Odds and Ends 5/14/10

Celtics oust James' Cavaliers in six games

The Boston Celtics beat Cleveland 94-85 Thursday to reach the National Basketball Association playoff semi-finals, sending LeBron James into a possible uncertain future with the Cavaliers.

(Kevin Garnet spoke to an apparently dejected Lebron James after the game)

"'You have a very, very, very bright future. Continue to work and make decisions based on you and your family.' 'That is the best advice I can give...'"

Amen to that.
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Noynoy may not take oath before Corona

TARLAC CITY , Philippines - Anyone except Justice Renato Corona.

Presidential race frontrunner Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III revealed he is contemplating on taking his oath as the new president before any magistrate but not before newly appointed Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“I’m considering it (not taking oath under Corona),” Aquino said, stressing the appointment of Corona by President Arroyo is questionable and “inappropriate.”

Not so good a sign for a smooth transition.
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Bishops remind Aquino of Church’s stand on RH Bill

MANILA, Philippines—Roman Catholic bishops around the country Thursday aired their support for “president-in-waiting” Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III in his promise to fight poverty and corruption, but reminded that the Church’s stand on the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill would never change.

Before anything else, the RH Bill needs to be re-filed in the forthcoming 15th Congress. If so, it will be the fourth time that the same bill is filed. The indefatigable Rep Edcel Lagman has vowed to do so in the Lower House. I remember that he quit all his House committee memberships just to focus on the RH bill. I hope his heart and legs can still stand it. On the other hand, staunch RH bill co-sponsor and avid advocate Rep Risa Hontiveros also vowed that once she wins in the Senate race, she will likewise re-file the Senate RH Bill counterpart. Looks like her vow is all for naught. Ms Hontiveros seems stuck at the losing 13th place in the senatorial race for 12 seats, still a formidable million votes behind 12th placer Guingona. Maybe she can start looking for someone sympathetic in the Senate to re-file the bill for her. At any rate, it remains to be seen whether Noynoy and the Congress leadership endorses it as priority legislative agenda.

As for Risa Hontiveros...maybe she should listen to Kevin Garnet's advise.
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Senators can do...

PPCRV-Comelec Tally (Senators)
*source: philstar.com



Except for Marcos Jr. and Guingona III, the senatoriables landing on the top twelve are the same old, same old faces. Marcos and Guingona are not exactly new names either, as the surnames of their more well-known fathers must have worked wonders for their respective candidacies. There are a lot of comments going around (most of them snarky) that four (ex) actors managed to place in the magic 12, with two of them even garnering the two highest slots. The HR practitioner in me tends to empathize with the concern. Matters of professional preparedness, capability, and evidence of past achievements appear to have been thrown out the window. If I were to draw up the job profile for a senator and try to match it with the voters actual choices, I would end up scratching my head.

The situation is not a bad thing by itself, considering that the citizenry get routinely burned by the extremely disappointing performance of your usual highly-educated, elite, smart-talking, glib barista of a legislator. I opine therefore that perceptions of professional integrity trumps all other criteria, although professional integrity should actually be a given for all candidates. The absence of significant legislative achievements in the last six years (and more) of parliamentary wranglings makes one wonder whether most of our legislators are really just playing actors themselves. I guess similar voter sentiments likewise prevailed in the presidential elections. This is not to say that our country is doomed with the prospect of lightweight leaders in the face of the country's heavyweight problems. After all, the most famous twelve leaders of all times were composed of lowly fishermen and tax collectors, and they faced much greater odds.

That said, it is good to expect that any change normally works out for the better. There is a time for disagreement and there is a time for unity. Regardless of whom we voted for, the moment has come to support the new leadership and take it to task. A determined leadership together with a more vigilant, enlightened, and engaged citizenry should be the People Power of the future. And lest we and our leaders forget, we should all pray towards that end and abide in God's grace. For without Him, all of us can do nothing.
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The real work just begins

Aquino maintains huge lead

Aquino opens up commanding lead in Philippine vote

Well, I guess it's all over but the shouting.

Many thanks for all those PPCRV volunteers who braved the stifling heat, patiently calmed the hot-headed voters, and kept their cool throughout.

COMELEC also deserves kudos for the apparent overall success of the country's first automated elections. For a while there you gave us a real scare.

Thanks to all the voters who thought long and hard in choosing our country's next leaders, and for queuing up many hours in the stifling heat to cast that vote. This is also the first time I saw so many senior citizens casting their votes.

Thanks to the police force for generally keeping the peace.

Shortly, the real work just begins -- for everyone.
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To be vehemently tactful

Cardinal Rosales says another people power is ‘crazy’

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, upon learning that some sectors are threatening People Power:

“Why infuse that into the present situation when it’s different? Come on, let’s use our head. These are two different things,” said Rosales. “That’s just crazy, crazy, crazy.”.

While I understand the concern of the good Cardinal, I feel a little uncomfortable with his choice of words in conveying his disagreement. It was likely in reaction to Noynoy issuing a warning for people power in the event that the polls fail (and he fails to win the presidency). The word 'crazy' is particularly strong enough as it is, yet the good Cardinal says it three times, for good measure. I do understand that at these times, 'crazy' is a highly-loaded word, especially since Noynoy's psychiatric condition has been put into question.

Maybe Cardinal Rosales should have used an alternative word, like 'insane'. No, I guess that's not quite right either. At any rate, the good Cardinal should have searched for more tactful words to convey to the effect that anyone who wishes to threaten people power at this presumptuous point should have his head examined.

Expectedly, there were howls of protest from some militants. Among these, the protesting words of Sr. Mary John Mananzan -- a top official of the influential Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines -- is worth noting:

“With due respect to the cardinal, I disagree very vehemently with what he said. I think doing nothing (against poll fraud) is more irresponsible,”.

My. I found it rather amazing that the words "with due respect" and "disagree very vehemently" can actually be combined in one sentence. The good Sister also manages to infer that the cardinal's position is "irresponsible".

At this point, I take note here that the issue in contention boils down to opinion against opinion, hinged upon assumptions against assumptions. Besides not being a matter of faith and morals, it is at a point where the issues behind the contentions were still contingent on the presence or absence of certain conditions either way.

Probably in retrospect, Cardinal Rosales had to explain his position further. In a more recent statement, he clarified that he will not turn down any possibilities of having another uprising in the aftermath of the May 10 polls as long as it is justified. The statement claimed that the cardinal’s statements against those threatening a new people power last Sunday were just not “reflected” upon.

So in the end, it appears there were actually no reasons to disagree (and get hot under the collar), since both sides actually agree in principle. In everyday life, this kind of thing happens many times. I guess there is a lot to learn here from Steven Covey's fifth habit: "Seek First to Understand". When there is still disagreement, perhaps there is also a lot to learn further with the fourth: "Agree to disagree agreeably".

I wonder if that last one can possibly take hold in the local political debates, considering the level of disagreeable intensity that I see in the political mudslinging hereabouts. Furthermore, I see that the norms of propriety have gone down to a level wherein a radio interviewer can have no qualms in addressing a Senator, many times his senior, as "chickenshit". It's the perfect way to lose an argument, besides making an a-hole out of oneself.

All this goes without saying that it is not impossible to assert one's positions in a firm manner, tactfully and with due respect, especially when we disagree with people in authority. Yes, I think that tact and vehement defense are not mutually exclusive. But then again, one has to understand the other's position first; take an objective, evidence-backed perspective; then prepare a well-thought-out response. When there is room for ambiguity, adopt the charitable assumption that the other side means well.

St. Peter has something to say about defending the faith, and it is worth reflecting into for its broader application.

"...but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" (1 Pet 3:15).

Gentleness and respect, right. St. Peter should have added: and don't lose your sense of humor.
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For your consideration: Richard Gordon

No, I am not campaigning for Richard Gordon. I am not campaigning for Manny Villar either, although I gave space to his piece here. I am still woefully undecided. I just came across this well-written piece in Facebook that I thought worth sharing with readers. Let the piece speak for itself. I must admit it is good reading, after reading that diatribe of Pat Evangelista. It is written by one Kenzei Yonzon.
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For your consideration: Richard Gordon

Today at 8:02am

I put down my thoughts today with much regret for the time I had let pass. Time I have lost. Perhaps, if I'd made up my mind sooner, I could have done more. But here we are, five days to go before we, the Filipino people, are given an opportunity to steer our nation. In five days, we will let our voices be heard and brace ourselves for a change in leadership that we all hope will bring this troubled country some relief. By this time, most of us will have decided on whom to support. I write in the faint hope that my verbosity might help at least one person decide.

This note is borne partly in response to an article written by the young and brilliant Patricia Evangelista which is certain to sway many minds. In her piece entitled 'People call me Dick.' (you might have read it or will find it with relative ease), she delineates her dislike for Richard Gordon and questions his character. She gives as an example Gordon's dismissal of UNO editor Erwin Romulo as a "nobody" during his interview on NU 107's RockEd Radio.

But she is disingenuous in that she fails to mention how Romulo relentlessly goaded Gordon into committing slander and, in failing, calls the Senator 'chickenshit' on live radio. To subvert that context in a powerfully worded piece is rather irresponsible. Perhaps, in Evangelista's perfect world, no statesman will lose their cool in the face of such blatant disrespect. Alas, Gordon fired back as he is wont to do. That is his character. He won't take any bullshit and he won't give it, either. Richard Juico Gordon is about as straight a shooter as you can possibly imagine.

Humility is not merely spoken. It is not in reticence to say what needs to be said. Humility is also found in action. And let me tell you that giving about two thirds of your life in volunteer work is humility that speaks greater volumes than presenting an affable face in front of the cameras.

Let me address that Cojuangco issue to you now, Patricia Evangelista, and to you, Erwin Romulo, so that you may understand what it means and why there are such insinuations and why it gets Richard Gordon's goat. Because it gets me incensed just thinking about it, too.

The lynchpin of Benigno Aquino III's campaign is the tagline, "Kung Walang Corrupt, Walang Mahirap" (If there is no corruption, there is no poverty)

The question Gordon asks -- and which I also ask as a voter and Filipino citizen in response is, "so why are there still poor people in Tarlac?" We all agree that there are poor people in Tarlac, right? I hope nobody will deny this.

It is a logic argument, simply. That either means Aquino's campaign slogan is a fallacy, an outright lie, or it could be absolutely true. In which case, well, you can draw your own conclusions.

I would like to think that the statement is pure political bombast, cooked up by Aquino's crack team of political strategists and advisers, and not an honest statement to be taken for fact. That is better than the alternative, which Romulo was so intent on getting Gordon to say. There is dishonesty in either case, because obviously there are still poor people in Tarlac, for one reason or the other.

I don't want a leader whose campaign is based on an outright lie. This is why "Tapusin ang kahirapan" (End poverty) is an equally false promise. A capitalist, of all people, should know better. This is why Gibo's "Galing at Talino" (Skill and Intelligence) appealed to me. But Gibo doesn't have a monopoly on that -- Richard Gordon has galing and talino in equal measure.

It boiled down to those two candidates for me: Gilbert Teodoro and Richard Gordon. To many who will vote for either man come May 10, it comes down to preference. In order to proceed to my choice of Richard Gordon, I must first explain why I didn't choose Gilbert Teodoro.

My brother explained to me that he supported Teodoro because he was willing to work with everybody as opposed to Gordon and VP bet Bayani Fernando's often criticized method of 'my way or the highway'. Teodoro is envisioned by many to be a unifying leader, someone who will galvanize opposing forces under his vision for a better Philippines. They point out his refusal to participate in mudslinging and tearing at opponents, focusing instead on the positive. The message certainly sold well to my hippie parents.

The flip side of such passivity, unfortunately, also reeks of transactional politics and compromise. There is much to be said about Teodoro and his wife, Congresswoman Nikki Teodoro's withdrawal of support for the RH Bill after championing it staunchly. The timing -- at the cusp of the elections -- is suspect. It's not as if Teodoro hadn't deliberated well on the issue before endorsing it. His 180º turnaround hints of compromise and political maneuvering.

It was gravely telling to me that the Ampatuan massacre happened so shortly after his tenure as Secretary of National Defense. It stands to reason that the position is privy to the most sensitive military information including, but not limited to, the accumulation of firearms by private armies. That there was no effort to de-escalate this accumulation at all during his tenure is baffling. He claims that disarming private armies in Mindanao was difficult due to the volatile conflict in the region. But private armies exist in Luzon, too. Just ask Chavit Singson. In April, Teodoro curiously declined to discuss the issue of private armies when invited by the Human Rights Watch to air his plans.

When typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) hit in September 2009, there was a clear lack of preparedness for the event. While a disaster of that scale can reasonably be considered something out of left field, to rationalize the inadequacy of relief efforts to the lack of a budget for rubber boats falls somewhat short of credible. Especially in a country that sees flooding and typhoons on a regular basis, the efficacy of the government's response -- Teodoro's domain -- was underwhelming.

On a personal note, it also doesn't sit well with me that Teodoro's seven year tenure at the EP Mendoza law firm, the same firm that defended Joseph Estrada during his impeachment trial, was spent mostly on the defense team of Lucio Tan and Danding Cojuangco in their ill-gotten wealth cases. While not passing judgement either way, his political leanings are demonstrated here, and I am not inclined to side with it.

Galing at Talino are both excellent qualifications, but so is Gawa (Action). I would love to believe that Teodoro is the right choice for our nation as he certainly exudes a most stately demeanor on top of his obvious intelligence, but his performance in my opinion leaves much to be desired.

So. Richard Juico Gordon.

I will address here first the perception that a vote for Gordon is a wasted one because he has no chance of winning.

I believe that the purest vote is a vote cast in a vacuum, cast without regard for probabilities and surveys. We vote for whom we think is best for the position and not for whom we think has a chance to win. This is not the Lotto. The moment we allow surveys to dictate our voice, or if we decide to play kingmaker and cast our votes as a preventative measure, then we will have been compromised. The integrity of our vote will have been diminished. No, the only wasted vote is one that isn't cast. You don't second guess 50 million Filipinos.

On May 10 I will vote for Richard Gordon because of his platform, his accomplishments, and yes, even his oftentimes overbearing personality. One big difference between Gordon's platform and those of other candidates is that Gordon calls upon the Filipino people -- you, me, every one of us -- to work hard to change this nation.

Gordon's record speaks for itself. Olongapo, SBMA & Subic, Department of Tourism, and six years in the Senate with numerous bills authored and passed. He has already come under fire for flaunting his accomplishments, almost rubbing it in his opponents' faces, so I don't think his record is in question. However, out of all his accomplishments the one that stands out for me is his over forty years in service with the Philippine National Red Cross. It's all voluntary.

In fact, if anything jumps out at me from all his media interviews and reading his work, it is the fact that he engenders volunteerism. He demands it. His work in Olongapo, Subic, and the Red Cross are all driven by volunteerism. Gordon understands that the Philippines will not rise on the power of its President alone but on the efforts of every Filipino. It will take hard work to make this happen. Bawal ang tamad (No room for the lazy).

Gordon runs at the end of his six year term in the Senate. This means that if he loses this election, he will have no position in government. Villar and Aquino were both elected in 2007 and will return to the Senate if they don't win the Presidency. In other words, Gordon has thrown all his chips in the pot. He's gone all in and stands to lose everything. Well, everything except the PNRC, which I can guarantee you he will continue to volunteer for even if he doesn't win.

That's the point. Gordon has been at this longer than any other candidate. He's been serving the Filipino people with or without public office, volunteering his time -- and many of those who have worked with him will tell you of his long hours -- and his life to the people of this nation. Because he loves this nation and its people. Boy, does he ever.

Richard Gordon wears his heart on his sleeve, vacillating between teary-eyed sympathy and vein-popping lividity even under the watchful eyes of the media. He is who he is. What you see is what you get. If Richard Gordon is abrasive it is because he knows nothing else but brutal honesty, and I appreciate that more than duplicitous timidity and tactful restraint. I appreciate honesty and straight shooting because so few politicians are capable of it.

If Gordon is angry it's because his passion to change this country is so overwhelming that it tears at his very core to imagine the Filipino people, out of sympathy and nostalgia, so willing to hand over the keys to an ineffectual public servant bankrolled by the country's oligarchs. If you truly love this country and want to effect change, you'd be offended, too. I know I am.

This is why Gordon's strong personality is endearing to me. I don't want compromise. I'm sick of it. I'm tired of politicians spinning lines and making this a morality play. The heart of the issue is that the country is sick. The Philippines is in the mud and we need to get up. One person won't be able to do it, and Gordon knows that.

We know that. At the back of our minds, we know that in order to actually change this downtrodden archipelago, we have to get off our lazy asses and work hard. Some of us will hide behind the thought that if we vote for this or that candidate, our involvement can end. More than a few of us will gladly hand the keys over to the nation and be happy to ride in the back seat.

That's not going to get it done.

Our involvement doesn't end on May 10 after we cast our vote. It only just begins there. The most telling of Gordon's traits is that, no matter the outcome of these Presidential elections, I know that Richard Gordon will continue to devote his life to serving the Filipino people, working with the PNRC. That speaks volumes to me.

What this country needs isn't a change of men, Gordon says, it needs a change IN men.

I have never been so inspired by a leader as I have by Richard Gordon.

At the end of the day, even if none of these words manage to sway your vote, understand that I am hopeful that this country is moving in the right direction. We have a new automated election (thanks to a law authored by Gordon), the emergence of social media as an alternative and complement to traditional television and print, and the most informed voting population in history. Voter education will only continue to get better, and I'm hopeful that along the way, we'll continue to make the right choices.
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Prayers for the success of automated elections

Malfunctioning PCOS machines can be fixed, PPCRV told

Senator wants Congress to look into poll machine glitches

No cellphone signals at nearly 5,000 precincts

Defective data cards for poll machines recalled

PCOS machines in Palawan declared faulty
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Naloko na.

I get this mounting feeling that the automated election process does not invite much optimism for success. In the manufacturing environment where I work, much, much smaller incidences of failures provide enough reason to reject the whole thing. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to reject the automated election process this late in the game. The call for parallel manual counting only asks for the moon at this point. In my experience in IT, pilot runs are normal and mandatory for a such a large-scale, complex computerization project. It stretches the imagination that there was none, but that is now water under the bridge. Apparently, they also did not employ failure-mode analysis in the planning process.

Massive prayers are called for.
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On loving one another

Sunday, May 2, 2010
"Now I give you a new commandment: love one another.."
(John 13:34)
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The greatest commandment is also the hardest to follow. It means you have to love everyone, even those you dislike. While reading C.S. Lewis' book 'Mere Christianity', I found an interesting tip.

"Natural liking or affection for people makes it easier to be "charitable" towards them. It is, therefore, normally a duty to encourage our affections—to "like" people as much as we can (just as it is often our duty to encourage our liking for exercise or wholesome food)—not because this liking is itself the virtue of charity, but because it is a help to it..."

"But though natural likings should normally be encouraged, it would be quite wrong to think that the way to become charitable is to sit trying to manufacture affectionate feelings. Some people are "cold" by temperament; that may be a misfortune for them, but it is no more a sin than having a bad digestion is a sin; and it does not cut them out from the chance, or excuse them from the duty, of learning charity. The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you "love" your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less. There is, indeed, one exception. If you do him a good turn, not to please God and obey the law of charity, but to show him what a fine forgiving chap you are, and to put him in your debt, and then sit down to wait for his "gratitude," you will probably be disappointed. (People are not fools: they have a very quick eye for anything like showing off, or patronage.) But whenever we do good to another self, just because it is a self, made (like us) by God, and desiring its own happiness as we desire ours, we shall have learned to love it a little more or, at least, to dislike it less."
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