When Smoking is the Reason for National Progress

This is a long article but stick with me here...

Noynoy Aquino won the elections. Period. Us whiners will just have to wait and see what he can do for our country and just help in our own terms. If he screws up, we’ll be there. If do something good, we’ll be there as well.

I have to be honest; things are not starting well for the President-elect. His conviction to not to use the new Supreme Court Justice, the possibility of delaying the proclamation and constant bickering on the showbiz world with him involved is just a bad way to get things started. The worst part of it is that it’s not his fault that these are happening. People in power also wanted to share Noynoy’s power and those going out just wanted to show that they can still inflict inconvenience. I mean, c’mon Nograles, your time has come. Is it not enough that you already shown the country that you can actually bend the rules if you don’t like it?

All these things are pressuring Noynoy. Aside from these “politickings”, he has also promised “no corruption” which is like promising he will fix the ozone layer with a duct tape.

So what’s a man got to do to get away from all these and think of a solution? Smoke. Yes! Smoke. Light’s up Mr. President!

Apparently, this is the tool for Mr. Aquino to deal with pressure. Wow. I never thought that a stick of cigarette would actually be the key to our national progress. The man can’t think straight if he doesn’t do his nicotine kicks from time to time. Think about this situation:

Man: Mr. President, the people are in the streets calling for better wages, our national debt is almost impossible to be fixed, the peso-dollar exchange is nearly 70.00 and your sister is here to complain about James Yap! What do we do?

Mr. President: Let me light up a cigarette and get back to you.

After 5 Minutes….

Mr. President: Man? You there? Here’s what you do…call the wages board and union leaders for a meeting – I’ll be there. I’ll talk to IMF and reduce the pork barrel to help pay for the debt. The peso-dollar exchange can still bounce back – just wait for Christmas and enrollment season. For Mrs. James Yap…call Boy Abunda.

See? A single stick will help our country.

Not kicking the habit is actually a very bad thing for our president. It simply means you can’t let go of some vices and will even place the country desperate for some changes in nicotine kicks. This simply means there are bad things you can do just to make things better. You know who also have this philosophy? Niccolo Machiavelli “The Ends Justify The Means”. Worst, our country might be placed in a bad situation without any good results in the end.

Mr. President, you have to be the poster boy for anti-smoking. You could fake the idea that you’ve already give up smoking. Yes, that’s hypocrisy but it’s necessary because millions are hinging to your every word. Think of the poor people who spend more than 25% of their daily wages on smoking. With you on the anti-smoking campaign, they might be swayed and they will use the money on better things. Food instead of cigarettes is a good thing you know. Don’t worry about getting caught. You will have PSGs protecting your every move you make so that the public will not know. You can also help DOH save money on advertising. I don’t want to see any celebrities telling people to give up smoking because I know these guys are just paid to say things in front of the camera.

At least he sticks to the message that he’s willing to die for our country. I think he’s trying to tell us “Yes, I am willing to die for our country – but not because of being shot to death but because of liver and throat cancer”.

The Elections – 2 Days After

Our country just went through one historic election – we’re going digital! Instead of waiting for days before realizing the real front runner in the elections, names started to pop-out after 24 hours. What’s even impressive is that online results are available. Check out http://electionresults.comelec.gov.ph/ and you’ll be taken to a site where you can see the results of your precinct! I was really blown away by the technology.

Unfortunately, there are some missteps the COMELEC made in the election. I thought about it for two days and have made these conclusions:

• COMELEC relied too much on technology – 1,000 voters per precinct is not and will never be a good idea. The voting process is still relatively slow to deal with 1000 voters. Even if the precinct will start at exactly 7am, it will still have a hard time dealing with the rush of voters. Because they relied too much on technology these things happened:

o Too many lines
o Confusion on the voter’s side
o Less support from the BEI
o It’s just too damn hot!

• The ballot voting is flawed – I read in the instructions that the PCOS will only disregard your votes for that particular group if you vote for one candidate more than allowed. For example, you voted for 13 senators instead of 12 so the PCOS machine will disregard your vote for senators but will count the others. Unfortunately, this is not true.
• It’s still a vote buying process – no candidate is saying about this but everyone knows that vote buying is already a “black tradition” in our country. Many people use their voter’s ID to accept money from the candidate. It’s sickening to hear those who claim they “earned” during the elections but I have to respect their decision if their thinking process is based on what they can earn. After all, that’s also the thinking of most of our politicians.

It’s a great day to be a Filipino. I just wish COMELEC will allow more PCOS machine the next election.

Three Thoughts at the End of the Day - Games, No Promise and a Stick

Thought # 1: Did you know that we just started Palarong Pambansa? Apparently, there are thousands of kids in Tarlac Recreational Park vying to be the best in their chosen sport. Now why didn’t I hear about this? Except for the kids and those near Tarlac sure knows this is happening but this is Palarong Pambansa which means the whole nation should know. PIA (Philippine Information Agency) and popular media should have said something about this but it’s just tidbits that you’ll never know anything.

Thought #2: Did you know that many presidential candidates are no longer saying anything about their platform of government? Here are the latest news on the top 4 candidates:

Villar: Say sorry to ‘Erap,’ Aquino, Villar asked
Noynoy: Palace impounding my 'pork'
Gibo: Surveys belong in the trash bin
Erap: Erap unfazed by surveys

No one is saying anything on what they’ll do for the country and this is very sad. It appears that we Filipinos are only voting for someone who can really throw mud with a good shield.

Thought # 3: RIP Palito – you were a guy that really made millions laugh. Now your new stint is in heaven. Thanks for the laughs…say hi to Rene Requiestas from all of us here.

Zombie Streamers are Coming!!!

The election period will start in January 10 and the current politicians are aware of this restrictions. In fact, they are all aware that they can't tell people to vote for them until the fateful 10th day of January. So what do they do? The circumvent the law and have "political ads" wherein everything is paid for by "friends of...".

The gloves are officially off in January 10, 2010 - Sunday. But it doesn't matter because politicians are already busy convincing people to vote for them one way or the other. You can already see banners of politicians reminding the people what they have done and what they dream for the city. Please take note, they dream of something big but many are still experiencing nightmares.

Before I completely go off topic...I'll just go to my main point. Streamers of politicians are already popping out here in our city and it's only a matter of weeks before the country is engulfed or covered with political banners. These are not just your average banners - they are tarpaulins which costs hundreds of pesos each. The politicians are not just printing 20 banners in an election, tell me if I'm wrong but I think a politician might print no less than 4,000 tarpaulins just to remind people who they are. If a tarpaulin costs 100 (very unlikely) per piece then he or she could be spending 400,000 on tarpaulins alone!

We should also remember the possible implications on paper - we'll ravage forests and cut down trees just to print calendars, leaflets and sample ballots so that everyone will be "guided" on who to vote for in the coming elections. Millions of paper will be wasted just to remind people who to vote for...mother nature is going to go through something difficult this coming election.

All these wasted paper could have been used for books. All these tarpaulins could have been used to shelter someone during a storm. Or at least the money could have been used for something else.

Note to politicians: please tell us who your "friends" who pays for your advertisements and election funds. We also would like to be friendly to them so that we can also have something.

Photo taken from uncyclopedia.com

Why Iloilo City is Doomed

Before I start my rant, let me tell you that I am an Ilonggo. I've been staying in the city longer than I stayed in the town where I was born. So it is with a broken heart that I write this. If I say City I mean the districts found in the city. Provincial towns in Iloilo are not included.

Iloilo City used to be a bustling town....everything was just a ride away and everything was affordable.

But those memories are long gone. Iloilo City is in the hole with very littel chance of going up. Except for the Dinagyang (which is highly commercialized) not one thing is good in Iloilo.

While I'm writing this, I just heard the news of a teen was gang raped, killed and thrown in Calajunan dumpsite. The kid was said to be a garbage collector and just went to a Saturday night dance in the nearby Barrio in So-oc with her boyfriend. Apparently, her boyfriend and her friends have other idea.

This is a very sad and disturbing news. If people in the city could do this how can the city be called safe? If you find yourself outside your house in Iloilo City after 9 p.m., watch out. If you go to Smallville, you could be a victim of drive by shooting which coudl happen anytime.

What makes me even more furious this is the city government's reaction. I know thier smart but I think they don't have a soul.

Why?

A girl was just gang raped and brutally murdered and all you could talk is your beef with LTO? Why is there no outrage? Why is there no drastic laws? Why is there no assistance to the family? I bet that the 30-minutes worth of work of ANY city councilors is already a day's worth of work of the ENTIRE family of the victim.

With regards to LTO. My take is that the LTO should have the final say on this. The arguement posted by Mr. Plagata is not just enough. There is already an agreement with the DILG and the LTO on who handles the TOP. Why can't the city follow the agreement of thier superiors?

Mr. Plagata's defence could be divided into two parts:

1) They already have the city ordinance since 1992. Yep, the first to create the law is correct. Maybe if someone created a law stating that anyone wears red on a Friday in June 1898 will be hanged to death will still be observed here in Iloilo City.

2) Mandaluyong already have an MOA that allows them to sieze the driver's license. Wow. One point: YOU DON'T HAVE AN MOA!!! ALL YOU HAVE IS AN ORDINANCE!!! Besides, no one follows most of city ordinances. Remember the ban on public smoking? Remember the ordinance against jaywalking? Remember the ban against public helmet? Yes, the latest ordinance did have some effect but I still see people going around the city AT NIGHT without any helmets.

There's a dead girl and they are fighting about their rights. Sheesh.

Obama's Speech - Beyond the Hype

Obama really lived up to his reputation as a good orator. Event though I have a problem with attention, I was able to catch up somethings. The phrase I really remembered was this:

"We extend our hands not because of charity but because of common goal."

My take on Obama's presidency will practically be on these words. He could become a great leader and will be able to take care of the economy without having to spend unnecessary tax payer's money. USA will still be aggressive in its assitance in other countries but will always have to think through on what they can do.

But he also challenges everyone to sacrifice a littel bit for the common good. Everyone was a little bit selfish for sometime (I'm looking at you Big Three) but everyone has to rally back to something better. Time for the Big Three to come up with better cars with better designs and not just the muscle cars.

After eight years, USA finally has a president who could really speak. Sorry former Pres. George W. Bush, it's really not that good everytime you speak.