GMA must not resign. Protest against corruption must continue.

Amidst the ZTE scandal I decided against throwing my two cents into the murky political well. First, I do not want to let go of my last two silver coins. Second, the political noise is so discordant that I think it's wise to just keep mum.

In the 1986 Edsa revolt and in the Estrada impeachment I was one with the people who opted for change. This time I chose to sit it out and wait for the dust to settle. I don't want to brand my fence-sitting as a sign of resignation that things will stay the same and that corruption will continue to eat up our political life.

But tell me, when the people booted out Marcos and installed Cory Aquino was corruption stabbed to death? Was cronyism demolished? Duh, there was "kamag-anak incorporated" during Tita Cory’s presidency. After Erap fell from power and was later convicted for plunder, the church, civil society, the left and the right banded together to catapult President Gloria Arroyo to the highest office of the land. The communal hope was for her to lead the eradication of corruption in government.

But, what happened to our nation after Edsa Dos. GMA's administration since then until now continues to be rocked by scandal after scandal. In fact, gone are the days when we hear about 100 million pesos of loot. Now were hearing stories about billions of pesos of kickback.

I don't think GMA and her cabals are solely to blame for the continued wanton plunder of our country’s meager wealth. In fact, I don't think Erap was totally to blame for the massive corruption in his time. The Marcos dictatorship destroyed our nation's moral fabric. It eradicated this country's sense of right and wrong. When Cory took over, the government leaders whom she worked with during her reign were lured to the same corruption that Marcos practiced for 20 years.

The poor sensing the futility of their predicament continues to beg from every politician. The politicos whose lust for power is unprecedented will not hesitate to steal from the government coffers to feed the poor and deepen their own pockets.

GMA must not resign. It will not solve corruption. Whoever will replace GMA in the unlikely event she will be booted out of power will be forced to dip his or her fingers in the well of corruption.

The problem is not solely with our leaders. The problem is the state of disrepair of our political system. The problem is also with the church, the civil society, the left and the right.

Unfortunately, senators with ambition, many men and women of the cloth together with civil society and the left all claim to have the sole bragging rights to moral ascendancy.

GMA must not succumb to mob rule but let the protest action against corruption in government, church and society in general continue.

Banning cameras inside Perpetual Succour Hospital is futile

I visited a loved one confined at Perpetual Succour Hospital. Like any visitor of that hospital, I had to pass through a security check. (It feels safe to see security guards conduct routine inspection). I was carrying a bag with a digital camera in it. At that time it never dawned on me that camera's are prohibited inside the hospital building. I breezed through the security check as I readily submitted my bag for inspection.

The next day I went to the same hospital. Again, I brought with me a camera. This time however, the security guard on duty stopped me on my tracks. He would not let me inside the hospital until I return the camera I was carrying inside my car. He explained that the hospital management prohibits the entry of any camera inside Perpetual Succour Hospital.

Since I was talking with someone on my cell phone, I did not bother to insist to the guard on duty that the night before I was allowed by another security personnel to get in despite bringing with me a digital camera. I just made a u turn to my car and left my canon eos 400D there.

When I returned to the entrance of the hospital after leaving behind my camera, I decided to confront the guard. I wanted to tell him that the night before I was allowed entry to the hospital even after a security guard saw me carrying a digital camera. I went on to tell the guard on duty to inform the hospital management that some of their security personnel are not consistent in implementing the rule against bringing a camera inside the hospital premises.

In this time and age, it is nearly impossible to disallow people from bringing a camera inside a building. Practically all cell phones are equipped with a camera. If Perpetual Succour Hospital is indeed serious in imposing a ban on camera inside their building for whatever reason then they should not allow anyone even with a camera phone enter their building.

But, if you stand near the entrance of Perpetual Succour Hospital building you will be amazed at how the security guards allow anyone with a camera phone enter their building premises.

I suggest that the hospital management rethink their clearly outdated rule against the bringing of camera inside Perpetual Succour Hospital.

When it is not black or white it is grey. But is there really a grey area?

I am perpetually amazed by this opinion maker's penchant to be more popish than the pope. My presumption is that he is losing his grip on the ratings game because he pretends to be the only person on earth who is right and the others are all wrong. In other words his listeners have started to turn their backs on him since he only looks at life either as black or white. No grey area.

One night, I had coffee with two close media buddies in Davao. Our conversation drifted towards the question whether there is such a thing as "grey area". When asked, I answered in the affirmative with the thought that only people like the broadcaster I earlier described do not believe on the existence of a grey area.

Yet, it struck me when one of the two respected Davao journalists pointed out that "there is only right and wrong, nothing in between...no grey area". My writer friend stressed that "if it is not right then it is wrong".

After that coffee talk, I started to scan the web for more insights on the meaning of "grey area". I stumbled upon the word "moral relativism". In sum in means morality is relative to the cultural, social, personal or historical background of the person.

As a Catholic I acknowledged the existence of a Divine Being. I believe God is "the way, the truth and the life. He who believes in Him shall never die". So, in the back of my mind, I know there is only one truth and that is God. But, as a public relations practitioner I am subjected to many truths (Is there really many truths?) This has led me to become a little relative about what is the truth. (I am not trying to point out here that I peddle lies as truth that is why I have become less judgmental about the truth.)

As a communicator I always try to be more understanding to both sides. In my struggle to please others I fool myself into believing that there is indeed a "grey area" when there is none.

The plain truth is that there is only right and wrong. When you are wrong you are not right and when you are right you are not wrong. Nothing in between. Just like there is only an absolute God. One true God.

My only reason that I would like to believe that there is a “grey area” is that I don’t want to be judgmental. I would rather that man be allowed to use his free will whether he is right or wrong.

Trillanes failed "power grab", Makati standoff now lost in translation

The overriding message of the Makati standoff led by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Brig Gen. Danilo Lim was CHANGE.

There is moral bankruptcy in each and every social stratum. Corruption is in epidemic proportion in our country.

It is time to call for an honest to goodness moral revolution. It must start from each and every one of us, Filipinos. This moral revolution is not just for politicians, businessmen, church leaders but also for those in the middle class and the downtrodden.

The Philippines is in dire need of CHANGE. There is a "social volcano" waiting to erupt. If nothing is done about it, chaos will ensue. A civil war might not be farfetched.

Unfortunately, Trillanes, Lim and their cohorts the Magdalo group, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Bishop Julio Labayen, Fr. Robert Reyes and former University of the Philippines president Francisco Nemenzo Jr. garbled the message of CHANGE when they holed up at the Manila Peninsula to demand the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

When the police rammed the entrance of the plush hotel with an armored personnel carrier and hauled journalist covering the failed "rebellion", the media too lost its focus. Instead of homing in on the message of CHANGE, opinion writers and commentators are now talking about how their colleagues were manhandled by government forces out to restore law and order.

The message of CHANGE was lost in translation. We all failed to clearly process the situation because self interest came into play. The supporters of President Arroyo came up with there own message. The opposition also had their own message. The media too talked about their own predicament.

The crux of the matter here is that there is an unseen but clearly felt social unrest. This is because of the fact that our country is hounded by massive corruption and moral bankruptcy.

While we all whine over a decadent society, the businessmen who are experiencing economic stability, the middle class who are able to make both ends meet, the politicians who are recipients of "grease money" all refuse to rock the boat.

We should all focus on CHANGE. It must start from within.

Churchmen, CBCP shut up! Lead by example instead of just criticizing Arroyo

I think Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's presidency is hanging on the balance. I would like to believe that she is hard working and is doing a pretty good job in the economic front. But the lady president's administration is morally bankrupt. No question about it.

What is disturbing is the way the opposition and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) are behaving amidst the possibility of an eruption of a "social volcano".

Instead of providing a beacon of hope and encouraging the country to unite, fight moral bankruptcy and even poverty, the opposition and the Catholic church is setting the stage for a bloody revolution. They are inciting Filipinos to hate and become overly angry against the present administration.

"To start this moral revolution, I must cease to be dishonest, unjust and unfair to my fellow Filipinos. I will tell and act on the truth that I confess or affirm. I will return what I have unjustly and deceitfully acquired. Only then can I ask pardon from God and the people I have wronged," GMANews.TV, quoting the blog of CBCP president Angel Lagdameo.

But, Lagdameo was not speaking for himself, he was directing his statement to President Arroyo. "As a response to the state of moral bankruptcy in public life, of probably irremediable loss of credibility and trust, a call has been made for 'moral revolution.' If only to stop our country from continuing to become a 'social volcano' (Heaven help us!), we support the ideal of a 'moral revolution' — moral transformation, moral renewal, moral reform. The CBCP has proposed it before in many ways through the years. And we would like to say it again. Nothing new, but the resolve may be," he further stated.

"These are not purely socio-economic issues. The Church's social doctrine insists on their moral connotations. The relationship between morality and economics and poverty is necessary, intrinsic and reciprocal," he said

Look who's talking. A leader of the Catholic Church in the Philippines would only go as far as lambasting the present government. He would only go as far as criticizing the moral bankruptcy of the administration of President Arroyo.

But, Lagdameo and the CBCP are not ready to accept part of the blame. Please, we the laity have seen upfront and personal the excesses of the leaders of the Catholic Church. Some priests are reportedly involved in sexual abuse cases. There are bishops who we are told live a life of luxury. Even owning mansions and riding on SUV's while their flock could barely eat a square meal a day.
What did Jesus said when the Pharisees brought to Him a woman who committed adultery? He who has not sinned cast the first stone. I am sure the CBCP and the tongue-lashing Catholic Church leaders fully know this teaching of Jesus. But, what strikes me is that they don't seem to live by the words of Jesus. What abhors me is that they don't seem to practice what they preach.

Our country is in a cross road. We can choose as a nation to fight together the war against immorality, indecency, corruption and poverty. When I say together, I mean all of us and not just the politicians and Malacanang.

Or we can decide to heed the words of Lagdameo and the Catholic Church and even the opposition, to be angry and hateful at President Arroyo and her cabals. To look the other way amidst the callousness of the Catholic Church leaders as they live a life of comfort and luxury.

I hope we make the right choice.

Is media fickle minded?

As the lamp post controversy hit fever pitched months before the May 2007 polls, the media in Cebu were like savage beasts.

It relentlessly attacked government officials accused by a bidder who lost a contract at the height of the ASEAN summit preparations.

Like a hungry pack of wolves, the media in Cebu went for the jugular and slit the throats of government bureaucrats and politicians who were perceived to have pocketed millions.

The public, enraged by what they were made to believe as the mother of all corruption in Cebu would not settle for less until heads rolled down Mount Olympus. And so it happened, two mayors and their deputies, several DPWH men were placed in preventive suspension.

Six months after the controversy broke; one of the two Hizzoners was again accused of alleged corruption. This time the business community rallied behind the accuser.

The losing bidder who exposed the alleged lamp post overpricing publicly complained that he never got the same support that another whistle blower received from the financial sector.

Immediately after the public whining by the lamp post whistle blower, the Cebu media accused the guy of having a hidden agenda. The Cebu press began to question the person's credibility. They castrated the man for doing an expose without hard evidence.

But, if you will look back during the lamp post brouhaha, the media never questioned the credibility of the losing bidder, instead hailed the guy as a local hero. The members of the fourth estate practically took the person's statements like gospel truth then.

A few weeks ago, the media took the government to task for the "suicide" of a poverty stricken 12 year-old girl from Davao. A national broadsheet even labeled the girl as a "poverty saint".

A new twist to this story surfaced. The girl might not have committed suicide. Instead, she could have been murdered.

And so a hard hitting columnist of a Manila newspaper led the media to start beating their breast in mea culpa for coming up with ferocious statements against the failure of government to fight poverty.

Judging from these two separate media events, I am starting to ask the question whether the press is fickle minded. Are they?

(Next Page) That suicide in Davao of a 12 year-old poverty stricken girl

Since the story of Marrianet Amper hogged the news headlines, we have been beating our breast in utter shame and even disbelief. We were awakened from a deep slumber of indifference to the fact that poverty is still staring us in the face. A national daily even went as far as branding the despondent teen as a "saint of poverty".

While her death sent shivers down our spine and eventually moved us as a nation into becoming more aggressive in our fight against destitution let us not parry the fact that depression, a mental state, can cause suicide.

"Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for teens. Girls try to commit suicide more often than boys. The important thing for you to know is that it doesn't have to happen. It is also important to know that suicide is not a heroic act, even though sometimes media images can make it seem so. Often, a person who is thinking about attempting suicide isn't able to see that suicide is never the answer to problems. Remember, there is always help – as well as support and love – out there for you or a friend," according to a respected medical internet site, WebMD.

We have become engrossed with media reports that Mariannet's suicide could have been triggered by her being mired in poverty. This can be gleaned by what she wrote in her diary detailing their impoverished state.

But there is another side to this melancholic tale. That, "many young people face high levels of stress and confusion, along with family problems. When you throw in raging hormones, it sometimes seems more than a teen can handle. Perhaps it’s not surprising that teen suicide is increasingly common...If you want to prevent suicide, it's important to understand depression. Depression is often used to describe general feelings of helplessness, worthlessness, and hopelessness. When teens feel sad or low, they often say they are depressed. While most of us feel sad or low sometimes, feelings of depression are longer lasting and often more serious."

It is not only when a teenager is dirt-poor that he is prone to suicide. Many young people who come from rich families are also apt to attempt suicide.

Here is a quick look at depression and suicide from WebMD:

"Depression and suicide sometimes go hand in hand, but it is important to remember that suicide can be prevented. In most cases, there are warning signs that an individual is considering a suicide attempt. The most effective way to prevent suicide is to recognize the warning signs, and respond immediately.

Some warning signs of suicide include the following behaviors:

• Talking about suicide
• Frequently talking about death
• Talking about feeling hopeless, helpless, or worthless, saying things like "It would be better if I wasn't here" or "I want out"
• Individual exhibits signs of depression, including deep sadness, loss of interest, trouble sleeping and eating
• Abrupt change of mood, from extreme sadness to happiness or calm
• Risk-taking behavior, e.g. driving too fast
• Person exhibits loss of interest in things he used to care about
• Person calls or visits people to say goodbye
• Person seems to be putting affairs in order (e.g. changes will) ,

Along with these behaviors, a person is at higher risk of attempting suicide if he or she has a chronic or terminal illness, is separated or divorced, is underemployed or unemployed, or has a family history of suicide."

As we continue to mourn Marrient’s death, let us also focus on our youth and their mental state. Let us not take any chances. If you think there something is psychologically or emotional bothering you that might lead to suicide don’t waste time tell someone close to you or seek professional help.

That suicide in Davao of a 12 year-old poverty stricken girl

The suicide of Mariannet Amper, a 12-year-old Filipina who lives in Davao is just the tip of our country's social iceberg. Despondent over the harsh reality of their family's poverty, she reportedly decided to end her own life by hanging herself inside their makeshift house.

It's a fact that many of our brethren our mired in abject fortune. But despite the political noise that has continued to reverberate in our nation, there are also many of us who are slowly getting out of the financial rut.

According to a survey, self-rated poverty has been on a decline. The Social Weather Survey stated that it ranged between 55 and 59 percent from December 2005 to June 2006. Now it’s in the vicinity of 47 to 53 percent. By all indication it is still on the high side, but if there is any consolation, it is going down. Meaning there is hope.

The problem is that our media is milking our penchant for underdogs for hideous profit consideration. The broadcast media in particular the giant television and radio networks come out with storylines that portray poverty as a valiant way of life that has to be lived.

Just watch the soap operas on prime time TV or listen to the afternoon drama on radio. Catch how Willie Revillame on Wowie induced people to cry as he dangles the prospect of getting 500 bucks. Listen to the emo music played over the airwaves and sang on karaoke bars. These music suggests suicide as an option.

Worse, many of us have this victim mentality. We brag about our dire strait, subconsciously preferring to stay poor if only to feel good inside. Nauseating, but evidently true.

Notice how PUJ drivers insist on changing their flat tires in the middle of the road for all to see even if it will cause a traffic jam. Go to a politician's house and see the long line of people asking for anything under the sun even bringing with them fake doctor's prescription to ask for money.

It's hypocritical for us to complain and lay blame solely on government and our corrupt politicians.

In the end, we are all to blame for the death of that little girl. Her blood is in our hands because either we choose to ignore the poor or we would rather want them to stay poor for our own pathetic interest.

The fault is yours and yours alone

Do not allow a golden parachute to fall to the ground without hanging on to it to heal the wounds of your past.

In your lifetime there will be several life changing moments that would come your way. It could be in the form of a family crisis, a loved one who without warning becomes terminally ill or it can be a broken vow.

As you stroll to the present, you leave behind moments of time that will haunt you in the future. It is not impossible to leave a trail of your bastard past. You are only human and as such prone to commit tempestuous acts.

And when your past finally catches up with you and it always will, you will experience
deep-seated emotional, psychological and spiritual anguish.

In turn, this will affect your relationship with the people around you, your friends, relatives and more particularly your very own family. Most unfortunate, you will not even realize that your haunted past is destroying you and tearing your world apart. Often you will blame others except yourself.

Luckily, the universe where you revolve, although often belatedly, will start to get their acts together to help you keep your balance. They will strive to help you restore your sanity and give you a priceless memento - peace of mind. You will resist for a time, but pray that soon you will see the light of day.

As these unfold, the people around you will also stitch the emotional, psychological and spiritual wounds that happened in their own past.

And so true healing occurs. You will someday be freed from the pain of yesteryears. Your loved ones will also benefit from the process.

Except that there are some of us who perennially misses to capture the golden moments of healing that usually stares us in the face. It is either by willful action or just plain inaction.

In the end, the fault will be your and yours alone.

The sins of our fathers

I have read about a prostitute whose mother was at one time in her life was also engaged in the flesh trade. I have read about an alcoholic father whose son later became hooked on alcohol.

I have also read about a pious mother who has a daughter now serving a life sentence. I have also read about a hardworking father who has a drug dependent son.

More often than not, a renegade parent begets a problematic child. But what surprises me is how a God-fearing mother or a father who is a good provider can have a child who is the exact opposite.

This goes to show that there is no assurance of what your child will become. But I have this theory.The sins of our fathers are the root cause of why there are children who as adults become a bane to society. But to blame the sins of our fathers as the reason why there are children who as adults create chaos is grossly unfair.

The sad reality is that the sins of our fathers are the result of the sins committed by there fathers before them. And so a vicious cycle is created.

I am not talking here of sin in the spiritual sense. But rather I refer to sin here as a parental failure or mistake that is unintentional. Or if I may point out more clearly, a parenting act that is born out of lack of understanding about being a parent.

Parenting is the most difficult job in the world. Yet, there is no curriculum anywhere in the world that teaches parenting. If you want to be a builder you have to take up a five year course in engineering. If you want to heal the sick you have to study medicine for up to ten years. If you want to hear confession and say mass you have to enter the seminary and become a priest.

But if you wish to become a parent all you have to do is find a partner and the next thing you know is that you have a child. I don’t know of any curriculum in the world that will prepare you to become a father or a mother to your child. Yet, parenting is considered by many as the most important work in human society.

Despite the lack of parenting skills, not having undergone a parenting course since none is available anyway, there are still so many more children who become adults that live a life fulfilled.

This is because there are also so many parents while ignorant about parenting have consciously made it a point to connect emotionally with there children. Emotional connection is a very important ingredient in bringing up a child who will become at peace with himself as an adult.

A child who lives in fear, a child who is insecure, a child who feels unloved can grow up disturb and unstable. A child who is praised more but sometimes put to task for a mistake committed may soon understand that life is kind but not perfect.

You are a product of who you were as a child. Who you are today is the sum total of your past. So if you are who you are now probably sad, angry or depress there is no one to blame except you. For what you will become tomorrow is how you live your life at the present.

What's emo and the youth of today?

While walking with friends along the sugar beach of boracay on a moonless night, I was eavesdropping on a conversation between a teenager and a lifestyle editor. It was the first time I heard the word emo to describe a genre of music. A week later I heard my son described being alone as "emo". While I was choosing a theme for my multiply site, I saw several designs by young artists labled as "emo".

So I finally decided to "wiki" the word emo and this is what I found: "Emo is a style of rock music which describes several independent variations of music with common stylistic roots."

"Emo is also sometimes associated with a certain fashion. Emo clothing is characterized by tight jeans on males and females alike, long fringe (bangs) brushed to one side of the face or over one or both eyes, dyed black, straight hair, tight t-shirts which often bear the names of rock band (or other designed shirts), studded belt, belt buckles, canvas sneakers or skate shoes or other black shoes (often old and beaten up) and thick, black horn-rimmed glasses."

"As certain fashion trends and attitudes began to be associated with "emo", stereotypes emerged that created a specific target for criticism. In the early years of the "third wave", the criticism was relatively light-hearted and self-effacing. In ensuing years, the derision increased dramatically. Male fans of emo found themselves hit with homosexual slurs, largely a reflection of the style of dress popular within the "emo scene" and the purported displays of emotion common in the scene."

My understanding of "emo" is simple. It's the shortcut for the word emotion/emotional.

When I was a teenager I learned that being emotional is only for women. But a June 2006 article by the Reader's Digest entitled "Big Boys Don't Cry stated that "new research reveals that a man's emotional life is a complex and rich as a woman's, but often remains a mystery - both to him and to her. Although emotions have long been considered a female trademark, men report feelings as often as women, and describe their experience of emotions similarly.

It is only recently that the human race has started to accept the fact that men have emotions too. Except that they always have kept it in check because showing it was considered a sign of weakness.

Since the world is now more ready to see men show their emotions, the modern day teens have coined the word emo to describe the act of expressing emotions. In this way, the blog and social networking generation is trying to make the word more fashionable and acceptable. In this way, when men expresses emotion it becomes trendy. What do you think?

"Measure of a Man"

"I am who I am, and whenever I am treated in a way that I feel is contrary to how I hold myself, I will defend myself by improving myself," he says. "The more I improve myself, the more of a man I become, the more of a humane person I become."

This was what Sidney Poitier told millions of audience who watched Oprah Winfrey Show one day. It was "The Dinner of a Lifetime with Sidney Poitier"..."It was an event months in the making—the dinner of a lifetime for one of Oprah's heroes, Sidney Poitier.

Enthralled with Sidney from the time she was 10 years old and saw him win the Academy Award® on her black-and-white television, Oprah set out to create a magical evening with Sidney and seven lucky readers of her book club selection The Measure of a Man."

After watching that episode, I could not stop thinking about what Sidney Poitier said during that dinner interview. I rushed to find his book in National Bookstore. Since I could not find one, I decided to search Oprah's website hoping to find excerpt of that interview.

Luck was on my side. I found the entire interview, the conversation among guests. It was transcribed and posted on Oprah's website. And so I now have the exact quote that I was looking for.

As we reached adolescence, we start to search for our very own identity. Unfortunately, many of us end up hooked in drugs or become alcoholic for the very simple reason of failing to answer the question, "Who am I?".

This has got to do with how people around us help create for us our sense of who we are. This has got to do with how people criticize or praise us. As a social being we want to belong. When we live a life of too much praise or abundant criticism, we begin to lose our personal identity. We no longer could not answer the very important question, "Who am I?".

I know who I am. I know my strength and my weaknesses. Everyday I am bombarded with contradicting statements about who I am from people I meet and from persons close to me. Like Sidney Poitier, I have learned to fully understand who I am. If I am told that what I think about me is not what others think of me then I step back, remind myself of my identity and work hard to strengthen my being.

I strive to become who I always want to become while conscious of the fact that I am only human born to do what's right but bound to commit mistakes.

Land Bank Robs Customer of Self Worth

One day, I accompanied my Mom and Dad to a Land Bank branch in Cebu City. As usual, line in this government bank is long. What with slow poke tellers. So having to wait a long time for your turn in this bank is not abnormal.

My dad who is almost a septuagenarian needed to go to the rest room. To his horror the security guard led him out of the bank since he is not welcome to use the rest room inside.

So my dad had to go out and look for a comfort room to answer the call of nature. He had to pay 20 bucks to avail of the service from an establishment just near the bank.

As my dad went out of Land Bank, another old fellow approached the security guard of the bank to ask where the men's room was. To my shock the security guard led the man outside of the bank where there teller machine used to stand. He was told that's where he can relieve himself.

Angry at how my dad was treated, rather humiliated, my mom approached the bank manager to report the way my dad's self worth was broken into pieces. The bank manager profusely apologized but her slip showed when she explained that the use of there bathroom is on a case to case basis because of security reasons. She went on to explain that the location of there comfort room is very near the bank's vault. In sum it's a security risk.

Clearly, the security guard was just doing his job. He was just following orders. Clearly, the error is not of the lowly paid guard but how this bank treats there customer. Imagine, placing a rest room very near the bank's safe. Its not hard to imagine that such layout is indeed a security risk.

But, the executives of this bank should have thought that while the location of there comfort room is a security risk, they are robbing there customer blind by having to shoo them out of there branch when nature calls.

I hope that after you read this you will pass on this blog until it reaches the president of Land Bank. They cannot just continue to rob there customer of there self worth.

Jousnalist at Work

Shooting to kill

September 28th, 2007, filed by David Viggers

In this Reuters picture reproduced on newspaper front pages all round the world today, Japanese videojournalist Kenji Nagai lies dying in the street, still trying to record the scenes of violence after he was shot through the chest when soldiers fired live rounds at protestors in Yangon yesterday.

It is a chilling image and yet another reminder, as if any were needed, of the risks faced by the thousands of journalists whose job it is to bring us the news from areas of conflict and instability. At least Kenji Nagai had chosen to be there. He lost his life putting faces to what without pictures are just numbers.

My condolences to Kenji Nagai’s family, friends and colleagues.

Long Live the Internet

Myanmar forces swoop on protests in two cities, Internet cut

28/09/2007 15h54

Monks and their supporters run as police crack down on demonstrations in Yangon
©AFP/Moemaka Media/File

YANGON (AFP) - Security forces moved to crush protests in Myanmar's two biggest cities Friday, unleashing warning shots and baton charges, and cutting Internet access in the third day of a deadly crackdown.

The Internet blockage severely reduced the flow of video, photos and first-hand reports of the violence, which has left at least 13 people dead, galvanising world opinion against the ruling generals.

Up to 10,000 demonstrators surged onto the streets of the main city of Yangon Friday, playing a deadly game of cat-and-mouse as they repeatedly confronted police and soldiers.

In the central city of Mandalay, thousands of young people on motorbikes rode down a major thoroughfare towards a blockade set up by security forces who unleashed a volley that witnesses believed could have been rubber bullets.

Intent on quelling the biggest anti-government demonstrations in 20 years, the ruling junta has also mounted an offensive against the Buddhist monks who have led nearly two weeks of mass rallies.

With dozens of monks arrested, beaten or confined to their monasteries, the mantle has now been taken up by student groups and youths who dominated Friday's rallies.

Images of Burmese clashes. Duration 00:30
©Democratic Voice of Burma

"The monks have done their job and now we must carry on with the movement," said one student leader in downtown Yangon.

"This is a non-violent mass movement," he shouted as demonstrators tried to move towards the Sule Pagoda, one of the focal points of the demonstrations.

At a separate protest in Yangon, around 500 people marched in the streets, singing the national anthem as thousands applauded them from the sidewalks.

Monks, revered figures in this devout Buddhist nation, helped transform what began as a scattershot series of protests over a hike in fuel prices into the stiffest challenge to the junta's military rule since 1988.

But since the crackdown was launched Wednesday, at least three monks have been killed and hundreds arrested, including eight more on Friday in Yangon and Mandalay.

At least two monasteries were raided Wednesday, including one in Yangon's northeastern satellite town of South Okkalapa, where about 100 Buddhist monks were arrested and eight people shot dead after protesting the action.

In the wake of the violence, which shocked Myanmar people who hold monks in the highest regard, western diplomats said they had received information from several sources about "acts of insubordination" within the army.

Armed troops take position in the streets of central Yangon
©AFP/HO/File

"We heard that some soldiers have refused to obey orders and that others were even willing to stand alongside the demonstrators," one Yangon-based diplomat told AFP.

A telecom official confirmed that the nation's main link to the Internet was down, but blamed the problem on a damaged undersea cable.

Security forces have also smashed cameras and cellphones, and beaten people who were carrying them. Several newspapers in the country, which was formerly known as Burma, are no longer operating.

The official tally of dead and injured has been impossible to confirm. State media confirmed nine people were killed this week, but insisted that only 120 protesters turned out on Friday.

The Australian ambassador to Myanmar, Bob Davis, told Australian radio that the actual death toll may have been several times higher, according to witnesses who had seen significant numbers of dead bodies.

A Japanese journalist was among those killed Thursday, and Japan's Fuji Television showed footage which appeared to show him being shoved down by Myanmar troops and then shot at close range.

A street is littered with blood and sandals from protesters in Yangon
©AFP/File

US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown renewed their call to the Myanmar junta to end the violent crackdown, after discussing the crisis Friday.

The 47-member UN Human Rights Council decided to hold a special session on October 2 to examine the unrest in Myanmar.

And the Association of Southeast Asian Nations issued an unusually critical statement on its fellow member Myanmar, expressing "revulsion" over the use of force against demonstrators.

UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari was in Singapore on Friday, headed to Myanmar in a bid to convince the junta to open dialogue with democracy activists.

What is Love to a Four Year Old Boy?

The past few weeks, I noticed my four year old son kept telling me “I love you, papa”. I would reply “I love you too, Rigo”.

So one day I asked him an adult question. I knew before lodging the query that it would be unfair to him. I was confident that he knew the answer except that he could not blurt it out since his fragile mind is still in the process of maturing.

Anyway, I proceeded to asked him, “Rigo when you say I love you papa, what do you mean by love.” In my effort to communicate to him in the language he understands I rephrased the question over and over again. I could not seem to say it in the words he will comprehend.

So I stuck to my earlier question and asked him what he meant by love. Rigo then blurted out “love is kiss girl” then he gave me a sheepish smile along with a wily giggle.

I was taken aback. For one I know he knows what love is. I know because he has lots of it from the people around him. He feels it and he expresses it. I also know that he could not explain it to me yet.

But to answer me “love is kiss girl” showed that he has other concepts of love, the one that I usually call the “Hollywood love”.

Ever since, my thoughts on love have always been a far cry from the romanticism that we see on television and the movies. I stand that love comes from the WILL and not a product of the EMOTIONS.

If you use your will to love then it would be easier or harder to fall out of love, depending on how mature your will is.

If you use your emotions to love then you will be more dependent on external factors such as looks, smell or attitude. Any slight external change by your partner can precipitate love lost.

So, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways”.

In Defense of Press Freedom

Just when journalists wrote 30 on this year’s Cebu Press Freedom Week, a lawyer dropped a bombshell that sent shockwaves throughout the media industry.

Nestor Archival, lawyer of Senior Insp. Jose Liddawa Jr. “whose car collided head on with a pick-up of ABS-CBN last week and figured in an altercation with the news crew” turned the tables on the giant network.

He said contrary to the news report over channel three in Cebu, Liddawa was “the real victim” and that the broadcast news report did not tell the entire truth.

He pointed out that at the end of the story, ABS-CBN footage showed Liddawa “collapsed on the ground.”

According to The Freeman, Archival “was able to gather witnesses who can testify that the TV crew mauled his client and not bystanders.”

The “lawyer said that just like the statements of the witnesses, who were owners of stores near the site of the accident, the ABS-CBN insider told him that it was (Ramil) Paican, (Joel) Noel and the crew’s driver who mauled his client and not the bystanders as the network earlier reported,” The Freeman further stated.

As a public relations practitioner my initial reaction to the lawyer’s statement was that it was a very clever spin. It was enough to create reasonable doubt. But, after giving it much thought, I got very much worried about the allegations made by Liddawa’s defense attorney.

It was a mouthful. To accuse a news organization, a giant network at that of peddling a lie or reporting half truth is very serious. The statements by the lawyer could be tantamount to an affront to press freedom.

I always believe that there are two sides of a story just like there are two sides of a coin. So, it beckons upon ABS-CBN to conduct a thorough investigation to ferret the truth. I am confident that ABS-CBN will do what needs to be done to protect its credibility.

It is also incumbent upon the media to ensure that there will be no whitewash so that the credibility of the Cebu press, which up to now is held on high esteem, is firmly protected.

The public deserves no less.

How dare you accuse Erap Estrada!

Over six years ago, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona who was then a member of the Philippine Senate delivered his “I Accuse” speech. The verbal attack cloaked with the veil of immunity against lawsuits such as libel or slander ignited the flame that would turn the life of former Philippine President Joseph Estrada into an inferno.

Erap, as he is fondly called by the millions of Filipino masses that voted him President was charged for receiving hundreds of millions of pesos from the illegal numbers game, jueteng.

Sensing public outrage against Erap, Senate President Manny Villar who was then House Speaker and political ally of Estrada railroaded the impeachment proceedings in the Lower House.

It started a full blown impeachment trial against a sitting president, a first in Philippine history. The hearing came to an eerie end when allies of Estrada in the Senate opposed the opening of the second envelope, which was widely believed to have contained damning evidence against Erap.

People power II ensued after the public, who were glued on there television sets for weeks to watch the impeachment trial unfold, saw Senator Loren Legarda shed crocodile tears.

She wanted the Filipinos to see that she was deeply moved by what many thought was a heroic act of Senator Aquilino Pimentel, then senate president. Pimentel stepped down as head of the senate after Erap’s men in the upper chamber successfully stopped the opening of the second envelope.

Even Senator Panfilo Lacson who was then Estrada’s PNP top honcho turned his back on his commander in chief after seeing millions of people in Edsa demanding for Erap’s ouster.

After being booted out of office by a popular revolt, Erap was criminally charged. He faced six years of court trial. As the hearing drag on people who played a key role in the ouster of Estrada like Guingona, Villar, Legarda, Pimentel, Lacson sang a new tune.

Nauseating as it may seem, these people together with advocacy organizations like Plunder Watch and cause-oriented groups who helped install Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as Erap’s replacement are the same political figures who now consider PGMA as public enemy number one.

So they have been trooping to the rest house of Erap where he is, for all intent and purposes, under house arrest. As the saying goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.

The ouster of Estrada benefited politicians like Guingona. He was named vice president by PGMA when she assumed the highest post of the land. Villar ran and won as senator under the ticket of President Arroyo. These two political figures sealed Estrada’s fate.

Days before the Sandiganbayan announced its guilty verdict against Erap, Plunder Watch and several cause-oriented groups were rooting for Estrada’s acquittal. These were the very same groups that went out to the streets six years ago to demand Erap’s resignation.

How dare you accuse Erap Estrada!

Erap’s conviction is PGMA’s indictment

This morning, the Sandiganbayan found former President Erap Estrada guilty of plunder, a capital offense punishable by life imprisonment or even death. Days before the judgment day some quarters started to become jittery because of fear that a guilty verdict might open old wounds and induce Erap supporters to go to the streets to seek redress.

When the guilty verdict was announced none of the worst case scenario thought of by the present administration happened. But, it’s too early for our nation to heave a sigh of relief.

Despite being booted out of office six years ago through a popular revolt, Erap without a doubt, continues to wield tremendous power among the masses. Surveys show that his popularity and acceptability rating remains in the double digit zone.

Judging from initial news reports on television and news sites on the web, several high profile anti-Arroyo leaders are one in saying that the conviction of Erap for plunder is an indictment of the present administration for much worse crimes.

If the advisers of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will commit the same strategic blunder that led to the failed May 1, 2001 mass revolt, she could face the same angry mob all over again.

The ominous signs are clear. The mass protest showing support for Erap fizzled out fast. But, there is a growing sentiment among the people that, while Erap deserved the guilty verdict, PGMA must be the next leader of the land to face a court trial. There is an ocean of thought that PGMA has committed far greater crimes than her predecessor.

This is scary. If this growing sentiments is not handled well it might spell trouble for the present administration already in a survival mode.

Pain as an emotional anesthetic

All along I thought tonsillitis was only for children until at 38 I was hit by it. I could hardly talk. I could not even swallow my own saliva. Just before midnight of the third day of suffering what was clearly an acute tonsillitis, my wife prodded me to see a doctor. So off I went to the nearest e.r.

The doctor who saw me told me to thank myself for making the right choice of seeing a physician just before my inflamed tonsils would have fully covered my trachea giving me difficulty in breathing.

For one week I suffered intense discomfort. I had to force myself to eat so that I could take my medications. I was warned not to take my pills with an empty stomach. I had to prod myself to drink water if only to swallow my antibiotic.

At every instance I tried to lull myself to sleep so that I would not feel any physical pain.

Fourteen days after my bout of tonsillitis, I suffered from bicipital tendonitis, an inflammation of the tendons. For a few days it was very difficult to move about because any bodily motion would trigger intense pain on my injured left shoulder.

My left arm was on a sling so that the swelling will heal faster. I had to endure two weeks of having to use only my right arm.

As I was subjected to intense physical ache I was also undergoing extreme emotional pain.

Belatedly, I realized that physical pain can be a form of emotional anesthetic. As I suffered severe physical discomfort I became emotionally numb. I was so engross in battling my physical hurt I could not feel any emotional displeasure.

When my bodily pain was long gone and my emotional ache was healed I tried to choose what’s more bearable if I have to suffer any of it again.

I think I will choose neither of the two intense experiences. I know someday one or both kinds of pain will come back to disturb my peace. But I will be consoled by the thought that I have been through it before and that I will be able to weather the storm.