Chinese Execution

I know that as Christians we should respect the right to life but we also have rules and laws here on earth that we should follow. In some countries, committing heinous crimes could mean death penalty. Our country has banned the death penalty with finality and there’s no chance that it’s going to be reinstated soon. The Catholic Church is so powerful that it can even dictate politicians on which laws they should pass all in the name that we’re a Christian country. Ironically, we are a Christian nation but we have the worst criminal rate statistics in the world. I think that’s because of the restrictions in our law, particularly on death penalty.

Speaking of death penalty, a Pinoy drug courier who was caught smuggling on 2008 bringing 1.5 kilograms of heroin, is schedules to be executed. Our Foreign Affairs Ministry sent several appeals to the Chinese government to halt the execution. VP Binay even wanted to personally appeal but his pleas were rejected because the Chinese Supreme court has ruled with finality.

This kind of situation has always bothered me every time there’s a Filipino executed abroad. I don’t intend to be rude to the Pinoy who claims to be a victim of the situation. On a general note, though. If a drug courier is caught in our country, chances are, he’s going to be jailed and will be faced with the maximum penalty prescribed in our laws. What is the difference then if a Filipino is caught carrying drugs outside the country? He’s supposed to face the law right? Why is it then that our government officials would go out of their way to help the alleged drug carrier? If the person committed a wrongdoing he should pay for it. The reasons why he did it should not even be dignified. Some would say that they just do it because of poverty.

Poverty should never be used as an excuse to commit crimes. I hailed from the province and have seen what poverty is but poor people in my community lived a decent and dignified life. They do not resort to illegal activities just to feed their families. I could be wrong though; there are poor people in the urban areas who completely forgot propriety because of poverty.

So going back to the execution of a Pinoy drug courier in China, our government should not intervene. There is nothing that they could do because the Chinese Supreme Court has ruled with finality the execution. The only thing that we should do is to help the family repatriate his remains.

President Abnoy donated USD 1 Million to Japan

President Abnoy donated USD 1 Million for the reconstruction of a local city hall in Japan devastated by the tsunami. I would like to believe that the intention is to be generous. But can we really afford it? Can we, a third world country, really really really afford it?

The Japanese people know that we’re poor and we’re better off using that money to other worthwhile projects for our own people. But they’re nice people and they will not tell it in our faces. Hence, they accepted the donation, with heavy heart, I guess.

I remembered when the Cotabato was flooded because of the Water Lily. President Abnoy went there without bringing any aid. He read his speech saying not to expect too much from him (the presidency) because he’s barely one year in the office. After reading his speech he help the Mayor of the City distribute goods which were prepared by the City. When the president and his entourage left the City, the Mayor and the LGU complained that the president did not bring any aid. President Abnoy was embarrassed by the Mayor’s statement that he even verbally abused the Mayor, calling him a liar. It was found out eventually that Abnoy’s DSWD secretary, the Peace Bond scam girl, did distribute the aid through the Congressman and the Vice Mayor who are allied to President Abnoy. Because of their politicking, the aid did not reach the people.

President Abnoy could not even help the people from Cotabato, yet, he donated USD 1 Million to the Japanese. I don’t know what his intentions are but I hope it’s noble. I’d like to believe that it’s good but I smelled something fishy. And I don’t buy the ‘Daang Matuwid’ and they’re ‘Malinis’. Abnoy and his alipores are the same.

Tropical Storm Pedring is wrecking havoc in our country right now. There will be deaths, displaced, and other things that our government should be concerned about. The USD 1 Million will come a long way if President Abnoy spends it for his people. What he’s doing is a misplaced priority. He can be generous but he has to start at home.

Philippine alliance with untrustworthy United States

War with China should not be an option. We can’t win and that’s reality. Reality sucks and reality bites. We can’t even patrol our shores because we lack resources. We are nothing compared to China in terms of military might. We’re poor, they’re rich and there’s nothing we can do about it. Some analyst says that we have the US mutual defense treaty on our side. I think that involving the United States in our mess would only create another chaos. The United States will not do favors for free. We’ve been unfairly treated by the United States since time immemorial.

Just so you can remember, the United States snatched our independence from Spain and even killed more than a million Filipinos. They’re also the reason why Manila was 80% destroyed during the World War 2. They’ve treated us unfairly in several times and occasions. We kicked them out of our backyard before and now, we’re singing a different tune? To be an independent nation we have to do away with the United States.
Hillary Clinton and the US Department of State may sing a different song but I don’t really buy it. China is the US biggest creditor and business partner. They’re also involved in several Wars around the world. I don’t think that they’ll engage another war with China. If there’s one good thing this tension will bring, that is, another opportunity for the US to strengthen its presence in the South China Sea. They can even build a new base in our country considering how our politicians considering the idea nowadays.
For this mutual defense treaty to work, the United States should learn to respect us. They should afford us with the respect they gave to the Koreans, Japanese and Germans where they have an alliance and bases. They treat us as insignificant because we allow them to.

The best solution in resolving this issue with China is through a diplomatic means. Diplomacy will not cost lives because we can avoid going to wars. We should fight for our claims to the United Nations. That’s the best option because we’re helpless in terms of military might. We can never win a war against China and that’s a fact.

Ipagbunyi ang lahing kayumangi! Maligayang Kasarinlan mga Kabayan

I was supposed to compose this entry on the 12th of June but haven’t had the time to do it. Nevertheless, it’s better late than never. It’s been 113 years since the Philippines declared its independence in Kawit, Cavite. As Filipinos, we should commemorate the day and be proud of being children of an independent nation.

China’s intrusion to our national territory is a threat to our sovereignty as a nation. The West Philippine Sea conflict will test our resolve as a nation. Are we going to allow the Chinese to mock us in our own territory? Our heroes fought for our country in the battle against Spain, the United States and Japan. I think we need modern day heroes to defend our country against China.

However, we don’t only need soldiers who are willing to die for our motherland. We need weapons, sophisticated weapons for us to engage in a battle with the intruders. Our Armed Forces admitted that they don’t have the capacity to fight with China. United States, our so called ally stated that they will not intervene. We ended up filing a diplomatic protest since our very own President Abnoy is scared of the Chinese. If we’re going to be like this, China will just build more structures around the contested West Philippine Sea. We will end up crying one day losing our islands to the Chinese.

A senior Senator said that the only way that the Philippines can strengthen itself is to have economic power. That’s a disturbing reality. We will not be able to achieve economic powers because our current constitution has several anti investors’ provisions. Our political situation is not also friendly to the investors. We are also a country that does not honor our contracts with the international investors. If we are realistic and if we’re serious enough to chance our current system, it will take us 5 decades to achieve economic empowerment. By that time, China would have built communities and cities in all the Spratly Islands.

I think we’re doomed and just like in the case of Sabah, I think we’re going to lose the Spratly group of islands as well.

Let us congratulate ourselves and commemorate our independence. Ipagbunyi ang lahing kayumangi! Maligayang Kasarinlan mga Kabayan.

Grant lands at the Kalayaan

A few weeks ago, the Chinese intimidated our Armed Forces in our very own waters, particularly the Kalayaan Group of Islands. Chinese wanted to be seen as the big bully who can do whatever it wants in other country’s territorial waters. Strangely, President Abnoy, the AFP and the Foreign Ministry would just investigate it. They could have filed a diplomatic protest but I guess they were scared of China. If they continue to do that then, we’ll end up one day being driven away but the Chinese. They’re now occupying the Kalayaan bit by bit.

It’s a given fact that most of us Filipinos are living below the poverty line. The government is even exacerbating the problem because of their program ‘Conditional Cash Transfer’ that encourages the poor and lazy people to double their laziness. Why would you find a job when the government will give you money on a monthly basis? The urban zones are also filled with squatters or euphemistically called informal settlers by the leftist pressure groups.

Because of the number of squatters in our urban areas, our government should grant lands at the Kalayaan Group of Islands. Tax incentives and monetary rewards should be given to those who would want to resettle there. That way, they can create new community that will help establish our presence in those islands. The government should also establish LGUs, Schools, Hospitals and Churches so that people will be persuaded to move there. If President Abnoy has political will, he can create this law as urgent. The money to fund for this land grant and monetary rewards can be taken from the Pork Barrels of our corrupt Congressmen and Senators.

The government could also declare it as free zones for squatters. We Filipinos are known as squatters nation so I don’t think we will have problem looking for people to squat every inch of the islands.

Kaya nga lang, the question is, if our congressmen are willing to let go of their pork barrels or even willing to listen to my suggestion. I don’t know why President Abnoy’s so called consultants and cabinet ministers weren’t able to come up with the same idea. Mahirap din talaga kung walang utak at duwag pa ang ating pangulo.

Japan after the storm

After the devastation of the Earthquake, Tsunami and now the nuclear disaster, the Japanese people remain calm and dignified. I couldn’t imagine what our reaction will be should the same thing happen to the Philippines, God forbid. For sure, grabe ang ating atungal especially if the media is covering us. You can never see it in Japan. Their media showed restraint, no irresponsible reporting just like in the Philippines.


Despite the tragedy, you’ll be impressed by the Japanese capabilities to build strong buildings that did not fall despite the magnitude of the earthquakes. If the same thing happens in the Philippines, God forbid again, the first buildings to fall are the government built infrastructures. Do I have to say it loudly why they’ll fall? Everyone knows naman dahil sa corruption, for sure, substandard ang mga materials.

The Japanese are crazy about the order but it works for them because people tend to respect other people’s belongings. There’s no looting, robbery or people taking advantage of the situation. People wait for their turn in the queues and there are no exceptions. Children and the olds know what they should do and they did it.

There was a time in the history that the Japanese people were the most hated race in the world. They’ve learned from their mistakes from the past. The tragedy that struck the Japanese affected so many people the world over. It however brought the best out of the Japanese people. It will take years for the victims and Japan to recover. But with the Japanese resilience I know that they’ll recover. I just can’t say when but they will and I will be praying for them.

My Lord and my God

The Highest Court of Malaysia, truly Asia released a ruling that allows non Muslims to call their God Allah. It sparks a violent protest as Muslim extremist burned down churches and religious. Religious leaders in Malaysia are saying that allowing non Muslims to call their God ‘Allah’ will diminish and erode people’s faith.

I really don’t agree that allowing Christians and Non-Muslims to call their God ‘Allah’ will erode the faith of our Muslims brothers. Our faith is within us regardless of our religion. If we’re really true to our religion, nobody could really influence us to change our hearts.

Malaysia is one of the most diversely populated countries in the World. I think that extremist individuals are just using the issue to divide this beautiful nation that withstood a number of sectarian violence in the past. It’s really up to their people on what road they want to take in the future.

In passing, a friend of mine asked me if I would want to call my God ‘Allah’. I told him that I’ll just call him my Lord and my God. I believe that there is only one God. No matter what our Catholic faith has thought us, I believe that there’s only one GOD. It is obviously contrary to the teachings of Catholics that believes in 3-in-1 (trinity) God.

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When I was still in High School, my English teacher Mrs. Sonia Galila stressed that the G in God should always be capitalized. It’s a general rule in English she said.

Elect Lee Kuan Yew

We often hear calls to elect leaders like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. However, it is easier said than done in the Philippines. The Filipino people may elect a leader with the qualities of ‘Lee Kuan Yew’ but once he is in the office, they’ll throw whatever garbage and baseless accusations they have towards him. He would have to face several coup de etat, marching priests and nuns, demonstrations in EDSA and character assassination from the opposition. If he survives the office, he’ll leave a broken man.


A leader who mirrors Lee Kuan Yew would have to face hurdles in order to push for reforms. He’ll suffer a great deal of headache if he decides to push through with his agenda of changing the whole political system. The hurdles are the militant organization, priests and nuns, obstructionist oppositions and Filipino people who don’t want change. He would have to suffer low approval rating from the questionable SWS Survey and any other survey firms paid for by the opposing party.

But the most difficult of his entire task is to change his people’s perception. He has to instill discipline and follow the rule of law to his people.

Having given all the uphill battles that the would be ‘Lee Kuan Yew’ will face, it’s time we ask ourselves if we are really ready to elect a leader like him. Electing a leader like ‘Lee Kuan Yew’ means giving away some of our freedom, which are mostly unreasonable. Are we ready to be subjected to be disciplined? Are we ready to put our acts together? Are we ready for the tough love? If we agree to all the questions, it means we’re ready to elect a leader like Lee Kuan Yew.

Acts of Men

In times of crisis, emergencies or tragedy, why do we always blame God? We call these tragedies as Acts of God. Is it because God could not defend himself? Is it because he is not a member of a political party that has no spokesperson? The hypocrites in the Philippine Church particularly the Bishops, Priests and Nuns are not God’s spokespersons. They will of course claim to be God’s people for their prey, the hopeless Filipino people who have nowhere to go.




We often hear Acts of God otherwise known as fortuitous event otherwise known as force majeure in our Insurance Agents. I’ve learned about these things when I was taking Business Law classes during my college days.



The current tragedy in our country that brought about devastating effects to people and properties are in fact acts of men, not acts of God. They were acts of men because the carbon emissions of the developed and developing countries are the main causes of the Global Warming. The Global Warming on the other hand is the main culprit of the erratic weather disturbances that in turn caused disasters. The sad thing is that, developing countries that cause the Global Warming are not directly affected to weather disturbances. It’s always the third world countries who are the directly affected by these man-made calamities. Third world countries that mostly rely on agricultural industry are vulnerable to long drought and heavy rains that cause flooding.



Flooding are an act of men since the flood happens because of, lack of political will from our politicians that indirectly causes clogged drainage (because of shanty houses and garbage), illegal structures at the major waterways and flood drain.



Times are changing. The waters will recede in time, but it doesn’t mean that it will not happen again. It’s about time that we should own up to our mistakes and take responsibilities for our actions. It’s the only way that we could change and move forward as a nation.

2010 a Modern Age Election

According to the recent reports, the 2010 election will be a showcase of modernity. The Comelec just recently awarded the consortium ‘Smartmatic International and Total Management Information Corporation’ for the machines and software to be used in the 2010 Elections. It is promising to note that the results will be out in just 48 hours after the voting. Our government spent 7.2 Billion Pesos in order to modernize our election system. Comelec promised that gone are the days of manually counting the votes, vote rigging, ballot snatching and fraud.

According to the Comelec the new election process will start when a voter will be given a ballot. The voter will then select the candidates that he chooses and then drop the ballot into the machine. The data will then be processed, retaining a digital copy of the ballot. At the end of the voting day, the board of inspectors will insert a key to lock the machine. The votes will then be electronically tallied and forwarded to the local and national offices of the Comelec. Local officials can then be proclaimed minutes after voting day is over.

This is a welcome change. It’s only in the Philippines that losers claims that they are rubbed of their victory while the winners won because of fraud. This kind of culture will be extinct with the modernization of our electoral system. This will also assure us the credibility of the election process. Leaders who also won will never be accused of being in power through fraudulent means.

Thai court ruling brings down government

Thai court dissolved the ruling government and banned the present Prime Minister from politics for 5 years. Thai constitutional court ruled that the ruling Party should be banned since the House Speaker and former deputy leader of the People Power Party were involved in electoral fraud. The ruling was the only signal that the protesters (anti government) were waiting before they allow international flights to resume operation.

Flight cancellations resulted to loss in profit for the Thai tourism industry. The instability of the fragile Kingdom is expected because People Power Party has a mass base in the rural area of the country.

Anti Thaksin believed that the mass could not be trusted to elect national leaders since their votes can be bought and manipulated. They are suggesting that MPs must be appointed by the King instead.

Thailand is in serious trouble because people are divided by their loyalty to their King and to Thaksin and his party. The insurgency in the southern part of Thailand composed mostly of the Muslim population is exhausting the resources of the kingdom. Thailand is a country that mainly depends on the tourism industry. The recent surge in instability of the country is not a welcome development. It also undermined the democratic selection of leaders since the suggestion of anti-Thaksin faction of appointing MPs could mean no elections.

Bali Bombers Executed

Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imran Samudra were executed by firing squad in an orange grove near Nusakambangan Island Prison, South of Java. The three were members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a terror group loosely linked to Al Qaeda and masterminds of the 2002 Bali bombing which killed 160 foreign tourist and 38 Indonesians. They were sentenced in 2003 but legal battles postponed their execution.

The terrorist express no remorse while they were being executed. For them, execution means martyrdom. The execution of the terrorists sent mixed emotions throughout the world.

Chinese Leader Admits Liability to Milk Scandal

The Chinese government admitted responsibility in the melamine tainted milk scandal that shook the whole world. In a press statement, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said that his government had been lax in the supervision and management. This is not the first scandal relating to Chinese products. Last year, a major recall in Chinese manufactured toys was made because the paints used has traced of lead.

I was in the Philippines when that incident happened and as always, the media exaggerated the news. The degree of exaggeration can be compared to that of the 9/11 attack. News organization in the Philippines always resorts to tabloid reporting.

Thai Premier Sacked

Former Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej never backed down to the protest made by the opposition that even halted the nation. He was however forced to step down when the constitutional court ruled that he violated the law for hosting a TV cooking show. Hosting a TV cookery show the court said means that he is working for a private company.

This is the beauty of having a parliamentary system of government. The prime minister can be removed not with the dramatic street protest, coup de etat or impeachment move. All they have to do is to have a vote of confidence / no confidence and wallah! The nation will never suffer from destructive and disrupted opposition politicians.

This is precisely the reason why the Philippines should amend it’s ageing charter so we can move forward.

Nokor’s Kim Jong il is ill

South Korean spy agency released a report that Nokor’s head of state Kim Jong Il is recovering from a surgery. The speculations grew when he missed the country’s 60th Anniversary parade last Tuesday. He was also absent from public gatherings and foreign doctors where brought secretly in the country.

Politicians around the world are now speculating who’s going to replace Kim Jong Il in the event of his death. Nokor is a reclusive country. Reports about the country are filtered by their news agency. It is also very dependent to the aids sent by China and their Southern brothers.

Peso smuggled out of the Country

My nieces would ignore the 1 Peso coin because it couldn’t buy them a candy. Ironically, it could send an SMS message. The high inflation rate, surge in oil prices, debt servicing and mismanaged Philippine economy are the reasons of the depreciation of the value of the Philippine peso (Php). No one would ever think that when melted, the 1 Peso coin has nickel and bronze that could be used for the production of electronic parts. Our peso has a value after all.

It was reported that the Presidential Anti Smuggling Group (PASG) was able to arrest the people behind the smuggling of Php 300 Million worth of Peso coins. The smugglers are planning to send the coins to Korea. The agency is also planning to investigate bank employees who they said are also involved in the smuggling.

Musharraf Resigns

Nine years after grabbing power from a civilian government through a coup, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf resigned today. Musharraf said that he does not want the country to suffer from the damaging political confrontation by the impeachment move of the ruling coalition that wanted to oust him.

The ruling coalition plans to submit the articles of impeachment of Musharraf to the general assembly for sacking the judges who are oppose to him and for declaring national emergency last November. Musharraf’s trouble started during the assignation of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and his big loss in the February elections.

Musharraf is one of US closest allies on the ‘war on terror’. There is no immediate reaction from overseas especially from the White House about Musharraf’s resignation. Pakistan is a highly politicized country. Politicians risk security over personal and political ambitions. Musharraf’s departure will only strengthen the Taliban who are terrorizing the neighboring Afghanistan.

China Olym-Fakes

China is known all throughout for producing less expensive merchandize and quality imitation (fake) items. It wouldn’t be a surprise if you will see fake fireworks display and a fake singer at the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony.

Unbelievable, right? It turned out that some of the fireworks displayed on our TV screens are computer generated images. Most of the shots were pre recorded to avoid accident from the live shots taken by helicopter cameras.

The cute little girl you saw singing at the Olympic opening ceremony was only miming (lip sync) as the real singer was not considered beautiful enough to take the world stage.

I am not at all impressed with the opening ceremony. It’s a so-so performance with hundreds of silly Chinese dancers in elaborate costumes. The director has to use pre recorded shorts and computer generated images to compensate for the poor performance.

Let the Games Begin!

Exclusivity!! NBC the official broadcaster of the 2008 Olympic Games in the US (has the exclusive rights to broadcast the events in the States) preferred to air the opening ceremonies at the primetime slot. It angered the fans who were anticipating to be dazzled by the pageantry of the Olympics ceremony.
I’m not in the US so I was able to watch the opening ceremonies through Dubai Sports channel. The performance and the fireworks do not impress me at all. It’s like watching Miss World in China on a larger scale performance with thousands of dancers. It’s sad that the Games was used for public relations purposes. World leaders did not even bother to question China’s human rights violations particularly the Tibetian issue.
It was earlier reported that the Philippines sent 15 contingents for the 2008 Games. I’m sure they will return home ‘LUHAAN’. Sayang lang ang gastos. Our government could have funded those expenses they incur for the athletes on other social projects that would benefit the poor people. We should stop sending sports contingents in the future since wala namang nananalo.

PGMA intervention saved 24 OFWs from execution

Filipinos who committed high crimes in other countries are criminals. I don’t understand why our government is giving them special treatment. If a person for example killed somebody in the Philippine soil, aside from the free legal services at the PAO, the government would not do anything to influence the case of that criminal. Asking for clemency from the heads of states of other nations is a double standard. There’s nothing really special about our kabayan that committed a crime outside the Philippines. They’re still criminals. Let them pay for the crimes that they commit.