Suspended Police Chief and Presidential Pal Alan Purisima and President BS Aquino. Photo from Inquirer.net.
Suspended Police Chief and Presidential Pal Alan Purisima and President BS Aquino. Photo from Inquirer.net.

 

It is now dawning on me and many others that those who wish to keep PNoy while not doing anything to hold him accountable are mainly those who think the unresolved problems will benefit them and their chosen candidates for 2016. These people, who seem to be as self-absorbed as PNoy, view the chances of their manok in 2016 as more important than anything else. Malacanang spokesmen are very happy for their help in protecting PNoy from all accountability.

Before 1964, young Filipinos were told and taught that there were no other choices except to study, graduate, get a job, work hard and hope for success. The young workers were told to be happy with the pittance they receive. The young farmers were told to feel lucky the landlords allowed them to till the land and to get loans at usurious rates. Young Filipinas were told they were “pambahay” and “pangkama” only. Before 1964, young Filipinos were told and taught they have no role in society and made to forget the young heroes who helped forge a new nation a century before.

Few days ago, as debates raged on the question of the urban poor and how we should solve the issue, I wrote a Note on Facebook. Here it is, improved and extended a little bit.

PW-anti-demolition-rally-nanay-mameng
Carmen Deunida leads a protest rally by urban poor group Kadamay. More popularly known as Nanay Mameng, she is the face of the militant urban poor. Her fiery speeches captivated crowds in the anti-Estrada, anti-Arroyo protest actions. (Pinoy Weekly)

When I was growing up, my family moved from one apartment to another because the parents could only earn so much. There was even one time when they moved to a new rented apartment while I was away and I was the last one to find out about our new address! Anyway, my point is that it is not easy to rent an apartment or a house. One has to have more than enough money to pay “advance and deposits” and, of course, the monthly rent. The frequent transfers only ended when Dad decided to bring us all back to Bulacan where he has his own small share of land from his own parents.

Which brings me to the problem of hundreds of thousands or even millions who don’t share the same opportunities many of us have. They are people too, many of them from far-flung areas who went to the city because of the utter lack of opportunities where they came from. They opted not to plant palay or kamote because, rightly or wrongly, they thought there would be better opportunities in the city. Many went on to become minimum-wage earners (check Google for the daily minimum wage). Some are seasonal workers.

A sign of the times under President Benigno Aquino III

From Day One, Filipinos have looked for ways to catch President Aquino’s and his team’s attention whenever they f—k their jobs and whenever they needed to be reminded about their solemn duties and the promises they made during the campaign.

Everytime the public would raise a howl over some grave mistake or omission, the routine answer from Malacanang has been to point fingers at the trust and confidence ratings of the President and the electoral mandate he enjoyed. Even social media, which the President and his team promised would be used for gathering feedback from the public, had been grossly violated. Each time netizens take to the President’s Facebook Page to give the President a piece of their mind, Palace factotums just suddenly get afflicted with an irrational allergy — they shut down the Page for comments. Of course, we cannot forget how the Palace just snatched the Facebook Page from the ordinary citizens which set it up and administered it until it reached millions of Likes. That in itself was an offense.

Enter Noynoying.

Referring to extrajudicial killings and the killing of journalists in the Philippines in his July, 2010 State of the Nation Address, President Benigno Aquino III declared that his administration would “hold murderers accountable.”

Despite that pledge, six journalists have been killed since then, or a total of ten since the Ampatuan Massacre of November 23, 2009 claimed the lives of 58 men and women, of whom 32 were journalists and media workers.

President Aquino has yet to check and challenge the culture of impunity in the Philippines: Six journalists and scores of activists have been killed since he took his oath as president..

In addition to the killings that have continued in the Aquino administration, a number of community journalists have also been threatened, sued for libel on the flimsiest grounds, barred from attending interviews and press conferences, and physically assaulted. In a recent incident, unidentified persons also burned a Catholic Church-owned radio station in Occidental Mindoro. All are indicative of a state of mind among those who want to silence the press that could, in the present circumstances, lead to murder.

In preparation for the Nov. 23 International Day to End Impunity, media groups CMFR and NUJP call for a Blog Action Day.

Over 500 days have passed since Benigno Aquino III assumed the presidency on a pro-change platform – but families of victims of extrajudicial killings have been made to wait and to wait longer for presidential action needed to spur decisive action by government.

The administration has not done anything meaningful to address the political killings that were an indelible mark on the previous administration. A few statements in speeches, yes. But compelling action, nada.

Social media has a role in reporting, solving social confllicts. Visual from iniwoo.net.

Friends from PECOJON invited me to speak at the forum and awarding of winners in the Red Cross Award for Humanitarian Reporting. The forum and contest revolved around humanitarian reporting, about journalism in the midst of conflict.

I was asked to speak on social media, and below are the thoughts that I chose to share, out of many ideas that popped in my head:

Bullet Points on Social Media and Social Conflict
by Tonyo Cruz

Here are various definitions of social media, culled from various sources:

Social media is a type of online media that expedites conversation as opposed to traditional media, which delivers content but doesn’t allow readers/viewers/listeners to participate in the creation or development of the content.”

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. Photo from the Ombudsman's official website.

Merceditas Gutierrez, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s choice of ombudsman, now faces two impeachment complaints now being heard in a single proceeding by the House justice committee.

Previous impeachment proceedings against Gutierrez failed when the House of Representatives was still controlled by a pro-Arroyo majority. The new proceeding should have a different outcome. It is only reasonable to expect that the new majority, led by partymates of President Benigno Aquino III, would muster the political will to impeach Gutierrez in the House and send her to the Senate for an impeachment trial.

Kin of overseas Filipinos on death row weep in a press conference with their group Migrante. Photo by Jo. A Santos/Bulatlat

Three Filipinos were saved from certain death after the Chinese government postponed their execution on drug trafficking charges but more needs to be done by the Philippine government.

Yes, more and much more. According to Migrante International, an alliance of overseas Filipino workers, 125 other Filipinos face the death penalty in a number of countries and many of them have not been given the attention by the Philippine government.

Photo from maxdy1412.wordpress.com

While Filipino netizens are pressing government, Congress included, for action so we could finally have #betterinternet, some Members of Congress want to do something else: Launch a crackdown on vaguely-defined “cybercrimes”.

Lawmakers have not given up on their dangerous project and on Feb. 2, the House ICT Committee holds a meeting to tackle seven “cybercrime” prevention bills that are pending in the current Congress.