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A Senate nightmare

A Senate nightmare

Looking at the election results, I slept on the probable composition of the incoming Senate, and dreamt about a typical policy debate among the senators. Fragments of my dream went like this:

Sonny Angara: My father wanted me to re-file this bill about…

Alan Cayetano: No, you can’t do that. Over my dead father’s body…

Grace Poe: Same here. Over my dead father’s body. Continue reading “A Senate nightmare”

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Eto posporo, sindihan mo na yan!

Eto posporo, sindihan mo na yan!
Eto posporo, sindihan mo na yan is a friendly taunt commonly traded among Metro Manila jeepney drivers when they pass by a stalled vehicle, most often (but not always) another dilapidated jeepney. The English translation cannot capture the accompanying smirk and mocking tone that’s typical of the jeepney driver, who has long adopted a fatalistic sense of humor to survive the metropolitan jungle. Image courtesy of thumbs.dreamstime.com

It’s Election Day in the Philippines today. My ears are glued to the wall-to-wall radio coverage of the proceedings, while my Twitter feed is focused on the #vote2013 and #halalan2013 hashtags. Occasionally I check the KontraDaya site for updates.

Reports have started pouring in, and they are mostly worrisome. They are confirming many fears about the Automated Election System (AES) and the PCOS machine’s many hitches and glitches, and the possibility of poll failures at the local level.

Voters and BEIs are getting frustrated about PCOS machines that don’t work, CF cards that can’t be read, ballots rejected because they are too wide or smeared easily by ink, paraphernalia sent to the wrong precincts, and so on and so forth. This is not to mention the older methods of electoral cheating—some subtler, some more brazen, which have long existed and have merely adjusted to the new AES environment.

At this point, I’m sorely tempted to shout, “Eto posporo, Sixto, sindihan mo na yan!” Continue reading “Eto posporo, sindihan mo na yan!”

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Manny Loste and the secret of survival

Manny Loste
Manny Loste, with wife Maureen and some friends going vegetarian at La Azotea in Baguio last December 2012.

To the last, his intellectual and political heart was as strong as a bull’s. But alas, his physical heart began to falter in recent years. Relatives, friends and comrades hoped and helped to stretch his shortened time. At 66, there was so much more to do; it was too soon to go.

Still, without warning last April 30, Manny Loste went ahead just the same, leaving the rest of us to comprehend his sudden loss and contemplate his unmeasured legacy. Suddenly, we all realized we lost a social science teacher, a veteran activist and political leader of the Left, a dedicated family man, and a friend to most everyone he closely worked with. Continue reading “Manny Loste and the secret of survival”