The Real State of the Nation

For the seven agonizing years, the Filipino people have been fed with fiction—ugly fiction from the mouth of a fictive president.

Thus we, the members of Dakila – Philippine Collective for Modern Heroism, present our own version of the State of the Nation.

The phrase “strong economy” has always oozed from Mrs. Arroyo’s lying mouth. But if “strong economy” means high gasoline prices, if “strong economy” means Filipinos falling in line for rice, if “strong economy” means thousands of Fillipinos leaving their families behind to take on dehumanizing jobs abroad, then we would rather have no economy at all.

The people cannot lie. We no longer need surveys to show that she is the worst Philippine president in recent times. Of course, Malacanang will mouth the same old tired cliché about the presidency not being a popularity contest.

That is actually insulting the intelligence of the Filipinos. To say such a thing is to treat them like mindless showbiz fans. But if the presidency is not a popularity contest as she says, then why does she feel the need to deface the landscape with her face? Why is her face on every streetcorner billboard? Why is her face on our trains and our tickets? Why is she on TV all the time in those ugly commercials?

The people have enough famous personalities to idolize. But their stomachs do not lie.

The people are hungry. The people are tired.

The people are tired of the same old lies.

Let us invoke the sense of dignity in each and every one of us.

We have suffered enough. We have the right to be noble.
We have the right to be angry.


-- DAKILA

Artists' AGIMAT: Power of Filipino Art and Culture through New Media

Finally, a website that is truly our own.

AGIMAT is a rich content artist’s database and an ultimate resource material for artist information. The “Agimat Project” envisions educating Filipinos on our rich cultural heritage and introducing them to the bountiful Filipinos artists of the new millennium.

AGIMAT: Sining at Kulturang Pinoy calls on all Filipino artists to be part of this project. You may submit your profile/photos/videos/sample works to be featured at the agimat.net website at

info@agimat.net or dakila.philippines@yahoo.com.

Come to the Press Launch and Party on July 31, Thursday, 7pm at Access Point Bar, Scout Borromeo, Quezon City. The event is also for the benefit of Susan Fernandez' battle with cancer. Agimat encourages everyone to donate whatever they can to help Susan win her fight against cancer.

Featuring: Zelle, Stonefree, Datu's Tribe, Sopiz, Matilda, Miko Pepito, Electromomma, Jeepney Joyride, Juan Pablo Dream and Radioactive Sago Project.

Artists may also submit your profiles/pictures/videos during the launch. A group of photographers volunteered their time for those who want their pictures taken for their profiles.

Let AGIMAT be the talisman to usher Filipino Artists and Philippine Art and Culture towards greater heights.

Mabuhay ang Sining at Kulturang Pinoy!

Free admission!

Para kay Susan

I first heard about the musician Susan Fernandez in college. I was a budding activist and feminist back then in UP Manila. Her song “Babae Ka” is every feminist’s anthem while her rendition of Ruth Mabanglo’s poem “Kung Ibig Mo Ako Makilala” represents every woman’s romantic hope in finding a man who would truly accept her for the person she is.

I met Ms. Susan when she attended a Dakila General Assembly at the Kolumn Bar in Timog two years ago. Since then, Ms. Susan has become a regular figure in Dakila activities. She is part of the 46-artist collaborative anthem, “Kaya Mong Maging DAKILA”. What I admire most in Ms. Susan is despite her long years of involvement as a protest singer, musician-activist and a feminist, I could not sense any strand of frustration or cynicism in her. Whenever I hear her speak to the younger crowd, I would always feel her passion for her principles and her undying hope that another generation would carry on the struggles that she has embraced.

To some, Susan may be a tireless activist, a professor, a nightingale who enchants with her sweet voice, a true feminist, a radical nationalist folk singer, a comrade or a friend. For the rest of us, her zeal for her advocacies and in life is what inspires us to take on the challenge to be dakila.

KUNG IBIG MO AKONG MAKILALA

Kung ibig mo akong makilala,

lampasan mo ang guhit ng mahugis na balat,

ang titig kong dagat—

yumayapos nang mahigpit

sa bawat saglitng kahapon ko’t bukas.

Kung ibig mo akong makilala

sunduin mo ako sa himlayang dilim

at sa madlang pagsukol ng inunang hilahil,

ibangon ako at saka palayain.

Isang pag-ibig na lipos ng lingap,

tahanang malaya sa pangamba at sumbat

may suhay ng tuwa’t ang kaluwalhatia’ywalang takda—

ialay mo lahat ito sa akin

kung mahal mo ako’t ibig kilalanin.

Kung ibig mo akong kilalanin,

sisirin mo ako hanggang buto,

liparin mo ako hanggang utak,

umilanlang ka hanggang kaluluwa—

hubad ako roon:

mula ulo hanggang paa.

Si Susan Fernandez ang “Nightingale” ng cause-oriented groups dahil sa matining ngunit buo niyang boses sa pag-awit na napakagandang pakinggan, tunay na walang kaparis at walang kupas sa kabila ng nagdaang panahon. Buong puso niyang ibinahagi sa marami ang kanyang talento at oras upang maisulong ang mga mabuting adhikain para sa lipunan at sambayanan

Para Kay Susan

Isang natatanging pagsasama ng ilan sa pinakamahuhusay na mang-aawit upang tulungan si Susan Fernandez labanan ang kanser!


ika-3 ng Hulyo 2008 Brother’s Mustache
Sct. Madriñan cor Sct. Tuason Sts.
(near T. Morato) Quezon City
6 – 9:30 ng gabi Gate: P150.00

GUESTS
Lolita Carbon . Joey Ayala . Becky Demetillo . Lester Demetillo . Pete Lacaba . Chikoy Pura . Noel Cabangon . Bayang Barrios . Cookie Chua . Joel Saracho . Bagong Dugo . at isang espesyal na panauhin

Special Sale!!!
Habi at Himig
Music Album of Ms. Susan Fernandez in CD

Organized by friends of Susan

in cooperation with Brother’s

Mustache

flippyknows: week 3

WEEK 3 JULY 03
For the first time in Flippyknows, we will be having two free courses in one night! Don't miss out. See you all Thursday!

FREE Courses of the Week:
Understanding Domain name and Web Hosting and Adobe Flash (focusing on website building)

Domain names are the human-readable addresses used on the Internet (eg, "www.flippyknows.com"). The Domain Name Service translates these names into IP addresses which TCP/IP programs use directly. Compare dotted quad.

Web Hosting is a service that allows users to post web pages to the Internet. A web host, which is also called hosting service provider (HSP), is a business that provides the technologies and services needed for websites to be viewed on the web.

Adobe FlashAdobe Flash, or simply Flash, refers to both the Adobe Flash Player, and to the Adobe Flash Professional multimedia authoring program. Adobe Flash Professional is used to create content for the Adobe Engagement Platform (such as web applications, games and movies, and content for mobile phones and other embedded devices).

Flips of the Week:

Nityalila Saulo, Bitaw!Nityalila is a singer-songwriter / recording artist who is also a "geek" at heart. She is a self taught techie like a lot of people. But it was during her "call center" days 4 years ago that she became a certified Domain name and Web Hosting support agent for Network Solutions, world leader in domain name and web hosting services.

Ivan "Ice" Basit, Mad House ProjectIvan studied at the First Academy of Computer Arts, where he got his certification in 3D Modeling and Animation. He did not stop after that as his five years of broadcasting service led him to take up AB Journalism at the Manila Times. There he exercised his knowledge of giving information, reporting the facts, and translating specialized knowledge to the general public. The use of his creativity, however, became limited to making short documentary films, power point presentations and radio plugs.

Try as he might, however, there was no going away from the inheritance of his father. Ivan continued to pursue his earlier goals by purchasing books on photography, advertising, and other learning materials concerning art. He also learned by himself important computer software programs, one of them which was the Adobe PhotoShop. He further trained himself in the disciplines that he had yet to master and learned them even more when he joined the different productions that honed his skills.

PROGRAM:

07PM : Chingle (Chill and Mingle)

08PM : Ask Flippy: Understanding Domain name and Web Hosting, and Adobe Flash

09PM : Show and Tell

10PM : Open Mic

flippyknows

the first and only Wifi party in the Philippines
Araw ng Kalayaan
June 12, 2008, Thursday
7pm onwards
10:30 pm is Open Mic!
222 Wilson St. My Little Art Place Gallery, San Juan

This event is brought to you by

B.I.T.A.W.
(Being Inspired Through Active Wonder)

in cooperation with
My Little Art Place
and
DAKILA
(Philippine Collective for Modern Heroism)

For more info, log in to www.flippyknows.com or e-mail flippyknows@gmail.com

Cindy's is the place to be

DAKILA has found a new home at 14B Scout Limbaga, Brgy. Laging Handa, Timog, Quezon City. A shared space with some of our artist-members, Cindy’s (yeah, that’s what we call the place) is DAKILA’s new home/office/headquarters/production house/tambayan. So, to all DAKILA members, watch out for our housewarming party this June. We will keep you posted on the final date and time.

Meanwhile, here’s our wish list and must have for our new home. [Ehem, in short, sana may maantig sa inyong puso at magdonate kayo….]

1. chairs [tatlo lang po ang monoblock chairs na nage-exist sa cindy’s, yong 2 dun ay tinakas pa mula sa bahay ng isang member]
2. table [office table, working table at kahit anong table basta may makainan, mapatungan ng stuff at ano pang pwedeng gawin sa table]
3. sofa [bagay kasi na may sofa sa receiving area – naks! receiving area!]
4. any old furniture na sa tingin niyo mapapakinabangan sa office.
5. computer or laptop [kahit luma basta capable ng powerpoint, pagemaker at photoshop, sige na nga kahit i-mac pwede na J]
6. printer [sana yong matipid sa ink]
7. scanner
8. fax machine
9. photocopier or risograph [naks!]
10. electric fans [please! ang init talaga so we need at least 2 electric fans. Aircon sana kaso wala kaming pambayad ng kuryente.]
11. cork board
12. white board
13. office supplies [bond paper, folders, envelopes, stapler, scissors, manila paper, pens, puncher, lahat ng magagamit sa office ]
14. filing cabinet or shelf [lagayan ng sandamukal na files at anik-anik]
15. file boxes
16. digital camera [wow, wish namin ‘to para madocument lahat ng dakila activities]
17. lcd projector [wow, mas matinding wish namin ‘to para may magamit sa mga film showing sa schools, communities, etc.]
18. sound system [now, we can have all the concerts we want anywhere, sandali nakecarried away na ako…]
19. curtains o blinds [ seryoso, walang kurtina yong office]
20. landline and internet connection [mura na lang ngayon – P700/month baka mahabag ka at mag-sponsor ng kahit 1 month lang]
21. web hosting [hmm, may domain name na, web hosting na lang which is around P1,500 to P1,800 per quarter, hehe]
22. plants [ para naman marefill ng oxygen ang brain cells ng mga tao. Atsaka, maganda maglagay ng plants sa harap para homey ang dating]
23. cleaning materials [seryoso, kailangan din nito to maintain the chaotic cleanliness of Cindy’s – mop, broom, cleansing solution, etcetera]
24. lots of throw pillows, banig, carpet, bean bags, etc. [para may maupuan, mahigaan, mapagmeetingan ang mga members]
25. cash! Para di ka na mahirapan mag-isip. Seryoso. Cash donations to dakila are very much welcome. We exist through the commitment and dedication of our members pero your financial support will really help fund our projects. Yahu!

For cash or check donations, you may deposit to:

DAKILA-Phillippine Collective for Modern Heroism Inc.
Savings Account No. 3570047800
Banco de Oro Loyola Heights-Katipunan

Sunday Silence 7

consistent
agreeing or accordant; compatible; not self-contradictory; constantly adhering to the same principles, course, form, etc.; holding firmly together; cohering; fixed; firm

Sunday Silence 7

May 25, 2007, Sunday, 3pm till sunset,

at the Baywalk Stretch across Malate Church,

Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

The Sunday Silence is a year long activity [November 2007-November 2008] that happens every third Sunday of the month. Conceptualized by Ronnie Lazaro of DAKILA and Gang Badoy of Rocked Philippines, the Sundays of Silence reflects the current state of this generation. The activity itself (whether a Sunday Silence or a Sunday Siren) is a statement in itself. It is a gathering of individuals to express their stands on various social issues and concerns. Sunday Silence is a collective rehearsal against apathy.

Together with Rocked Philippines and Lomo Manila, the 7th Sunday Silence is a test of consistency to our advocacies and beliefs. Every third Sunday of the month, we gather, wear blue, discuss/talk among ourselves issues, concerns that we are passionate about then when the sun begins to set, we stand facing the sunset, enjoy the majestic view and the few minutes of silence. That is our statement.

The 7th Sunday Silence is all about consistency. We have done 7 Sundays and 5 more to go. Our goal is to form a line along the whole stretch of Baywalk from CCP to US Embassy. Our objective for the 7th Sunday is to be consistent to our principles, call, stand, advocacy, concept and belief.

So, we call on all DAKILA members (old and new) and invite the public to join us for the 7th Sunday of Silence. We will gather at around 3pm.

For the new members of DAKILA and for those interested to be part of DAKILA, please come for the orientation session that will be held there. We would also like you to meet your fellow DAKILA members.

For more info, e-mail dakila.philippines@yahoo.com or text 09054292539.

You can also visit the following sites:

http://www.dakila.org.ph
http://www.dakilacollective.multiply.com

working class heroes

May 1st, International Workers' Day, commemorates the historic struggle of working people throughout the world. The celebration of Labour Day has its origins in the eight hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. May Day in this regard is called International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, and is a commemoration for those involved in the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago, Illinois. As the culmination of three days of labor unrest in the United States, the Haymarket incident was a source of outrage and admiration from people around the globe.

DAKILA salutes the Filipino Workers whose toils and sweat oil the wheels of our economy. We are with the workers in the struggle for the protection and advancement of labor rights and welfare and the uplift of labor dignity.

Working Class Hero
by John Lennon

As soon as you're born they make you feel smallBy giving you no time instead of it allTill the pain is so big you feel nothing at allA working class hero is something to beA working class hero is something to be
They hurt you at home and they hit you at schoolThey hate you if you're clever and they despise a foolTill you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rulesA working class hero is something to beA working class hero is something to be
When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd yearsThen they expect you to pick a careerWhen you can't really function you're so full of fearA working class hero is something to beA working class hero is something to be
Keep you doped with religion and sex and TVAnd you think you're so clever and class less and freeBut you're still fucking peasants as far as I can seeA working class hero is something to beA working class hero is something to be
There's room at the top they are telling you stillBut first you must learn how to smile as you killIf you want to be like the folks on the hillA working class hero is something to beA working class hero is something to beIf you want to be a hero well just follow meIf you want to be a hero well just follow me

*The song "Working Class Hero" is a classic exposition of the humiliation of being a worker in such settings as home, school, and work. John Lennon, though himself a millionaire many times over, has nonetheless here identified with the plight of working masses and himself arrived at full class consciousness when he sings that: "There's room at the top they are telling you still, but first you must learn how to smile as you kill, if you want to be like the folks on the hill." (from www.worldsocialism.org)
*Regarded as one of John Lennon's most caustic and overtly political songs, "Working Class Hero" explores themes of alienation and social status from childhood to adulthood, and comments on elements that "distract you from your fate": In 2007, Green Day contributed a cover of the song to the Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, which was released on June 12, 2007, proceeds from which help support Amnesty International's campaign to focus attention on the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. When asked why they chose the song, front man Billie Joe Armstrong said, "We wanted to do 'Working Class Hero' because its themes of alienation, class, and social status really resonated with us. It's such a raw, aggressive song -- just that line: 'you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see' -- we felt we could really sink our teeth into it. I hope we've done him justice.". Blind Melon covered the song in many of their live shows. Marilyn Manson covered it on his 2000 single "The Fight Song." Ozzy Osbourne recorded a version for his 2005 collection Under Cover. (from wikipedia.org)

WORKERS OF THE WORLD, AWAKEN
By Joe Hill (1914)

Workers of the world, awaken!Break your chains. demand your rights.AII the wealth you make is takenBy exploiting parasites.Shall you kneel in deep submissionFrom your cradles to your graves?ls the height of your ambitionTo be good and willing slaves?
CHORUS:

Arise, ye prisoners of starvation!Fight for your own emancipation;Arise, ye slaves of every nation.In One Union grand.Our little ones for bread are crying,And millions are from hunger dying;The end the means is justifying,
'Tis the final stand.

If the workers take a notion,They can stop all speeding trains;Every ship upon the oceanThey can tie with mighty chains.Every wheel in the creation,Every mine and every mill,Fleets and armies of the nation,Will at their command stand still.

Join the union, fellow workers,Men and women, side by side;We will crush the greedy shirkersLike a sweeping, surging tide;For united we are standing,But divided we will fall;Let this be our understanding --"All for one and one for all.''

Workers of the world, awaken!Rise in all your splendid might;Take the wealth that you are making,It belongs to you by right.No one will for bread be crying,We'll have freedom, love and health.When the grand red flag is flyingIn the Workers' Commonwealth.

A songwriter, itinerant laborer, and union organizer, Joe Hill became famous around the world after a Utah court convicted him of murder. Even before the international campaign to have his conviction reversed, however, Joe Hill was well known in hobo jungles, on picket lines and at workers' rallies as the author of popular labor songs and as an Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) agitator. Thanks in large part to his songs and to his stirring, well—publicized call to his fellow workers on the eve of his execution—"Don't waste time mourning, organize!"—Hill became, and he has remained, the best—known IWW martyr and labor folk hero.

Hill became more famous in death than he had been in life. To Bill Haywood, the former president of the Western Federation of Miners and the best-known leader of the IWW, Hill wrote: "Goodbye Bill: I die like a true rebel. Don't waste any time mourning, organize! It is a hundred miles from here to Wyoming. Could you arrange to have my body hauled to the state line to be buried? I don't want to be found dead in Utah." Apparently he did die like a rebel. A member of the firing squad at his execution claimed that the command to "Fire!" had come from Hill himself.

After a brief service in Salt Lake City, Hill's body was sent to Chicago, where thousands of mourners heard Hill's "Rebel Girl" sung for the first time, listened to hours of speeches and then walked behind his casket to Graceland Cemetery, where the body was cremated and the ashes mailed to IWW locals in every state but Utah as well as to supporters in every inhabited continent on the globe. According to one of Hill's Wobbly-songwriter colleagues, Ralph Chaplin (who wrote the words to "Solidarity Forever," among other songs), all the envelopes were opened on May 1, 1916, and their contents scattered to the winds, in accordance with Hill's last wishes, expressed in a poem written on the eve of his death:

My body? Ah, if I could choose,I would to ashes it reduce,And let the merry breezes blowMy dust to where some fading flowers grow.
Perhaps some fading flowers thenWould come to life and bloom again.This is my last and final will.Good luck to you.

*Hill was memorialized in a tribute poem written about him c. 1930 by Alfred Hayes titled "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night", sometimes referred to simply as "Joe Hill". Hayes's lyrics were turned into a song in 1936 by Earl Robinson. Joan Baez's Woodstock performance of "Joe Hill" in 1969 is the most well-known recording. Bob Dylan claims that Hill's story was one of his inspirations to begin writing his own songs. His song "I dreamed I Saw St. Augustine" is loosely based around the story and Robinson's version. The Nightwatchman (a.k.a. Tom Morello, former guitarist of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave) refers to Joe Hill in his song "The Union Song". For Rage Against the Machine's second Album, Evil Empire, a suggested reading list was included. Included is the biography Joe Hill written by Gibbs M. Smith. (from wikipedia.org)

Peacethan 2008

ambivalence and directions

"We believe that politics is the way you live your life, not who you support. It's not in terms of rallies or speeches or political programs. It is in terms of images and in terms of transforming people's lives."

-ABBIE HOFFMAN, 1968-

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE FOR 46-ARTIST ANTHEM ENTITLED,

More than a political statement, “Kaya Mong Maging DAKILA” addresses what is beneath this political mess. It is a coming together of creative forces, reminding all of the core Filipino values taught to us by our own history and those who came before us.

Without ignoring our different views on the present political situation, the 46 artists came together in agreement in the form of this song. Written and composed by Mr. Noel Cabangon, “Kaya Mong Maging DAKILA” is a firm culmination of what we discovered common among us. We are all hungry for change, thirsty for transformation. We are artists, this is our expertise. We state our message through our craft.

Over a year in the making, the song’s production was finally completed this month. Independently produced through small contributions from the community of artists and volunteers, “Kaya Mong Maging DAKILA” is a creative co-op of musicians and believers. The song will speak for us – over and above the din of political rhetoric.

Bob Dylan said it best, “Music should not reflect culture, it should subvert culture.” Sa Filipino: Ang musika ay hindi lamang nagsasalamin ng ating kultura, musika’y naghuhulma ng kultura. This song is our loudest voice. Our collective stance. We are artists, this is our expertise, therefore we say our piece on this stage. Listen.

“Kaya Mong Maging DAKILA” is not a mere reaction to the political mess. It has been an ongoing project meant to shape the “values-direction” that we believe we should take. This is simply a magnificent assertion of what we already know and what we have been taught. We know that we are truly a brave, honest and efficient people; that is what we are. If through generations we have forgotten our nobility, let this song remind you, “Kaya Mong Maging DAKILA.”

More than just a song about nobility: this is a song about OUR nobility.

Listen.

Kaya Mong Maging DAKILA!

The idea of heroism sounds a little daft in a culture of game shows and celebrity video-phone scandals. Irony has become such an accidental virtue that it has swung back to hit us in the head. Calling someone a “hero” is to invite sarcasm and self-righteousness. So here we are now, living in a time tragically bereft of them.

Heroes are products of circumstance. There are those who have become so through sheer will, but there are people who become heroes after being pushed to a dead end.

A wise man once said our past shapes our response to the present. This nation was formed on the sacrifices made by martyrs both immortalized and anonymous. A country need not be a colony of a foreign power— it can also be the fiefdom of its own leaders. We are a heroic people, but we can also be shackled by our own pessimism and apathy.

A hero resides in every one of us. It begins in the mind, with one thought that says it can be done. To do all things with pride and dignity, to learn from the lessons of history, to realize that the deeds of our heroes are not hackneyed fables but real, breathing examples of how to live our lives.

This is a song about nobility. Listen.

Simply Not Enough

The controversial NBN-ZTE deal sprouted into a multitude of issues ranging from the obvious anomalies to the in depth exposes on the rule makers of this ballgame. Like the Pandora’s Box, it has opened all sorts of evil that have been trying to evade the public eye for so long. The country has been witness to revelations of all sorts. We shook our heads when we learned that the $262M project cost ballooned into a $329M loan. We crunched at the thought of the shady cover ups of opposing camps in a tight race to swing public opinion. Spin doctors make remedies resorting to published wire tapped conversations, revelations of dirty laundry, blemished credibility even to as far as shattering friendships of innocent children. We feared for the safety of a witness ready to tell all and watched in the same interests with our favorite telenovela the Senate hearings that feed our curiosity with blow by blow account of a true to life mixture of action, comedy, horror, drama and fantasy unfolding. We groaned in disgust on the extent of greed that spans wide from the small fishes in the tank to the whales of the ocean and realized that the whole ecosystem is in fact contaminated with stinking corruption. We grew watchful and conscious of text messages, phone conversations, security cameras after having learned that the government must had too much of methamphetamine hydrochloride.

And the camera continues to roll. And we, the movie audience grow more confused as the plot thickens. While the church remains divided into where to lead its flock, the opposition and militants dance together into another “ouster” tune. Just as right wing elements and adventurers in the military attempts to win the crowd with patriotic agitation of their messianic intentions, the veteran players of traditional politics competes to hog the spotlight with brilliant posturing and statesman like images tailor fitted for 2010. Joey and Jun like carnival stars packaged as modern heroes are being paraded in schools and civil society functions to court movers of another attempt at Edsa.

The nation is in frenzy. Calls for ouster, snap elections, caretaker government, and kabayan for president barks at every street corner yet the broad masses remains in the sidelines. We remain spectators.

Some call it apathy while others see it as cynicism. Ideologues theorized it to people power fatigue.

Whatever you call it, the common folk would simply comment, “Pare-pareho lang sila (everyone is the same)”. I would rather use what my friends would term it, “different ass, and same shit”.

Unless concrete reforms that deal with the real issues of the people are raised and confronted, all the efforts will serve a lost cause. Unemployment. Rising Cost of Education. More classrooms and textbooks. Starvation Wages. Hunger. Extreme Poverty. Regressive Taxation. Embedded Corruption.

From the way things are going, it will not be different from the past Edsa that merely changed the moustache of an Asiong Salonga to the mole of a Nora Aunor. What remains are options to install a “kabayan” speaking moron or a pack of vultures waiting to feed on the nation.

Let us hope that the objective condition will not be cruel to limit us with a choice between evils. May we have the opportunity to write history with genuine freedom to choose what is truly beneficial for our country.

While everybody’s busy ousting a President, nobody is talking about the real issues.

Don’t get me wrong. I would party in the streets just to see that evil bitch fall but not to hand over on a silver plate a rod to the salivating monsters ready to beat the hell out of another generation of my country men.

-leni-
disturbed on a friday night

labo...

• US$329M worth of NBN-ZTE Deal
• 65 million Filipinos or 80% of the population are struggling to survive on the equivalent of US$ 2 a day. Based on the current exchange rate, thats around P 80/ day. (Ibon, Mar 2007)
• Poverty treshold is pegged at PhP 41 per person per day for food and non-food needs(NSCB, March 2007). This means if you have more than PhP 41 per day, you are not considered poor. Let's say you are a balut vendor who earns around PhP 100 a day, you are not poor.
• Almost 1 out of 2 Filipinos see themselves as poor.
• 46% of Filipinos families (estimated 8.1 million families or about 40.5 million Filipinos out of the 2007 projected population of 86 million) see themselves as poor.
• The cost of living is PhP 158 per person per day for food and non-food needs (NWPC, July 2007)
• PhP 792 is the dailly cost of living for a family of 5 living in the National Capital Region
• Minimum wage in the Philippines is PhP 362 a day. A large percentage of the work force earn below minimum wage.
• 1 in 10 Filipinos has never gone to school (6.8 million) (Education Network Quick Stats, 2003)
• 1 in 6 Filipinos is not functionally literate (9.6 million)
• 4.1 million Filipinos are complete illiterate.
• 1 in 3 children/ youth is not attending school(11.6 million)
• 12 Filipinos die of dirty water daily (Cebu Daily News citing USAID, November 7, 2006
• More than 90% of all sewage in the Philippines is untreated (Cebu Daily News citing the World Bank, November 7, 2006)
• 10 Filipino women die daily from childbirth-related complications because they do not have access to emergency obstetric care. We have among the highest maternal mortality rate (estimated at 162 per 100,000 live births) in Asia and the world. (FIES, 20063,300 workers leave the country daily (Ibon, Mar 2007
• Income of top 10% of the income decile is equivalent to 19 times that of the poorest 10 percent. (2006 FIES)
• 3.5 million families or the top 20% of the income decile account for 52.8% or more than half of the total family income, while the remaining 47.3% was shared by the poorest 80% or 13.9 million families. (2006 FIES)
• 7 out of 10 peasants still do not own land while less than 1/3 of landowners own more than 80% of agricultural land (Ibon, 2006)
• Oil companies earn PhP 110 million a day in 2006 (Ibon, 2007)
• 16.1 million Filipino workers or more than 50 percent of the labor force (in 2005) earn wages around Php5,000-8,000 (wages that hover around the poverty threshold), which translates to PhP33-53 per person per day (6.1 M farmers and fisherfolk and 10 M laborers and unskilled workers) (pegged at PhP41 per person per day).
• 4.1 million Filipinos * (or 7.3% of the total labor force) are unemployed (NSO, 2005-2006
• According to Cielito Habito, this is based on the new definition of unemployment which was introduced in 2005. Under the old definition, the current number of Filipinos unemployed is about 4 million.
• 7.47 million Filipinos are considered underemployed (or 13.4% of total labor force). Despite the slight improvement from 2006 to 2007, the average annual unemployment rate is still posted at 10.8%, just a little lower than the previous year at 11 percent. (NSO, 2005-
• 861,000 (NSO 2005-2006) jobs were created by the government at the end 2007 but revealed the following:
  142,000 household help or kasambahays
  116,000 in transport, storage and communication 111,000 in wholesale and retail trade o what we called the ambulant vendors
  103,000 construction workers
  34,000 in unpaid family labor
• Every Filipino owes about PhP 44,000.00. (Debt Quick Stats, Freedom from Debt Coalition)
• The total debt of the Philippines as of December 2006 is $118.19 billion.
• Debt service is allocated PhP612.8 Billion in the 2008 National Budget.
• 25 % of the Annual National Budget ends up in corruption. (PS Link)
  Philippines is the most corrupt in Asia (PERC, 2007)

You do the math. Question. Think. Analyze. Make a Stand. Be Heard.

We posted gang badoy's blog entry here at Dakila's site to give you an insight on the latest blockbuster blunder on the zte scandal and the decency of a simple man caught in the crossfire of thieves - moderate and otherwise.

Taken at approximately 545am today. Feb 7, 2008. Crucial witness to the scandal-ridden National Broadband Network deal, Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada finally gets some rest from the tornado he was in.Making a public narration of his inter-actions with former-Comelec Commissioner Ben Abalos, Jun Lozada flew home from HK to testify before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. Lozada narrates that Abalos kept insisting for him to tweak deals on the NBN transactions between ZTE-China and the Philippine Government. As an IT consultant, Engineer Lozada stated that this deal should be done through bidding of private companies but Abalos, according to Lozada, kept insisting otherwise. So ang nangyari, naging government loan ang arrangement dito. (this loan was signed in China a few months after -- witnessed by President Arroyo herself) An additional (approx) 130Million USD was added to the project cost. Abalos was to keep a huge kick-back from this deal. "protektahin natin ang 130Million ko..."-Abalos) Lozada said in his statement, "When I quit the project, the project cost was $262 million. So it was approved. I don’t know what happened then. I’m not imputing anything now. But when it was approved, it was already approved at $329 million." On the day he was supposed to testify before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Lozada flew to HK to avoid it. Subsequently, Sen. Enrile moved that a warrant of arrest be given out to Lozada for him to show up and narrate to the people what he knew while working with the project group in charge of the NBN-ZTE deal. After a few days, Lozada got a phonecall from Atienza saying that he should just come back to the Philippines but they will take care of him. (whatever that means) Right when he flew in from HongKong, Lozada was sneaked out by men who claimed to be sent by DENR Sec. Atienza. (Atienza later denies that he sent this order saying perhaps his name was just used) Lozada said his family was waiting for him outside but the men insisted in taking him anyway. Fearing for his life, he went with them and they drove him to the outskirts of Manila. They just drove around the SLEX, the C5 and finally they dropped him off to meet his family. According to Lozada, the men received orders thru a phonecall or a radio transmission that said, "Masyado nang mainit sa media, ihatid nyo na lang siya sa pamilya niya." After realizing that Jun was not going to come out from the airport after his flight, naturally his family filed official complaints and was covered by the media as his wife, Violet gave her impassioned plea to surface her husband. He finally got in touch with the religious groups (the combined association of religious orders) and requested for safety. Glad that he's safe now, Lozada told me this morning that he truly feared for his life when the men took him from the tube so he just followed them out. After a presscon at the La Salle Greenhills chapel with Bro Armin Luistro, FSC (President of the La Salle schools) he left for the Senate surrounded by nuns of different religious orders. He said all that he had to say. Everyone gaunt from fatigue, we convoyed the Senate's Sgt-at-Arms van that picked him up from the LSGH presscon. I was able to go all the way into the room that held him first, (another blog entry for how I managed to do that) we were escorted deep into the Senate building, far from the mob of the media. We were met by Senators Cayetano, then Aquino and 2007 FilmFest best actor Jinggoy Estrada. In any case, he sat down on the couch, ate quietly, watched himself on TV while quietly saying, "...sorry ah low-batt na ako." I asked him what he wanted to tell the young people while he's going through this. He said, "Wag niyong papayagan mangyari ang mga ganito............mahalin ninyo ang bayan...at ang bayan ay hindi lang iisang pamilya...basta ...wag papayagan ito...wag...naku, pagod na ako..."I asked the staff of Sen Cayetano to dim the lights of his office and lower the volume of the TV as I knew most of them were exhausted. As soon as they did this...the nuns and Lozada started nodding off. I left the room and took one last photo of this brave man and his veiled security guard. Rock Ed will keep working on making these issues known. I "live-googled" this info for all of you to see the human face behind what goes on. And the torment honest men face when faced with the multitude of the greedy powerful men and women in government. Rock Ed is still politically non-partisan, but it will continue to focus on making civic issues more interesting to the young. Political sides should be the personal choice of the person participating in Rock Ed's spirit. But on a personal note, this administration will have to explain this scandal soon, own up, and amend --otherwise I will take it that -- it has officially declared itself my enemy. (more photos on an album in my photos link above entitled, "Jun Lozada, witness")

Gang Badoy7Feb2008728amKatipunan Road

2008