Category: Politics and Religion

ABS-CBN and TV5 ink partnership deal

In what feels like a superhero crossover event to end the machinations of an evil villain, TV5 and ABS-CBN signed a landmark partnership deal that effectively allows ABS-CBN to regain their former reach on free television. ABS-CBN was denied a franchise two years ago by PH Congress. “I used the presidential powers to tell Congress that you are dealing with scoundrels and if you continue to kowtow with them, kawawa ang Pilipino,” admitted former PH President Duterte (shudders) in 2022. The supposed violations were all previously cleared by relevant agencies and no cases related to the denial of the franchise have been filed.

ABS-CBN is the country’s most popular network with arguably the best programs and most influential celebrities. They also have the widest reach with their regional channels and have been an important source of news and information. This reach and influence have been significantly minimized during the time of Duterte, whose reign is now being investigated by the International Criminal Court, and the recent elections that ushered in the return of a deposed dictator’s son to the presidency.

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Katips: The Movie shows abuses of Marcos’ Martial Law

On August 3, the Philippines will bear witness to a movie that serves as an exclamation point to the landslide win that reinstalled this country’s greatest shame to Malacañang. Whether it was the result of years of propaganda and fake news, online manipulation, or there really were just 31 million Filipinos who are rotten to the core and willing to overlook the thousands who were murdered, abused, and suffered under the very families that they now worship, the grim fact remains. The Marcoses are back in power along with the heir of a copycat strongman whose name is synonymous with misogyny and abuse.

But while most people and companies resort to ass-kissing for survival and even when all hope seems lost, there will always be a few that will stand up against injustice.

The Philippine Stagers Foundation has produced musicals over the years featuring the lives of heroes and martyrs, the suffering that they endured, and the snapshot of the world that needed them at the time. This year, they are back doing what they do best.

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The Fall of the Dictatorship

The article below is posted at the Official Gazette of the Philippine Government. It details the events leading to the fall of the Marcos dictatorship that resulted in thousands of deaths, human rights violations, and billions of dollars worth of plunder. It is reposted here in case this gets taken down by the incoming administration.

In May 2022, Marcos Junior was voted by an overwhelming majority back in power. His campaign was allegedly fueled by years of rebranding and historical revisionism per Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, Brittany Kaiser. Marcos has denied this allegation. But what is undeniable is the existence of disinformation in multiple platforms – YouTube, Facebook, blogs, and Tiktok, all aimining to revise history in favor of its abusers.

Marcos Junior has yet to acknowledge his father’s responsibility in the atrocities committed under his rule. He also blocked the return of some $40 Million to the PH government as the key administrator of the his faily’s stolen wealth according to the Phillipine Commission on Good Government (PCGG).

The Marcos Family has had convictions both in the Philippines and in the US.

See:

U.S. Court Upholds Damages Against Marcos

Ill-Gotten Wealth Recognized by the Philippine Supreme Court

Ferdinand Marcos Human Rights Litigation

Imelda Marcos convicted of graft, sentenced to prison

Continue reading “The Fall of the Dictatorship” →
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Leni Robredo heeds calls to fight for the country, runs for President in 2022

October 7, 2021. Leni Robredo officially announced and filed her bid for the presidency earlier today. Robredo has been the face of the opposition for the last five years of the Duterte administration. She has been on the receiving end of abusive remarks from Duterte and his propagandists/trolls and fake news peddled by known supporters of both Duterte and Bongbong Marcos. Marcos was defeated by Robredo in a vice presidential race in 2016 and again on recounts instigated by Marcos himself.

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ICC authorizes full investigation into Duterte’s war on drugs

September 15, 2021 – The International Criminal Court has finally authorized the investigation into the alleged extra-judicial killings in the Philippines under the administration of Rodrigo Duterte. The investigation will cover the time of Duterte’s reign as Davao Mayor up to March 16, 2019 when his administration appeared to have tried to escape accountability by withdrawing from the ICC.

Duterte has, on several occasions, announced that he will protect law enforcers should they murder in the name of his infamous war on drugs. He even admitted that his “only sin is extra-judicial killings” – a statement explained by his lackeys as simply being playful even as dead bodies piled up with both witnesses and evidence contradicting the usual police narrative that the victims all fought back. These accounts were later confirmed by a UN investigation that suggests that the police planted evidence to justify these killings.

The murders are all part of Duterte’s campaign promise in 2016 – a promise that was backed by a history of murders in his own hometown. When brought up during the campaign, the Duterte camp dismissed the death squad association as mere propaganda, conveniently leaving out the fact that these stories surfaced long before his bid for the presidency. Check Al-Jazeera’s 2009 report here.

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Over 40 LGBTQIA+ organizations, personalities reject LGBT Pilipinas propaganda for Duterte

The thing about fighting for human rights is you cannot nitpick and support only what benefits your politics. You cannot claim to be a rights advocate and speak for the LGBTQIA+ community if you support misogyny, abuse, and murder – all of which are represented to the very core by Duterte.

Of course, people are free to support abusive madmen and murderers but they should do so under their own name. They should not drag the name of an entire group of people whose struggles may be aligned with those who are oppressed and victimized by this administration. We cannot forward our own agenda while maintaining support for the rotten politicians whose words and deeds have claimed the lives of thousands of FIlipinos.

LGBT Pilipinas Party-list group claims to be “a grassroots alliance and national network of LGBTQ+ individuals and organizations, including allies, that seek to campaign LGBTQ+ human rights and non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.” The page has consistently supported Duterte since it was created in 2017. It registered the group name – Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgenders Pilipinas Inc. at the SEC in 2016.

In 2021, they have dedicated several posts campaigning for the presidential daughter. On September 4, 2021, a propaganda page based in Davao mentioned the group in an article saying, “LGBT Pilipinas and its allied and network organizations are collectively throwing their “unflinching loyalty” and “all-out support” to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte if she decides to run for President in the 2022 national elections.” Because of the name of the group, it can be deceptively construed that they speak for the LGBTQIA+ community in the country. This cannot be further from the truth and a cheap attempt at using the community for their appalling choice of politicians.

Read below the full statement of over 40 LGBTQIA+ organizations and personalities that stand against what this group supports.

Continue reading “Over 40 LGBTQIA+ organizations, personalities reject LGBT Pilipinas propaganda for Duterte” →
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PH Congress ‘delivers’ Duterte’s wish to shut down the nation’s biggest network

July 10, 2020 – 70 members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Legislative Franchises delivered the most stunning blow to PH Press Freedom after Martial Law by refusing to renew the franchise of the country’s largest and most trusted television network. The decision came after 13 days of deliberations over allegations that have all been cleared by the Department of Justice, National Telecommunication Commission, and Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Allies and propagandists of Duterte maintain that this is an issue of violations of a private company and has nothing to do with politics. But as it goes, the only “offense” of the network seems to be their unwillingness to bow down to power even as the president repeatedly threatened that he would make sure that the renewal of their franchise would not happen.

See:

Duterte to ABS-CBN: Next year, you’re out

Duterte to ABS-CBN: Promote federalism, we’ll settle case

TIMELINE: Duterte against ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal

Continue reading “PH Congress ‘delivers’ Duterte’s wish to shut down the nation’s biggest network” →
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What’s at stake in PH midterm elections

In 2016, we went into the elections knowing exactly what we would lose should Duterte win – the soul of the nation. The campaign was a dark preview of what his regime would be like and Duterte more than delivered on his promise of dead bodies – countless of them executed in cold blood in their homes in the dead of night.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/29/duterte-threatens-summary-execution-drug-suspects-again
https://kodao.org/14-farmers-executed-tokhang-style-in-negros-dutertes-mo-32-blamed/

Time and again, Duterte has publicly expressed that he would exonerate police officers should they get caught doing his bidding. He delivered on that promise as well.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/02/16/duterte-admits-ordering-marcos-reinstatement
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/inside-track/197073-espinosa-slay-pnp-marvin-marcos-camp-crame-cidg-party
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/220595-duterte-government-drug-war-deaths-unsolved
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/19/18/no-justice-for-kin-of-slain-drug-suspects-duterte-says

Continue reading “What’s at stake in PH midterm elections” →

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Statement: Bloggers for Freedom

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We, concerned Filipino bloggers, stand for the rights to free expression and to free speech. And our first responsibility is to protect these rights.

We thus stand with Rappler, its right to exist, the rights of its working journalists and contributors, and the rights of its community of readers.

We stand against moves to silence and scare journalists, bloggers and media practitioners just because the President and his ardent supporters dislike their news and views.

Now is a time for making choices amid battles between truth and lies, debate and dissonance, democracy and dictatorship.

We sign our names here to tell everyone we have made a choice. We are bloggers for freedom.

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Taking a stand

When I was in college, I joined the League of Filipino Students (LFS), a group known for protesting against state injustices and fighting for the rights of the poor and marginalized Filipinos. It never felt like it was a good fit for me.

During discussions about how certain laws were supposed to be unjust, I found myself being the devil’s advocate. I would always argue for the debated law and how it could be beneficial if only it were implemented properly. I further affirmed that I was wrong for the movement on the first rally that I attended when we had not even gone beyond University Ave in UP Diliman and I thought, “Ay, ang init. Kayo nalang.” I then promptly left, enjoyed a cake at the Chocolate Kiss Cafe, and ended my rather short stint as an activist. Or so I thought.

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Taking back the internet from the trolls

In the digital age, both information and misinformation are readily available for anyone with a computer or a smartphone. Discerning what is real and what isn’t is not always easy especially for digital novices because there are websites and social media pages that are created with the intent  to deceive. 

This kind of deception has proven effective in getting politicians elected both in the country and abroad. The profile of the victims cover pretty much all academic and social standing. Social media savvy individuals aren’t even immune. I have personally seen friends that have fallen prey to fake articles posted by paid political influencers that forward their agenda by promoting half-truths. 

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On bigotry, discrimination, and Manny Pacquiao

For most people, hate crime and homophobia are things that we only hear about in the news. We never take it seriously because we never actually see anyone get hurt – at least not the people that we know. So we listen to the preacher on a Sunday service proclaim that being gay is a sin and we shrug off comments by influential people like Manny Pacquiao as harmless ramblings of someone who isn’t very smart. But guess what? These statements are NOT harmless. Aside from the emotional trauma for a child dealing with his homosexuality, who is maybe reeling from the hateful things he reads online about his gender, these are the very ideas that could spawn into the heinous acts that end up as a short blip in the daily news.

In a TV interview, Pacquiao said, ““It’s common sense. Will you see any animals where male is to male and female is to female? The animals are better. They know how to distinguish male from female. If we approve [of] male on male, female on female, then man is worse than animals.”

Comparing gay people to animals is textbook discrimination and this shouldn’t be something that he can get out of by quoting the bible. Given Pacquiao’s massive influence to the masses and criminals even, as it was reported that criminality rate goes down on all of his televised fights, such statement can lead to people getting hurt or even killed. What if it was your kid who is showing signs of being effeminate at a young age? Would you risk some uneducated thug beating him up because his idol said that his life is basically worth less than a straight person’s life?

Read

Manny Pacquiao Apologizes for Saying ‘Gay People Are Worse Than Animals’

(After apologizing) Manny Pacquiao’s Instagram account calls for gay people to be put to death

Take a good look at the hate crimes listed below. Someone may end up on that list just because an influential person thoughtlessly incited discrimination and hate towards gay people. There’s a saying that everyone is entitled to an opinion. I think the line is drawn where hate is promoted by that opinion.

Continue reading “On bigotry, discrimination, and Manny Pacquiao” →
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