Achieving Happiness

Moving to Wordpress!  Time for change.

Dumbledore was gay, and I feel sad that he had to battle his first and probably only love kasi naging dark wizard. Hay. That must’ve been so painful! But we love Dumbledore all the more! I cried and cried when he died because he was such a good and kind person and brilliant besides, and it was such a relief to know that it wasn’t really Snape who killed him. We carried that theory that he made a deal with Snape right after we finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and it was really a relief that we were right. Kasi naman, sobrang betrayal kung pinatay talaga siya ni Snape whom he trusted and defended against everyone. That would’ve broken his heart.
Hmm, come to think of it, I also cried when Snape was killed. But not as much when Dumbledore - or even Dobby– died. Kawawa din siya.
I think the JK Rowling’s biggest success was creating characters so well-depicted and developed that readers empathized with them kahit Muggles ang readers. This revelation that Dumbledore was gay makes us love him and appreciate him all the more kasi he sacrificed so much, even his personal happiness.
–
For the last three days Kim and I have been talking about whether Piolo Pascual and Sam Milby are gay. Not that we them either of the two personally, but we caught Sam on The Buzz last Sunday, and we felt angry and outraged on his behalf because Lolit Solis charged him with having an affair with Piolo and that she saw the two of them kissing (or whatever) at the Sofitel swimming pool area. Sam looked tired and exasperated, and he sounded so bewildered when he asked what the heck Solis gets from coming out with made-up stories.
Bakit ba napakalaking deal na maging bakla sina Piolo o Sam? Leave them alone if they are (actually, even if they’re straight. Ang weird ng showbiz gossip. Talagang brutal. Walang ni katiting na dangal na natitira sa mga artista. But like we really care. Most of the time it’s all tacky and cheesy and we want to commit suicide over why we remain glued to the tv while these people wash their dirty laundry. Gad, don’t let me get started on the long conversation my mom and I had over Pops Fernandez’ tell-all story on what really happened between her and ex-husband Martin Nievera that came out in, um, S magazine? Hi Magazine? Some magazine my mom brought at the supermarket along with the oatmeal and the coffee.)
Anyways,personally though, we think Sam is straight. About Piolo we have our doubts. 

Gad, what a depressing weekend, what with the newsreports of the dead and wounded of Friday’s Glorietta 2 bombing, It’s too much, way more than enough to suck all the happiness out of the air and it feels so difficult to breathe.
Mabuti na lang at patuloy din ang paglabas ng mga kasinungalingan at pagtanggi ng iba-ibang opisyales ng bulok at tiwalang gobyernong ito ni Gloria. All their lies and attempts to deceive served to make me feel less sad for the families of the victims and to make me angry.
This government is buying time for itself and it’s using the blood of innocent civilians to do it. What’s a few more dead Filipinos to save Gloria? She’s already sanctioned the brutal extrajudicial killing of almost 900 political activists and the abduction of 200 others, so what’s a few more mangled and bloodied bodies?
Cold and ruthless. This government has sold itself to the devil, but the deal is backfiring so it’s going to take the rest of the nation down with it to hell.

We mourn for the victims and deeply sympathize with their families. The best way to secure justice for all of them is to go after the perpetrators and the masterminds, and one doesn’t need to look very far to find them — they’re in Malacanang.

I have yet to talk to someone who doesn’t think that the government is not behind Friday’s brutality. The taxi driver in whose cab we rode last night was outraged that the Muslims are being blamed again. He was adamant in saying that it’s Gloria Good For Nothing President ("Walang kwentang presidente!") who ordered the attack to distract the public’s attention from the bribery scandal and the calls for her resignation.

Kung gustong makamit ang katarungan, labanan ang diktadurya ni Gloria! Prepare to join the rallies against this corrupt, morally bankrupt, killer administration and demand her removal from office.

I hope that the families of those killed and wounded will not allow themselves to be swayed by Malacanang’s  expressions of sympathy and solidarity. Arroyo is using this bereavement to project her and her administration’s supposed humanity and compassion, their commitment to peace and justice. The victims were all collateral damage in Malacanang’s desperate ploy to divert attention from itself, and to allow Gloria to milk the tragedy for all its worth and in the bargain justify heightened military and police deployment as well as the arrest of more civilians false accused of terrorism would make their deaths all the more tragic.

—

Paano pa ba pupunta sa Ayala without ever thinking of the bomb blast that killed 11 people and injured 120 others? Gad, hindi na talaga matatakasan ang riyalidad. Whenever I want to escape for a little while, I go to Ayala Center and walk around Greenbelt park, drink tea, eat cake, read. It’s like Neverneverland there, and everyone looks happy and cheerful, and for a few hours I forget how sad and desperate so many, many Filipinos are because of poverty, malnutrition, homelessness and disease.  I always, always look forward to the Christmas season because I love looking at Makati dressed up in bright, twinkly lights and there are giant parols and belens everywhere and even the manongs manning their squidball carts and the lolas selling newspapers and yosi are smiling more than usual and everyone, in general, seems to be in a better humor because of the twinkly lights and the massive holly wreathes and the brilliantly-decorated Christmas trees.
But now the military has bombed Glorietta 2 and there is no more escape.

—

Right now I just want to listen to Ben Lee and try to be less sad. I don’t know why I’m so affected by what happened last Friday. I guess it’s because, well, wala lang talagang kwenta ang buhay sa ilalim ng ganitong klaseng gobyerno, sa ilalim ng ganitong sistemang pampulitika at pang-ekonomya. Deaths are so senseless, the innocent are killed, youth and children are not spared. Everyday there are reminders of this, and sometimes, like now, it’s just so overwhelming. You take care of your children, you raise them the best way you can, you love them so much it hurts, and then they go a mall and in split seconds they’re gone, their laughter abruptly, sharply cut short and then silence except for the wailing and cries for help of others who survived.

Araw-araw na lang.

–

Love Me Like the World is Ending
Ben Lee

 This is the first day of the future
and all I want is you.
I wear a pair of socks you left here
but I know, I know, I know nobody could ever fill your
shoes.

I can’t see so clearly when your smoke gets in my eyes.
Please me with your promises and hurt me with your lies.
Baby can you hear the message I am sending?
Love me like the world is ending.

This is the last day of existence
and all I want is you.
And there’s a certain sadness
But I know, I know, I know the sky is what makes the ocean
blue.
I know, I know, I know the sky is what makes the ocean blue.

I can’t see so clearly when your smoke gets in my eyes.
Please me with your promises and hurt me with your lies.
Baby can you hear the message I am sending?
Love me like the world is ending.

Love me like the world is ending.

And they all say to pour it has to rain.
So don’t complain if we get wet
In the deep end.

I can’t see so clearly when your smoke gets in my eyes.
Please me with your promises and hurt me with your lies.
Baby can you hear the message I am sending?
Love me like the world is ending.

Love me like the world is ending. 
Come on and love me like the world is ending.

—

5pm

Drank coffee and now my heart is like a Mexican jumping bean. I had no choice but to drink coffee because I was suddenly so sleepy and I need to finish something.

In the news, the PNP is now bicycling backwards — away from its previous revelation that the Glorietta bombing was courtesy of the Rajah Solaiman Movement. Also, now they’re saying that maybe it wasn’t a bomb.

Hmm, make up your freakin’ minds and pick a theory and stick with it. Kahit ano namang sabihin ng PNP, what’s clear is that the attack was brutal, that it’s connected to Malacanang’s attempts to divert attention, and that public opinion is strongly leaning towards accusing the government for what happened. RSM daw, o.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes III is not budging - he will not retract from his statement that the military did the bombing. He knows what he’s talking about, so why should he take back what he said? He doesn’t stand to lose anything by standing firm on his accusation, and for the most part the public agrees with him kasi there have been previous similar incidents wherein the military did orchestrate bombings and this latest attack fits the profile very comfortably.

Iggy Arroyo offers P1M reward to anyone who can find the perpetrators. Asus! He’s so confident kasi he knows  no one will claim the money — may magsusuplong ba sa Malacanang?

All work is disrupted as everyone here at the office remains glued to the tv and their computers monitoring reports about the bomb blast in Glorietta 2.

Almost fell off my seat when the news reports first came in because only 40 minutes before my mom had texted me that she was in Ayala having lunch. Was so relieved when she responded to my worried text that she was already on her way home when the bomb exploded.
It’s a terrible, horrible evil thing! Whoever had done it should roast in hell. The figures differ, but whatever the real numbers are, they’re terrible - kahit isa lang ang namatay, masyadong nang marami yun. Latest reports say that eight have already died and there are over 80 injured.
Ano na naman ito?! One cannot help but immediately be suspicious of the military and the police, and by extension the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. Who benefits from the frantic distraction this bombing at the very heart of the country’s financial district but Malacanang? The spotlight is trained on Malacanang and the burgeoning calls that Pres. Arroyo step down on the grounds of massive corruption (among other crimes and violations of the law, morality, and basic human decency) . The bombing takes away the attention from Gloria, and the rest of the country is now riveted and monitoring the tragic aftermath of the Glorietta bombing.
Ganitong-ganito ang nangyari noong December 2000 nang lumalakas na ang mga panawagan na patalsikin si Erap Estrada. The LRT Rizal Day bombings. Ngayon naman, a popular mall that so many people frequent is bombed.
I bet PGMA and her closest allies are slightly relieved na nangyari ang pagsabog. I mean, it takes away attention from them, right? And provides PGMA a platform to express her sympathy and solidarity with the families of the victims - palalabasin na naman na mabait siya at maawain.
And what of the heightened alert? Red alert na ang Metro Manila. Is it such a crazy thing to think that the red alert is also to justify the massive deployment of police and military in the metropolis? In the guise of protecting public safety and going after suspects behind the bombings, they will be deployed to ensure that there are no big rallies or protests being formed calling for the resignation of the president.
At dahil sa nangyaring trahedya, mahihinto ang mga panawagan para sa pagpapatalsik at pansamantalang mangingibabaw ang mga panawagan para sa panalangin para sa mga biktima. There is no problem with this,tama lang naman, but it’s also clear that PGMA and her beleaguered government benefits from this.

–

It’s so frustrating how the police also look like they’re headless chickens trying to figure out what really happened. They didn’t even immediately rope off the scene of the explosion. They should be looking for bomb fragments now, and checking the security cameras. It’s frustrating how the police immediately issued a theory that the explosion was caused by an LPG tank. Ang lawak kaya ng area of devastation to be caused by a exploding LPG tank! The blast reverberated to the rest of the mall and concrete windows crumbled, windows shattered to powder.

Jeez, baka yung mga artista playing CSIs on CSI Las Vegas, Miami and New York could do a better job putting together what happened.

–

At sino naman ang may kakayanang gumawa niyan?

The usual suspects- the military. They’ve done it before, and they did it again. Ask National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales.Kung sila, paid mercenaries who are also, inevitably, connected to the military.

I’m willing to make a bet that in the next few days, the AFP and the NSC will issue statements to the effect that the bomb blast was the doing of either the Abu Sayyaf, the Jemaah Islamiyah, or the NPA. Ganun naman yun e. Then they will round up a few civilians, torture them, and make them confess to the crime. Baka mga Muslim din ang arestuhin nila, as the PNP will conduct raids in the Muslim communities in Pasay, Tondo or Quaipo.

GMA has now called for a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC). Will she declare a state of national emergency and then martial law?

—

Malacanang snubs PDI apology. Whatever.
Sana nga ituloy pa ng Malacanang ang pagtataray sa media. No one minds when the Inquirer blasts away at Malacanang. Donna Pazzibugan (my mom in the Philippine Collegian) , Norman Bordadora (batchmate in journalism) and Christian Esguerra must be secretly pleased to have been singled out because they wrote the article that has caused so much grief and irritation in the Palace.

For months now my favorite blog/site has been www.neatorama.com because it features so many, well, neat things — new gadgets, games, art, animals, scientific and mathematic discoveries, etc. etc. A few days ago it featured Disapproving Rabbits, a photobook on rabbits and how they can express disapproval with the slightest twitch of their noses.
I miss Herbert whom I had for six years, and I wish I could get a new rabbit or even just hamsters. It’s just too bad that Kim doesn’t really like having pets in the house because he’s freaked by fur and poo and pee and bacteria and all that. All he approves of is fish. Jeez. I prefer my pets furry; or at least pets I can touch and hold (like my turtle Enrique when he was still alive).

It’s often frustrating being with someone who’s often the exact opposite of me in terms of temperament. According to at least five EQ and IQ tests I’ve taken, I’m (average ito) 55% right-brained and 45% left-brained. I suppose if I didn’t become tibak I’d've been more right-brained, so thank goodness again for the Kilusan for bringing some order and discipline into my life. For the most part, obviously, I use more of my right brain and what this implies for my day-to-day dealings with my scientist/mathematician of a husband is often explosive: we often argue and debate (his terms; I call it fighting) over the smallest things and preferences. We have yet to strike a happy medium, so for now we’re both trying very, very hard to get there and survive each other. It’s exhausting, it’s frustrating, but when you love the person very much, you try and try again (the only alternative is to junk everything and find someone else whose more like you. Ang corny naman nun. Kim, for his part, is stubborn in his belief that adjustment takes years and what we’re going through right now is pretty normal so he’s calm about it. Ako, am often freaked but since he’s patient, pwede na rin and am grateful).
Anyways, this definition of right-brain/left brain is the most apt I’ve found to describe how different Kim and I are: it’s uncanny how exact it is:

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS (me)

uses feeling, "big picture" oriented, imagination rules, symbols and images,present and future, philosophy & religion, can "get it" (i.e. meaning), believes,appreciates, spatial perception, knows object function, fantasy based, presents possibilities, impetuous, risk taking.

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS (si Kim ito) uses logic, detail oriented, facts rule, words and language, present and past, math and science, can comprehend, knowing, acknowledges, order/pattern perception, knows object name, reality based, forms strategies, practical, safe.

Kim, I think, is 45% right brained, 55% left-brained, because he’s also quite creative and appreciative of art, only he never lets his interest in it get him carried away. For instance, kung umuulan nang malakas at may super amazing art exhibit on, say, miniature models and he’s really fascinated by them, hindi siya pupunta nevermind if the exhibit is only for that one day. Why? kasi umuulan at ayaw niyang mabasa at magkasipon. There. Ako, I’d run all the way to the exhibit and nevermind if I get drenched.

(One of my best experiences is walking in the rain all around Intramuros. There is always something so liberating in the feeling of rain on your bare skin, and the sky is  the color of bruises and it’s cold but comforting because you are happily silent, happily minding your own business in your solitary walk, your solitary thoughts and the sky opens after the rain to soft pale yellow light).   

—

Magco-comment pa ba ako sa aksidente si Ka Bel? Hwag na. What’s important is that he’s mending, and so’s Ka Jim, and everything else is up to the lawyers. Am so relieved that nothing worse happened kahit na he hit his face. He’s 74 years old and not as strong as he used to be, but he’s a fighter so we expect him to get all better by Christmas time.

—

Great lecture yesterday afternoon on the Writ of Amparo sponsored by the National Union of People’s Lawyers! Justice Adolf Azcuna’s lecture was interesting, and so was Atty. Neri Colmenares’ sharing on the various kinds of Amparo writs in Latin America.

Seems to me that while the Supreme Court’s Amparo is already a very important achievement when it comes to amending court processes and proceedings related to prosecuting cases of extralegal killings and disappearances, there’s still  a lot of room for strengthening it further. Make it a more effective  instrument  that will enable victims and families to  get closer to just resolutions and solutions  — the surfacing of their loved ones; finding the perpetrators and paving the way to the filing of strong criminal charges against them.

The Writ of Amparo will be tested when the Burgos families apply for it next week. Somehow I don’t feel so enthusiastic about the chances of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and its agencies like the ISAFP being more cooperative.
Let’s not even talk about AO 197 which carries the objective of protecting the military and doings from investigations. This AO was released on the very same day that the SC announced the Amparo writ finalized and ready for implementation.

—

Resign resign resign! Gad, why doesn’t she step down?! Hindi na talaga nahiya. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Argh! Wala.na.akong.masabi.!!! Aksyon na! Bakit ang tagal ng simbahan magpatawag ng People Power?! What is everyone waiting for?

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary
Ronaldo Puno is now saying that the
money that was given to lawmakers last Thursday came from the office of House
Speaker Jose de Venecia. Sec. Puno has also absolved Pres. Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo of accountability for the bribery of solons.

Of course Sec. Puno is expected to defend Pres. Arroyo and
then turn around to pin the blame on Speaker de Venecia. At this juncture, Sec.
Puno really has no credibility to speak on what Malacanang is guilty or not
guilty of doing – he himself hasn’t been cleared regarding the filing of the bogus impeachment complaint
against the president two weeks ago. Speculations are still rife that Sec. Puno
is one of the Malacanang insiders bent on getting Speaker de Venecia ousted for
standing against Pres. Arroyo and the First Gentleman on the controversy over
national broadband contract with China’s ZTE Corp.

This will be the tack Malacanang will be using to answer
accusations of bribery and financial opportunism – blame it on JDV who’s
becoming more and more vocal in his criticism against corruption
Macapagal-Arroyo style. Instead of pointing fingers, Malacanang and its various
spokespersons should welcome independent investigations into the bribery
allegations and cooperate with all efforts of the Philippine Senate to ferret
out the truth. Sec. Puno may have absolve Pres. Arroyo from accountability, but
the Filipino people haven’t. As far as the public is concerned, corruption in
the government stems directly from the Office of the President.

In the meantime, it’s highly unlikely that the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC)
will yield any credible results. Not to
disparage the PAGC, but the chances of the commission investigating the
president and getting true and credible results are very slim. Malacanang is
sacrosanct as far as the PAGC is concerned, and even if this were not the case,
the results will go to Executive Sec. Ermita who will launder and sanitize the
results so Pres. Arroyo will come out smelling like a rose when she actually
stinks like three-week old garbage.

–

Watched Mel Gibson’s ‘Apocalypto’ last night on DVD. Am grateful I already ate dinner before I saw it.

Attend this and learn more about how to defend your rights and the rights of other Filipinos!

—

Green tea is said to have health benefits, but jeez it smells fishy and tastes faintly of metal. I think it’s the container, though. The teabags have been exposed to the air, and the jar they’re in is quite close to the sink.

I drink tea not only because it tastes good (the fruit infusions, in particular. I also prefer black teas and Earl Grey), but because they smell good; so when the tea isn’t fragrant, it kinda spoils the experience.

I wish I could attend one of those seminars on the ancient tea ceremonies, or study the various kinds of tea and how they’re made.

I’ve noticed that there are more tea varieties being sold in the supermarkets, and many of the brands aren’t that expensive so I’ve stopped going to The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf: one cup of tea there is equivalent to one box of tea bags!

I prefer loose leaf tea, though; but not may stores sell them here. Hindi uso,e. Mas teabags pa rin.

There’s a tea store in Ayala than offers British High Tea for P450 a set — tea, scones, cookies, sugar or honey. The tea things are dainty, fragile and beautiful. The tea is, well, not really different from what you could buy from Rustan’s. Ang imoral ng presyo ng meryenda.

—
Bribery, bribery, bribery. Ano ba yan! Ang dami talagang pera just floating around, and somehow (nooneenoneenooh)they end up in the pockets of local executives and politicians.
It’s appalling how some try to justify accepting bribes by saying that the money will be used to serve their constituencies anyway. It’s bribery, for crying out loud - and it’s to cement the support and loyalty to a particular political party or executive and ensure that no moves to unseat them power will ever prosper.Kung talagang para sa mga constituents yun, then the money should’ve been released through the proper venues and channels — channels that can be audited by the Commission on Audit; where there are records and complete receipts and documentation.
No wonder corruption prospers and thrives in the Philippines - officials find no wrong doing in giving and accepting bribes, and they disguise these bribers as ‘financial assistance’ and ‘donations.’ Nakakasuka.
—

Celebrated my 32nd birthday at the old standby Bubba Gump’s in Ayala with my mom and Kim. Gorged on shrimp and squid, and generally felt like I will not touch either seafood for at least six months.
Thank you to friends Walkie, Edre, Sonny Af, Sarah B, Nova, Alex Rem, Chi, Anya, Lisa, Ganni, Tin-Tin, Mau, Lyn, Noi, Jennifer, Yolly, Malou, Bam-Bam , Ms. Belle who remembered, called up or  sent email or texts to greet me happy 32nd.

—
Rereading the Lord of the Rings trilogy (I have really old copies, printed in 1969), and  I still get the shingles over how brilliant it is, how imaginative, how creative, how beautiful. I want to move to Middle-Earth and get a mushroom house in Bag’s End. I’ll find work as a gardener and tend flowers and vegetables, or be a teacher.

—

Report on Inquirer.net: GMA says her government has no tolerance for human rights violations.

Ang kapal!

“Investigations suggest links to both right and left — to
communists, communist rebels as well as possibly elements of our own military.
The investigations of the national police’s Task Force Usig have unearthed some interesting facts such as
23 cases of killings perpetrated by the NPA against their own men, the
discrepancy between the number of cases reported by the front organizations of
the communists and the numbers in the police files, and two cases where the
supposed victims were confirmed to be alive. It’s disheartening to contemplate
that anyone upholding people’s rights could engage in such deeds. I need to
absorb fully what it means.

 “I do know this: I believe 99.9 percent of our military are
good, hard working and patriotic Filipinos. They do heroic things, like killing
terrorists in battle, putting their lives on the line every day to protect the
nation and make our homeland safer.”

 - Pres.Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, January 31, 2007 Vin D’ Honneur, Malacanang

So kill activists to keep the peace. That’s the policy of the Arroyo government.

 Earlier this year, the Macapagal-Arroyo government filed 23
specific complaints of extrajudicial killings against the National Democratic
Front of the Philippines (NDFP) with the Joint Secretariat (JS) of the Joint
Monitoring Committee (JMC). All of these complaints have counterpart  complaints which were previously filed
against the GRP and attributed to
government forces. The NDFP-MC released the results of a comparative study it
conducted on these cases through a book titled ‘The Lies of GRP Officials on
Extrajudicial Killings.’

T

he 23 complaint forms filed against the
NDFP were filed by the Judge Advocate General Service (JAGS) of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines /AFP (15); the Philippine National Police/ PNP,
seven; surviving victims (two) and a relative (one). The complaints filed by
one surviving victim and the relative of a victim are both unsigned, further
putting the credibility of the complaints in question.

 Ten of the complaints against the NDFP contain only terse,
bare and formulaic descriptions such as ‘shot to death/summarily executed.’ In
the meantime, the remaining 13 complaints are completely lacking in description
of the purported incidents. Most of the
complaints (18) were filed with no
supporting documents, but in the five
others that had supporting documents, the investigation that was conducted
prior to the filing was not thorough or was obviously contrived to fit a
pre-existing theory. A total of 19 complaint forms lack sufficient data to even
qualify as valid complaints.

 Neither were motives for the killings cited in 14 of the 23
complaints. In the nine cases where motives were cited, the reasons were either
patently false or purely speculative, such as in the case of Sotero Lamas. No
investigations were conducted to bolster 18 of the cases.

 In one particular case against the NDFP , important information was deliberately withheld by
those who filed the complaint and no
follow-up was made.

 In Case No. 22 on the victim Rev. Jemias Tinambacan, the
complaint against the NDFP conveniently omitted the fact that the victim’s wife
identified one of the assailants as a Philippine Army intelligence agent. This
fact was stated in the complaint filed against the GRP, wherein the wife, Malou
Tinambacan made positive identification as she herself survived the attack that
killed her husband.

 Tinambacan, 49, was a
UCCP Pastor and Bayan Muna Misamis Occidental Provincial chairman. he was shot
and killed on May 9, 2006 in

Oroquieta

City

, Misamis Occidental.

 In another complaint against the NDFP, victims Ricardo
Balauag, 61 years old and Bayan Muna Municipal Councilor, and Elena Mendiola,
54, Bayan Muna Regional Coordinator, Isabela Chapter were said to have been
shot by two unidentified men wearing ski-masks using M-16 and M-14 rifles. The
two were killed on May 10, 2006, 8:30 pm as they left the house of two farmer
friends. Mendiola’s two grandchildren were inside the car parked outside the
house when the incident happened, and they saw what transpired. The farmers immediately called the police, but
they only arrived at 12 midnight.

The police deliberately or not failed to get the testimonies
of the victims’ companions at the time of the incident, and instead relied on
the testimonies of two so-called voluntary witnesses who came forward much
later after the fact. The credibility of
the two witnesses went unchecked and their testimonies were allowed to go on record.

 Subsequently, on May 31, 2006, the PNP said that two
suspects in the killings were charged. The two were said to have killed Balauag and Mendiola for ‘malversation and
mishandling of committee funds.’ No
clear and substantial proof to bolster this accusation was presented.

 In the meantime, the comparative study show that the 23
complaints against the GRP by human rights organizations contain substantial
material and information that can be used by concerned bodies as important
leads on which they can base deeper investigations, and from there collect
evidence for the arrest, prosecution, trial and punishment of the perpetrators.

 These complaints against the GRP include substantive supporting documents that put the burden of responsibility
for the extrajudicial killings on the GRP. The responsibility is either direct
through the involvement of the military or paramilitary units; or indirect
through inaction, belated or perfunctory
response, lack of investigation, inordinately delayed GRO judicial proceedings
and even cover-ups by GRP investigating agencies. In the cases wherein there is
direct involvement of military forces, there are also corroborating eyewitness accounts and strong circumstantial
evidence.

 The background of the victims themselves, their
organizational affiliations and the public accusations personally made against
them by GRP officials constitute tangible and prima facie evidence of motive for the extrajudicial
killings. All of the victims were unarmed civilians, members of open and legal
organizations active in exposing an opposing the abuses and violations of the
Macapagal-Arroyo government , and these groups have also been at one time or
another been accused of being fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines
(CPP) or the New People’s Army (NPA). Some of the victims have also been confirmed to have been in the
military or the police Order of Battle,
such as Expedito Albarillo, Rommel Arcilla, Nestor Arinque, Teodoro Segui Jr.,
and Abe Sungit.

 The pattern of the attacks, the description of the killers
and the means and method of the actual operations also point towards military
and paramilitary killings. In 12 cases, the killings were preceded by
surveillance, harassment, intimidation and threats against the victims. These
are incontrovertible evidence of motive, as well as opportunity and means which
are everything that the military and paramilitary have. The actual killings
were perpetrated by ski-masked and hooded gunmen in unmarked vehicles, using
.45 caliber or high-powered firearms such as M-14s an M-16s. The objective was
clearly to ensure the death of the targets, as indicated by the location of the
wounds.

 In the final comparison of the complaints filed against the GRP and the NDFP, and their contents, the
NDFP-MC has determined that the complaints filed against the NDFP are
inherently weak and severely flawed, containing bare, unsubstantiated and
sweeping allegations. They are also characterized by glaring inconsistencies,
dubious and sloppy documentation, as well as contrived and fictional stories on
the alleged identities of perpetrators belonging to the revolutionary moment.
The obvious intent for the filing of the complaints is to undermine the issue
of the killings and blame the victims themselves for what they suffered. The
fact that GRP forces chose to file these cases all the more proves the attitude of impunity GRP forces have when it
comes to the killings; and confirm charges that the government is neither
sincere or determined to bring the perpetrators to justice. #

"Anybody who goes around trying to bribe
Crispin Beltran should have his head examined. I mean, that’s like bribing the
Pope, it’s the height of absurdity."

Thus said Department of Interior and Local Government Sec. Ronaldo Puno.

True, kahit kami nagtataka — why the heck bribe Ka Bel? It’s an exercise in futility to even try. Huh?! It would’ve been easier and more productive to try giving a crocodile a mani-pedi.

In any case, Ka Bel is outraged and disgusted. Mostly because he’s insulted (and no, not because he was offered only P2M and not more) because gad, after more than five decades as a militant labor leader and six years as a progressive people’s lawmaker, may nagtangka pa ring suhulan siya.What the hell were they thinking?!

Or maybe, it’s better to ask - were they thinking at all? I mean, seriously?

In truth, this isn’t the first time that Ka Bel was approached for a ‘favor’ in exchange for money or, when he was still incarcerated, for his freedom. He was asked by Malacanang emissary Luis Villafuerte to write a letter to President Arroyo to ask that he be immediately released. Earlier on, a pro-cha cha lawmaker told him that if he (Ka Bel) signed the charter change resolution, he would be sprung from the hospital and the rebellion charges would be dismissed.

Tumaas ang blood pressure niya on those two occasions.

It’s pretty fishy how this Francis Ver person of the president’s KAMPI party just came out of the blue and offered moolah to congressmen. Hindi niya kaya kilala si Ka Bel? Maybe he mistook Ka Bel for somebody else?

Now the guy is denying that he ever approached Ka Bel and asked him to support Atty. Pulido’s impeachment complaint. Is he wacko? Is he fresh from outer space and the rush of oxygen has gone straight to is brain rendering him wonky? What gives?

Now KAMPI stalwarts are falling all over themselves trying to put as much distance between KAMPI and Ver. First thing they did is to practically disown the guy and try to make him out as some Joe Shmoe from Kokomo who was appointed some ho-hum position as DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE PRESIDENT’s POLITICAL PARTY and just likes to hang around the House of Representatives. Why- for the free aircon and Wi-Fi?!

Through all this, House Speaker Jose de Venecia should assert leadership and decry the insult against members of Congress (kunwari honorable pa rin sila….). He should tell Pres. Arroyo that he will not take the bribery attempts against solons without raising bloody hell about it.

E tuloy hindi naman sila cool ni GMA ngayon. Malacanang and the Arroyo boys are out to get JDV and JDV3 for the ZTE contract fall-out which also, surprise surprise!, involves First Gentleman Mike Arroyo.

JDV can make his mark and stand up to the President and KAMPI. And then, of course, throw out the impeachment complaint and say that the 14th Congress will only support the strongest, most well-written impeachment complaint against Pres. Arroyo and it will do so at the soonest opportunity (meaning, as soon as may dumating na magandang  impeachment complaint. Larangan pa rin ng debate at digmaan ang impeachment process kahit sa tutoo lang, imposibleng asahan yan without the support of the House Majority).

–

Am so looking forward to this!

From the Amado V. Hernandez Resource Center  

 On November 30, 2007, we look forward to seeing you at the
Main Theater of the   Cultural Center of the Philippines for an exciting evening
with our National Artists and their works of artistic excellence on Ka Amado V.
Hernandez, National Artist for Literature.

 Join us as Ka Amado pays tribute to Andres Bonifacio while
National Artists Napoleon Abueva, Salvador Bernal, Benedicto Cabrera, and Bienvenido Lumbera work together
as they pay tribute to their fellow National Artist in a night of remembrance entitled Amado, Minamahal..A compendium
of Ka Amado’s powerful poems on Freedom, Justice, and Human Rights shall be set
by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, Ballet Philippines, and grassroots
cultural organizations into symphony, modern dance, and acoustic versions
featuring an array of sounds from indigenous to contemporary tempo performed in
a hundred-voice choir set-up. Special feature for the night are pieces on Ka
Amado composed by Lucio San Pedro which shall be launched for the first time.

for inquiries pls contact avhrc tel no. 4120909 or
09167900671

–

Update as of 4:10pm: KAMPI has relieved Francis Ver for the bribery attempt. Yun lang? A slap on the wrist? Isn’t attempting to bribe a public official a criminal act?

—

Just found this out: Last year, Anita Roddick,founder of the Body Shop sold the Shop to L’Oreal, and L’Oreal is a subsidiary of Nestle. Bugger - yun na nga lang ang mga pinaka-luxury ko, ang shampoo at moisturizer ng L’Oreal , Nestle din pala! May dugo ang buhok at mukha ko!!! Okay, boycott na rin ang L’Oreal (as if naman madalas ako bumili nun e super mahal. My supplies are from  my short stint as an independently earning person in Hong Kong where L’Oreal is actually cheap. Mas mahal dun ang Ponds).

Weekend reading consisted of this book by an author I’ve never heard of (that sounds so snotty - okay, so he’s never heard of me, either) but apparently he’s kind of famous because of this hip book he’d written previously called Nothing Feels Good.
Miss Misery by Andy Greenwald is about blogging and becoming so engrossed with reading other blogs that you lose track of ‘real life’ and focus on the lives depicted, described, painted, desecrated, cursed and created over the web.

Envying how other people live their lives, or wanting a life other than the one you have because yours is so, so boring and you wish you had the courage , the chutzpah, the daring to go out and live a life you’d actually want to write about and describe in full detail.
Anyways, it wasn’t such a big deal. I liked it and all; I don’t regret that I shelled out P90 for it (got it from a Power Books affiliate Book Sale type store called Buy-Out Books in Manila) , and I don’t regret using up an entire afternoon reading it. It had its moments, no major epiphanies, but a few keen observations about what why emotional people are the way they are:living on the edge of falling into something that could either break you or give you wings.
Siguro if I were younger I would’ve liked it more, but am older, and am done with whining about life and why it’s sometimes boring. Life is what you make of it kung peti-burgis ka. May sapat na kakayanan na umunlad at iangat ang sarili; o mas mainam, magkaroon ng buhay na kapaki-pakinabang hindi lang para sa sarili kundi para sa lipunan. No excuses for whining, moaning and groaning about how life is so, so boring.
I don’t envy other people’s lives as depicted in other blogs,  but I do envy their energy - their drive. I regret my sloth and my easily-bored brain, my impatience and my conflicted need to be comfortable but intellectually challenged at the same time. I am frequently reminded that everyday, good songs are being written, new books rolling off the presses, new art being created and while at least 95% of all these works speak about the human condition without prescribing any remedies or cures, they are, at least, there to be enjoyed  and appreciated in refreshing, teeny tiny sips (kasi mahal, at kasi mas maraming mahahalagang bagay na dapat pagtuunan ng pansin).
I don’t really have an agenda for this blog, either. I just write whatever is in my head at the time I log on, and I rant away. Kim has previously slashed my wrists about writing about what he terms as ‘personal stuff’ instead of sticking to more meaningful things like, say, politics and the economy and human rights and the war, but I told him to go write in his own blog and quit reading mine if he doesn’t like what he reads.
How boring! Lagi na lang pulitika! (Actually, you can never really run away from it: everything is political)
Anyways, what I most liked about Miss Misery is how Greenwald also included lists of music albums and artists the main character (lazy, no-ambition writer David Gould) likes to listen to while he’s blogging or reading other people’s blogs. In the next few days I will be checking out this albums (mostly grunge and emo. Okay, mostly emo by bands like Jimmy Eat World and New Found Glory) and listening to the songs and maybe I’ll like them. Last album I really liked is Keane’s ‘Under the Iron Sea," and I haven’t gotten over it it. It’s been a year, gad. Hmm, there’s a new All-American Rejects album out. And am still looking for that album by Damien Rice.

Okay so maybe am not being completely honest here. Something else also struck me about the book’s theme: about being lost while in the middle of something you’re doing more or less expertly; about wanting, for a moment, to step out of your own existence and try new things regardless of how scary they are, nevermind that these things are ’so not like you.’

I am ’so not like’ ..

(1) Riding roller coasters

(2) Singing videoke

(3)Wearing make-up

(4)Wearing slinky, feminine clothes

(5) Going to parties and being the talkative, jokey and popular one.

Not that I want to do any of these things. I don’t regret not being able to do them, but sometimes I do feel like it would do me really good to get happy drunk in a videoke bar with my closest friends (and Kim, who really has a good voice, believe it or not).

I want to

(1) Go Bunjee jumping;

(2) Get a tattoo (I’ve wanted one since 1996 when I went to Silliman University in Dumaguete for the National Creative Writing Workshop but always, always hesitated at the last moment: security reasons daw);

(3) Wear mascara (yeah, yeah, you can laugh all you want);

(4)Cook a four-course dinner for my friends;

(5) Get drunk. I am so sober right now my brain hurts.

–

Next up for reading:Kiran Desai’s "The Inheritance of Loss" and Andrea Levy’s "Small Island", Both gifts from Tita Agnes.

I like it when am reading something I’ve not read before — a book by an author whose work  I haven’t previously encountered. I look forward to slipping into a new stream and feeling the current and wondering where it will take me.

I eat raisins and drink bubbly flavored water while I read. When I write, I drink tea. Lately I’ve been drinking caffeine-free, peppermint herb tea so I don’t end up shaking like a leaf three hours later.

—

When I read friends’ blogs, I feel close to them in a way that I never do when am actually with them. Isn’t that strange? Or maybe, I feel closer to them because I read their words, and there’s the assumption that they’ve been honest as the words poured out of them. Not that my friends are dishonest, it’s just that, well, so many things one could never share with the world even by BEING. One must write and write well and compellingly to be understood or, if one doesn’t care about being understood, to at least be able to explain and acquit one’s self well.

–

One cool painting-  notice the detail! 

—

Am compelled to write something about the Pacquiao-Barrera match, given that almost everyone is raving about it (mostly over the frustratingly large number of ads that kept flooding the screen every two minutes, I was told).

I completely missed it, but all the while Kim and I were aware of it because all the tv sets in the neighborhood were tuned in to the match and there was palpable tension as all the residents glued themselves to their sofas or floors to watch two grown men try to reduce each other to a bloody pulp of blackened eyes, broken noses and swollen cheeks and lips.

I don’t care about boxing - I think it’s a brutal sport, the boxers’ faces all smashed and mashed up like so many overripe tomatoes under the wheels of a cement mixer. I find neither grace nor beauty in it, and the fierceness that goes with every punch thrown makes me avert my eyes.

I love Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘The Boxer,’ though. And Morrissey’s "Sunny.’ That’s as far as I would ever get to liking boxing — loving songs about it.

www.free-burma.org