Consuelo's Stimulus
By Antonio C. Abaya
Written on Dec. 10, 2008
For the
Standard Today,
December 11 issue


As mentioned in a previous column, the Arroyo administration is correct in proposing a P100 billion stimulus package as a counter-measure against the negative effects of the global financial meltdown on the Philippine economy.

Yesterday, the Cabinet approved the borrowing of $500 million from various financial sources for food security and judicial reforms (I do not understand why this was included in this package) and a P100 billion package for infrastructure projects.

Other governments � including the US, China, Japan, the European Union � have already taken this tack in response to massive job losses. In the US, 533,000 workers and employees lost their jobs in November alone, following 400,000+ in October and 300,000+ in September. An estimated two million Americans will have lost their jobs by year's end.

Which prompted Robert Reich, one of the 17 members of the economic advisory team of President-elect Barack Obama, to ask if it is time to admit that the US economy is not just in recession, but is actually in a depression.

Obama himself has warned that the US economy will get worse before it gets better. For one thing, four million Americans are expected to lose their homes in the next two years, in addition to the almost two million who already have, because they can no longer afford to pay their monthly amortizations.

The Philippines is luckier. While most of the developed economies, starting with the US, are expected to shrink below zero in 2009, the Philippines' GDP is still expected to grow but at an estimated rate that is continually shrinking, now estimated at three percent. .It will probably shrink even lower as more Filipino workers abroad are laid off and forced to return home, and orders for our electronic products � which make up 65 percent of our exports � dry up because of much reduced demand worldwide.

Our luck is due to our failure to develop our export industries and our tourism sector to the same extent as our more successful neighbors. Sometimes in an earthquake, skyscrapers topple while modest two-storey walk-ups often remain standing. That is our consuelo de bobo.

The P100 billion stimulus package is a correct response to an emergency situation. But we have to watch out that it does not become the
consuelo de ladrones garapales y sin verguenza among presidential relatives and favored bureaucrats. Or the consuelo de hijos y hijas de la gran jodida p*ta who are scheming to railroad ChaCha through a shamelessly self-serving constituent assembly, to allow her to remain in power beyond 2010 as prime minister, and are preparing to spend our taxpayers' money to buy their way to that goal.

Hopefully those P100 billion will all go to the intended beneficiaries, the unemployed and the underemployed, so that they and their families can weather the expected gales in 2009. But we really have no way of knowing that unless and until administration critics � the Churches and the NGOs � organize themselves into oversight committees that will  follow the money trail to its last stops. Along the way there will be many sticky fingers that this government has deservedly become infamous for.

There are literally hundreds, even thousands, of much needed infrastructure that can and should be started with the P100 billion stimulus, such as miles and miles of irrigation canals to increase agricultural output and make us self-sufficient, finally, in rice and corn; thousands of school buildings and schoolrooms medical centers and hospital beds, to improve basic services in education and health;  miles and miles of farm-to-market roads.

And speaking of roads, can anyone explain to me why no government of this country, since the time of the Aetas, seems to have thought of building a coastal road along the eastern seaboard of Luzon that would have connected Mauban (Quezon) to Infanta, to Baler to Casiguran to Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile's Port Irene in Cagayan Province?

Such a coastal road, about 800 kilometers long, would have opened up hundreds of thousands of hectares of virgin, undeveloped land to enterprises in agriculture, forestry, mining, fishing, and tourism, with due cognizance of environmental concerns, and would have given gainful employment to hundreds of thousands of people who are at present packed in the densely populated Lingayen-to-Lucena Corridor.

My favorite infrastructure proposal is an electric tram network in Metro Manila that would inter-connect the stations of the LRTs and the MRT. Such a tram network would replace thousands of polluting diesel-powered jeepneys and buses, thus reducing air pollution significantly and easing road congestion as well, both of which are largely caused by those jeepneys and buses.

Just imagine EDSA without jeepneys and buses, replaced by electric trams running neatly in single-file, without polluting the air. Almost every major and minor city in Europe has electric trams, in addition to their subways or above-ground commuter rail trunk lines. We have been unconsciously following the flawed American model of a car-based transport system. 

Such a network, which would connect residential subdivisions and work places to the LRTs and MRT stations and vice versa would encourage car-owners to leave their cars at home and take public transportation instead, thus reducing air pollution and road congestion even more. And it can be built under the Build-Operate-Transfer scheme, without any capital outlay from government.

Such a network should be run, not by a single monopolistic entity, but by a consortium that should include, if they so wish, the owners and drivers of the buses and jeepneys that will be displaced, so as to minimize social and economic dislocation

In 1995, I was invited to read a paper in an international conference on
Cities and the New Global Economy, held in Melbourne and hosted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (the club of the 27 richest countries of the world) and the federal government of Australia.

In the off-hours, I asked for and was given a briefing on the electric tram network of Melbourne, a lovely city that is often voted as one of the most livable cities in the world. Although Melbourne then had 1.5 million vehicles � about the same as Metro Manila � there was/is virtually no traffic jams and virtually no pollution.

That is so because most Melbourne residents take the tram in their daily commutes. Melbourne is crisscrossed by 320 tram routes. Almost any point in Melbourne is accessible by a tram ride or a series of tram rides. Car-owners use their cars on weekends when they go out to the countryside.

In 2001 or 2002, I sent a written proposal to President Arroyo, through Malacanang chief-of-staff Vicky Garchitorena, for a similar tram network in Metro Manila. I never got a reply from them. *****

Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in acabaya.blogspot.com. Tony on YouTube in www.tapatt.org.

To subscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Subscribe.
To unsubscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Unsubscribe.
.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Reactions to "Consuelo's Stimulus"
More Reactions to "ConCon, not ConAss"
More Reactions to "Anachronistic II"
More Reactions to "Diarrhea in the Air"
More Reactions to "What about Gandhi?"
'Follow Your Conscience'
'A Rigged Match?'



Hi Tony,

FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT UNDER STIMULUS PLAN

How about your idea of a subway train that will traverse from Calamba all the way to Caloocan and from Eastern town of Montalban and Morong, Rizal all the way to Divisoria?

The subway train can also be utilized to transport food and garbage to a designated waste segregation and disposal.

Raul Sebastian Laman, (by email), Dec. 11, 2008

(Thank you for remembering. The proposal for a subway under the PNR right-of-way from Muntinlupa to Caloocan was actually an original idea from Victor Lim, then head of the Bases Conversion Development Authority, which I thought was a brilliant idea and supported in my column in the Philippine Star in 1995-96. It would have made unnecessary the entry of 6,000 provincial buses into Metro Manila and thus would have reduced air pollution and eased road congestion. I merely extended the idea all the way to Calamba, though not necessarily underground all the way.

(But it was I who suggested that the same subway tracks could be used in the off-hours [1:00 to 5:00 am] to transport Metro Manila's garbage to a waste segregation and treatment plant [and possibly even a methane gas-fired power plant] in Laguna, thus removing several hundred garbage trucks from the metro roads.

(But the subway idea was junked when President Fidel Ramos, trying to get support from Metro Manila trapos for a constitutional amendment to allow him to run for a second term, gave the PNR right-of-way to the New San Jose Builders of then Congressman, now Quezon City Mayor, Sonny Belmonte, for 5-storey tenement buildings, as few as five meters from the operating rail line,  allegedly for squatters on the PNR right-of-way. But the presence of so many air-conditioners in the upper floors tells you that the residents are not former squatters but middle-class families with the right political connections. ACA)


wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

You wrote:
"In 2001 or 2002, I sent a written proposal to President Arroyo, through Malacanang chief-of-staff Vicky Garchitorena, for a similar tram network in Metro Manila. I never got a reply from them."

There is a little bit of
consuelo de bobo that I am not alone in not getting any replies to inquiry emails sent to government and media bureaucrats.  We probably would have fared better had we used drums or smoke signals instead. Iit is indeed a huge jump from hunting and gathering to the information age.

Bobby Manasan, (by email), Burke, Virginia, Dec.11, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Dear Tony,

This package you so wittingly labeled
Consuelo's Stimulus will pass so many check points of the negative variety en route to its intended destination, thinning incessantly along the way, and threadbare when it finally reaches its destination.  This is the way things are done in this country, then, and most especially now when the epitome of greed and corruption lord the corridors of power (in the persons of Mr and Mrs Miguel Arroyo and their minions).  Do we have the correct body of selfless individuals and statesmen who will oversee its implementation to fruition?
I am reminded of the Sodom and Ghomorra story, where the Lord God destroyed the twin cities anyway, because  He could not find any person (or two )that were righteous (and patiently allowing his original requirements to go down to barest minimums, at the insistence of father Abraham).  Is the Philippines, now presently holding the damning title of the second most corrupt country in the world, fast becoming a distant cousin of twins  S & G, this time,  in the  practice and indulgence of graft and corruption?

Ed Valenciano, (by email), Dec. 11, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Dear Tony:

With Melbourne as a model, a tram network for Metro Manila would be the ideal solution to the congestion that is no so characteristic of the area these days. Another significant benefit would be the reduction of pollution throughout Metro Manila. Still another is that the incidence of asthma and other respiratory diseases will very likely go down to a very significant degree.

I am quite perplexed, however, why the proposal for a tram network for Metro Manila which you say you sent to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sometime in 2001 or 2002 was never even acknowledged--even as a matter of rudimentary courtesy.

Is it possible that Malacanang simply did not see in your proposal a good chance to make the usual cut of 10%?

Mariano Patalinjug, (by email), Yonkers, NY, Dec. 12, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Dear Tony,

The pleasure of getting/reading your columns in my 'Mails' have always been my morning routine. They always evoke multifacet reactions because like you, I care. I hope the billions said to be allocated and intended to prop up our economy will 'actially benefit' our people. I agree with you that the
Sin Verguenzas out there are just itching to get their fingers to this plum. As usual we expect the way to good intentions are paved with crookedness by these Evil Denizens.

I dare not speculate anything good will come out of it. And I do not have to repeat what you said about these
EVIL people. They are in our midst and the damaged done to our psyche echoes even in our sleep. Let's just pray the generations after we are gone will not suffer the same fate as we do now. You have the brains and the 'guts' to tell us all that we need to know. Our 'consuelo de bobo' is the same as yours. However, one can be allowed to imagine seeing souls being tormented by 'Devils' when their time comes to pay their debts to society! They never learn!

Jose Regino, (by email), Zamboanga City, Dec. 12, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Hi Tony,

The stimulus is probably another money-making project as the 2010 election is approaching or even for the Cha Cha project.

Remember that 500 pesos subsidies? It did not make a dent. Somebody make a killing out of it. This is the problem with this administration. Sinasamantala nila ang mga problema at gumagawa sila ng solution kuno and make money in the process. Imagine what 100 billion pesos can do. Ang masama pa uutangin at si Juan Pasang Krus ang magbabayad.

Dito sa Amerika ang kinita lamang ng gobyerno sa stimulus package na binigay sa amin ay yong karampatang tax lang dahil it was not coursed through any politician. We just received the check in the mails.

Magawa at mangyari kaya ito dyan sa 'Pinas?     Thanks and more power !

Bert Celera, (by email), Dec. 12, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Dear Tony:

You asked why judicial reforms was included as one of the things to be done with $500 million borrowing. Could it be for buying judges to reform their judgment to favor Gloria? Just asking.

Amado Cabaero, (by email), Dec.12, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

(Forwarded to Tapatt by Aurora Pijuan)


JAIL TO THE CHIEF!
Source: www.lesliebocobo. blogspot. com

Our Constitution was not written on sand only to be washed away by a roguery of self-serving politicians allied with President Gloria Arroyo, blown in by the political wind, otherwise known as the Arroyo regime's corrupt, polluted air.

On that note, before GMA and her storm-troopers have it their way changing our Constitution, perhaps it would be a good reminder for all to see what kind of legacy they really will be leaving behind.

The following best describes it all:

1. $500 million IMPSA/Napocor/ Argentine deal c/o Sec. Nani Perez
2. NAIA-3 project/Germany' s Fraport AG
3. Overpriced P1.2 billion PEA-Diosdado Macapagal Highway
4. PCSO ads and the multi-million peso funds mis-use
5. SBMA smuggling operations
6. BCDA - loss of AFP modernization funds
7. Camp John Hay Baguio rentals
8. Poro Point revenues
9. PhilHealth cards
10. Joc-Joc Bolante's P728 million fertilizer scam
11. OWWA fund diversion
12. PAGCOR secret deals with the clergy, media and government officials
13. DPWH contracts including the Road-Users' Tax
14. $329 million overpriced ZTE-NBN mess c/o Chairman Ben Abalos and Sec. Romy Neri
15. North Rail's 'railroaded' project
16. South Rail's 'railroaded' project
17. DoTC contracts including RORO ports and local airports mis-use of funds
18. Anomalous TRANSCO bidding
19. NFA rice mess up
20. Anomalous DSWD cards
21. Spratlys sell-out to China
22. "Hello Garci" scandal, Lintang Bedol's magic and GMA's 'manufactured mandate'
23. P1.3 billion missing irrigation funds
24. Anomalous Venable contract c/o Sec. Bert Gonzales
25. P5 billion swine scam c/o 'pigs' in government
26. Jose Pidal kickback accounts
27. P2 billion National Food fund loss in 2005
28. Grossly overpriced lamp posts (from P16,000 to P300,000 each) in Gloria's Cebu c/o DPWH
29. $1.3 billion crooked Comelec computerization deal
30. $147 million DA/Agriculture and Fisheries modernization act (authored by Sen. Ed Angara)
The Department of Agriculture has mis-used the funds.

And several others.

So, shall we simply give them our Constitution on a silver platter for them to amend, and pave the way for GMA's perpetuation to power? Let us now examine their credibility and legacy, and then, let the sovereign Filipino nation decide.

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Dear Mr. Abaya,

Right On ! Consuelo de hijos y hijas de Grandisima ( superlative degree) p*ta to these Sticky Fingers ! LOL !

But seriously, my dream infrastructure project is the rehabilitation and modernization of our railroad networks. It will help ease our gas pains and help decongest Metro -Manila. Tutuban to Matnog, Sorsogon to link up with the ferries going to Allen, Samar, and to Bulan, Sorsogon to link up with the ferries going to Masbate. With  fast efficient trains similar to the bullet trains of Japan and France, there would be lesser incentive to live in Manila, if your train can get you home in Bicol in one or two hours. But I guess it's just a dream. The bus lobby group are so well-entrenched.

Happy Holidays !     Sincerely,

Auggie Surtida, (by email), Tigbauan, Iloilo, Dec.12, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I agree with you a tram network in Metro Manila is a great idea or undertaking, especially, as you suggested, it will be run by consortium which may include the owners and drivers of the would-be displaced automotive units. 

I recalled reading somewhere that before the Second World War there was a tram network operating in much much smaller scale in Manila ran by the old Meralco Company long before the proliferation of buses, taxis and jeepneys and of course, the LRT and MRT of late.  This network was known in local language as trambiya or trambya, whatever, why it was discontinued was a mystery to me. So you see we don't only lacked foresight but it seems that we do things in reverse or backward, too, hitherto.

(The Manila tramvia network was run by Meralco, which was then an American-owned company. When American cities tore up their tram lines after World War II, to make room for the automobile, so did we. This is what I meant when I wrote that we unconsciously followed the flawed American model of a car-based transport system. ACA)  

Now back on the proposed tram network.  No double insertion on the related budget, please and the project should be implemented pronto. Happy holidays.

Arcy F. Sibal, (by email), Sta. Maria, Bulacan, Dec. 12, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

According to Wikipedia, Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) has 499 trams running on 249 kilometers of track, with 1,770 tram stops. For your information..

Jun Valenzuela, (by email), Naga City, Dec. 12, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I am afraid part of the bailout from the Philippine government will go to kickbacks, corruption, under the table transactions, etc, like the fertilizer scam case, the proposed national broadband, Northrail (the present one) etc.

Jose Dado, (by email), Dec. 12, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Consuelo's Stimulus, another good read, dear sir. Needless to say, sir, I am a fan.

In a country where we have to hope that the billions intended for our salvation go where they are supposed to, it would seem that we are truly genuinely hopeless. If past giant sums of public money which seem to go where the sun don't shine or into the asses of the corrupt sons of bitches in government or the First Family for that matter is the basis, then we are indeed in one giant heap of trouble.

The failure of our government to follow in the footsteps of those glittering skyscraping economies of our neighbors may indeed shield us from what has now befallen them. It however is a double negative I believe. More failure to implement the proper policies in reaction to this global recession because of corruption will only further us in the direction of hell itself.

Think of it, almost every nation has its stimulus package aimed at curbing this disastrous streak infecting their respective economies, but only we have to put the word hope into the statement. We
hope the money goes where it is supposed to? How sad is that?

I've always wondered why there is next to nothing on that Luzon eastern seaboard you have mentioned. No Pan Philippine highway, no resorts, no ports of note. I have always surmised that the reasons for these are that the Sierra Madre mountains pose too big of a hindrance or that the whole eastern side of Luzon is so battered by typhoons and giant Pacific storm surges that it would be a waste to try to build anything there.

I am a fan of maps and a big fan of Google Earth or Wikimapia and often find myself scanning the globe or often times our nation's land area and have noticed the absence of anything of note there. I guess this is why your persistent Communist insurgency chooses to hide there and continue their fantasy of a state based on failed, disproven, idiotic ideas.

Still always hoping for the best though,

Victor S. de Padua, (by email), Dec. 12, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

The jeepney was a make-do response  to transportation requirements after WWII. But this response has remained there... a make-do action. Now it has become a political issue. Can you think of the thousands of votes that will be lost if all the jeepney drivers/owners and their families will oppose any effort to phase our the jeepney, which they surely will?

And is there a politician strong enough to risk that?

Remedios Marmoleno, (by email), Dec. 12, 2008

(I realized that. Which is why I wrote that the tram network should be run by a consortium that includes the owners of buses and jeepneys that will be displaced by the tram. Additionally, drivers of buses and jeepneys that will be affected should be given the option to form transport co-operatives which will also have the option to operate units in the network. At any rate, it will take years before a full tram network can be in place, which would give time for affected parties to weigh their options. The greater good of the greater number should outweigh any disadvantages suffered by anyone. ACA)

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Dear Tony Abaya,

I usually review in my mind just before sleeping whatever I wrote and usually think how stupid I was that I misspelled this, run on sentence here, no subject-verb agreement, etc etc. I got a jolt and sat up when I was actually sleeping already and realized among my many errors I wrote "port of notice"  and "anything of notice"! NOTE! I meant "note" or something of note or noteworthy! What do you think? I apologize not for my errors but for bothering you with something so unimportant and trivial. I am just glad I somehow got into your mailing list and am receiving your articles. As I said, I am a fan and eagerly await your next posting!     Sincerely,

Victor S de Padua, (by email), Dec. 13, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Dear Tony,

Greetings!
We do not believe the dubious ChaCha efforts of GMA allies now will stop because of the December 12 Inter Faith Rally in Makati. Another version of Chacha (actually Charter Corrections) that is inoculative in nature coupled with a subsequent blocking voluntary referendum would do the trick.(We call this version "the new form and new expression of EDSA 1986".)

Not only does our said version address the core of the Mindanao Problem, it shall likewise mount two imperative electoral reforms in the Executive so vital for the conduct of the 2010 Presidential elections. One of which(cf.Item #3 in our list)stands a very good
chance of resolving unintendedly the legitimacy issue hounding the Arroyo presidency; a chance for GMA to go along with US Pres. Bush. (Please read attachment herewith.)

Thank you so much for keeping me in your mailing list. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Roman Rama Guerrero, (by email), Dec. 14, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Hi Tony!

Great infrastructure proposals in this column! I was wondering if you could write a column like this for ROGUE - where you offer some interesting suggestions for the Arroyo administration on how to stimulate our economy and solve some of our problems. Let me know what you think or if you have any other article ideas for ROGUE. I'm your neighbor so I can meet with you anytime regarding this. Thanks!

Jose Mari Ugarte, (by email), Dec. 15, 2008
Editor-in-Chief, ROGUE Magazine

(Let's discuss it after the holidays, Jose Mari. Tony)


wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Dear Tony

Regarding the tranvia: that is precisely what Manny Padilla, an entrepreneur, has been proposing to Manila City Hall. He himself wants to invest some of his millions in it. I introduced him to the World Bank. They like the idea. I suggested that he now turn to the UP Transport Studies Institute for a feasibility study, etc., etc.     Regards,

Butch Zialcita, (by email), Dec. 17, 2008
Faculty member, Ateneo de Manila University

(The tramvia should not be confined to the City of Manila but should encompass the whole of Metro Manila. I talked about it to MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando, a personal friend, sometime in 2002, after I submitted a written proposal to President Arroyo.  But it did not elicit any response or enthusiasm from him either. ACA)

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

More Reactions to "Diarrhea in the Air"
(Dec. 09, 2008)

My reactions to:

Arcy Sibal Manny Pacquiao lost to Darlene Antonino Custodio because HE LOST a fair election.  Definitely not because the non-Manny voters wanted to preserve his boxing career.  But the public should know that Manny faced the results squarely�  no protests, no grumblings, no etc.  Sport talaga!  Gentleman talaga!

Dennis Acop   The night before Pacman's fight, I was chatting with Sonny in US, and his idol of course is Manny.  He said, "bugbog na ang mga Mexicano rito sa talo sa pustahan.  Panahon na nilang bumawi through de la Hoya."  Sonny told me that he will be cheering for Pacman but said, "kay de la Hoya ako pumusta ng $20 para magkapera naman."  

I agree with you, Dennis.  The best respect our kababayans can give our country is not to bet against Pacman at all.  Nakakaiyak�  Si Pacman na lang ang natitirang unifying epoxy ng ating bansa.

Rue Ramas, (by email), Lagao, Gen. Santos City, Dec. 21, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

More Reactions to "Anachronistic II" (Nov 27, 2008)

I fully agree with you, Tony, re your analysis about our country's failure to ride the "exports bus" which therefore put us behind other Asian countries, economically, and we continue to fail in winning the communist rebels into our peaceful fold.

GMA should take heed of the experience of Marcos. When the dictator hung on to power much longer than people could tolerate, two things happened : our country dropped in terms of economic growth and hunger instead grew , and he was ultimately forcibly removed from the palace.

GMA appears however to have solidified support at the House, has continually contained the growth of the opposition, and somehow has remained in control of the military. No matter therefore if a middle-class revolt mounts in intensity, she has mastered history and therefore successfully maneuvers the elements around her that would keep her there.

Sometimes, all it takes is to stroke the greed within the character of the ambitious and materialistic, feed them in calibrated doses of projects, dole-outs, power, and the leader will remain in place -- until people's patience wears out and the tables are turned upside down.

Victor Manalac, (by email), Dec. 18, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

More Reactions to "What about Gandhi?"
(Dec. 04, 2008)

Let us keep the presidential system of government, even after 2010 and really apply it, like they do in the U.S.

Jose Dado, (by email), Dec. 15, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

More Reactions to "ConCon, not ConAss" (Dec. 02, 2008)

As a foreigner living in this country for over 20 years, I love this country more than the one in which I was born. The current issue on changes to the charter saddens me because I suspect that those making the most noise against such a move have neither read the Constitution, let alone gauged the effects of it on their own livelihood. History, in this country, appears to be a forbidden subject.

The current Constitution was approved in a plebiscite conducted during the presidential election of Cory Aquino.
(Actually, the present Constitution was ratified in a plebiscite in September 1987, about 19 months after Cory Aquino declared herself the winner of the February 1986 snap presidential elections which, according to the official Comelec proclamation, was actually won by Ferdinand Marcos. ACA)

It was a highly emotional time and it would be true to say that most people who voted did not know what it contained. The one major factor that has caused the Philippines to become the lowest receiver of foreign investment in Southeast Asia was the clause that a foreign investment company had to be 60 percent Filipino owned.

A wonderful dream providing there were sufficient Filipinos left, after the Marcos cronies had fled with their cash, left to invest huge sums. To a foreign investor, however, why would they risk 40 percent and not have control of their funds? Those few who did invest under such a rule resorted to breaking the law by appointing 'dummy' investors, so putting their capital at risk, e.g. Fraport. Obviously, to provide much needed employment, this requires urgent changing. Not being able to purchase land, without using illegal chicanery, is also a disadvantage. After all, if they leave, they cannot take it with them.

My professor hammered into us: Don't give me the solution. Find and define the problem, the solution will then be obvious. The real problem in this country is the deserved mistrust of politicians, who, in the main, have backgrounds of wealthy, oligarch landowners. It is human nature that they will only legislate to protect their own interests.

The majority of Filipinos distrust them, and therefore distrust their push to change the Constitution. There is actually no need to change Congress to a parliamentary system. Although a loose arrangement, there are already two parties, the administration and the opposition. The only difference is that each is made up of members from various parties and they have different leaders. Congress could take the lead by demonstrating national responsibility by each side holding a convention at which they will unite as one party, elect a leader of that new party and then thrashing out the policies of that party to present before the electorate in 2010. This would remove the personality politics that exists today. People would not be voting for the person, but the ideas his party has put forward.

Under this, the Senate need not be abolished. In fact it is essential that a house of review be in place. The number of senators though, should be increased to at least double plus one. While the existing number of senators should be elected, the others, with the approval of congress, should be appointed. These people should include ex-presidents, citizens of repute such as ex-president of Banco Filipino, Mr. Cuisa, Fr. Bernas and other people of proven integrity.

The Senate should only be a house of review, not a law-making body. Legislation prepared and debated by congress should, after the second reading, be passed to the Senate for debate, review and possible suggestions of improvement, after which it should be passed back to congress for a third reading. The legislation would then require being passed back to the senate and only then should be signed into law.

Perhaps if leadership in congress was undertaken, and only put forward limited changes to the electorate in 2010, there might be a way of modifying the Constitution without having dramatic upheavals.

Alan C. Atkins, (by rmail), Paranaque City, Dec. 21, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Follow Your Conscience

The number of people who attended the anti Charter Change rally in Makati was as expected based on earlier announcements by the organizers citing the figure of 10,000 participants. With their usual arrogance, the crooks in that stinking snake pit called Malacanang belittled the crowd that was gathered.

Knowing Gloria Arrovo's  caliber and determination to have the Charter Change pushed through, the opposition will no doubt be organizing more anti Cha-Cha rallies and demonstrations. The big Q is, how effective will they be? Will the "evil" "bitch" listen to
the clamor of the people?

Just like in the previous rallies, any future ones will be met with defiance and could even pave the way for the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus and eventually a declaration of Martial Law after a bombing here and an assassination there to be attributed to the enemies of the State.

So, how do we solve a problem like Gloria? This can be answered by another rhetorical question. Are there PATRIOTIC Filipinos left in the AFP and PNP?  Or is it still an attitude of WHAT IS IN IT FOR ME?

Gloria Arrovo and her cohorts have mastered the art of manipulation and submission by showering those who stick to her with money, position, business opportunity etc etc while those who stand for the TRUTH and WHAT IS RIGHT are subjected to harassment and intimidation.

Matthew 19:13 in the Holy Book states: " Deceit, pretensions, schemes and lies were never part of God's creation". Will those in Congress and those officials in the government follow an illegitimate president and commander-in-chief who cheats, lies and steals, making her an immoral one or WILL THEY FOLLOW THEIR CONSCIENCE?

Narciso Limsiaco Ner, (by email), Davao City, Dec. 14, 2008

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

A Rigged Match?


Do you really believe that the match between Oscar Dela Hoya and Manny Pacquiao was not rigged? Both Oscar and Manny have nothing to lose but too much to gain on that much publicized match. Oscar will retire again after taking a lot of money and then He will promote a match between Hatton or Mayweather and Pacquiao.     Your avid reader,

Armando Kwan Tiu, (by email), Dec. 15, 2008

(You are asking the wrong guy. I do not know boxing from quilt-making. ACA)


OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org and in acabaya.blogspot.com

To subscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Subscribe.
To unsubscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Unsubscribe.
Mission Statement
The People Behind TAPATT
Feedback
ON THE OTHER HAND
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1