Yes. That is EXACTLY how I feel about several things that have been going on in the local political arena. And anyone who has read this blog before knows I have only occasionally written about non-food or non-service items, but this is another one of those exceptions.
I wish I knew how to post a picture of the invitation to a silent and peaceful display of collective disgust (protest) for our current state of affairs, but technical proficiency is a shortcoming of mine. So go to this link below and read all about it there.
If I make it back to Manila by Friday I will DEFINITELY be there. And while I also am aware that citizens are just becoming so NUMB to all of the SHENANIGANS, I hope that thousands who feel the same way will heed this call. It’ll be an hour or so of your time, you get to wear a slimming and chic black attire, and by just being there, you are standing up and quietly saying, Tama Na! Sobra Na! Forward to your friends of like minds. Now I just have to think of what to write on my paper bag(s)…
43 Responses
that’s right! i read about this in the column of Manuel Quezon III in the Inquirer yesterday..it’s about time we air our true sentiments to let those in government know that we’ve had enough..
YES! LET’S ALL BE THERE AND SHOW OUR ANGER AND DISGUST. MABUHAY ANG PILIPINONG MARANGAL AT MAY PAGMAMAHAL SA BAYAN!
Thanks for the post, MM and thank God for technology that has enabled people to digitize and author their own content and express sentiments like these. It’s exasperating, blood-curdling hearing what’s happening but it’s no different from the crimes committed by past regimes. Lately though, I have found myself seriously, earnestly praying for our government officials – that the veil of blindness will be lifted from their eyes so they can see the filth and evil they are doing.
We may not get justice on earth but I’m positive that for each centavo they steal, they are also getting a brick to build their suite in hell.
I fully support this call for good governance. Our Country is really in thirst for good change! Look at Trillantes he won the election absence of campaign. Eradicate corruption, allocate more money for health care of the citizens especially those suffering from severe illness like tuberculosis, kidney failures, cancer, malnutrition, etc. Keep the citizens healthy – they comprise the Country. More school buildings and feeding program for children of low income family. They should do a massive overhaul of our political system. Elected officials should have a spending cap on election campaigns. No XX candidate supported by jueteng lord or some Big Gambino out there. No such free lunch political debts are paid by corruption. Like our senators – why they have to be elected throughout the country. Why not elect two senators from each region like a congressman so their campaign cost is contained and they can represent best the interests of their region since they know what is going on in there. Set up ethic guidelines for elected officials for gift receipt of more than X amount of money should be turned down. Together we stand we can make a lot of difference – let us all be zero tolerance to corruption.
Note that there is a typo on the choices of text to put in your gift bag. That’s not P50,000 (too cheap) but P500,000.00!
MarketFan
Yay! Hope to see you, MM, and many other MarketManila readers there! Look for me…I’ll be in black. ;-D
As I’ve been telling people, this protest on Friday might not effect much change, and most people might just once again shrug and sigh about yet another cause of traffic, but after way too many outrages being perpetrated on us, one after the other, again and again, how can we just stand by and allow it to keep happening? Sure, this may not be THE solution to our many and grave problems, but we have to at least do SOMETHING! At the very least, let’s show the powers-that-be that we’re not deaf, dumb and blind idiots; we do know what they’re doing and it disgusts us.
Mabuhay ka Market Man for taking a stand! I am also encouraging everyone I know around the wrodl to wear black on Friday. GRRRRR! asar na asar na ako!!! GMA=Ginago Mo Ako!
Thanks for the info. Had it not been for this blogsite, I would never have known about this silent protest. I am definitely going…see you all!
Much as I agree that a tectonic-level change in governance is past due in this country, I truly feel that the more vocal persons shouting for change are in it for reasons other than idealism and patriotism. And I’m not (just) pertaining to the ones who organized this event.
Learn from EDSA, all of them. A change in power is only half the solution, and a precarious one at that. Replace it with something you are not sure with, and the probability of things getting from bad to worse now is 50/50 at best. The vocal and angry ones call people like me fence sitters. I think I just need to weigh things. And wait- wait for what people who want changes can offer after removing the seat of power from the current administration.
You just cannot say replace and say ‘bahala na’, or worse, put someone without a mandate to replace somebody who you proclaim has lost or has never held a mandate, even if the so-called law is on their side. It just doesn’t work that way. History has taught us that despots, tyrants and dictators assume power from situations like this. Bad to worse, indeed. Believe me, there are people hovering around like vultures who profess nationalism and patriotism- and I’ll be damned if they get my support.
thanks for sharing this, i wouldnt have known about it …i’ve passed it already to my officemates and blogged about it as well. cya there
way to go! i am with everyone in spirit and my support and cheers go to the organizers and participants.
But I do agree in part with acid- we’ve replaced a dictator with a widow, a widow with a military man, a military man with an actor, an actor with an intellectual- seems we elected all sorts and gave them power, marched twice, and yet we are where we are now, which is why so many people don’t care anymore. Someone deserving has to step up somehow. Sad to say, a friend made a good point one time over dinner- all powerful countries and world powers organized themselves through some sort of bloody revolt (so far all we’ve had are peaceful ones, which, while ideal, didn’t exactly solve anything).
I agree with Acid. Personally, I think we can’t always apply mob rule. There’s got to be a mandate of the people. As ragamuffin girl said, we’ve tried all sorts of backgrounds. Though if we compare their performance, it shows the economy did very well under Ramos. Yes, if push comes to shove will the people who have had enough join a bloody revolt if needed?
The first step in a democracy is for voices to be heard. This protest isn’t a solution, but I think it is a whole lot more concrete than doing nothing at all. We may not have the best leaders, and simply changing them whenever we feel like it, but that doesn’t mean you just keep them on and not say anything when outrageous behavior is plainly obvious…
yes, got the invitation by e-mail. wish i were there, but we can do something like that here, too.
the idea is worthwhile supporting. HOWEVER, why are you focusing on just GMA? how about all the corrupt, murderous, thieving opposition politicians and civil society leaders? why do you think the opposition senators led the last election? you’ve got your head buried in the sand if you think it was because of their intellect or leadership. protest against all corruption not just the scandal du jour cooked up by the opposition. c’mon!!!
GMA – “ginago mo ako,” haha, i love that! but i guess i must admit, this is no longer a laughing matter. this is too much! what an AWFUL president she’s turned out to be! and then this convicted thief and plunderer – erap – whom she pardoned and now goes around saying he never stole and never committed corruption (what a joke – ano, ginagago mo ba kami!!!!!????) is telling media he’s going to support impeachment moves against the one who pardoned him, haha! what has this country been reduced to? no self-respecting filipino should turn a blind eye on what’s happening to the political leadership in this country. i salute you, market man, for taking a stand. and i join my voice to all who cry out, “TAMA NA.. SOBRA NA ang panloloko sa sambayanang pilipino!”” lets do something, guys, katrina, you’re right. there may not be much that we can effect on friday. but hey, we may just be surprised, won’t we!
“why are you focusing on just GMA?” – because she’s supposed to be our President, our LEADER …..
I agree with acid 100%. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of GMA but I’m no fan of any of the alternatives either. I am wary of these protests because I do not want to ‘unwittingly’ lend my voice to undesirable characters presenting themselves as better alternatives to GMA. Why replace a rotten tomato with an even more rotten tomato? I’d rather wait for the next harvest, thank you.
Chris,
There may never be a next harvest if the land were standing on is full of rotten tomatoes, we need to clear the land once again and hopefully plant a new breed of tomatoes and hope for the best. I’d rather die trying than not try at all.
If we had just stood by and let ERAP keep going during his term, how mch more would have been lost to corruption??? Folks then started to speak up in his second year and he was changed before his thrid year. But yes, replaced by another person who has turned out to be less than what everyone had hoped for. And with the Garci controversy, possibly someone who didn’t win votes fairly. But doing nothing in a way condones all of the behavior and I agree with Mikel, this isn’t about a person, but a system really. As for the Black and White Movement, it is as good as it gets in the Philippines, logical, centrist, nationaistic folks with hopefully the right objectives in mind. I hope thousands show up, if only to say, we ARE watching what is going on, and we DON’t like what we see. If I had to compare this with a restaurant meal, if I got an awful dish, I would definitely send it back and see if they could fix it. I wouldn’t just suffer through the meal and opt not to come back or worse, come back hoping it will get better. I would definitely be in the camp of diners who would speak up.
NEWSFLASH! Last night the news reported that KAMPI (the party of the President) ADMITTED to handing out cash at the palace to government officials. This was on the same day that the League of Governors also distributed cash, as they admitted last week. This PRACTICE alone is so incredibly blatantly inappropriate and is enough reason for me to show up at a silent protest to say, STOP THAT, ENOUGH ALREADY. And WHY did it take a full 5 weeks or so to ADMIT it??? Handing out cash CANNOT in any way shape or form be appropriate behavior in government. That is my personal opinion.
Ted, nobody has to die trying, at least not yet. And not joining this protest doesn’t equate to doing nothing. One of our problems is that we’re so full of theatrics that nothing gets accomplished. Every issue is magnified in the hope of getting people’s attention that now that the issues need no magnification, nobody is listening anymore. The protest movement has been crying wolf so long that people are experiencing protest fatigue. I am as disgusted with the situation as all of you but I just don’t think ousting Gloria is the solution. What will be next? Oust Noli when he assumes power? Are we really helping better the system when we are all too eager to short circuit it every so often? We should be strengthening our institutions to protect it from vested interests. Another EDSA is shortsighted. Another EDSA will do just the opposite.
At the end of the day, this is a democracy we’re in. Majority rules even if the majority is wrong. It would be foolish to think that an individual or a certain group is better than the collective. The whole society needs to change for politics to change.
PS
Just look at how BNW translated Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote: “kaya mong gaguhin ang ilang tao sa lahat ng panahon…” Does it do justice to Abraham Lincoln? As usual, it’s shock value over credibility.
It really gets to my nerves about all these cash giving!!! For what? Justice for the farmers? Food for the families of laborers, job-less unskilled, etc.? No!!! Junkets and grease money in return for loyalties and kiss-ass! And admissions are often late simply because of “natatakot sila!”
Whether or not a good leader is placed into power, he/she wil and always should be answerable to the people, by the people and for the people! Erap has his people, GMA and her cohorts have their people…but then, the un-rest(ful) and angry numbers are still more numerous!!! These power elites should also learn their lessons NOW!!!
The distribution of money in that manner is deplorable, no doubt about it. It was deplorable then during the Marcos & crony years, it was deplorable then during the Cory & Kamaganak Inc. It was deplorable then during FVR & what Teddy Locsin once called Lakas-NUCD “the den of thieves”, it was deplorable during Estrada & his million peso mahjong balato, textbook scams and favored friends.
The first step, and the most important step, in democracy is to be heard. And I want the people in government- from the President who at best turns a blind eye to corruption up to the opposition head/mayor who obscenely enriched himself when he and his wife built their gigantic phallic city hall. But I do not want my voice, no matter how small it is, to be associated with a group that wants extralegal means of changes to take place- and in an arrogant way at that. Weren’t they the group that wanted not only GMA to step down but also disregard the law on how transfer of power should be done because they didn’t like how the Vice President didn’t explicitly support the resigned cabinet members/convenors of this movement? Weren’t they the ones that agreed that a junta comprised of their chosen friends and groups that latched on to them lead the country in lieu of elected officials? Weren’t they the one that approved and even encouraged military adventurism not realizing the possible implication if that really happens?
I want my voice to be heard, and right now in my opininon the least possible way for my voice to be heard is through that ballot box. But I do not wish to stand up beside a movement that the organizers might think is a sign of support for them. In any case, my respect is still there to those who are there because of their idealism. Good luck, MM, and I pray nothing untoward happens on that day. Cheers!!
Don’t you just love the somewhat volatile mix of politics and food? Varying opinions are good, particularly when they are so eloquently expressed.
For the curious, here is a link to the webpage of the black and white movement. Browse the list of convenors (Bill Luz, Ciel Habito, MLQIII, Leah Navarro, among others), browse their vision, etc. It is about as sane a group as you can find around here, in my opinion. And yes, they did call for a resignation of GMA based on the election scam, Garci episode.
MM,
I believe this IS a first- food and politics. :) I celebrate the diversity of views and differences of opinions. That is what democracy is all about really. It’s not about the government, or who runs it, or what side you are on- it’s the citizens enjoying rights and liberties in their everyday lives.
One thing is for sure, as a country we are on the right path to maturity. Let’s all keep working for a better tomorrow of all “the kids”. Cheers!
In the meantime, GMA’s family is/was in the frontline in welcoming Beyonce…. Was in HK over the long holiday and saw more than a sprinkling of politicos with their Burberry-clad apos and LV-adorned wives with yayas in tow…. I don’t think these guys took budget airlines too … I’m having a morning migraine attack….
MM, this is like have a friendly discussion amongt friends over some pulutan and drinks!!!! But only on the internet!!
Hopefully, nobody is armed….hehehe
opps…sorry for the typo’s above
Doesn’t it make you think why the President’s allies are falling all over themselves now in admitting that they (or their respective groups) were the ones who disbursed those monies? In the same breath…they exonerate the President and defend their alleged giving out of cash laden bags as being PROPER? Who are they kidding??? In whichever way you view it, the cash distribution was highly unethical and points to the President as also responsible. With her personality…a bit of a control freak and wannabe dictator, would you think that these people behind her would even attempt to distribute funds IN MALACANANG without her knowledge? Everyone knows she’s a B!+@H, so why would they court her wrath (if she finds out that something was done without her knowledge and in her Malacanang)? She is disgusting…and her SLAVES are even more disgusting for following such a low-life as she.
This is MM’s table. Food always brings people together, in the internet or in the dining room…
At least we can all disagree without resorting to insults, or agree without suspicion of payoffs being made. hehehe
MM, my apologies if you think this is appropriate, but I thought some readers might be interested to know this. :-)
FOR THOSE WHO CAN’T JOIN US ON NOV. 9, FRIDAY:
As you already know by now, November 9, 2007 is marked as our International Day of Protest Kontra sa Panggagago. In some major cities around the world, Filipino communities will wear black and organize protest actions on this day to declare with a strong voice: “Tama na! Sobra na! Ginagago na ang mamamayang Pilipino!”
In Metro Manila, we will wear black and assemble at the Ninoy Aquino Statue at 11:30 am. We will then march towards the Makati Post Office, buy stamps and mail a Pinoy Big Briber postcard with a personalized message to GMA.
If you’re in a far-away place and can’t physically join the protest actions, you can still express your outrage by doing the following:
1. Download and print the Pinoy Big Briber postcard or greeting card from https://www.pinoybigbriber.com
2. Snail mail it to:
Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Malacanan Palace
San Miguel, Manila
Philippines
3. Take a photo of yourself holding the postcard/greeting card (don’t forget to wear black)
4. E-mail it to enteng@BlacknWhite-Movement.com so they can catalog all those who participated in this International Day of Protest
While you’re at it, you might as well register your disgust by voting to evict Ate Glo at the pinoybigbriber website. Let us show our countrymen that there are Filipinos who still care enough for what is right, and will not stand idly by as our leaders mock our very basic sense of decency. Together, we may yet reverse the trend of moral bankruptcy of our nation.
Katrina, believe it or not, I think “enteng” in your email address was a classmate and friend of mine…talk about small worlds…
My fellow countrymen this is our chance to support this movement in a civilized manner no guns or goons involved just black clothing. If you want to do damage control this is our opportunity – respond to Katrina’s call. Just follow Katrina’s instruction log on to the website regardless where you are you will be counted in for this heroic act. We have a good chance to prevail on this with our black shirt to show our overwhelming support to this movement! Cell phone or digital camera will do the job no need to go to a professional photographer for a head shot photo or glamour shot place just ask a friend or a coworker to take your picture.
politics is ruled by gold. he/she who has it wins. this is true of ANY democracy in the world. it is a given fact of life kids. however, we can let our voices be heard, that good governance must be the rule, FOR ALL. not just GMA, ALL! it is wrong to hold GMA to one standard and allow the opposition to feast on gullible citizens. wake up pinoys!
this black shirt brigade deal is pitiful..direct your anger and demands to all in politics. then you might have a chance at popular support.
thanks market man. you’re too kind. and i hope we’ll see you there.
MM, Enteng is Vicente Romano. He started eLagda years ago against Erap, and he’s now with the B&W Movement. :-)
Oh, and I forgot to say: these coincidences don’t shock me anymore…this country’s so miniscule, there’s probably less than .06 degrees separation between each of us! ;-)
Katrina, oops, wrong Enteng. The one I am thinking of is also with B&W. But close is right…
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