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.

Davao

Davao (092919)

The last time I was in Davao was in 1995, and last week because of a convention held in this lovely city – I was back again in Davao after twenty-four (24) long years. 

I never really intended to be back in this city that ironically gave birth to the current Duterte presidency.  The fellow still has an ongoing martial law in effect in the entire island of Mindanao and for political reasons as well as for financial reasons, I made a promise to myself that I would only be returning to the land of my parents once it is rid of the martial law rule.

Life however has a different plan, a convention by the Psychological Association of the Philippines was held in Davao and though my attendance is not really that needed (for license renewal), an opportunity presented itself, a convention budget was won and made available and so, there I was in the epicenter of martial law rule in Mindanao.

A side story was that, even though the budget was already approved, and because of my reluctance to visit Davao, I even offered my slot to a co-faculty.  Fortunately or unfortunately, she declined the opportunity hence I had to option but to proceed and use the approved budget and off to the mouth of the wanna be dictator , I proceeded. 

Since I last remembered it, Davao have changed and ironically have not also changed.  The landscape has changed, there is a current construction boom – owning to the fact that the current occupant of the Malacanang Palace came from this city.  Twenty-four years ago, SM department store has yet to open a branch and now, SM has to malls operating inside Davao.

I stayed for three nights and four days in Davao, and since I lived for two years there previously, four days is obviously not enough to relive and re create by former stay in Davao.

I stayed at the Royal Mandaya Hotel, courtesy of RGO Review Center and it was a grand hotel in the process of renovating itself and still in the process of recapturing its lost glory years.  My stay however was pleasant and luxurious.  The hotel was in the middle of the city of Davao.  I was able to visit the site of the Philippine Eagle and the famous crocodile farm.  Between the two, the effort and the hassle of visiting the Philippine Eagle farm was worth the energy expended – the crocodile farm however was a big letdown.  It was no better than the Manila Zoo.

In my last day, I visited the San Pedro Church in the middle of the city and walked for a while revisiting the hustle and bustle of what life could have been had I stayed in Davao.  It is weird playing the what if game considering that it could really be an alternative life for me had life took another turn.  The possibilities really, are endless but the outcome would have been the same. 

I would be the same person but with a different credentials.  I really don’t think that I would be able to pursue my graduate studies and earned a doctorate degree had I stayed in Davao, but I think that I would be criminally richer.  Not that I am rich right now, but far wealthier had I stayed and gambled my luck in Davao.

092919

Judgments

Judgments

We make a hundred of decisions on a daily basis; some are important decisions while majority of them are done automatically (and most, if not all are unimportant decisions) with bias as a main driver.  Some are classified as unimportant because they are not life changing or life altering decisions. 

Taken as a whole judgement is an informed decision based on a collection of facts.  A judgement is based on reasoning; it could either be inductive reasoning or deductive reasoning.  Our reasoning could be swayed with prejudice and this prejudice could either be my side bias or confirmation bias.

Attitude can affect judgement.  And since attitude is the reaction of an individual on a certain person, place, thing or an event; an attitude is also subjective.  Hence, it is safe to assume that every judgement is also almost always subjective.  If you have a religious person as a head of government, then it is almost a certainty that most policies would be bent towards the spectrum of religious orientation.  If you have a gambler as a head of state, expect the blossoming of a gamblers mentality fused with governance.  Judgement would follow the bias, and the bias is determined by attitude.

My side bias shows how people can evaluate evidence in a way that is biased toward their own opinions and attitudes while confirmation bias occurs when people look for information that conforms to their hypothesis and ignore information that refutes it.

The ramification of a certain decision is felt for years.  If it was a good decision, people are glad for such a good decision, if it turns out to be a bad decision, people laments such an unfortunate decision.  In my experience, if you stretch a decision long enough; a good decision is actually bad in the long run, while a bad decision is actually a good one if the situation is stretch longer than what is expected.  In a series of events, pulled longer than usual, a protagonist becomes an antagonist while an antagonist could become a protagonist depending on the scenario, situation and perspective.