Out of my mind

I was pleasantly surprised that the open letter that I wrote and posted yesterday is going around various email groups. Thank you to those who forwarded it to others. That was a very long post, so I will try to do a short blog today. I have stopped agreeing with Conrado de Quiros a long time ago, but I continue to read him every now and then (actually, I scan through his column in the PDI, and then decide if it is worth reading or not – usually not! This is a man who has become bitter and grumpy in his old age). But his column today was hilarious because he ended it with " what can I say, I love Cory! " referring to Cory Aquino. I was tempted to bring out my copies of de Quiros’ books (compilations of his PDI columns) which contain essays where he actually called Cory a lot of names (and they were not endearing), lambasted her for incompetence, and in general came this short of calling her boba and tanga (I actually believe he did). And today, because they are on the same sid...

Dear Tita Cory, Senators, Congressmen, Businessmen, Media people, Leftists, and all Bleeding Hearts Out There: I am angry. And I know that there are many out there who are angrier than I am for the same reason. And that reason is simple. I am sick and tired of all you guys claiming to speak for me and many Filipinos. I feel like screaming every time you mouth words about fighting for my freedom and my rights, when you obviously are just thinking about yours. You tell me that the essence of democracy is providing every citizen the right to speak his or her mind and make his or her own informed judgments, but you yourselves do not respect my silence and the choices I and many others have made. In other words, your concept of democracy is limited to having your rights and your freedoms respected, at the expense of ours. I am utterly flabbergasted that you still do not get it: we already responded to your calls, and our response has been very clear - we chose not to heed your calls to go t...

There was no coup attempt? The government over reacted? They were just celebrating the anniversary of the people power anniversary? They just wanted to pray at Fort Bonifacio? Read this TIME magazine article. Inside the Philippines Coup Plot A TIME reporter witnesses a meeting of opponents of Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo BY Bryan Walsh Friday, Feb. 24, 2006Twenty years ago tomorrow, Filipinos took to the streets and brought down a president. Could it happen again? Capping a week of tension and coup rumors, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo proclaimed a state of national emergency late Friday morning, announcing on television that she had crushed a coup attempt by several prominent military officers. Arroyo appealed for calm, even as security was tightened further at the presidential palace and at military bases around Manila. Earlier in the day, the army detained three high-level officers—Brigadier General Danilo Lim, the commander of the élite Scout Range...

For many Pinoys, Friday and Saturday were quite stressful, thanks to the antics of politicians and media people. They huffed and they puffed and tried to create pandemonium. In the end, what I and many others have been saying all along came to bear - people are just tired of this people power thing. People just want to move on. So I was looking forward to a stress-free Sunday. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. By 5:00 pm, the TV stations were again breaking their regular programming to report on a supposed brewing incident at Fort Bonifacio. Again, lots of huffing and puffing and spellmaking. The usual suspects immediately descended on the scene like vultures on the lookout for blood. Imee Marcos, Teofisto Guingona, Nino Muhlach, and the leftists were all there. Media people tried to make it appear that there was something truly worthwhile happening that justified all that precious airtime being laid to waste (the kids in the house could not understand why Going Bulilit was bei...

Talks about a coup run high towards the weekend. On Friday morning, classes were cancelled and the roads were deserted. I travelled to Antipolo from Manila in less than 40 minutes, a feat short of a miracle. I passed by EDSA and turned right to La Vista and Katipunan right in front of the People Power Monument and was met by a phalanx of military men all geared up for war. Wow. A showdown was looming. I wondered if people would come. More to the point, I wondered if I would show up at EDSA if someone did call for people power again. The fact that I actually thought about it was indicative of just how people are tired of the whole thing. By lunch time, the television sets at the Training Center's dining rooms were all glued to the media coverage of the "events at EDSA." The TV stations cancelled their regular programming to devote full coverage of the "unfolding" events. By merely listening to the hysterical running commentary of the broadcasters, one would concl...

I was in Antipolo Friday and Saturday to help run a training program and before coming down to Manila Saturday noontime, we decided to drop by the Cathedral of the Lady of Good Voyage. It's been almost seven years since I last visited the Cathedral and I thought it would be great to spend a few quiet moments in contemplation before a miraculous image. Plus of course, buy pasalubong for the relatives in Manila. We were coming up to the Cathedral from the Marikina side. A kilometer away from the cathedral, there were men and boys by the road making the Thai "thank you" sign (both hands clasped in front) and running after vehicles. Of course it struck us that they were making the "praying" sign but my passengers and I could not agree on exactly what it was they were offering. Surely they were not doing it as a form of touristy welcome. I thought these people made a living out of taking commissions from vehicle blessings (this is the church of the Lady of Good Voyag...

This post is lifted from my friend Jerome's blog. The idea was actually simple - find out how many items apply to you (and hopefully help you get to know yourself better). I know, I know I am intellectualizing it (a common lament about me! hahaha). So here's my version of it - naturally and very typical of me, with corresponding comments and opinions (shempre pa!). 01. I miss somebody right now. I actually miss many people right now. Five of the people I miss the most: my youngest brother Cy who is somewhere in the waters near Pakistan, my College best friend Arthur who is at Louisiana State U (am very proud to add that he has a Ph.D. already and is Assistant Professor there), best friend Franz who is Department Head at Bicol U, Tatay who is probably the person who understands me the most, and someone I used to do baby talk with. 02. I watch more tv than I used to. The TV is always on in my room. Even when I am not watching it. Even when I am listening to music. Bad, I know. 0...