BEATING THE ODDS

I asked a math wizard what are the odds on winning the grand prize in the Lotto or the Sweepstakes. He said a million to one. I think it's more than that.

I remember in 1990 how General Alfredo 'Fred' Lim, when tasked to probe alleged rigging of draws at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), beat these odds. He won PhP5-million.

The winning horse, Just Joking, was owned by one of the biggest critics of the Aquino administration, Danding Cojuangco. Lim bought the winning ticket right at the PCSO as a token gesture on his part to assure the people that the integrity of the PCSO remains intact. So bizarre that he won the top prize, causing more image problems for the PCSO. Many persons then were skeptical about Lim's win. Some people even said that top PCSO officials rigged the draw in Lim's favor so he would be reluctant to go after top PCSO brass in his probe of PCSO rackets. No way, says Lim's friends and admirers, who swear that the general's integrity could never be bought, even if the prize were multiplied a hundredfold. To this I agree, having known him to be the cleanest "Dirty Harry" there is.

Now that he's running again for mayor of Manila, it's good to be reminded of a candidate's integrity and honesty who painstakingly loves the premier city. On the other hand, some bets would rather destroy historical and cultural treasures like the Mehan Garden and the art-deco Jai-Alai building on Taft Avenue. And to this day, this individual, a presidential lapdog a.k.a. "Manny Pacquiao's valet," is still at it while his credibility and honesty remain in question.

(Image from http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OjZs9-N5904/)

DOCTORS IN THE PALACE

There are reports that a confidential list of illegal loggers is being "doctored" in Malacanang to remove the names of some government officials and other persons close to the Arroyo government. This could be the reason the list has not been released to the public.

DENR Secretary Lito Atienza could, for some time now, be between the devil and the deep blue sea, and perhaps was experiencing "heavy pressure" to sanitize the list. Doing so could affect his mayoralty candidacy when charges of coddling illegal loggers intensify.

National outrage for illegal logging is mounting, but still on a slow pace. Stop illegal logging? Puro pangako lang.

(Image from http://www.greenpeace.org/)

AN OLD 'ATRASO'

Do you remember how then Manila Mayor Lito Atienza stonewalled on his rejection of a plea by cultural leaders and heritage conservationists not to demolish the old art-deco Jai-Alai building they claimed was a historical landmark? Atienza was in favor of a new hall of justice to take the place of an old edifice, perhaps a favorite hang-out once of our grandparents. He angrily scolded the civic leaders seeking retention of the original Jai-Alai building saying that these people had long neglected the structure until it became rickety and abandoned, where nothing about it was done. The former mayor said the building was an ugly reminder of its past as a gambling place where many lives were destroyed and the morals of the young were warped by gambling lords controlling the Basque Pelota games. This from a guy who moonlights as a valet for Manny Pacquiao, where gambling lords are known to bet heavily on the champ each time he boxes. Gambling as against justice for the people? Atienza argued no way would he give in to the demands of the petitioners to save a cultural heritage.

He may have a point here, but it is arguable. Many had said that if he really wanted a hall of justice, there was the old GSIS building right beside the Manila City Hall and several nearby government properties he could have easily asked for a song from Malacanang to build his proposed multi-million peso hall of justice.

The Jai-Alai in the 1930s and the 1940s wasn't just a gambling establishment. It was the venue for important official and social functions mostly at the Sky Room which was also a favorite place of President Quezon, and it was a place where important social events were held with the country's political, social and economic elite gathered, often led by the powerful Madrigal family which built the establishment. Jai-Alai then was not just a form of gambling. It was an elegant and genteel form of entertainment with all the fineries of European (Spanish) nobility, much like those seen in British peerage gatherings as the blue blood races at Ascot and the annual sculling contests between Harvard and Yale in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Atienza should never forget that Rome never tore down its famed Colosseum, which was the venue for glory gladiator fights, the massacre of Christian martyrs, and the scene of gruesome death combats by slaves to entertain blood-thirsty Romans. If the rulers then had the same time mindset shared by Atienza, that awe-inspiring ruins would be no more. Warsaw, Poland was the most destroyed city in World War II followed only by Manila. 83 percent of the city was bombed flat to the ground, and since then has risen to become one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The Poles preserved all the remaining old buildings and went further by rebuilding those heritage edifices destroyed by the war. Even the cobblestones in most of the city were restored. As a result of such love for the past, the historic facade of Stare Miasto (Old Town) was reconstructed to include the impressive Royal Castle and Museum, and even the age-old royal apartments. They also restored Renaissance and Baroque Rynek Starego Miasta (The Market Square) even when there were others who urged these to be demolished.

Didn't they say, especially our old folks, that if you don't honor the past, there will be no future for you? But Atienza probably didn't have the time to be sentimental about the past long forgotten. He was too busy pushing to reach the top of the hill. And sometimes, when you have such apathy, you stumble.

Well, he's running for mayor again in Manila in 2010, perhaps not contented with his demolition jobs for Manila's historic edifices?

Remember the Mehan Garden? He tore it down too.

(Image from http://www.fotosearch.com/)

HEROES AND HEELS

Today, Manny Pacquiao and his usual entourage composed of the usual suspects and human leeches Lito Atienza and politico-wannabes, will motorcade around Metro Manila's main thoroughfares in celebration of "the real bayani," Manny Pacquiao. This, because there exists a bogus bayani in the person of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando who (again) has flooded his Metro-Gago contraptions with pink and blue ribbons which says, "Bayani ng Lahing Pilipino," pertaining to Pacquiao, but with color emphasis on "Bayani." The not-so-subtle message he is conveying to the reading public again attempts to remind "urbanidados" he is gunning for the presidency, this in spite of his 1% acceptance rating. I think it's just a waste of taxpayers' money since he can't even win the hearts of his men at the MMDA, much less the country.

The motorcade ends in Malacanang where Mr. Pacquiao pays a courtesy call to another bogus hero, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Of course, she may again make a shameless public declaration that she and Manny are both heroes. What gall, what guts. What pachydermic pronouncement!

But before she fibs on this again, let us not forget what had happened a few years ago - the lie that was EDSA 2. The foreign press did not stand idly as the events leading to EDSA 2 unfolded. Most of the wire services and the major international networks had correspondents monitoring events and reporting on these accordingly. As a result, the controversial nature of the GMA take-over in January 2001 did not escape international scrutiny and received widespread covergae in global media outlets.

The following offer glimpses of what was written about the power grab that deprived President Joseph Estrada of the presidential mandate overwhelmingly given to him by the Philippine electorate in the May 1998 presidential elections. These articles were written by respectable journalists whose keen poltical sense and acumen are unquestionable.

Sandra Burton of TIME says, "Remember Estrada - however cynically - was acting within the framework of the law and under the terms called for by the impeachment proceedings. Had he been declared guilty, he would have had to go. The troubling point remains that he had been convicted. But they had mechanisms to legally change their head of state. The option they chose, popular uprising, while rousing and probably justified, could portend a troubling future for democracy. But if those protests lead to unconstitutionally questionable successions, it becomes a subversion of democracy. Even now, we don't know what percentage of Filipinos wanted Erap to go."

Anthony Spaeth of TIME says, " But the Philippine polity is 77 million strong (2001 figures). Was this a revolution of the Filipino people - or a few hundred thousand Filipinos prompted by a few hundred individuals? perhaps this represents confusion between democratic pasions and the rule of law. More likely, though, People Power has become its own institution and one that seems monopolized by a certain clique. People Power has become an acceptable term for a troubling phenomenon: one that used to be known as mob rule."

Phil Zabriskie of TIME says, "Legitimacy questions crack the foundation of her presidency from her first day in office. The cracks deepened folowing Estrada's arrest in May, a foolishly showy affair that made him a martyr and caused mob riots quickly dubbed EDSA 3. An economy in meltdown, an army that could turn against her, an ex-president who might be more popular that she is, and now, the US soldiers landing on her shores. What Arroyo needs is a bulwark. But without an electoral mandate, the only source is a massive public support, the kind more likely to respond to image and inspiration than intellect."

THE ECONOMIST says, "Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took over the presidency in unconstitutional circumstances that do not stand up well to scrutiny."

Philip Bowring of the INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE says, "However, far from being a victory for democracy that is being claimed by leaders of the anti-Estrada movement such as Jaime Sin, the evolution of events has been a defeat for due process. For many, it merely confirms the fragility of political institutions in the Philippines and the likelihood that the streets will become a regular location for political action."

Hilton L. Root of the INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE says, "The result is that the Philippines, known for the 'people power' movement that brought down Ferdinand Marcos, has the wrong kind of people power of the 21st century. The Philippines faces a political crisis that goes beyond the need to replace the person at the top. The challenge is to correct the situation in which society is divided into those who can outsmart the system and those who cannot. Removing Estrada will not save the Philippines."

Seth Mydans of THE NEW YORK TIMES says, "People Power 2 was met with doubt and criticism, described by foreign commentators s a "defeat for due process," as a "mob rule," and as a "de facto coup." It was seen as an elitist backlash against a president who had overwhelmingly been elected by the poor. This time it appears "people power" was used not to restore democracy but, momentarily, to supplant it."

Lee Kuan Yew in THE STRAITS TIMES as interviewed by the ASSOCIATED PRESS says, "The change of power in the Philippines was no boost for democracy because it was done outside the constitution."

Jim Mann of the LOS ANGELES TIMES says, "Now by contrast, we are witnessing the use of people power against a leader who was the winner of a legitimate democratic election. No matter how understandable it was, this outbreak of people power doesn't feel like an advance for the cause of democracy, quite the opposite. Who or what, ultimately, was this particular movement against?"

THE WASHINGTON POST editorial says, "...This time, however, the target of Filipinos' "people power" was not a dictator, like Ferdinand Marcos, but Joseph Estrada, a constitutional execurive who received more votes than any previous presidential candidate and who remained popular among the country's poor. Though he Supreme Court ruled that Vice-President Macapagal-Arroyo should be sworn in as president, the legality of the transfer remains questionable."

The ASIA TIMES online says, "Again, therefore, whatever crious legal construction anyone may now attempt to put on the ouster of Estrada, he was ousted by a military coup, with the connivance of the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, major business groups and two former presidents. This will have any number of consequences, none too pleasant, for the coup markers and - more imporatntly - for the country. One loser among the coup makers will be the Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin, and his church. Economically, from the standpoint of foreign investors, would you put money into a country whose constitutional and legal system are only as reliable as the will and whim of an entrenched oligarchical elite..."

So, Mrs. Arroyo, before you make that public declaration again that you are a hero just like Manny Pacquiao, please remember how is it that you are now seated on your fragile throne - your stolen throne. Remember also that you once made a boastful and shameless declaration saying, "I'm married to the country."

I wonder, is this why you keep screwing the Filipino people?

(Image by Glenn Dasmarinas at www.gl3nnx.net)

LITO ATIENZA: PAMBANSANG BULAKBULERO O PAMBANSANG LINTA?

For a change, I'd like to see Manny Pacquiao knock all of Lito Atienza's teeth off. Imagine, this is one public servant who would rather watch Manny's fight live in Las Vegas than to attend to a very important Senate budget hearing of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Atienza went on to say that his critics "have weak family values and do not understand the need to support" the country's national treasure. Vintage verbal diarrhea once again from a man who has more wrong-doings in his public career than the total number of flowers on his Polynesian shirt. No wonder, a department like the DENR can't seem to get its programs on high gear, that's because it now has a secretary who would rather miss an important budget hearing and watch his idol Pacquiao box. Talk about priorities Mr. Secretary. I think you're better off being Manny's towel-boy. But you would surely undignify all the towel-boys of the boxing world. What a shame, bulakbol again, huh? For once, we'd like Manny to knock the Polynesian shirt out of your body too! Teeth included.

(Image from http://philonline.com/)

MISSING THE MEHAN

Shortly after I had left the Office of the Press Secretary under Secretary Rod Reyes to return to the private sector, I received a personal invitation from then Congressman Heherson 'Sonny' Alvarez to join him at the DENR after himself having been invited by 'newly-installed' President Gloria Arroyo to join her cabinet as Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). There, I was appointed by Sonny to run the DENR's Public Affairs Office (PAO) and work hand in hand with career government employees numbering around 60 in that department alone. This was quite a positive challenge for me, having worked with a much smaller staff at the OPS. After some time, Secretary Alvarez faced a tough battle with his opponents during the hearings of the powerful Senate Committee on Appointments because he had allegedly stepped on big toes both in the private sector and in government. In one such occasion as in several others, the department was on a head-on collision with then Manila Mayor Lito Atienza who had positioned himself to tear down the historical Mehan Garden, probably a favorite 'pasyalan' of our grandparents during their time. The purpose for this was to give way for the proposed (and approved) construction of a multi-level parking complex and to give way for the construction of a new home for the City Colleges of Manila (CCM). Of course, this immediately confirmed reports that Mayor Atienza was more concerned with the 'economic aspect' of the city rather than its historical character by preserving its parks and monuments. One also remembers how the equally old art-deco Jai-Alai building on Taft Avenue was torn down unremorsefully in the name of 'urban development.' Atienza was an overnight enemy of environmentalists and conservationists. This after repeated calls by no less that the National Historical Institute (NHI) to preserve important historical landmarks in our country - Atienza's Manila included. But as expected, all such appeals fell on the latter's coin-clogged ears. Well, now that the table is turned, and he now heads the very same department he once ignored and ridiculed, I wonder what he feels now that a huge chunk of the DENR's programs are geared towards 'green projects' and clamp down on too much urbanization of an already urban environment such as Manic Manila, and preserve whatever historical landmarks there are in existence? Trees aren't anymore going to grow on concrete. The murdered centuries-old trees on the murdered memories-filled Mehan Garden are gone forever. There we only now see smoke-emitting jeepneys and pedicabs, buses and taxicabs. Thanks to Lito Atienza's cross-eyed (as in doble kita) vision of Manila, a city that was better off without him. A 'friend of the environment' who acts just like its enemy.

(Image from http://tornandfrayed.typepad.com/)

A BROWN PASIG AND A POLYNESIAN SHIRT

I think we ought to already have a separate and independent Department of Conservation or an Environmental Protection Agency just like the powerful EPA in the US, whose main task is to identify and punish the enemies of the environment and polluters like the factories by the Pasig, unlike the present DENR whose chief executive does a better job posing as a leech right next to a boxing champ, and a participant in the "abduction" of a whistle-blower at the airport. Thanks to the so-called "environment watchdogs," we now have a Brown Pasig as Europe has its Blue Danube and China its Yellow River.

(Image from http://www.daylife.com/)

LITO ATIENZA AND SONS WILL STEAL THE SHOW AGAIN FROM MANNY PACQUIAO

So, Manny Pacquiao wins the WBC lightweight division crown by knocking down David Diaz. Ho-hum. Well, okay so I should receive it as good news and jump for joy. The bad news is that we're all going to be seeing once again ex-Bayanihan dancer DENR Secretary Lito Atienza, son Ali Atienza and son-in-law Miles Roces as they attempt at earning some 'pogi points' squeezing their way to be right beside Pacquiao for all the country to see when he returns to Manila for a hero's welcome on July 4. It's so sickening and as always, a cheap way for the Atienza's to gain media mileage. For once, can we please see Pacquiao this time WITHOUT Lito Atienza and his boys next to him?! Atienza should just improve on his job as Secretary of the Environment. Plus, it really is 'kabaduyan' for him to be wearing those Polynesian shirts. He cheapens the value of those beautiful shirts, that's why we only see a few guys wearing them in public. They simply wouldn't want to be compared with Atienza. So please to you organizers of the welcome parade for Pacquiao, don't you dare include Lito Atienza, Ali Atienza and Miles Roces once again. 'Di pa ba kayo nagsasawa sa makakapal nilang pagmumukha?

(Image form http://manilastandardtoday.com/)

GAIA

The planet Earth has been called Gaia with all the collateral meanings attached to a living organism, not just the living creatures of plant and animal life including humans, but Earth itself together with the non-living elements like the soil, the minerals, the sand on the ocean beds, mountains, valleys, rivers, clouds, mist, precipitation, snow, wind and rain. As we recently celebrated Earth Day, today we still pray for rain because our water reservoirs are dry and so are our rivers. So are our fields, and shortly, so are our faucets to drink. We have punctured the protective layer of our planet with toxic pollutants, cut down the trees (thanks to Bayani Fernando's MMDA for this) that provide us with oxygen, thrown garbage and waste into our rivers, and dehydrated our fields with an over-supply of pesticides and fertilizers (thanks to Joc-Joc Bolante for this). Whatever we do to ourselves, we do to Mother Earth. We have choked the arteries of our bodies the way we have choked the arteries of our cities. Smoke, carbon emissions, fumes from factories (thanks to my pollutant-factory neighbor for the toxic emissions), exhausts from freon and mining waste poison (thanks to DENR Sec. Lito Atienza for the mining permits), and the water channels that weave in and out of our habitats. Thus, the water we drink must be filtered, distilled or boiled, else unsafe for human consumption, and the food we eat must be harvested free from chemicals or animal disease. We go to war and inflict violence to each other in the name of peace or survival. And Mother Earth weeps with us for this unexplained occupation. Today we seed the clouds because a drought is upon us, or the opposition is planning a protest rally again for President Arroyo. For millions of pesos worth of precipitating the heavens, four centimeters of water level is recorded in a dam closest to the metropolis. Not enough, not barely enough, not even little enough to let the flow of a normal supply of water for our homes, much less irrigate our farms which will soon turn into Biofuel plantfields (thanks to Sen. Migs Zubiri's selfish ambition). So, conserve we must, because the crisis is at hand. But in the process, we must also learn to undo the harm we have inflicted upon ourselves, and upon her, Gaia, Mother Earth.

(Image from http://www.xoospace.com/)