 | The world is watching the Phils...peaceful elections is our ticket to joining the globalization club...but alas! GMA's gonna have to pull something out of her hat to convince the world to overlook this one AGAIN. Yes, Namfrel is an important social and political safety net that may prove to be one of the few organizations which will stand for some form of credibility and consistency in the country. |
 | Yes, Nina, it will be very difficult for GMA (and Comelec chair Abalos) to sweep the most egregious anomalies under the rug...but, unfortunately, not impossible. The Filipinos' powers of denial, and distaste (not to mention fatigue) for any kind of gulo is what keeps her, and others like her, in power. Look how long Marcos managed to hold on...and there are stil many, many loyalists out there who think they did no wrong! Just recently, I was wondering: will those who still believe in GMA be like those Marcos loyalists, for whom no amount of proof of wrongdoing is enough? |
 | daacs wrote on May 28, '07 I am thankful for people like you Katrina, who took time to volunteer..... A lot of my employees also took time out to be poll watchers, to safeguard the votes of their favorite candidate. I hear what you are saying about GMA, but you know what the little people say, and I agree with them, most of them cheat anyway!
Sad to say, it has become if you can't fight them, join them. I hear both sides of the story, those pro and anti GMA. To the people who live in poverty, it doesn't matter who is in power, they will still remain poor. A lot of the practical ones say where will we be now if FPJ had won. I think that is why GMA is still in power. I know a lot of Filipinos don't like her, but they'd rather have her than those noisy and also very corrupt people shouting her down. |
| I hear you, Juliet. And believe me, I do understand why many people still support GMA, and why Filipinos are sick of rallies and have no interest in politics. Much of it is just frustration and resignation, because so little has changed after 20 years. But the bottom line is, if we just throw up our hands and say "Everyone cheats anyway" or "All politicians are corrupt, so let's just accept it" then nothing will change...and it will be OUR FAULT. As they say, people get the government they deserve. |
| Oh, I'd just like to add: I absolutely agree that many of those in the opposition are also VERY corrupt and useless! In fact, they are some of the biggest reasons GMA retains hold of the reins -- because people are more disgusted with the alternative. But let's not lump together everyone who's against the government. There are many honest people who are working to remove the president from power not because they want it for themselves, but because they believe it is for the ultimate good of the nation. They are doing it not for the short-term gains, but for the future.
People are fooling themselves if they think a rotten leadership can fix the country's ills. During the Marcos regime, people raved about him because they thought he would "make the Philippines great again." That is, until the millions he stole bled our economy dry, and the corruption he sowed destroyed the people's faith not just in the government, but even in the military. You can't fix a wrong with another wrong. So, yeah...I wouldn't want to remove GMA and replace her with, say, Legarda or Lacson. But if we just let her keep what isn't hers, and allow her to get away with murder, then we would be killing the Phils. just as much as she is. |
| daacs wrote on May 29, '07 don't worry Katrina, she'll be gone in 3 years. I don't think she's a Marcos, that's a class of his own. If you have the Philippine Star today, there's a big ad there, about how the opposition is complaining about cheating when they have won nearly all 12 seats. Imagine that Trillanes got in the twelve. I don't know what to say...it delivers the wrong message if we keep voting for people who commit crimes and are insensitive to the country's image and precarious economic situation. Ditto for Honasan who didnt do anything while he was in senate anyway.
I agree with Jarius Bondoc, he didn't vote for any senatorial candidate. Why would anyone spend 55 or even 5 million to run for senator that pays 30,000 a month. That's because they get legally millions a month 790,000 a month for travel, whether they do or not, 1 million for office rent, supplies and staff a month, and this is not audited, 1 million each month for a committee chairmanship, some senators have several chairmanship, and on top of this they 200 million pesos for pork barrel ! that's 1.2 billion pesos for 6 years per senator! It's disgusting. The senate hasn't done anything good for the country, they should be done and away with. It;s just a stage for them to grandstand and be hypocrites and play politics. Disgusting ! |
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