Quaere Verum

We were supposed to be hosting a important consultative seminar workshop today in one of Manila's finer hotels. Unfortunately, the powers that be have opted to withhold one of those indispensable signatures, the John Hancock that's supposed to authorize everything and set the wheels in motion. So its a no go. While I couldn't really care less about all of the inefficiencies of my workplace (I have gotten so used to them), it still annoys me how a crucial activity being prepared for weeks in advance gets the carpet pulled from under it during the eleventh hour for one of the weirdest of reasons. The activity supposedly violates a draft guideline. Let me repeat it. Draft . The dang thing ain't even in effect yet, yet it was specifically cited as a reason for disapproving the activity. It goes without saying that the activity complies with all existing rules and regulations, and it was shot down because it disagreed with a rule that is still on the drawing board. Mayb...

Video code provided by Music Video Codes In My Place Coldplay In my place, in my place Were lines that I couldn’t change I was lost, oh yeah I was lost, I was lost Crossed lines I shouldn’t have crossed I was lost, oh yeah And yeah How long must you wait for it? Yeah How long must you pay for it? Yeah How long must you wait for it? For it I was scared, I was scared Tired and underprepared But I wait for it And if you go, if you go And leave me down here on my own Then I’ll wait for you Yeah And yeah How long must you wait for it? Yeah How long must you pay for it? Yeah How long must you wait for it? Singing please, please, please Come back and sing to me To me, me Come on and sing it out, now, now Come on and sing it out, to me, me Come back and sing In my place, in my place Were lines that I couldn’t change And I was lost, oh yeah, oh yeah

Birthday greetings to my Mom , who's celebrating her birthday today, and to xtnag , who celebrated her birthday yesterday. :-)

I know this issue is kinda getting worn out and thin, and I'm actually trying to give up blogging about the Gloriagate controversy. Its not that easy though, as almost everyday it seems as if something new crops up worth writing about. Its hard turning your back on an issue of national significance such as this one, especially if you're a highly opinionated person like myself. And so here I am again. I fully intend to go back to more mundane topics soon, I just need to get this off my chest... Okay, first of all, I will assume that you're familiar with the process of impeaching an impeachable officer. If not, I will refer you to Punzi 's comprehensive blog lecture on impeachment here . On a side note, Punzi's Corner Blog is one of the most comprehensive sources of timely and relevant legal information in the blogosphere today, so I whole-heartedly recommend his blog when it comes to the legal issues behind today's headlines. His Blog Lecture series is present...

Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's "admission" and apology made on national TV last night left me feeling somewhat incredulous and apathetic. The statement was so measured, so shallow, so devoid of sincerity, that it made me wonder if anyone would actually believe it. Its as if a team of lawyers made it and in all likelihood, it probably was. Suffice it to say that I didn't really care for the statement, and found it extremely wanting, if indeed it was intended to settle the controversial issue of the Gloriagate tapes once and for all. Bear with me, as I give you a brief point by point analysis of the contents of the statement. For reference, the complete text of Pres. Arroyo's statement last night can be found in yesterday's post. Please bear in mind that these are my own opinions, and that they are not intended to be construed as fact. 1. The admission was half-baked. Even though she admitted being in communication with a Commission on Elections (COMELEC) of...

Mga minamahal kong kababayan. For the last several weeks, the issue of the tape recordings has spun out of control. Tonight, I want to set the record straight. You deserve an explanation from me, because you are the people I was elected to serve. As you recall, the election canvassing process was unnecessarily slow even after the election results were already in and the votes had been counted. I was anxious to protect my votes and during that time had conversations with many people, including a Comelec official. My intent was not to influence the outcome of the election, and it did not. As I mentioned, the election had already been decided and the votes counted. And as you remember, the outcome had been predicted by every major public opinion poll and adjudged free, fair and decisive by international election observers, and our own Namfrel. That said, let me tell you how I personally feel. I recognize that making any such call was a lapse in judgment. I'm sorry. I also regret takin...

A few days ago I bought a copy of Battlefield 2 , an online multiplayer first person shooter set in contemporary times. Its the third installment in Electronic Arts ' (EA) highly successful Battlefield series, which started with Battlefield 1942 , then was followed by Battlefield Vietnam . You play either as a soldier in the United States Marine Corps, the fictional Middle Eastern Coalition (MEC) or the People's Liberation Army of China, with authentic weapons, equipment, and vehicles to match. I first learned about this game after I started playing the free downloadable demo (you can download the demo from EA's download page here ). The demo only provided one map, and had a time limit for matches, but nonetheless, it was extremely fun. The Battlefield series still sets the bar when it comes to combined arms multiplayer shooters, and Battlefield 2 is no exception by any means. You can carry a variety of kits (equipment packages giving you different capabilities) represe...

In a televised statement made only a few minutes ago, Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo finally admits to communicating with a Commission On Elections (COMELEC) official regarding the outcome of the last Presidential elections. She admitted that the act was "improper" and attributed it to anxiety caused by a slow vote counting process, a desire to protect her votes, and a lapse in judgement . She admitted her mistake, expressed her regret, apologized to the nation, and asked for forgiveness. While she did allude to the recordings, she owned up to her fault without specifically or directly admitting that the voice on the controversial Gloriagate tapes was hers, or that the COMELEC official she communicated with was former Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. Neither did she offer an explanation on why it took so long before she made the admission. She ended her statement with a call for unity, and her desire to go on with the business of governance. While this admission is a welc...

More than two years ago, officemate and fellow blogger Ning gave me a plant as an "officewarming" gift. I had just been transferred to the 19th floor of our office building for a new assignment. My cubicle was a bit drab at the time (actually it still is) and a plant should be able to brighten up my workplace a bit. I had no idea what kind of plant it was, and even up to now I still don't. All I know is that at the time it was not much more than a six inch long stalk inside an empty bottle of Novelino Sweet Red. I don't have much of a green thumb, but the plant actually grew...and grew...and grew some more. Now, it stands forty-one inches high (thanks to Ken for lending me a ruler) in a corner of my cubicle near the window. It could only mean one of two things...either I have a green thumb that I don't know about, or I've been on this assignment far longer than I probably should. Somehow, I'm more inclined towards the latter conclusion. :-)

Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo 14th President of the Republic of the Philippines . Twice elected Senator in 1992 and 1995, elected Vice-President in 1998. Assumed the Presidency in 2001 after former President Joseph Estrada was forced to step down in a popular revolt sparked by allegations of profiting from an illegal numbers game known as jueteng . That controversy has since been known as Juetenggate and resulted in the first ever instance of a President being impeached. As Vice-President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took over when the position was declared vacant in the midst of a second People Power revolution before the impeachment trial was able to run its course. Arroyo ran for reelection in 2004, beating closest rival popular action star Fernando Poe Jr. by approximately a million votes. She is currently embroiled in two "-gate" scandals of her own, Juentenggate 2 and Gloriagate . The first involves allegations that her son and brother-in-law, both members of the House ...

I was never really a diehard fan of reality TV. I haven't followed any of the top draw reality TV shows like Survivor , The Amazing Race , The Apprentice , The Contender , The Bachelor , etc. I did however got to see a number of episodes from Fear Factor , the third season of American Idol , and actually liked and even regularly watched some of the other, "non-mainstream" reality shows like Combat Missions , Junkyard Wars , and Faking It . While reality TV seems to be "in" thing nowadays, I never really found myself drawn to the vast majority of shows of this genre. Not that they were bad or anything. They just didn't arouse my interest at the time. That's why I'm a bit surprised that I found myself regularly watching a relatively new reality TV show called Invasion Iowa . It stars William Shatner of Star Trek fame, and the schtick of the series is fooling the small American town of Riverside, Iowa (incidentally the fictional future birth place ...

Since a number of people have been asking for it, I have provided a copy of the controversial "Hello Garci" ringtone in WAV format that you can download here . It should work for older Series 60 platform cellular phones. Bear in mind that my file host ( Ripway ) has a bandwidth limitation of 10 MB per day, so if the bandwidth is exceeded, you'll be temporarily unable to download it. Just try downloading it again at a later time. If you want to download the original MP3 version, as well as new versions of the ringtone using other songs as background music, visit INSIDE PCIJ 's updated "Hello Garci" Ringtones page here . If you're looking for audio files of the taped conversations, or even transcripts, INSIDE PCIJ also has a "Gloria-Garcillano" Tapes page here , and a Transcripts page here . All of these pages are part of INSIDE PCIJ's new "Downloadables" section. We should be thankful to the Philippine Center for Investigati...

If you work for a man or a woman in heaven's name WORK for him. If he pays you wages which supplies you bread and butter, WORK for him, speak well of him, stand by him and stand by the institution he represents. If put to a pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. If you must vilify, condemn, and eternally disparage - resign your position, and when you are outside, damn to your hearts content; but as long as you are part of the institution, do not condemn it. If you do that, you are loosing the tendrils that are holding you to the institution, and at the first high wind that comes along, you will be uprooted and blown away, and probably you will never know the reason why. - Elbert Hubbard

Last night several officemates and friends, including myself, celebrated a beloved former colleague's return from her new career in Cambodia. Suffice it to say that the party was a blast . :-) Time is short however, and soon she will be on her way back to Preahreachanachâk Kampuchea . She will surely be missed. Thanks for the party Doc, and have a safe trip! Sa uulitin. :-) To those who were there, I put together all the pics taken on my camera in an album on Picturetrail . Click here to see the album. I had to resize the pictures to conserve bandwidth and online storage, so if you want to see the full-size pics, you'll have to wait until Monday. :-) Cheers!

Today, June 24, the City of Manila celebrates its 434th birthday. It was on this day in 1571 that Manila was declared by the Spaniards as the capital of the Spanish Philippines. It was an auspicious start actually. Manila, or Maynilad as it was known then, was a thriving Mohammedan community in the island of Luzon long before the Spaniards ever came to our shores. It was discovered under the orders of Governor-General Miguel Lopez de Legazpi by an expedition led by Martin de Goiti. Rajah Soliman, its ruler, while welcoming the Spaniards, refused to submit to Spanish authority. As a result Goiti, after some preparation, attacked and took Maynilad by force, in the name of the King of Spain, then returned to the Governor-General. A year later the Spaniards led by de Legazpi himself returned, and founded Spanish Manila. That was 434 years ago, and only one of several significant historical events which took place in this city named after a plant. The name Manila comes from the Tagalo...

The other day I went home with a head-splitting migraine, the type which feels as if someone drilled a hole on one side of your cranium (in my case, it was the right side, just above my eyeball). While headaches and migraines are quite common, the reason why I'm writing about it is the fact that I was never really prone to headaches or migraines. The last headache I had was...well...I don't even remember. Last year perhaps? The pain was so bad I had to lie down, and it took a couple of paracetamol tablets to get rid of it. What apparently caused it was the fact that I had to walk under a weak drizzle for a short distance. I could never figure out why that is so. Get hit by a few raindrops on the head, and later on your head hurts like hell. Some people even say its better for you to get drenched rather be drizzled on. At least when you're drenched your head doesn't hurt. I tried researching it on the internet, came up with jack. Besides, how would you form a query on Go...

RULES: Reply with your full name, birthday, and fill-up the statements below via comment box: 1. I will write something I like about you. 2. I will then tell what song/movie/icon reminds me of you. 3. I will try to name a single word that best describes you. 4. I'll tell you the most memorable moment I've had with you. 5. I will tell you what animal you remind me of. 6. I'll then tell you something that I've always wondered about you. Then you gotta put this in your journal/blog afterwards. Got this from Abbie .

Video code provided by Music Video Codes Thank You Dido My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why I got out of bed at all The morning rain clouds up my window and I can't see at all And even if I could it'd all be grey, but your picture on my wall It reminds me that it's not so bad, it's not so bad I drank too much last night, got bills to pay, my head just feels in pain I missed the bus and there'll be hell today, I'm late for work again And even if I'm there, they'll all imply that I might not last the day And then you call me and it's not so bad, it's not so bad and I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life Push the door, I'm home at last and I'm soaking through and through Then you hand me a towel and all I see is you And even if my house falls down, I wouldn't have a clue Because you're near me and I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my...

The congressional inquiry into the alleged wiretapped conversations of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo are now underway. Not surprisingly, the hearings have turned into a circus of sorts with all the faux pas being committed, that the proceedings can only be accurately described as "surreal." Consider this: Objections being raised as to the venue. Sa puntong ito pa ba paguusapan kung saan gagawin ang mga hearing? Concerns on the quorum. Di ba on proper motion pwede naman defer yung roll call? Discussions on the rules, distribution of copies of the rules. Dapat bago pa lang nilinaw na at ikinalat na ang copya ng mga patakaran sa mga mambabatas. Hindi kung kelan simula na ng mga pagdinig. Anti-Arroyo groups attempt to enter the gallery but were thwarted by security personnel. A brief scuffle supposedly ensued when one of them tried to throw a punch. Para tayong mga walang pinag-aralan ah. Members of militant youth groups give away copies of Gloriagate CDs in the session hall. ...

Kahapon lang ay naging saksi ako sa isang malagim at karumal-dumal na krimen. Buong buhay ko ay hindi ko akalain makakakita ako ng bagay na ganito kahindik-hindik. Medyo mahaba kung isasalaysay ko pa ang kabuuan ng mga pangyayari, kaya ikukwento ko na lang sa pamamagitan ng mga litratong nakuha ko sa eksena ng krimen. Ang mga labi ng biktima: Nang kinunan ng panayam ang mga suspek ay iba-iba ang mga naging reaksyon nila: Gamitin na lang ninyo ang inyong kathang isip...:-) Pasensya na kayo at wag na kayo mangontra, alam kong corny. :-) Hirap magisip ng dialogue e. :-)

You just have to read this blog entry on the PCIJ website. It enumerates the controversies which have cropped up against the members of the First Family since the Arroyo administration first came to power. And there are definitely more than a few. You know what they say. Where there's smoke, there's fire.

Jaime Cardinal Sin, former Archbishop of Manila and one of the heroes of both the 1986 and 2001 People Power movements, passed away at 6:15 this morning at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center due to multiple organ failure. He was 76. He was born Jaime Lachica Sin in New Washington, Aklan, on August 31, 1928. He entered the priesthood in 1954, in the Archdiocese of Jaro, Iloilo. He later became its auxilliary Bishop, and later on, its Archbishop in 1972. Two years later, he was appointed Archbishop of Manila. In 1976, he was raised to the College of Cardinals at the age of 48, and until 1983 was its youngest member. He was present in both of the Papal Conclaves of 1978 which elevated Albino Cardinal Luciani, then later Karol Cardinal Wojtyla to the Pontificate. He was even referred to at one time as papabile , a possible successor to the Papacy. Unfortunately, he was not able to attend the last Papal Conclave earlier this year due to the declining condition of his health. Cardinal Sin is...

My apologies if the links to my friends' blogs have "disappeared" lately. Apparently blogLinker has been on the fritz lately, and I'm not particularly sure when it will be up and running again. This is the third time that a blog tool that I have been using on this blog has gone AWOL, first with Sideblog a couple of weeks ago, then with Photobucket just last week. Well, hopefully blogLinker will be up and running soon. If not, I'm finding some other link tool or put back the links in manually. Cheers! :-)

Batman Begins is the latest movie depicting the adventures of the Dark Knight, and it also happens to be most serious, most realistic, most plausible and most believable Batman movie... ever. It has been eight years since the last Batman movie, a rather horrendous affair entitled Batman & Robin which starred George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell as the dynamic duo. The story in Batman Begins is chronologically set earlier than the first four movies before it. Not that it matters, really. Batman Begins is the kick-off movie to an entirely new series, written and conceptualized it seems, from a clean sheet of paper. It tells the story of the Caped Crusader's origins in great detail. It dispenses with the established story lines in the earlier movies, which is probably a good thing, since they got it so wrong . (Batgirl is Alfred's niece is Batman & Robin ?) Stylistically, Batman Begins depicts the Dark Knight in a rather modern, or contemporary way, worlds apart ...

Incidentally, today is also the 144th anniversary of the birthday of our national hero, Jose Rizal .

To my own Dad, my brothers, my friends, and fellow bloggers who are all Dads... Happy Father's Day!

Looking for a copy of the controversial "Hello Garci" ringtone? Download it from the INSIDE PCIJ site here . :-) Links: Palace: 'Hello Garci' ringtone typical Filipino humor Cellphone users warned -- 'Hello Garci' ringtone banned

Someone should really look into the horrendous traffic jams which have been occurring every morning for the past week along Katipunan Avenue in front of the Ateneo de Manila University campus. Just passing in front of the school can now take you at least twenty minutes, probably even more, because of the huge volume of vehicles trying to make a u-turn to the northbound side and enter the campus. As a result, traffic is sometimes backed up all the way to the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Tandang Sora as well as almost the entire length of CP Garcia Avenue inside the UP Diliman campus. Its pretty obvious that the traffic is because of the school and nothing else, because the moment you drive past the campus, the heavy traffic jam disappears abruptly, just like that. Ateneo, being one of the country's more exclusive and expensive schools, has had the reputation of having a student population so affluent that it has been suggested that the vehicle to student ratio is almost...

how jedi are you? :: by lawrie malen

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. - John 8:32

Have you ever heard of Occam's Razor ? Its a logical principle which states: One should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything. This principle is attributed to the medieval philosopher William of Occam (or Ockham). Put another way, the principle states that one should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed. This principle is often called the principle of parsimony . (Check out this page defining Occam's Razor on Principia Cybernetica Web .) I first heard about this principle in the movie Contact which starred Jodie Foster as Dr. Ellie Arroway, an astronomer who receives a message from intelligent life forms in distant space. This movie is one of my favorites. It still is. Going back to the topic at hand, Occam's Razor was quoted in the movie and even further simplifed to mean that the simplest or mostly likely explanation is probably the correct one. On a whim, I tried applying this principle to the issues a...

1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for. 2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way. 3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you. 4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you. 5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep. 6. You mean the world to someone. 7. You are special and unique. 8. Someone that you don't even know exists, loves you. 9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it. 10. When you think the world has turned its back on you,take a look. 11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

A mother was working in the kitchen, listening to her five-year-old son playing with his new electric train in the living room. She heard the train stop and her son saying, "All of you bastards who want off, get the hell off now, 'cause this is the last stop! And all of you bastards who are getting on, get your ass in the train, cause we're going down the tracks." The horrified mother went in & told her son, "We don't use that kind of language in this house. Now I want you to go to your room and stay there for TWO HOURS. When you come out, you may play with your train, but I want you to use nice language." Two hours later, the son came out of the bedroom and resumed playing with his train. Soon the train stopped and the mother heard her son say, "All passengers who are disembarking the train, please remember to take all of your belongings with you. We thank you for traveling with us today and hope your trip was a pleasant one." She hears th...

Galing nitong kantang ito...:-) Prom Sugarfree Nanginginig na mga kamay Puso kong hindi mapalagay Pwede ba kitang tabihan Kahit na may iba ka nang kasama Ito na ang gabing 'di malilimutan Dahan-dahan tayong nagtinginan Parang atin ang gabi para bang wala tayong katabi Nang tayo'y sumayaw na parang 'di na tayo bibitaw Nalalasing sa 'yong tingin 'di malamn-laman ang gagawin Habang lumalalim ang gabi ay Lumalapit ang ating mga labi Iyo na ang gabing 'di malilimutan Tayo'y naglakad ng dahan-dahan Parang atin ang gabi para bang wala tayong katabi Nang tayo'y sumayaw na parang 'di na tayo bibitaw Matapos man ang sayaw, pangakong 'di ka bibitaw Bass line: Intro/Verse: F#-G-A; Refrain: B-A-E; Chorus 1: D-E-F#-G (3x) D-E-C; Chorus 2: D-E-F#-G (4x); Bridge: B-C

There's just too many things happening, too many new developments, too many legal issues, much more than one can reasonably blog about. This entire Gloriagate controversy can be considered a lawyer's, or at the very least, a law enthusiast's delight with all the legal issues and jargon being tossed around. Now, apparently the latest victim in this brouhaha is the freedom of the press . The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has supposedly issued a circular banning the airing of the allegedly wiretapped phone conversations of Pres. Arroyo and Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Commissioner Garcillano. This has earned the ire of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), branding it "an assault against press freedom." I have to say that I'm inclined to agree. The government's interference in what the media, can, and cannot report about reeks heavily of censorship, especially considering the national significance and importance of this ...

Well, the tension may have went down a notch, but we probably haven't seen the last of the Gloriagate scandal. In fact, this could simply be the calm before the storm. This Independence Day weekend has proven somewhat tumultuous, starting out with former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Deputy Director Samuel Ong claiming to have "the mother-of-all-tapes," allegedly indisputable evidence that Pres. Arroyo stole victory in last year's elections from actor and political rival Fernando Poe Jr. It didn't seem to have the desired effect though, as Pres. Arroyo is still determined to ride out this controversy and continue performing her duties. The opposition on the other hand, has had mixed reactions, with some openly seeking Pres. Arroyo's resignation, while some, like Ms. Susan Roces, Fernando Poe Jr.'s widow, giving a somewhat lukewarm reaction to this alleged revelation. Then there's the recent development about T/Sgt. Vidal Doble, who according...

Today, June 14, 2005, is the 2nd Annual International Webloggers' Day (InWeDay). On this day, bloggers around the world come together to celebrate how blogging has changed the face of personal journalism as well as how it has influenced the way ideas are spread throughout the internet. As a participant, I have agreed to post some of my thoughts and experiences about blogging, so here it goes: My start... I first started blogging in November of 2004. My first post was actually on November 19, 2004, to be exact. Yeah, I guess I started late. I just had no idea at the beginning that this could be such a worthwhile endeavor. I wasn't really aware of blogging at the time, I just knew that it was an activity you do online, and not much else. Little did I know how pervasive it has become and how it has been facilitating the exchange of ideas and experiences between people all over the world. Makes me wish I started earlier. :-) I didn't really expect to take to it like a fish to...

What is the family credo of the Addams Family ? Its: "Sic gorgiamus allos Subjectatos nunc." Translated to English from Latin it means: "We gladly feast on those who would subdue us." Yummy. :-)

A story which goes to show that changing your attitude can change your life... Jerry is the manager of a restaurant in South Philly. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him "how he was doing", he would always reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs when he changed jobs, so they could follow him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was always there, telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious. So, one day, I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! No one can be a positive person all the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices today, I can choose to be in a...

-gate - suffix A scandal involving alleged illegal acts and often a cover-up, especially by government officials. Here are some famous examples: Watergate - The original "-gate" scandal. It involves taped conversations documenting the Nixon administration's attempt to cover-up the investigation of the Watergate Hotel break-in which ultimately led to former U.S. Pres. Richard Nixon's resignation. Monicagate - Named after Monica Lewinsky, who made headlines because of her sexual relationship with former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Camillagate - Controversy arising from taped phone conversations between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles. Here in the Philippines, there's... Juetenggate - Refers to the series of events leading to former Pres. Joseph Estrada's ouster after being implicated as a beneficiary of illegal gambling proceeds. ( Jueteng - an illegal numbers game.) And now... Juetenggate 2/Gloriagate - attributed to Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroy...

Today, June 12, we celebrate our Independence Day . It is on this day that we have finally declared ourselves a fully sovereign and independent nation, free from the shackles of colonial Spain. One hundred and seven years ago, General Emilio Aguinaldo stepped out onto the balcony of his residence in Kawit Cavite, and unfurled what came to be our national flag amidst the melody Marcha Magdalo which later on became our very own Lupang Hinirang . But is June 12 really our Independence Day? Some historians doubt this. Using June 12, 1898 as a starting point, we actually began with a dictatorial form of government under Aguinaldo. It was only until three months later, in September 1898, that we have formed a representive government with the establishment of a constituent assembly known as the Malolos Congress . It took four more months, in January of 1899, for the Malolos Congress to come out with the Malolos Constitution which established the first Philippine Republic. Of course, by tha...

Like a candle slowly burning itself away to nothingness, confidence in the Arroyo administration is gradually but surely eroding as evidenced by the last Social Weather Station (SWS) survey for month of May (see previous post here ). This was further compounded earlier this week by the testimony of Ms. Sandra Cam, self-confessed "jueteng bagwoman" positively implicating Presidential brother-in-law Rep. Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo and Presidential son Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo as recipients of jueteng protection money. And just last night, Atty. Samuel Ong, former Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has come forward, claiming to have in his possession the "mother-of-all-tapes," supposedly positive proof of Pres. Arroyo's involvement in massive cheating in last year's election. He also claimed that the recordings were obtained from the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). Some ci...