What’s Sup?

Leila Lopes - Angola
Miss Universe 2011

Just like the Filipino nation, I’m also proud of Shamcey Supsup’s achievement in the recently concluded Miss Universe 2011 Pageant. Placing 3rd Runner up is not an easy task. Countries with strong delegates such as Venezuela, Colombia, and the USA did not even made it to the top 10. I was also delighted to learn that Shamcey Supsup earned the finalist slot through hard work and not through online voting. It was Portugal who won the online voting.

Shamcey was born an achiever. She graduated with honors and even topped the 2010 Architectural licensure examination. Binibining Pilipinas Pageant was her first and she won the right to represent our country in the Miss Universe Pageant. She made us all proud.

I know that there will be critics out there who will never be satisfied by Shamcey’s placement. To you guys, be thankful of Shamcey’s placement. It is not often that a Philippine delegate is given a chance to be in the Semi Finals. Let’s celebrate her winning and be proud of her. Let’s give her the love that we gave Venus Raj.

Filipinos are divided by religion, political belief and by regional affiliation. It’s not often that one Filipino can unite the nation. It used to be Manny Pacquiao, Venus Raj and now it’s Shamcey’s turn.

Congratulations to Shamcey Supsup, Bb. Pilipinas Universe 2011 and to Ms. Lea Salonga for being in the celebrity panel of judges.

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Shamcey Supsup
Bb. Pilipinas Universe 2011



Brazil is positioning themselves as the world leader in staging international events. They’ve spent millions of dollars in staging the Miss Universe 2011 Pageant. They’re scheduled to host the Olympic and the World Cup in the coming years.

Skinny and anorexic ladies were left out this year. I think the judges went to women with curves.

Shamcey Supsup is definitely a total package, beauty and brain.

Right time for Charter Change

Since President Abnoy says he’s not going to cling to power, I think now is the right time to propose for a Charter Change. It’s right because people will not think that he’ll use the Charter Change to further his political interest. Besides, if we’re going to change into a Parliamentary Form of Government, President Abnoy will never be voted by the MPs as the Prime Minister. He doesn’t have the leadership potential, period.

These are the points in the constitution that needs to be amended according to the Charter Change proponents:

1. From protectionist to Free Market Economic System.

2. From Centralized to Federal Administration.

3. From Presidential to Parliamentary System of Government.

The Philippines has been left behind by its neighbors because of our protectionist constitution that hindered investments in any form. The present government of President Abnoy does not help in our image because of him, we are known throughout the world as the country that does not honor contracts signed by previous administration. We have a long way to go before we can even compete.

We have proven that a centralized government never worked for us. The ugly side with the centralized government is that all development is concentrated only in the Imperial Manila. You’ll see progress in the big cities but the poor community in the other part of the country remained poor. If we are federalized, our leaders can formulate economic policies that will help attract investments in the region. We will also determine on how we could best use our resources.

The presidential system does not work for us. We need a total system overhaul. We’ve used it since our independence from the United States and it brought us to our current state, poverty. The United States has an interest why it wanted a Presidential form of government for the Philippines, it’s because it’s easier to deal with one person (in a presidential system). Whereas, it’ll have to deal with the ruling party and a lot of MPs (in a parliamentary system).

Cutting Budget on SUCs

Cutting the budget of the State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) makes it obvious that that the Administration of President Abnoy does not prioritize education. He instead wants to concentrate on giving a band aid solution to the problem of poverty in our country through his CCT program. Yes, it’s a band aid solution because it will never ease or get rid of the poverty in our country. I am very against the CCT program because it encourages the culture of mendicancy. People will not anymore work for their living because they’ll wait for their monthly stipend from the government. Instead of giving large chunks of its budgets on the CCT program, President Abnoy’s government should invest on infrastructure building that could pump up economic activity and create jobs for many.

However, President Abnoy has been underspending that triggered the economic slowdown. If he spent on infrastructure, he could have avoided building the culture of laziness in our society. As the philosophers would say, “Teach man how to fish and you’ll feed him for lifetime”. People should work for their bread and giving them money is not sustainable. There will be a question in the future on where they should get the taxes to sustain the CCT program. Unfortunately, there’s even a glitch in its implementation.

With the current trend of cutting the budgets for the SUCs, don’t be surprised if we have low quality of graduates. Our Universities could not even make it to the Top 100 Universities in the world anymore. The misplaced priorities of the current administration will not help either.

President Abnoy’s CCT program is his political tool to survive. It is his way of bribing the poor people to support his government. The problem with this program is that he’ll alienate the middle and the upper class tax payers. Remember, most of these poor people who are beneficiaries of the CCT programs do not pay taxes. Why reward individuals who do not pay taxes and punish the taxpaying citizens by giving them the burden of additional taxes.

Imposing ban on subsidy

The title is only suited for government funded projects but it some ways, it is also appropriate to my posting. Before leaving to the Philippines for my annual vacation, my sister Neneng Girl told terrible news. She said that my younger brother Nonoy has been asking money from my mother, quite often that she ended up having no money to buy her medicine. I’m a single guy and I don’t have a family to support. I however felt that I have a duty to my mother so I send her money on a monthly basis.

The purpose of that subsidy as they call it is for her to have money to buy her medicine, allowance for the household expenses and an emergency fund. When I learned from my sister that she has no money left in her bank account, I wasn’t upset actually but I felt that the purpose why the money was sent to her in the first place was defeated.

My younger brother was given 3 opportunities to earn a living but he blew them all out. My parents enrolled him to a Marine Engineering School but after four years of studying in a two year course program, he quit. When my Dad was still alive, he almost went to Taiwan to work there but took the placement fee and eloped with his girlfriend. Two years ago, he decided to go back to school but after a year quit decided to quit. He is now a family man with two kids to feed but has no income. He farmed the five hectares that my father gave him as a legacy but couldn’t afford the operating expenses of his farm.

This is where my mother enters the scene. She loves her youngest son too much that she felt that she had to support him. The problem is, she’s not just supporting Nonoy’s farm but she also supports the two children’s education. I was always against the idea of my mother supporting Nonoy’s children’s education. It’s not a grandparent’s responsibility to send their grandchildren to school, period. The parents had done their part in giving education to their children. If their children (in our case, Nonoy) did not study well, it’s not their fault. Even God said that he will help only those who help themselves. Nonoy has been so dependent and abusive to the point of dictating which school his children should be enrolled. I don’t know why he was so against sending his children to a public school when school is not an issue. Being sent to a private school is not a guarantee to success. Besides, there are so many successful people who only went to a public school. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago is the best example of those sent to a public school but excelled. As for the farm, my mother gave money but during harvest, she never receives anything. The least that she could receive is returning the money that she gives away. However, nothing of that sort happened.

My mother is generous but because of that she was abused. How could a retiree who receives monthly pension from the government and from me lost all her money? She could not answer me where her money went. She’s still protecting her beloved youngest child. I’ve come up with the conclusion that the best way for me to deal with this issue is to stop her monthly subsidy. If I stop sending her the monthly subsidy, she’ll only have a pension. She will not be able to support Nonoy and his children. She’ll be forced to say no. I am doing this because I love her. I have to be cruel in order to be kind. I felt responsible for my mother that’s why I’m doing this.

My plan now is to still send the money but this time to my Sister Bam’s account. I told her to keep the money and save it for emergency. My mother is now 68 years old and we have to have money in case she’ll be hospitalized. It’s better that we have the money in hand rather than Nonoy spending them all.