Kag editoryal sa www.sanrokan.com ni Ish Fabicon:
“Ka pagbusri it RDL (Romblon Discussion List) ag www.sanrokan.com ay nakatunong sa usa nak mga higako namo: palapnagon ka tatlong rila it probinsya—Romblomanon/Ini, Unhan, ag Asi.
“Kung ato kaykayon kinang mga kayatay it mga bulaybulayon ag diskusyonan sa RDL ag Sanrokan, imaw gihapon ka amo pangabay nak kung sarang ka mga pagsuyat reli sa mga rahon it Sanrokan ay sa tatlong rila it probinsya. Ugaling uya ra namo gibabawayi nak ka mga "bloggers' ay magparana it inra tuytuyanon sa Tingayug o English. Ka amo yang ngasing ging hahagar ay patugsiling na kung sarang, yaktan ra it pagsuyat sa Romblomanon/Ini, Unhan ag Asi.
“Kabay pang sabligan kami it inro patugsiling”,
ay mayamig nak tubi nag ging salibo sa maranggang likor it mga nagtutuko sa website nak kali.
Usa ako sa mga napur-ok it ida pangabay.
Marurumroman it mga nagsusunor sa ako blog ag sa iba pang nagtatapyak reli sa sanrokan it tuytuyanon nak ka karam-ang pag-itam-itam reli ay sa English ag Tagalog. Inggwa man it nagsusuyat sa inra sariling rila ay mayagwat pa sa pasi it payay nak bag-huang bag-ong bado ag bag-ong pur-as.
Ka pagtratar it RDL-CLEAR ag www.sanrokan.com sa mga nagbubuyar reli it mga kaisipan, miskan sisi-o, ay pamatuor it demokrasyang pinakamataas—kag ging aayaba nato sa English nak “freedom of expression”.
Ugaling, dahil gani kag pagbuswang it RDL-CLEAR ag www.sanrokan.com ay “nakatunong” sa pagpalapnag it tatlong lengguwahe it probinsiya, nag-aaro ako sa parumrom ni Fabicon. Dapat ra talaga nak ka mga nagyuyu-aw reli sa www.sanrokan.com ay papaagto sa rayan nak ka akahantupan ay magyutaw ka Romblomanon/Ini, Unhan, ag Asi.
Ngasing yang kali nako nabisayaha: Sa rinugay-rugay nako it pagtuko sa www.sanrokan.com, mas maramo ka nagsusuyat sa Asi kumpara sa Romblomanon/Ini ag Unhan. Asi?
Buko dapat magkumpara, ag basi pang buko klaro kaling ako pamatyagon, pero sa ako natutuhob, pay mas maramong Asi ka mukyat ka nayusrok pag-abot sa paglig-on ag pag-alinton it inra kultura kada mas maramo ka nagsusuyat sa Asi.
Mabis-oy kali gi sambiton, pero inggwa gihapon kali it rason.
Sa ako pamutang, kada mas maramong nagsusuyat sa www.sanrokan.com it mga tuytuyanong Asi ay dahil siguro sa “kahadlok”.
Kung irug-on it matugas sa patsihan, sa tatlong tribo it Romblon, ka Asi it ging tatratong kuliyot sa probinsiya. Sa Sibale ay imaw kali it “island psyche” dahil hanggang ngasing, nagriril-at sa isip it mga Sibalenhon kag derogatory nak pag-obserba it mga Romblomanon mainlanders sa mga taga-Sibale: “Sibale lang da!”
Imaw kali, sa ako pag-ibok sa tuyar nak sitwasyon, ka gakor it “kahadlok”.
We Asi write in Asi much more often than the Unhan and the Romblomanon Ini do in their own languages because of this “fear”—founded or unfounded—that if we don’t, our culture—language and all—will be lost forever.
The Asi has an acute sense of this terrible possibility. We write in Asi as much as we can to ensure that our language and cultural identity survive. We fear to lose, and the fear of losing something is the most potent motivation to be courageous in preventing such loss.
The Unhan and the Romblomanon Ini, I am afraid, have no such fear. They are secured in their belief that their number ensures the survival of their languages and way of life. This misplaced belief is cultivated and fertilized by the mainland Romblon politicians who know nothing about culture.
The power to assert our own identity rises from this fear. Thus, if the Asi tribe is much more assertive of their culture and language than the Romblomanon Ini and the Unhan, this is not without reason.
Inggwa it politikang elemento sa tuyar nak nahahanabo, miskan klaro sa istorya it probinsiya nak mga Asi ka pinakamatikasog nak nag nagtuy-og sa progresong pampulitika it Romblon. Fabella, Festin ag Firmalo ka mga nagyuyutaw nak ngayan pag-abot sa tuyar nak pamimisaya.
In this comes the “geographical factor”, which is evident in the allocation of economic resources over which the mainland Romblon politicians often have the final say. I will not pussy-foot. When it comes to political and economic division of resources and benefits, the Asi islands of Sibale, Banton and Simara receive the crumbs because of our geographical distance, which is however, not without a solution. Alas, we are always last in the priorities.
Waya ako gi susungon o gi yayabi sa tuyar nak sitwasyon, pero inggwa it mas marayom nak gakor ka tuyar nak pagtrato sa Asi.
I now begin to suspect a feeling of insecurity in our politicians over their inability to command supreme loyalty from the Asi. Fiercely independent and pragmatic, we Asi do not just bow to convention and the traditional importuning of our corrupt leaders.
We show this independence by writing in our own language.
When Awe Eranes and Tony Macalisang of the Romblon Sun said that the newspaper will not sell when Fabicon suggested he will write a column in Asi, the two, being non-Asi, were only following the dictates of economic reality drawn, established, and perpetuated by the mainland Romblon politicians who profit from the Romblomanons being afflicted with a “siege mentality”, meaning, they entertained the fear no one will read Fabicon, and that if he is read, they will revolt. Nothing is more fearsome than a people learning the ways of their oppressors.
Of course, Eranes’s and Macalisang’s fear is patently false and without basis. The www.sanrokan.com is proof positive that there is a horde of readers in the local languages.
Makaka-testigo ako raha. Sa ako pagsuyat, nagpapayadag ako sa ruhang suba it lengguwahe, English ag Asi. Nagsusuyat ako sa English para sa mga nagbabasa nak buko Asi ag para yumapar ka publiko nak sa ako pagpamutang ay dapat makarungog ak makatagam it ibang yuto; ag sa Asi kung ka ako mensahe ay partikular sa ako mga ka-tribo.
Sa tuyar nak pagpapamatu-or, ka pagkaykay ni Fabicon sa primerong gakor it mga lengguwaheng Romblomanon ay asa panahon. Dapat yang nak tuytuyon nato ka ging busri-an it RDL-CLEAR ag www.sanrokan.com sa parayan it paghingab ag pag panghakay it hangin it ato sariling mga bibisar-on.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Asi? The Concert: Rebirth of a musical culture
The Banton High School Alumni Association, headed by the tireless Lyndon Fadri, has joined Romblon’s cultural renaissance bandwagon, and will, with the support of Biniray 2009, mount a musical extravaganza at the Arellano University Gym on Legarda Street, Manila, starting at 6:00 P.M. on August 8.
This concert is for all: Romblomanons and non-Romblomanons alike.
If you are an Asi, you must block this date in your calendar and come. If you are an Unhan, you should set aside whatever you plan to do on that day and attend the event, aptly called Asi? The Concert. If you are an Ini, show up at the concert. You will be richer in emotional experience after.
If you are not a Romblomanon, but are a culture buff—interested in how the Asi weave their emotional dreams and aspirations and express their take on the current issues of the day through the universal language of music, I invite you to attend.
A ticket to the concert costs P250.00. Call 556 17 62 to reserve one.
With that sales pitch out of the plate, I will tell you more about the concert. Read on.
The biggest attraction of Asi? The Concert is, well, the singing talents of my ancient tribe, the Asi, a proud and brave Filipino race which antedates the coming of the Spaniards and whose members occupy the islands of Banton, Sibale and Simara and who founded the Asi towns of Calatrava and Odiongan in Tablas Island, Romblon’s biggest.
We, the Asi, have our own distinct cultural heritage, including a musical culture that the tribe’s cultural pillars recently started to propagate and promote. Thus, all the songs on the concert will be in Asi, our own language.
This language is unique and so rich that if I were an official of government, say, a congressman, I will push for its inclusion among the languages that are being used as basis in the development of the constitutionally-mandated Filipino national language. Yes, Virginia, there is such, but let us deal with that in another time.
So, if you are a non-Asi Romblomanon attending the concert, I urge you to bring with you the Tuk-anan, the first Asi dictionary that Lyndon Fadri published, to be able to better appreciate the joy and pathos of the Asi’s musical soul. Call him at 0918 918 2178.
Singing talents Catherine Lea Fietas-Beltran and Al Jandy Fadriquela have signified to participate in the concert. A group from Sibale, called IngSaBat will also join and sing two or three of my compositions. I will sing, if the weather cooperates.
The lead performer at the concert will be 1622-Unang Usbor, Romblon’s only performing band, which in my language will continue to be so unless other tribes in the province come out and disprove me.
The 1622: Unang Usbor has performed in April in Sibale and in May in Simara. Last February, they invaded the Asi population of Batangas with a post-Valentine concert and proved to all and sundry that Asi songs have not only an appreciative audience. They also promise to be with us while we continue to have babies to be lulled to sleep and emotions to express.
The Asi singing is a miniature replica of Philippine society casting out the devils of its impoverished, dilapidated, and oppressed existence. I make these comments in the context of the extraneous purposes of the concert, which are to raise funds for the BHSAA Scholarship and Medical Mission Funds and for the Biniray, Banton’s religious mecca.
I mind very much that private citizens like Lyndon have to supplant the provincial government’s role in ensuring that Romblomanons are well-educated and healthy. For if the likes of Rep. Budoy Madrona and Gov. Jojo Beltran are true to their calling as public servants, they would flush with shame in knowing that it is civic groups, like Lyndon’s, that are minding the public welfare.
But this is a parenthetical thought. The concert is what matters at the moment. “Our goal is to promote cultural heritage, provide local talents exposure to a bigger audience and help hone their talents, and promote closer ties between the Asi-speaking Romblonons,” Lyndon says.
Noble, these objectives are.
Lyndon is not alone, though in his admirable efforts.
There is the Asi Studies Center for Culture and the Arts (ASCCA) which, since September 2008, has been working tirelessly to build the musical skill of 1622-Unang Usbor.
The ASCCA derives much support from the online group RDL-CLEAR, which is on the forefront of educational, cultural and economic initiatives in the province. RDL-CLEAR members may be anonymous, but without them, ASCCA would not have been able to mount on its own its various cultural projects.
In the Philippines, ASCCA’s project director is another Asi. She is Nota Magno, who teaches anthropology at the Ateneo de Manila University. Ms. Magno’s invaluable efforts in the Asi’s cultural revival could put to shame our politicians’ years of strutting on the corridors of power. These politicians are a bunch of useless ignoramuses when it comes to Romblon culture.
“As artists,” Ms. Magno says, referring to the members of 1622-Unang Usbor, “their relevance is in the cultural work (that) they do for the Asi of Banton and of Romblon, not only the music that they bring. Their work extends from raising music appreciation among the Asi to the revival of the Asi language, a crucial element of Asi cultural heritage”.
The preservation, propagation and promotion of culture may be a lonely kind of work, but it is its own rewards.
On August 8, it will be time for these rewards to be harvested. Join us in the concert and share in the bounty of the Asi’s musical heritage.
This concert is for all: Romblomanons and non-Romblomanons alike.
If you are an Asi, you must block this date in your calendar and come. If you are an Unhan, you should set aside whatever you plan to do on that day and attend the event, aptly called Asi? The Concert. If you are an Ini, show up at the concert. You will be richer in emotional experience after.
If you are not a Romblomanon, but are a culture buff—interested in how the Asi weave their emotional dreams and aspirations and express their take on the current issues of the day through the universal language of music, I invite you to attend.
A ticket to the concert costs P250.00. Call 556 17 62 to reserve one.
With that sales pitch out of the plate, I will tell you more about the concert. Read on.
The biggest attraction of Asi? The Concert is, well, the singing talents of my ancient tribe, the Asi, a proud and brave Filipino race which antedates the coming of the Spaniards and whose members occupy the islands of Banton, Sibale and Simara and who founded the Asi towns of Calatrava and Odiongan in Tablas Island, Romblon’s biggest.
We, the Asi, have our own distinct cultural heritage, including a musical culture that the tribe’s cultural pillars recently started to propagate and promote. Thus, all the songs on the concert will be in Asi, our own language.
This language is unique and so rich that if I were an official of government, say, a congressman, I will push for its inclusion among the languages that are being used as basis in the development of the constitutionally-mandated Filipino national language. Yes, Virginia, there is such, but let us deal with that in another time.
So, if you are a non-Asi Romblomanon attending the concert, I urge you to bring with you the Tuk-anan, the first Asi dictionary that Lyndon Fadri published, to be able to better appreciate the joy and pathos of the Asi’s musical soul. Call him at 0918 918 2178.
Singing talents Catherine Lea Fietas-Beltran and Al Jandy Fadriquela have signified to participate in the concert. A group from Sibale, called IngSaBat will also join and sing two or three of my compositions. I will sing, if the weather cooperates.
The lead performer at the concert will be 1622-Unang Usbor, Romblon’s only performing band, which in my language will continue to be so unless other tribes in the province come out and disprove me.
The 1622: Unang Usbor has performed in April in Sibale and in May in Simara. Last February, they invaded the Asi population of Batangas with a post-Valentine concert and proved to all and sundry that Asi songs have not only an appreciative audience. They also promise to be with us while we continue to have babies to be lulled to sleep and emotions to express.
The Asi singing is a miniature replica of Philippine society casting out the devils of its impoverished, dilapidated, and oppressed existence. I make these comments in the context of the extraneous purposes of the concert, which are to raise funds for the BHSAA Scholarship and Medical Mission Funds and for the Biniray, Banton’s religious mecca.
I mind very much that private citizens like Lyndon have to supplant the provincial government’s role in ensuring that Romblomanons are well-educated and healthy. For if the likes of Rep. Budoy Madrona and Gov. Jojo Beltran are true to their calling as public servants, they would flush with shame in knowing that it is civic groups, like Lyndon’s, that are minding the public welfare.
But this is a parenthetical thought. The concert is what matters at the moment. “Our goal is to promote cultural heritage, provide local talents exposure to a bigger audience and help hone their talents, and promote closer ties between the Asi-speaking Romblonons,” Lyndon says.
Noble, these objectives are.
Lyndon is not alone, though in his admirable efforts.
There is the Asi Studies Center for Culture and the Arts (ASCCA) which, since September 2008, has been working tirelessly to build the musical skill of 1622-Unang Usbor.
The ASCCA derives much support from the online group RDL-CLEAR, which is on the forefront of educational, cultural and economic initiatives in the province. RDL-CLEAR members may be anonymous, but without them, ASCCA would not have been able to mount on its own its various cultural projects.
In the Philippines, ASCCA’s project director is another Asi. She is Nota Magno, who teaches anthropology at the Ateneo de Manila University. Ms. Magno’s invaluable efforts in the Asi’s cultural revival could put to shame our politicians’ years of strutting on the corridors of power. These politicians are a bunch of useless ignoramuses when it comes to Romblon culture.
“As artists,” Ms. Magno says, referring to the members of 1622-Unang Usbor, “their relevance is in the cultural work (that) they do for the Asi of Banton and of Romblon, not only the music that they bring. Their work extends from raising music appreciation among the Asi to the revival of the Asi language, a crucial element of Asi cultural heritage”.
The preservation, propagation and promotion of culture may be a lonely kind of work, but it is its own rewards.
On August 8, it will be time for these rewards to be harvested. Join us in the concert and share in the bounty of the Asi’s musical heritage.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The re-election of Madrona and Beltran
If my source is correct in telling me that 80 percent of all Romblon capitol employees, including the so-called ’15-30’ collectors, hate to see Gov. Jojo Beltran re-elected as governor, then Rep. Budoy Madrona may rest easy. He and Beltran will cruise safely to their re-election hurdles without any problem.
How is that? It is because logic tells me that wise voters who hate a politician usually vote for that politician not merely to ensconce him/her in power, but to insult him/her. Re-electing Madrona and Beltran would be, to me, the greatest insult that could be heaped on the durable duo.
Let us not insult our politicians by not voting for them. Again. That’s what this logic tells us.
Are we ready to do that? Hell, no. Romblon’s election history is rife with lessons. Lessons that elementary school pupils should not learn, but learn nonetheless from their teachers who count the votes. One of these lessons is that no politician in Romblon ever loses in an election. He/she just gets cheated.
Madrona, Beltran, Firmalo, and the rest know this. They know that come election time, the hate and the grudges of voters against our politicians will be transformed into admiration—then votes. That’s because of money. Our voters have this fallacious argument:
“Kukurakot din ‘yan. Galing din sa atin ang perang ipinamimigay niyan pag eleksyon. Tanggapin natin kasi, hindi na naman natin yan makikita sa loob ng tatlong taon.”
Correct?
So, if you hate Budoy or Beltran or both, chances are you truly love them, and will probably vote for them, not because of any emotional feeling or attachment or belief in their expertise and qualification, but because of money consideration.
This is true for a big chunk of Romblon voters. Many provincial capitol employees may protest to high heavens this open and probable event, but that’s the best they can do: bite their tongue in silent protest. Many can’t even come out in the open and denounce the shenanigans of their governor even if they are witness to these. They love their comfort zones.
I will start with Beltran. People love him very much that they want him to stay in the capitol forever. I, myself, want him to be there for eternity to mismanage the provincial government some more. Come on, Jojo. Please continue to run the capitol as a personal kingdom. You will lose nothing but your soul.
As for Madrona, well, you either love or hate the guy. Romblon loves Budoy, too, (look at that Bayan kong Mahal slogan, which some say is Bowel Movement) and would want to see him re-elected many times over. They had just a brief respite with the man when they elected Firmalo, but since then, they have realized their folly and returned Madrona to the House.
They will do so again in 2010. That’s my bold prediction. I am ready to bet my gin money to anyone who will say otherwise.
“Madrona is the best Romblon congressman.” Ever. Can you imagine, there was no mining in Romblon when he was not yet in power? Today, the province is all about mining. Our politicians, save a few, are all into mining. You know, “this is mine. That is mine. Those are mine.” Right?
I mean, why should we change our congressman and our governor when our lives haven’t changed either? We are still poor, yes? Perhaps, a little poorer than we were when Beltran was still in the kingdom of Raha Bangkusay, or when Budoy was still in a seminary, but what’s the difference?
Everyone in Romblon is entitled to suffer a little of our unpaved roads, dilapidated health care system, bad governance, unclean water, unemployment, and all that ek-ek that enemies of Budoy and Jojo love to hurl against them as if it is their fault that Romblon is reeling from incompetence, corruption and retrogress.
You are not a Romblomanon if you feel that when traveling from Magdiwang to San Fernando, you feel you are passing through an expressway. Are you sleeping?
No, it is not Madrona’s and Beltran’s fault that we are what we are. It is OUR fault, and we should not blame anyone but OURSELVES for having been short-changed and abused by our politicians. We should fault OURSELVES for allowing OURSELVES to be short-changed and abused year in and year out.
And who promises to save us from our hellish experience with the present power holders?
The opposition!
Ah, the opposition consisting of who? Lolong Firmalo, Bernie Fondevilla, Alice Fetalvero, Mel Madrid, Jun Irao, et al? These province mates of ours who also dream like everyone else of ending Madrona’s and Beltran’s reign?
They could be hallucinating. I mean, they must be like every one of us. Dreaming. Which is good, as long as it will not end in a nightmare, or bangungot.
It is not because they are not qualified, or have not the right and the means and the motivation to fight Madrona and Beltran, et al. They are and they have, but I am pessimistic. Suspicious, even. The reason I say this is while it is free to dream, it is also free to disappoint the Romblomanons with regards to the word ‘opposition’. And as a Romblomanon, I am truly, sincerely, angrily disappointed with these opposition politicians. Not anyone of them might get my vote. On election day, I might just put Awe Eranes on my ballot, then go home and write.
You see, ‘opposition’ contains the words OPPOSE, OPPOSITE, and OPTION.
A true political opposition opposes not just for the sake of opposing. A true political opposition also is the opposite of the person, place, or thing it opposes. And lastly, a true opposition provides us the option—the alternative, when it succeeds from being an opposition to become ruler.
Question: Are Firmalo and Fondevilla, et al the political opposition in the province in the truest sense of the word? Right now, right here, are they the opposite of Madrona and Beltran, et al? Do they have a ready alternative to the ways of the incumbents? Anyone who answers me correctly will receive a P20-worth of mobile phone load. My number is with Awe Eranes of the Romblon Sun.
Now, let’s look forward to the re-election of Madrona and Beltran—by crying. We are very unlucky.
If my source is correct in telling me that 80 percent of all Romblon capitol employees, including the so-called ’15-30’ collectors, hate to see Gov. Jojo Beltran re-elected as governor, then Rep. Budoy Madrona may rest easy. He and Beltran will cruise safely to their re-election hurdles without any problem.
How is that? It is because logic tells me that wise voters who hate a politician usually vote for that politician not merely to ensconce him/her in power, but to insult him/her. Re-electing Madrona and Beltran would be, to me, the greatest insult that could be heaped on the durable duo.
Let us not insult our politicians by not voting for them. Again. That’s what this logic tells us.
Are we ready to do that? Hell, no. Romblon’s election history is rife with lessons. Lessons that elementary school pupils should not learn, but learn nonetheless from their teachers who count the votes. One of these lessons is that no politician in Romblon ever loses in an election. He/she just gets cheated.
Madrona, Beltran, Firmalo, and the rest know this. They know that come election time, the hate and the grudges of voters against our politicians will be transformed into admiration—then votes. That’s because of money. Our voters have this fallacious argument:
“Kukurakot din ‘yan. Galing din sa atin ang perang ipinamimigay niyan pag eleksyon. Tanggapin natin kasi, hindi na naman natin yan makikita sa loob ng tatlong taon.”
Correct?
So, if you hate Budoy or Beltran or both, chances are you truly love them, and will probably vote for them, not because of any emotional feeling or attachment or belief in their expertise and qualification, but because of money consideration.
This is true for a big chunk of Romblon voters. Many provincial capitol employees may protest to high heavens this open and probable event, but that’s the best they can do: bite their tongue in silent protest. Many can’t even come out in the open and denounce the shenanigans of their governor even if they are witness to these. They love their comfort zones.
I will start with Beltran. People love him very much that they want him to stay in the capitol forever. I, myself, want him to be there for eternity to mismanage the provincial government some more. Come on, Jojo. Please continue to run the capitol as a personal kingdom. You will lose nothing but your soul.
As for Madrona, well, you either love or hate the guy. Romblon loves Budoy, too, (look at that Bayan kong Mahal slogan, which some say is Bowel Movement) and would want to see him re-elected many times over. They had just a brief respite with the man when they elected Firmalo, but since then, they have realized their folly and returned Madrona to the House.
They will do so again in 2010. That’s my bold prediction. I am ready to bet my gin money to anyone who will say otherwise.
“Madrona is the best Romblon congressman.” Ever. Can you imagine, there was no mining in Romblon when he was not yet in power? Today, the province is all about mining. Our politicians, save a few, are all into mining. You know, “this is mine. That is mine. Those are mine.” Right?
I mean, why should we change our congressman and our governor when our lives haven’t changed either? We are still poor, yes? Perhaps, a little poorer than we were when Beltran was still in the kingdom of Raha Bangkusay, or when Budoy was still in a seminary, but what’s the difference?
Everyone in Romblon is entitled to suffer a little of our unpaved roads, dilapidated health care system, bad governance, unclean water, unemployment, and all that ek-ek that enemies of Budoy and Jojo love to hurl against them as if it is their fault that Romblon is reeling from incompetence, corruption and retrogress.
You are not a Romblomanon if you feel that when traveling from Magdiwang to San Fernando, you feel you are passing through an expressway. Are you sleeping?
No, it is not Madrona’s and Beltran’s fault that we are what we are. It is OUR fault, and we should not blame anyone but OURSELVES for having been short-changed and abused by our politicians. We should fault OURSELVES for allowing OURSELVES to be short-changed and abused year in and year out.
And who promises to save us from our hellish experience with the present power holders?
The opposition!
Ah, the opposition consisting of who? Lolong Firmalo, Bernie Fondevilla, Alice Fetalvero, Mel Madrid, Jun Irao, et al? These province mates of ours who also dream like everyone else of ending Madrona’s and Beltran’s reign?
They could be hallucinating. I mean, they must be like every one of us. Dreaming. Which is good, as long as it will not end in a nightmare, or bangungot.
It is not because they are not qualified, or have not the right and the means and the motivation to fight Madrona and Beltran, et al. They are and they have, but I am pessimistic. Suspicious, even. The reason I say this is while it is free to dream, it is also free to disappoint the Romblomanons with regards to the word ‘opposition’. And as a Romblomanon, I am truly, sincerely, angrily disappointed with these opposition politicians. Not anyone of them might get my vote. On election day, I might just put Awe Eranes on my ballot, then go home and write.
You see, ‘opposition’ contains the words OPPOSE, OPPOSITE, and OPTION.
A true political opposition opposes not just for the sake of opposing. A true political opposition also is the opposite of the person, place, or thing it opposes. And lastly, a true opposition provides us the option—the alternative, when it succeeds from being an opposition to become ruler.
Question: Are Firmalo and Fondevilla, et al the political opposition in the province in the truest sense of the word? Right now, right here, are they the opposite of Madrona and Beltran, et al? Do they have a ready alternative to the ways of the incumbents? Anyone who answers me correctly will receive a P20-worth of mobile phone load. My number is with Awe Eranes of the Romblon Sun.
Now, let’s look forward to the re-election of Madrona and Beltran—by crying. We are very unlucky.
How is that? It is because logic tells me that wise voters who hate a politician usually vote for that politician not merely to ensconce him/her in power, but to insult him/her. Re-electing Madrona and Beltran would be, to me, the greatest insult that could be heaped on the durable duo.
Let us not insult our politicians by not voting for them. Again. That’s what this logic tells us.
Are we ready to do that? Hell, no. Romblon’s election history is rife with lessons. Lessons that elementary school pupils should not learn, but learn nonetheless from their teachers who count the votes. One of these lessons is that no politician in Romblon ever loses in an election. He/she just gets cheated.
Madrona, Beltran, Firmalo, and the rest know this. They know that come election time, the hate and the grudges of voters against our politicians will be transformed into admiration—then votes. That’s because of money. Our voters have this fallacious argument:
“Kukurakot din ‘yan. Galing din sa atin ang perang ipinamimigay niyan pag eleksyon. Tanggapin natin kasi, hindi na naman natin yan makikita sa loob ng tatlong taon.”
Correct?
So, if you hate Budoy or Beltran or both, chances are you truly love them, and will probably vote for them, not because of any emotional feeling or attachment or belief in their expertise and qualification, but because of money consideration.
This is true for a big chunk of Romblon voters. Many provincial capitol employees may protest to high heavens this open and probable event, but that’s the best they can do: bite their tongue in silent protest. Many can’t even come out in the open and denounce the shenanigans of their governor even if they are witness to these. They love their comfort zones.
I will start with Beltran. People love him very much that they want him to stay in the capitol forever. I, myself, want him to be there for eternity to mismanage the provincial government some more. Come on, Jojo. Please continue to run the capitol as a personal kingdom. You will lose nothing but your soul.
As for Madrona, well, you either love or hate the guy. Romblon loves Budoy, too, (look at that Bayan kong Mahal slogan, which some say is Bowel Movement) and would want to see him re-elected many times over. They had just a brief respite with the man when they elected Firmalo, but since then, they have realized their folly and returned Madrona to the House.
They will do so again in 2010. That’s my bold prediction. I am ready to bet my gin money to anyone who will say otherwise.
“Madrona is the best Romblon congressman.” Ever. Can you imagine, there was no mining in Romblon when he was not yet in power? Today, the province is all about mining. Our politicians, save a few, are all into mining. You know, “this is mine. That is mine. Those are mine.” Right?
I mean, why should we change our congressman and our governor when our lives haven’t changed either? We are still poor, yes? Perhaps, a little poorer than we were when Beltran was still in the kingdom of Raha Bangkusay, or when Budoy was still in a seminary, but what’s the difference?
Everyone in Romblon is entitled to suffer a little of our unpaved roads, dilapidated health care system, bad governance, unclean water, unemployment, and all that ek-ek that enemies of Budoy and Jojo love to hurl against them as if it is their fault that Romblon is reeling from incompetence, corruption and retrogress.
You are not a Romblomanon if you feel that when traveling from Magdiwang to San Fernando, you feel you are passing through an expressway. Are you sleeping?
No, it is not Madrona’s and Beltran’s fault that we are what we are. It is OUR fault, and we should not blame anyone but OURSELVES for having been short-changed and abused by our politicians. We should fault OURSELVES for allowing OURSELVES to be short-changed and abused year in and year out.
And who promises to save us from our hellish experience with the present power holders?
The opposition!
Ah, the opposition consisting of who? Lolong Firmalo, Bernie Fondevilla, Alice Fetalvero, Mel Madrid, Jun Irao, et al? These province mates of ours who also dream like everyone else of ending Madrona’s and Beltran’s reign?
They could be hallucinating. I mean, they must be like every one of us. Dreaming. Which is good, as long as it will not end in a nightmare, or bangungot.
It is not because they are not qualified, or have not the right and the means and the motivation to fight Madrona and Beltran, et al. They are and they have, but I am pessimistic. Suspicious, even. The reason I say this is while it is free to dream, it is also free to disappoint the Romblomanons with regards to the word ‘opposition’. And as a Romblomanon, I am truly, sincerely, angrily disappointed with these opposition politicians. Not anyone of them might get my vote. On election day, I might just put Awe Eranes on my ballot, then go home and write.
You see, ‘opposition’ contains the words OPPOSE, OPPOSITE, and OPTION.
A true political opposition opposes not just for the sake of opposing. A true political opposition also is the opposite of the person, place, or thing it opposes. And lastly, a true opposition provides us the option—the alternative, when it succeeds from being an opposition to become ruler.
Question: Are Firmalo and Fondevilla, et al the political opposition in the province in the truest sense of the word? Right now, right here, are they the opposite of Madrona and Beltran, et al? Do they have a ready alternative to the ways of the incumbents? Anyone who answers me correctly will receive a P20-worth of mobile phone load. My number is with Awe Eranes of the Romblon Sun.
Now, let’s look forward to the re-election of Madrona and Beltran—by crying. We are very unlucky.
If my source is correct in telling me that 80 percent of all Romblon capitol employees, including the so-called ’15-30’ collectors, hate to see Gov. Jojo Beltran re-elected as governor, then Rep. Budoy Madrona may rest easy. He and Beltran will cruise safely to their re-election hurdles without any problem.
How is that? It is because logic tells me that wise voters who hate a politician usually vote for that politician not merely to ensconce him/her in power, but to insult him/her. Re-electing Madrona and Beltran would be, to me, the greatest insult that could be heaped on the durable duo.
Let us not insult our politicians by not voting for them. Again. That’s what this logic tells us.
Are we ready to do that? Hell, no. Romblon’s election history is rife with lessons. Lessons that elementary school pupils should not learn, but learn nonetheless from their teachers who count the votes. One of these lessons is that no politician in Romblon ever loses in an election. He/she just gets cheated.
Madrona, Beltran, Firmalo, and the rest know this. They know that come election time, the hate and the grudges of voters against our politicians will be transformed into admiration—then votes. That’s because of money. Our voters have this fallacious argument:
“Kukurakot din ‘yan. Galing din sa atin ang perang ipinamimigay niyan pag eleksyon. Tanggapin natin kasi, hindi na naman natin yan makikita sa loob ng tatlong taon.”
Correct?
So, if you hate Budoy or Beltran or both, chances are you truly love them, and will probably vote for them, not because of any emotional feeling or attachment or belief in their expertise and qualification, but because of money consideration.
This is true for a big chunk of Romblon voters. Many provincial capitol employees may protest to high heavens this open and probable event, but that’s the best they can do: bite their tongue in silent protest. Many can’t even come out in the open and denounce the shenanigans of their governor even if they are witness to these. They love their comfort zones.
I will start with Beltran. People love him very much that they want him to stay in the capitol forever. I, myself, want him to be there for eternity to mismanage the provincial government some more. Come on, Jojo. Please continue to run the capitol as a personal kingdom. You will lose nothing but your soul.
As for Madrona, well, you either love or hate the guy. Romblon loves Budoy, too, (look at that Bayan kong Mahal slogan, which some say is Bowel Movement) and would want to see him re-elected many times over. They had just a brief respite with the man when they elected Firmalo, but since then, they have realized their folly and returned Madrona to the House.
They will do so again in 2010. That’s my bold prediction. I am ready to bet my gin money to anyone who will say otherwise.
“Madrona is the best Romblon congressman.” Ever. Can you imagine, there was no mining in Romblon when he was not yet in power? Today, the province is all about mining. Our politicians, save a few, are all into mining. You know, “this is mine. That is mine. Those are mine.” Right?
I mean, why should we change our congressman and our governor when our lives haven’t changed either? We are still poor, yes? Perhaps, a little poorer than we were when Beltran was still in the kingdom of Raha Bangkusay, or when Budoy was still in a seminary, but what’s the difference?
Everyone in Romblon is entitled to suffer a little of our unpaved roads, dilapidated health care system, bad governance, unclean water, unemployment, and all that ek-ek that enemies of Budoy and Jojo love to hurl against them as if it is their fault that Romblon is reeling from incompetence, corruption and retrogress.
You are not a Romblomanon if you feel that when traveling from Magdiwang to San Fernando, you feel you are passing through an expressway. Are you sleeping?
No, it is not Madrona’s and Beltran’s fault that we are what we are. It is OUR fault, and we should not blame anyone but OURSELVES for having been short-changed and abused by our politicians. We should fault OURSELVES for allowing OURSELVES to be short-changed and abused year in and year out.
And who promises to save us from our hellish experience with the present power holders?
The opposition!
Ah, the opposition consisting of who? Lolong Firmalo, Bernie Fondevilla, Alice Fetalvero, Mel Madrid, Jun Irao, et al? These province mates of ours who also dream like everyone else of ending Madrona’s and Beltran’s reign?
They could be hallucinating. I mean, they must be like every one of us. Dreaming. Which is good, as long as it will not end in a nightmare, or bangungot.
It is not because they are not qualified, or have not the right and the means and the motivation to fight Madrona and Beltran, et al. They are and they have, but I am pessimistic. Suspicious, even. The reason I say this is while it is free to dream, it is also free to disappoint the Romblomanons with regards to the word ‘opposition’. And as a Romblomanon, I am truly, sincerely, angrily disappointed with these opposition politicians. Not anyone of them might get my vote. On election day, I might just put Awe Eranes on my ballot, then go home and write.
You see, ‘opposition’ contains the words OPPOSE, OPPOSITE, and OPTION.
A true political opposition opposes not just for the sake of opposing. A true political opposition also is the opposite of the person, place, or thing it opposes. And lastly, a true opposition provides us the option—the alternative, when it succeeds from being an opposition to become ruler.
Question: Are Firmalo and Fondevilla, et al the political opposition in the province in the truest sense of the word? Right now, right here, are they the opposite of Madrona and Beltran, et al? Do they have a ready alternative to the ways of the incumbents? Anyone who answers me correctly will receive a P20-worth of mobile phone load. My number is with Awe Eranes of the Romblon Sun.
Now, let’s look forward to the re-election of Madrona and Beltran—by crying. We are very unlucky.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Fortuna in his last days: What the people—not the politicians—wanted
I did not attend, because I was not invited to, a meeting of Romblomanons that the late Julius Fortuna—Manong Jules to many of his acolytes—convened on June 20 in Quezon City, three days before he left for a Greater Meeting beyond.
The meeting, according to La Tondena de Bachawan of www.romblonpost.com, was to jumpstart a dialogue by and between Romblomanons on the basic problems confronting us in the province and to find ways to solve these problems.
According to my kumpadre Gen. Orville Gabuna, however, the meeting was Manong Jules’s “feeling the pulse” for what Gabuna said was the former’s preparation to make a run for Congress versus Eleandro Jesus “Budoy” F. Madrona in the May 2010 election, if there would be such.
La Tondena de Bachawan used the euphemism “make himself relevant for the 2010 elections” in describing the meeting.
I do not dispute the above observations. Neither do I doubt them. During one of our coffee powwows at the Century Park coffee shop, I hinted as much to Manong Jules that I wanted him to be in politics.
This, I said, could be an easy transition for him from the parliament of the streets (where he fought so bravely) to the “parliament of pork”, the House of Representatives, where his valuable wisdom would have weighed heavily against many representatives’ idiocy, lying and thieving ways.
Manong Jules’s presence in the House, if elected Romblon congressman, would have been an effective counterweight against the shallowness of thought of many House members, as well as a great opportunity for Romblon to be represented once again by an articulate, hard-working soul.
We could have been witness to a rebirth of Romblon’s glory days in national politics, last seen during the pre-Martial Law days.
When I egged him to run for Congress, Manong Jules would just look at me with his sparkling eyes, smile his enigmatic smile, and say:
“Let’s think about it.”
His answer, using the third personal pronoun in plural form, “us”, was a window to his thinking. He would always be on the side of the people, concerned about what they wanted, not about what the few politicians dreamed of. From his answer, I knew he would not side with the fat cows or overweight pigs of Congress if he was there. He would, instead, roast them with his pointed barbs.
Alas, this was not to be the case, for the Great Maker has other plans for Manong Jules.
Gabuna saw through Manong Jules’s plan, and he expressed his support for it. When he called up to inform me about the meeting, I sensed Manong Jules was building a team. A reformist team.
The meeting, according to La Tondena de Bachawan (the poor fellow didn’t have a name so he hid behind a bottle of wine!), produced a manifesto drafted by Manong Jules.
“We are residents, voters and friends of the province of Romblon who are all concerned about its future. We come together in this manifesto to make a pledge—to help the province and free itself from its many problems,” the manifesto’s opening paragraph declared.
Manong Jules expressed concern about the pervasive poverty of Romblon, saying “we cannot and should not accept this as a continuing feature in the lives of our people”.
He deplored what he called “leadership by neglect” and our leaders’ unmitigated greed and corruption leading to the “common disregard of environment laws and the destruction of our rivers, our mountains and our seas”.
“We are concerned that unabated corruption has led to the depletion of resources for most needed services for our people. Corruption not only depletes the provincial budget . . . . Corruption also comes in the abusive exercise of discretion by some provincial officials in the granting of permits and the tolerance of illegal gambling,” he said.
He had no kind words for the destruction of the environment through logging and mining, and wrote that “the inability of the provincial government to control mining has led to chaos in governance, social problems and unsolved murders”.
The most telling indictment that he had was his observation that, “We are almost a failed province.” This made me very sad I almost cried. Poor Romblon.
In the last paragraphs of his manifesto, he asked that anomalies happening in Romblon be investigated and those guilty prosecuted. “Our people should know about them—for it is they who should judge their leaders eventually.”
He asked our leaders to desist from punishing the province some more. “Maawa po naman kayo sa probinsya natin!” he said, respectfully.
If I were to rewrite this part of the manifesto, I would have said: “Mahilak kiy ra kamo sa ato probinsya. Tur-i ra baga ka namamanwa,” because it seems to me that Romblon is a dying, tubercular patient. Sinupsop piy it ato mga lider ka tanang unor it Romblon, magtuna sa isra, kahoy, mina, ag abilidad nak magtikang pa sa masunor nak henerasyon. Even our provincial morale is so down and low.
Manong Jules called for a dialogue, for us take advantage of the forthcoming election to find solutions to our problems, and expressed hope that “dialogue would lead to the wise selection of our leaders capable of leading our province in the challenging times ahead.”
But he left us with a few questions hanging in the air: “Are there such leaders and if the answer is yes, where are they?”
“Will the people of Romblon—having known of Manong Jules’s reformist views—follow his admonition and “select wisely” those leaders? Or will they continue to believe in Romblon’s two BMs—Ballistic Missiles Budoy Madrona and BatMan—lording it over the province?
Tell me.
The meeting, according to La Tondena de Bachawan of www.romblonpost.com, was to jumpstart a dialogue by and between Romblomanons on the basic problems confronting us in the province and to find ways to solve these problems.
According to my kumpadre Gen. Orville Gabuna, however, the meeting was Manong Jules’s “feeling the pulse” for what Gabuna said was the former’s preparation to make a run for Congress versus Eleandro Jesus “Budoy” F. Madrona in the May 2010 election, if there would be such.
La Tondena de Bachawan used the euphemism “make himself relevant for the 2010 elections” in describing the meeting.
I do not dispute the above observations. Neither do I doubt them. During one of our coffee powwows at the Century Park coffee shop, I hinted as much to Manong Jules that I wanted him to be in politics.
This, I said, could be an easy transition for him from the parliament of the streets (where he fought so bravely) to the “parliament of pork”, the House of Representatives, where his valuable wisdom would have weighed heavily against many representatives’ idiocy, lying and thieving ways.
Manong Jules’s presence in the House, if elected Romblon congressman, would have been an effective counterweight against the shallowness of thought of many House members, as well as a great opportunity for Romblon to be represented once again by an articulate, hard-working soul.
We could have been witness to a rebirth of Romblon’s glory days in national politics, last seen during the pre-Martial Law days.
When I egged him to run for Congress, Manong Jules would just look at me with his sparkling eyes, smile his enigmatic smile, and say:
“Let’s think about it.”
His answer, using the third personal pronoun in plural form, “us”, was a window to his thinking. He would always be on the side of the people, concerned about what they wanted, not about what the few politicians dreamed of. From his answer, I knew he would not side with the fat cows or overweight pigs of Congress if he was there. He would, instead, roast them with his pointed barbs.
Alas, this was not to be the case, for the Great Maker has other plans for Manong Jules.
Gabuna saw through Manong Jules’s plan, and he expressed his support for it. When he called up to inform me about the meeting, I sensed Manong Jules was building a team. A reformist team.
The meeting, according to La Tondena de Bachawan (the poor fellow didn’t have a name so he hid behind a bottle of wine!), produced a manifesto drafted by Manong Jules.
“We are residents, voters and friends of the province of Romblon who are all concerned about its future. We come together in this manifesto to make a pledge—to help the province and free itself from its many problems,” the manifesto’s opening paragraph declared.
Manong Jules expressed concern about the pervasive poverty of Romblon, saying “we cannot and should not accept this as a continuing feature in the lives of our people”.
He deplored what he called “leadership by neglect” and our leaders’ unmitigated greed and corruption leading to the “common disregard of environment laws and the destruction of our rivers, our mountains and our seas”.
“We are concerned that unabated corruption has led to the depletion of resources for most needed services for our people. Corruption not only depletes the provincial budget . . . . Corruption also comes in the abusive exercise of discretion by some provincial officials in the granting of permits and the tolerance of illegal gambling,” he said.
He had no kind words for the destruction of the environment through logging and mining, and wrote that “the inability of the provincial government to control mining has led to chaos in governance, social problems and unsolved murders”.
The most telling indictment that he had was his observation that, “We are almost a failed province.” This made me very sad I almost cried. Poor Romblon.
In the last paragraphs of his manifesto, he asked that anomalies happening in Romblon be investigated and those guilty prosecuted. “Our people should know about them—for it is they who should judge their leaders eventually.”
He asked our leaders to desist from punishing the province some more. “Maawa po naman kayo sa probinsya natin!” he said, respectfully.
If I were to rewrite this part of the manifesto, I would have said: “Mahilak kiy ra kamo sa ato probinsya. Tur-i ra baga ka namamanwa,” because it seems to me that Romblon is a dying, tubercular patient. Sinupsop piy it ato mga lider ka tanang unor it Romblon, magtuna sa isra, kahoy, mina, ag abilidad nak magtikang pa sa masunor nak henerasyon. Even our provincial morale is so down and low.
Manong Jules called for a dialogue, for us take advantage of the forthcoming election to find solutions to our problems, and expressed hope that “dialogue would lead to the wise selection of our leaders capable of leading our province in the challenging times ahead.”
But he left us with a few questions hanging in the air: “Are there such leaders and if the answer is yes, where are they?”
“Will the people of Romblon—having known of Manong Jules’s reformist views—follow his admonition and “select wisely” those leaders? Or will they continue to believe in Romblon’s two BMs—Ballistic Missiles Budoy Madrona and BatMan—lording it over the province?
Tell me.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The gutter language of Romblon politics
Roll out the carpet,
get out the barrel,
politics, for all intents and purposes,
is here,
has become many Romblomanons’:
daily fare;
bread and butter;
primary occupation;
chief entertainment;
major problem;
field of dreams;
worst nightmare;
and cause of division,
exactly eleven months
before the May 2010 election.
In order is a qualification. When I say “May 2010 election”, I don’t mean I am certain there will be one. I merely refer to the date set by the Constitution for a regular election. That’s on the second Monday of May every three years.
If the Constitution will be followed, there will be one. However, this administration of La Lola Loca is not exactly popular for following the letter and spirit of the Basic Law. It is, in fact, the worst violator of the Constitution. Look at how it lies through its teeth regarding human rights.
Now, let’s go back to Romblon politics.
The observation that politics now consume many Romblomanons is not without basis. Go to http://romblonpost.com/ and see for yourself. This online medium is populated by people whose passion for the voodoo craft is such that reading their posts could lead one to commit suicide, if he or she is weak-hearted.
This online community, which I have visited a few times in the past and in which I have posted some pieces from my blog at http://bunsurancaravan.blogspot.com/, is a lively forum of “unknown” but articulate Romblomanons who have a lot of things to say about politics and our politicians.
Alas, most of the things they post online are vulgar epithets that belong to the gutter of social discourse. The ‘posters’—divided along ideological, minus and plus, pros and cons, negative and positive sides of the political equation—quarrel most of the time, with no one but among themselves.
They call our politicians and each other names. Loud, colorful, dirty names. Names that will make mothers cry when it is their sons or daughters being called by such name. Names that if published in the mainstream media could earn the authors a string of libel suits.
I said many of the ‘posters’ are ‘unknown’ because almost everyone in the online community hides behind the skirts of invented aliases accompanied by invented photos and caricatures. No one seems to care at http://romblonpost.com/ about their identities or the identities of the individuals they are exchanging pointed blurbs with. Or, are they afraid to be fingered as the authors of the daily name-calling spree?
I make this observation with exceptions. There are ‘posters’ in the site who back up their allegations with hard evidence, such as official documents. This is true in the case of Gov. Jojo Beltran’s recall of his order installing one Richard Lozada as officer-in-charge of the provincial general services office after its chief, the controversial Anthony “Jojo” Rugas, was ordered suspended by the Ombudsman.
The exchange of blurbs in the site after the two orders of Beltran were posted ran like this:
Tisoy, Jr.: “Ginagawang tanga lang ni Rugas ang Ombudsman. O baka naman walang maglakas loob na kastiguhin itong si Tony Rugas dahil maraming ninong ang animal na ‘to. Ano ba ang nangyari dito?
Carlos: “Jojo the respondent was suspended by Jojo the governor through Office Order No. 08-099 dated October 28, 2008, but in less than a week, Jojo the governor recalled his own order through another Office Order No. 08-102 dated November 3, 2008. Jojo the respondent is no doubt "malakas." That's what they are in power for.”
How about Madrona, the Congressman?
Oh, Budoy is fair game to Romblon ‘posters’. Yes, he has some defenders, such as this person who answers to the name ‘nonong’, apparently a paid hack, but ‘nonong’ is so alone because he/she is outnumbered by a horde of anti-Madrona partisans.
Read this exchange last week:
Ginoo: “June 22 aalis na ang grupo ni Budoy para bumili ng bagong barko. Hay, salamat naman, kung hindi pa sa payola ng cha-cha, ‘di pa ulit magkakaroon ng barko ang Romblon. Mga kababayan ko: tangkilikin natin ito ha? Para naman may masakyan tayo ng libre sa 2010 pag uwi natin para sa eleksiyon. Mga ex-MBRS staff, forget the past, okay?”
Ghost Whisperer: “Buti na lang may cha-cha. Kung wala ‘di na makakabili ng boat ang multong (derogatory name deleted). Saang lupalop naman ng mundo bibili ng barko ang multong (derogatory name deleted)? Sana kung saan man ‘yun may A(H1N1) virus para mahawa ang . . . . Sana Lord, please. Ito lang ang consolation diyan. Malulugi din ang barkong ‘yan o kaya baka lumubog pa bago nito masilayan ang lupang hinirang. You know, God is not sleeping. We will have our sweet revenge against the multong . . . .
Taga-Cogon Sr.: “Hindi lang sa payola sa con-ass manggagaling ang pambili ni M. B. ng bagong barko. Malaki rin na bahagi ay mula sa pork barrel funds ng (epithet deleted). Para hindi mahalata na malaki ang kinukupit niya sa pork barrel funds, ang diskarte niya ay ang DPWH, through Dodoy ‘Jalozjoz’ Perez, ang pinapa-prente sa projects. Si Dodoy Perez ang bumibida sa harapan habang binuburiki ng (derogatory name deleted) ang pondo na dapat mapunta sa mamamayan. Noong binili ang kauna-unahang bakal na barko ng MBRS taong 1989, maraming Romblomanon na may kaya sa buhay ang kinuha nilang kasosyo. Pero nang dumami ang barko mula sa parehong sistema na pambuburiki sa pork barrel funds, unti-unti ring sinipa sa eksena ang mga kasosyong ito. Pinagloloko sa bigayan ng dibidendo. Sa sobrang inis, lumayas na lang and mga ito. ‘Di ko lang sure kung andiyan pa ang mga kagaya nina Thornton, Susing Falo, Rizal Morato at marami pang iba na dinugas ng pamilya M. . . .”
The above is only a sampling of the exchanges in the community. The ‘posters’, I should mention, are equally derisive of the political opposition (does it exist?), notably the likes of Dr. Lolong Firmalo, Vice Governor Alice Fetalvero, SP Member Mel Madrid and Department of Agriculture undersecretary Bernie Fondevilla.
A few questions about Firmalo and Fondevilla.Where are they? Is Firmalo hatching his political comeback in his Quezon City clinic? Is Fondevilla having sleepless nights trying to become a congressman or a full-fledged secretary?
Are they politicians still? Or has Madrona co-opted them to forget their dreams of empire?
Come on, people. Will somebody please unzip the mouths of this two?
get out the barrel,
politics, for all intents and purposes,
is here,
has become many Romblomanons’:
daily fare;
bread and butter;
primary occupation;
chief entertainment;
major problem;
field of dreams;
worst nightmare;
and cause of division,
exactly eleven months
before the May 2010 election.
In order is a qualification. When I say “May 2010 election”, I don’t mean I am certain there will be one. I merely refer to the date set by the Constitution for a regular election. That’s on the second Monday of May every three years.
If the Constitution will be followed, there will be one. However, this administration of La Lola Loca is not exactly popular for following the letter and spirit of the Basic Law. It is, in fact, the worst violator of the Constitution. Look at how it lies through its teeth regarding human rights.
Now, let’s go back to Romblon politics.
The observation that politics now consume many Romblomanons is not without basis. Go to http://romblonpost.com/ and see for yourself. This online medium is populated by people whose passion for the voodoo craft is such that reading their posts could lead one to commit suicide, if he or she is weak-hearted.
This online community, which I have visited a few times in the past and in which I have posted some pieces from my blog at http://bunsurancaravan.blogspot.com/, is a lively forum of “unknown” but articulate Romblomanons who have a lot of things to say about politics and our politicians.
Alas, most of the things they post online are vulgar epithets that belong to the gutter of social discourse. The ‘posters’—divided along ideological, minus and plus, pros and cons, negative and positive sides of the political equation—quarrel most of the time, with no one but among themselves.
They call our politicians and each other names. Loud, colorful, dirty names. Names that will make mothers cry when it is their sons or daughters being called by such name. Names that if published in the mainstream media could earn the authors a string of libel suits.
I said many of the ‘posters’ are ‘unknown’ because almost everyone in the online community hides behind the skirts of invented aliases accompanied by invented photos and caricatures. No one seems to care at http://romblonpost.com/ about their identities or the identities of the individuals they are exchanging pointed blurbs with. Or, are they afraid to be fingered as the authors of the daily name-calling spree?
I make this observation with exceptions. There are ‘posters’ in the site who back up their allegations with hard evidence, such as official documents. This is true in the case of Gov. Jojo Beltran’s recall of his order installing one Richard Lozada as officer-in-charge of the provincial general services office after its chief, the controversial Anthony “Jojo” Rugas, was ordered suspended by the Ombudsman.
The exchange of blurbs in the site after the two orders of Beltran were posted ran like this:
Tisoy, Jr.: “Ginagawang tanga lang ni Rugas ang Ombudsman. O baka naman walang maglakas loob na kastiguhin itong si Tony Rugas dahil maraming ninong ang animal na ‘to. Ano ba ang nangyari dito?
Carlos: “Jojo the respondent was suspended by Jojo the governor through Office Order No. 08-099 dated October 28, 2008, but in less than a week, Jojo the governor recalled his own order through another Office Order No. 08-102 dated November 3, 2008. Jojo the respondent is no doubt "malakas." That's what they are in power for.”
How about Madrona, the Congressman?
Oh, Budoy is fair game to Romblon ‘posters’. Yes, he has some defenders, such as this person who answers to the name ‘nonong’, apparently a paid hack, but ‘nonong’ is so alone because he/she is outnumbered by a horde of anti-Madrona partisans.
Read this exchange last week:
Ginoo: “June 22 aalis na ang grupo ni Budoy para bumili ng bagong barko. Hay, salamat naman, kung hindi pa sa payola ng cha-cha, ‘di pa ulit magkakaroon ng barko ang Romblon. Mga kababayan ko: tangkilikin natin ito ha? Para naman may masakyan tayo ng libre sa 2010 pag uwi natin para sa eleksiyon. Mga ex-MBRS staff, forget the past, okay?”
Ghost Whisperer: “Buti na lang may cha-cha. Kung wala ‘di na makakabili ng boat ang multong (derogatory name deleted). Saang lupalop naman ng mundo bibili ng barko ang multong (derogatory name deleted)? Sana kung saan man ‘yun may A(H1N1) virus para mahawa ang . . . . Sana Lord, please. Ito lang ang consolation diyan. Malulugi din ang barkong ‘yan o kaya baka lumubog pa bago nito masilayan ang lupang hinirang. You know, God is not sleeping. We will have our sweet revenge against the multong . . . .
Taga-Cogon Sr.: “Hindi lang sa payola sa con-ass manggagaling ang pambili ni M. B. ng bagong barko. Malaki rin na bahagi ay mula sa pork barrel funds ng (epithet deleted). Para hindi mahalata na malaki ang kinukupit niya sa pork barrel funds, ang diskarte niya ay ang DPWH, through Dodoy ‘Jalozjoz’ Perez, ang pinapa-prente sa projects. Si Dodoy Perez ang bumibida sa harapan habang binuburiki ng (derogatory name deleted) ang pondo na dapat mapunta sa mamamayan. Noong binili ang kauna-unahang bakal na barko ng MBRS taong 1989, maraming Romblomanon na may kaya sa buhay ang kinuha nilang kasosyo. Pero nang dumami ang barko mula sa parehong sistema na pambuburiki sa pork barrel funds, unti-unti ring sinipa sa eksena ang mga kasosyong ito. Pinagloloko sa bigayan ng dibidendo. Sa sobrang inis, lumayas na lang and mga ito. ‘Di ko lang sure kung andiyan pa ang mga kagaya nina Thornton, Susing Falo, Rizal Morato at marami pang iba na dinugas ng pamilya M. . . .”
The above is only a sampling of the exchanges in the community. The ‘posters’, I should mention, are equally derisive of the political opposition (does it exist?), notably the likes of Dr. Lolong Firmalo, Vice Governor Alice Fetalvero, SP Member Mel Madrid and Department of Agriculture undersecretary Bernie Fondevilla.
A few questions about Firmalo and Fondevilla.Where are they? Is Firmalo hatching his political comeback in his Quezon City clinic? Is Fondevilla having sleepless nights trying to become a congressman or a full-fledged secretary?
Are they politicians still? Or has Madrona co-opted them to forget their dreams of empire?
Come on, people. Will somebody please unzip the mouths of this two?
Friday, June 26, 2009
The fortunes of JuliusFortuna
Romblon history, when the time comes that it shall be written, will inevitably only have kind words for those who made that history possible.
Those who left an indelible impact on Romblon, those who made it happen, those who descended on the arena and fought for the province, and those who, lastly, made life for the Romblomanons a little better and sufferable, will have a first claim over that history—not because they wanted it, but because history finds its own way of according its own respect and regard for people who led extra-ordinary and meaningful lives.
These people are very few. One of them was Manong Jules Fortuna.
I knew him first before he knew me, sometime in 1999, when I ran across a column of his in the defunct Daily Globe. I knew him to be a Romblomanon because of his surname. It began with a letter “F”, to which the majority surnames of the Asi population of the province answers to.
I knew, from what he wrote, that he was—by living the dangerous life of a journalist—on to something.
That something was articulating the dreams and aspirations of a race—the Filipino race—which have been subdued—killed—by the rising and ebbing tide of tyranny: Marcos’s, for which Manong Jules, because he was a principled man, suffered. Sacrificed big.
No matter how one looked at it, ten years of incarceration is a huge deduction from the limited tenure each human being is allotted to on this earth. There must be a reckoning, a just amelioration, for such deduction by man from the life of another man firstly, because that life allotment is not made by us, and secondly, because no one can tell how much a man can do and could have done in those years that he was prevented from doing anything.
Such was the fate, or fortune, of Manong Jules. A lesser mortal could have demanded for an accounting for this egregious injustice. A weak-kneed soul would have thought of exacting vengeance and stored rancor in his heart for the authors of the perfidy against himself.
Not Manong Jules. Never in our serious conversations about politics, foreign affairs, books, and Romblon issues did he insinuate he was wounded. No, he never hinted at all about the injustice he suffered.
What occupied him during those times when we sat together for coffee at the Century Park hotel lobby were the burning issues of the day that were crying for resolution. He was, it seemed to me, on a race to recover the lost time deducted from his life. He earned his keep the old, traditional way: by working. Hard and driving.
We traveled together once to and from Odiongan, his hometown, and during the time, we wasted not a second in meaningless blabber. With Manong Jules, you always get quality minutes of intellectual discovery. The book I saw last in his hands was Thomas Friedman’s bestseller, “The World is Flat”. He spent money on books and foreign newspapers, in the same manner that he was generous to struggling friends in the media.
As a thinker and journalist, Manong Jules can slice through a conversation and insert a gem of wisdom, usually his take or view on a topic enriched by reading and distilled by years of experience in observing events and human nature, and of course, by regular interaction with the powers-that-be.
All the years, however, that he lived, he retained his wit and firm anchor on his Asi roots even as the people around him—the subjects of his writing, most of them politicians—were running like headless chickens and fumbling in stupidity.
It was I who named his gathering of friends in Odiongan the Libakan Forum, over which he regularly presided and steered to a happy conclusion. Everyone walks away from the forum sober at the thought that they have exercised their mental faculties not for trivialities, but for meaningful discourse. The Libakan Forum was a Kapihan sa Sulo, Odiongan-style, where coffee and sometimes, food, is free, but where ignorance has a price. Manong Jules certainly knew how to make people think.
When Awe Eranes of the Romblon Sun called up to inform me that Manong Jules has gone away, he was crying and wondered aloud what will happen now that Romblon journalists have lost a mentor and godfather.
I was thinking of another matter. I was mourning the loss of a Romblon icon in journalism whose voice has been heard and listened to around the country, whose company has been enjoyed by countless friends, and whose revolutionary struggle to re-arrange the order of things in a society drowning in collective apathy, guile and guilt will now be missed.
I was thinking about Romblon without Manong Jules, whose love for his native soil is equaled only by his love to see that soil cultivated and toiled on by Romblomanons enjoying the opportunities possible only in a democracy.
I was also thinking of Manong Jules’ good fortune to have lived in an era that recognized—was grateful for—his transition from a life of revolutionary activism to a life of battling society’s inequities through a more powerful weapon—the Word.
Manong Jules lived a full life regardless of his early death. That fullness he achieved when he chose to become what he became: a revolutionary, a thinker and a journalist who engaged the world when many others in his era opt to be co-opted and therefore, are in danger of losing their souls while still alive.
He is dead. Gone, gone, gone.
But his animating spirit lives. His story remains. His kindness continues to be affecting.
And his weapon, the chief implement he used in his battles, stays with us: “the unkillable word.”
Manong Jules, nag-aampo ako para sa kalmadang payadag nimo sa sunor nak kinabuhi. Pagkayangkag ka kalibutan sa imo paghalin. Magkinita ray kita.
Those who left an indelible impact on Romblon, those who made it happen, those who descended on the arena and fought for the province, and those who, lastly, made life for the Romblomanons a little better and sufferable, will have a first claim over that history—not because they wanted it, but because history finds its own way of according its own respect and regard for people who led extra-ordinary and meaningful lives.
These people are very few. One of them was Manong Jules Fortuna.
I knew him first before he knew me, sometime in 1999, when I ran across a column of his in the defunct Daily Globe. I knew him to be a Romblomanon because of his surname. It began with a letter “F”, to which the majority surnames of the Asi population of the province answers to.
I knew, from what he wrote, that he was—by living the dangerous life of a journalist—on to something.
That something was articulating the dreams and aspirations of a race—the Filipino race—which have been subdued—killed—by the rising and ebbing tide of tyranny: Marcos’s, for which Manong Jules, because he was a principled man, suffered. Sacrificed big.
No matter how one looked at it, ten years of incarceration is a huge deduction from the limited tenure each human being is allotted to on this earth. There must be a reckoning, a just amelioration, for such deduction by man from the life of another man firstly, because that life allotment is not made by us, and secondly, because no one can tell how much a man can do and could have done in those years that he was prevented from doing anything.
Such was the fate, or fortune, of Manong Jules. A lesser mortal could have demanded for an accounting for this egregious injustice. A weak-kneed soul would have thought of exacting vengeance and stored rancor in his heart for the authors of the perfidy against himself.
Not Manong Jules. Never in our serious conversations about politics, foreign affairs, books, and Romblon issues did he insinuate he was wounded. No, he never hinted at all about the injustice he suffered.
What occupied him during those times when we sat together for coffee at the Century Park hotel lobby were the burning issues of the day that were crying for resolution. He was, it seemed to me, on a race to recover the lost time deducted from his life. He earned his keep the old, traditional way: by working. Hard and driving.
We traveled together once to and from Odiongan, his hometown, and during the time, we wasted not a second in meaningless blabber. With Manong Jules, you always get quality minutes of intellectual discovery. The book I saw last in his hands was Thomas Friedman’s bestseller, “The World is Flat”. He spent money on books and foreign newspapers, in the same manner that he was generous to struggling friends in the media.
As a thinker and journalist, Manong Jules can slice through a conversation and insert a gem of wisdom, usually his take or view on a topic enriched by reading and distilled by years of experience in observing events and human nature, and of course, by regular interaction with the powers-that-be.
All the years, however, that he lived, he retained his wit and firm anchor on his Asi roots even as the people around him—the subjects of his writing, most of them politicians—were running like headless chickens and fumbling in stupidity.
It was I who named his gathering of friends in Odiongan the Libakan Forum, over which he regularly presided and steered to a happy conclusion. Everyone walks away from the forum sober at the thought that they have exercised their mental faculties not for trivialities, but for meaningful discourse. The Libakan Forum was a Kapihan sa Sulo, Odiongan-style, where coffee and sometimes, food, is free, but where ignorance has a price. Manong Jules certainly knew how to make people think.
When Awe Eranes of the Romblon Sun called up to inform me that Manong Jules has gone away, he was crying and wondered aloud what will happen now that Romblon journalists have lost a mentor and godfather.
I was thinking of another matter. I was mourning the loss of a Romblon icon in journalism whose voice has been heard and listened to around the country, whose company has been enjoyed by countless friends, and whose revolutionary struggle to re-arrange the order of things in a society drowning in collective apathy, guile and guilt will now be missed.
I was thinking about Romblon without Manong Jules, whose love for his native soil is equaled only by his love to see that soil cultivated and toiled on by Romblomanons enjoying the opportunities possible only in a democracy.
I was also thinking of Manong Jules’ good fortune to have lived in an era that recognized—was grateful for—his transition from a life of revolutionary activism to a life of battling society’s inequities through a more powerful weapon—the Word.
Manong Jules lived a full life regardless of his early death. That fullness he achieved when he chose to become what he became: a revolutionary, a thinker and a journalist who engaged the world when many others in his era opt to be co-opted and therefore, are in danger of losing their souls while still alive.
He is dead. Gone, gone, gone.
But his animating spirit lives. His story remains. His kindness continues to be affecting.
And his weapon, the chief implement he used in his battles, stays with us: “the unkillable word.”
Manong Jules, nag-aampo ako para sa kalmadang payadag nimo sa sunor nak kinabuhi. Pagkayangkag ka kalibutan sa imo paghalin. Magkinita ray kita.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The vanishing loads: Regulation in the face of ‘vultureeism’
After I’ve commented on Juan Ponce Enrile’s and Mar Roxas’s taking up the cudgels for poor Filipinos against the mobile phone companies and suggesting that the government regulate them more strictly because of their crocodile-like business practices, a reader sent information which followers of this blog may find more infuriating.
Another reader posted the article on Facebook, possibly to incite some more mobile phone users to consider banging their phones on the wall for utter helplessness in getting the mobile phone companies to serve them better, meaning, for these ‘telcos’ not to tolerate frequent ‘drop calls’ or not to steal their ‘loads’.
There is such a thing, says a reader who answers to the email jcloyola@skyinet.net, as inter-connection or network access charges, these being the rates that the ‘telcos’ charge one another for ‘crossing’ into each other’s network. A ‘telco’ crosses a network to make or connect a call or deliver a text message.
That’s from Globe to Smart to Sun to Red and vice versa, if I get it right.
The reader who sent the email said Filipinos send about 16,200 text messages per second, or two billion text messages a day. That’s a third of the world’s population of over three billion.
With 60 million mobile phone users sending these two billion messages, it’s only logical that we are called the ‘text’ capital of the world, a reputation which I don’t know if we should be proud or ashamed of.
I said this because ‘texting’ has developed its own popular culture, making idiots out of many Filipinos for their prostituted grammar and syntax, not to mention their prostitution of their own languages. But that should be for another time.
At the moment, we mobile phone users have to face the heavy burden of our mobile phone bills or ‘loads’ because the ‘telcos’ are charging us part, if not all, of the cost they pay to cross each other’s network, if the reader who answers to the email jcloyola@skyinet.net is correct.
He says the Philippines has the highest interconnection rate in Asia. This, I am sure, is a reputation we don’t want to stick on our skin.
This means that a Filipino mobile phone user pays more than anyone else when connecting to other mobile phone users using other networks. The inter-connection rate in this country of La Lola Loca is four pesos, or 9.5 cents in Uncle Sam’s money. Compare this with the rates in the following countries: Indonesia, 4.95 cents; Thailand, 2.97 cents; Malaysia, 2.55 cents; Pakistan: 2 cents; China, 0.88 cents; India, 0.71 cents; and Hong Kong, 0.56 cents.
What are we compared to Hong Kong and China economically? Yet, mobile phone users in these countries pay far, far less in network-to-network charges, he averred.
And listen to this: “In 2007, the combined gross revenue of Smart, Globe and Sun Cellular was P149.5 billion, with Smart earning P39.6 billion in text messaging alone and Globe chalking up revenues of P18.3 billion”.
In the same year, Smart earned P17.2 billion in inter-connection charges, while Globe get paid P12.8 billion for the same network access usage, according to the guy.
“To be rich is glorious.” Those were the late Deng Xiaoping’s words, but not if one profits from the ignorance or from the docile passivity of another. If one gets more than enough at the expense of consumers, how should it be called? “To be rich is gluttony?”
“How would you like to make voice calls from Smart to Globe and vice versa for less than P2.00 per minute? How would you like to send a ‘text’ message for less than fifty centavos per text? These goals are not as lofty as they seem. Ironically, the possibility of this happening rests on the unlikely shoulders of our government, specifically, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)”, says the email sender.
He added that the NTC needs to be firm in implementing its rules.
Now, I remember that sometime ago, some do-gooders in Congress had the sudden inspiration to propose to tax text messages, but this, I think, has run into strong opposition. I don’t know from where or from whom. Our reader says that “because of some hesitation brought about by recent tax proposals, the NTC seems to need a little push, specifically to adopt its own draft circulars in implementing these game-changing rates.”
It needs a shove, my friend. Over the cliff, if necessary.
Forget the NTC. It is mired presently in court fighting for a memorandum circular which would have put the ‘telcos’ on their proper seats. The ‘telcos’ however, were able to get a judge to restrain the NTC from implementing the circular so we are f—d. All of us, just because some black-robed arbiter of the law has been ‘convinced’ that a restraining order will be a boon to mobile phone users.
How long has the court battle been pending?
And why, for Abraham’s sake, would Congress tax ‘text’ messages? This will only lead to the ‘telcos’ passing the tax to the consumers, like in “pasa-load”. This will only burden us some more. Why does Congress not order the ‘telcos’ to lower their rates on pain of revoking their franchises? You know, the government is really not that helpless. It is only inutile, most of the time, for being so spineless.
Still, I would go for the Mar Roxas proposal to review the franchises of the ‘telcos’. This is the only language they seem to understand: to be faced with a certain kind of proscription to their money-making abilities. Regulation, in the face of ‘vultureeism’, would be fine. It would be welcome.
But I would also go for my reader’s exhortation for mobile phone consumers to unite:
“And this is where you come in, (you) end-consumer of all things mobile,” he said.
I like that: “consumers of all things mobile.” Consume anything that moves.
“Your support is absolutely necessary in converting these prices from mere fiction to definitive fact. Join our call for cheaper ‘text’ and call rates. Join the Textmate Movement!” he added.
Aha! So there is a movement of ‘texters’ ready to fight for us.
I will join. . . when I get a new mobile phone. In the meantime, start that review, Senator Mar, before you get married.
Another reader posted the article on Facebook, possibly to incite some more mobile phone users to consider banging their phones on the wall for utter helplessness in getting the mobile phone companies to serve them better, meaning, for these ‘telcos’ not to tolerate frequent ‘drop calls’ or not to steal their ‘loads’.
There is such a thing, says a reader who answers to the email jcloyola@skyinet.net, as inter-connection or network access charges, these being the rates that the ‘telcos’ charge one another for ‘crossing’ into each other’s network. A ‘telco’ crosses a network to make or connect a call or deliver a text message.
That’s from Globe to Smart to Sun to Red and vice versa, if I get it right.
The reader who sent the email said Filipinos send about 16,200 text messages per second, or two billion text messages a day. That’s a third of the world’s population of over three billion.
With 60 million mobile phone users sending these two billion messages, it’s only logical that we are called the ‘text’ capital of the world, a reputation which I don’t know if we should be proud or ashamed of.
I said this because ‘texting’ has developed its own popular culture, making idiots out of many Filipinos for their prostituted grammar and syntax, not to mention their prostitution of their own languages. But that should be for another time.
At the moment, we mobile phone users have to face the heavy burden of our mobile phone bills or ‘loads’ because the ‘telcos’ are charging us part, if not all, of the cost they pay to cross each other’s network, if the reader who answers to the email jcloyola@skyinet.net is correct.
He says the Philippines has the highest interconnection rate in Asia. This, I am sure, is a reputation we don’t want to stick on our skin.
This means that a Filipino mobile phone user pays more than anyone else when connecting to other mobile phone users using other networks. The inter-connection rate in this country of La Lola Loca is four pesos, or 9.5 cents in Uncle Sam’s money. Compare this with the rates in the following countries: Indonesia, 4.95 cents; Thailand, 2.97 cents; Malaysia, 2.55 cents; Pakistan: 2 cents; China, 0.88 cents; India, 0.71 cents; and Hong Kong, 0.56 cents.
What are we compared to Hong Kong and China economically? Yet, mobile phone users in these countries pay far, far less in network-to-network charges, he averred.
And listen to this: “In 2007, the combined gross revenue of Smart, Globe and Sun Cellular was P149.5 billion, with Smart earning P39.6 billion in text messaging alone and Globe chalking up revenues of P18.3 billion”.
In the same year, Smart earned P17.2 billion in inter-connection charges, while Globe get paid P12.8 billion for the same network access usage, according to the guy.
“To be rich is glorious.” Those were the late Deng Xiaoping’s words, but not if one profits from the ignorance or from the docile passivity of another. If one gets more than enough at the expense of consumers, how should it be called? “To be rich is gluttony?”
“How would you like to make voice calls from Smart to Globe and vice versa for less than P2.00 per minute? How would you like to send a ‘text’ message for less than fifty centavos per text? These goals are not as lofty as they seem. Ironically, the possibility of this happening rests on the unlikely shoulders of our government, specifically, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)”, says the email sender.
He added that the NTC needs to be firm in implementing its rules.
Now, I remember that sometime ago, some do-gooders in Congress had the sudden inspiration to propose to tax text messages, but this, I think, has run into strong opposition. I don’t know from where or from whom. Our reader says that “because of some hesitation brought about by recent tax proposals, the NTC seems to need a little push, specifically to adopt its own draft circulars in implementing these game-changing rates.”
It needs a shove, my friend. Over the cliff, if necessary.
Forget the NTC. It is mired presently in court fighting for a memorandum circular which would have put the ‘telcos’ on their proper seats. The ‘telcos’ however, were able to get a judge to restrain the NTC from implementing the circular so we are f—d. All of us, just because some black-robed arbiter of the law has been ‘convinced’ that a restraining order will be a boon to mobile phone users.
How long has the court battle been pending?
And why, for Abraham’s sake, would Congress tax ‘text’ messages? This will only lead to the ‘telcos’ passing the tax to the consumers, like in “pasa-load”. This will only burden us some more. Why does Congress not order the ‘telcos’ to lower their rates on pain of revoking their franchises? You know, the government is really not that helpless. It is only inutile, most of the time, for being so spineless.
Still, I would go for the Mar Roxas proposal to review the franchises of the ‘telcos’. This is the only language they seem to understand: to be faced with a certain kind of proscription to their money-making abilities. Regulation, in the face of ‘vultureeism’, would be fine. It would be welcome.
But I would also go for my reader’s exhortation for mobile phone consumers to unite:
“And this is where you come in, (you) end-consumer of all things mobile,” he said.
I like that: “consumers of all things mobile.” Consume anything that moves.
“Your support is absolutely necessary in converting these prices from mere fiction to definitive fact. Join our call for cheaper ‘text’ and call rates. Join the Textmate Movement!” he added.
Aha! So there is a movement of ‘texters’ ready to fight for us.
I will join. . . when I get a new mobile phone. In the meantime, start that review, Senator Mar, before you get married.
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