2010 PNOY SONA: President Noynoy Aquino’s First State of the Nation Address (Livestreaming here on Monday, July 26 starting 12NN)

**PNOY SONA FULL/COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT BELOW

Live TV : UstreamYOU’RE WATCHING A LIVE VIDEO STREAM OF SONA 2010 VIA TV5

ACTUAL SPEECH TO START 4PM ONWARDS

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Actually, ABS-CBN News has its own livestream here. However, due to its perceived notoriety as being “too yellow for comfort”, I’m reluctant to recommend it. But of course, it’s a matter of preference. GMA News doesn’t have a livestream as far as I know. So I would be streaming TV5′s coverage which I prefer because of their efficient LIVE PACKs. NBN 4 has a livestream here.

I apologize for the video quality. It’s streaming through my iPhone 3GS so there’s the usual lag in frame but audio should be good. If my streaming doesn’t work well for you, you may try the links I posted above.

FULL TRANSCRIPT OF PNOY’s 1ST SONA:

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As you may have realized by now (if you’ve been paying close attention to this blog’s sidebar), I’m a SONA fangirl. I’ve followed the SONA each year and have extensively written pre and post 2008 PGMA SONA and 2009 PGMA SONA articles on this blog. And just because I’m not such a die-hard fan of President Noynoy doesn’t mean I’ll skip this year’s main event: The 2010 PNOY SONA. No sir. Me like SONA. Me write nonetheless. :)

He is our President after all, and I’d very much want to hear what he has to say.

For those who have no idea yet, Monday is a regular working day according to Malacanang. And I understand that eager as many of you are, you simply do not have the luxury to leave out work for the day. But you don’t want to miss the SONA either, right? I feel for you.

So, in the service of my blog readers and non-readers too, I have decided to livestream the Son Of Ninoy Aquino’s (credits: Arnold Clavio for the witty acronym) speech on Monday, July 26, 2010 starting high noon on this blog. All you need to have is reliable internet connection and you’re good to go.

For the highly-mobile GEN Y and GEN X people out there, you can also watch through your mobile phones if you have the Ustream Viewer App installed on your smartphone (available In the Apple App Store). Just go to my Ustream channel to watch the Pnoy’s SONA 2010 LIVE!!!

—————————————————–

• SONA 2010: President Noynoy Aquino’s First State of the Nation Address (Livestreaming here on Monday, July 26 at 12NN)
• Schedule (Time/Date)
• Livestream
• Live Twitter
• Live blog

—————————————————-Suggested Further Reading:

• Manny Villar’s “Naging Mahirap” / “Hindi Bawal Mangarap ang Mahirap” TVC Campaign Lyrics, Videos, Free MP3 download
• Post-SONA 2008 Sentiments
• Do You Ever Get Tired of SONA’s?
• Here come the Yellow Army
• Winnie Monsod’s “Why I Will Vote for Noynoy” article is a hoax

Note: 2010 PNOY SONA: President Noynoy Aquino’s First State of the Nation Address (Livestreaming here on Monday, July 26 at 12NN) is another original post from: adayinthelifeofrj.com
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*** Let’s take a short break from politics and technology, shall we?

Life’s A Joke

by: RJ Marmol

Photo by wstera2

If it’s anything amusing, I would laugh as anyone would

Roll on the floor, heck, laugh my guts out if I could!

Be it fine, about wine

Be it yours, be it mine

We laugh at the fellow who can’t read the sign

A riddle, a rhyme, a look or a style

A stutter, an accent, a behavior — let it not beguile

There’s more to raw humor if you walked it a mile

A prose poem like this or an essay like that

We laugh at the ugly, we ridicule the fat

The poor man rain-drenched on a mat,

The pretentious idiot in his shiny, new flat

Such a sport, such a vice

A hypocrite afloat his fancy boat lies

Warm and happy under rented blue skies

Oblivious of the storm brewing in his eyes

Delusions of grandeur

Comparisons of the spectacular

The last days are near

To decimate the insincere

Because a joke is a joke, even if it’s on me

And a lie is a lie, though untold you see

How funny, how amusing, such a luxury maybe

To laugh at yourself — an ingrate on his knee.Suggested Further Reading:

No related or similar posts found for this entry.

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Like most tech fans would say, every software update is an adventure. And like any adventure, it’s only reasonable to leave room for errors, miscalculated risks and glitches of all sorts.

Not so with Apple. Or at least, with their latest iPhone OS now dubbed as the iOS4. I have updated mine without a glitch. It was a rather slow update if only because of the workload on the server — usual when too many people are updating their phones all at the same time.

Ever since this update was announced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, everyone but the caveman waited in eager anticipation of its worldwide release — it is after all a major update. The fact that it includes well over a hundred new features is nothing short of ‘major’.

Tonight (technically, morning, that is — June 22 at 0110H PHT), I along with most Apple fanboys and fangirls excitedly counted down the time until its release. According to my internet world time, it reached my desktop at 1010H Cupertino and took me more or less 80 minutes to download and install. And in the next paragraph, I will tell you why it’s well worth the wait.

iOS4 is the iPhone 3G S on Steroids

If you thought the 3G S (then running OS 3.1.3) was fast, wait ’til you pump it up with iOS4. It is very fast. It makes you wonder how fast and beautiful the iPhone 4 must be — which will then result in either of the two: 1) You become so impressed and contented with its speed that you’d feel no need to buy an iPhone 4 or; 2) The thought of how fast the iPhone 4 must be will intrigue you enough to get yourself one. Either way, you will be happy.

A Thing of Beauty

Jobs, and by extension, Apple is widely known as creators of “beautiful” things. And this “beauty” goes beyond the aesthetics. We all know that they make gorgeous designs that you wonder just how many ways something “white” can be redesigned to look better and better each time, adding features without distorting its original essence.

iOS4 on the 3G S makes something beautiful more powerful and efficient — beauty and power coexisting in perfect harmony — each one working in its optimum performance without sacrificing one for the other. You hold your phone in your hand and know that it’s the same phone — only better. When it comes to beauty, the iOS4 is no “window dressing” — it is the designer manning the store.

You’re a Multitasker. So Should Your Phone Be.

The iOS4′s most loved and anticipated feature which has been persistently requested by users is multitasking. Debate has been going on as to whether it’s capable of true multitasking or if it’s merely ‘fast app-switching’.

I’ve put this to a test using my favorite ‘background’ apps (and by ‘background’ I mean those apps I would usually prefer running in the back ground while I am doing other tasks like surfing the web (Safari or Opera) or reading my email.

The result:

Cannot run third-party music apps like Boombox Pro (Blip.fm app) or the Smule Glee App and Radio Philippines in the background similar to the way you can listen to your iPod music while using the iPhone. The Yahoo Music app crashes. I think the Pandora demo proves that it does work with Pandora. Too bad Pandora and Last.fm apps are not available in the Philippines. However, fast app-switching works seamlessly.

Double-pressing the Home key will bring up your active apps/processes to select which one you want to use. If you’re through with the app, touch and hold the icon and wait for it to wiggle and display a minus (-) sign. Click on that and that app will be removed from the background.

Organizing with Folders

This works great, just as advertised. And it looks great too. The smart naming of folders based on app category is extremely helpful. You can always rename it as you please, so that’s awesome.

Coming from an 11-page menu, I was able to reduce my pages to just two! And the OC in me is very satisfied. :)

See how my 2-page menu looks like now. Goodbye to achy thumbs!

Unified Inbox

You will never miss an email ever again. With the unified inbox, you have the option to read all your unread messages in one go, in one folder or to check each email account separately. It has become easier to skim through your email and prioritize as needed.

And another good thing about it is that you don’t even have to lift a finger to configure this. If you’ve already added/configured a few of your email accounts previously, the iOS4 will sort it out for you automatically after update.

The Verdict

It’s an update every iPhone owner MUST install. Choosing not to is choosing to run your iPhone underpowered and inefficient — and nobody likes that. :)

There may be some features that may not deliver as demo’ed but probably only because certain apps aren’t available here in the Philippines. Otherwise, it’s a wonderful update packed with big-time and subtle changes to the iPhone’s capability. Some of these features are readily seen and some perform quietly in the background, each contributing to make the iPhone work like it’s supposed to because gadgets are meant to aid us in our chores and satisfy our needs. And Apple, with the recent software update far exceeds that expectation.

(Note: Gotta get some shuteye for the moment. Will be editing this post in a few hours after I get some rest and the energy to play with the iOS4. Will add more feature reviews. Check back later for updates.) Suggested Further Reading:

No related or similar posts found for this entry.

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{ I write this two days short of a one month blog hiatus. Yes, I have returned — hardly-missed, I know, but I wouldn’t miss to write an independence day post for anything. My brain is hard-wired to write about independence day come hell or high water. :) }

One hundred and twelve years ago today, our forefathers proudly waved the Philippine flag to an equally proud and jubilant crowd in Kawit, Cavite. No other day before that seemed more important. It’s Independence Day. Nothing can possibly top that.

One hundred and twelve years after, not much has changed. Of course, people would harp on achieved ‘independence’, freedom, democracy — you know, all the big words. But apart from the obvious — our sovereignty, not much has been achieved in that area.

Which begs the question — what does it really mean to be free?

We’ve heard the rhetorics and seen the parade many times. It’s the same ‘celebration’ every year anyway. But when it comes to a deeper understanding of the essence of freedom and why it’s such a big deal, most people would rather not give it a thought.

If only more people understood what freedom is and how much sacrifice such luxury entailed, maybe they’d care enough to spare it some minutes of contemplation and gratefulness.

But like a spoiled child who’s been given everything he wants without a fight, negotiation or even a second thought, we’ve taken freedom for granted as if it were ‘free’ to begin with — as if it were our birthright to enjoy and squander at will.

Contrary to what most people think, freedom — whose root word is ‘free’ — is not something we were born with. It is not as free as the air we breathe. It is, like I always say, a luxury that comes at a steep price — a price we have the pleasure of only writing or talking about now simply because our brothers and sisters that have come before us did the ‘paying’ for us. It is a debt we owe to our forebears and a gift that we are expected to pass on to our descendants.

We are lucky to be bearers of such a sacred entity, borne of much suffering and patriotism. And compared to our great greats, our job is supposedly much easier.

But look around you. Look harder and weep. There is not much to bequeath. As the vessel of freedom has been passed on from generation to generation, much of its essence has been lost in translation.

Today, we have commercialized freedom and sold it as commodities. We claim that we are sovereign and yet we allow ourselves to be ‘short-changed’ by economic giants who dictate how they run their business on our shores when it’s supposed to be the other way around.

We let them mine our resources (natural and human) dry and even praise them for giving us ‘jobs’ and ‘investments’.

As a new administration is sworn in, jobs are promised in the form of ‘increased foreign investments’. We are more invested in pulling-in foreign investors instead of say, empowering the SMEs ( small to medium enterprises) and micro businesses with access to affordable financing schemes, fast and reliable government support through specialized agencies
and improved taxation to encourage businesses to register and use auditable receipts.

That is just one concrete example of freedom in action, of freedom as it relates to real life.

The days of fighting with bolos may be over. But every year, the fight for a modern yet simplistic form of freedom remains a struggle. It is heartwarming to see flag-waving ceremonies here and there but beyond the symbolic, there is a pressing battle we must win. The fight for freedom is a never-ending struggle. The battle gears may change, the strategy may be different, the soldiers may not be marchig to a similar tune — yet the goal remains the same: to win our freedom over and over again.

Because ‘to never rest’ — that is what it means to be free. And that is what it means to be Filipino.

Maligayang Araw ng Kalayaan! Suggested Further Reading:

No related or similar posts found for this entry.

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Death by Suffrage

I don’t know how or where to start. Writing long and winding articles have always been where I’m good at. I have also been believed to have the gift of expression — I find it easy to say (or write) exactly how I feel. But now I can’t seem to mince words to express myself.

Photo by underbiteman

Something has gone awry these past few days — since Monday night to be precise. My heart is heavy, if not completely shattered post-election day when the results started coming in.

It just dawned on me — just now, how I should begin this post.

“Hi. My name is RJ and I am a sore loser.”

I have stopped updating my election results post just this morning after waking up to a persistent heartache — that which pierces one’s soul and wouldn’t stop until you bleed to death. You might think I’m just being poetic, but I’m not. I have put up with this for almost a week. I need a breather.

There is an air of melancholy in my otherwise bossa nova-filled house. I have been living off fast food since Monday. I can’t seem to cook or even want to. I can’t seem to empty my head of everything I’m seeing and hearing. I am filled with such sorrow as if someone had just died.

For days now, I am trying to sort this out and have resorted to mindless singing and dancing and an obsessive-compulsive reading of news feeds since after elections. It’s as if my phone is glued to my palm and my news feeds are what’s keeping me alive. I check on the news by the minute, afraid that I may miss out on latest events. But the truth couldn’t be farther — I was (and still am) hoping that one of these days I will find the answer to this nagging question: “What happened? Where did my vote go? Are you saying that while some candidates were hard put on raising issues and platform above ‘personality’ millions of people weren’t even listening?” Maybe they were listening — to public radio. Can you blame them? Debates are boring. Mudslinging is oh-so-fun. Scandals and rumors are titillating. Economic and constitutional reforms are not.

Plans vs. Zombies

I feel like a log drifting in open water. All these, because I have filled my heart and head with so much enthusiasm and hope that change is gonna come — and my candidate of choice would be that “knight in shining armor” who will snatch this damsel-in-distress-of-a-nation from the clutches of hopelessness and jadedness. Like the “Prince Charming” of fairy tales, it was destined to wake up this sleeping-beauty-of-a-nation. Not for happily ever after, but at least, for sustained socio political and economic stability.

But this is real life. No knights in shining armor, no princes charming. Heck, not even “sober” damsels-in -distress!

Nobody cares about sober plans. In this country, if you can gather a sizable crowd of zombies who idolize you (or the blood that runs through your veins), you can be president. Heck, you can even snatch the post if that’s what it takes! You don’t have to be believable. You just have to be a wonderful and convenient choice!

If this is a fairy tale, this is “The Pied Piper and the Charmed Herd: Destiny of Doom”. Okay, I made that up.

All hail the hypocrites!

I am not happy that we have once again found ourselves at this road. Doesn’t it all look too familiar to you?

The name. The reason. The circumstances. Even the battle cry.

I refuse to put up with all this hypocrisy about unity and acceptance and moving on. I am sorry. I am a sore loser and I’ll probably die being one. Go on your merry way with your unity rally, one less person isn’t such a loss to you — in the same way one more vote didn’t turn out to be significant enough to change the course of history.

Where are thou?

I miss Jose Rizal. Not that I’ve known him personally of course. I just wish he was here. His wisdom would have enlightened us.

I miss Andres Bonifacio too. His courage and trusty bolo would have inspired us to damn the odds and just do what the @#$@#$ we had to do to straighten things up.

I miss heroes of the old days — those we can only read in books. Those whose sacrifices were so real that the stench of their blood-soaked clothes will kill you. Those who never, not once, thought of doing it for themselves, but always for the country.

Those who despite standing alone, stood their ground and paid a dear price for it.

Where have they all gone? Why is it so hard to produce the likes of them in this generation?

Mere tokens

I have, for over a year, written until my fingers refused to type any longer, read until my eyes drooped in weak surrender — hoping and even believing that I was in fact, preaching to the choir.

I was wrong. I could have tried harder. I could have done better than being a slacktivist. Because if I did better, maybe I wouldn’t feel this bad. But then again, maybe even that would not have been enough.

You’ve probably sensed the stinking incoherence in my writing right now. I am sorry to disappoint you today. As of this time, I am going through difficult stages of denial, anger, grief and pain — in random order and in frequent attacks. I do not understand why I am not as happy as everyone else. And it’s not just because my candidate lost. It’s because he lost by a HUGE margin. So huge that I tear myself up each time I update the partial and unofficial results.

As far as I can see, we are nowhere near the end of the tunnel. And even if we get there, them political swindlers will just keep on buying new tunnels — because they don’t want us to see the light. Because if we did, we’d be so terrified to see how monstrous they all look like in broad daylight.

I won’t tell you there is hope. There is none. We have single-handedly (as a nation) killed hope in one day.

Parting words

Democracy isn’t about conceding to the majority. It isn’t about mindlessly following the herd to the ditch. It isn’t about repeating history over and over just because someone said “Practice makes perfect.” — this isn’t sports or arts — this is the very fiber that holds us together — the very ground we are standing on — the very air we breathe. And logic dictates that it isn’t even about the majority knowing what’s best for everyone else.

Democracy is an exercise of people’s responsibility to defend the weak and to subdue the strong — to uplift and protect the interest of the true minority in order to maintain balance, order and harmony. In simple terms — to take care of each other.

And by that definition, the democracy you all so proudly speak of — is dead.

P.S.

Due to these recent events, I have decided to stall this blog. If it were up to me, I’d rather not blog about politics again (but some things are too difficult to let go). That’s how devastated I am of these elections. I may or may not blog again, I don’t know. And while I cannot bring myself to say good luck, I’d rather say God Bless the Philippines — the land of my forefathers and the land of my descendants! Me and my son will serve this country the best way we can.

“…Buhay ay langit sa piling mo.

Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi,

Ang mamatay ng dahil sayo.”

– “Lupang Hinirang”, Pambansang Awit ng Pilipinas

Suggested Further Reading:

• Philippine Blog Awards 2 (PBA 2008): All Systems Go!
• Give Me More Of This, Please.
• DILG Sec. Puno, are you for real?
• 2010 Presidentiables and Surveys
• Not The Children

Note: Death by Suffrage is another original post from: adayinthelifeofrj.com
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Nacionalista Party’s standard bearer Sen. Manny Villar has conceded to Liberal Party’s Noynoy Aquino in a press con he has called this 11AM at his family-owned StarMall mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

Latest official partial COMELEC count puts Aquino at 12,233,002 votes vs. Villar’s 4,329,215.

Villar, whose vow to eradicate poverty owing to his claim to being poor as a boy has been consistently vilified by non-believers, said that he has done his best to offer himself up and his plans to alleviate the condition of the poor but accepts that the people has decided and thus respects its decision. He added that he didn’t take his family with him to the press conference because they have been subjected to enough stress already.

He further reiterated his intention and vow to help the poor in ‘other’ ways and has assured party-mates that he and the Nacionalista Party will be behind them all the way until their last votes are counted. He also congratulated Noynoy Aquino.

Senator Villar, people can say whatever they want — they have called you many things and your detractors seem to have spared no word to demonize you as a corrupt real estate billionaire. So be it shrewdness or an attempt to clean your public image, I commend you for this.

It takes a lot of courage to gather the media and read your statement for all the world to see and hear without your wife and children by your side. This is a valiant move characteristic of a good and strong leader.

In the end, it would be saddening if we realize that none of those issues thrown at you were ever true. I have a strange feeling that all this noise will magically vanish after the winner is proclaimed because it has already served its purpose.

It would have been an entirely different ball game if the late president Cory Aquino didn’t die and if former president Erap Estrada was not allowed to run again for president. But then again, destiny stubbornly takes its course all the time. And doomed is the man who audaciously try to get in its way.

I can only pray that the hopes of 12 million people (and counting) will not be crushed in the coming days and months.

God bless you, Senator Villar. God bless the Philippines.Suggested Further Reading:

No related or similar posts found for this entry.

Note: Villar concedes to Aquino #eleksyon2010 #purplethumb is another original post from: adayinthelifeofrj.com
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This post is continuously updated. Please refresh this page every once in a while to check for recent updates.

Edit: May 14, 2010 @ 1900H:  I will no longer update this page, here’s why.

To my fellow Calambenos looking for the latest results for Laguna and Calamba City, please scroll down way below this page for the latest partial unofficial result.

If you prefer to do your own tally, click here to get precinct-level results from the COMELEC website.

Since COMELEC’s website’s results are currently only viewable by precinct level (no municipal level tally yet), I will be publishing data from GMANews.tv which is a reflection of the exact results received by PPCRV’s server direct from 76,000+ precincts all over the country.

If you’re looking for COMELEC’s Partial Official Tally, please scroll down below.

GMA-7′s  Partial Unofficial Tally as of 2010-05-13 4:27PM 89.50% of ERs

~~~

PPCRV’s Partial Unofficial Tally as of 2010-05-13 11:09AM 89.41% of ERs

Suggested Further Reading:

• Calamba City, Laguna Municipal Hall Disaster Operations Number: 0495452292
• Eight Years Strong: If She’s Here, Who’s Running Hell?
• Arroyo is resigning from Lakas-Kampi
• Not The Children
• Time to Awaken The Rizal in All Of Us

Note: Latest Results: Official Canvassing for 2010 Elections is another original post from: adayinthelifeofrj.com
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Search This Heart: A Voter’s Prayer

by: RJ Marmol

~~~

As we look back on our troubled past and look ahead to the future laid before us, I, along with 50 million voters, 

come before You Lord and pray that You search this heart.

Of feelings of doubt, cynicism and pessimism — search this heart.

Of feelings of distrust, dissent and hostility — search this heart.

As we cast our votes — the only one we have — plant a seed of hope and confidence,

That after doing all that is humanly possible to reclaim our pride and banish our tainted reputation

Through honest, peaceful and credible  elections –

Help us rest in the comfort that you will not forsake us.

Search this heart, oh Lord, and cast away ill-feelings for all candidates and their supporters.

Search this heart and remove regrets over yesterday’s mistakes, misjudgements and misdeeds that held us from believing that change is ever possible in this country.

Search this heart and show us the path — not of least resistance, but of least faults.

We may have heard all that we can from our candidates. We have debated day and night, for and against them.

They have campaigned, we have listened. But there is one vote — one voice, one debate —

one campaign that we are yet to listen to — Yours.

So today, as we anticipate the day we have been waiting for in six years,

We pray that You open our hearts and search it.

Speak to us. We are ready to listen.

You have said that all authority comes from You.

In Paul’s epistle to the Romans 13:1-7

1 Everyone is to obey the governing authorities, because there is no authority except from God and so whatever authorities exist have been appointed by God. 
2 So anyone who disobeys an authority is rebelling against God’s ordinance; and rebels must expect to receive the condemnation they deserve. 
3 Magistrates bring fear not to those who do good, but to those who do evil. So if you want to live with no fear of authority, live honestly and you will have its approval; 
4 it is there to serve God for you and for your good. But if you do wrong, then you may well be afraid; because it is not for nothing that the symbol of authority is the sword: it is there to serve God, too, as his avenger, to bring retribution to wrongdoers. 
5 You must be obedient, therefore, not only because of this retribution, but also for conscience’s sake. 
6 And this is why you should pay taxes, too, because the authorities are all serving God as his agents, even while they are busily occupied with that particular task. 
7 Pay to each one what is due to each: taxes to the one to whom tax is due, tolls to the one to whom tolls are due, respect to the one to whom respect is due, honour to the one to whom honour is due. 

Direct our hearts and minds to the right choice, and give us the strength and conviction to vote according to our conscience –

According to Your will.

Keep us in your loving embrace and guidance. Help us realize that our vote is as sacred as our love for this country –

That which You have blessed abundantly, and whose people You loved immensely —

That You sent Your Only Begotten Son to die for.

Search this voter’s heart, oh Lord –

For Your prodigal son of a nation has returned — remorseful and with an open contrite heart –

Not to ask for a feast, but for a genuine lasting peace – on election day, and everyday.Suggested Further Reading:

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Update as of 6:00PM of May 10, 2010:

Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro and running-mate Edu Manzano are both leading in this blog’s online EXIT POLL. I will not be surprised if this result is reflected in offline exit polls as well as in the actual tally of votes happening tonight.

~~~

For the first time in my blog, just days before the elections, Lakas-Kampi-CMD’s standard bearer, presidentiable Gilbert ‘Gibo’ Teodoro now leads my non-biased, unedited and honest to goodness survey.

This personal survey has been running since last year and has always been in tune with prevailing public sentiment. Prior to former president Cory Aquino’s death and Noynoy Aquino’s eventual proclamation of candidacy, Manny Villar has consistently led in my self-commissioned online poll. It has reflected Noynoy Aquino’s rise, Manny Villar’s rise and fall, Erap’s non-popularity with the ‘online’ community and now Gilberto ‘Gibo’ Teodoro’s steady rise to the top.

This online poll will automatically close at 7:00 AM of May 10, 2010 to ensure that a pre-election condition is met. After which, around 6:00 PM of the same day, I will be opening an exit poll here to see how the electorate has voted.

That Gibo Teodoro might pull a surprise win is no longer a pipe dream. The possibility of winning just got stronger.

It looks like the ‘silent majority’ has indeed spoken — at the last minute but with great resolve and conviction that he who is not guilty never casts the first stone.

I have mentioned once, in passing, that I have had quite a few dreams of Gibo Teodoro winning the presidential race. In fact, in this dream, he is already doing his presidential duties and doing it well. Some people say dreams are opposites of what will happen in the future. I would like to believe otherwise.

Is Gibo Teodoro the true preferred candidate of the ABC crowd? And will the D and E class finally break out of their stereotyped class vote?

On election day, we will find out.

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If we want to ensure credible election results, we must guard the printing and safekeeping of the first 8 copies of ERs (election returns) at the (clustered) precinct level prior to hooking-up the PCOS (Precinct Count Optical Scan) machine online.

This was the suggestion made by former COMELEC Chairman Christian Monsod this morning when asked about how we can generate confidence on this coming Monday’s first automated national and local elections.

Former COMELEC Chairman Christian Monsod (Image from: http://www.mbc.com.ph)

At the closing hour of election day, at about 6pm, the PCOS will automatically refuse accepting ballots, finalize the tally results and print 30 copies of ERs.

The first 8 physical copies of election returns (along with the access to servers) will go to the following:

1. COMELEC
2. Congress
3. PPCRV (Citizen’s Arm)
4. Dominant Majority (Lakas-Kampi-CMD)
5. Dominant Minority (since the NP-NPC coalition has been invalidated, LP becomes the dominant minority)
6. Provincial Board of Canvassers
7. Municipal Board of Canvassers
8. KBP

Monsod says that following the assurance that the ‘source code’ (software program) is clean and that the copy of the program stored in a Bangko Sentral safety deposit box is the exact same program stored/used by the PCOS (which can be verified by a ‘hash test’ to be done by COMELEC before the elections), the immediate printing of ‘untainted’ clustered precinct-level results and securing it will be our assurance that should an automated ‘Garci’ happen from municipal level upwards, we will be confident that a manual count verification would be reliable.

He adds that once data is transmitted, it may be prone to ‘manipulation’ and depending on the safeguards installed, even a third party may hack into it and alter the results through digital ‘padding and shaving’ (aka ‘dagdag-bawas’).

Why data must go through a Smartmatic ‘central hub’ must also be clarified. Monsod thinks the Supreme Court, in addition to compelling the COMELEC to release their overall election preparations including but not limited to contingency plans and RMA guidelines, must also ask the COMELEC to justify whether it is indeed necessary for a third-party like Smartmatic to have access to the data transmission and why data can’t go straight to COMELEC servers.

Citing a recent testing where data results were in conflict with manual count, Smartmatic was said to have resolved the issue by accessing the PCOS remotely. This now raises the question: If remote correction/fixing can be done, can this mean remote alteration of results be done as well?

In the end, Monsod says that given the recent hiccups encountered in PCOS testing, a successful automated election is still possible if field implementation is done properly. The success of our first attempt at automation now rests in the teachers and staff who will man the polling place. If this election becomes successful, we owe it to these heroes who risk even their very lives in this democratic exercise.

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The Iglesia ni Cristo has released their official endorsement for the 2010 elections. In a statement read in today’s service to all their followers, INC has officially endorsed Liberal Party’s standard bearer Noynoy Aquino and vice-presidential candidate Mar Roxas.

The Iglesia ni Cristo has been wooed in previous elections by aspiring candidates because of their legendary reputation for bloc voting that has delivered solid votes for Estrada in 1998 and Arroyo in 2004.

For senatoriables, they have endorsed the following:

1. Ruffy Biazon (LP)
2. Bong Revilla (LKC)
3. Pia Cayetano (NP)
4. Miriam Defensor Santiago (PRP)
5. Franklin Drilon (LP)
6. Juan Ponce Enrile (PMP)
7. Jinggoy Estrada (PMP)
8. TG Guingona (LP)
9. Lito Lapid (LKC)
10. Bongbong Marcos (NP)
11. Ralph Recto (LP)
12. Tito Sotto (NPC)Suggested Further Reading:

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~~~

Latest updates:

As of 3PM of May 6:

Testing of PCOS machines using new CF cards was 100% successful.

As of 10PM of May 4:
As reported by GMANews.tv, the so-called software “glitch” has been corrected. Burning of the CF cards should be done by Thursday and testing will resume that same day. No need to worry for now, election will push through on Monday, May 10.

~~~

We are only six (6) days away from the widely-criticized Automated Local and National Elections and instead of reinforcing faith in the effectivity and reliability of the system, more and more problems are being discovered casting doubts that the COMELEC is capable of ensuring a successful conduct of the elections.

To update you of the recent events, just in case you failed to catch-up with the news, I have summarized some of the issues below and have attempted to clarify, explain and allay the fears of voters like myself.

But first, a disclaimer: I do not claim any authority or expertise whatsoever with regards to both the technical and legal aspects of the Automated Election System. But being a computer technician by education and an equipment maintenance/technician by profession, there are aspects of the automation system that I can understand and have confidence on — and consequently would like to do my part in dousing unnecessary fear and doubt about our very first automated elections.

These explanations are a mixed bag of knowledge based on what I have read on the COMELEC website and elsewhere on the web, my experience and knowledge as a technician and my personal understanding of the process. Advice, comments and opinions in this blog and in this particular post must not be construed as 100% factual as this is primarily an opinion blog and not a news source. It is your obligation as a responsible citizen to be wary of the information you read online and elsewhere. Any mention of statistical information must be verified with the proper news source. I also urge you yet again to visit the official website of the COMELEC to keep posted with other developments.

Consider this my little way of shedding light on the issue which I feel I have the social and moral obligation to impart. If you feel this is helpful to you, your family, friends and colleagues, please feel free to share this post. All posts in this blog are licensed as Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Philippines.

Below is a list of current problems experienced during yesterday’s dry-run which the COMELEC is looking into and finding solutions for:

1. Failure of the PCOS to “read” or count votes for certain candidates.

Some political parties, Manny Villar’s Nacionalista Party in particular are claiming that votes for Manny Villar were not counted in a dry-run held in Muntinlupa and that similar scenarios were observed in other areas (Mindoro, Batangas, Makati and Pateros). Other problems included incidents where only votes for Lakas-Kampi CMD (LKC) candidates were counted.

• COMELEC’s Response: In today’s “Unang Hirit” interview with Winnie Monsod, COMELEC Spokesman James Jimenez said that errors of miscounting only happened in counting LOCAL election candidates’ votes because the names for the local candidates were printed/moved ON THE BACK SIDE of the ballot (this is a design issue done to shorten the length of the ballot), and that the error was caused by the CF (Compact Flash) cards failing to consider/adjust its parameters (software issue) based on the physical ALIGNMENT of the names on the back of the ballot.

In response to Winnie Monsod’s clarification if this is only true for the LOCAL candidates and NOT THE NATIONAL candidates, Jimenez ensured that this problem only occurred for LOCAL candidates because the NATIONAL candidate names were printed on the front page and their ‘alignment’ were untouched.

• What COMELEC has done/will do: Recall/pull-out ALL CF cards (all 76,000+ of them) and reconfigure it. This will happen from today and hopefully finish soon to give them ample time to resume with the dry-run. We have 6 days.

• My Take:

Remember, that the PCOS, as implied by its acronym is primarily a counting/adding machine equipped with an OPTICAL SCAN capability.

What does that mean? It means that its accuracy in “counting” or “considering” votes is based on OPTICAL RECOGNITION. The PCOS is not a “punch-card” machine that relies on “ballots” with holes in it. It is highly-dependent on physical “alignments” and “positioning” of candidate names on the ballot paper which it will check/verify/match against a set parameter in the software program. So if one candidate’s name is “OFF” or not in its “expected” location in the ballot, a vote for that candidate may be considered for another candidate PRECEDING or SUCCEEDING the intended/preferred candidate’s name on the ballot.

Jimenez’s explanation of the problem leads me to believe that the PCOS reads the ovals in the same way as “windows” or “square holes” on grade school Mathematics drill cards (A1, S1, M1 remember?).

By analogy, if you move the “drill card” downwards or upwards, a different set of answers will be visible through the “windows” rendering your answers “wrong” or “off” because it was “moved” from its original position.

Jimenez was sure on his claim, that this is MERELY a SOFTWARE issue. This means they only need to “pull-out” the CF cards (which is basically the heart and soul of the machine, in the same way a CPU is to a computer) from the PCOS machine in question and reload it with a “corrected” program. By “corrected”, it means the initial parameters or measurements set in the program will be edited or adjusted accordingly based on the physical location of the names on the back of the ballot.

So, if indeed it is true that in yesterday’s dry-run, some or all votes for one candidate is being counted for another, IT DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN that the PCOS has either been pre-loaded with results or that it has “programmed preference” for certain candidates or parties and definitely does not imply that there is an attempt to rig the election results.

However, if this is not fixed and tested immediately with 100% confidence, this may result to inaccurate results.

Other issues:

RMA (Random Manual Audit)

Random Manual Audit will be done on the day of the elections, May 10, 2010 in 5 precincts per legislative district. Precincts that will undergo manual audit will be “drawn” from a raffle to be done mid-day. Actual random audit on selected precinct will be done at around 6 or 7 pm after the voting schedule.

Votes recorded on the PCOS machine will be verified against actual votes cast on physical ballots. While 100% accuracy is not expected due to subjective human interpretation vs. machine parameters, Smartmatic claims no more than 0.5% difference.

What happens if RMA fails for a certain precinct? Will it postpone the proclamation of winners in the municipal level/local posts?

No — because by the time manual audit is through, results would have been transmitted by the PCOS machines and the COMELEC will proclaim accordingly regardless of the result of the RMA.

Protests and investigation will go through the usual course of action but IT WILL NOT STOP IMMEDIATE PROCLAMATION.

So the scenario of a holdover or non-proclamation of winners is VERY unlikely.

2. Purposely delaying the voting process may result to reduced voter turn-out and adversely affect election results.

• COMELEC’s Response:

The possibility of this scenario has not been dismissed by COMELEC and ‘attempts to disrupt the swift and efficient conduct of the elections’ has been confirmed by COMELEC itself.

• What COMELEC has done/will do:

They have released guidelines/specific instructions to BEIs (Board of Election Inspectors) and support staff (which can go as high as 8 people depending on the number of precincts clustered) to assist voters who are taking too long (10-15 minutes) in voting. COMELEC’s time and motion study revealed that it will only take an average of 7-8 minutes for a voter to fully accomplish the ballot paper/vote.

• My Take:

As I’ve written in my previous post, “Voter’s Guide to Using the PCOS (Precinct Count Optical Scan) machine”, due to budget/geographical/manpower restraints — to name a few, we only have 76,000+ PCOS machine available for 50M+ voters which has compelled us to cluster precincts. This has resulted to a voter count of as high as four times its usual number per precinct, so from an average of 250, it can go as high as 1000 voters per precinct.

This poses a high risk for low voter turn-out due to various reasons including but not limited to:

1. New system = relatively steep learning curve for NEW voters and senior citizen voters.

2. Time constraint may lead to many frustrated voters deciding to pass-up on voting.

3. Locating precincts may take longer than usual, especially for those who didn’t take time to locate their precincts prior to election day.

What can you do to facilitate and speed up your own voting time in order to make room for others who take longer to vote and ensure everyone gets to vote?

1. Verify your precinct number prior to May 10. It’s fastest to do it online — Click here to “find out your own precinct number”.

2. If you have a computer and printer at home, or if you can go online and print somewhere else (cybercafes/computer shops), please print a ballot sample so you can get a “feel” of how to shade the ovals, see how small they actually look like and test how fast you can do your shading.

There are two (2) sample ballots in the COMELEC website — one for the national posts, and one for the local posts. Print both. Note that in the actual ballot paper, the candidates for the local posts are located at the back of the ballot paper. Click below to download sample ballots:

a) National ballot template for ARMM areas

b. National ballot template for Non-ARMM areas

c) Local ballot templates

3. Write down a complete list of your preferred candidates on a sheet of paper. Bring that with you on May 10.

4. Come to your precinct as early as you possibly can.

5. Watch out for people distributing “sample ballots” or other election-related posters or leaflets. Campaigning is NO LONGER ALLOWED during election day, May 10. If you see one, take note and report it.

6. When you have found your precinct number, approach the BEI and verify your identity with them against their registered voter’s list. If everything is in order, they will give you your ballot paper and ballot secrecy folder.

7. Before leaving the BEI’s table, do a quick scan of the ballot paper — it should have prints on the front and back side, if you think there are missing information or something is defaced or blurry, inform the BEI immediately before sitting on your chair.

8. If everything looks okay, find a seat and shade ballots based on your prepared list of preferred candidates.

9. The ballot secrecy folder is not an accessory for display. Its purpose is to keep your vote SECRET. Use it! Your votes are sacred. Guard it with your life.

10. Shade the ovals completely. Dots and half-shades will not be counted.

11. Be sure not to overvote (or voting for more candidates than what is required, like voting for 13 senators instead of just 12).

12. Remember that it’s okay to undervote ( or voting for less than what’s required, like voting for less than 12 senators).

Heck, you can even choose to vote solely for the presidential post and skip the rest if you feel that none of the vice-presidentiables and senatoriables please you. Technically, there shouldn’t be any issue with the PCOS and you have all the right in the world to vote only for those you want. No one should coerce you complete your lineup if you don’t feel like doing it. It’s your vote, your choice.

13. DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING ANYWHERE ELSE on the ballot paper. While Smartmatic claims that the PCOS will disregard any/all marks outside the ovals, it is better to play safe.

14. Do not crumple or fold your ballot paper to avoid problems when inserting it to the PCOS machine.

15. When you’re done shading, go to where the PCOS machine is and insert your ballot paper. WARNING: No other person is allowed to do the inserting for you! Inserting the ballot into the PCOS machine is integral to the voting process. YOU HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF. If it takes you longer than usual, the BEI may assist you but it is you who will insert the ballot in EVERY attempt.

16. If you have done everything according to instructions, the machine will get your paper and prompt or display a “Thank you for voting!” message on the small screen to the right side of the PCOS machine. That is your signal that your job is done.

17. The BEI will put indelible ink on your finger as a sign of your participation and as a reminder that you can only vote once.

Wear that ink proud and relish the moment (even for a few seconds) that you have THE POWER to effect change — that there is NO SMALL VOTE — and that you have all the right to the benefits of democracy because you are an active participant in it and not a lousy, sourgraping and self-righteous spectator sitting on the fence.

18. Ooops! Hold on! Your job isn’t quite finished. Guarding your votes is just as important as casting it. So don’t leave the results to destiny and chance — log on to the COMELEC website and check on the real-time results for municipal level. Report all irregularities and resist all attempts to tamper results.

19. Wait for a few hours and you will have new municipal leaders proclaimed. Two to three days tops and we should have a new president-elect, vice-president, senators, etc.

20. Don’t be a sore loser. Whoever wins as president, as long as the elections are verified credible, support him or her with all your heart. After all, this country’s future does not depend on one man alone. There are 94M of us, if everyone will do his/her job, we wouldn’t have to blame one person all the time.

Think this post can help others prepare for the elections? Feel free to share these 20 voting tips to your social network. You’ll never know what difference it can make unless you try. The clock is ticking. Don’t wait until the last minute. Remember, we’ve waited 100 years for this: Failure is not an option.

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Image via Wikipedia

When the last pre-election survey result comes out, the real battle for the presidency begins.

~~~

Counting Unhatched Eggs?

I once wrote “Screw the Surveys”, “The Problem with Noynoy”, “Gibo Should Bolt Out Too” and a few more articles that didn’t sit well with the so-called ‘public sentiment’. Note however that I use the term ‘public sentiment’ here loosely because its meaning varies based on how one qualifies the word “public”.

Months or weeks after that, we realized that surveys are screwed, that there is somehow a problem with Noynoy and Gibo decided to lie low from his Lakas-Kampi CMD party — not a bolt-out, sure, but he did resign as party chair.

Now, I don’t want to rain on someone’s expected parade. But let’s face it — here in this country, anything is possible. For where else can you find a swarm of dead flying voters delivering “command votes”?

The Yellow Army need not ready their yellow balloons and confetti until the last hour because high expectations + high distrust = disaster.

That’s one very bad equation.

How utterly devastating it would be for people who have gambled all their hopes on Noynoy when they realize that their herd simply don’t have enough votes to elect a preferred president.

Of course, there are other recourse, says the Ghandi-like Noynoy – another EDSA — worse than what’s happening in Thailand.

All we are to these gods are pawns — necessary (possibly even willing) sacrifices for a “greater” end. What end, I ask? Theirs? Or their ‘supporters’?

There goes your answer to the endless debate “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” — well, apparently for these folks — the chicken.

Low impact survey results

To make matters worse, one’s delusion is only amplified by overblown surveys trumpeted by the media. Can you blame Noynoy for thinking that he is the 15th president? Why, all those around him hail him as such.

If you still believe surveys make winners or that it has the ability to accurately capture “electorate sentiment”, you should know that the SWS survey company made a study about the impact of pre-election surveys to the voting population. Unsurprisingly, it proved that:

“In the last Senatorial elections, surveys affected the plans of very few voters, and moved these very few slightly towards underdog candidates, according to analysis of the SWS May 2-4, 2007 pre-election survey.”

The headline even aptly read: “The effect of surveys on voting plans was tiny, and pro-underdog”.

So, if it does have an effect, it would be to pull-up the possible votes for the underdogs and not the other way around. One possible explanation for this is that people/voters seem to be more sympathetic of those trailing the surveys thus — the mythical “sympathy vote”. It’s funny how all of a sudden sympathy votes for those at the tail-end of the surveys are now being dismissed as negligible by those atop it — when in fact, Noynoy Aquino’s much-praised surge in the surveys (and his accidental presidential candidacy, to begin with) is attributed to and relies heavily on sympathy votes automatically generated by his mother’s untimely demise.

If we will follow this logic, that people tend to sympathize with the underdogs, it’s only fair to assume that Manny Villar, Gibo Teodoro and Erap Estrada are still very much “in the race”. And for Team Yellow to hastily proclaim as early as now that the presidency is “in the bag” is to foolishly give in perception. You know what they always say, there’s the Truth and then there’s Perception. So until the very last vote is counted, and until the new president is sworn in, it would be imprudent to claim victory.

Survey says…

I guess the question now is not whether these surveys are ‘accurate’ but whether they’re taking this so-called ‘pulse’ from the ‘right’ people — those who actually make up the majority of the voting population.

It’s not so much about demographics. In fact, we are consistently told that their ‘sampling’ is considerably reliable and that it captures pretty much a sizable/scalable representation of the country’s voters.

But is that really how we vote? Is this sampling size attuned to how the voting population is spread throughout the country? Say, if Luzon is 45% of the voting population, are Luzon votes (respondents) given their corresponding ‘weight’ relative to that of the entire country’s?

If that’s not how it’s done, then we can’t really rely too much on the accuracy of the result — even with the +/- 2% error margin factored-in. And lest we forget, there’s possible “donkey vote” to consider.

Are you ready for Erap 2.0?

To understand why Erap Estrada will win is to understand the word “masa” (mainstream) in relation to how most of the electorate perceive politicians and celebrities. You only need to watch a few Filipino movies to get an idea of how we stereotype people: Hacienderos are evil. The tilling farmer born into poverty is inherently righteous and was only driven by abject poverty and injustice to commit unspeakable crimes. At least, that’s what it says in the movies. But guess what, some movies are as real as it gets to most of us. And as we relate to protagonists on the screen, so do we relate — in real life — to the people who are merely playing the part.

Joseph “Erap” Ejercito Estrada has long been marketed and believed to be a champion of the poor — of the “masa”.

These people make up over 90%+ of the electorate — and it is in their hands that the future of this country lies. It is their sentiment — and not the upper class’ who will dictate who gets to claim that much-coveted seat in Malacanang.

And guess what, their hearts belong to nobody but the charismatic Erap. He with that legendary reputation for womanizing, drinking and gambling — and yes, even in plundering — he with that symbolic wristband and signature mustache — flaws and all, will reclaim his destiny once more — the way he believes he should — through an election.

Let us not forget that he holds the distinction of being the president with the highest and greatest mandate in recent memory — an amazing approx. 39% approval vote (says a 1998 exit poll result).

If our electoral laws required both plurality and majority win, his win will be incontestable.

John Marzan of Political Junkie, in his post “Erap’s Poll Ratings Before EDSA Dos” revisits his old posts and related chronicles of Erap’s popularity during the last months leading to EDSA 2 — where he notes that masa support for Erap hasn’t lost its strength even when his administration was being rocked by plunder scandal.

At this point in our history when self-rated poverty is at its record low of 43%, according to this SWS survey, it’s not impossible to predict an Erap comeback.

It’s interesting to note the following statements taken from the same survey release:

“The proportion of families experiencing involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months went to 21.2%, or an estimated 4.0 million households, according to the SWS March 2010 Pre-Election Survey, conducted from March 19-22, 2010. This is 3 points below the record-high incidence of 24.0% in December 2009, but still far above the 1998-2010 average of 13.4% [Chart 1, Table 1].”

1998. Who was the president at that time? Erap, right?

“The survey found that 43% (est. 8.1 million) families rate themselves as Mahirap or Poor, matching the record-low Self-Rated Poverty set in March 1987, which was short-lived.”

1987. Who was the president at that time? Cory Aquino.

“On the other hand, a new record-low 31% (est. 5.9 million) rate their families’ food as Mahirap [Charts 2 and 3, Tables 2 and 3]. The previous record-low Self-Rated Food Poverty was 35%, set in June 2004.”

June 2004. Who was the president at that time? And the year before that? Gloria Arroyo.

From a 2004 PCIJ report, “The poor vote is a thinking vote”:

The first time in the post-Marcos era that the poor vote was seen as significant was in the 1998 presidential elections. The SWS’s May 11, 1998 exit poll found that class, more than age, gender, or geography determined the vote. The great majority (91.1 percent) of voters in the D and E classes voted for Joseph Estrada.

But why? Haven’t we learned anything all these years? Why, the surveys say it’s a probable Aquino win or a Villar?

Tsk. As usual, the campaign operators, like their bosses, kept on wooing the wrong crowd all this time — except for the NPs and the PMPs. They spent a lot of their precious time harping on the survey results.

I bet that if we get down to it and actually check each and every so-called virtual ‘supporter’ they have, it’s not surprising that many if not most of them aren’t even registered voters at all.

Yes, the Liberals are overflowing with supporters, the Nacionalistas and maybe even the ruling Lakas-Kampi CMD. But the question is, are they the ‘deciding’ supporters?

Ten days more before we shade the ballots.

Erap will win in May 2010 according to my estimates. Every dog will have its day. May 10 will be Erap’s. This may be the biggest surprise of the year if all you believe is mainstream media. But if you actually go down to where the action is, you’d never have to be surprised.

Actually, if Erap wins, that will be the clearest evidence that an honest election has taken place.

Of course, I may be wrong. In fact, I must be terribly wrong. And don’t we all wish I am?

But what if I’m right? Will you leave your job, take to the streets, go on hunger strike and shout until your mouths run dry? I hope not.

You see, it is this vicious cycle of fear-mongering breeding national distrust that feed the maggots of this festering wound. It is the cancer that is eating us up alive. And until we start accepting true public sentiment, all this talk about democracy and ‘making your vote count’ is nothing but hypocritical displays of concern for the country. It’s time to let the public decide. Elite rule powered by the middle-class has brought us one too many disasters already.

The so-called EDSA 2 proved to us that the highly-educated aren’t always right and the poor aren’t always wrong. And compared to each other, the lower class seems to be more adaptable and realistic. These poor people do not have the luxury of missing a day’s work for street congregations nor buying stickers to stick onto their bikes or wear fancy campaign clothing.

Not an Erap fan?

Don’t worry just yet. Just because he’ll win doesn’t mean he’ll get to be president. No story is a good story if there are no twists. We all know he’s barred from ANY reelection — and the constitution says so, clear as day. Why he was ‘allowed’ to run was clearly due to some other people’s vested interest. So if he does win, it’s not going to be a walk in the park towards the gates of Malacanang.

These people think that it’s impossible for Erap to win again, but they also believe some his supporters will vote for him — just enough to take away possible votes from Manny Villar or to a certain extent, Noynoy Aquino.

‘Divide and conquer’ has always been the ruling administration’s strategy to win. After all, it’s easier to ‘alter’ election results if they’re too close to each other.

The problem is, they may have underestimated Erap and his flock of supporters. Just because the Yellow, Orange and even Green campaign rallies appear like an overflowing sea of thick crowds, the candidates count each head as a virtual vote as if they know each person’s heart.

They are hugely mistaken.

I once went to a campaign rally and saw a huge crowd before me. Anyone would assume that these people are voting for these candidates.

But when I went about asking a few people there who they would vote for, I got the same grin and response — “Erap pa rin.”(Erap still.) And when I asked them further, ‘But why do you have this yellow/orange ribbon on your tricycle?’, I got fairly the same answer. “Wala lang. Nakiki-uso lang.” (That’s nothing. Just joining the bandwagon.)

These people know how overly critical and judgmental most people can be with another person’s preferred candidate, hence the apprehension to express themselves freely. But come election day, no judging eyes will be looking over their shoulders, mocking them and their choices. And like it or not, our future as a country is hinged on their votes and ability to choose wisely.

Fear not, for wisdom is acquired in many ways — and in the unforgiving streets of the deprived Metro, being wise is not an option — it is the only way to survive. I worry more about the much-hyped “youth vote” — if there is indeed such a homogenous one — than any so-called “poor vote”.

Maybe, if Erap does win, that would be his once in a lifetime chance at making amends for his previous transgressions. Not many people people are given a second chance. And we can only hope that he doesn’t screw it up this time. Or at the very least, keep the country afloat as we wait for another six grueling years for a shot at “change”.

Other Probabilities

Of course there are other probabilities. The way I see it:

• If Erap Estrada loses, he may have been cheated.
• If Noynoy Aquino loses, he may not have been cheated.
• If Gibo Teodoro wins, he may not have cheated.
• If Manny Villar wins, he may not have cheated.
• If Eddie Villanueva wins, he cannot have possibly cheated.
• If Gordon loses, he has not been cheated.

I, for one, am not a die-hard supporter of ANY presidential candidate, but just recently, I have been trying to condition myself of the many possible outcomes of this elections. My gut tells me it’s probable that Erap will reclaim the presidency, but I have also dreamed on many occasions, of Gibo Teodoro doing his usual presidential duties. And contrary to what surveys say, even that is not a far-fetched scenario.

So, are you ready for Erap 2.0? You don’t have to throw a party, all you have to do is to consider that possibility. And prepare your passport and visa, I guess. :)

In the end, I just wish we can all just co-exist and get along. I’m pretty sure even the late president Cory Aquino would want that.

Image from: http://www.gmanews.tv/webpics/infotech/cory_ramos_erap.jpg

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I just realized that with the information overload we’ve been recently subjecting our brains to, selective and conscientious reading is now a must not just for those who write but for anyone who is a living and thinking animal.

I don’t need to inundate you with links or a litany of examples to prove the point that the world wide web is — to
be blunt about it — full of trash. Generally, that is. Of course there are bits and pieces of valuable information out here, if you know where to look.

But the sad reality is that, it’s easier said than done. There’s just too much information everywhere that it even finds you sooner than you’d search. Sometimes, you don’t even realize you’re looking for it, until it finds you. And most times, you aren’t even looking at all — or probably never would. But what can you do if this annoying information is relentlessly pulling on your sleeves? It’s not like you can just look away.

That said, it behooves us, more than ever to be selective of what we read.

Remember comics?

There used to be a time when reading printed comics was considered a pastime. Now however, it is considered a vocation.

Because, really, with so many ‘versions’ of the printed medium floating aimlessly in cyberspace, to go through the hassle of going to a bookstore, skim through a pile of comics, pay for it, and actually get around reading it seem like too much effort for the regular homo sapien of the 21st century.

And this phenomenon has affected us in many if not all aspects of our lives. Information is power — so they say. That’s probably why I spend an awful lot of time everyday reading — news, blogs, magazines, instruction manuals, etc. I feel as though missing a paragraph would mean reduced ‘power’.

The irony, as I’ve noticed, is that with all the truckloads of information being delivered to our senses every waking second of our lives, there appears to be an ever-increasing scarcity for reliable information.

Speed and reliability have become inversely proportional with each other — as though it’s inevitable to sacrifice one for the other.

The faster the information gets delivered to us, the lesser the chance that it is 100% reliable. Everyone seems to care more about ‘who gets to break the news first’ — any other consideration is thrown out the window — at least for the meantime.

No wonder it gets even more confusing when the ‘facts’ and significant details seem to change by the hour if not by the minute. ‘Something happens’ and everyone scampers for little info, churning half-baked articles begging for verification.

Suddenly, ‘small details’ don’t matter — although we know the ‘devil’ is in there somehow. Writers don’t take both sides of the story anymore or just scrape off content and risk plagiarizing or just rip off photos because ‘it’s easier to apologize than to ask permission’.

The end result is more trash in exchange for trash. And that’s not even the worse part yet. What’s worse is that with so many people claiming authority in ‘this and that’, it gets more and more difficult to filter out the real from the not.

Now, compound this problem with black propaganda and ‘news’ tainted with vested interests and there my friend is your recipe for guaranteeing at least another six years of a pitiful Philippines.

If it is true that we are what we read, I guess it’s about time we exert extra effort and refuse to be fed with run-of-the-mill articles masquerading as ‘news’ or relevant issues.

You are not a droid. You are a living and thinking being. Besides we aren’t called ‘homo sapiens’ for nothing. It’s about time we live up to that scientific name, don’t you think? Otherwise, I suggest we petition for a new name.

~~~
Note:
This post is my protest against all manufactured lies online meant to deceive Filipino voters this coming May elections. May God grant us the gift of discernment to see through these evil smokescreens.

However, this post also applies to the web and how we consume online and even offline info in general.Suggested Further Reading:

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Former president Erap Estrada warns Sen. Noynoy Aquino not to be too cocky. And why not? Aquino seems oh so complacent these days — what with the latest survey results showing him leading by a comfortable 12 point margin against Sen. Manny Villar.

And since he has concluded this to be a “two-man race” which, you might guess, was what invoked Erap’s ire, he must be rather self-assured that his ultimate destination will be Malacanang — no less. Otherwise, expect another EDSA (God forbid!), he prophesies. After all, considering how spankingly well he’s been doing at the surveys since he announced his intention to run (and even shortly before that) how can his loss be possibly justified? Such a scenario could only mean one thing — that he was cheated.

Noynoy must be forgetting one thing — that never in the history of pre-elections survey history has a ‘leading’ candidate ever won in actual elections. But this has been highlighted in many opinion articles already, so much so that repeating it here will simply reduce its impact — so forget I said that.

Now if that perceived cockiness isn’t enough, his recent statement regarding the continuous Exodus plaguing cousin rival Gibo Teodoro’s Lakas-Kampi CMD all but add credence to Aquino critics’ observation — that this country’s accidental savior with a supposedly Ghandi-like disposition is succumbing all too soon to the temptations of power.

Aquino said that those ex-LKC who have transferred to Manny Villar’s Nacionalista Party are their (Liberal Party’s) rejects — supposedly because they adhere to certain ‘standards’ which a party applicant must also satisfy. I wonder what that ‘standard’ is. Because the only standard I see from where I’m standing is the ‘double standard’ by which we judge these turncoats, er, ‘transferees’.

If all the NP’s getting are ‘rejects’, I guess we the electorate can judge them for ourselves, thank you very much. We don’t need someone dictating us who’s ‘good’ and who’s a ‘reject’.

See, when you get forced to answer questions from reporters trying to incite you to a word-war, you always have a choice not to comment. Just because you always have something to say about anything doesn’t mean you should always say it.

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” (often attributed to Abraham Lincoln but taken from Solomon’s Proverbs)

There are times in a politician’s life (campaign season’s a best example) when choosing to keep quiet makes a louder statement than blabbing needlessly at the drop of a hat.

If Gibo is doing ‘loyalty checks’ within the party ranks, maybe Noynoy should do a ‘complacency check’ in his. Suggested Further Reading:

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Like most people in the blogosphere, particularly the political blogging community, I got this now extensively-blogged black propaganda against survey-leading presidentible Sen. Noynoy Aquino most probably about the same time as everyone else got theirs.

And it didn’t even take beyond the first few sentences to see through another pathetic email campaign trying so hard to be branded as ‘viral’.

I am no ‘psychologist’ but then again, that sort of ‘assessment’ trying to pass off as a ‘clinical report’ was so poorly written that a Hollywood script would do better by any means of comparison.

I did not even bother to ‘download’ or view the so-called ‘document scans’ attached to the email.

I was having a simple birthday dinner with my son at a faraway mall and I didn’t want to spoil that solemn moment by blogging away to discredit such email.

To my mind, the lie was unmistakable at first glance and unlike the ‘Monsod’s Musings’ email hoax, posting the supposed ‘clinical report’ didn’t even enter my mind. The ‘Monsod’s Musings’ email hoax and this recent ‘Noynoy Psychological Report’ are incomparable. The former prompted clarification, the latter required discernment.

Actually, to say that it even required discernment is to give the poster or shall I say ‘poser’ the benefit of the doubt that such email blasting was done in good faith — or that he/she was an unwitting accessory to the crime.

And even if — and that’s a big “IF” there was a slightest hint of truth to this document — which, by the way has been proven false — no surprise there, it’s still inaproppriate to publish such information in an email, much more in a blog.

In the US, there is such a thing as ‘personally identifiable health information’ which is protected by their constitution. I don’t know if there is such a thing here or anything similar. This law prohibits anyone and considers it a crime to ‘leak’ medical records that are easily identifiable to a person, say, Juan Dela Cruz’s HIV test results.

The reason behind is obvious — because such ‘publishing’ or even ‘transmission’ of info by any means (even casual ‘whisperings’ within the medical community over lunch or coffee) would violate one’s privacy — and of course, it doesn’t end there. There’s tainting of reputation, loss of job, compromised professional and personal relationships, etc. — the list goes on. And we can’t even demand such public disclosure of health records because he’s not even president yet.

Why am I saying this? Because I’d like to stress the point that whichever way you look at it, even considering ‘good intentions’ — if there were any to begin with, this constitutes a clear violation of a person’s right to privacy at the very least. To add the fact that this was all poorly-fabricated lie of a ‘clinical report’ with the most unlikely of ‘psychologist’ — a spiritual man — aggravates the offense and shouldn’t be taken lightly by the aggrieved party.

These guys are not contented with name-calling and had to fabricate a false document just to add a dash of credibility to their accusations. And fortunately for us, we can just chalk it up as another failed attempt at spreading exceedingly foul ‘information’.

It was only this morning that I found out that the same lie was also published in a blog named ‘a political amateur’. As if the plogging (political blogging) community isn’t divided and embattled enough, this poser had to stir the murky water yet again.

I know much has been said about this, within so short a time but what choice do I have when there are now speculations that the originator of this email/blog is within the political blogging community — thanks to the brilliant use of the term “political amateur” (blogger).

Dude, whoever you are, you give plog a bad name!

Political bloggers don’t blog just for kicks. We write to inform and to encourage discussion and participation — not peddle lies in exchange for infamy or a certain ‘high’.

There are some of us, myself included who have no claim to a political reputation or journalistic experience whatsoever, but I suppose it doesn’t take such to realize whether an article is written to form an opinion or generate misconceptions and pure lies.

We don’t blog just because we can or just because we want to.

Also, we don’t spread filthy ‘information’ just because we can. That is irreponsible. And besides, there are plenty of things to write about.

So to everyone, just so you know: We don’t criticize ‘just because’. There is a higher purpose in political blogging. We may not always reach it or live up to it 100 percent of the time, but it’s something we all earnestly aspire to.

Request: To all who received that email from that certain ‘Ricardo Junsay’, please refrain from forwarding it. Also, if you can help it, and I strongly urge you to — do not dignify the accusation by posting the scanned fabricated document online. There’s enough garbage going around the web already — let’s not add to it anymore.Suggested Further Reading:

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Last year, it was “A Thank You Note on My Birthday”. This year, it’s a pledge.

Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography

Who Needs a Birthday Wish?
(a birthday poem by RJ, April 8, 2010)

When 230,000 people died in Haiti
And when hundreds more died in Chile?

When the world is slowly dying
And all of us with it?
When the truth’s become inconvenient
And the earth’s poles are shifted?

When NoKor trained its nukes
On all the world but itself?
Who, dear Lord would listen
To our desperate cries for help?

When a trainer gets killed
By her very own whale?
When secrets are peddled,
And lies are for sale?

When 57 people died
In a pre-elections convoy?
Because someone pulls the trigger
All too often like to a toy?

When a hundred mothers die
Everyday while giving birth?
When even more babies
Are thrown in the cold, damp dirt?

When 24% of the population
Consider themselves poor?
Yet the truth is more than that,
Yes more than that, I’m sure!

Is there a reason to ask
For a wish so unfeeling and cold,
When some people
Don’t even live to be a year old?

When people just “vanish”
Into thin air unexplained?
Just because they’re brave enough
To emancipate us, the enslaved!

When others spend their birthdays
Unconscious on a hospital bed?
When some are blind, some are dying
Or would never hear what I said?

Do I have one good reason
To ask for a birthday wish?
I want so much to ask for one,
Give me a reason, if you please?

Because today is my birthday,
My 31st.
And if there’s anything I want
The world to know, it is this:

The world doesn’t need
Another selfish birthday wish.
Too much has been requested,
Yet too few pledges have been made.

So today I make this pledge before you
And hope that you do the same
Long after my last birthday
May you remember why I came

To seek reconciliation and not enmity
To foster friendship and not animosity

To stop being selfish
And start being selfless

To count my blessings
And never the cost
To give what I can now
And forget what is lost.

To choose to see the good
But not to look away from the bad
To bring people together
And not separate them — that’s sad.

To heal past wounds
And not rub them again.
To be more forgiving, understanding
And not dwell on the pain.

To think less of me and more of you
To be more than a friend,
But a sister to you.

Because I have enough
And probably even more,
But like most people,
They wouldn’t admit to it, for sure.

We don’t need more diseases
What we need is a cure
We don’t need more pundits
With their thoughts so obscure

All we need is a little tolerance
Consideration and acceptance
A little more patience
A shot at deliverance.

This isn’t rocket science,
Not geekery-inspired.
Just a glimpse of the thoughts
I have here inside.

The flowers you give,
Soon enough may wilt.
And the words that you utter
Won’t wash away the guilt.

So make my day special
But don’t bother spending much
Diamonds and pearls,
I’m not a sucker for such.

If you’re thankful I’m alive,
If I bring you such pride,
It’s enough that you assure me
You’ll always be by my side.

Yes, remember this day
This day I was born.
But forget not, my brother
That this day isn’t mine alone.

So treat me no better today
Like you would tomorrow
Or like you did yesterday.

Because,

Though there’s nothing I stole
My life is but a borrowed role
And I am no more important
Than another human soul.

*****
Happy birthday dear April 8 celebrants! May you find meaning in your life by living for others. And may you never have to celebrate your birthday alone.Suggested Further Reading:

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If you’ve been reading the news, I think you already know the answer. Or at least, you know that Manny Villar’s camp is taking the blame — owning up to their inability to aggressively protect their image by issuing strong counter statements to disprove the many allegations thrown at them.

Villar himself said in a report that they’ve known of the latest Pulse Asia survey results weeks before it came out in the news and have since reassessed their strategy and made adjustments accordingly — results of which will come out soon.

Apparently, the ‘VillArroyo’ tagging has hurt him more than they expected. Unlike the C5 ‘double insertion’ issue that didn’t make much of a dent to his campaign, this ‘VillArroyo’ issue has successfully pulled his stats in such disappointing figures. What was once a ‘statistical tie’ between him and leading candidate Noynoy Aquino was quickly widened to a 12 point difference.

This wouldn’t generate much panic in Villar’s camp if this was last year’s survey. But we are only a month away from May elections and if I were Villar, I’d surely be pounding on the panic button like crazy.

Villar’s drop in survey ratings is actually an accumulated result of their usual indifference and light treatment of issues thrown at them. As it turns out, their “less talk, less mistake / no talk, no mistake” strategy which seemed the safest route to take a few months ago, can only be stretched for so long. It seems to me that they have pushed their luck too much.

The situation is out of control now. They can flood the airwaves with clever ads, and issue statements here and there but it would be very difficult now to put out this fire.

What would have been easily treated with a fire extinguisher now requires a troop of firetrucks. And if they ever put out the fire, what are they to make of ‘ashes’ and debris?

Many of those I know believe he has profited in that C5 mess. Not everyone believe he is Arroyo’s secret candidate. And people are divided on whether he’s been ‘truly poor’ or not.

But that was weeks before. How swiftly people change their minds! Considering the short attention span and short-sightedness of the electorate, we must concede that it takes too little to make them flip-flop.

Now, they all seemed to have crossed-out Villar from their shortlist. All because the Villar camp chose to take their case to the media — in the easiest of ways — via ads. Wrong move. Too costly — monetarily, politically and morally.

So yes, truth be told, the Nacionalista Party has written its own history of doom. For always, there’d be mudslinging and haughty accusations from your opponents — that is a given. How you deal with these waves of accusations to keep your ship afloat is what will ultimately determine whether you’d safely reach the shore or sink to the bottom of the sea.

Is this the end of Villar’s journey to the presidency? Or will future events leading to the elections be the defining moment of his presidential dream?

We are yet to find out. But one thing is for sure, dead-end or not, Villar has undoubtedly reached ‘the point of no return’. It’s do or die. Sink or swim (in a sea of trashy issues). Let’s see if his overly-promoted ‘sipag at tiyaga’ and “Hindi bawal mangarap ang mahirap.” campaign slogan will buoy him straight to that palace beside the river. Suggested Further Reading:

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Blogging and a slew of social media sites, it has been said, have somehow revolutionized the way we do politics. Some think that this ‘new media’ is slowly challenging, if not fast eclipsing the credibility, accuracy, relevance and timely news delivery of mainstream media.

Photo by underminingme

Some are even quick to conclude that the general social activity and everything else relative to it have already migrated online, and with it the ‘political market’. Hence, much of the effort concerning social and political activism and propaganda must be directed online. After all, everyone must be reading political blogs and blog readers follow like herded sheep where the blogger takes them, right? Wrong.

I think that’s a rather hasty assumption. Coming from someone who regularly consumes news published online and who blogs about ‘some’ politics, and reads ‘more’ politics, I suppose this is an opinion I share with quite a few bloggers. In fact, this article written for the UK audience which says “Social media will not be integral to 2010 elections”, rings true for the Philippines as well.

We all want to know, especially us doing opinion-blogging who some say, are ‘reactionary’: Is blogging self-serving? Is it nothing more than an ‘open’ journal which is of little or no value at all to the general public? If it cannot influence or inform, then is it merely a ‘political sideshow’ no better than poor entertainment — a political distraction?

As far as I know, no study has yet concluded that political blogging creates such a dent in our politics. Sure, there have been occasions when stories that came out of mainstream media where lifted from blogs. But that’s hardly an evidence of such ‘new media’ influence.

There is some level of influence, of course, but not ‘powerful’ enough to, say, make people ‘buy’ a flawed product or a ‘flawed’ political candidate.

We who blog about politics often wonder whether we actually generate influence on the overrated ‘voting’ population. Are these words of ours gone with the wind at first contact? Do a significant number of people actually read through long and boring posts like this?

And if there are actually a significant number of readers, how do they ‘act’ after reading the blog? Do they automatically have a ‘Eureka!’ moment and say, I shall do as this blogger says! Or I shall vote as this blogger says!? Hardly, I think.

How we wish there was a way to gauge reader participation and influence! Just so we’ll know if that post we’ve had sleepless nights crafting actually made a difference.

Well now, there is a way to find out.

Dear all casual, accidental and regular readers of “A Day in the Life of RJ”, if you’d be so kind to indulge an acquaintance, may I ask you to consider participating in this political blog readers survey to be administered through email by Ms. Grace Mirandilla of SIRCA. If you read political blogs, not necessarily this blog, you may want to participate in this survey.

If you have time to spare, I encourage you to coordinate with her (contact details below) and make your thoughts count.

You know how it is in statistics, the higher the sampling size, the more accurate it gets. The results of this survey is relevant to the times and is valuable to all of us, not just the blogging community. So your help in this project would be much appreciated.

Currently, the most convenient way of administering the survey is through email since there seems to be a formatting issue when it comes to transferring the formatted text from one word application to HTML format and vice versa.

I understand that many of you may have an automatic aversion to answering surveys and giving out your email addresses to strangers, this is perfectly normal. However, I have the assurance of Ms. Mirandilla that your emails and responses will be treated with utmost confidentiality.

I will coordinate with Ms. Mirandilla if we could work out a more efficient and convenient way of doing the survey, ie., possibly hosting it online. I will update you of developments.

What follows is the “Call for Survey Respondents” Facebook note from Ms. Mirandilla republished here in full, with her permission.

*****

A Call for Survey Respondents: Filipino Blogging and Political Participation Study

Good day! Do you read political blogs*? Can you spare 10 mins. to answer a survey? Then, please read on.

My name is Mary Grace P. Mirandilla, an independent researcher conducting a study on “blogging and political participation among Filipinos,” which is funded by the SIRCA ** grant program of IDRC*** Canada. This research wants to look at (1) why Filipinos read political blogs; (2) how they participate in politics–both online and in the real world; and (3) whether and how political blogs affect their participation.

I’m looking for respondents to answer a survey that inquires about these research questions. If you want to participate, you must be Filipino, at least 18 yrs old, and read political blogs (or have read them at some point during the past year). It only takes 10-12 minutes to answer the survey, which will be administered via email.

If interested, please send me a PM or email me at mg(dot)mirandilla(at)gmail(dot)com. Rest assured that your identity and response will be kept confidential.

I hope to hear from you by April 15. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Grace Mirandilla

–
Principal Investigator
Filipino Blogging and Political Participation Study
SIRCA Program – IDRC Canada
View LinkedIn Profile

Notes:
* Political blogs here are defined as online diary/journals that generally/often talk about Philippine politics and public affairs.
** Strengthening ICT Research Capacity in Asia (SIRCA)
*** International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

We hope to hear from you soon — preferably not later than April 15. I will be meeting up with Ms. Mirandilla on April 17 and your inputs would definitely help in her research. If you read through the whole post, please know that I admire your patience.

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How do you walk a mile in one’s shoes when that person doesn’t even have one to begin with?

Simple. You walk a mile barefoot. Or maybe, not really a mile. :)

Question: What part of our body is usually taken for granted and is one of the (if not ‘the’) most underrated when it
comes to efficiency?
Answer: Our feet.

It supports our entire weight (bones, muscles and all), takes us to places, and more.

And yet, not many people talk about it and even less people talk about how many of our brothers and sisters go through life without even one decent and functional pair of slippers, much less, shoes.

It is uncomfortable to not have shoes. But it’s more uncomfortable to have more than one pair for a single ‘purpose’ while seeing our unfortunate brethren walking barefoot in the hot sand, cracked or cold soil.

I would like to ask for a little birthday present. Join me as I go barefoot for a day on April 8, 2010 Thursday, just to feel what it’s like to tread the earth without foot protection or support.

But, more than the experience, it’s about raising awareness. And more than raising awareness, it’s about taking action in our littlest of ways by supporting organizations who have the means to carry out large-scale efforts to deliver shoes to people in remote areas — where it is most needed.

You can choose to go barefoot all day, part of the day or an hour or a few minutes. Your choice. If you can’t go barefoot on April 8 but would like to participate in another way, it would be lovely if you could spread the news to your social networks to promote the cause and the event itself.

To know more about this cause, please visit One Day Without Shoes and find out how you can help kids without shoes today. ODWS is organized by Toms.com. Learn about their “One for One” (For every pair of shoes purchased, TOMS gives a pair to a child in need.) mission and how it is helping children with Podoconiosis.

There is one event I have located here, happening at  the Bonifacio High Street around 3:45 – 6:00pm. If you’re within the area around that time, you might want to check it out.

Thank you for your time. And thank you for your birthday present. :)Suggested Further Reading:

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