benign0's blog

The Philippine Congress mirrors not only its constituents. It mirrors its constituents' favourite form of entertainment -- low-brow noon time variety shows like Wowowee . Not much comes out of Congressional "inquiries" and "hearings" other than an opportunity for our honourable politicians to rack up media exposure mileage. But while shows like Wowowee turn the desperation of its impoverished contestants into mass-audience entertainment, the entertainment value of Congress is more akin to a bullfight -- where a bloodthirsty audience cheers on a flamboyant matador's graceful ritual killing of a maddened beast.

In a toast to a "better 2011", Philippine President Benigno "Nonoy" Aquino III referred to a "noisy minority" as one of two challenges faced by the country in the months ahead. According to Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigal Valte, this was made as "a statement of fact". This she said in defense of her boss who made the glib statement in front of "members of the diplomatic corps, Cabinet, judiciary, Congress, bureaucracy, and civil society representatives and several members of minority group in the House of Representatives".

It's safe to say that it is every unlikely that Willie Revillame will ever be a Supreme Court justice. But can we be just as certain with regard to the prospect of Revillame possibly making a bid for a seat in Congress or even the Presidency someday? Among the three branches of the Philippine government, it is only the judiciary that requires specialist expertise in the officers who serve within it. Compare that to the executive and legislative branches where actors, boozers, retards, rapists, has-been comedians, and other losers and misguided mutineers all have a better-than-average shot at a lucrative seat within them.

If there was anything that the final "resolution" of the Vizconde Massacre -- the "crime of the decade" -- achieved, it was casting the spotlight, yet again, on the astounding incompetence of the state's law enforcement, intelligence, and investigation services. Missing witnesses, tampered evidence, lack of control over crime scenes, and spineless management of the Media characterised the case then just as these characterised much of the more recent spectacles of the Philippines' keystonian police operations.

The Supreme Court was probably right in shooting down President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III's pet project, the "Truth Commission". If you are going to define an entire term of office by a "reform" agenda directed against past improprieties, then you should go the whole nine yards. This means covering all cases of such that transpired over the entire period the current Constitution (the legal framework within which the "Truth Commission" will supposedly work) was in effect. That means all cases that came up from 1986 to 2010 as well as all people involved .

Don't look now, but Akbayan party list representative Walden Bello has the distinction of being the first bozo to make that all-too-familiar but tired old call for "people power" a.k.a. Ocho-Ocho "Revolution" of the post-Arroyo era. According to Bello, the ten justices who ruled Aquino's pet "Truth Commission" project unconstitutional need to be "taught a lesson"...

I don't really give a rat's arse who is "unconstitutional" nor who is the Righteous One or the Evil One in this whole small-minded drama being spun around this whole "Truth Commission" failure-to-launch fiasco. What I do see is an amusing contest of wits, political acumen, and foresight . So far, the party leading the race as far as this set of contest criteria is concerned is quite clear. Former President, now House Representative, Gloria Arroyo has remained consistent to the winning form she's exhibited over the last ten years -- that of a tenacious and savvy politician; a stark contrast to the bumbling comedy-of-errors that is the Second Aquino Admiistration.

FilipinoVoices.com (FV) is back. And my favourite blogger Abe Margallo , heeding the call of its esteemed owner Nick to start blogging , starts the ball rolling in classic Margallo form weighing in on where the Administration is at after 100 days in power... President Aquino has been forewarned about it even before his election – that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the former president and now a congresswoman from the province of Pampanga, could in fact be retiring in the Supreme Court. The fear, one may recall, was heightened during the midnight appointment controversy involving the current chief justice himself.

Not surprisingly, Malacanang's plan to submit the report on the August 23 Mendoza hostage incident to the Chinese government before it is released to the Filipino public, drew a lot of flak . The 83-page report of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) chaired by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima which detailed findings on the circumstances surrounding the hostage drama that resulted in the deaths of eight foreign tourists looks like it was "made for China when it should be made primarily for Filipinos" gripes Senator Joker Arroyo. To highlight the point further, Senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan chimes in, "We have to avoid perception that we are catering to the dictates or pressure from a foreign country. Common objective is transparency, whatever the sequence of disclosure".

First it was Kris Aquino trying to pay off (in political kind) senators to back Kiko Pangilinan's bid for the Senate presidency, now his brother President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III is trying to spring another Kiko supporter -- alleged rebel and "Senator" Antonio Trillanes from the slammer.

By highlighting two things in relation to the issue of the "review" of alleged rebel leader Antonio Trillanes IV, President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III highlights two key characteristics of his administration. Quotes are from the Inquirer.net report :

Noynoy seems to be going about consolidating power the classical Machiavellian way — eliminating all his enemies. Problem is he is too limp-dicked to do it in the same way real tyrants did and too bratty to do it through the system.