A Vote For Change

If we step a few months back, the Philippines would have been witnessing a race between Manny Villar and Mar Roxas vying for the highest position in the land. But a twist of fate happened and we now have a senator, who didn’t really have any plans of running for president, leading the surveys. My mom called it Noynoy Aquino’s destiny. And so I ask, is presidency now a matter of fate? Shouldn’t it be a matter of will?

As a first-time voter, I feel the huge and heavy responsibility of voting for the candidate, who I believe, has a dream and vision for a better Philippines (or probably simply good because the country is not really in a good state as of the moment).

I wouldn’t go for a senator who’s only living up to the legacy of his parents. Or the senator who has filled our televisions (and radios, and newspapers, and whatever other medium there is) with lies. Or the former president. Or the religious leaders because I respect Article II Sec 6 of the 1987 Constitution. Or the other senator who’s running after her supposed mana from her aunt.

I could vote for the environmentalist because he has the experience and the intelligence. But only if he’s running for senator. And so, I am voting for the hot-tempered senator, who has the will to lead, the experience, the intelligence, and a good track record.

The Sole Gordon Supporter in the Family

As weird and stressful as it may seem, our family talks about politics at home. We talk about the people we’re gonna vote for. Sometimes, we end up arguing. Most of the time, I am the target of the debates. My mom, dad, and brother are all voting for Noynoy Aquino. Yes, my family belongs to the yellow army. I, on the other hand, am voting for Richard Gordon.

There had been a lot of instances when my mom and dad would talk me into voting for Aquino. I remember the night when I was answering my take home exam for DS 128 when my dad suddenly told me I should vote for Noynoy. He told me that Noynoy promises six years of no corruption and that is, as of the moment, what the country really needs. How exactly is he gonna do that? Our simple talk turned into an argument. We even reached the point of arguing about Marcos and Cory Aquino. That night, I cried because my dad won’t stop until he hears me say I’m gonna vote for his presidential bet. That night, I vowed that I would never ever vote for Noynoy Aquino because he was the reason why I wasn’t able to answer my take home exam properly.

Not Aquino

I must admit that I once considered voting for Noynoy Aquino mainly because he seemed to be best candidate out there – no history of corruption, a son of the heroes of this country…then, I was left with no other reason. Having been a representative of Tarlac for nine years and a senator for three years, Noynoy has not really done anything for his constituents and for the country. He has not even passed a single law. I heard him speak against the current administration, but speaking is not enough. He really didn’t even plan on running for president until his mother died. He run because “the people want him to.” Not because he really wanted to lead the country. Not because he really had a dream for the Filipinos.

Noynoy Aquino was not really prepared for the campaign. His first TV advertisement featured a number of local artists, mostly are friends of his sister, Kris Aquino. Noynoy only has his parents to bank on. In his commercials, he mostly spoke as THE son of Ninoy and Cory. He said how he’s not going to do anything bad for the country because he is the son of Ninoy and Cory. It was all about living up to what his parents had done for the Philippines. Only when he was questioned about his platform and the release of Manny Villar’s I-will-get-you-out-of-poverty campaigns did Noynoy Aquino made a stand on poverty and corruption.

I do not want a president who doesn’t have a plan. I do not want a president who only responds when the issue is already at hand. I do not want a president, who after 12 years of public service, has not really done anything concrete for the country.

Dick Gordon for President

I am not about to brag what my presidential bet has done as a public servant. Just visit his website and find out for yourself how Gordon was as a Mayor, SBMA Chairman, DoT Secretary, Senator, and Chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross. But I am gonna tell you why I’m voting for Gordon on May 10.

1. Gordon is for change. With the current situation of our country, what we need is an overhaul, not only of the government, but of the attitude of the people as well. We need to stop saying that we want change. We have to take action to bring the Philippines to a better state. As what Gordon has said, “What this country needs is not just a change of men, but a change in men.”
2. Gordon has a clear vision for the Philippines. Who among the presidential candidates has said that he/she will give the teachers a 40,000php salary? Who among the presidential candidates wants to provide the students with Kindle instead of textbooks full of wrong information and grammar? Only Gordon. We may think these things are impossible, but who knows? By 2016, educators are earning what they deserve to earn and students learn from technology and not from anomalous textbooks.
3. Gordon can and Gordon will. I won’t argue with the attitude Dick Gordon has. I can see how hot-tempered he is in television interviews. Or how arrogant he may seem when answering questions from interviewers. But I won’t argue with the person’s determination either. Look at what he has done with Subic. Or with the Department of Tourism’s award-winning campaign, Wow Philippines. Or how he has worked as a volunteer in PNRC.

A number of people I talk to tell me “Okay sana si Gordon, kaso hindi mananalo.” Voting for your president is not a matter of win ability, but a matter of principle. This coming May 10, I will be voting for the candidate who has an excellent track record in public service; the candidate who has a dream and vision for this ailing country; and the candidate who is hot-tempered but still gets to create a funny video with Moymoy Palaboy.

Pathetic Insults

I was taking a break from doing my speech plan for a subject when I decided to explore Regina’s and Helga‘s Tumblr accounts. While I was reading Helga’s post, I chanced by to see a reblog she did of a text about Filipinos and Tagalog. Probably, if the blog makes it to the news, a lot of our kababayans will get upset, irritated, and pissed off.

Check this site if you wanna see what I’m talking about: http://facedeluxe.com/tagalog.htm

I also found a link in that website that directs people to a site called Encyclopedia Dramatica. I didn’t explore the site that much, so I don’t know what are its other contents but it also has an article about the Filipinos. Here’s the link to that article: http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Filipinos

Filipinos have faced a lot of criticisms — remember that Desperate Housewives episode? — and I find it depressing and pathetic that other people cannot respect other races. It gets even more pathetic when people spend time to blog about how negatively they see other races like ours. Filipinos — or any race — are not supposed to be the subject of these kinds of criticisms, even if others say that it’s just for fun. Because nothing is really funny about it.

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Flippish: A New Filipino Flavor

I was browsing through the pages of Inquirer when I saw an article about the “first online video channel in the Philippines.” The online video channel goes by the name Flippish.

I kept that page of the newspaper so I can visit the website when I go online. (I tend to be forgetful a lot of times that’s why I needed to keep the article.) So, when I turned my laptop on and got connected to our internet, I readily typed flippish.com on my web browser.

And the screen greeted me with this:

Flippish

I have always been a self-proclaimed television addict and it is nice to know that even my other drug called the Internet offers shows that I could enjoy. Two of my favorite shows in flippish.com are Girl Next Door and Boy Bawal. Girl Next Door is a lifestyle show that talks about fashion, beauty, and health. Boy Bawal on the other hand is a social experiment with a touch of humor. It features a guy who challenges the bawal.

Another good thing about this online video channel is that the viewers could actually watch the shows repeatedly. Just download the shows, click play, and click replay. It’s unlike the traditional TV wherein we have to be ready at this time to watch this show.  Sometimes, we even have to abandon our tasks just to watch the teleseryes we want at a specific time. (I know. I usually leave my academic tasks just to watch Dahil May Isang Ikaw. ) In other words, ‘traditional TV’ somehow controls us. And this online video channel makes us in control.

But I believe that the best thing about Flippish is that is is Filipino. It is something that creative and adventurous Pinoys came up with to showcase the Filipino talent. This online video channel is one way to show that Filipinos can rule the World Wide Web.

So what are you waiting for? Tune it to Flippish. Support the Pinoy talent.

On NSM Regulation

During the time of the typhoon’s wrath, many Filipinos ‘living’ online utilized new social media to stage a bayanihan. Not only was new social media used for this, but it also served as a venue to defend the Filipinos from those who were allegedly insensitive to the Pinoys’ state.

One example is Jacque Bermejo, who allegedly said that the Filipinos deserve what happened to them.

Jacque Bermejo's alleged Facebook status

Another is a Korean woman who allegedly posted something on her Twitter page that also mocked the Filipinos.

The Korean's alleged tweet

Newsfeeds in Facebook was also flooded by a picture of a man, said to be Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo (yes, the son of the president), who was buying expensive liquor in a supermarket while the Metro was being hit by the typhoon ‘Ondoy.’ The photo, later on, was removed from the newsfeeds – I don’t know why. Mikey Arroyo has already issued his statement regarding the issue.

Man who is said to be Mikey Arroyo

But this issue on Mikey Arroyo has now led to another issue that concerns us NSM users, i.e. the regulation of the use of new social media.

Ask yourself this: What will happen if there will be restrictions on the use of new social media, particularly social networking sites like Facebook?

After the liquor-buying issue, Rep. Arroyo had actually supported proposals in the House of Representatives to regulate postings in SNS. To read more on the issue click on these:

Regulating Facebook ‘Talibanic’

‘Facebook’ debate erupts between Mikey, Hontiveros

I don’t want to sound political or Sp133-ish here, but if the use of SNS will be regulated, wouldn’t it suppress the people’s freedom of expression? And who, may I ask, will regulate the use of NSM? Will this also affect our right to privacy?

I say no to this regulation.

This generation, I believe, values its freedom to express what they want – and this is usually done through Facebook, Twitter, etc. Though, of course, there are other ways for us to speak our minds, we must admit that new social media has been, probably, the no. 1 venue for us to vent our frustrations and rants, to express our happiness and gratitude, or what have you.

But I think that we must not forget our responsibility in using this technology that was bestowed to us. We must not abuse our use of NSM and make sure that we think before we post.