Category: social media

DDS vloggers are no “mosquito press”

DDS opinionators are peddling the notion that their social media vloggers (video bloggers) are today’s mosquito press, and even more powerful than the original because of the much wider reach of the internet’s platforms for disseminating info and opinions. The message to DDS vloggers and followers being, let’s not stop, we’re on the right track, people are watching and liking and sharing our posts, let’s engage and organize and hold rallies, and if we keep it up, we can oust the son just like we did the father.

But Joe Burgos’s mosquito press of martial law times that, after Ninoy’s assassination, was boosted and  amplified by Eggie Apostol’s and other anti-Marcos publications, was also purely anti-Marcos, totally focused on the struggle to end the dictatorship. And that’s what made it a powerful force in support of the widow Cory’s campaign to unseat Marcos.

Contrarily, the social media platforms — Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok, and YouTube — where anti-Marcos DDS vloggers proliferate, abound, too, with vloggers of different persuasions and politics, i.e., pro-Marcos anti-DDS as well as anti-Marcos and anti-DDS vloggers, many of whom are pro-Leni pro-Risa pro-Bam pro-Kiko pro-Leila, even pro- and anti-Tulfos.

Sa madaling salita, social media is a marketplace of ideas, even, a megamall of tsismis, everybody welcome, kanya-kanyang agenda, walang isang adbokasya o mensahe na bumebenta sa nakararami, except perhaps freedom of expression, and fake news.

Besides, in Feb 1986 the mosquito press was just a part of the Cory-led multi-sectoral opposition immersed in a 10-day Marcos crony boycott that saw banks running and the economy reeling. And VP Sara is certainly nothing like Cory.

“Storm in a teacup” #SaraDrama

Nov 23.  “Don’t worry about my safety. I have talked to a person and I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM [Marcos], [First Lady] Liza Araneta, and [Speaker] Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke.”

Nov 25.  “Di ba pumalag nga ang buong bayan nang pinatay ng pamilya nila si Benigno Aquino Jr. (Didn’t the people fight back when they plotted the assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr.)?”

Nov 26.  “Ang hindi lang nagawa ni Ninoy … kaya hindi siya nakaganti … kasi hindi siya nagbilin. … But you know Benigno Aquino Jr. is not Sara Duterte. Ibang tao siya. Ibang tao din ako.”

All that from VP Sara in the run-up to November 27, when Ninoy would have turned 92, were he not assassinated by the Marcos military in broad daylight @ 50, just when he was finally of age to run for president under the Marcos constitution.

Few doubted that the dictator Marcos was the mastermind, simply because, like Cory said, once martial law was declared, nothing ever happened to Ninoy without the dictator’s approval, nothing! No one, Ver least of all, would have dared touch Ninoy without clearance from on high. It was also said that the dictator needn’t have given the order directly, that is, not in so many words, but merely indicated his wishes in other ways, perhaps a la Henry II in TS Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral: as in, who will rid me of this troublesome one… or some such similar expression of grim exasperation.

The Marcos camp has always denied that Marcos was the mastermind, but anyone who bothers to check out credible documented reports and court rulings and docus knows that the Marcoses and their allies are lying or simply don’t know the truth just because, let us remember, the OG Marcos was wily that way.  And now that the son has made it back to the Palace, thanks to the Dutertes, the one time napag-usapan ang Ninoy assassination was in the time of Imee‘s movie Martyr or Murderer (2023) where a lot of screen time was still spent “trying to establish Ferdinand, Sr.’s innocence with regard to the Aquino assassination.”

BUTCH FRANCISCO: Was that still necessary? Through the years, the nation seems to have been convinced that Ferdinand, Sr. had nothing to do with Ninoy’s death. A comedic scene in Martyr that shows chief household staff Elizabeth Oropesa playing detective summarizes what had become the scenario in the public mind – yes, the one that involves a blood relation as the mastermind behind Ninoy’s killing. https://www.pikapika.ph/

Yes, it was still necessary, it will always be necessary. ‘Ika nga ni Imelda, perception is real, truth is not — but only in her world. Perception of innocence that is based on lies has to be periodically reinforced, otherwise the believers are confronted with nothing but the truth.

The truth that VP Sara dared speak, salamat na rin, and thankfully not to paint herself as a Ninoy, because she’s nothing like Ninoy. Her claim of death threats I can believe, but her conditional death can’t be automatically attributed to the Marcoses without investigation and confirmation.

PBBM, to his credit, has been very measured in his responses, even if he seems to have flipflopped from palaban to pa-statesman.

PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE Nov 25 

The President said Duterte should be made accountable for her statements. Any assassination attempt against the President also raises concerns about the security of the nation and its citizens, he said.

Such criminal attempts should never be overlooked, the President added.

“Kung ganun na lang kadali ang pagplano sa pagpatay ng isang Presidente, papaano pa kaya ang mga karaniwan na mamayan? ‘Yang ganyang criminal na pagtatangka ay hindi dapat pinapalampas,” he said.

Interestingly echoing the people’s sentiments in 1983: “If he can do it to Ninoy, he can do it to any of us.”

Three days later,  Nov 28, as the Left and pinklawan social media pundits urged, nay, demanded, that Congress impeach the VP, now na! this purported message from “BBM” to Congress was leaked to media.

In the larger scheme of things, Sara is unimportant. So please do not file impeachment complaints. It will only distract us from the real work of governance which is to improve the lot of all Filipinos.

Today, the 29th, PBBM acknowledged sending the message and reiterated:

What will happen if someone files an impeachment? It will tie down the House [of Representatives], it will tie down the Senate, it will just take up time and for what? For nothing,” he added.

“None of this will help improve a single Filipino life,” he stressed. “As far as I’m concerned, it is a storm in a teacup.” https://philstarlife.com

Ang tanong, magpapapigil ba ang Konggreso? And will there be similar messages to the DOJ and the NBI to let the VP be? As in, dedma na lang? And let the people power attempt die a natural death?

The Left would be so disappointed, and maybe the DDS peeps daily gathering in EDSA, too, who seem to think that impeachment is what will bring huge crowds of Duterte supporters to the streets. But but but what fueled the huge rallies of 1986 was Cory’s nonviolent civil disobedience campaign and the wildly successful boycott of crony businesses that primed the people to stand as barricades and shield the military rebels from Marcos’s wrath. Parang this one is, has, nothing like that.

And then again, who knows. Here’s hoping BBM’s right and the “storm in a teacup” subsides quickly enough. If so, here’s to a viable tandem who can beat Sara and/or  Raffy Tulfo in 2028.

ATTN: PBBM & Friends #Gifts

In the beginning I didn’t think it was worth blogging about just because it seemed open-and-shut : the prez is immune from suit until he steps down from office AND there’s no chance that the House of Reps would impeach him meanwhile.

But this sum-up from Michael Henry LI. Yusingco, lawyer and research fellow at the Ateneo Policy Center, cited in Business World‘s “Analysts: Marcos may have violated law with Duran Duran birthday bash”, changed my mind.

Yusingco … said Section 7 of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials [RA 6713] provides that public officials and employees “shall not solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office.”

Presidential Decree No. 46, a decree signed by no less than Mr. Marcos’s father and namesake, states that it is punishable for any public official or employee, whether of the national or local governments, to receive directly or indirectly, and for private persons to give, or offer to give, any gift, present or other valuable thing on any occasion. “Even if presidential immunity takes precedence in this case, that argument must still be made,” Mr. Yusingco said in an e-mail. “At this point, the wrong that needs to be corrected goes beyond what is provided by law.”

“It’s all about doing the right thing in the context of our problems with patronage politics, graft and corruption, and bureaucratic inefficiencies.” [bold mine]
https://www.bworldonline.com/editors-picks/2024/09/17/622180/analysts

It’s definitely an “ATTENTION: PBBM & Friends” moment — just in case they truly didn’t know that the law prohibits private citizens from giving costly gifts to the President AND prohibits the President from accepting such gifts, simply, plainly, because such gifts are a kind of bribery, a way of currying favor with him for some future high position or huge contract or mining concession or tax exemption or land reclamation or flood control project — sky’s the limit on corrupt deals upholding the personal-private rather than the public interest.

Of course it is quite possible that PBBM and his billionaire friends KNEW that gifting the prez with Duran Duran Live! — believed to have cost around a million US dollars — is against the law but went ahead anyway either because (1) they were naive enough to think that they could keep it under wraps or (2) they were feeling invincible, beyond the reach of the law, as the OG Marcos and his cronies were?

Which might explain why the invite to “PBBM @67” kindly asked guests to “keep the vibes cozy and private” …. “skip the photos and videos” … “if possible, leave your phone in the car” … “or check it in at the reception desk” … “make this night extra special and intimate.” https://www.facebook.com/

News of Duran Duran LIVE! leaked out anyway, thanks, it is rumored, to sis Imee who gate-crashed, snapped a photo of the band performing, and sent it to a DDS vlogger based in China who posted about it on Facebook, claiming that the band was flown in using public funds and urging the public to go and join the fun.

The very next day the Palace denied the use of public money: the band was a gift of “old friends” …  “at no cost to the government”.  Besides, it was a welcome surprise at the end of a hard day’s work (distributing a total of P3.19 billion in government aid to the provinces).

Pundits had a field day dissing the Palace response.

One said the Palace shouldn’t have dignified the Duran Duran buzz with an official statement. Really? As though there was no alleged wrong-doing that had to be denied or justified?

One said that the prez should not have indulged Duran Duran & friends with his presence, he should have snubbed the event. But what if he was truly surprised?  What was he to do then — walk out of the event? Leave, and disappoint, family and friends to party without him, the celebrant?  Medyo unthinkable that BBM, or anyone, is capable of that.

The best responses yet — because law-abiding na, doable pa — came from Ronald Llamas and Winnie Monsod. Puwede kasing  naganap ang Duran Duran Live! event without controversy, or puwedeng na-damage control agad nang maayos.

Akbayan activist Llamas is all over the place these days, apparently the favorite political pundit of today’s crop of eager beaver podcasters. Sorry I can’t find the video, possibly with Christian Esguerra or Richard Heydarian or Politiskoop or Storycon (if not all of the above), where he pointed out that the ONLY ones who are allowed to gift PBBM with expensive gifts are members of his immediate family.

According to RA 6713 Section 3d, that means only the spouse and children below age 18 (RA6713 Sec3d). So if it had been the First Lady pala who had spent for Duran Duran or who would spend for the next surprise, no problem. Good to know.

Say naman ni Prof. Winnie Monsod on Cielo Magno‘s “Usapang Korupsyon”:

Who would be stupid enough to give a gift [of that magnitude], unless they expect something in return. If not now, maybe later. …  If I were the president and I was surprised by that gift, obviously I could not possibly say, Go away, Duran Duran…  I would have to repay that person who gave me the gift, whatever he spent to give me Duran Duran. Obviously.  https://www.facebook.com/cielomagno/videos/1067077645425752

Oo nga. And I imagine that it’s not too late. Huwag lang sana sa confidential funds kukunin ang Php55 million or so. Good luck to us.

SONAkakaduda 2024 #FactsFirst

PBBM: Mahigit limanglibo at limang daang flood control projects ang natapos na at marami pang iba ang kasalukuyang ginagawa sa buong bansa. [Applause]

The following night bumuhos ang katakutakot na ulan at bumaha nang bonggang bongga across Luzon, even in places that never used to flood, so reminiscent of Ondoy2009, The following day a state of calamity was declared in all of Metro Manila, Bataan, Bulacan, Batangas, and Cavite. [Ambilis ng balik]

DJ Chacha https://x.com/_djchacha/status/1816275607157874692 
Last year, 147.5 Billion Pesos ang total budget for flood control projects for Metro Manila only. Sa lake ng halaga na yan paulit ulit pa rin ang problema natin sa baha. Anyare? 

PING LACSON
It is because most of the budget for the flood control projects flood the pockets of the proponents in Congress in connivance with the implementing agencies and their favorite contractors.

So, were there really 5,500 finished flood control projects?  If yes, what difference did they make? Totoo ba na walang-epek sapagkat substandard ang materyales at trabaho sapagkat kung minsan halos kalahati na lang ang pondo dahil sa mga komisyon ng kongresista, DPWH, LGU, at contractor? [Guys, mahiya naman kayo]

So now I’m wondering, too, about other stuff BBM said at the SONA that were met with great joy by nation: the ban on POGOs and the unequivocal stand on the West Philippine Sea, in particular. 

Already nakikiusap ang PAGCOR that “12 of the 43 POGO companies” be spared kasi masyadong marami ang mawawalan ng trabaho. Yan na rin ang concern ni Senator Tolentino sa isang interview with Karen Davila back in June that I blogged on: #BagongPilipinasWalangPOGO.

G. Senador, lumang tugtugin na ang ganyang justification: na may mga Pinoy na mawawalan ng trabaho. Iyan na rin ang daíng ng mga taga-Zambales at Pampanga nung isasara na ang US bases. But the good Senators of the 8th Congress agreed that the welfare of the whole, the common good, is more important than the welfare of the few.

Besides, the US bases and POGOs were bad ideas to begin with.

And yeah, great that he took such an unequivocal stand on the West Philippine Sea and had the grace to thank our fishermen, coast guards, and soldiers for their vigilance and sacrifice. I was hoping he would say, too, that the repairs of BSP Sierra Madre are to proceed apace whether China likes it or not ’cause #AtinAngAyungin! Alas, bitin. [Unless I missed it lang]

There’s a lot more na kaduda-duda especially re the grand promises of infra and ayuda. Saan kaya kukuha ng pera na panggastos? Lubog na tayo sa utang.  Bugbog na tayo sa taxes. Paano na ba. 

Looking for kakampi, post-SONA, it was good to hear some credible pundits airing similar concerns on social media.

Check out Christian Esguerra’s political podcast Facts and Fiction in President Marcos Jr.’s 2024 SONA  with guests Pulse Asia president and political science Prof Ronnie Holmes, RJ activist and PNoy’s political adviser ex-Sec Ronald Llamas, UP econ prof. and ex-Finance USec Cielo Magno, and PR strategist Alan German na anak ni PR OG Reli whom I sort of knew back in the days.

Holmes, Llamas, and Magno are better informed than most, with a sense of the true state of affairs, past to present, and who clearly care about nation. German is a glib PR political tactician who always seems to know more than he’s telling and teases with tips on how-to-sell politicians, among other powertrippers. Host Esguerra, once of ANC, steers the talk with a GenZ’s take on national concerns that tends to provoke discussion, though only up to a point. 

Unlike public affairs TV talkshows of yore, there’s a lot of banter, chortling, private jokes, whatever, between Esguerra and German, Esguerra and Llamas, apparently to keep the talk from getting too serious,  or maybe his regulars like his GenZ sense of humor, I’m not sure. Whatever, it’s medyo nakaka-put-off, but the serious exchanges were | are worth staying for. 

The same goes for Magno’s Chikahan podcast that premiered the Friday before the SONA with Llamas as senatoriable Edu Mansanas. It was the best conversation I’d heard yet on the state of the nation 2024, though you’d have to sit through some  patawa and pababaw moments that interrupt trains of thought. And parang the sax and sing-along numbers are for another kind of podcast altogether. 

If senior-short-memory serves, Magno and Llamas had a brief exchange about the pink movement, recalling what that campaign was like, how huge the crowds, how magical, parang EDSA, or something to that effect [sorry ang hirap hanapin ng exact words]. That was a pretty solid base of 14M – 15M voters, as it turns out — some 14.4M voted her in as VP in 2016, and some 15M voted her for president in 2022. 

And if my social media algo is any gauge, buhay na buhay pa ang kakampinks  — a third force neither pro-Marcos nor pro-Sara — naghihintay lang ng timon at direksyon. Which brings me back to Esguerra’s and Magno’s podcasts, the likes of which can be the perfect vehicles for thinking Filipinos with a bias for the Common Good to discuss current issues frankly and in depth, hopefully towards a consensus to organize around certain advocacies — like flood control, land use, anti-dynasty, proper wage hike, divorce law, atbp. — that sina Bam and Chel et al. could campaign on and carry into Congress in 2025.  Hope springs.

***

SONA blogs across three admins 2008 – 2019

SONA 2019 message: he ain’t no lame duck, not yet anyway

ChaCha: Duterte’s endgame #SONA2018 #NoToChaCha

SONAkakasindak 2017

sona, tsona, torre de manila #takeitdown (2015)

SONAkakaiyak (2014)

SONA’s deafening silence on coco levy loot atbp. (2013)

SONA as farce (2013)

the spin that is SONA(kakasuya) (2011)

SONAkakadismaya (2010)

kontra-SONA (2008)