July 31, 2000
Military decides it needs 30,000 Militia men aka CAFGU's*.  Are they going to paint Metrocom cars dark blue again as well?  Come on, do it for the good times. If we need to  make comment on this, you probably are one of the people who sat through martial law twiddling his thumb. After all, it didn't affect you directly, right?  But will it work this time?  *Citizens Armed Geographical Unit

July 29, 2000
Presidential super-pal Lucio Tan manages to break protocol ('tong si Siazon wala talagang silbi, ano?) and sneak into the delegation that received the Pentagon's Honor ceremony, a function reserved for heads of state and cabinet officials, of which he is neither. If you think that is weird, the wire services announced that he insisted on joining Erap during the Clinton one-on-one.  Maybe he wanted to act a translator?  Is he doubting that his political protégé might "more talk, more mistake" about the closeness of several Presidential friends to Mother China? This  has made many an American solon wary.  If they are upright and honest in their dealings, and all he wanted was a photo with Clinton, these can be had for twenty five dollars from the DNC.  What should be noted here is his apparent ability to muscle his way through the entire cabinet and congress. (editors note: Newspaper reports show that despite being photographed at the occasion, Mr. Tan now claims he wasn't there. But that's not the weirdness of it all. The absurdity is that some local papers actually carried his story.)

The Internet and You. How to use it.

A certain Telco has literally cut phone service of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of consumers.  Want to get promoted at the super Telco? Get caught. Like
Commander Global's Master Plan to Pay off National Debt Revealed !!
An insidious and fantastic plot by the Abu Sayyaf Group was unmasked yesterday after email sent by Commander Global, ASG IT expert, to the World Bank was revealed to contain a new third world phenomena- paying off debts to rich first world through ransom collection.  His formula: At a million dollars per white person, the Philippine national debt could be settled by the Abu Sayyaf Group taking a mere 60 Million hostages, Global said in a  press release censored by the Phil Daily Inquirer and Phil Star.  The Presidential Spokesman could not be reached for comment as he was still searching for the briefing papers he "lost" (wink, wink) on the way to the White House.

Mr B and his 2 cents: (Guest Editorial)
The word on the street about the Erap family wealth story released by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism is that it is a good expository piece, and that everyone from the balut vendor to the high and mighty should read line by line of it. But what it does clearly point out is that we have reached the numbing and absolute rock-bottom level of passively ACCEPTING the notion that ALL people who aspire for public office are doing it for their own gain and 'nepotic', if not 'despotic' self-interest, with the crumbs and largesse of the position to be trickled down eventually in much-hyped public relations campaigns and programs designed to show the public that the person is faithfully serving his constituents by having sat his fat fucking ass in the elected chair.

It also points out how much of the media is either bought or are mere spineless jellyfish bowls of public relations and commercial enterprise in this country, and the tenets of journalism be damned when faced with the prospect of disappearing profit or seducingly caressed by the silky presidential noose.

But don't get me wrong. I'm putting up with Erap if only to have personally accepted the single fact that this is the guy the country elected with the ballot so no matter what happens during his term, we're all in this silly ride for the meantime. 

Is the country going to HELL if he lasts? Hellooo, we are now on the one hundred AND TWO-year tour of DANTE'S PAD, thanks to that willy-nilly amboy Aguinaldo when he chose door #1 and the AMERICAN HOME FURNISHING SHOWCASE.
hello??!!

So I repeat the old timeless adage: that what goes around, comes around.

We are all tainted with this not-so-innocent corruption.  (Salamat Ka B.-ed.)

Don't cry for me Aquilino. Probably the biggest political let down of the millennium. Granted, the Balimbing is a local fruit.  But Nene?  This is an even a sadder story than Cheche's advertisement for Manny Villar.

Willie "Bobo" Brown, the clueless SFO Mayor,  does a George Bush, clueless US former VP to Reagan.  And you all know what happened after he announced America's admiration for Marcos, his love for freedom and adherence to democracy. 

July 27, 2000
ERAP re-activates paramilitary group  Military officials claim they will be "good guys".  10,000 CAFGU's (civilian armed forces geographical units), each with a monthly salary of P1,800/month. Funding comes from Presidential Funds. CAFGU's, or local militia, were responsible for many human rights violations during the Marcos era and dismantled back in 1986 after Marcos was ousted. It is only fitting that they be given back to the politicians as elections draw near and people are getting too knowledgeable about what really goes on in congress.  So now Erap has a ten thousand-man civilian private army.  Coincidentally, the PNP Chief in a Manila Times story yesterday sought for "warrantless arrest powers" as part of his "ten point program" to combat crime, and the Department of Local Governments took Gen. Maganto out of the freezer and made him head of a special team to track down criminals.  Happy days are here again!!!

Domeng Siazon - the most toxic waste of them all?  Siazon commented during a television interview last month about the ex-US Bases Toxic Waste issue where 200 Filipinos have died since the yanks left. As of date, 82 children have died of various types of leukemia, cerebral palsy, various forms of cancer, including several born with deformities. Siazon's comment "That may all be just a coincidence".    So the poor families, with no one to care for their dying children, march to the US Embassy to seek redress. Why they and not the government? Maybe there's just not enough money in there to bother them.  Besides, they are preparing for next years elections.

PLDT EXECS COURTING GMA?  This early on, Alikabok da turd III, ace reporter and stringer for the real pldt.com, reports officials of the PLDT now going out of their way to make time for Vice President GM Arroyo.  Whether she can resist their charms we will soon see.  But with Suharto coming to trial and this government stumbling at every corner, they are not taking chances.

PLDT HIJACKS EPLDT.COM from PLDT.COM They never learn, do they, grabbing another's domain.  Lesson from the authoritarian monopolistic tendencies of  Master Suharto are hard to forget.

July 25, 2000
Please send email to the addresses below to remind them that we supported their paper when they had a problem.  Now we need them to show us that they are also on the Filipinos side with this: The Erap Finance Scandal

iyambot@inquirer.com.ph

jnolasco@inquirer.com.ph

lmagsanoc@inquirer.com.ph


July 24/25, 2000
PUSHING AND SHOVING (earlier today)
ERAP is speaking to the Nation  as I write this. Outside the Batasan and in the Quezon Circle, three riots are going on.  One pines for Binky Lampano and Tom's harp playing the blues. Why the blues? Cause the sight of five Filipino Policemen with truncheons beating a smaller, unarmed activist with his hands raised in surrender makes me blue, to say the least.  Worse, it makes the poor victim  black and blue.  These guys are putting it all on the line.  Unarmed and saying mass, they were violently dispersed. Also putting it all on the line are the cops.  I hope the police understand why these people protest. Everybody is suffering, except the powers that be.  I hope they will be less brutal, a bit more cerebral,  and see who the real enemy is.  

SONA or COMA?
Government claims all vital signs are there. 
PLDT.COM: We agree that the vital signs are there.   However, we wish to remind the government that "vital signs" are also present in coma victims.

MORE PUSHING AND SHOVING
You guys still buying the "most free press in Asia" line?  Well, there are a lot of stories that this "free press" won't speak about.  And this is but one.  The Erap Finance Scandal, an expose
on Kamaganak Inc..  Please print out and fax to your nearest newspaper. Our guess is that they still haven't heard about it.

Do you have a consumer nightmare story?  Email
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