the current situation of our country like the on-going corruptions, the worsening state of education and other things. Most of his talks were primarily based on the shortcomings of the government and his proposition in solving them. Though I felt like what he said were already a reiteration of my past lessons (Especially to me, coming from a political science background) there were still some points that made me think otherwise.

Corruption has been a very common term in the country that even grade schoolers know about them. We shouldn’t be glad about this because it is only an indication that our country is going downhill that even the younger ones are experiencing it; making the word “corruption” a norm in the society.

According to Sen. Escudero, almost 1.4 billion pesos are lost due to corruption. This is indeed an eye opener, considering how much the people are suffering from the lack of funds from the government.

I shared Escudero’s thoughts in wondering what would happen if that 1.4 billion are spent to the welfare of the country. Perhaps it can lift us up from the stumbles of past administrations and even change our outlook to the world! But, going back to reality, it won’t be happening real soon.

Why the pessimistic attitude? Because it’s just like that. It is almost impossible to return that wealth because we ourselves are easily forgetting the past. Remember what had happened to the ill gotten wealth of Marcos? All the jewels of the First Lady? They are being returned to them, even though everybody knows that all the jewels are gotten from the blood and sweat of the people. If people forget, then corruption will continue to prosper.

One way to remove this corrupt practice, according to Senator Escudero, was to promote transparency in government transactions. He said that if government transactions become transparent, then there would be fewer people getting their hands on it.

That strategy would indeed be useful in the future, but there are some problems regarding that strategy. Transparency can only work if those who secure them are clean of corruption because is still using paper, and whatever you put in that paper can be easily altered, especially if you are buddies with those who write on it.

You can easily write in the paper that you will be allocating 3.5 million bucks on a certain project and audit everything that you’ve used, but if the auditor has no credibility, or if that person can gain “kick backs” for helping the politician, then won’t it be the same?

Transparency may indeed be one step closer to solving corruption, but it is just a temporary bandage. If these corrupt people do not get arrested, then they can easily find ways around the transparency issue.

I’ve had a professor in Political Science, I think, who told me the primary root of corruption. He said that corruption actually comes from the Filipino Culture. The concepts of Pakikipag kapwa tao and pamilya muna are the main reasons why corruption exists in the country. Filipinos often care for their family more than themselves. To remove corruption is to change our culture entirely, but to do that would be the big question.

Though what Senator Escudero proposed was a good step, the only way to resolve corruption---- to get back the 1.3 billion pesos--- is to start with ourselves. It may sound cliché, but understanding our culture and removing our bad habits would eventually clean the country from this problem

2009 Gawad Plaridel Award Winner Shares His "Sariling Dwende"

All of us have our own “Sariling Dwende”.

This was a message given by the renowned Father of Independent Film, Kidlat Tahimik, in his acceptance of the 2009 Gawad Plaridel Award held in UP- Diliman on July 10.

“Sariling Dwende”, a term coined by Tahimik during his time as an independent film maker in the late 1970s, is something inherent inside of us that make us unique from other individuals, he said.

Relating it to Independent Films, Tahimik said that his films express his own “sariling dwende” by using unorthodox style in film making like in his famous works in Mababangong Bangungot (Perfumed Nightmare) and Turumba.

“Independent films are films that express ‘yung sarili mong dwende’ because that is who you are, that is your identity like nobody else’s. It is your unique view of the world,” he said in a press statement.

This vision is something that is inherent in the Filipino culture and should be looked into when developing these types of films, he said.

Tahimik’s love for independent film making comes from his desire to make a movie in his own unique way. He said that his “Sariling Dwende” urged him to create original films than that of the mainstream cinema.

Tahimik also stresses the importance of promoting our own culture in developing out “Sariling Dwende”, saying that Filipino culture should be embraced more than other cultures.

“I’m not against American Idol or anything, but our own culture is better,” he remarked.

Tahimik often gets his inspiration from the ethnic Cordillerans, stressing that this group is one of the “Indi-Genius” (Indigenous Geniuses) tribes of the country.

Since his return to Baguio in the late 1970s, he has been fascinated by the Cordillerans’ unique culture and way of life. He uses this fascination to bring out his artistic vision to the world.

This love for the Philippine culture was the reason why Tahimik changed his name from Eric De Guia, hoping that people would remove biases from his Spanish-European name. As to why he chose Kidlat Tahimik, his answer was simple---- it is the pure embodiment of energy.

“Kidlat is pure energy. Iyon ang spiritual aspiration ko (Lightning is pure energy. That is my spiritual aspiration),” he said.

Tahimik’s outstanding contributions to the Philippine independent cinema had earned him the right to be the recipient of the 2009 Gawad Plaridel Award.

The Gawad Plaridel Award is the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication’s culminating event, honoring media practitioners whose exemplary achievements and public service in the field of print, television, film, radio and the new media had rocked the foundations of the media industry.

Established in 2004, the Gawad Plaridel Award has given praise to pillars of the media Industry. Among them were Eugenia Apostol (Journalism, 2004), Vilma Santos-Recto (Film, 2005), Fideliat “Tiya Dely” Magpayo (Radio, 2006), Cecilia “Che Che” Lazaro (Television, 2007) and Pachico Seares (Community Journalism, 2008).