Sino Itong Bulacan Official na Hindi Nakakabasa at Nakakaintindi ng English?

Ayon sa isang nakikipag-ugnayan sa Provincial government ng Bulacan (Attn: Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado!) na hindi nakakaintindi ng lengguwaheng Ingles?

Hindi naman po sa nakikialam ang inyong abang lingkod sa "internal" o "provincial" affairs ng Bulacan ngunit hindi po ba kahiya-hiya o sadyang hindi nagbabasa ng mga communications (letters, memos, etc) ang appointed government official na ito?

Ang pangyayaring ito po ay nakakatawa sa unang tingin dahil naatasan ang naturang opisyal na repasuhin ang isang naihaing proyekto mula sa Office ni Gov. Ayon pa sa Governor ay madaliin ang pagrerepaso dahil ang nakasalalay ay isa sa mga malalaking problema ng probinsiya. Halos isang buwan sa opisina ng naturang opisyal ang naihaing proyekto at dahil sa hindi po trapo ang grupong naghain ng proyekto, siempre po, hindi po sila naglalangis kahit kanino kundi manilbihan lamang sa ikakaganda ng bayan (natin).

Nang ibalik ni opisyal ang kanyang feedback o evaluation (napakahirap naman talagang mag-Tagalog!), aba, nagmistula suntok sa buwan ang nilalaman at katawa-tawang napakalayo sa nilalaman ng naihaing proyekto ang kanyang feedback na napansin namin ay nakasulat sa purong Tagalog.

Hindi sa minamasama namin ang paggamit ng atin pong pambansang lengguwahe pero kung hindi sana naintindihan ang Ingles, hindi naman po masamang mag-request ng Tagalog version para naman po hindi lalabas na kahiya-hiya ang maging isang mataas na opisyal na wala man lang po kayong resources (In English po Ginoong _, baka naman may staff kayong naka-graduate ng high school na pwedeng mag translate para sa inyo?)

Ang ganang amin,as always, ay nagtataka lang po (as if we were born yesterday, or, wika nga ng bandang Wuds: Inosente lang ang nagtataka)! 

Ang reaction ng grupo, maiinis ba, matatawa, o aasa pang makikipagtulungan sa provincial government upang mabawasan naman ang kahiya-hiyang problem nila (hindi lang tungkol sa opisyal na hindi marunong magbasa, o kaya ay ang tanong: kaya pala ganoon kalaki ang problema nila dahil "ehem" pala ang opisyal nila)?

Ang tanong!

Of Plagiarism, Galil Firearms, Public Service and the RH Bill

To actually hang Sen. Tito Sotto for the plagiarism charges that recently plagued his clueless RH Bill (this blogger feature beats me - where the fuck is that "tab" button whereas I never used tab in the above line!!!) speeches is missing the point by the details. First of all, he probably employs tens of staff excluding the brazen chief lawyer Hector Villacorta that do research, his speeches, refining, and re-writing including editing of all forms of communication in their offices. 

So, the contentious bill aside, it should be those staff members, but most importantly, the lawyer Villacorta that should have been sacked ages ago... if the Senator had used half of his wits. I mean, why not employ any one of the thousand eloquent bloggers of the land (like me???) for instance? Sotto, and Villacorta, after all are public servants that must uphold their sworn oaths (below).

By virtue of the above sworn statement, a public document, and Republic Act 6713, all government officials are answerable to all citizens (Payless and Lucky Me instant noodle taxpayers included) of this Republic.
They are mandated to always uphold the public interest over and above personal interest, and they are to use all government resources and powers of their offices:

• efficiently,
• effectively,
• honestly
• economically while avoiding wastage in public funds and revenue. 

Plagiarism. This is one tacky subject that I don't enjoy much discussing. While I will probably raise hell when my "own words" were used by a highly-paid government office like the senate without acknowledgement (I'd prefer the royalty or payment- why not buy a speech! It's cheap at Recto! Or even at this blog!), I really don't have much for "western" laws. Is it my Asian lineage? Was I a pirate in my previous life? Whatever.
But plagiarism, my friends, is a legal entity which is considered a crime, Villacorta's stupidity aside. We have to give in to prevailing Western capitalist international laws because - we have embraced them (Western pop culture) hook, bait, and sinker! We have to live by them!

Bidding and Galil Firearms
(Drooling! the guns!)  The public bidding process is the most enjoyable topic of all time for majority of government officials especially those who actually sign government vouchers. Why, this is the main reason they assume the roles of clowns during campaign period and gods during election times! And when you actually believe that what Pres. Noynoy discovered about overpricing and the bid process mysteries were of any relevance, you have not heard one fourth of Philippine history, yet! Below is the characteristic of the Bidding process:

• Bidding procedures are supposedly done under the scrutiny of the public. This is why you get to see Invitation to Bid ads in major dailies, daily.
• If qualified bidders and honest businesses will participate in government/public bidding, they usually bring with them a lot of goodluck wishes. If they threaten the corporations of the elected (the oligarchs of this land- the ones you keep voting or choose to vote on), they are either threatened back, or given a fair share of the pie (grease money to back out, and shut up).
• During the bidding process, the magicians of the bureaucracy are scrambling like their lives depended on it (actually, it does). You should see one to believe me.
• During this process, accountants usually lord it over their CEOs (gotta believe me again). They dictate which is legal and which is not. But of course, they can produce the legal documents. Recto does not monopolize this business. For non-Pinoy readers, Recto is the capital of the Philippines for forgery, counterfeit, and other illegal papers made legal. Of course, aside from the Comelec and COA.
• During the bidding process, the suppliers (bidders) with the least "offer" for the voucher signatories are weeded out for half of or for all the right and wrong reasons. 
• Computation for actual funds paid from our Payless and Lucky Me taxes is  = 30% actual cost (prevailing market prices), 20% income for winning bidder, and 50% grease, or kickback. Sometimes, the voucher signatories are generous to their suppliers, they actually give additional 10%, if they do not own the bidder.

And so, my dear friends, I just also summed up why your RH Bill is another smoke screen to fool the voters that their elected senators and congressmen actually have contributions to the land aside from bleeding our coffers/tax moneys to dry. We already have millions of existing laws, most important of which are already embodied by the Constitution.  But I doubt your local police chief is even aware of it - I mean the Constitution, not yet its contents. They cannot even apply the law against murder if you could check their records properly. But then again my dear friends, you have got to have visited your local precinct to actually understand what I am trying to say.

Not that I am saying RH Bill advocates are clueless middle-class elitists (just between us, they are not elitists as the oligarchy wants to monopolize elitism, as if certain discriminating belief of individuals about themselves is actually not the phoniest exercise of all). They simply are not grounded on reality. How can an additional law be implemented in a land where laws are for academe and supreme court archives only?

Prosecutor Merly C. Espinosa of Baguio Creates Facts for Defense

Meanwhile in Her Barrio: How Big is the Conspiracy at Canadian Immigration?

Prosecutor Merly Espinosa: Defendant is not affiliated with United Brokers Inc (even if she says so!)

In January 2012, a complainant filed with the City Prosecutor of Baguio the case INV 12-00033 vs. Grace Soriano, owner of American Oriental Immigration Consultancy in SM Baguio & Dagupan, and affiliate of Canadian Immigration Consultancy / United Brokers, Ltd., Inc. (Paranaque). It was determined as estafa, falsification of documents, etc by the receiving officer (he told these verbally to complainant).

Summary of the case:
Complainant applied as immigrant. Paid for agency fee to CIC (go2canada.com) / Soriano amounting to about P45k. They paid additional P65k in cross check to Canadian Embassy Manila for processing fee. This was refunded after the application was denied, and check was refunded to United Brokers Inc owned by a certain Atty. John Weisdorf from the Law Society of Upper Canada in Toronto, with passport # JG262934, according to CIO with email address FSW-Sydney-Finance@cic.gc.ca, "MB - Finance Clerk" of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada based in 196 George Street Sydney Nova Scotia BIP 1J3. The check issued by the Government of Canada 99743002962 dated March 16 2011. It was drawn at BPI Family main branch in Paseo Wing, GF, BPI Bldg, Ayala Ave., Makati in April 19, 2011.

Sept. 28, 2011, a Michelle Milanie Ramos of doxinternational.com, another front for United Brokers, Inc., claiming that their office received information from CIO that the check issued on my name was already redeemed by "person unknown", blah blah.

Response of Grace Soriano of Lots F & G Bernabe Drive, Lexber Heights, Camp 7,Baguio City, Defendant, president of American Oriental Immigration Consultants, Inc, using Canadian Immigration Consultancy (CIC) as business name: "our agency forwarded the accomplished application form together with the check P65k to united Brokers, Inc, an affiliate of CIC..." (P6)... "That the loss and subsequent encashment of the refund check of complainant by unknown person is not an isolated case. There are several incidents of the same nature involving return checks sent by the Canadian embassy through mail and were encashed by imposters..." (P12, Grace Soriano).

Decision by prosecutor Merly C. Espinosa: Paragraph 4. "Respondent on the other hand countered that she nor the staff of American Oriental Immigration Consultancy Incorporated never received the said check and that she is not in any way connected with United Brokers..."
DISMISSED.

Hello Prosecutor? You need a microscope and another grammar class.

We sent a letter to explain herself to prosecutor Espinosa in Feb 28 2012, but she seems to indicate to be untouchable by not responding. Whoever sends me a photo of Espinosa for posting here will be rewarded.

Blanded and Corporating Events

Branding is a genius of marketing/capitalism. A certain name or logo is retrofitted with various "personalities" and qualities that may or may not be present on it. Many are of course, just illusions, a product of brain-washing.

I find branding a blatant form of classifying people. It is the legalized form of discrimination because you cannot sue them for their brands except when they are overtly brutal such as demoting certain color or race, size of body, or even promoting eroticism or pornography. I mean, pornography is legal and attacking us on all sides, but when a woman in "sexy" outfit is used for a certain brand, then, the brand becomes sexist for debasing the fairer sex. At this instance, I sometimes don't get it.

Now, back to branding.
The Olympics is a fair game. I mean literally and figuratively. So that when they hire "branding police" to protect their insignia, logo and the likes, it becomes to me kinda ridiculous. The Olympics (the Games) is a sporting event that promotes physical competitiveness through accepted activities. It is coveted for by cities or countries for the benefits, prestige, but most importantly, economic effects it could bring to the host so that these localities actually vie and bid for it.

Now, that's big time bucks because I heard the officials have become bureaucratic. And you know what happens at the bureaucracy: you either know the short cut or wait for damnation. So bureaucratic they now need to protect the brand.

So where's the promise? Why round off the hosts for enjoying your event? Or even benefiting from the Olympic Games promise?

The problem with events nowadays (or probably decades now is that marketing have embraced events as something corporate. We no longer fucking celebrate to enjoy but conduct events for return of investment!
Every single, minute thing is being quantified. This is why we no longer enjoy events but events remain a spectacle, something that is no longer associated or united with the celebrants (the people). Events should be returned as they used to be: a showcase of joy, gladness, and thanksgiving. Instead of its current form - a showcase of capitalism, wastage, and rot. Urban decay has never been as fast as the Olympians.

Hiding a Giant Disaster

The Black Sand Mining in Ilocos Sur remain a bigger enigmatic threat and contention among residents and Philippine citizens in general after the Region 1 Mining and Geosciences Bureau led by Engr. Carlos Tayag conducted a media forum in June 28 2012 at Heritage Resort in Caoayan. Some of the attending members of the media claimed first-hand account of the soil erosion along the coastal areas of Sta. Catalina, "We have lost as wide as about 10 meters during the activity, an unprecedented one in my lifetime as resident," shared one of the broadcasters during the forum.


The MGB team insisted that the occurrence has nothing to do with actual mining, as they insisted that the permit given AltaMina Exploration and Resources, Inc was only for exploration purposes. They also indicated that an investigation was conducted after complaints were received at their office and found nothing that would indict the mysterious mining company. When pressed, the MGB group said that the Singsons are not incorporators of AltaMina, a Quezon City-based corporation, an MGB officer said with a grin.  The attendees insisted the vessels and equipment used were printed with Chinese characters and the MGB team rejoined that the project was sanctioned by Malacanang.

It has also been described as small scale, although the media cannot fathom what the Bureau meant as another mining activity is also active in Narvacan. Incidentally, various sectors and entities already sought to stop the activity, but the downplaying done by the MGB during the conference have not been convincing.

Inconsistencies despite the thorough presentation provided by the speakers were noted.

First is the "cradle to the grave" claim as role of the MGB for mining and groundwater concerns of the citizenry. The team admitted to be powerless in all forms of apprehension although another claimed that they can deputize their ranks to investigate, impound, and execute affidavit for court purposes. Second  is their hazard mapping questioned also by members of the media to be inconsistent in purpose as initially, it was said to be a guide for all citizens of the Republic and yet, MGB was the first to violate its use as already deemed hazardous areas are compromised. This is with regards to MGB's claim that 700 meters is the safety buffer for all shoreline mining activities. Obviously, the areas shown on the videos (links) above cannot justify the MGB claims.

The MGB also re-routed the issue to the Abra River and delta in Caoayan and Vigan City as the threat that the government and local sectors should focus on. The team implied for the need to re-trace a straighter path of the Abra River  and to relocate the barangays affected by the plan. Geologist Efren Penaflor warned a possible repeat of the Cagayan de Oro and Iligan flooding. Construction and mining activities, however, seemed to be the order of the warning instead of more viable, less nature-invasive approach such as reforestation and improvement of flood-control vegetation in the areas. Apparently, sand and gravel quarrying is a more attractive option for the justification of digging and diking to be conducted.

The towns that have been found to have black sand or magnetite minerals include San Vicente, Santa Catalina, Caoayan, and Santo Domingo. All LGUs, according to the MGB were informed and they insisted the mining company or companies they issued permits followed requirements.

Stop Voting

Rodriguez, Lacson-Noel, Bondoc, and Gunigundo (not shown is Gomez and Revilla)

OK - just next to the best thing we can do is to STOP voting for disastrous white elephants. For advocating (authoring SHOULD never be the word, these people can write? Then I must be Mark Twain) a bill allowing promotion of commercial infant formula for use of 6 month-old babies - Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Malabon Rep. Josephine Veronique Lacson-Noel Reps. Anna York Bondoc, Lani Mercado-Revilla, Lucy Torres-Gomez, and Magtanggol Gunigundo. Remember their faces, names, and their stupidity. We are paying people to do stupid, disastrous acts? GAD! with a capital G.

Commercial milk is a questionable food. They had to invent a disease called lactose-intolerance to justify the natural reaction of our stomach for it - and that is to eject. The body automatically ejects poison. Thus, after drinking milk, you go straight to the john. Notice, too, that after a baby drinks commercial infant formula, they burp and throw out about 3/4 of the milk drank. It is the same as throwing up after we eat something awful and poisonous.

There's only one reason why these white elephants are endorsing a pre-paid bill (usually written by their consultants or lobbyists paid by business giants) and I need not post the obvious.

Yeah, Right

Not to deride Gerry Plaza (not that I know him beyond this post) and the More Fun team of the Philippine Government about the "Jason Bourne franchise" for stating:

Push PH as a filmmaking destination
Given the popularity of the Bourne franchise, the new installment is sure to shine the light on the Philippines—certainly for its tourist spots, but also for the rawness and decay of its urban landscape.  And showing international filmmakers both faces of the country may open their eyes to the potential of making their future movies here.
We should make the most out of this fantastic exposure. Government and private businesses should take advantage of all that free publicity from the "The Bourne Legacy" to push the Philippines as a filmmaking destination.
It won't just generate revenue and create jobs, it will also be a priceless learning experience for our actors and film workers.

but  to be excited about something as trivial as having your locality for filming an international movie as popular as the "Jason Bourne franchise" is downright shallow. Thing about us is, we are so into pop culture we are basically setting aside all of our values and things that are really important.

Take for instance our singers who broke into "international stardom". We (prob'bly the media in particular)  hype too much of them as if it is the only way Filipinos could stand out or make a difference.

Jesus Christ.

When we should all be pushing for the second phase of the CJ Corona impeachment - that is - tracking all of the SALN (we ilocanos call it 'sal-iten- our vernacular for fucked-up), bank account and properties of ALL government officials, here we are sucked up in the Jessica Sanchez American Idol snag, and everything else that are downright base.

No amount of EDSA revolt will ever  change our lot if we keep being this way. And I can't believe we in the media are populated with hypocrites that thrive on the mundane. Like, if Plaza had really been into the "Jason Bourne franchise", he should know by now Bourne became popular because he defied the US government's stupid and corrupt officials.

And that is what really is important.

ps
I am sooo into Robert Ludlum books, so, I hate it when just suddenly, something as stupid as this comes out in the media.