Category: Uncategorized
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Gloria in excelsis Digong
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is now Speaker of the House of Representatives. It is said to be the outcome of three factors: Arroyo’s drive towards political rehabilitation; Sara Duterte’s vindictiveness; and the congressmen’s disenchantment with the former speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. This is at once both a positive and a negative to Duterte. Positive because Sara Duterte…
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Facebook censors post on Duterte-Marcos dirty deals
At around 8:30 tonight, 2 Jan. 2018, I received an interesting notice from Facebook that it took down one of my post today, and restricted access to my account. The reason given was that I allegedly violated “Community Standards”. Sadly, I wasn’t able to take a screenshot of the notice. I can still see my…
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Justice for Kian, justice for all: Neither a statistic nor a pawn
I saw a Facebook post on Saturday, coming from a journalist covering the wake of Kian Loyd delos Santos. His father was supposedly asked whether he voted for Rodrigo Duterte and that he could only answer: “Mali ‘no?” Kian’s mother is an OFW, a voting bloc that is also pro-Duterte. Fortunately she wasn’t asked the…
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Bias against blogs: OVP infographic on “fake news” actually misinforms
In an infographic titled “how to recognize fake news”, the Office of the Vice President itself became an example of misinformation by making a sweeping generalization that blogs are akin to fake news sites. In the first of four tips, the OVP’s infographic stated: Check the source. Before reading an article, check if the news…
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Duterte comes out as No. 1 Marcos loyalist, triggers people’s outrage
A day after the Luneta rally, it came to me, like an epiphany. We exploded in anger not because we hated President Duterte himself, although some actually do. Regardless of political differences, our blood boils in fury because Duterte practically declared himself the country’s No. 1 Marcos loyalist. Duterte now speaks on behalf of the…
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#MarcosNoHero Reader
The hero’s burial for the remains of the ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos — a project of President Duterte, with the blessing of nine Supreme Court justices — has aroused national indignation and a national remembrance. UPDATE: The Campaign Against the Return of Marcoses to Malacanang (CARMMA) and the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) are calling for #MarcosNoHero mass…
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Enabling the trolls
Much is always said about politics being a total turn-off in this country, with politicians and their supporters acting like trolls or being trolls 24/7. Who wouldn’t be turned off if the President himself says one thing and does another? It turns us off whether it is the President of Daang Matuwid being exposed either…
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Duterte’s choice: His mother or the motherf*cker diktador she bravely fought
Meet Soledad Duterte and her son Rodrigo. Davaoeños knew her as Nanay Soling. She was one of the most outspoken, most respected and fearless critics of the Marcos dictatorship in Mindanao, and organizer of Davao City’s “Yellow Friday” mass actions. Sadly, there is no monument for Nanay Soling, as is the case for most of…
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Loose change: Duterte’s not-so-new economic plan
Have you seen the eight-point economic plan of new President Rodrigo Duterte? If you haven’t seen it, here it is, as announced by Duterte’s economic manager Carlos Dominguez: Continue and maintain current macroeconomic policies. Accelerate infrastructure spending by fixing bottlenecks in Public-Private Partnerships. Amend the economic provisions of the Constitution. Provide support services to small…
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The long story: My choices for 2016
FYI: The title is seriously true. Like 2,400 words. It tells you the story of how I arrived at my choices for 2016. I have written frequently about the elections as an opportunity for the country to start anew and take a new direction. I have no illusions that it could mean radical change, mind you.…
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4 ways ‘traditional politics’ corrupted and squandered social media in 2016
As the 2016 campaign enters the homestretch, let there be no doubt that social media, digital and technology didn’t change the system of “trapos” or traditional politics as the Philippines has always known it. It is a cause of frustration to the youth and the middle class who may have nursed expectations about social media,…
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2016 elections: Searching for stars, saints and superheroes
Many people’s hearts are heavy as we approach the elections, and for good reasons. The choices are not at all good, and there are lots of misinformation, hate, and fear that threaten to determine the decisions of many. For an exercise dubbed the “highest expression of the people’s will”, and endlessly bragged as the only…
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FYI: Identity thief/poser is misrepresenting me on Reddit
On Monday night, I discovered through a friend and a Twitter follower that I have been the victim of what seems to be politically-motivated identity theft over at Reddit for the past few days. Upon investigation, I saw that the identity thief and poser used my name “tonyocruz” as a username and pretended to be…
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No to posers this 2016
For a people who have been brought untold shame, disappointments and hardships by a self-styled superhero and saint for the past six years, the search for the next president and vice president should seem like a déjà vu. Some insist on doing it again, arguing that they are only choosing the “least evil,” or the…
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Secret Palace memo: How to handle Kidapawan farmers online
We just obtained a copy of a secret Palace memo immediately given to the Yellow Army’s bloggers, trolls deodorants, and apologists after the Kidapawan incident. This memo explains the Signal No. 4-levels of bullshit, mindfuck and unconscionable statements rained on everyone by the Yellow Army and even high government officials who we thought should know better. Here…
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Internet, social media, and PH elections
Social media is full of interesting and fantastic stuff, especially amid the 2016 election campaign. And we expect no let-up in efforts of campaigners and supporters to make full use of the Internet to “demolish” opponents. It is sad really. The promise of better politics, thanks to the Internet and social media, is lost on…
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Dear EDSA veterans: 10 tough questions
30 years have passed since the people’s uprising that surprised and inspired the world. But look at you now: Begging for attention and blaming everyone else for the flagging EDSA spirit. Even President Noynoy Aquino, the son of the canonized icons of democracy, needed to coerce and bribe local government officials to bring “hakot” crowds…
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Free posters: Take a stand to #StopLumadKillings
Thanks to crowdsourced suggestions, here are 40 posters to show your stand in support of Lumads and to #StopLumadKillings. Curious about the Lumad issue? Check out the Lumad Reader: What you need to know. View the album below, pick any poster(s) you may like,use as profile photo, share them on your Facebook and Twitter accounts,…
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#StopLumadKillings: What you need to know
Our Lumad kababayans need help — and understanding. Here is a Lumad 2015 Reader, which aims to gather as much relevant and verifiable information on what’s happening in Lumads in Mindanao. WHAT ARE LUMADS? Meaning “born of the earth”, Lumad is the term coined by indigenous peoples and their advocates in the late 1970s, according…
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#PUSO2019: Broken hearts and infrastructure
The news broke the nation’s heart: FIBA turned down the Philippines’ bid to host the FIBA World Cup in 2019. It was not so much that FIBA thumbed down the Philippines’ magnificent pitch. It was the realization that the country lacked the adequate infrastructure to host such a huge sporting event. It was the reality…
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Makabayang KontraSONA
Here’s the full text of the Makabayang KontraSONA delivered by House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna on August 10, 2015 at the House of Representatives: Kay Speaker Sonny Belmonte, mga kapwa mambabatas, mga kawani ng Kamara de Representante, mga bisita at kaibigan, magandang hapon sa inyo. Ginoong Speaker, may kasabihan po…
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UNFAIR MATRIX: Facts and figures about MRT and LRT
No, the MRT is not owned by the government. It is owned by MRT Corp. in a Public-Private Partnership project deal in 1995 or 20 years ago this year. Under the Aquino administration, two of highest ranking Liberal Party leaders oversaw the MRT-LRT as secretaries of the Department of Transportation and Communication: Mar Roxas (2011-2012) and Jun…