When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
~ Pastor Martin Niemöller
In the on-going drama that is Philippine politics, Jun Lozada is a simple bit-player; one of many “witnesses” to the equally numerous misdeeds of the persons holding the highest office in the land. His script – bombshell revelations about a corrupt President – isn’t even new; Jibin Arula was the sole survivor of the Jabidah massacre, presented by then-Senator Benigno Aquino Sr. against the Marcos regime’s plot to sow insurgency in Sabbah. Bobby Dacer would have had a story with similar nuances to tell, had he lived. Thankfully, Clarissa Ocampo was able to share hers, when former President Joseph Estrada opened the infamous Jose Velarde account. Lozada isn’t even the first person to be called to the Senate as a witness to the scores of corruption charges leveled against Gloria Arroyo, Mike Arroyo, et. al. Northrail, Hello Garci, the Fertilizer Scam; these all had “star” witnesses, both credible and not, come forward.
And yet, none but Jun Lozada have gone on to become something of a cult icon, touring campuses and giving speeches to rapt listeners. None have had his – for lack of a better term – charisma. His flair for the melodrama. Theatrics, even. And that’s what makes him so dangerous, not just to GMA and her cronies, but to every man, woman and child rallying to his banner.
To wit: every major revolution this country has had has been led by a charismatic leader at some point or the other. Someone who, with the strength of his or her personality, was able to unify an intrinsically diverse people: Andres Bonifacio, Nur Misuari, Jose Ma. Sison, Ninoy Aquino, Cory Aquino, Jaime Cardinal Sin. It has been bandied around that the only reason GMA is still in power is because there’s no one personality that’s charismatic enough to challenge her. And that is precisely the problem.
People change, people die. People have faults, and there’s a skeleton in everyone’s closet. Even the Pope, despite Church doctrine, can make mistakes. That’s the problem with how we’ve always fought our wars: we fight for a person, not a cause. And when that person is shown to be just as human as the rest of us – in all our inadequate glory – we become disillusioned. Which is where we as a people are now: politically apathetic, socially indifferent.
Jun Lozada, the man, is neither here nor there. What’s important is what he’s rallying for. Edmund Burke once said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing, and I applaud Lozada for having the testicular fortitude to be a good man in these times that try men’s souls. But we for the most part have been summer soldiers and sunshine patriots, standing only in the service of our country because it’s in vogue, with the most common reason being: there’s nobody to lead us.
Jun Lozada is not the plucky hero, his battlefield is not the grand arena. He is merely doing the right thing in stepping forward, as all good men should. It’s not his fight. It’s our fight. We should stop focusing on the slings and arrows of his outrageous fortune, and start to realize ours. What does it matter that he was kidnapped by the PSG in comparison to the over 700 victims of political killings since GMA assumed the post of the President of the Republic of the Philippines? What does it matter, compared to the massive vote-rigging that happened in 2004? Or the hundreds of millions of Pesos in fertilizer the farmers in Central Luzon will never see? Or, for that matter, facilities and improvements we will never have access to, as well as the shoddy infrastructure work we have to put up with, because of numerous instances of misappropriation?
Lozada’s saga is just one piece of a puzzle we all know the solution to. It isn’t his banner we should be rallying to, it should be ours.
I am neither joining the bandwagon, nor am I all of a sudden part of a mob and their mentality. I do not speak for the others, nor do they for me. That I have joined the fray does not speak for itself. I have my reasons, that I will try to make clear. I am this angry precisely because it’s a luxury that I can, but still only just barely. Please continue reading On Malu Fernandez: Why I’m angry on my Far From Neutral Notions blog
There is a line between being hilariously offensive, and being just offensive, and it’s not a thin one. We know it for what it is, and we know it’s best to keep such thoughts to ourselves or shared only with others of similar disposition. It’s called tact. Other terms, like “good judgment”, “sensitivity”, or “not-having-shit-for-brains” may also be used. It’s a fairly common practice to people not named “DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzales”. Please continue reading On Malu Fernandez: we have feelings too you know at my Far From Neutral Notions blog.
There is a sublime pleasure involved in letting acrid smoke pass through my nostrils, down to my lungs, holding it in for a moment, and exhaling, with the lingering hint of menthol around my inner cheeks as I down a glass of ice-cold cola. I’ve abused my share of (legal, wink wink) substances, but nothing comes close to this, the sweet combination of cigarettes and caffeine. It is a rush — albeit psychological — that is unparalleled. It is also bad for the health: mine, and yours, if you’re around me. For that, I apologize. Continue reading What gets me through the day at my Far From Neutral Notions blog.
Speaking in front of reporters for what would seemingly have been the thousandth time, George Mallory gives the almost snide, immortal response to the question “why climb Mt. Everest”: because it is there. Now, 84 years later, one man looks back at what Mallory must have faced when attempting to tame the wildest frontier known to man, as he himself prepares to undertake a perilous journey of his own. Please continue reading Because it is there at Far From Neutral Notions.
BOOTLEG SNAP SHOT The episode you were never meant to see! Sydric Salazar's Snap Shots, uncut and without taste. Whatsoever. Sa mga hindi nakaka-alam, Snapshots is an on-going chronicle of Syd's more inane YM conversations, and can be found here: the Sydman Show. Check it out. 
Photo from CuteOverload.com
Ok, here’s the deal: the last pair of shoes I own are old school
Adidas campus sneakers that have long since given up the ghost, their
soles (get it?) rotting in shoe hell. Ever since my ingrown nails
flared up some ten odd years ago, I’ve been a tsinelas-or-bust guy. And
because of mom’s ingenius idea to coordinate with all of my known
relatives when it comes to giving me gifts, I have become a walking,
talking, true-blue Lee Pipes endorser. On the upside, every shirt they
now give me for Christmas or my birthday fit perfectly, and outside of
kinky underwear (oops) I’ve never had to buy a single article of
clothing in three years. The downside? Well, they’re all Lee Pipes, and
outside of kinky underwear (oops again) I’ve never had to buy a single
article of clothing in three years.
I also don’t have a single pair of slacks to my name. That still fit, anyway.
Unfortunately, the upcoming Philippine Blog Awards ceremony has a dress code (the fascists! — kidding, get off my back :P), and rightfully so, as I hear it’s a pretty prestigious event 
And since there is no way in Gloria’s regime (read: hell) I’m shelling
out the dough for new threads, it is with a sad heart (the pain, the
pain!) that I’m taking a pass at the event. Well, that plus I have a
gig tomorrow night with FMD at StirCrazy bar somewhere in Ortigas. But
it’d be a darn shame to let these three invites go to waste, so I’m
having a mini contest to see who gets it: Best Caption wins. More details at my blog: Far From Neutral Notions
Fine, technically, being gay (which I will use interchangeably
with GLBTs for easier typing, so bear with me) doesn’t make you a
member of Ang Ladlad. But do the folks in the Comelec really believe
that the gay community won’t come out (no pun intended) in full force
to support Ang Ladlad?
Read the rest of this entry at the Far From Neutral Notions blog
I was six when it happened, and whatever memories I have of the whole
thing come from books, and the stories my father would tell me. It was a moment for the ages: 21 years of Marcos tyranny finally pushed
a complacent people too far, with the prospect of more years under that
despotic family finally proving too much to bear. Please continue reading " What EDSA meant to me" at the Far From Neutral Notions blog.
One of the most unforgettable lines I’ve ever heard was Ron Perlman
narrating that intro in Fallout 2, setting the stage for one of the
best games I’ve ever played. And take it from someone who can trace his
gaming roots to the CGA versions of Quest for Glory, Scorched Earth and
Bard’s Tale, to XCOM, Master of Orion and Master of Magic, to Gabriel
Knight and Monkey Island, the hours of sleep that I lost playing this
epic on a clunky 486 DX4 75MHz and 8 megs of RAM were well worth it. Continue reading Waxing nostalgia about Fallout
- When Chiz Escudero jumps in a pool, he doesn’t get wet. The water gets Chiz.
- Chiz Escudero can slam a revolving door.
- Chiz Escudero gave Mona Lisa that smile.
- Chiz Escudero does not get frostbite. Chiz Escudero bites frost.
- Chiz Escudero plans to change the system of government from a Democracy to a Chiztatorship.
The title is a play on words - in reference to the film Casablanca, and Kevin Spacey’s movie, The Usual Suspects - and you’ll have to forgive the stretch in imagination. Both the opposition’s and the administration’s
senatorial lineups for the May 14 polls contain - with few exceptions -
the usual mix trapos of old and the up and coming opportunists. The
lineups augur the usual Erap vs. GMA theme, and a very real possibility
of more infighting within the Senate, particularly with the apparent
split of the “Wednesday Group” of Recto, Arroyo, Pangilinan and Villar.
Apart from the inclusions of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of Sulu, Leyte
Gov. Jericho Petilla and Oakwood mutineer Navy Lt. Senior Grade Antonio
Trillanes IV (whom I thought would be too risky for UNO to take on,
although it might be a stroke of genius - more on this later), there
were no major surprises. The names have been floating around for weeks,
even though the question of who was siding with whom was still in doubt.
Continue reading " The Usual Auspex" at the Far From Neutral Notions blog
Ask your candidates what they stand for. What causes do they support?
Being pro-poor isn’t enough, but having a well-formed plan to alleviate
poverty is. This is why I consider people like Pacquiao and Goma as
just an order above amoebas: they can go on and on about how they’re
anti-drug abuse, or pro-poor, but they are never really able to put
forth a solid program: maybe because they can’t think that far ahead
(if at all), or they’re just paying lip service. Continue reading Focus on issues, not personalities
When good people in any country cease their vigilance and struggle, then evil men prevail. ~ Pearl S. Buck
Raul Pangalangan, in his Inquirer column today, notes that we Filipinos judge our leaders too harshly, and that aside from expecting them to be Philosopher-Kings as Plato would suggest, we expect them to be perfect, too.
In not-so-breaking news, a has-been (never-was?) “actor” — and I use the term loosely here — has finally confirmed joining the May 2007 fray. This time, it’s former matinee-idol Richard Gomez,
whose political aspirations have never been a secret, but whose
credentials are not so evident. If he even has any; that’d have to be
the best kept secret in the world.
What, if any, can we expect from yet another no-talent hack, should he get a seat in the Senate? Continue reading Ten things I expect to see if Goma gets elected at the Far From Neutral blog
"Justice” Secretary Raul Gonzales has long been one of my personal pet peeves
- even back when he was still an Iloilo Congressman trying to evict UP
from its Iloilo City campus. Man’s man (ahh yes the beauty of hidden
meanings ) that he is, Mon Tulfo admires Gonzales’ guts
for voicing out his opinions on controversial issues like allowing the
US custody of convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, but
testicular fortitude is no excuse for being, at best, totally out of
touch, and at worst, selling us out. But hey, that’s Tulfo for you. <sarcasm>I
mean, Hitler, Stalin and Mao took very controversial stands as well,
didn’t they? Yep, very vocal people, those three. And I remember
reading that Mao had this thing for twelve-year-old virgins, too. I
daresay it takes a lot of guts to do that </sarcasm>. Read more at the Far From Neutral Notions blog
Say what you will about Bamboo and his band mates - suplado, mayabang
and whatnot - but he gives a mean performance, and you can’t really
criticize his music. Even in a free gig over at the Elbow Room in
Metrowalk last November 29, he is all energy and spunk, and the music
is crispier than freshly cooked chicharon.
Continue reading ‘Fronting Bamboo’
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