So You Want A (Facebook) Revolution....

or "Julian, Charles, Ray, The Woz and Tron Part II"

...then came the WikiLeaks website's release of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables that revealed the underside of Arab regimes, including Tunisian President Zine el Abidine ben Ali's, a portrait of corruption complete with a stolen yacht, a tiger kept in a cage and a lavish dinner with ice cream flown in from the French Riviera.

Arabs were at once titillated and outraged. Tunisia, with more of an educated and cosmopolitan middle class than much of the region, grew increasingly restless.

That's funny, the future is here.  Faster than expected.  Part I - written two months ago (see below) - talked about (among a nuuuuuuummmber of things) how technology is rapidly changing the way we think, feel, believe and live. 

In particular, I mentioned that there are "those who are becoming more intelligent, more informed, less gullible and...more importantly...starting to question more. What does a more enlightened human being mean: More people who'll question authority and the actions of leaders, governments and corporations. Who'll question the very traditions and ideas they've found themselves in."

I also had thought that in the future, - oh, about 200 years down the road - conflicts will be "between the traditionalists (more to lose) who'll subconsciously see knowledge as the enemy and the enlightened (more to gain) ones."

The future, though, seems to be now.

Mohamed Bouzazi was a street vendor in Tunisia who set himself on fire in December in protest to his wares being confiscated and the humiliation inflicted upon him by a female municipal official.  His death became the official catalyst for the revolution that overthrew the Tunisian government. 

Ibrahim Ben Slama, a university student in Tunis, says he first heard of Bouazizi's self-immolation on Facebook, which was used to plan many of the protests.

"I was with my friends on Facebook, and we encouraged each other," said Dali ben Salem, a 25-year-old intern at a pharmacy in Tunis, the Tunisian capital. "The solidarity helped me to face the fear."

Social media played a crucial role in spreading news of the uprising, which was not mentioned on Tunisian TV until nearly two weeks after it started. Ben Ali's government was a master of Web censorship, but Tunisians are professionals at getting around it. They exchanged proxy servers and posted images of alleged massacres online, further enraging the population.

Soufiane Chourabi, a journalist for the Tarik Al Jadid newspaper, was one of the first to begin documenting the uprising in Tunisia's interior. The rapid spread of information online was a key reason that the rest of the country joined in the revolt.

"When Tunisians saw images of fellow citizens rebelling, they lost their fear," he says. He credits the videos of youths tearing down ubiquitous photos of Tunisia's autocrat as a psychological turning point.

"They needed someone to do that simple thing of taking down the picture of Ben Ali, and that was it. That released them," Mr. Chourabi says. "When Ben Ali's symbol fell, there was no fear. This picture of the big and strong Ben Ali collapsed."

The Tunisian revolt became the inspiration for similar actions throughout the Arab region - including the overthrow of the 30 year regime of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. 

The young men and women (who were) in the streets, are a generation that never knew anybody but President Mubarak since they were born. It's a new generation, a generation of Facebook, Twitter, and now the Internet, where it's a small world and everything is known. That generation grew up thinking -- what is freedom, what is democracy, and they thought why not us?

"It's political challenge to autocratic systems that have degraded and dehumanized people and humiliated them to the point where they just can't take it anymore and they finally started to erupt," said Rami Khouri, a commentator and analyst affiliated with the American University of Beirut.

"That's combined with intense social and economic pressures and disparities which are accentuated by the lavish lifestyles of the rich who made their money by being close to the regime."

Let's have Julian Assange, yes, the "Julian" in the title and one of the founders of Wikileaks, have his word before we move on:  "When you see abusive organizations suffer the consequences as a result of their abuse, and you see victims elevated... that's a very pleasurable activity to be involved in."

Check out this video from an Egyptian filmmaker made about 20 minutes after the announcement of Mubarak's departure.  Goosebumps guaranteed:



So, that was fun:  This past month, I unleashed upon the world a fake "news" article about the Philippines.  It talked about how a President named Buboy Garduque transformed the Philippines (let's now call him a "Faux-resident").  Actually got some people into believing in it.  So much so that I had to issue an "apology."  Yes, the quotation marks are there because, yes, it was a fake apology. 

I mention this story to illustrate the power that the internet wields.  It has the power to connect us all and be a force for the human spirit but can also be a tool for those with dark intentions - like me, hehehehe. 

The hard part, of course, for Tunisia and Egypt will be what happens after the bad guys have left. Check out this heartfelt piece by a Filipino blogger illuminating us on the difficulties and hopes ahead:   "A LETTER TO EGYPT" 

What stands out from the ongoing revolts in the Middle East is that they are being led not by messianic figures but, rather, by faceless citizens who decided to take matters into their own hands.

It may surprise a number of people that the United States Declaration of Independence actually agrees to the right to rebel or revolution: "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government...." Funny, eh?

Yes, it's easier when the enemy is an obvious villain. But, what if the enemy is...ourselves? That's what the Philippines is faced with. It'll have to be up to the faceless, nameless dedicated citizens - people like you and me - who in a tiny, tiny way try to help open people's minds to the possibilities.

These are the questions we should ask ourselves? What's our purpose? What are we on this earth for? What can I do?

Sorry, but, can't help but bring out a favorite of mine by the anthropologist Margaret Mead:  "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

My brother and I used to chuckle at our sister-in-law's insistence that the year 2012 is not the end of the world as some have insisted but, rather, will be the dawning of a new age of enlightenment.  After these past few months' drama....Rica, I've now reduced it to a half chuckle. 

Thought this Beatles classic would be the best way to close this one.  The best line:  "You tell me it's the institution, well, you know you better free your mind instead."  Indeed.



Thanks to my brother, Diego - my fellow futurist and radical, who helped me push through with this piece when I was this close to abandoning it. 

Note:  Italicized passages from this article came from various sources: Time Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, New York Times. 

History Comes Alive For Kids!!

Would like to let everyone know that I've started a series of tours for kids highlighting our history.  What's it all about?  It covers the history of this great (and sometimes...not so great) country of ours. The tours are designed specifically for the little chikitings.

Why am I doing this? History is a great way of making us see "who" and "why" we are. Because of it, I believe, we're giving our future a better chance.

What we've done so far:
- Ayala Museum: Diorama experience highlighting major points of our history. 
- Intramuros highlighting Jose Rizal
- Rizal Shrine in Calamba, Laguna
- Aguinaldo's home in Kawit, Cavite where independence was first proclaimed

Upcoming sked:
- A redux of the Intramuros tour as requested by several:  TBA
- Remembering EDSA: Visit to Bantayog Ng Mga Bayani Museum on February 26, 2011
- Death March and Mount Samat
- Corregidor Island
- Malacanang Palace

For more details, just click yourself over to the site: http://www.historycomesaliveforkids.blogspot.com/.  Hope you can join us.

Ningan and Buboy Garduque: Confession and Apologies

This thing is getting out of hand. I must confess to you, my friends, that the whole "A Feel-Good Story About The Philippines" is one big hoax that I came up with.  Yes, I wrote everything.  Including the fake "LA Times article."

I'm extremely sorry if this whole affair caused you pain and suffering. I am sorry. If it's any consolation, my "sorry" is as sincere as hers:

Before I go on, I'd first like to commend those who saw that it was all made up and have sent in priceless comments. This from Dani Orosa in the UK:

It left me feeling both optimistic and frustrated at the same time. Optimistic in a sense that I can see so much potential in our little country, and that I'm pleased because ningan is indeed a reality. We really are such happy people. How many countries can say their people are are happy in every sense of the word? So happy that you can't really even describe it properly, that it's more an internal feeling that's hard to put a name to. I think we really are blessed as a country for it's people more than anything else, it really is one of our greatest assets.

I'm also a bit frustrated because along with this happiness sometimes I think we're a bit naive too, this is my Western sensibility speaking. ie the GDP and GNH, as happy as any country can be, if it's still corrupt then nothing is ever going to work properly and it's people won't benefit. I know that part of the way we are as a people is largely due to the fact that we ARE a third world country, part of me wonders what would happen if we managed to claw our way out of that, would as a people, we still be the same? Would we change?

Your piece really had my head going back and forth, really made me think. About governments, environment, class, national identity, all sorts of stuff. It makes me proud of where I come from, happy, and I think I understand why we are the way we are more. It also makes me want to do more, to want to try and change how people work, how people perceive things, how to try and educate people so that they question things and not be so submissive, question authority, and demand/expect better from themselves and from our country because we should and we deserve it.

Perhaps, her best compliment: My brain hurts from all this thinking!!!

Comments from other readers:

Interesting in Peter Pan's world...hehe...but you never know.

And it's good to keep on repeating these visions. It will come true.

I love how this guy writes about us!!! Now if only the whole country can see themselves they way this dude sees us!! MORE POSITIVITY :)

Ok, those comments were nice and...thank you for that. But, here's the problem. Apparently, some people have taken this story to be the gospel truth. Other comments:

Kumusta, po? Gusto, ho, namin sanang ma-meet si Buboy. Napakaganda, po, nang-ginawa niya para sa atin. Gusto, ho, namin siyang pasalamatan. Pwede ba, ho, kaming bumisita? Pasensya na, po, kung medyo straight-forward kami.
                                                    Fourth Year Class of Succor Colleges, Cavite 


And this from Egypt:

Hello! We read about wonderful man called Buboy and how he transfformed your nation. Things bit of difficulty now here in Egypt. We would like somebody like him for our next leader. Death to Mubarak and his minions!! Is possible if we outsource our presidency to the Philippines? May a thousand blessings enter your domain, sir!!
                                                                     Abu Qirqas Freedom Brigade

Like I said, things are getting out of hand. Hence, my dilemma. Do I tell them the truth or do I continue with this grand delusion? Actually, it really isn't a dilemma. As you very well know, certain grand delusions are actually good for you: Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, the Three Kings and the Easter Bunny. I mean, who am I to spoil a good party with the truth?


I keep going back to that last scene in "Brazil." You know, the one where Jonathan Pryce's character is catatonically blissful - happy in his head only - while he actually lives in a dystopic society.  Reality isn't important, right? It's your perception of it that counts.

Like I said: No dilemma.

So, now I'm searching for an actor - in his 70's - to play El Presidente. Any suggestions? Send them in.

Also, there were those who sent in their entries for the country's new name. So far:

Jollibee Republic
Islas Kalakaran
Pacquiaoland
Republic of Kalikasan

Last one's my favorite. Send in yours.

Lastly, special mention to Rocky Camus for having sent in this quote from the "Harry Potter" author:

We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already. We have the power to imagine better.
                                                                                 J.K. Rowling
Speaking of imagination, did I mention that "Imagine" is one of President Garduque's favorite songs? That he also happened to play bass on an experimental jazz outfit that John Lennon came up with in New York while he was on his five-year music hiatus?

Imagine the possibilities....

A Feel-Good Story About The Philippines!!

In an alternate universe, the Philippines is clean, green, peaceful and proud...and this is where I live....
Was getting ready to go to work and catch the 9:47 Express train for the 42 minute trip to Marilao from Calamba when this article caught my eye on the Los Angeles Times. This really made my day as it should yours:

A complex feeling enlightens the people of the Philippines

by Emile Goldstein

Reporting from Manila — For most of his life, 21 year old restaurant owner Norberto Cefrudio has carried a feeling that is dificult to describe; a mystery of the soul, a puzzle that many say helps define their culture — the ineffable happiness of being a Filipino.

The concept is known as ningan (nee-ngan). And for the nearly 60 million Filipinos, ningan is as amorphous a notion as love, caring, brotherhood, creativity, hardwork: intensely personal, yet carried around collectively, a national badge of honor.

"As a Filipino, it's embedded in your DNA," said the ponytailed Norberto cheerfully stroking his hair. "It goes far beyond everyday emotions like happiness or anger. It's one of joy, sharing and life-affirmation. It cannot be put in a box."

Ask anyone here to describe ningan and their first reaction is often a bemused smile, followed by a puzzling laughter. The idea, many insist, is far more easily experienced than explained.

Filipino poets, novelists and filmmakers have sought to capture the concept for which there is no English equivalent. The word "ningan" has no real meaning in Filipino.

Scholars have called it an all-encompassing sense of freedom, a mixture of forgiveness, endurance, discipline, spirituality and a yearning to give love that fills a person's soul, a feeling marked by great hospitality, empathy and a sense of completeness.

It can also be described as a sense of tranquility, the absence of anything irritating or emotionally overwhelming.

But ningan has also been described as a sense of hope, pride, self-confidence, an ability to endure hardship and suffering in a relatively small nation with a long history of being invaded by more powerful colonizers.

Today, the Philippines is a progressive nation - a model for its promotion of sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment and its establishment of good governance. Its per capita income of $15,000.00 is one of the highest in the region. Relatively poverty free, it's cities are almost free of the usual blight plaguing developing countries: shanty towns.

Mention the Philippines and people think paradise. It is a verdant land, home to protected reserves with endangered habitants, easily accessible powdery white sand beaches with seductive waves, mixed with as-verdant urban areas, smart growth and a relaxed lifestyle. To a visitor, it is a peaceful oasis - think Costa Rica or Switzerland of Southeast Asia - that draws 24 million visitors, making it the 8th most visited.

Rich with unbelievable infrastructure: A superhighway network modeled after the Autobahn, a mass transit system that's every city planner's envy and vibrant architecture, but, the first and most powerful feature that a visitor will encounter is its people.

Malays (ethnic group found in Southeast Asia) have generally been known for their kind and gentle ways, but, Filipinos seemed to have stepped it up further. There's a sense of pride, community, connectedness and purpose that one finds even from the cabbie that picks you up from the airport. That it took only 25 years for this sense of being to be adapted by a people makes this story all the more miraculous.

Although there is little agreement among them on a precise definition, scholars acknowledge that ningan is central to the Filipino character. For outsiders, grasping the notion is key to fathoming the Filipinos themselves.

Everybody is in agreement, however, with ningan's history. The country had just kicked out the soured regime of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 when the revolutionary government of Corazon Aquino - feeling it needed the steadier hands of a corporate visionary - handed the Presidency to an unknown 45 year old CEO of an investment bank in New York.

The story of former President Simplicio Garduque or "Buboy," as he is affectionately called, is known by many throughout the world: His transformation of the Philippines from a relatively underdeveloped country rich with natural and human resources into a "First World" and Asian Tiger and his efforts of spreading peace and environmental preservation in the region which gained him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000.

Garduque's own story is a miracle in itself. Born to a middle-class family of civil servants, his exceptional intelligence found him on a scholarship path to Harvard and on to the corporate canyons of Wall Street. Active, while there, in the efforts to unseat Marcos, he became close to opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino - whose assasination in 1983 fueled the overthrow that eventually installed Garduque as President.

Garduque is as complex as he is transparent. Four years after leaving his post to give way to a "more exuberant generation," he can be found on the international circuit of speeches and conventions. Speaking with him, as described by a Norwegian diplomat, is like meeting with "the Dalai Lama, Bishop Tutu and Abraham Lincoln. It's always a roller coaster of emotions and intellect." It's his philosophies on policy making and on spirituality that have made him a rock-star in diplomatic circles. The fact that he once spent two years in a Tibetan monastery in the 70's does not come as a surprise to those who've met him.

"He is the reason why the Philippines is the way it is," says Robert Monjack, author of a soon-to-be-published biography. "Look around the country: the smiling, happy, trusting, hospitable, peace-loving people? That's his direction and vision at work. From the very beginning, he knew that the country's main resources were its people. He had to develop them first."

Garduque knew that the people had suffered under the misrule of Marcos for almost two decades and, more importantly, was burdened by close to 400 years of colonization. One of the first things he did was confront the stigma of the past.

Philippine historian Ronnie Villavicencio sys, "Basically, he said, 'Let's remove the bad from the past, let's get what was good from it and let's move forward.' He also realized that the notion of the Philippines being a country was some sort of a falsehood. Pre-colonial times, there was no country to speak of."

"During the time of Spanish rule, it became a collection of people with different identities and 160 languages united uneasingly under the rule of an outside force," Villavicencio continures. "His approach to this was: Yes, we have differences, but, let's be united and work together not because we are a nation - which really is a very suspect and superficial idea - but, because we have to in order to have better lives."

Just like a CEO taking over a multinational, Garduque immediately made his impact felt. His New Deal-esque "The Way Forward" mapped out his plan with the inaugural speech serving as the prologue. It spoke of listening "to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together."

My note: Great that he mentions THE speech. Here's more of it to remind ourselves what a great one it truly was: "Show kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. What matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame - but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in bettering the lives of others. We must strive to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents." Wow."His speech laid down his plan of turning the country into an egalitarian one," says Richard Wilkinson, author of 'The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger.' The book covers the Philippines significantly because it really is a prime example of what we propose. That a society performs better when there is equality. President Garduque made sure to address this inequality."

Instead of using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a means of measuring progress - a very limiting barometer, Garduque believes - his own Gross National Happiness (GNH) is an indicator that measures quality of life in holistic and psychological terms.

"Like the CEO that he is," adds Villavicencio. "He looked at things like he was taking over a broken product. He looked for the root causes. Corruption was an issue, yes. But that was just a symptom of a bigger issue which was poverty which, in turn was just a product of our DNA - of who we've become. 'How do we combat that?' he said. 'How do you change the DNA?'

"The Way Forward" mapped it all out: First, stop payments on its debt which was accounting for 23% of its budget. Then, allocate a huge portion towards education, culture, the arts and strengthening the justice system.

My note: Right about education. It definitely has made us an open-minded, creative bunch. Look at the way we dress. We don't copy what they wear in the US. Our casual, flip flop look is perfect for the tropical clime. Gone, too, is that subservient personality.

Today, the Philippines ranks high in a number of international rankings, including:

- Happy Planet Index: 1
- Environmental Performance: 3
- Quality of Life: 35th
- World's Best Countries: 35th
- Human Development: 62nd

"Is the Philippines what Heaven is like? Maybe," says Father Bill Riordan, a Jesuit priest active in social causes and who has called the Philippines home for 33 years. "One thing I'm sure about, though, is that this is what Jesus Christ envisioned when he talked about loving one another. Those used to the Western model of society will find what is happening here hard to comprehend. Even revolting."

"Father Bill, I think, has been staying there too long," laughs the biographer, Monjack. "He does tend to go hyperbole on you. I must agree with my good friend, though, who has a very valid point. One must remember, too, that President Garduque is not a religious person. He swings freely between Zen Buddhism, Chrisitanity and other philosophies that catches his fancy with much ease - not seeing any conflict in that. His spirituality reminds many of Gandhi. He does count Gandhi, Jose Rizal (a national hero) and the teachings of Christ as his major influences."

"There's this quote that says 'When Christ returns, he will not be persecuted again but, rather, be ridiculed,'" adds Father Riordan. "He (Garduque) found comfort in that. Assuring himself that he was doing the right thing for his people."

Historian Ronnie Villavicencio: "Did he encounter opposition in the beginning? Yes. The establishment - particularly, the oligarchs - was frightened of him. The Catholic Church painted him as an enemy. It took a while for them - as is usually the case - to realize that they were, in fact, on the same book. Not the same page, perhaps, but the same book.

The Church's fear was that he was putting too much emphasis on the individual. He was, basically, saying, 'We are the gods of our own lives. Nothing is fated.' To a people that was mired in poverty, hopelessness and small-mindedness, that was very powerful."

"Is there still unease between him and the Church? You bet. He started out seeing organized religion as a powerful entity that forces its followers into blind, unquestioning loyalty through dogma and superstition. Yes, as an 'opiate for the masses.' But, both parties have learned to compromise - the Church seeing that his intentions were very Christian and with him seeing its goodness - and are now partners His six-children-only policy, though, is still a major sticking point," adds Villavicencio.

Continues Father Riordan, "Has everything made the Filipino intensely patriotic? In fact, quite the opposite. They've reached the point where their beliefs have extended beyond the concept of borders. Think about, I don't think God draws up maps now and then proclaiming new countries. The idea of patriotism is quite trivial and a majority of Filipinos know that."

"Has the experience made them anti-religion? On the contrary, they've developed spirituality in place of fanaticism. They're the smartest and most fervent followers of Christ I know. They've reached a point of universality that the rest of the world has not yet quite grasped," says Father Riordan.

"I shudder to think what this country would be like without him," muses Robert Monjack. "I'd think it would be one with a huge percentage living in poverty, lawlessness, millions of them having to live and work abroad unnecessarily, corruption, inequality, injustice and all the other illnesses that affect developing countries."

A number of people know that there's still much work to be done. Poverty does still exist and the demands of globalization are taking its toll on the standards of living. There are, also, factions in society who see globalization as an enemy to their way of life. A spate of Mcdonald's bombings in 2002 by a group called "The Passionate Children of the Philippines" illustrates this.

There is, also, still the priority of finally abolishing its armed forces (joining an exclusive list of 15 countries) with defense to be a responsibility of a regional security system made up of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members.

There is also Garduque's long-cherished dream of finally having the name of the country changed - thus, forever banishing any vestiges of colonial rule ("Philippines" is in honor of a 16th Century Spanish King). A recent online contest to determine its new name drew 4 million entries.

In retirement, Garduque lives the life an ascetic who once upon a time was a leader - who knows that the eyes of a people are still on him. A believer in leading by example, he lives modestly and quietly (very devoted to his work, he never did find time to have a family) in a simple condominium in an area called New Tondo - formerly a shanty town that symbolized the inequality that once existed - and is chauferred around in a hybrid electric car.

"It was around 1999, when we started noticing the changes. It was then that I thought of coining the term ningan. It was meant to be a play on the Filipino tradition of bayanihan - the communal effort of moving one's house," says Rigoberto Vergel de Dios, columnist for a national daily. "I just came up with the word, but, really it's former President Buboy who made it happen."

Whew, what a great article. Makes you feel good to be a Filipino, huh? Gotta go. Be late for the train.

Note: Just like any self-respecting Filipino, pieces of this article were plagiarized, stolen, lifted from various sources, including: Los Angeles Times article on han, Barack Obama's Tucson speech and several Wikipedia entries. hehehe.

Alert: This Entry Talks About Resolutions

It's been a while. Yes, I know. It's quite a struggle coming up with these entries. The disparate thoughts are there. The fight comes with shaping them into something cohesive - without sounding like Ted Kaczynski. Ok, here goes a roller-coaster entry and let's see if we can tie it all together into a cogent one:

As part of our company's thrust to develop its personnel, we've come up with a monthly speaker program. It is, especially, something else seeing them respond so positively to the one conducted by a speaker from John Robert Powers.

It seems to have tapped something in them - in themselves - that was previously unknown to them. The speaker talked about "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs" where the pinnacle of this is self-actualization (self-realization) - "the need for purpose, personal growth and realization. The point where people start to become fully functional, acting purely on their own volition and having a healthy personality (deepermind.com)."

Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who considered self-actualizing people to possess "an unusual ability to detect the spurious, the fake, and the dishonest in personality, and in general to judge people correctly and efficiently."

Common traits daw are:

- They embrace reality and facts rather than denying truth.
- They are spontaneous.
- They are "focused on problems outside themselves"
- They "can accept their own human nature in the stoic style, with all its shortcomings, are similarly acceptant of others, and generally lack prejudice."

You're asking at this point - and I don't blame you - "Ok, Dean Emeritus Jay Buenaflor, Phd, MBB, MBA, CRS, SUV, CVC, thanks for the lecture, but, what is this all about?" Naturally, this has something to do with the Philippines.

We'll start with a generalization of Filipinos and we'll later narrow it down to two names: Deepak and Minda (not her real name). After having lived and worked here for 16 months, this "psychologist's" short, short, and, by no means, complete take on the Filipino:

- We've been hard-wired to accept things the way they are. We will not question the "facts" that we grew up with and that have been given to us. "Is submissive to authority and is not likely to raise issues or to question decisions (Philippine Journal of Education, 1988)

- Focused on the lives of others: tsismis, showbiz tsismis ("Ok, blind item: Sino itong dating sikat na bold star na nakitang nagmumura sa harap ng ATM dahil walang pera na ang account?" My guess: Rosanna Roces).

"Crab mentality - Using tsismis, intriga and destructive criticism Another's gain is our loss." (ibid)

Contrast this with self-realization's "generally lack prejudice."

- Is passive and lacks initiative (contrast this with spontaneity): "Strong reliance on others, leaders and government to do things for us. Have a need for a strong authority figure - feel safer and more secure." (ibid)

- "Emphasis on form (porma) rather than on substance. Tendency to be satisfied with rhetoric and to substitute this for reality. As long as things are said, task forces and offices have been formed...deluded into believing that what ought to be already exists. (ibid away!)."

- The kicker: "Lack of self-analysis and self-reflection: Being superficial and flighty."

Just hit me now: Think about it. Look at the above. Isn't it partly why Marcos was able to stay in power so long? The "submissive, authority figure, form"? That's easy to figure out.

Think about superficial and flighty, though. Flighty, especially: "Given to unstable and mentally erratic behavior, characterized by irresponsible or silly behavior, easily excited, volatile, wandering, flirtatious, coquettish (thefreedictionary.com)."

My goodness, isn't that describing a Tita ? Doesn't that remind you of Imelda, too? Think about it: If she didn't exist, there'd have been somebody else.

Now, what happens when, God forbid, a person breaks out of this DNA set for the Filipino? This brings us to Minda, a colleague I work closely with. In her own words:

"I've leveled up...Before, I just used to come to work and not care about anything (walang paki-alam)...Now, I've been given responsibilities...I'm understand now what I can do...Before, I just would depend on others...Before, I just used to find happiness in the simplest things...mababaw ako...basta barkada, masaya na ako...Now, I think of the future and about being nice to others...selfish ako dati...I think, now, about why we are here...what my purpose is"

What happened? Minda lived most of her adult life dependent on money coming from her father living abroad - afflicted by a common ailment among Filipinos with support coming from abroad. Our own version of the Dutch Disease* The consequence being that her growth as an individual became stunted. Enter our company and our philosophy of personal development, accountability, creativity, etc.

An unintended consequence of this change, however has surfaced. She came up to me saying that she thinks she's losing her mind. That her thoughts are different now, she can't sleep, has been feeling mortal, is down to a cigarette a day and has asked if she should seek counseling.

I laughed it off, of course, letting her know that she is just physically manifesting the changes that are occuring to her. That she's on her way to becoming a better person. That she has reached, yes, self-realization.

It is rare, I told her, that people - especially, Filipinos - reach this point. Most of us go through life not asking, not questioning, not caring. What she's experiencing? It is, I told her, a gift and not a curse.

Now, we come to Deepak. That would be the self-help guru Deepak Chopra, of course. Came across an interview with him that I forwarded to her:

On New Year's resolutions: "I take stock every three or four months. Every four months or so, I take a week off to be in total silence, to look back and see what I should be looking at in the future. For me, it would be a quarterly ritual."

On making them stick: "Go beyond motivation and find true inspiration, then the resolutions will stick. So for me it's to go to a deeper level, and that's why I place so much importance on this idea of silence. I'm not saying everybody should do it, but even if you took five, 10 minutes of quiet time every day or every other day or once a week and asked yourself simple questions like, who am I? What do I want? What is my life's purpose? Is there a contribution I can make to my community or to society? What kind of relationships do I want to have? What is my idea of well being, and how can I achieve it?

I don't ask that you even know the answers, but if you start to do this kind of reflection, it has a very interesting way of not only moving you to the answers but of changing your behavior."

On Happiness: "Happy people have meaning and purpose in their life. Happy people are creative, and happy people know how to make other people happy. They're very good at building relationships, not networking but building authentic relationships. So when you build authentic relationships, you end up also being successful, because authentic relationships are cooperative relationships where you harness your collective creative and where you find opportunity. Happiness does not necessarily come from material success, so if you win the lottery today, at the end of one year you'll be as unhappy as you were before you won the lottery because you return to who are you are in your essential state."

I asked Minda: What if all Filipinos reach what you've achieved? "This country will be a better place," she said.

Speaking of people who have opened their minds, noticed that the more active readers are those from abroad. Could it be? Vocal and intelligent Filipinos are not here but away? Locals? Prove me wrong, please.

Dani Orosa of the UK sent in this New York Times article as an addendum to the earlier empathy piece (see entry below):

Earlier studies have suggested that those in the lower classes, unable to simply hire others, rely more on neighbors or relatives for things like a ride to work or child care. As a result, the authors propose, they have to develop more effective social skills — ones that will engender good will.

“Upper-class people, in spite of all their advantages, suffer empathy deficits,” Dr. Keltner said. “And there are enormous consequences.” In other words, a high-powered lawyer or chief executive, ill equipped to pick up on more-subtle emotions, doesn’t make for a sympathetic boss.

Dani's conclusion: Filipinos are full of empathy because they are poor. I actually agree with that. Imagine that, poverty as a blessing.

New York-based Peachy Leonardia, meanwhile, sent in a piece that will definitely be used in the future. Keep 'em coming, folks.

In closing, I'd like to leave you something for your moment of reflection: Phillip Glass music from the movie "Koyaanisqatsi." Enjoy and remember it's "Who am I? What do I want? What is my life's purpose?"



*A situation in which a country's seeming good fortune proves ultimately to have a detrimental effect on the economy.

If I Were Smarter,

didn’t go to creativity quashing schools in the Philippines, had more drive and read up more I would have come up with this video you're about to see. As it is, I came up with something similarly themed but in a laboriously worded manner (see "Julian, Charles, Ray..." piece below).



The video is about “empathy.” It happens to be one of my favorite words and is something my father made me aware of. Dad, I’ll be forever grateful. It really is a beautiful word: "Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives." The closest Filipino word for it, I think, is, “pakikiramdam.” Dear readers, perhaps you can help find the best Filipino translation for this word.

Filipinos may be a number of things: undisciplined, passive, asal talangka, ningas cogon, etc., etc., but, it has not yet declared war on “empathy.” We are still a people who actually care for and understand the feelings of each other. Though, I agree, that it can be overdone at times. Been funny seeing the reaction of people to the release of the Vizconde Massacre suspects: “Kawawa naman si Lauro Vizconde” on one side and “Kawawa naman si Webb” on the other. It’s not about the system – which seems very faulty – that has been the focus of the people (now you know why the jury system will not work here).

That’s empathy at work right there. You can see this, too, in the gift giving, the proliferation of beggars (we give and that’s why they have business) and the closeness among friends among other virtues.

In the end, we may have our faults, but, I think most of us are doing our darndest best to lead Christian lives. I may not be smarter than a Westerner, but, am sure glad I have more heart. That should make this month’s birthday celebrant happy. Now, if we can just get ourselves to work on the other parts…

Ok, I know you keen readers have noticed that this is a revision of a prior entry I posted Sunday. One, yes, that looked like I was coasting. But, I’m sure you followers based in the Philippines will understand. Christmas season means school parties, gift buying, family gatherings, traffic and worst of all: dance rehearsals for group presentation at this year’s company party. Yes, my group didn’t win and, no, I will not be posting a video of it.

Did I break any blogging ethics by doing the revision after its publication? Am not sure. There’s no Blogging School of Ethics. Consider yourself, though, privy to the evolution of a piece. How it happened (it’s a story in itself): Short on time and wanting to keep my discipline of an entry a week, I put out the original version of this one. Soon after, though, I got messages from friends showing their appreciation of the blog with one from the the UK commenting how she’s thinking of moving back because "as great as Western society is, it's a bit too soulless and capitalist for me."

Then Peachy mentioned how she liked it and sent over a New York Times article that I really found funny. Her husband, Gino, came in with encouraging comments on the blog. Gino, I think you were trying to say: “Be more positive.” Tuesday came and my mind was already rolling with all these thoughts and, all of a sudden, I felt I had to say more.

So, here we are with a longer piece and, hopefully, one with more heart. You see, if you readers have not noticed, I alone didn’t write this piece. This was done by caring hands of Filipinos across this planet: A friend in Canada who introduced RSA videos and to the kind words of those living in New York and the UK. Thus, I dedicate this Christmas gift of a piece to all Filipinos living abroad. For 14 years, I too spent Christmas quietly, with no traffic, eating healthy and not much family. I empathize.

Don’t think I’ll be able to make an entry this week. Working on a piece that requires more time. Again, don’t think I’m it’s writer. Just really a chronicler. You people provide the story. Am trying to make it worth the wait.

Lastly, the piece you’re reading right now may not have said it explicitly, but, I think you caught the spirit: Merry Christmas and much LOVE to all!!

Wait, wait, just hit me: “The Philippines - Land of Hearts.” Now, that’s a better Department of Tourism slogan.

Julian, Charles, Ray, The Woz and "Tron"

What the Future (Ought To) Will Be

"There's nothing new in this world, there's only the truth you're not aware of"
                                                                                     Harry Truman

I'm obsessed with the truth. I'm not particularly fond of liars and hypocrites. Am still not sure why.

The truth...

This week saw the arrest of Wikileaks spokesperson and editor-in-chief Julian Assange (a Time's Person of The Year shoo-in, if you ask me) in connection with a sexual assault case in Sweden. The feeling, however, seems to be that this is in connection with the whistleblower site's release of secret US diplomatic cables. Wikileaks has been in existence since 2006 and has served as a venue for the release of secret materials. Highlights:

- Protocol of Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp: Published a copy of the standard operating procedures by the US Army which, among others, revealed the designation of a number of prisoners as "off-limits" to the Red Cross. Prior accusations of this very conduct was denied by the military.

- Peru Oil Scandal: Released transcription of conversations between a government official and a lobbyist working on securing a contract on behalf of a firm. This 2008 scandal led to street protests and the subsequent resignation of the Prime Minister.

- The Minton Report: An internal report commissioned by the multinational corporation Trafigura in connection with the dumping of toxic waste around Ivory Coast brought in by a ship chartered by that firm. The resulting gas released by the chemicals resulted in the deaths of 17 and the injury of 30,000.00

- Kaupthing Bank: Published internal document showing that, prior to its collapse during the Icelandic financial crisis, the bank loaned large amounts to owners of the bank and had some debts written off.

- Iraq Helicopter Airstrike: Graphic video contradicting a report filed by the US military in connection with the deaths of 18 people including two Reuters news staff. You may watch the video by clicking here: Airstrike Video.  Be forewarned that it is graphic.

- Afghan War Documents

- Iraq War Documents

- US Diplomatic Cables: The release in November of communication between the US State Department and its diplomatic missions around the world. It offers a glimpse into the inner workings of the State Department including, among others, the encouragement to obtain personal info on their counterparts.

Why does Wikileaks do what it does? Assange, who is also one of its founders, explains that, "To radically shift regime behavior we must think clearly and boldly for if we have learned anything, it is that regimes do not want to be changed. We must think beyond those who have gone before us and discover technological changes that embolden us with ways to act in which our forebears could not."

And that, "the more secretive or unjust an organisation is, the more leaks induce fear and paranoia in its leadership and planning coterie. ... Since unjust systems, by their nature induce opponents, and in many places barely have the upper hand, mass leaking leaves them exquisitely vulnerable to those who seek to replace them with more open forms of governance."

Bradley Manning is the US Army intelligence analyst who leaked the last four entries. His reason for doing it? Partly to explain "how the first world exploits the third, in detail, from an internal perspective."

The attack...

The vehicle carrying Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla Bowles were recently attacked by students - some of whom were chanting, "Off with their heads!" and "Tory (conservative UK political party) scum!" - protesting the three-fold increase in tuition fees approved by Parliament.

The future...

This week's Time Magazine features an interview with the futurist Ray Kurzweil. Highlights:

- His explanation of "singularity": "By the time we get to the 2040s, we'll be able to multiply human intelligence a billionfold...Computers are going to keep getting smaller and smaller. Ultimately, they will go inside our bodies and brains and make us healthier, make us smarter. We'll be online all the time. Search engines won't wait to be asked."

- Technology and health: "We will reprogram our biology. My cell phone's probably updating itself as we speak, but I'm walking around with 1,000-year-old software that was for a different era. One gene, the fat insulin receptor gene, says, "Hold on to every calorie, because the next hunting season may not work out so well." I'd like to be able to tell my fat insulin receptor gene, "You don't need to do that. I'm confident I'll have food tomorrow."

- Eating: "We'll grow in vitro cloned meats in factories that are computerized and run by artificial intelligence. You can just grow the part of the animal that you're eating. Some people say, 'Oh, that sounds yucky.' I say, 'Well, why don't you go visit a factory-farming installation? You'll find that getting meat from living animals is yucky.'"

- Science, religion and ethnic differences: "I think we are evolving rapidly into one world culture. It's certainly one world economy. With billions of people online, I think we'll appreciate the wisdom in many different traditions as we learn more about them. People were very isolated and didn't know anything about other religions 100 years ago."

- God: "I believe our civilization is going to be vastly more intelligent and more spiritual in the decades ahead. You can argue how we got here, but we are the species that goes beyond our limitations. We didn't stay on the ground. We didn't stay on the planet. Our species always transcends."

Kurzweil is a respected author and inventor who has had several predictions come true. Notably, he foresaw the demise of the Soviet Union due to new technology (cellphones, fax machines) taking information power away from the centralized authoritarian regime.

More about the future...

Steve "The Woz" Wozniack co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne. A recent interview with him found the following quotes:

“All of a sudden, we’ve lost a lot of control. We can’t turn off our internet, we can’t turn off our smartphones, we can’t turn off our computers.”

“You used to ask a smart person a question. Now, who do you ask? It starts with g-o, and it’s not God,”

“We’re dependent on it (technology) and eventually, we are going to have it doing every task we can in the world, so we can sit back and relax.”

Fast forwarding history...

Used to be, history was something we'd see in black and white pictures and grainy video footage. Not anymore. Consider that it took almost 6,000 years between the invention of the wheel and the advent of the automobile while it took only 66 years between the invention of the airplane and the landing on the moon. History is moving at an unprecedented clip. History is what we saw yesterday on TV, from the radio, the internet... All of a sudden, news from print seems like...well, ancient history.

Just as the Industrial Age had previously shifted the paradigm of how we lived (poverty was prevalent before it), the Information Age - be glad you're in it - is changing the way you act and think.

There is some sort of convergence with The War on Terror (notably, the Iraq War) the Financial Crisis and this Age that my still tech-free brain is trying to understand. What I can see, so far:

There are those who are becoming more intelligent, more informed, less gullible and...more importantly...starting to question more. What does a more enlightened human being mean: More people who'll question authority and the actions of leaders, governments and corporations. Who'll question the very traditions and ideas they've found themselves in. Consider the students in the UK suffering under the weight of the Financial Crisis realizing that there are those (the Royal Family) among them who require $64 million a year from their government plus security from their Police and Army.

What does this all mean for the Philippines? Firstly, we've got to understand that the future will belong to the most creative, inventive and informed. Not only should it be used for creating jobs, but also, as a path to better governance. Darkness is the ally of shady dealings and the corrupt.  Part of the President's plan should include the openning of the insides of the government machine to the public.  We should have real-time access to contracts and plans.  It is time that we get to see what the local and national bodies are up to.  That is one way to fight corruption.

I've always thought that a public official's life should be an open book while in office.  Shouldn't there be a camera crew following them around?  I submit myself:  If elected, I'll allow my years in office to be under the microscope. 

The German Parliament features a viewing gallery that allows the citizenry a view of their politicians at work from above.  It symbolizes:  The people are above them (as opposed to the Communist era) and can see what they are doing.

The Illustrados were the learned Filipino class during the Spanish colonial period.  "The enlightened ones," they were intellectuals exposed to the outside world and to the ideals of liberalism and nationalism.  They've been described as "key figures in the development of Filipino nationalism."  Presently, exposure to the ideals of the outside world is no longer exclusive to those who travel, study or live abroad.  Technology has allowed access to these by those who can afford time on the internet.  We won't be witnesses to it, but empowered, intelligent and altruistic future Filipino generations will slowly be in control of the destiny of the nation. Let me stake my claim on this new term: The New Illustrados.
 
What does this all mean for the future of all mankind? Let me digress slightly. "Tron" was a film that came out in 1982. The Age of Information had not yet fully arrived and the account of a world existing inside computers was not accepted by the public. I watched it again a few years back and realized that it's actually groundbreaking work that's a precursor to later cinema like "The Matrix." Seminal - "highly influential in an original way" - is how to describe it.

Julian Assange - who's now being billed as a villain for his work with Wikileaks - will probably be seen by future generations as the precursor of humans forcing openness and accountability from those with authority and power. Seminal, indeed.

That is, also, what the future will bring: The power to control how we live and treat each other will wrested away from the few and will be distributed to enlightened and involved citizenry.

This new dawn of enlightenment will eventually bring about changes in the way we believe. Eventually, an exponential number of people will question basic principles. As an example: If Adam and Eve were the first, how come we're all different? Where did the Chinese, Malays, Africans, Caucasians, Aborigines, etc. come from?

Changes in the way we treat each other. As Ray Kurzweil noted, we will feel closer to each other. Will world peace be finally at hand? Not too fast. Maybe a million years.

This will, naturally, lay the groundwork for future conflict. It will not be among nations, but rather, between the traditionalists (more to lose) who'll subconsciously see knowledge as the enemy and the enlightened (more to gain) ones.

Esoteric. I think that's the word you're trying to search for to describe this latest entry. Maybe you're right. I'm probably alienating more of you guys ("Jay, you've gone too far"). What is this piece all about?

At the very end of it all, we'll probably evolve into beings that will, eventually, - free from the shackles we've found ourselves in - be more spiritual, be more open to each other, more trusting of each other, and, perhaps... finally...finally... start to start love one another "as you love yourself." That, I think, our creator will approve of. God, please be patient. Give us a million years.

We'd better love one another...we'll have to be ready to fight the coming invasion of the Vlysnxzoperiane aliens.

Thought this would be a lovely piece to close a post on truth, peace, the future and love:

Can We All Get Along? or The Balls and Chains Keeping Us Down Part 2

"People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?"
Rodney King appealing to the people of Los Angeles during the 1992 riots. The acquital of police officers videotaped beating him a year earlier sparked the disturbance.

"What is produced when Filipinos form an organization? Several factions and a witty acronym for a name."

I'll go a little "Ambeth Ocampo" on you today and give a short, short history course. With apologies to the Chair of the National Historical Institute, here goes - to keep you short-attention-spanned generation from moving on to Facebook - a Reader's Digest version of history:

Andres Bonifacio (to the chismis inclined, his first wife died of leprosy and had a son, with his second wife, who died at infancy) was a founder and later leader of the Katipunan - a revolutionary movement seeking independence from Spain. By the portrayals I've seen, namely from the movies "Jose Rizal" and "Bayani," he seemed to be the fire-brand type full of conviction.

Let's set up the scene: It was a heady time with the people finally - thanks to "troublemakers" like Jose Rizal and others - recognizing an identity and uniformed Filipino soldiers battled the Spaniards both with set piece battles and guerilla tactics,

Ok, so far, we seem to have a run-of-the-mill hero story going on here, right? Ho-hum, yawn, huh? Well, this is where our story takes on an interesting "Soprano-like" texture. Turns out, there were two Katipunan chapters in Cavite (Filipinos? Two chapters in the same area? You're going "Uh-oh," right?). There was one headed by Emilio Aguinaldo's cousin and the other by an uncle of Bonifacio's wife. Telenovela fans out there may recognize where this is going: family loyalties, lots of shouting, macho posturing, betrayals, charges of treason and gun play.

Cutting to the chase: The clash between the two groups - now involving Bonifacio and Aguinaldo - becomes a full-blown power grab with both claiming Presidency of the Philippines with Aguinaldo writing in his memoir that Bonifacio "acted like a King." Wow, this is all too "Cristy Ferminit" for me: "So, Andy, ano naman ang masasabi mo sa akusasyon na you're 'acting like a king?'"

The Philippines, with a population of only 7 million back then was not big enough for two leaders. Something had to give. Here is how it went down: A party of Aguinaldo's men conducted a surprise attack on "Andy" and his men with the ensuing violence causing his wounding, the death of a brother, the beating of another and the possible...wait, wait...let's make this Oscar-worthy...and the possible rape of his wife.

A trial for Bonifacio and his surviving brother ensues with charges of sedition and treason against the Aguinaldo government filed against them. Found guilty (his defense lawyer himself found him guilty), both were executed in the mountains of Cavite. The execution? Depends who does the story-telling: One account that Hollywood would surely appreciate is with him laying in a hammock, too weak to walk from his wound, being stabbed and hacked to death ("Down and out Hollywood producer, Jack Hiltzick, on his last legs halts reading the script handed to him by the Filipina maid of a more successful friend, looks at the sinking California sun and mutters to himself with great satisfaction, 'This is my Braveheart'").

Great story, huh? But did you really expect me to just stop there? What? No pontificating from the "Great Pontificator," you say? Well, here goes the "Balls and Chains" part...

Over lunch recently with my officemates (as you may surmise, they "love" having lunch with me), we discussed the whole Bonifacio story and their views say much about who we are. Firstly, of the four, only two were aware that he was killed by fellow Filipinos and are thankful to Jessica Soho for this bit of info. The Account Officer, Che Esmille, thought it was a reflection of the Filipino: "Hindi lang pala ngayon nag-aagawan ng kapangyarihan. Akala mo mas matino sila noon." My best friend, Dondi Gaite, loves pointing out the fact that historical figures are just...humans. The passage of time may allow them to be placed on pedestals with a romanticized version shown to the world, but, truth is - and this is where that Hollywood producer should get it right - these figures were human and....Filipinos.

What is a Filipino? There are the positives (we'll discuss lengthily in the future) and the not so positive, including: deep envy (asal talangka), intrigues (some of the rumors against Bonifacio included him stealing funds from the Katipunan and his sister being a mistress of a priest) and divisiveness (office politics and the common warning to avoid other Filipinos when living abroad).

The root cause of this? Kindly allow me to play armchair historian and, please, feel free to send in your differing views: It's something we picked up from our hundreds of years of occupation by different powers. Regionalism probably comes from the fact that we are different indigenous groups (170 languages, remember?) artificially put together by an outside force. Our feelings of envy probably come from the fact that there were those favored during the Spanish times. Our defeatist views and uncanny ability to adapt come from having been under different occupiers. This is in our DNA. The memes (cultural ideas and practices passed on) that we have all inherited and will pass on.

All is not lost, of course. We try to offer solutions here on this site. Firstly, we must collectively acknowledge what we are and explore why we became. We should come up with a definitive series on TV about our history. The government should commission Ambeth Ocampo to take on an expansive and entertaining documentary that will be seen as a must-see by Filipinos. There are three channels (4, 9 and 13) owned by us that could be the venue for this. History not only explains who we are, but, mirrored against those of other nations; can help us see what we may...should be.

Secondly, the government should mandate community programs that will require each and everyone of us to serve the community. The documentary series should also explore our lost values - introducing them to a new generation. We are, relatively, a young nation and we still have a long way to go towards moral recovery and efforts like these (others will be discussed in upcoming posts) will help.

Before we close out this story, you may be wondering about what finally did happen with Bonifacio and Aguinaldo. The former - in the long run - did well: He's one of only two heroes with a national holiday. Aguinaldo, meanwhile, is a different story entirely: He was forced to sign a truce with the Spaniards in exchange for cash and exile, became the first President of the Republic, lost to a landslide on another try then found himself accused of collaborating with the Japanese during the Second World War - including giving radio speeches supporting the occupier. I suppose Aguinaldo is one reflection of us: Again, the uncanny ability to adapt in order to survive.

Hard to say if there are villains or good guys in this story. Both represented the best and worst in us. Just like us, they were probably just victims of history.

By the way, my colleagues? They're glad lunch is over. Our Accountant did say that we should celebrate Bonifacio's death anniversary instead as a reminder of who we really are. "Para magising tayo," she says. Another? Cris Rayos thinks they should not be heroes for they went against the occupiers. He believes that we should just be obedient to them - in order to survive and live in peace. Just another victim of history, I guess.

Here's something that should make us all think:



Excerpt:

Nakaranas ka na ba?
Nakatikim ka na ba?
Nakatanggap o nabigyan ng kahihiyan?
Dahil sa iyong panindigan
O dahil sa iyong nakamtan

Inggit sa iyong narating
Pilit kang sisirain
Dyan sila magaling
Ilalagay ka sa alanganin kaya

Mag-ingat sa mga asal talangka
Hihilahin ka nila pababa
Namamato kapag ika'y hitik
Hitik sa bunga

This piece is dedicated to an uncle, Tonypet Araneta, a dedicated lover of the Philippines and all things Filipino and to my best friend who has helped make me see the real Filipino.

It's Just A Ride

"Existentialist philosopher with crude jokes" is probably an apt description for comedian provocateur Bill Hicks.  He dared you to challenge your own beliefs.  He didn't want you to just laugh.  He also wanted you to think.  Including thinking about our very own existence.

Some of his gems:

“If you don't think drugs have done good things for us, then take all of your records, tapes and CDs and burn them. Cause you know what? The musicians that made all that great music that's enhanced your lives throughout the years? Real fucking high on drugs. The Beatles were so fuckin' high they let Ringo sing a few songs."

"A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks. Do you think when Jesus comes back he ever wants to see a fuckin' cross? It's kind of like going up to Jackie Onassis with a rifle pendant on."

"What do atheists scream when they come?"

"My final point about alchohol, about drugs, about pornography...What business is it of your's what I do, read, buy, see or take into my body as long as I don't harm another human being whilst on this planet? And for those of you having a little moral dilemna on how to answer this, I'll answer for you. NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS Take that to the bank, cash it and take it on a vacation outta my fucking life. And stop bringing shotguns to UFO sightings, they might be here to pick me up and take me with 'em."

"Why do we put people who are on drugs in jail? They're sick, they're not criminals. Sick people don't get healed in prison. You see? It makes no sense."

"Folks, it's time to evolve. That's why we're troubled. You know why our institutions are failing us, the church, the state, everything's failing? It's because, um – they're no longer relevant. We're supposed to keep evolving. Evolution did not end with us growing opposable thumbs. You do know that, right? There's another 90 percent of our brains that we have to illuminate."

"I was over in Australia during Easter, which was really interesting. You know, they celebrate Easter the exact same way we do, commemorating the death and resurrection of Jesus by telling our children that a giant bunny rabbit … left chocolate eggs in the night. Now … I wonder why we're fucked up as a race. I've read the Bible. I can't find the word "bunny" or "chocolate" anywhere in the fucking book."

"I think it's interesting the two drugs that are legal, alcohol and cigarettes, two drugs that do absolutely nothing for you at all; and the drugs that might open your mind up to realize how badly you're being fucked every day of your life? … Those drugs are against the law. He-heh, coincidence?"

"Wouldn't you like to see a positive LSD story on the news?  Wouldn't that be interesting? Just for once?: Today, a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration – that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There's no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we're the imagination of ourselves. Here's Tom with the weather."

"You believe the world's 12,000 years old?  Okay, I got a one word question to ask, ready?  Dinosaurs.  You know the world's 12,000 years old and dinosaurs existed in that time. You'd think it would have been mentioned in the Bible at some point: And lo, Jesus and the disciples walked to Nazareth but the trail was blocked by a giant brontosaurus' paw and the big lizard became his friend."

"Christianity has a built-in defense system: Anything that questions a belief, no matter how logical the argument is, is the work of Satan by the very fact that it makes you question a belief.  It's a very interesting defense mechanism."

I had been told by my best friend that smart comedy has no place in the Philippines.  That the only one that can be successful is the kind containing insults, screaming, toilet humor and gay lingo.  Too bad since a lot of things we do here (not just by politicians, mind you) is a joke.  Would be great if they were funny, too.

I think it would help our country tremendously if we, as a people, actually started thinking.  If, somehow, a mirror was put in front of us we'd finally realize how absurd we are.  For example: 

The flooding of Ondoy was not made by God.  It was made by people like you and I.  We throw our trash everywhere.  We're not doing anything to have less people.  We're not doing enough to help people have decent homes and not have to live by the river.  We're not holding our government accountable for not enforcing zoning laws.  Of course, we were going to have the great flood. 

Or (the people in my industry will kill me for this, but, here goes):

We spend so much on medicines, vitamins and cure-alls (look at the billboards, ads, commercials. Never seen a country peddle them like we do) when one just has to see that it's what we eat, our lifestyle...our own-made pollution around us that's actually killing us.

They, of course, kill people with dangerous ideas:  Gandhi, Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, Jose Rizal to name a few.  Jesus and Rizal?  Both were instigators killed for exposing the wrongdoings of the Church and their fellowmen.  Rizal did it, of course, through the pen.  His ideas were the seeds of the revolution.  Soon as I know more about Rizal, I'll feature him in an "Incendiary Minds" column. 

Bill Hicks died in 1994 at the age of 32.  His legacy has lived on, however, with a documentary and a rumored film to be directed by Ron Howard and with Russell Crowe portraying Hicks.  Google "bill hicks prophet" and you'll get 41,000 hits.

Jon King at Consious Ape writes, "Like Martin Luther King, Bill Hicks had a dream, a vision of how things could be if only we’d get our shit together and risk a little trust—take responsibility for who and what we truly are and live as though we mean it, as though we care about each other and this incredible world on which we all live.

Bill Hicks’s vision was one of hope, an aspiration that reached out beyond the constraints of religion, fear and impending doom and caught sight of just how incredible life could be—if we want it...that if we seize the opportunity we could rid the world of greed and fear and fill it up with love."

The only way to close this piece:



The transcript:

"The world is like a ride at an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it, you think it's real, because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round and it has thrills and chills and it's very brightly colored and it's very loud. And it's fun, for a while.

Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: 'Is this real? Or is this just a ride?' And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and they say 'Hey! Don't worry, don't be afraid - ever - because... this is just a ride.' And we kill those people.

'Shut him up! We have a lot invested in this ride! Shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry; look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real.'

It's just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that - ever notice that? - and we let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter, because... it's just a ride, and we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort. No worry. No job. No savings and money. Just a choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy bigger guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one.

Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, into a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defense each year and, instead, spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would do many times over - not one human being excluded - and we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever. In peace."

We're All Whores Anyway Or The Balls and Chains Keeping Us Down Part 1

George Bernard Shaw was at a party once and he told this woman that everyone would agree to do anything for money, if the price was high enough.

`Surely not,' she said.

`Oh yes,' he said.

`Well, I wouldn't,' she said.

`Oh yes you would. For instance, would you sleep with me for... for a million pounds?'

`Well,' she said, `maybe for a million I would, yes.'

`Would you do it for ten shillings?' said Bernard Shaw.

`Certainly not!' said the woman `What do you take me for? A prostitute?'

`Madam, we've established that already,' said Bernard Shaw. `We're just trying to fix your price now.'

My wife, that would be Kelly, complained why I have to call it "whores" and not a more generic phrase like, "We've All Got A Price" or something as innocuous. Look, I'm desperate to get readers. "Whore" seems, I don't know, controversial and seems to make for bad publicity. And, as any astute Filipino knows, there's no such thing as "bad publicity."

I once wrote Jessica Zafra an email that was both affectionate:

I belong to the generation (39 years old, middle-class, educated, etc.) that adored your Today columns. Yes, I remember 1994. You were able to put to words our feelings, fears....ok, bit too dramatic - more like angst. I still remember reading "Worldwide Domination" that year. I once almost went up to say hi when a friend and I spotted you at a cafe in Megamall in '95.

and critical:

Am quite surprised about the stuff you've been writing about. I left (1995) when you were angry, hopeful, funny and biting. I can still see that part of you in your writing but it's overshadowed by someone who has joined the establishment.

Did I feel betrayed by someone I looked up to? You do, when you see that person hawking Adora in The Philippine Star. But, that was before I became poor and started learning about "envelopmental journalism." You see, sorry for you and good for me if you're not aware, but Philippine media seems to be largely...how do I delicately say this, "corrupt." Now...now, corruption is all relative, am I correct? What could be considered corrupt in..let's say...Norway... may not necessarily be wrong here.

Let's just say that the...okay, let's compromise here... "Western" definition for corruption is, "abuse of public power, office, or resources by government officials or employees for personal gain, e.g. by extortion, soliciting or offering bribes."

Now, consider these glossary of terms used to describe....ehem...transactions in Philippine journalism*:

AC-DC For attack-collect-defend-collect. A kind of journalism where the reporter attacks a person in order to collect money from that person's rival or enemy. The same journalist then defends the person originally attacked, also for a fee. MY NOTE: Uproarious.

ATM journalism Refers to reporters who receive discreet and regular pay-offs through their automated teller machine (ATM) accounts. News sources simply deposit cash into these accounts instead of issuing checks or handing the money over to the journalists in envelopes. Often, the accounts are in the names of relatives, rather than of the reporters themselves. ATM journalism became popular in the 1990s, taking over from the more simple "envelopmental journalism" that took place in the 1970s and '80s.

Ayos As in "fix," the act of bribing reporters either with money or other gifts like late-night entertainment.

Bicycle Gang Refers to the contacts of politicians in television news desks who ensure that video footage of candidates barnstorming in the provinces is circulated to the different TV networks by a messenger riding a bike.

Blood Money A pay-off to ensure that a story or critical article is killed or else slanted in the briber's favor before publication. This is different from "smiling money".

Bukol From the Tagalog word that means a bump, usually on the head. A reporter gets a "bukol" or is considered "nabukulan" if he or she fails to get a share of the largesse being distributed by politicians and other news sources whom they cover.

Didal Refers to the practice of media handlers pocketing for themselves a part of the money intended for distribution to reporters. For example, if a party's media bureau sets aside a P2,000 allowance for each of the reporters covering an event, the media staff would distribute only P1,000 to P1,500 and keep the rest. The reporters in this case consider themselves "nadidal."

Envelopmental journalism A take on "developmental journalism," which became popular in the 1970s. Journalism is deemed "envelopmental" if it involves an envelope of cash paid to journalists to sway their reporting.

Hao Siao A derogatory term used to refer to pseudo-journalists, those not employed by a reputable news organization but pass themselves off as journalists in order to cash in on payoffs and bribes made by news sources, particularly during elections.

Inteligensia Cash given as bribe or protection money to the police, a part of which goes to journalists covering the police department. Some reporters have begun using the term to refer to the regular payments that they get from law enforcers.

Main Event Refers to the act of distributing cash to journalists. A press conference or news coverage is not deemed over until the cash is dispensed -- this is considered the "main event."

Orbit Like planets revolving around the sun, reporters also make the rounds of offices, particularly the police stations, to get their weekly payola. The term may also refer to any effort to visit offices for the purpose of soliciting money from news sources.

Placement The position or department within the media bureau of a government agency or company that is in charge of ensuring that press releases are sent to news offices and published or aired when they should be. While there are PR professionals who do the job, some journalists are hired to ensure "placement' as well. Some journalists also moonlight as writers for candidates, ensuring placement by making appeals to their friends in newspapers and broadcast agencies.

Point Man A reporter or editor working in a news organization but who is also paid by a candidate or political party to ensure that press releases are published or aired and also to warn the candidate of negative stories emanating from rival camps.

Smiling Money Cash that is given to reporters or editors for no particular reason except to create goodwill between a source and the journalists. It can also be used to refer to a payoff given after the publication of a positive story, supposedly as a gesture of the source's appreciation.

Tigbas Cebuano word for "cut", used to refer to a hatchet job. MY NOTE: My gulay, even the those loveable Cebuanos are in on it.

Now, with the plight I'm in: rent to pay, tuition to an exclusive all-girl's school, one of the highest electricity rates in the world, gymnastics classes, P300.00 movie tickets, car mortgage, househelp, gas, etc., I completely understand that I was being naively critical of you, Ms. Zafra.

No, I'm not saying that Jessica Zafra is corrupt. Fact is, she's probably just obligated by her paper to tout in her column the companies that advertise. Somehow, though, I have a feeling she's not too happy about that.  I'd like to think that she's someone who does not accept anything for her coverage.

Ethical dilemmas, though, are raised:  Is it okay to push products through opinion writers?  If it's not a good product, do you still come up with a positive review?  If the advertiser is guilty of some wrongdoing, will objectivity still be possible? 

I'm sure those are weighty issues worth tackling...by somebody.  As for me, I want to be known as the Bond, James Bond of Philippine media. Cause now I have the License to Shill (Was that good? That's the kind of writing, I have observed, that could get me a regular gig in the Lifestyle section of a daily). Yes, screw principles. Call me the Congressman of principles: "Heck, everybody's doing it why shouldn't I."

As a lot of my fellow Filipinos know, principles mean nothing when you're hungry for a Dad's cross-over buffet, you want a nice vacation in Singapore for the wifey and the little brats, college education at a non-State university, an extra car (or two), maybe a driver...and...and an extra helper (or two) to look after the afore-mentioned brats. Also, I can no longer stand the shame of still being partly supported by my parents and brother-in-law.

I'm glad I live in a society that has lowered its moral benchmark (speaking of Bench: I'm willing to cover your sexy events for free. Just don't tell the others) that I don't feel so dirty accepting envelopes of cash or deposits into my ATM (please see my account number below).

So, PR and Placement people:  Listen up, these are the things we can do to my blog:

Vacation:



Here we are enjoying our stay at the wonderful (Your resort here:__________. Price: Three nights minimum stay, airfare for four, transfers, free meals and P15,000.00 allowance).

We were met by the wonderful General Manager (Price: P2,000.00) and his lovely assistant (P1,000.00). It was the most relaxing time. ___________ Resort (P7,000.00) really is a gorgeous place. My, did we have such enchanting memories on our trip home.

Total Cash Involved: P25,000.00

Political:

_________ Says Doctors Should Be Paid More

Sen._________ is batting for higher compensation for doctors to encourage them to stay and practice their profession in the country.

_________ noted that a lot of doctors have opted to become nurses....

Total Cash Involved (TCI): Guys, I'm willing to work "Smiling Cash Money." I'm not that greedy.

Good Old-Fashioned Peddling:

The 2010 holiday collection of _____________ (P30,000.00) studies the complex and intricate relationship between women and shoes. This ranges from the perspective of sexuality, culture , psychological to feminism studies, providing us with insight into women's desire for shoes. Sigmund Freud said....

___________ is available at Greenbelt 5, Power Plant Mall, Shangri-la Plaza Mall and Glorietta 4.

TCI: P60,000.00

TV Programming:

A Week Packed with Stories on _________

_____________ presents another enriching week starting tomorrow, Nov. 15 as ________ lifestyle show presents informative, entertaining episodes at _______ AM / PM.

TCI: P30,000.00

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR):

__________ Corporation recently presented the City of ___________ with 15 new boats to be used in the event of disasters. Present at the turnover were Vice President for Corporate Communications Mr / Ms ____________ and ________ City Mayor _________.......

TCI: Again, "Smiling Cash Money" is sufficient.

So, there you go....just to be clear with everybody: I AM FOR SALE. I'm easy: I want to go on junkets to Hollywood or Guam, I want to be photographed with the most beautiful men and women of the Philippines, I want my Main Event at press conferences, I want to be able to attack and defend public figures in scandals, I want my own column in one of the dailies. My God, I just want to be the next famous columnist and...and... if this is fine with God, I'd like to eventually run for public office.

Possibly, my only regret in all of these is that I missed the elections. I could have done this astroturf ("campaigns that are formally planned by an organization, but are disguised as spontaneous, popular "grassroots" behavior") campaign by Manny Villar's (obviously) camp in my sleep:

The Youth Who Call Themselves 'Orangeneration'
The Philippine Star December 04, 2009

MANILA, Philippines - "What can be so special about orange?” one tends to ask after coming across a 5,000-strong national youth movement named “Orangeneration,” whose numbers are growing fast across the breadth and length of the archipelago.

They were in Quezon City, Pasig, Cainta, Taytay, Angono and up to Montalban, Rizal at the height of Typhoon Ondoy, conducting rescue and relief operations. They were also the first...

Funny that you can smell a "faxed-job" (my term describing those PR campaigns sent by fax) a mile away because a piece does not have a byline.

That's okay if I missed the elections as I'm ready and determined to make up for lost pay.  Now, I happen to be a thief with some honor. So, this is what I promise you my dear loyal, gullible reader: I will disclose to you whatever I make on this enterprise. If I'm feeling a little generous, I just may give 10% to charity.

Where's my conscience, did I just hear someone ask?  The indifferent majority do not care if there is corruption in the media.  They're already programmed to accept malfeasance in all aspects of Philippine society.  I'm sure they'll be "shocked, shocked" to know there's dirty money on the 6:30 news.  As for me? I guess one gets desensitized to something when it's part of one's environment.

Democracy - a proper working democracy - defined as "form of government in which governing power is derived from the people" will only work if it has a citizenry that is active and involved. One of the ways for them to be involved is if they are informed and enlightened. Am I blaming the news media for the current state we are in? Partly. Are we getting the right information that's important for responsible citizenship? You tell me: Is there any depth in the reporting found in the evening news, the print media and on radio? Can you honestly say it's not infotainment...show biz-type news you're receiving?

In theory, this is how a component of democracy should work: Media uncovers misconduct, is able to report it freely, citizenry gets involved, wrongdoing is stopped, responsible people incarcerated, vigilance raised, wash, rinse, repeat... You have the time? Click here to find a recent example of this.

Now, I understand I'm ruffling a few feathers with what I'm doing. You in the media may want to keep fooling the public with your lies (Attack) so I'm willing to back-off with a pay-off (Collect). Price: P500,000.00. See, I'm getting good at this.

By the way, to those interested?  Yes, I'm willing to sleep with anybody. Price: P30,000.00.

Here's someone who does not understand our plight:


Part 1


Part 2

Probably, the only way to close this piece:







*excerpted from "News for Sale" The Corruption & Commercialization of the Philippine Media" by Chay Florentino-Hofileña