Showing posts with label stupid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stupid. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Yap Disrespects Blood Compact Commemoration by Carrying Around Her Mobile Phone

Thursday March 16th, 2023 marks the 458th year of the blood compact made between the natives of Bohol and Miguel de Legazpi.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/493629/458th-year-of-the-blood-compact-remembering-friendship-and-unity

Boholanos on Thursday, March 16, 2023, commemorated the 458th year of the blood compact, which marked the celebration of friendship and unity between the natives led by Datu Sikatuna and the Spaniards led by General Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.

Mayor Jane Yap said that the commemoration of the historic event “is a timely reminder for us that friendship and unity can be forged despite differences in languages, race and religion.”

“The blood compact monument is a testament of this alliance, and forms part of our heritage and character as Boholanos,” Yap said in her message.

“We are doing this every year to ensure that many generations that will come after us will also experience the pride and happiness that comes with being Boholanos, whose ancestors were trailblazers in forging the first international treaty of friendship,” Yap said in a program that was held at the city’s Friendship Park late on Thursday afternoon.

The gathering was also held to mark the official start of the Saulog sa Tagbilaran 2023 celebration.

Ahead of the program, a wreath laying ceremony was held at the Blood Compact Shrine in Barangay Bool.

That sounds like a rather big deal. It sounds very important. So why is the mayor walking around clutching her cell phone like she's expecting a call any minute? 



Even in the the group photo she cannot put it down!




Now. you might say, "It's just a phone, who cares?" Well, it's these little details that matter all the more. Look how she dolled herself up in a terno pantsuit to look her best. She knows image matters that the mayor of all people cannot show up to an important ceremony as if it's any ordinary day. So why grip onto that phone? Is there no one who could be trusted to hold it? Are there no pockets in her pants? If someone  had called or texted during the ceremony would she have been so brazen as to respond?

I haven't seen anyone else call out Mayor Jane Yap yet but I am. How could I not?  It's not hard to miss. Her cell phone stands out like a sore thumb. 

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Two News Stories That Proves the Philippines is Awful

We all know the Philippines is an awful place but let's take a look at two news stories which exemplifies this fact. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1740917/member-of-terror-group-in-surigao-del-sur-faces-9-arrest-warrants-total-bail-at-p460000

A total of nine arrest warrants were issued against a wanted member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army tagged as Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) listed as the priority target of the police force in Marihatag, Surigao del Sur, the police said.

According to PRO 13 director Police Brig. Gen. Pablo Labra II, the manhunt operation last March 8 resulted in the arrest of Dante C. Sanchez, 46.

Sanchez is a Malahutayong Pakigbisog Alang sa Sumusunod (MAPASU) member under Guerilla Front 19, North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC), the PRO 13 said in a statement issued Thursday.

The Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Lianga, Surigao del Sur, filed warrants after charging Sanchez with four counts of murder with no bail; frustrated murder (no bail); and two counts of attempted murder.

Aside from these, the RTC of Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur, also filed warrants after charging him with theft and attempted murder.

Total bail for all the other bailable cases was set at P460,000.

What!? This TERRORIST has been granted bail but Leila De Lima remains in jail with no bail after six years even though her accusers have all recanted!!! So disgusting and a total lack of justice. To anyone who says the Philippines justice system is perfectly functional they are wrong. In the case of De Lima to remain in jail for six years with NO trial is proof positive the Philippine justice system is broken. And now we have the case of a terrorist who has been granted bail but he will never be released even if he paid that bond because his murder charges are nonbailable.  So what is the point of setting bail in the first place?

Now, let's look at the next story.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1740920/maguindanao-jail-inmates-lack-food-as-budget-impasse-remains-unresolved

Some 128 inmates of Maguindanao del Norte provincial jail are feeling the pinch of the budget impasse facing the province at the start of the year.

In a letter to acting Gov. Bai Fatima Ainee Sinsuat, a copy of which the Inquirer obtained recently, jail warden Ato Dimananal said they “lack provision for the food of the inmates and they are already getting sick for lack of proper nourishment.”

Because of this, Dimananal asked Sinsuat to provide the jail with the funds needed for its operation. Dimananal said the release of the subsistence allowance of the inmates was urgent.

Lawyer Mohajiroe Lauban, Maguindanao del Norte provincial administrator, told the Inquirer they received the letter from Dimananal on Feb. 27.

Apart from food, Dimananal said he was worried that the jail’s water and electricity service connections would be cut off due to non-payment of its bills.

He further said that their transport vehicle was unserviceable, rendering them unable to bring inmates to their scheduled court hearings.

“Without these basic necessitates, we cannot expect to keep the safety and order of our provincial jail,” Dimananal said.

The jail, located in Barangay Rosary Heights in this city, houses inmates from Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur provinces. It is among the assets and facilities of the then-undivided Maguindanao province that went to Maguindanao del Norte.

Dimananal said they had been incurring debts for the jail’s operation since the start of the year “without even knowing how we can pay with this current situation.”

It cannot be that they don’t eat, so in the meantime, I am using my own funds to procure food for the inmates,” Dimananal said. “But it cannot go on forever or for a long time.”

“I have no choice, it is my responsibility to take care of them,” he said.

When asked where he gets the funds from January to February, Dimananal said from his funds and quickly added: “This is temporary, mauubos din personal budget ko (my personal budget would get depleted).”

Dimananal suggested that the budget issue should be addressed immediately. “Basic services from the provincial government like food for the inmates should be exempted from delays,” he said. “We cannot tell the inmates, ‘hey you cannot eat in the meantime because there are delays in fund releases.’”

Although it has received its national tax allotment for January and February, the provincial government could not disburse the funds as it has no treasurer.

Apart from the governor, the treasurer is required as a signatory for fund disbursements.

The Department of Finance (DOF) has yet to appoint a treasurer for the province. Under the Local Government Code, the DOF Secretary appoints the local treasurer and assistant local treasurer “from a list of at least three ranking eligible recommendees” of the local chief executive.

In December 2022, Maguindanao del Norte had requested the DOF, through its Bureau of Local Government Finance, to designate the provincial treasurer of Maguindanao del Sur as their concurrent treasurer, Lauban had said.

Sinsuat assumed as acting governor of Maguindanao del Norte in October 2022, according to the results of a plebiscite in September favoring the split of Maguindanao into two provinces.

But the Bangsamoro regional government’s Ministry of the Interior and Local Government has not recognized the act.

Interior Minister Naguib Sinarimbo had said that Sinsuat needed to be appointed to the post by President Marcos.

So, in Maguindanao del Norte there is no treasurer?  And that means prisoners have to starve? Apparently YES! But if there is no treasurer who is required to distribute funds that means no funds have been distributed! That means there is no functional provincial government in Maguindano del Norte at the moment because in order to function properly funds need to be distributed. The problem is easy rectified by the DOF appointing a treasurer but they have failed to do so. Why? Do they not know the urgency of the problem? The headline should read "Maguindanao Jail Inmates Lack Food Because the DOF Refuses to Appoint a Treasurer."

So there you go. Two news stories which show that the Philippines is not paradise and, especially in the case of Maguindanao del Norte, the government is inept and inefficient. Of course if you point this out like I do then you are accused of hating the Philippines. Ridiculous!

Monday, December 12, 2022

The Philippines Commission on Appointments is a Joke

The Commission on Appointments is a body of lawmakers tasked with vetting Presidential appointees. Their job is very important as it is through the process of vetting that the public learns if the appointee is worthy of the position assigned to them. But in the Philippines it seems the CA is a joke. In particular I am referring to the hearing of DOST Secretary Renato Solidium. 

Three questions were asked of him that reflect quite poorly on the men the people elected to represent them. First up is Representative Jurdin Jesus Romulado.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1702689/solon-to-science-secretary-can-a-volcano-be-punctured

With suggestions about puncturing a volcano and inventing astronauts’ food, the confirmation hearing for Science Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. at the legislative Commission on Appointments descended into a theater of the absurd.

Camiguin Rep. Jurdin Jesus Romualdo asked if the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) could fashion a metal drill used to make spaceships to pierce volcanoes.

The lawmaker from an island province with seven volcanoes in Mindanao raised the rather ridiculous suggestion, and deadpanned: “I want to ask if the material used for rockets that can withhold heat in going to the moon or (space) exploration can be used to drill holes on volcanoes.”

“The lava will come out so that the volcano will not erupt. Is there a study on that? I’m so curious,” he said.

“Imagine, (space rockets) do not melt when they return from space. Why can’t we use it to drill holes so that volcanoes will no longer erupt?”

Solidum explained that volcanoes spew out materials due to the buildup of pressure and high temperature from within.

“Even if one would tamper with the volcano, it may trigger eruption, not stop it because the magma is more enormous than whatever trigger we want to do,” Solidum said.

“We cannot control it. It might actually cause the volcano to explode as we lessen the pressure,” added Solidum, who served the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology for 14 years.

“If we lessen the pressure of the volcano at the top, it might trigger the sudden rise of magma and it will explode. That’s why nobody has tried to do that,” he said.

It's easy to laugh at this idiot for suggesting volcanoes can be drilled in order to let off pressure thereby preventing an eruption but let's get behind the question. The fact is there are active volcanoes in the Philippines, notably Mayon and Taal. People have been displaced and have died as a result of eruptions. Obviously Representative Romulado wants to avert any future disasters and save lives.

But there are ways to do that without planning something as ridiculous as drilling into a volcano. How about cordoning off the area and forbidding habitation within a certain limit of all active volcanoes? It is a fact that residents are reluctant to leave their homes despite the danger. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/regions/826425/some-residents-around-taal-refuse-to-flee/story/

Perhaps Representative Romulado prides himself for thinking outside the box but he is doing no such thing. He dreaming impossible dreams when there are solutions at hand. It's like using a hammer to open a can of beans. It can be done but why do it when you can use a can opener!? Why is he asking this question anyway? What bearing does it have on the fitness of Solidium to the post of DOST Secretary? It has none and it only serves to make Romulado look like a complete incompetent fool. 

The next Bozo is worst than the first.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1702514/astronaut-food-or-food-pill-for-poor-broached-at-dost-chiefs-confirmation-hearing

Feeding the poorest Filipinos with food pills that could last for days or months like what astronauts eat in space has crossed the mind of a lawmaker.

Sagip Partylist Representative Rodante Marcoleta broached this idea on Wednesday during the confirmation hearing of Department of Science and Technology Secretary Renato Umali Solidum Jr.

Marcoleta noted that astronauts survive in space even without cooking food there.

"I’m thinking aloud that if we could invent food that they can eat, I will give it to our poor countrymen. Even for months that they don’t eat, they will not die," the lawmaker said during the hearing of the Commission on Appointment’s committee on science and technology.

"Do we have that kind of food? Can we do that?," he asked. 

Solidum answered in the negative, noting that what is available right now are meals ready to eat for disaster victims, which have a shell life of six months.

Explaining further his idea, Marcoleta cited an example of a food pill that could be taken only once but could last for weeks already.

"Because when astronauts eat their food, it will last for several days, if not months. The poorest of the poor really have no food to eat,"  he said.

"This is just palliative. Meaning to say, we just have to fill up the gap. In case we can help the poorest of the poor, you can invent a pill or whatever, and I will accept it,"  he added.

“If the poor can take the pill, they can go two weeks without buying food or cooking, and that is a huge deal. Can we make something like that?” the lawmaker further asked.

Solidum said they would look into it but assured the committee that food security is a concern of the DOST.

You have to hand it to Solidum for maintaining his composure while this pompous ass is questioning him about magic food pills that will suppress the appetite for weeks and months on end. There is no such thing and if there were procuring them would be vastly more expensive than actually increasing the harvest yield. Astronauts eat real food that is specially prepared for their needs. Not only that but they can also "cook" their food.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_food

Modern astronauts have a greater variety of main courses to choose from and many astronauts request personalized menus from lists of available foods including items like fruit salad and spaghetti. Fresh fruits and vegetables that can be safely stored at room temperature are eaten on space flights. Astronauts sometimes request beef jerky for flights, as it has an extended shelf life and a strong flavor.

The International Space Station is fitted with rehydration chambers and food warmers to prepare the packaged food before consumption. The first and only kitchen on ISS was located in the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS), containing a hydration system for reheating food, and a food warmer for canned food. The United States developed the second food warmer system in a briefcase-like shape to provide the reheating function for packet-style food items. A second galley was added to the Unity module due to the crew size increase. Combined dinners were rare, as Russian, Space Shuttle, and other ISS astronauts were often eating in their own segments with different schedules.

On Tiangong Space Station, the kitchen is located in the Tianhe core module, alongside with living quarters and entertainment systems. Huang Weifen, the chief astronaut trainer of China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), explained that the station is equipped with a small kitchen table for food preparation and the first-ever microwave oven in spaceflight so that astronauts can "always have hot food whenever they need."

Representative Marcoleta deserves nothing but laughter for this asinine line of questioning. And he admits that it "is just a palliative" and that they "have to fill up the gap!" How about he ask Solidum questions regarding how he would fill that gap? What about increasing food production and bringing down prices and ending rampant food smuggling which undercuts famers? I suppose reality is too much for this politician that he'd rather resort to magical solutions to feed the poor people of the Philippines. Is this the modern equivalent of let them eat cake? 

By the way Marcoleta loves to brag about how he helped destroy ABS-CBN by voting no for a franchise renewal. 

https://twitter.com/rapplerdotcom/status/1508980933638377474

Great job, bobo!

The third and final clown in the Commission on Appeals' theater of the absurd is Camarines Sur Representative Luis “Lray” Villafuerte. 

At the start of the hearing, Camarines Sur Representative Luis “Lray” Villafuerte asked about Solidum’s favorite movies.

“Just to know the character of  the person, my colleagues might laugh again, but this is  in relation to your fitness.  Your hobby is watching  Netflix…My question is, what is your favorite movies in Netflix?” Villafuerte asked.

When Solidum said he was into investigative series, Villafuerte commented that the nominee should have been  in the cyberlab section of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The lawmaker explained that if the DOST chief really loves science and technology, he should be watching  documentaries like how other countries prospered because of science and technology.

Senator  Grace   Poe   interjected,  saying: “I think many of us, although we like our jobs, when we go home, we like to watch something that is a little bit different from what we do.”

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1702589/can-rocket-materials-be-used-to-stop-volcanic-eruptions-solon-asks-dost-chief

How does what Solidium enjoy watching on Netflix have any bearing on his fitness to his being DOST Secretary? It does not! And then Villafuerte has the gall to tell this man that if he "really loves science and technology" then "he should be watching  documentaries like how other countries prospered because of science and technology." What?

So, this career politician, who has been charged with graft multiple times over the past decade, thinks the DOST Secretary should be watching documentaries in order to learn skills that can aid him in causing the Philippines to prosper because of science and technology? How would that transfer to prosperity for the Philippines? And what documentaries does he have in mind? Can he name even one? Does he watch documentaries about proper governance in order to cause the Philippines to prosper? Does this moron not understand that it is corrupt politicians and bureaucrats like himself who stand in the way of progress in the Philippines? 

Here is my take away from this "theater of the absurd." Filipino politicians have ZERO solutions for this nation. From drilling into volcanos to feeding the poor appetite suppressing food pills they are engaged in magical thinking that has no bearing on reality whatsoever. It's as bad as someone planning his life around winning the lottery instead of actually fixing his life. These men simply refuse to deal with the problems in the Philippines in anything like a forthright and honest manner. 

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Senator Robin Padilla is Stupid but at Least He Keeps His Promises

Senator Robin Padilla is without doubt the dumbest member of the Philippine Senate. He is even dumber than Bato who proves to the nation that he is above his pay grade every time he opens his mouth. But at least Robin has kept the one promise that was important to him as a Filipino. Try to guess what it is without reading ahead. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1696472/robin-padilla-insists-ph-try-legalizing-drug-use-and-just-amend-law-if-ineffective

Senator Robin Padilla is still gung-ho about legalizing drug use in the country, even after hearing all the opposing arguments.

He said the law is always open to change if it doesn’t work.

The Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs heard about drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers, and Senator Ronald Dela Rosa wondered if the country could “afford an experiment” to determine if decriminalizing drug use would be beneficial or not.

Padilla responded: “We can always amend the law. English iyon ah. Kailangan lang natin sumubok. Kailangan natin pakinggan rin iyong medical point of view kasi nagawa na natin iyong law enforcement point of view. Wala naman masama. Kung hindi naging epektibo, eh ‘di next year, palitan natin. Tanggalin natin iyong batas.”

(We can always amend the law. Wow, that’s English. We need to try. We also need to hear the medical point of view because we’ve already acted from the law enforcement point of view. There’s nothing wrong with that. If it’s not effective, then let’s change it next year. Let’s remove that law.)

Did you catch it? Understandably the whole notion of trial and error law, (that's not how legislation works!), might obscure the promise he kept so here it is in black and white:

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1610647/senator-elect-robin-padilla-to-debate-in-filipino-im-not-facing-americans

Neophyte Senator-elect Robin Padilla said Tuesday he is “100 percent” ready to join the Senate, but will opt to debate in Filipino, saying he would be facing Filipino legislators, “not Americans.”

Padilla, who topped the 2022 senatorial elections, attended a legislative briefing  in the Senate ahead of the opening of the 19th Congress in July.

“One-hundred percent,” said Padilla when asked about his readiness to join the Senate.

Padilla said he is also ready to debate with his fellow legislators, but will do so using the vernacular, and not the English language.

“Tagalog… una, hindi naman Amerikano mga kaharap ko para mag-English ako. Siguro kung Amerikano, well I’m willing to debate. Pero mga Tagalog sila eh, eh ‘di Tagalog tayo,” Padilla said.

(Tagalog… for one, I will not be facing Americans for me to speak in English. If I am facing Americans, well I’m willing to debate. But they are Filipinos, so let’s use Tagalog.)

Robin Padilla promised he would not be speaking in English in the Senate. He started out in English but then caught himself and switched to Tagalog. 

But who does this promise help? No one. It's posturing plain and simple and it makes him look like a complete idiot. 

Robin Padilla's refusal to speak in English because he "will not be facing Americans" is full of hypocrisy and stupidity. What does he have against Americans when he claims to be more American than English speaking Americans because he has Native American blood? His two children and wife are American citizens!

https://entertainment.inquirer.net/346969/robin-padilla-defends-mariel-rodriguez-having-baby-in-us

Robin Padilla justified his and Mariel Rodriguez’s decision to have the TV host give birth to their second child, Gabriela, in the United States. 

Rodriguez gave an update about her pregnancy last Saturday, Sept. 28, days after she flew to the US to prepare for the delivery of their second child. 

“Another update is her head is now down getting ready for delivery,” she said in her Instagram post on Saturday. “[Please] pray with me I really want to push for another vaginal birth.”

“Enjoying the last stretch of my pregnancy,” Rodriguez added. 

Many of her fans wished her well, but one Instagram user, a certain @georg_supreme, did not seem to be in favor of Rodriguez’s giving birth in the US.

The netizen, addressing US President Donald Trump’s Instagram account (@realdonaldtrump), pointed out that Rodriguez only goes to the US to give birth. He/she added that it made Rodriguez a “birther,” and that it was not allowed.

After being asked by another Instagram user about what was wrong in giving birth in the US, the netizen chose to “research” about the celebrity couple. He/she then asked why would Rodriguez leave the Philippines to give birth if Padilla prided himself on being nationalistic. The said comments have since been deleted. 

In response, Padilla said, “Ang pagiging [Filipino-American] ay hindi pagtataksil sa Inangbayan (Being Filipino-American is not betraying the motherland).

He then claimed that he and his wife are more American than those who speak English and live in the US, after pointing out that Rodriguez is an American citizen, and stating that he bears some Native American blood.

It's simply amazing that this man was elected to the Senate. It's amazing that Filipinos consistently vote for people who are incompetent and who brazenly show they do not care about this nation. Make no mistake, Robin Padilla does not care about the Philippines.

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

The Things Robin Padilla Does Not Know Could Fill A Library

Of all the people who won a seat in the new Senate Robin Padilla is certainly the least qualified. The man has no inkling of how the political machine works. But don't worry he is going to surround himself with qualified people to tell him what to do.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1597385/robin-padilla-to-hire-panelo-as-legislative-consultant-adviser-mentor

Potential winner in the 2022 senatorial race Robin Padilla was considering hiring Atty.  Salvador Panelo as his “legislative consultant, adviser, and mentor.”

The political rookie in a Facebook post admitted that he would need Panelo’s help in crafting laws in the Senate, notably in his plan to push the country’s shift to federalism.

(I need someone in legislative discussions in the Senate. Charter change will not be easy since this would go against the rule of oligarchs under the 1987 Constitution.)

(Panelo will be my legislative consultant, adviser, and mentor.)

In effect Robin Padilla will be a front for Salvador Panelo and that is quite fitting. Panelo was the defense lawyers for the Marcos family in their ill-gotten wealth cases. 

There's a lot of talk going around that we must all give this massively unqualified dimwit who has no business being in the Senate the "benefit of the doubt."

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1605633/study-hard-zubiri-tells-robin-padilla-on-possible-committee-chairmanship

Zubiri said Padilla may end up being the chairperson of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments since he has asked for it and no other senator would like to head it.

(He should study the Constitutional amendments and revision of laws well. Laws that need to be amended, especially in issues surrounding criminal law and other corporate law, will pass through him and his committee.)

Zubiri said the committee is usually headed by a lawyer since revising laws, apart from Constitutional amendments, is also part of the tasks of the committee.

(In truth, lawyers usually head that committee but he wants it so he may show an effort for it.)

His only one appeal to the incoming neophyte senator: study well.

“I have to appeal to him and bigyan ko ng payo at advice, mag aral nang mabuti. Kailangan mag-aral ka nang mabuti kasi ang kausap mo diyan justices eh, constitutionalists,” Zubiri said.

Zubiri said that there is nothing wrong with hiring lawyers as part of his staff, but said Padilla would still have to study since he will be the one talking on the floor and debating with resource persons.

Zubiri, however, said that Padilla should be given the “benefit of the doubt” since he can study for the job before assuming the post.

Give him the benefit of the doubt because he can study for the job before assuming the post!?? Do you hire someone as a surgeon because they really want the job and then give them the benefit of the doubt because they can study before they assume the post?? Of course not! This man is not a lawyer and he cannot be expected to digest the law in a matter of days or weeks before assuming the job as Chairman of the Constitutional Amendments Committee. Zubiri is showing what a poor leader he is by encouraging Robin Padilla to be given the chair of any except the most basic committee and even then such a job would be leagues above his pay grade. 

Once his term officially begins and he has to debate or otherwise speak to his colleagues Robin Padilla says he will being doing so only in Tagalog.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1610647/senator-elect-robin-padilla-to-debate-in-filipino-im-not-facing-americans

Neophyte Senator-elect Robin Padilla said Tuesday he is “100 percent” ready to join the Senate, but will opt to debate in Filipino, saying he would be facing Filipino legislators, “not Americans.”

Padilla, who topped the 2022 senatorial elections, attended a legislative briefing  in the Senate ahead of the opening of the 19th Congress in July.

“One-hundred percent,” said Padilla when asked about his readiness to join the Senate.

Padilla said he is also ready to debate with his fellow legislators, but will do so using the vernacular, and not the English language.

(Tagalog… for one, I will not be facing Americans for me to speak in English. If I am facing Americans, well I’m willing to debate. But they are Filipinos, so let’s use Tagalog.)

Padilla topped the senatorial elections after receiving over 26 million votes.

As a neophyte senator, Padilla took lessons at the Development Academy of the Philippines in preparation for his role as a legislator.

Asked if he found preparing for the Senate to be easy or difficult, Padilla said: “Lahat madali. Wala namang mahirap kasi gusto mong gawin eh.”

(Everything’s easy. Nothing is difficult when you like what you’re doing.)

(If you wanna do something, it’s easy. It was just different. I was summa cum laude in cutting classes back in the day.)

Robin Padilla is so stupid that he thinks only Americans speak English. Incredible. It's like he has no idea that Canada, Ireland, Singapore, India, and the United Kingdom all speak English. English is the lingua franca of the world. It is spoken EVERYWHERE by billions of people. Filipinos are actually sought out to teach English as a second language to South Koreans. Tagalog is only one of many Philippine dialects which means Padilla is literally shutting out Cebuanos, Visayans, and others by insisting on using only that dialect. 

His arrogance is through the roof. He took a few classes to prepare him to be a Senator and he says it's easy?? Sure it's easy if you are a slacker who has no idea what he is doing. And then he brags about "cutting classes back in the day." What a moron. 

His refusal to use English because he "will not be facing Americans" is full of hypocrisy and stupidity. What does he have against Americans when he claims to be more American than English speaking Americans because he has Native American blood? His two children are American citizens!

https://entertainment.inquirer.net/346969/robin-padilla-defends-mariel-rodriguez-having-baby-in-us

Robin Padilla justified his and Mariel Rodriguez’s decision to have the TV host give birth to their second child, Gabriela, in the United States. 

Rodriguez gave an update about her pregnancy last Saturday, Sept. 28, days after she flew to the US to prepare for the delivery of their second child. 

“Another update is her head is now down getting ready for delivery,” she said in her Instagram post on Saturday. “[Please] pray with me I really want to push for another vaginal birth.”

“Enjoying the last stretch of my pregnancy,” Rodriguez added. 

Many of her fans wished her well, but one Instagram user, a certain @georg_supreme, did not seem to be in favor of Rodriguez’s giving birth in the US.

The netizen, addressing US President Donald Trump’s Instagram account (@realdonaldtrump), pointed out that Rodriguez only goes to the US to give birth. He/she added that it made Rodriguez a “birther,” and that it was not allowed.

After being asked by another Instagram user about what was wrong in giving birth in the US, the netizen chose to “research” about the celebrity couple. He/she then asked why would Rodriguez leave the Philippines to give birth if Padilla prided himself on being nationalistic. The said comments have since been deleted. 

In response, Padilla said, “Ang pagiging [Filipino-American] ay hindi pagtataksil sa Inangbayan (Being Filipino-American is not betraying the motherland).

He then claimed that he and his wife are more American than those who speak English and live in the US, after pointing out that Rodriguez is an American citizen, and stating that he bears some Native American blood.

It's simply amazing that this man was elected to the Senate. It's amazing that Filipinos consistently vote for people who are incompetent and who brazenly show they do not care about this nation. Robin Padilla literally said EJK's are part of fighting crime. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1549310/robin-padilla-says-ejk-part-of-crime-fighting-duterte-drug-war-most-successful

Actor Robin Padilla, who is running for senator in the May elections, said Thursday that extrajudicial killing or EJK is part of the government’s fight against crime, especially in the battle versus illegal drugs.

Padilla was asked during an interview with ANC’s Headstart about his thoughts on the brutal anti-drug campaign of the current administration and EJKs, which has largely marred the so-called drug war of President Rodrigo Duterte.

(That’s really part of it, the EJK. Andres Bonifacio was the first victim of it. It’s part of it.)

To recall, Bonifacio was tried and sentenced to death for treason on then-President Emilio Aguinaldo’s orders after trying to establish his own rebel government. He and his brother Procopio were killed in the mountains of Marogondon.

This man thinks killing people is a part of fighting crime. He does not know the law and he does not even know Philippine history. What exactly does he know? That could fill a library. 

Saturday, March 19, 2022

Idiot Barely Passes Teaching Licensure Exam After 14 Attempts

 The Philippines rewards failure. Don't believe me? Check out the following story.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1569895/32-year-old-mom-finally-passes-teacher-licensure-exam-after-14-attempts

After 14 tries, a 32-year-old woman finally passed the Licensure Examinations for Teachers (LET).

Richelle Ann Gonzales scored 76.80 percent, a little over the passing rate of 75 percent.

Gonzales, a mother to six children, was elated that after years of waiting and even frustrations, she can now call herself a licensed teacher.

“I was doing some laundry work when a cousin of mine broke the news that I finally passed the exams. At first, I did not believe her but later on, was able to verify it as a sister-in-law of mine posted it on her social media account,” she said.

Gonzales, who hails from a remote village of Sangay, Palapag town in Northern Samar, took her first exam in 2010, the year she graduated from the University in Eastern Philippines in Catarman, Northern Samar.

Gonzales, whose parents were coconut farmers, was the second eldest from a brood of eight.

Despite their poverty, she wanted to finish her studies and become a teacher.

“I even had to sell used clothings and peddle bets on lotto just to earn money for my studies,” she said.

When she was a child, Gonzales dreamt of becoming a teacher and even played as a teacher to her younger siblings and children in their village.

“It’s nice to impart knowledge to others and that they are happy to learn something new from me,” she said.

Despite several setbacks, Gonzales never surrendered and continued to take the teachers’ examination until she passed.

My parents and my siblings and my own family motivated me to take the examination again and again until I could pass it. They never gave up on me. Of course, there were times that I’d like to give up. In fact, there were times that I isolated myself from my classmates who are now teachers,” she said.

But God is so good that finally, after 11 years and 14 times of trying, and fervent prayer and novena, I was able to pass the exams. I cried so much. I could not believe it at first,” she said.

“Be confident in your own abilities and don’t give up. Don’t be ashamed if you have failures. Always trust papa God,” she said, when asked what she could advise to others who have also suffered similar setbacks in life.

Since 2010 Richelle Ann Gonzales has been taking the teaching licensure exam and this year she finally passed. BARELY!!! Her score was 76.80% which is 1.8% above the passing score of 75%. She does not even attribute this embarrassing grade to her studies but to her prayers to "papa God" and attending the novena. With that awful score I am sure God denies all blame.

To pay for her "studies" she resorted to selling used clothes and lotto tickets. That means for the past 12 years she has not held down a real job but has floated around hoping she would finally pass this test. What exactly was she studying that she could not pass the exam for so long? After the fifth try she should have known the test inside and out and been able to ace it. But here we are at try 14 and she barley passed. It would be interesting to see all her scores to view her progression.

Admittedly the test is filled with weird questions. Here are three questions from a sample exam.

1. A teacher’s quarrel with a parent makes her develop a feeling of prejudice against the parent’s child. The teacher’s unfavorable treatment of the child is an influence of what Filipino trait?
a. Lack of self-reflection
b. Extreme personalism
c. Extreme family-centeredness
d. “Sakop-mentality”

Ans: B

14. Theft of school equipment like TV, computer, etc. by people on the community itself is becoming a common phenomenon. What does this signify?
a. Prevalence of poverty in the community
b. Inability of school to hire security guards
c. Deprivation of Filipino schools
d. Community’s lack of sense of co-ownership

Ans: B

17. Complete this analogy:
Spanish period: moral and religious person.
American period: _______
a. Productive citizen
b. Self-reliant citizen 
c. Patriotic citizen 
d. Caring citizen 

Ans: A

https://philnews.ph/2019/09/25/let-board-exam-random-questions-answer-prof-ed-gen-ed/

As a child Richelle would pretend to be a teacher to her siblings and other children. Now this moron will actually be teaching children. She will be educating children and will be directly responsible for the future of this nation. Of course she might as well still be pretending with 14 tries and such a paltry score. 

This lady is a living monkey! You know the theory. A monkey banging the keys on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time will eventually produce the works of Shakespeare.

It was the best of times it was the...blurst of times? You stupid monkey!!

In this case Richelle took the test over and over and over again until she passed with practically the bare minimum score. How many more times would she have taken this test if she continued to fail? Until the day she died? 

This story is embarrassing. Isn't there a limit as to how many times one can take the teaching licensure exam? There should be. If it took 14 tries to pass the licensing exam and you still barely squeaked through then that profession is not for you. Surprisingly the majority of those who passed this most recent exam were repeaters.

It is further announced that of the 8,737 elementary teacher passers, 2,678 are first timers and 6,059 are repeaters. For the secondary teachers, 4,652 passers are first timers and 7,422 are repeaters.

https://www.prc.gov.ph/article/january-2022-results-licensure-examination-teachers-released-thirty-30-working-days/5508

The details of exactly how many times those repeaters have taken the test have not been made public but if the case of this lady is any indicator then we can bet the majority are way past their second try.

Does the Philippines deserve better than Richelle Ann Gonzales? If the people of this nation want to succeed and not be left in the dust of history then the answer is yes. However seeing as how this lady is not an anomaly perhaps she is exactly what this country deserves.

Monday, November 8, 2021

The Influence of Netflix on Philippine Politics

As improbable as it seems Netflix is having an influence on political discourse in the Philippines. Remember this photo showing Duterte watching Django Unchained on Netflix?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/20/world/asia/duterte-philippines-absence-health.html

There is nothing wrong with watching a good movie or show. The problem is when fiction begins to influence one's political or world view. Remember during the martial law hearings before the Supreme Court when Justice Bersamin was worried that scenarios like those in White House Down and London Has Fallen could come true if martial law were lifted?

“How can the republic survive if there was another kind of threat worse than rebellion or invasion,” a Supreme Court Associate Justice asked Tuesday as he noted that President Rodrigo Duterte’s martial law is already emasculated compared to that of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. 
“Oh I watched so many movies like White House has fallen, London has fallen. These are very terrifying realities that could happen in a few years’ time,”  Bersamin said, adding that the framers crafted a constitution “that constricted the use of the ultimate power to actual invasion and actual rebellion.”

What if these [movies] become a reality,” Bersamin asked. 

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2019/09/filipinos-and-movies.html 

Then there was Senator Lacson who, after watching a show on Netflix, actually introduced legislation inspired by that show.

Legislation loosely based on a popular Netflix political thriller called the “Designated Survivor” have been filed in the Senate and the House of Representatives to deal with such a situation. 
In the show, actor Kiefer Sutherland plays Housing and Urban Development Secretary Tom Kirkham, who is hidden away during the State of the Union. He was thrust into the US presidency when the Capitol building is bombed during the address, killing the president and everyone in it. 
The Philippine proposal is called the Presidential Succession Act, referred to simply as the designated survivor bill.

Sen. Ping Lacson wrote the Senate version of the bill, while Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito introduced the House counterpart proposal. 
Lacson told reporters on Thursday that his proposal was inspired by the Netflix series.

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2019/09/filipinos-and-movies.html 

Lacson is back in the news telling us all that a movie he saw on Netflix has influenced him to now be against the death penalty.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1510389/no-longer-for-death-penalty-lacson-says-netflix-show-changed-his-beliefs-on-capital-punishment

Senator Panfilo Lacson now says that if he is elected president in the 2022 national elections, he will no longer push for the death penalty despite previous statements advocating for the reinstitution of capital punishment.

Asked about how his opinion about the death penalty changed, Lacson attributed this to a movie on streaming site Netflix, which talked about an activist who set himself up for a crime just to prove that innocent people could be punished.

He says that his running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, also shares his views.

“In the course his (Sotto) perspective changed. I’m like that, I’m also a convert. Did you know, did you watch ‘The Life of David Gayle’ on Netflix? "I watched that, that activist, that's where he set-up himself," Lacson told reporters in a media forum on Thursday.

"He was not the one who killed but he set-up just to prove that the innocent man could be executed," he explained.

Lacson admitted that in the past, he has been a stern advocate of the death penalty for certain crimes like plunder, high-level drug trafficking, law enforcers proven guilty for planting evidence, and other heinous crimes.

But the Netflix show changed it all, Lacson claimed, who is now saying that saving the life of a wrongly accused person is more important than executing a criminal.

"That changed my attitude, my outlook, and my perspective on the death penalty. I am also an author, I have been infinite several times, I have even included the plunder and then the various crimes as heinous crimes, which should be punishable by the death penalty, ”he explained.

"But then I realized that it is more important to save the life of an innocent person who has been convicted so that we can execute someone who is really convicted and really convicted. "When I weighed it, I thought it would be more important to save the life of a wrongly convicted person," he added.

Are we really to believe that Senator Lacson, who was once Chief of the PNP and who admits he has written numerous articles advocating for the death penalty, had never considered that an innocent person could be wrongly convicted of a crime and placed on death row until he saw The Life of David Gale!?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_of_David_Gale

This 2003 film starring Kevin Spacey as an anti-death penalty advocate who conspires to get himself executed for a crime he did not commit to show how bad the death penalty is because innocent people could be executed is one of the most ridiculous and convoluted films ever made. It is right up there with Crash which, to the consternation of everyone, won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2006. Roger Ebert thought The Life of David Gale was so stupid that he gave it zero stars.

The secrets of the plot must remain unrevealed by me, so that you can be offended by them yourself, but let it be said this movie is about as corrupt, intellectually bankrupt and morally dishonest as it could possibly be without David Gale actually hiring himself out as a joker at the court of Saddam Hussein.

I am sure the filmmakers believe their film is against the death penalty. I believe it supports it and hopes to discredit the opponents of the penalty as unprincipled fraudsters.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-life-of-david-gale-2003

Unless you are a small-brained normie there is absolutely no way you can walk away from this movie thinking that it is anything like a coherent argument against the death penalty. Sadly it is true that there are and have been innocent men on death row for years. There is a documentary streaming on Netflix titled  Fear of 13 which is about this very subject.

The Fear of 13 is a 2015 British documentary film. It tells the story of Nick Yarris, who was convicted of murder and spent 22 years on Death Row in Pennsylvania. He was released in 2004 when DNA evidence proved he was innocent of the crime.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fear_of_13

There are actually a whole lot of documentaries about wrongly convicted people. The Innocence Project has a list. Surely a few of them are streaming on Netflix. But no. The one film that changed Lacson's mind is the impossible fiction titled The Life of David Gale.

There is absolutely no problem with the death penalty just as there is no problem with incarceration. The problem is a corrupt justice system which allows innocent people to be convicted. It is a multifaceted problem involving overzealous prosecutors, corrupt judges, incompetent defenders, and many other factors which I will not be discussing in this article. 

Did Panfilo Lacson, as an officer in one of the world's most corrupt police organizations, not think about these things? Did he not consider that people could be wrongly convicted or wrongly accused? It is absolutely ludicrous that Lacson has changed his mind about the death penalty because he saw The Life of David Gale and thought it had a great message. 

You know what else is absolutely ludicrous? That the DFA got so upset over a Netflix series called Pine Gap that they asked the MTRCB to demand they delete two episodes. The reason? Becasue in those two episodes there is a map of China's 9-dash line.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/01/media/netflix-philippines-pine-gap-intl-hnk/index.html

Netflix Inc has removed two episodes of spy drama "Pine Gap" from its streaming service in the Philippines, after the Southeast Asian country rejected scenes involving a map used by China to assert its claims to the South China Sea. 

The Philippines on Monday asked Netflix to remove certain episodes of the six-part Australian series, saying the map depicted on the show was a violation of its sovereignty.

The second and third episodes of the show were no longer available in the Philippines by late Monday, with Netflix announcing on its platform that those episodes had been "removed by government demand". It did not elaborate.

After a thorough review, the Philippines' movie classification board has ruled that certain episodes of Pine Gap were "unfit for public exhibition", the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement. 

Earlier this year Netflix removed "Pine Gap" from its services in Vietnam following a similar complaint from the country's broadcast authorities. 

The Philippine films board, acting on the DFA's complaint, handed down its ruling on Sept. 

It was not clear why the decision was only made public now. 

The board, according to the DFA, noted that the appearance of the map was "no accident as it was consciously designed and calculated to specifically convey a message that China's nine-dash line legitimately exists". 

The board believes that "such portrayal is a crafty attempt to perpetuate and memorialize in the consciousness of the present generation of viewers and the generations to come the illegal nine-dash line," the DFA said.

The last two paragraphs of that article are very important. The DFA is claiming that the inclusion of a map showing the 9-dash line legitimates China's claim. This is an outright lie. While that line is shown in a map in the background there is nothing to indicate that it conveys "a message that China's nine-dash line legitimately exists." Here is some dialogue from the offending scene in episode 2.


Episode 2 12:28 

 Jacob: Is the Rha Two in Chinese territory?

Gus: Which is disputed territory.


Eloise: Well, they’ve been saying it's theirs since 1948. 

Jasmine: Actually, according to them it’s been theirs since 3,000 BC. They just went to sleep for a hundred years and everyone just took it off them.


Gus: They still lost the court case. 

Eloise: Well, these are the Fiery Cross Islands. Where China’s built a navy base.


Gus: And I love the way they just "take" islands.

Does that dialogue sound like they are giving legitimacy to the 9-dash line? Of course not. And that kind of banter goes on throughout the series. How about this screen cap from episode 3 saying point blank that China ignores international law?

Episode 3 25:16  Will China retract its territorial claims in the South China Sea or continue to ignore the decision of the International Court that America has sworn to uphold? 

Did anybody at the DFA or the MTRCB actually watch the show?  I mean the entire show which is not very kind to China. In this show China is the enemy. If they had watched the show they would know that every single episode except the first one mentions the nine-dash line or shows it on a map. But for some odd reason only episodes 2 and 3 offended them enough to be removed.

The reason the 9-dash line is shown on a map in this show is not because the creators of the show are giving it legitimacy. It's there because China considers it legitimate and these analysts at Pine Gap are monitoring China. It's really that simple. China rejects The Hague ruling and acts in accordance with their claims. They really do see that line as legitimate and one cannot ignore that fact. That is why they continue to build island bases within that area. But the Philippines does not care about that. Instead, while Duterte calls the International Court ruling just a piece of paper he will throw away, the DFA and MTRCB boldly claim that some silly Netflix show which got bad reviews and shows a map of the 9-dash line in two episodes, it actually shows up in five episodes, violates the Philippines' sovereignty.

One idiot, the executive director of the MTRCB Jose Benjamin Benaldo, even calls the removal of these episodes a victory for the Philippines.

“After a thorough review, the Board ruled that certain episodes of Pine Gap are ‘unfit for public exhibition.’ The MTRCB also ordered the immediate pullout of relevant episodes by its provider, Netflix Inc, from its video streaming platform,” the DFA said in a statement. 

In its decision, the MTRCB underscored that “under a whole-of-nation approach, every instrumentality of the government, whenever presented with the opportunity, has the responsibility to counter China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea to assert the Philippines’ territorial integrity.” 

“And we’re very happy Netflix has done that. This is another victory for our country,” Benaldo said.

"Another victory?" The only victory so far has been the initial ruling against China. Since the day that ruling was handed down it's been loss after loss as the Duterte administration refuses to even attempt to enforce that ruling. But who knows. Maybe now that these two episodes of a Netflix show depicting the 9-dash line have been removed so only Filipino viewers cannot see them, just maybe China will stop its island building program and vacate the West Philippine Sea.