Posts Tagged ‘noynoy aquino’

There are many ways to try and talk with President Noynoy Aquino's supporters. Unfortunately, none of them works. They are so caught up with their own narrow view of what is good and evil that they cannot see beyond their flawed reasoning. While most of us already knew from the beginning that it was ... Full story

On Aug. 23, Rolando Mendoza, a former senior police inspector with the Manila police department, boarded a tourist bus in downtown Manila and took control of the vehicle, holding the 25 occupants (tourists from Hong Kong and their Philippine guides) hostage. Mendoza, who was dressed in his police inspector’s uniform, was armed with an M16-type rifle and at least one handgun.... Full story

Most of us knew it was just a matter of time. As predicted in my previous blog, President Noynoy Aquino's high popularity rating at the beginning of his term only had one way to go and that was down. What I never expected was for P.Noy's fall from grace to be as quick and catastrophic as this one, and to be witnessed by ... Full story

The recent Manila bus siege gave President Noynoy Aquino another opportunity to exhibit one of the two things he does best, which is to do nothing. As the tragedy of the hostage situation was unfolding, shocked and curious Filipinos were wondering where P.Noy was and what he was doing the entire time. Until now, I have never seen his Facebook fan page ... Full story

Last Sunday, the 21st of August was the death anniversary of National "Hero" Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. That date is significant to me because I remember back in 1983, how his brother Agapito -- what's-up-with-the-nickname -- Aquino in a stroke of marketing genius began to fly a flag bearing the acronym ATOM (August Twenty One Movement) that was to go on to become indelibly associated ... Full story

Most Filipinos are anti-elitist. A good proportion of the Philippine population would prefer that they be seen as being one with the common tao rather than be seen as one of the elites. Indeed it is a land full of contradictions. This mentality is inconsistent with the behavior exhibited by a people who also routinely act like The Talented Mr Ripley (read: social climbers) ... Full story

Since the people have spoken last May 10, 2010, an Aquino presidency became a reality. Needless to say, despite the glaring incompetence of the current president back in his legislative years as a senator and congressman, people ignored them since they are comfortable with the kind of thinking that P.Noy’s purpose is to unite the Filipinos -- whatever that means.... Full story

The Leftist-infiltrated organisation Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) throws in their two cents on the matter of the first visit of President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III to the United States. In its "Issue Analysis No. 09" on the subject, published on the 14th of August 2009, the group stated that it sees Noynoy's agenda in this coming visit as an affirmation ... Full story

What's up with President Noynoy Aquino doing his speeches in Tagalog? Does he want to get more "likes" on his Facebook fan page or something? This is a country where people use multiple dialects and languages and where foreign correspondents and dignitaries are present during events such as the Presidential Inauguration and the State of the Nation Address (SONA). It makes more sense for the ... Full story

In the movie Inception the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio leads a team of dreamweavers on a mission to implant a concept in the inner reaches -- three levels down, to be exact -- of a powerful industrialist's subconcious. The expectation here is that an idea that originates at even the lowest depths of one's subconcious ultimately manifests itself in one's behaviour during the wakeful ... Full story

The word escapism, as defined in the Net, refers to a mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation, as an "escape" from the perceived unpleasant or banal aspects of daily life. It can also be used as a term to define the actions people take to help relieve persisting feelings of depression or general sadness. Ironically, for a society that claims to be always ... Full story

Why is President Benigno "P.Noy" Aquino III smiling less nowadays? Perhaps it is because reality is starting to hit him -- the reality of the future and the reality that he, the President of the Philippines, is surrounded by morons. The problem with small moronic minds is that the people these inhabit lack a fundamental ability to take an imaginative step out of the ... Full story

P-Noy Aquino getting flack for the SONA wasn't a surprise. His getting elected wasn't a surprise. P. Noy's gaffes aren't a surprise. Lacierda's incompetence is not a surprise. The communication group's "Cabinet rank" is not a surprise. The policy pronouncements about "public-private cooperation" is not a suprise. Everything that P'Noy Aquino has done so far is not surprising.... Full story

The Inquirer.net Editor has gone on a defensive strike against "so-called pundits" critical of President Benigno "P.Noy" Aquino III's 26th July State of the Nation Address (SONA). The Op-Ed piece came across to me as no more than a long-winded admonishment of how so much of what was in the SONA that could be "chew on" even by "non-fans" was left unappreciated.... Full story

Speculation is rife that the contestants in the reality show The Biggest Loser drink lots of fluids before the official weigh-in. This is so that they will weigh a lot heavier in the beginning of the show and consequently appear to have lost a lot of kilos dramatically at the succeeding or final weigh-in. In a show that manages to win audiences based on ... Full story

After reading an English-translated transcript of President Benigno "P.Noy" Aquino III's recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), it started to bug me that there was no easy way to verify the true financial position of the Government on the basis of what P.Noy said in his speech until this question is answered: What exactly is meant by a "depleted" national budget?... Full story

By my reckoning (on the basis of its English translation), President Benigno "P.Noy" Aquino III devoted 1,558 words out of the 4,055 words in his 35-minute State of the Nation Address (SONA) to whining about the plunder of the National Budget (whatever that means exactly) and the salaries and bonuses of some Government employees. That's 38.4 percent of his speech devoted to what was ... Full story

Misguided economic policy is a sure-fire way to ruin - nationally or individually. It gets worse when we are putting more efforts on wangwang, being on time for work, being present at work, pissing off our foreign donors through sheer ignorance of the parliamentary system, and witch-hunting - than addressing the heart and soul of our economic woes.... Full story

Boo hoo hoo. The national budget is depleted and the new President Benigno "P.Noy" Aquino III, as it turns out, is no "superman". For the Average Filipino Schmoe who latched on to the promise of the "magic" of an Aragorn-led mighty army of righteousness galloping in to rescue him from his wretchedness, the road ahead leads back to Square One. And the only thing ... Full story

President Noynoy Aquino will be giving his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) soon. If his army of speechwriters will have their way, his speech will be all about giving people "hope". Hopefully, it will not be full of motherhood statements similar to his election platform and inauguration speech. Heaven forbid that Conrado de Quiros have his way in writing it lest ... Full story

Even before President Benigno Aquino III was elected president, doubts have been expressed by this writer whether Mr. Aquino had full grasp of the powers and privileges of presidency and the limitations thereon. The Constitution spells out the powers, duties and privileges of the presidency, and through schematic allocation of governmental prerogatives to three separate, co-equal and inter-dependent branches, sets limits to their exercise. In ... Full story

Water supply has always been a problem in the Philippines. Since time immemorial, many Metro Manila residents have even had to rely on electric booster pumps to suck out the essential juice from city's decrepit mains and store as much of it in privately-owned storage tanks. In many suburbs, there is an arms race of booster pumps among residents. Households possessing the most sucking power ... Full story

Nepotism has its pros and cons. What happens if a family just happens to be talented? Where do we draw the line? The pros are that having the right name is like a premium brand - and is expected to deliver superior service. On the downside - anti-corruption and nepotism/cronyism/favoritism do not mix. What is Nepotism First let us ... Full story

Is it being "destructive" to publish a litany of the gaffes that have come to collectively characterise the administration of President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III? Some people dismiss such an exercise as "nitpicking" and exhort the "offending" parties to take a more "positive" perspective, while others preach the virtues of dismissing these call-outs as nothing more than noise dished out by "hecklers" and ... Full story

This post continues after the first episode that came out a week after May 10, 2010. It will now be nearly three weeks after Pres Noynoy Aquino  formally took office. Prior to that it is presumed that a transition plan was being executed.  At the rate things are turning out - it seems that there wasn't even one from the start.... Full story

How can you tell if someone is really humble? They say that someone humble is someone who is modest, reverent, and politely submissive. A humble person is someone who is never arrogant, contemptuous, rude or even self-abasing. In my not-so-humble opinion, I don't really believe that President Noynoy Aquino is humble. He is so self-aware about the level ... Full story

In the latest mind-numbing sequel to this train wreck of an "anti-corruption campaign, Aquino applies the tricks picked up from the media training. Thus, instead of asking the Ombudsman to resign, Aquino's idiot squad is making the rounds rallying more idiots make the call for the Ombudsman's resignation on their behalf. Trial by Publicity Makes a ... Full story

What's in a number? A lot actually. If you are starting to lose your religion, try doing the math and you will figure out what life is all about. Truth be told, if President Noynoy Aquino will be honest with himself, he should see his win as no more than a numbers game result, and not the outcome of some imagined divine intervention as his ... Full story

Filipinos are culturally hobbled by a compulsion to assert class dominance over the other. Much of the priority pursuit of the average Filipino involves decking himself in the latest branded t-shirt, sporting the latest mobile device, and uttering the latest hollywood catchphrase. Nothing new nor nothing surprising about this. Much of what contributes to the impoverishment of the Filipino is driven by a neurotic susceptibility ... Full story

(Updated with Part 3 - July 9' 2010 - Charice serenading a country that rejected her talent) Honeymoon periods with new incumbents are understandable. We, Filipinos, though have a way of overdoing things - not necessarily the right ones. In this satire featuring an animated (literally, a cartoon in the tradition of South Park) interview of Sarah Palin by Larry King about her invitation to ... Full story

Word has it that when Noynoy Aquino was still a candidate, there was a group in his billionaire-backed campaign team that was assigned to handle international media relations. As a result, Aquino received positive coverage. That makes these two articles published by the Asian Wall Street Journal during Aquino's first two days in office all the more interesting to read. Full story

I've had it with listening to all this "walang mahirap kung walang corrupt" yarn. Allow me to explain in five steps with the aid of visuals why Noynoy Aquino, his team, and his supporters are wrong on corruption. I will cut to the chase and keep it simple. You be the judge as to who really, is making sense. ... Full story

Now that President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and his Cabinet have "hit the ground running", it is time to examine the focal point around which spin the complex of platitudes and promises delivered to us over much of Noynoy's presidential campaign -- Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap (translated literally: "If no corruption THEN no poverty"). A few of my colleagues here have already made an ... Full story

Was it a campaign pitch or an inauguration speech? Was it an inaugural or a Wowowee special? When one performer (Noel Cabangon, actually the least cloying in the cast of noontime show staples) wailed “Noynoy naaaaaaaahhhhh!” at the end of his song, people at home wondered–was this a celebration for the Filipino nation, or a prayer rally at the Church of Noynoy Aquino? Full story

In AD 64, Rome burned for six days and seven nights. Its citizens watched helplessly as the fire spread quickly and savagely. When the fire died down, only 30% of the city was left standing. Only four districts remained, three were flattened to the earth. The remaining seven became charred remains. This was the eyewitness account of the Roman historian, Tacitus.... Full story

I've always called politicians "bozos". And for the record I personally consider Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III a bozo's bozo. Add me to a box of "witchhunters" then, given this categorical declaration coming from me. Noynoy is in a class of politicians probably occupied by only two men -- him and former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada. Between the two of them, they embody 99% of ... Full story

Intelligent people can be the worst teachers. They tend to be impatient with their students. This is because they assume that the students will understand what they are trying to say on their first attempt at explaining something. Because it is easy for them to understand things, it can be hard for intelligent people to put themselves in the average person's shoes and to try ... Full story

It's two days before Gloria Arroyo steps down as President of the Philippines. ABS-CBN reporter RG Cruz, who covers the Malacanang beat, wrote an interesting piece on assessing Gloria's performance. A fresh take like this rarely makes it past the gatekeepers of the Aquino Broadcasting Network, so soak it up, folks. Full story

The Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Delfin Bangit retired on June 22, 2010 after occupying the top post at the AFP for just over 100 days. Bangit was not due for retirement until July 2011, but the president-elect Noynoy Aquino forced his hand. This is the first time in modern Philippine history that an incoming president has forced the removal of an ... Full story

I gotta hand it to out-going president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Despite the immense amount of energy expended by the Philippine Media over the last ten years to turn her from hero of the Edsa II "revolution" into the reviled cunning "evil" empress out to divest the hapless Filipino of his hard-"fought" freedom, she manages to consistently remain one step ahead of her detractors. ... Full story

The nature of todays government, like business enterprises, is changing. Without an FOIA and a Government Information Highway the Philippines will be left further behind - content in its perceived national glories of the occasional flashes of talent of Charice Pempengco and the tackiness of the Tarlac Hillbillies. Why Is Aquino reluctant to use anti-corruption tools with strategic impact? Is he really honest? Or is ... Full story

The Inquirer.net Editor, true to form, sheds rose-coloured light on the token frugality President-Elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III applies to the conduct of his inauguration at the end of June. This "virtue" is made stark by using the "evil" extravagance of out-going President Gloria Arroyo as a backdrop to heighten the contrast. This is the ... Full story

Even before the elections, I have always maintained that Noynoy's approach to eradicating corruption is wrong because he is using the wrong approach. His mantra of "walang mahirap kung walang corrupt" is seriously flawed as studies show that corruption aggravates poverty but it is not the cause of poverty. Aquino's flip-flopping on the passage of an already watered-down FOIA is not consistent with his anti-corruption ... Full story