Category: media

senate hearings a waste of time?

i disagree with senators like miriam and joker who say that senate hearings on the garci tapes and the zte-fg deal (no deal) are a waste of timeand resources. not at all. like the erap impeachment trial, i find them quite informative and educational, not only re the facts of each case, no matter how kulang-kulang, but also re congressional rituals and level of discourse, or quality of thought.

i also disagree with pundits who think that there is no outrage, no edsa cuatro, because people don’t care anymore, because people are done with edsas, thanks to that edsa kuno that gave us gma. on the contrary. i think there is outrage and disgust, but that’s not all that’s needed to get people moving.

in 1986 we at least knew enough about the excesses of the conjugal dictatorship and the cheating in the snap election, thanks to the mosquito press, and mababaw ang kaligayahan natin, mapatalsik lang si macoy okay na, bahala na. in 2001 we at least knew enough about the jueteng pay-offs and the bank accounts, thanks to the live broadcasts and replays of the impeachment trial.and mababaw pa rin ang kaligayahan natin, mapatalsik lang si erap okay na, bahala na.

this time people are thinking muna before moving. hindi na mababaw ang kaligayan nila. next time they want real change. and they don’t know enough, they need to know more, to make informed decisions. so anc’s live broadcasts of the senate hearings are invaluable. people can see, hear, for themselves about the cheating and stealing that’s going on, and sometimes, sometimes, the senators ask good questions that expand the mind and raise understanding a notch.

every little helps.

political soap operas, back to back

sa blogworld talbog siyempre ang malu-fernandez bruhaha sa erap-guilty verdict and its aftermath, a work in progress being covered closely by all media.

tapos heto pa ang zte-fg scandal, mabuhay si jarius at si joey, what a story. ito na kaya ang waterloo ni abalos, na hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit ubod ng lakas sa powers-that-be for such a long time na, mula pa nuong 1986 nang i-appoint siyang o.i.c. ng mandaluyong ni then minister of local governments now senator nene pimentel (mwahaha), later he became governor of the mmda, tapos chairman ng comelec — important high-profile posts, bakit siya love na love ng ating mga presidente? could he be some kindof edgar j. hoover figure, with secret files/tapes/cds/dvds on the ruling class? o meron siyang gayuma? puwede ring magaling lang talaga siyang mambola, the quintessential fixer?

interestingly enough, hindi natatalbugan ng zte-fg scandal ang erap-guilty drama. nakakalamang lang ng konti these days ang zte-fg dahil sa senatehearings. otherwise pareho silang winner, political soap operas back-to-back, one as controversial and shady as the other.

feeling liberated

i’ve written for all kinds of media — print, television, stage, film — and i find that the happiest kind of writing, i mean, the kind of writing i like best is this, writing for cyberspace, to be read by many or just family and friends, it doesn’t matter, what matters is that i’m free to say anything about anything, and it’s posted out there for cybereternity, what a great way of passing on mind stuff to my kids, and i can write it in any style and length i please, puwedeng no caps, use the same word twice, thrice in the same sentence, the same paragraph, and take as long as i like before bothering with a period, even smile or frown, scream or swear, in english or tagalog, taglish or gayspeak, and no censor, editor, director or producer to mess it up. sarap!

luli arroyo zaps joey dv3 with a one-two punch

19 sept. around 5:30 p.m. was listening to anc’s top story while playing bejeweled 2 hyper action. pia hontiveros and tony velasquez were interviewing representative teddybody locsin on joey de venecia and the mystery man, when i thought i heard tony velasquez say that luli arroyo was calling joey a drug addict, or something like that. naloka ako. ganon?! and teddyboy was saying, we must be careful about calling people drug addicts. in every rich family (or something like that) there is one drug addict. oh what a gem! finally, a rumor confirmed! and pia was saying something to the effect that drugs are like a truth serum, di ba, you lose inhibitions and can’t help telling the truth. oh what a breakthrough! finally, altered states appreciated!

but was it true? what did luli actually say? finally caught her on the world tonight. this is what she actually said: “… i dont know if his old drug use affected his thinking, i dont know … tawa na lang kami.” well. “old” naman pala, but of course she had to dredge it up, anything to destroy the credibility of the guy. worse, the distraught unica hija also insisted it’s not true that her father left the country to avoid the consequences of jdv3’s expose: “again,  that’s grasping at straws, as thin as his hairline.” mwahaha. imbierna talaga siya. witty nga, pero cheap shot, wa class. poor little rich girl.