The Privileged.

In the world of the penal institution, people who enter the institution are placed in this structure for various reasons relating to committing crimes or any form of wrongdoing they have done against the society. They are placed there as a means of punishment, as a means of reform, so that once they leave the prison, they come out as reformed persons, ready to serve the public for the good, and not for the burden of society. These institutions are there to create a sense of threat and punishment to the offender, through their confinement within the four walls of the prison, devoid of any luxury such ad television, radio, and the likes. Prisoners follow a strict timetable inside the penal institution to show them that they cannot be the one who is in favor all of the time, that they become enlightened once again that there are laws, rules, and regulations existing for the betterment of society, and by defying them, society is placed in danger.

And this are the many significances of the penal institution. They are existing to make the defiant step down and be humbled upon. They exist to correct the mistakes of these offenders. Yet, in the cases of Jason Ivler, the Ampatuans, and recently, Antonio Leviste, the significance of the penal institution has lost its true purpose, as VIP and special treatments do exist within these institutions, signifying biases occurring starting from the institution alone, and goes all the way on how the injustice in our system still prevails.

From Ivler's party life in the jail with the girls, booze, and friends, to the special treatment the Ampatuans receive, complete with luxuries inside their prison cells to boot, to the special treatment given to Leviste, especially when it comes to his dental issues, having preference over his own personal dentist outside of prison rather than the dentist within the prison.

I do believe that the world is an unfair place to begin with, but seeing this form of injustice is just way too much. I do really hope this gets addressed.

Are we safe?

On May 02, 2011, the world was cheering in victory as Osama Bin Laden, the world's most wanted terrorist, holy warrior, mastermind of the 9/11 bombing, and ultimate hater of the United States, succumbs to a lethal defeat as the US Army invades the fortified Pakistan compound, the very place where Bin Laden resided for 5 years. They say that they had to raid the compound in order to kill him. Others say that he was killed unarmed.

The United States insisted that they threw his body into the sea. Photographic evidences of his death are not revealed to the public, insisting that the whole operation is confidential and is of danger if released in public. With this, the public is in doubt about the authenticity of Bin Laden's death, despite the massive media coverage of his death.

Prior to this event, Sony had a massive plague hitting the users of its Playstation Network with multiple hacking and security breaches, affecting millions of users and placing thousands of credit card accounts at risk. Sony presently has made multiple efforts to please its customers, even to the extent of giving free games to affected customers, yet these customers are not pleased at how a security breach occurred not once, but twice.

Both of these events may have a varying level of significance, but they have something in common: the fact that the world is never in a state of peace and stability. That there is always uncertainty in the things that we do. That there will, and will be always, a loophole that will never be solved. No matter how hard we try to make the world safe, there are these glitches that can potentially mess things up. Even the most sophisticated technology can fail us eventually.

Sometimes, all of these precautionary measures and sophisticated technologies towards protecting ourselves are not enough. We may run all the time but we can never hide. Might as well be cautious of our decisions, after all.

An (almost) clean escape.

Practically everyone in the Philippines has developed this form of hatred towards Merceditas Gutierrez for failing to fulfill her duties as Ombudsman during the Arroyo regime, where many cases remained to be unsolved until now. It has come to a point where the hatred has become enormous, that a impeachment trial was made in efforts of bringing her down. Despite all of these accusations she is facing, she insists that she is not guilty of the accusations being made to her. She is an iron lady, refusing to go down, despite all the hurls against her, despite on being tagged as an "Arroyo ally", being the principal cause of how Arroyo managed to escape all the corruption accusations made to her during her regime.

Yet, with all the odds against her, she made an unexpected move through making a firm decision of resigning as Ombudsman for the sake of the nation, and also for the protection of her family. It was a decision that surprised everyone, considering her iron lady status of refusing to step down. Despite her strong beliefs of being not guilty, she did the unexpected.

Because of such a move Gutierrez has made, my hatred for her has lessened a bit for one sole reason: the fact that her conscience has worked in the process of making this difficult decision of stepping down, 10 days before the start of her impeachment trial at the senate. For that brief moment, I have viewed her as someone that you can respect, unlike the likes of the Ligots, or worse, the Arroyos, in which, even with all the odds against them, still continually deny the accusations made through them, and that further investigation incriminates them to their right to privacy.

Such a move represents that after all, Gutierrez went in for a more dignified exit rather than facing the humiliation of an impeachment, the very same fate that former President Joseph Estrada faced, in the light of People Power 2. After all, she did showed a little bit of care for the Nation. She is not entirely bad or evil, after all. She may be the cause of the widespread corruption that occurred during the Arroyo regime, she may be the one "protecting" these corrupt acts, but still, she makes a preemptive move by resigning days before she faces the pressure in the senate, responding to the various questions that will be hurled at her.

But that does not mean she can still escape clean. Her move just lessens the pressure of it all.

Let's talk about conscience and morality in the news.

This week's fave tidbits happens to be testing our conscience and morality. So this time, I made my selections and commentaries to be as coherent as possible.

1) Willie and his disappearance: Alright, so it will be almost a week since Willie has not appeared on TV, nor his show Willing-Willie has been on air with TV5. While the hiatus (or more of suspension) is ongoing, a lot of interesting issues have been coming up when this topic is being talked about. One of the latest issues ongoing with the case is that the parents of Jan-Jan actually filed a libel suit against bloggers Joe Silva and Froilan Grate, and child Psychologist Dr. Lourdes Carandang, in light of the issue, insisting that there was no form of child abuse that happened during the said incident. In fact, the parents are actually defending Willie Revillame, saying that there was nothing really bad about the said incident, since the kid actually does such a dance number even at family gatherings.

In short, it was supposed to be a normal thing for the kid, and that because of this fiasco, the family is no longer living in a peaceful and happy life, thus, the libel case. And the bigger irony? The father apparently posted the same video of his son dancing in Willing-Willie, and even asks his friends to "like" it. So now, why is he filing libel raps against two bloggers and a child psychologist, wherein in the first place, he was the one proud of this misdeed? It just shows on how much of an irresponsible father he is.

If you come to think of it, this particular issue has exploded to a large scale. This time, there is an exposure of irresponsible parenthood, where parents would just let their children do various things, no matter how undignifying they can be, in exchange for some money to supplement their livelihood, which for me may be the case of the Jan-Jan issue of Willing-Willie. Sadly, this phenomenon is existing, especially for families coming from lower classes, which for me also shows a certain reality in the Philippines that has yet been realized by the citizens (of which can be a possibly useful argument with regards to the RH bill debates).

2) Banned commercials: Yes you've heard it: That cute McDonald's commercial involving a boy, a girl, and a desire for french fries has been pulled down in order to please the Catholic Church, citing that it promoted wrong values. What happened to be the wrong values being taught? 1) that it is inappropriate for children at that age to talk about relationships, and 2) that relationships have become cheapened, as they have become related to french fries (of which costs php25, as said in the advertisement). Frankly speaking, I get the view of the Church on this but as what my friend told me, "we're collectively fussing over unnecessary things."

For one, I find it a bit mababaw for the Church to be offended by such commercial, or by appealing to PNoy to move Earth Day because it happened to fall on a Good Friday (which is April 22 . . . but on this, I think it is possible to celebrate both events on that day; we can sacrifice our "earthly" desires all for that day, at the same time being in line with the Lenten season . . . it's that simple and the Church didn't actually think of that). And to think it is a irony that they deal with this petty matters, and not worry with bigger matters such as child abuse (as said in the earlier part of this entry), or with animal abuse (remember the killing of dogs using the tambucho method?), or even with addressing proper population management (and not rely on abstinence alone, because we all know that people never followed it).

In another perspective, I really do think the Church has been doing these things for the sake of media attention. But I think that's just me.

3) Mikey and his assets: Well not just Mikey Arroyo specifically, but I find it really intriguing that after his undeclared assets in the United States have been revealed, he suddenly sells them off, even if he insisted that the property in contention is owned by not him but by a company. Then later on, he, together with his mother, none other than President-turned-Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and his brother Dato Arroyo make amendments to a particular bill on rallying, adding that rallying is prohibited in front of the residences of public officials. This makes me feel quite suspicious about the Arroyos, citing that they may be really hiding something from the public that they are trying to put in all the stops in order to save their name from shame.

And the case of Mikey Arroyo is one of the many possible cases of tax evasion that the BIR is currently filing. Believe me or not, a bigger majority of these tax evaders actually come from those belonging to the upper classes, and not really from the lower classes. Mind you that it is through this fact (something that probably a lot of people do not know) that our revenue collection is really that horrible, such that people (me included, should I actually start working) begin to doubt on paying taxes. It's more like "why pay taxes if other are successful in evading it" kind of thing. But probably not now, as the BIR is putting an iron fist in the hunt down for tax evaders.

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In other news: I want to start working and start earning.

This week's feenzy (in the news)

So a couple of interesting news bits came about for this week. And despite doing other stuff (like going to parties and pretending to be quiet when the girl I like is there), these news bits came to my interest.

1) Hostage-taking in Agusan: It has been a while since I last heard about hostage-taking in the Philippines (the last being the hostage fiasco, which took the lives of Hong Kong nationals as a result of the government failing to please a disgruntled police officer). In the latest hostage-taking situation, the hostage takers decided to put in hostage a school, alongside with students and teachers. The hostage situation took quite long, and it also came to a point that the hostage takers insisted on releasing one of the students, in exchange for the father of the student, which I find it really, really absurd.

Hostage taking by itself is already bad enough, and what makes it worse is that this time it involves students and teachers. Honestly speaking, I do not get the sense of why these hostage takers would involve innocent civilians in exchange for extortion money (wherein if the payment is not made, they would decide to kill these innocent civilians with no question). In addition to this, the amount of money they would ask is simply out of this world: tell me how on earth can you raise millions in just a few days? Unless you are rich, such is a herculean task and I pity those who can't pay enough for it, and just see their love ones killed by these brutal hostage-takers.

2) Fuel subsidies (really?): This one is more of an unexpected move coming from the government. For them to actually give fuel subsidies to owners of public transportation vehicles is something, especially in the context where fuel prices can go as high as php60 a liter (that's for regular Unleaded fuel; Diesel fuel can go as high as php55 as of this writing). I appreciate the move that the government has made through this; however, I really think this method is more of a short-term advantage; soon enough, the government would come to a point that it is impossible to provide for subsidies (which, by the way, is the reason why LRT fares are expected to increase dramatically soon. So are toll rates in both SLEX and NLEX).

Instead of subsidies, I do really think that the government should go into a close investigation of these fuel companies, particularly the big three companies (namely Shell, Caltex, and Petron). The reason for this is that these fuel companies would be so fast in increasing their fuel prices, yet they become slow (and hesitant) when it comes to price rollbacks. By this fact the government should be already suspicious about it. To resolve this, I really think that there should be an a-la-BIR submission of SAL (Statement of Assets and Liabilities). I do hear news of under-the-table selling of fuel happening within the city of Manila, and I do find that disturbing enough.

3) BIR tax evasion cases: Yes, the BIR happens to have become more aggressive these days, fulfilling its promise to go on the hunt for tax evaders and the like. And personally, I find this a good sign, especially since that most of these tax evaders are actually rich people who are just too greedy with their wealth. And we're talking about big amounts of money here, amounting to millions of pesos.

Among those who have been filed for tax evasion is Mikey Arroyo and his wife, Angela, a son of Former-President-Now-House-Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Well, by the fact that he was filed for tax evasion just shows that they are hiding some of their wealth from the public, which puts into the speculation that the family has actually been involved with such corrupt acts during the reign of GMA as president. Now the pieces start to fit together now. And Mikey's response? At least he is not driving around with a Porsche like Noynoy does. And my reply? Touché.

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Actually, there are more interesting bits for this week (like Marlene Aguilar's craziness for her son Jason Ivler, the ongoing case with Willing-Willie and the douchebag himself, Willie Revillame, The case of illegal recruiters, among one of many), but the ones I've mentioned above are those that got my attention.

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As of this writing, let's all pray for Japan, as a 7.4 Magnitude earthquake has just hit them. And to think they had to undergo a earthquake / tsunami / near nuclear meltdown a couple of weeks back.

This week's tidbits: every Filipino citizen can be atrocious

After finally graduating from College last Friday, I came across some relevant and interesting news tidbits coming from the local scene. These news tidbits I came across with are generally saddening and quite depressing. So the rundown:

The Annoying Ligots: so here we go again. And this time the controversial couple annoy me further as they keep on denying about their acts, even if the evidence is already clear. They give out various excuses for not speaking, especially with their passion for the word "incriminate". Their use of the word has become exaggerated, to the point that they actually used it for the wrong reasons (as noted in recent news stories about their ongoing trial).

Now with the added pressure on them (through being under contempt by the senate), the Ligots are slowly revealing the details, although forced. The annoying part? They could have just admitted their mistake and save face, and thus speed up the process of investigating the massive corruption occurring within the Military.

Filipinos executed for real: It is indeed sad news that three Filipinos were executed in China for being drug mules, but personally speaking, it is something very disturbing to our current society here in the Philippines. First things first, one should take note that those who were executed belong to families that are within the lower to lower middle class, the societal category where most OFWs thrive in. This fact is a telltale sign of the Filipino's struggle to earn a living, even to the extent of doing very illegal activities, such as the transportation of drugs from one place to another, all for the sake of making a living to support one's family.

With such issue in mind, one must note about the reality of the Philippines, that people coming from lower classes have to resort to doing such activities because of the grave injustice in Philippine society, wherein the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer. It is a struggle that has to be addressed, wherein the problem of corruption in the Philippines is very evident even in the grassroots level, as it appeared in the execution of the three Filipinos in China.

A sidenote to this story: apparently, the recruiter of the three Filipinos who were executed happens to be an illegal recruiter. This adds up to the exposure of the reality of Philippine society.

The Ping appears: After more than a year in hiding, Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson finally appears to the public, citing that he was hiding because of his worries that he will be treated badly in the investigation of his case on the Dacer-Corbito massacre. In light of his case, he even dared the Dacers to expose the truth behind the murder.

Now my commentary on this is that first things first, Lacson is nothing but a coward (I wanted to use a word different from coward but my friend said that it is offensive to use such word, so coward should be sufficient enough to describe Lacson). I call Lacson here a coward by the fact that he was not even man enough to show up to the public, and face the charges pressed against him. He had to hide from the public for more than a year to save his face. Like seriously, by doing so proves that, just like the Ligots, he is indeed guilty of something that he does not want to reveal it to the public.

BONUS: The douchebag strikes again (or maybe not): A few days ago, Willie Revillame's show Willing-Willie has been placed under fire for Willie's bullying of a 6-year old kid, wherein the kid was doing a form of macho dancing in front of the audience (with the family of the kid being part of the audience). For a part of the show, Willie mocked around with the kid, to the point of even saying that the kid had to do such act in order to please (or more of help) his family. Even if the kid gained a couple of thousands, it was simply wrong for Willie to be acting this way in public Philippine Television. It is wrong all throughout.

However, in this particular case of Willie's douchebaggery, we cannot entirely blame him for this situation; yes, the family also plays a role in this situation because in the first place, I do not see why the family would be amused to see their kid dancing in an undignified manner in front of hundreds of people, even going to the extent that the kid is already crying, and that the family members still find it funny. The same thing applies to the rest of the audience as well. Seriously, it is evident that the kid is NOT enjoying what he is doing, and yet the audience finds it amusing. This incident tells a lot about our values, of which is distorted and needed to be addressed properly.

News Snippets (and my commentaries on them)

It seemed that for the past few days, there have been a good number of notable news events to follow, both from local and foreign. So I shall have a quick rundown of the events that made me curious enough to know.

1) The Japan triple disaster

-All I could say here is simply wow. First you get hit by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, then you get hit by an epic tsunami, wiping out a portion of Japan, and now, you are facing a nuclear crisis as the Fukushima power plant is in danger of a nuclear meltdown, which can become another Chernobyl disaster, and still the Japanese managed to keep their cool, doing all its best efforts in dealing with this triple whammy disaster, all three happening in less than two days. Even with such catastrophe, the Japanese do not even steal, or loot, or fight, or even panic with the situation. They simply move on with their lives, making the best out of their situation. Indeed, these people are simply amazing and are good examples of society.

-They may be still facing a problem with their nuclear plants, but look at them; the media may exaggerate their situation, but the Japanese seem to be cool enough in dealing with the situation. In short, you don't see in their faces the feeling of being in a state of panic. In fact, one worker stated that he's willing to die, just to save thousands of people from an impending nuclear disaster. Now that's what I call true nationalism we have there.

-Now when will the Philippines have values and beliefs similar to Japan? And to think the Japanese aren't even Catholic, they still show care for their country still (Unlike in this country where the Catholic Church shows no true concern for the many women dying everyday from childbirth and poor reproductive health conditions).

2) The Banco Filipino closure

-This one made me really curious, considering through my little research about BF and the Aguirre family, they have been having problems even before, to the point that it was closed down in 1984, then reopened in 1994 after proclaiming that the closure of the bank was deemed illegal by the Supreme Court. The issue? The Aguirre family apparently is not declaring its assets and liabilities properly, such that when it came a time that its clients start withdrawing money from their banks, they suddenly could not give the clients their money back, thus making them being declared as insolvable (or maybe to how I understand it, they're technically bankrupt in that manner).

-What I do not understand here is that why on earth was the bank even reopened in 1994, given that they are considered to be insolvable. And 17 years later, they are faced with the same problem, except this time it came to a point that they failed to release their records of assets and liabilities, and yet they still insist on getting "emergency loans" of some sorts from the Central Bank. Now my question to this: now where did all of the money of BF's clients go? That still remains a mystery. Also, another question: Where the hell are the Aguirres? Why are they not visible to the public these days?

-Indeed, this case of Banco Filipino is something that needs to be investigated very well.

3) The insane person named Gadaffi

-Yes, he is a crazy leader, and in order to beat a crazy leader, the UN decided to undergo crazy means, among one of them is to declare a no-fly zone in the area of Libya, which means that airstrikes are now allowed in the area, in efforts of eliminating Gadaffi for good, and for Libya to liberate for once.

-In the most recent news I've heard about this is that Gadaffi is even threatening the Western Countries that he will do a counter attack should the West decide to start off with the airstrikes in Libya (as of this moment, I've heard that one of the planes that was sent to do the air strike was gunned down, showing Gadaffi's insistence and stubbornness of leaving his position). In addition, despite the utmost hatred the world has for Gadaffi, apparently he is loved by those in Africa. He is called the "builder of Africa", the "king of kings of Africa", among the many names he is called there. He is loved by the Africans because of his supposed courage in battling against western neocolonialism and imperialism.

-With such view on Gadaffi (you can view the article here), now I have second thoughts on his intentions, especially on why is he willing to die for Libya, rather than leaving Libya by means of threats and attacks coming from the West. So, is Gadaffi a hero or a villain?