Pandora's spirit of hope....March 8, 2022

In the survey, BBM is the runaway winner.  If elections were held today, he would be the winner.  The good news is that the presidential elections is still two months away and a lot of things could still happen.  Tyrant Duterte (whose term is also about to expire) appointed pro BBM lawyers to the COMELEC.  This act speaks volume of who he is really supporting in this presidential race despite his initial pronouncements that he is neutral in this derby.  Dark clouds are still ahead and I expect them to rule in favor of BBM whenever there is an electoral contest.

The good news here is that people are starting to wake up and shifting to support to the opposition.  They are realizing that Tyrant Duterte was a fiasco and people are going to the opposite spectrum to show their support for the opposition (to and dismay to the BBM camp).  It is just a matter of time before things go to its proper place.  In my estimation, it will get worst before it gets better.  The good thing in this equation is that there is now light at the end of the tunnel.  Tyrant Duterte still has his role to play in this equation and unwittingly, things will go to its proper place and decency will be back in the saddle once more.

The Russia invasion is now rearing its ugly financial fallout-increased prices in gasoline prices.  It is now hovering around 65-70 pesos per liter and it is just starting.  Some economist are projecting a price range of around 90-100 pesos per liter in the very near future.

We are not yet out of the pandemic and here is another crisis that will test again the resolve of Filipinos and of the republic.

First things first, kick Tyrant Duterte out of office, prevent his chosen candidate from winning and lick this Russian riddle later.  There are still dark clouds in the horizon but there is already a miracle that is waiting to happen to counter this.  We will just have to keep the faith...

Russia invades Ukraine

 The inevitable finally happened.  After so many posturing, Russia finally invaded Ukraine and the theater of war is now at play.  Russia is at the top at the moment being the aggressor but if this becomes a protracted invasion, Ukraine might just give Russia a bloody nose.

Most Filipinos do not really care what happens in Eastern Europe.  The upcoming May elections and Covid 2019 pre-occupation are enough to overwhelm our limited concerns.  The drama locally is more compelling than the drama being played in faraway Europe.  The mirror of events seems asymmetrical.  Except  for the rising fuel prices which is affecting the entire planet - inflation will happen in a month or two with so many things in between that could still transpire.

But to make things more symmetrical, this equation is best summarized by a bigger power (but poorer country) land grabbing a weaker country (but a far richer country with better economic prospects).  Similar to Iraq, illegally occupying Kuwait in the 1990's.

Does it really matter that Ukraine is not a NATO member?  Officially, Ukraine is not a NATO member but a NATO ally.  Either way, the prices of fuel will bedevil the republic.  Add this to the unstable equation of May elections and Covid 2019 mismanagement and you have a lot to chew about.

Suppose China follows the playbook of Russia?  Just occupy and attack territories in the West Philippine Seas.  

Do we now turn again to the US for support? Or pivot to China and embrace its inevitable rape and plunder?

We really need to be more concern about the Ukraine situation for it might happen in the Philippines sooner than later. Besides, China already made its aggressive moves years ago by building artificial islands and illegally occupying them and hindering us Filipinos from fishing within our own exclusive economic zone.

Shifting Tide (Feb. 26, 2022)

The first month of January was sobering month.  Election fever was up and this time around, COVID 2019 was on the backburner.  BBM supporters are upbeat, survey were already indicating that he was the runaway preference for the next president of this republic.  He was up by 60% at the polls and was already telling everyone that the contest is over.  BBM wont even attend presidential debates.  Now this is not rooted on his being a sure winner but rather rooted on his making less mistakes and getting caught with his own mouth.

BBM only attended one debate where everything was on his favor and is even snubbing the presidential debate sponsored by the COMELEC.  He got away with the disqualification charges as well as the cancellation of candidacy charges.  The COMELEC sold out its options and only the Supreme Court could correct this grave injustice.

The beauty of this scenario is that BBM cannot hold on to these advantages, his promise of money is his only main arsenal (and besides, this belong to the Filipino people in the first place, his family stole it decades ago, he is just spending it now for a chance to steal again and sanitize history).  The tide is shifting.  History is once again repeating itself.  

In his failed VP run, BBM was ahead 80% and historically, he still lost that fight three times.  From the actual election itself and on to the protest proper and on to Presidential Electoral Tribunal, BBM lost all 3 protest.

60% is nothing, the tide is shifting, his lies is being exposed, people with sense are waking up and millennials are now looking at the opposite spectrum.  The current date is February 26, 2022 and the election is still on May 9 of this year.   A lot of things could still happen and a lot of things are happening.

BBM is being exposed to who he is... A beneficiary of plunder who is trying to buy the presidency and lacks the moral and intellectual  ascendancy to lead this country.  He claims to be a graduate from Oxford University but the said university denied this.  A certification was issued and it only confirmed that he attended but did not graduate.  Expect no honesty from this individual.

Besides, his initial is now known as BBK.....Bobo kasi.... 

The Kadamay Fiasco (May 2, 2017)

The group known as Kadamay is an urban poor organization that forcibly occupied some public housing units reserved for policemen and AFP personnel in Pandi, Bulacan.  In a nutshell, this is an illegal occupation that could set a precedent for some other urban poor organization to emulate and follow.

A senate and a congressional hearing was held to investigate Kadamay, and it was established that more than anything, the said group is an organized squatter group out to wreak havoc on the housing thrust of the government.  Initially, when they forcibly occupied some housing units in Pandi, Bulacan – the main demand was a housing units for the poor that was promised by the newly elected president.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte, in his typical presidential rant publicly told the Kadamay group to vacate the said housing units or face the full force and implementation of forcible eviction.  Psychologically, this is quite scary since the president is known to be hard on people who violates the law, and his projection usually borders on a strong-willed personality and a no-non-sense leader.  A dead line was publicly announced and set.  Some Kadamay members, after hearing the presidential rant, withdrew from the subdivision but some hardliners, took a stance of open defiance to the president and the law.

Politically, it was a chance for the president to show that he is for the law because it was clearly established that the occupation is illegal and unlawful.  Surprisingly, a complete 360 turn was made and a glaring presidential flip flop was made, in public, the sitting president told the dispossessed police and military men to simply give the housing units to the Kadamay group as a donation and in turn he will construct a better and a bigger housing unit for the affected police and military personnel.

After hearing the flip-flop, those who left wanted to get back at the abandoned units, an ugly fight ensued among the Kadamay group, because to those who took the hard-stance, those who abandoned their units already gave up their claim, hence for units for those who stayed,   more housing units for the hardliners.

The fiasco does not end with the illegal presidential grant, because last May 1, the annual celebration of Labor Day worldwide, the Kadamay group, after smelling blood, wanted more from the sitting president.  They now demand that the housing unit be free of charge, meaning they will not pay for a single centavo for it; they now want jobs – to be provided by the government regardless of qualifications; and they now want water and electric connection without going to the usual process of application.

I was even telling myself, why stop there? Why not ask for a free internet connection?

This act of flip-flopping opened a model for other urban poor groups - for the past weeks, one urban poor group after another, tried to copy the Kadamay way of forcible occupation to some housing units regardless whether such is a government housing or a privately-owned housing.

To avoid anarchy from ruling, this must stop, if a similar forcible occupation occurs, the president must implement the law, he must evict these squatters and prosecute them and if found guilty, must put them where they belong, in jail.  Any deviation, will result in a squatter republic, where everything is asked from the government for free and their license is simply because they are poor.

 

The Doctorate Degree (May 2, 2017)

Prior to the graduation ceremony of the University of the Philippines, some idiots proposed to award the sitting president the prefix of a Dr.  A howl of protest was heard from the entire strata of the university that the office of the president had to come up with the statement that even though such is not yet awarded, they are already declining the honoris causa.

The usual justification is that such is a tradition for the university – to award a doctorate degree to a sitting president.  The ploy however exposes the attempt of some UP echelon to curry favor from the president.  The thing is that this is just a cheap attempt to sanitize the president, since there is an inevitable smell of decaying flesh that will surely surface once the pendulum swing of history judges the sitting president.

The refusal came from the president, from the office of the president and even from some of the family member of the president.

Historically, a honoris causa (for honor’s sake) is placed in the resume under the category of awards received, a honoris causa is never placed in the academic qualifications of an individual.  The context here is that a prefix of a Dr. is given as an honor and never as an academic accomplishment.

That which was not officially offered was officially refused.  Besides, such an honor does not fit the sitting president.  The ICC holds that distinction for possible awarding.

 

On President Rodrigo R. Duterte (May 1, 2017)

He makes a lot of promises, and he doesn’t fulfill them.  Like a traditional politician, he dispenses a lot of talk and just like any politician, he is just all talk.  Just like a dog, he is all bark and no bite.  Supporters, of course, will contest this claim – but generally, this is the summation of the current Duterte Administration.

From day one of his election or even prior to his election, the increase in salary of government workers were brandied about by politicians, a year after the elections, with all the noise and promises made by this president, there is still no salary increase for government workers.  Ironically, the one who made the current salary increase of government employees is credited to the previous administration via his enacted legislation.

He promised that the scourge of drugs gripping the republic will end with his election.   Sadly, he promised that such would end within months of his election (within three months) but extended to six months, to up to the end of his term.  The flipside of this is the shortcut of dealing with drug criminals via extra judicial killings.  At the moment, at least seven thousand deaths were already credited to the drug campaign of the sitting president and all of them find their ending and credit at the footstep of the palace.

President Duterte will curse to high heaven just to get his way, his presidential rantings are legendary and does not fit the office that he occupies (just visit youtube or the internet), psychologically - he sets a bad example to the country and other minions as a presidential role model.  His example is a bad license to succeeding government officials (elected and appointed).

And just like any politician, he will say another especially if such is popular, but still do the easiest thing to do which is convenient and typical of a traditional politician.  The Kadamay incident is one very good example.  

His prostitution on foreign policy is also a cause for concern, China is flexing its muscle and grabbing territories that is legally declared as well within the boundaries of the territory of the republic and yet, with all he bravado overtly displayed by this president, he is for the forgiving treatment of China.  China is the offending party, China is the supplicant in this equation and yet for all of his alleged bravery, and notorious reputation, the presidential fire and brimstone is directed somewhere else, where such is not needed.

For better or for worse, President Rodrigo R. Duterte will test the democratic roots of the republic, can the republic stand a challenge on human rights, with the threat of declaration of martial law, can the republic survive another challenge to its democratic experiment?

A negative response will catapult the country back to the middle ages, where there is no democracy, where there is patronage, where there is no justice, where connection is more important than ability.  Where there is no human rights and where President Rodrigo R. Duterte is right all along, where Filipinos do not deserve self-determination and doomed to a life of hardship without dignity.

Right or wrong, the presidency of Duterte will test democracy for the Philippines.  Protagonists and antagonists will play their part and ten years from now, I will be proven correct or dead wrong.  I hope to be proven wrong, but I also hope to be still alive to claim and say, I told you so…

Macro-psychology vs Micro-psychology

Macro-psychology versus Micro Psychology

Mimicking the microeconomics and macroeconomics perspective, psychology could also benefit from this perspective.  Macro-psychology connotes a perspective of looking at the bigger picture while Micro-psychology denotes the opposite spectrum of this paradigm and that is of looking at the details of a particular model.

Macro-psychology then in its simplest notion is about looking at the bigger picture while micro-psychology is the opposite.

Since economics is about looking at the allocation of limited resources of man versus the unlimited wants of man and the usage of macroeconomics and microeconomics pertains to economic factors and elements; macro-psychology is focused on the impact of a particular behavior to the overall scheme of things, micro-psychology is about details of a particular behavior.

Usage of this concept could be beneficial on topics causality and effect of a particular behavior to the overall direction of a behavioral equation.

This is not really an original idea, in fact, this is even a derivative notion but the usage and methods in the field of psychology could certainly benefit from the use of the above-mentioned theoretical model.