Category: rodrigo duterte

deserving ate guy

ayon sa fb the grapevine, linaglag ng palasyo si nora aunor bilang national artist upon the request of a prominent vilmanian na bff daw ni executive sec medialdea; tila ni hindi daw nakarating kay presidente ang dokumento ni nora.  hindi ko alam kung matatawa ako o maiiyak.  talaga ba?  hanggang ngayon, pati ito, nasa level pa rin ng nora – vilma war?

say it isn’t so, ralph.  come on, vilmanians.  huwag nang mag-ilusyon.  vilma had her moments but none so iconic or memorable that it has become part of public consciousness, as in “MY BROTHER IS NOT A PIG!” and what about “WALANG HIMALA!” — significant mantras in the nation’s drama.

mas gusto kong maniwala na di totoo ang chismis.  na ralph and vilma are big enough to see, and acknowledge, that nora has long outstripped vilma, that nora is in a different league altogether in the performing arts, in body of work, and scholarship on that body of work, even going beyond current national artist levels kung ikokompara sa output ng ilang nagawaran na na masyado lang sinusuwerte.

sabi nga ni joel david, film scholar and critic:

Time to take a cold hard look at this cycle’s batch of performing-arts winners. Not one of them matches the achievements – in multiple media, formats, genres, and creative functions, as well as impact on pop-culture history – as the only official loser in their midst. Did any of them bother to point out this shameful anomaly? Did their alma mater (the national university, no less) keep tactfully silent over their comparatively undeserving win?

I for one have no intention of looking more closely at their output beyond what I’ve already seen. They’re all grandiose, well-intended, hard-working – yet unfortunately for them, even as a collective they do not measure up to the Guy’s record of accomplishments. They had the opportunity of doing the honorable thing – pointing out what was wrong about the process – but they were too eager for that title, that first million, and that attention. All of which they could still have gotten while doing the right thing. What a sorry bunch of cultural losers.

and what about national artist virgilio almario aka rio alma?  why is he so quiet na naman about ate guy’s exclusion pero ang ingay ingay niya tungkol sa inclusion ni carlo caparas nung 2013?   hindi ba mas nakakagalit pa itong tahasang pang-iisnab at pambabastos kay ate guy at sa inampalan?  not once but twice.

is nora aunor not worth fighting for?  then maybe we don’t deserve her?  she with the golden voice, the perfect diction, the total performer as it turned out, across media, across genres.  read nick joaquin’s “The Golden Girl” (1970) on joel david’s website.

Her starters for Tower Productions, smash hits at the box-office, have turned Nora into a superstar, the superstar of the moment.  She has broken the color line in Philippine movies, where the rule used to be that heroines must be fair of skin and chiseled of profile. Though neither fair nor statuesque, Nora has bloomed into a beauty all the more fascinating because it’s not standard.  Seen close up, the complexion shows fine gold tints, her speaking voice is soft but always sounds full of emotion, even if she’s only asking you to sit down.  Nobody who has been watching the local trend towards sexy and ever sexier stars would have predicted that the next pop goddess to dominate the scene would be a simple demure country girl.

Under the tutelage of director Artemio Marquez, Nora is also developing into quite an actress.  She has poise, she moves naturally, she underplays rather than mugs.  Best of all, she’s one local performer who knows how to react.  A person present is mentioned in the dialogue and her eyes automatically turn towards that person; or the ghost of a smile will flicker on her lips at certain words of somebody else’s lines.  She seems to be really listening to the dialogue, to be paying attention to what’s happening on-scene.  Good acting is fifty per cent reactions.  It seems to be instinctive in Nora.  The stories she appears in are mostly foolish and fantastic, but hers is always a real presence, the impact of a live person. In one movie that had elves in it, she played a cripple hobbling about on a crutch, and because you could believe she was really a cripple you could almost believe in the elves too.   [Nora Aunor and Other Profiles by Quijano de Manila copyright 1977 by Nick Joaquin pp 1-16]

in 2013 robby tantingco wrote:

Those who belittle her dedication to her craft and her self-discipline should have seen her in the play “DH (Domestic Helper),” shown at the Dulaang Rajah Sulayman in Fort Santiago in 1992, where she portrayed not one, not two, but four different characters without ever leaving the stage (she changed costumes right there!). Even National Artists for Theatre like Atang de la Rama, Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero and Rolando Tinio would give her a standing ovation.

in 2017 it is said, the president promised that he would do justice to ate guy.  paulit-ulit pa daw sinabi.

Danilo P. Delfin April 29, 2017

Sabi ni PRRD, “She deserves it! I do not want any INJUSTICE to Nora Aunor. I will sign the documents once it reaches the Office of the President.” Nagpalakpakan pa kami and it was almost midnight sa bahay po nila. He was very sincere and he was repeating his statements about his approval.

ano kayang nangyari between then and now?  can it be that someone (maybe the vilmanian’s bff) convinced the president that doing justice to nora, that is, setting aside the imputed drugs case, would undermine his own war on drugs?  but that’s about as lame as pNoy saying no to nora because BAD ang drugs, period.  duterte’s war on drugs is so rife with controversy and inconsistency anyway, what is one more, in an exceptional moment of grace, rising above the fray to right a wrong, honoring nora aunor once and for all?  it would have been so presidential, for a change.  and we would all have loved him if only for that one moment in time.

Choosing National Artists entails the involvement of artists, cultural workers, and government representatives in a lengthy, multi-tiered process that, whatever its flaws, aims to produce a consensus on the basis of judgments that are as sound as its participants can muster. That the consensus around Aunor has now been dismissed twice over through the exercise of presidential prerogative, premised on reasons poorly conceived and ill-articulated, can only register as sheer waste, as wanton abuse, no matter how ostensibly legal. Aunor herself has said, “Bakit pa nila ako isinali rito kung hindi naman pala ako karapat-dapat?” 

nora is a national treasure.  that she has yet again been denied national artist status by the state is a mean blow not just to nora but to nation.  nakaka-demoralize (as if things weren’t bad enough), this latest snub to our superstar, our vicarious thrill, our elsa.

maybe it’s time to make panalangin to santo rodrigo himself, for presidential discretion, or indiscretion, as the case may be.  please, undo the injustice.  pagpalain si ate guy.  she deserves it more than any one so honored.  siya nawa.

*

Statement of the Film Desk of the Young Critics Circle on the 2018 Order of National Artists

The Undeclared National Artist 

Reforms now will redeem National Artist awards 

duterte is ready to step down

“I would suggest to the military, if you want a junta, or if you want yourselves to be in the junta, I say line up here, I’ll put you in your proper place.”

DU30 also said he was ready to be replaced by a “more competent” leader. “If you think there is somebody more competent, then by all means, put him in place. Or a group of persons who you think could bring prosperity to this nation.”

Finally, DU30 said he is opposed to a constitutional succession in case he vacates his office, and reiterated that he does not believe in the competence of Vice President Leni Robredo. “Were it not for the fact that I do not believe in the competence of the Vice President, I’m ready to go anytime,” he said.

hindi naman ito nakakagulat.  recall how reluctant he was to run for president in 2016.  i think he was finally convinced to run only because certain federalists promised that if as candidate and as president he pushed aggressively for federalism and CHANGE,  that it would be a piece of cake, a done deal by midterm elections, and he could step down and make way for a transitory head of state.

it is clear by now, early into his third year, that it ain’t gonna happen anytime soon, not federalism, much less a transition led by a politician of his choice.  it is clear that the leaders of the federalist pack miscalculated badly — akala nila duterte only had to run the country the way he ran davao city, and okay na.  NOT at all.  the drug war on the poor is atrocious and heartbreaking, the corruption grows unabated, and a con-ass is nowhere in sight.  clearly his orders are being defied at every level, even China Hasn’t Delivered on its $24 Billion Philippines Promise, sabi ng bloomberg, and digong must be feeling mighty frustrated, if not incompetent and useless.  running a country, after all, particularly this thirdworld basketcase of a country, is an extremely complicated matter, especially for one who ran on a promise of  CHANGE.

hindi rin nakakagulat na ibig ni digong na i-dictate kung sino ang papalit sa kanya.

The chief executive reiterated his doubts about Robredo’s competence to lead the country should he step down.

“I think deep in my heart, if you follow the succession and Robredo takes over, she can’t handle it. That’s my honest opinion. I wish it were someone in the likes of Escudero or Bongbong Marcos,” Duterte said.

i think maybe he was also promised that bongbong would win the vp election, but he lost, as did chiz.  and why chiz (is that you, danding cojuangco)?  of course bongbong’s contesting leni’s win, and it would be safe to suppose that digong is counting on the supremes’ PET ruling in favor of bongbong so he can take over as VP.  so why did digong even mention chiz?  or a military junta?  could it be that he is hedging his bets, in case bongbong proves to be unacceptable to the people because #NeverAgain a marcos as president?

talk is rife that the president’s health is failing and he would step down in a heartbeat if he were sure that he would not be charged with crimes and sent to jail.  but in aug 2016 he had no such fear.  read Duterte says his old age can help him avoid jail.

Old age may be a disadvantage to some but for President Rodrigo Duterte, it is a means to avoid imprisonment.

The tough-talking Duterte said that under the law, prisoners who are 70 years old or above should be released.

More than 400 people have [had] been killed in the government’s anti-drug operations, alarming human rights advocates who believe that the law enforcement operations may be used to justify extralegal killings.

“I don’t care about human rights. I said I have a problem to solve. I must first solve the problems of the country. I am already 71 years old and according to the Revised Penal Code, you have to be released once you reach 70,” the president said.

so what has changed?  sal panelo, digong’s chief legal counsel, says the president is shaking the tree … and talk of wanting to step down is “a foreshadow of radical things to come.”  i suppose this is why buhay na naman ang revgov peeps, urging digong to declare a revolutionary government that would ram a federal constitution and another marcos down our throats?  #godforbid  #taketothestreets

duterte shaking the tree — prelude to martial law and federalism?

Walden Bello
NO DOG IN THIS FIGHT
Since people have been pressing me for an opinion, I am briefly breaking my abstinence from Zuckerberg’s virtual evil empire, to say that while I find some of President Duterte’s policies murderous and reprehensible, when it comes to the conflict between God and Duterte, I ain’t got no dog in this fight, as someone famously said.  [93 likes, loves, haha. 4 shares]

Joel David Finally, a sensible position. I’d actually uphold a militant atheist call, but PRRD’s recent outburst isn’t really atheist, only militant in an awful manner.

exactly my sentiments.  it’s an argument that no one can win anyway, not duterte, not the church, not civil society.  duterte only has the upper hand because he’s president and also because all creation myths naman — such as adam and eve and snake in a paradise with a tree of good and evil — are the stuff of fairy tales and meant to be taken with a grain of salt.

JORGE ARAGO:  Those guys from the highlands say that long, long ago the gods came down to earth and found it a bore with no people around. So they scooped up some clay and moulded two figures, then plucked feathers off a chicken and tickled one clay figure until it laughed – that was the man. Of course the myth doesn’t say if the gods laughed with or after the woman and maintains a plucky silence about the chicken. [Pro Bernal Anti Bio. ABS-CBN publishing inc. (2017) page 35]

besides, the big bang and evolution make more sense to me now that i’m lightyears away from convent school.  but, yes, just the same, we humans like to do creation myths.  read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Creation_myth and other sources.

i actually have no problem with the adam-eve-serpent story that i grew up with, may pagka-cinematic pa nga, contodo plot beginning, middle, and ending.  but the bible is not clear about what life was like in paradise in the beginning, before the temptation — were adam and eve already having sex?  and all was good?  but no kids maybe?  or did the sex come after eve, and then adam, succumbed to temptation, and it’s been downhill since?

“Who is this stupid God? Estupido talaga itong p***** i** kung ganun. You created some—something perfect and then you think of an event that would tempt and destroy the quality of your work,” he said in a speech in Davao City during the opening of the 2018 National ICT Summit.

Duterte found fault in the creation story in the Bible which said that the snake tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, then she in turn gave it to Adam. “So kinain ni Adam. Then malice was born,” he said.

… “So tayo ngayon, all of us are born with an original sin. Ang original sin—ah sin—ano man ‘yan? Was it the first kiss? O… What was the sin? Bakit original? Nasa womb ka pa, may kasalanan ka na,” he said.

the president asks, too, why god had to create eve.

… “Nandiyan na si Adam. Okay na sana ‘yun. Sabi ni God—God found that Adam will be lonely. So he took one of his ribs, bone, and created the woman. Na-l***** na. [laughter] ‘Di kung si Adam lang, mag-dumugan na tayo lahat ng lalaki dito. Okay na ‘yun. Okay lang,” he said.

believe it or not, he speaks from experience.

… ‘yung dalawang brother-in-law ko bakla. Ako noong sa high school pa hindi ko alam kung maglalaki ako, ‘pag magbabae. Eh parang gusto kong maging lalaki, gusto kong maging babae.  Kaya lang sa Philippine Women’s mas maganda talaga ang mga babae, marami doon eh. Kaya ako na-tempt… [17 dec 2017]

but to ask why god had to create woman pa, to scoff at the idea of man being lonely without woman — it is absurd, coming from one who will talk about women and sex every chance he gets, asking for a public kiss here and there, bragging about his many women, even raving about that little blue pill for sex-obsesssed old men, as though it were all some measure of macho cool.

“Sinasadya ko ‘yan eh [I’m intentionally doing it]. You know why? This country is in a doldrums. I’m shaking the tree para mabuhay lahat para makita ko [to wake everyone up so I can see],” Duterte said before an assembly of barangay captains in Zamboanga del Sur.

“Pati ‘yung mga salita ko bastos. I’m trying to go to the boundaries of hanggang saan [Even my words are rude. I’m trying to go the boundaries of how far I can go],” he added.

so.  the kabastusan on all levels is deliberate, to shake us out of the “doldrums”, and also, to test our limits.

“There would be a time to speak, and I will, maybe in the coming days. For now, I will just keep my silence for I want to see how the nation reacts. Kumbaga, I’m shaking the tree. If you’d notice me every now and then, either national or local, ginugulo ko talaga ‘yung puno (I’m really shaking the tree).”   

hmm, shaking the tree  — i.e., arousing to action or reaction, disturbing — but to what end?  to get us so angry that we take to the streets?  to  provoke us into actions that he can pronounce illegal, subversive?  to encourage a climate of violence and instability so he can declare martial law?

nade-deja-vu ako.  alam naman natin na the president is desperate for a shift to federalism — i’m not sure why — and the people are not.  so it’s like he could be taking a page from the marcos playbook —  declare martial law and THEN have the new charter ratified by citizens’ assemblies somehow, anyhow — kaya lang this time there is no threat from the communists to justify it, even now that the peace talks are off-again.  in fact, it’s mostly police operations that are freaking us out.  and the traffic, of course.  and rising prices.  and the falling peso.  and china.

the drama king, as calixto chikiamco now calls the prez, would need to come up with a major major event signalling a major major threat,  better than the alleged-and-denied ambush of defense minister enrile’s convoy in 1972.

and then, again, he might surprise us yet.  what if he’s being singularly offensive pala because he really does want us to oust him as in EDSA, pagod na pagod na kasi siya, ang hirap pala maging presidente, si leni na lang.  omg.  let us pray.

independence day blues in the time of duterte (kris rises and falls, yet again)

One hundred and twenty years ago, our ancestors raised the Philippine flag from a balcony in Kawit, Cavite to signify the beginning of our journey as a free nation. Hijacked by the United States of America right at the start, and interrupted by Japan during World War II, the quest for an independent Filipino nation has been an arduous process. It tested our fortitude and persistence as a people. It brought out the best, but also the worst in us.

read the rest of randy david’s The challenge of nationhood in our time.  what he says about our postwar leaders continues to apply to our leaders until today.

… if the revolutionary struggle had been painful and costly, the aftermath was perhaps even more so. The moral and political choices that had to be made under conditions of formal self-rule were less clear. In the immediate postwar years, our leaders found it hard to resist the easy path offered by those who sought to control the nation’s future. Political opportunism grew in the fertile ground of the popular thought that the country had suffered enough and badly needed relief.

… In the process, perhaps without realizing it, we gave up the opportunity to rebuild our people’s inner strength, tap their skills and talents, and create the basic foundation for a strong nation. The examples of Japan, South Korea and Vietnam demonstrate the truism that the rebuilding of a country destroyed by war begins with the rekindling of the people’s energy and belief in themselves.

… The quality of leadership, both at the national and local levels, has undoubtedly been at the core of this national inability to rebound from misery and soar into greatness. Lacking in vision and selflessness, our leaders have done well for themselves, using political power to bolster their own selfish interests.

But they have left the rest of the nation behind…

“they” are all of the elite, all of the oligarchy — pro- and anti-duterte, pro- and anti-marcos, pro-and anti-aquino, pro- and anti-america, pro- and anti-china — and their media arms and other enablers.  they are all complicit in the sad and worsening state of nation.

this was driven home hard by the kris aquino episode vs. mocha uson who dared liken duterte’s pucker-up kiss-muna moment in south korea to ninoy aquino being kissed by lady admirers moments before he deplaned and was assassinated in august 1983.  read rosario a. garcellano’s Kissing pictures:

But can parallel behavior be actually observed in the pictures of the President kissing a member of his audience and of Ninoy Aquino being kissed by admirers? I think not, if only in the fundamental terms of one being the kisser and the other the kissee. One solicited the occasion for the contact (to entertain and amuse, and also as part of “the culture of Filipinos,” according to his explainers); the other submitted to the act, with an awkward grin.

Kris Aquino was well within her rights to take loud umbrage, even if, as Uson claimed, “this is not about you.”

indeed.  that was uson at her most malicious and unthinking worst yet.  i was immensely pleased for ninoy when kris rose to the occasion, challenging uson to a debate, or sampalan and sabunutan, one-on-one, what fun!  alas, uson copped out, LOL, what a loser.

and then there’s kris, who pala, while making hamon uson to a real catfight, reached out to bong go, no less, na kaibigan pala niya.

krisaquino I took the courage to reach out to PRRD’s SA Bong Go (sorry sa initial post, nag auto correct to Gong-although cute yung Bong Gong)… thank you commissioner Aimee Neri for helping me reach him via text. I have known & liked him for 8 years. In this instance I am Ninoy’s daughter- he believed in the power of true & honest communication… SA Bong, thank you for your reply. Thank you for taking my feelings as a daughter into consideration & showing me EMPATHY. I am most grateful for a man as powerful as you are now for texting & vibering me the words “we are sorry for the incident.” You have my sincere gratitude.  We all have 1 goal, a nation we can be proud of, and the best possible prosperous lives for all Filipinos. I love our country as much as our president does. I pray for #PEACE & mutual respect for all of us. God bless you.

ito naman ang pinost ni bong go na pinost ni kris sa kanyang instagram.

Christopher Bong Go  Kanina po, dahil ipinag-utos ni Presidente Duterte sa akin, I relayed a sincere apology to Kris.  We apologized because nasaktan siya and we wish to reiterate that sincere apology once again.  Sabi nga ng pangulo, “respetuhin dapat natin ang patay.” Iyong po ang pinanggagalingan ng apology namin.

Nirerespeto din namin ang opinyon ng mga supporters ng pangulo na nasasaktan din sa patuloy na pagbatikos sa kanya sa kabila ng lahat ng nagawa niya para sa ating bayan.”

(huh? so kung buhay si ninoy, okay lang?)  at kinausap din daw ni bong go si uson.

Christopher Bong Go Nag-usap kami ni Mocha at nagkasundo na tapusin na ang isyung ito. We all agreed to put this issue to rest out of respect to all our fellow Filipinos. I believe that politics should not divide us. Magtulungan na lang tayo kaysa mag-away away, para sa ikabubuti ng bayan.

at heto uli si kris, grateful for the “olive branch” from the powerful bong go upon the orders of the most powerful man…

krisaquino  Alam kong damned if you, damned if you don’t ako… but i was brought up to recognize an “olive branch” when it is being offered. Alam ko yung mga natitirang LP will bash me & the DDS will never like me. Alam ko rin na sasabihan akong bakit ako nagpapauto. Pero ito ang pananaw ko- the most powerful man, President Duterte affirmed my pain. When all his supporters have called me the most hateful names- th man who doesn’t say SORRY- inutusan ang kanyang pinaka pinagkakatiwalaan na mag relay ng SINCERE apology sa kin. Anak akong nakipaglaban na bigyan ng respeto ang magulang kong patay na. Sa puso ko, naramdaman ko na yun. So #carebears na po sa lahat ng babatikusin alo. In my critics words- this “media whore” “bitch” and “kulang sa pansin” BINIGYAN ng panahon at importansya ng pangulo ng ating bansa. Pasensya na kung #BRAT ang tingin ninyo pero this was a #WIN for the memory of the 2 people i love-unfortunately for the HATERS i am here to stay.

needless to say, what a waste.  kris was in a position to demand, at the very least, that uson be fired and replaced with someone bright, smart, and competent.  then we could stop wasting time arguing over the false comparisons and flippantly facetious questions that uson specializes in to distract from her daddy digong’s every perversion.

but the real question is: why did kris fold so quickly?  basta na lang tumiklop, invoking nation yet, as does bong gong.  i was still wondering about that when i saw this on facebook.

Angelo Suarez

Pantabla kay Kris Aquino, ang alas ng mga maka-Duterte ay Hacienda Luisita.

Ang Central Azucarera de Tarlac sa loob ng Hacienda Luisita ay pag-aari ng mga Lorenzo, pamilya ng mga landlord na kakutsaba ng mga Cojuangco-Aquino sa panglalandgrab.

Sino ang abogado ng mga Lorenzo sa pangangamkam nito ng lupa sa pamamagitan ng Lapanday Foods Corporation sa Tagum?

Sino ang abogado ng mga Lorenzong nagbantang babarilin ang mga magsasakang papasok sa lupang dapat naman ay sa kanila?

Si Manases Carpio, asawa ni Sara Duterte.

connect the dots.  they who have left the nation behind, they are all in this together.  let us keep that in mind as we navigate the muddy waters of our national life and pursue our struggle for independence.

*

independence day blues (in the time of gloria)
the real rigodon 
june 12, what’s to celebrate (in the time of pNoy)
Is the Philippines a lost cause? by john nery
Nothing to celebrate? by rina jimenez-david
Independence Day? End of the Republic by jarius bondoc