28 July 2024 A NATION UNDERWATER: DROWNING IN CORRUPTION By Raymond Seneriches In the aftermath of Typhoon Carina which wreaked havoc across Metro Manila and nearby regions, a singular question echoes through the inundated streets and makeshift shelters: “What happened to all the flood control projects and the billions of pesos spent in the last two decades?” Cito Beltran’s poignant inquiry in his Philstar column mirrors the collective bewilderment and frustration of a nation submerged not only by floodwater but also by the weight of unfulfilled promises and squandered resources. Philstar columnist Ana Marie Pamintuan further amplifies this concern, urging her readers to consider: “Where do our taxes go?” In the face of such devastation, this question is more than rhetorical, it is a demand for accountability, a cry for transparency on a system mired in obfuscation and greed. Philstar columnist Jarius Bondoc, another voice in the chorus of disillusionment, sheds light on the murky dept

28 July 2024 Lifted from Hector Bato 

28 July 2024

27 July 2024 For perusal  BEIJING PROTESTER RECALLS BETRAYAL AND INTERFERENCE During the 1989 protests in Beijing, student Kong Qingdong came across two undergraduates using a mimeograph machine to makes copies of personal documents.  One of them looked up. “Kong, have you nabbed a passport yet?” he asked. “What passport?” “Feng Congde, Chai Ling—they’ve both got American passports!”  As he listened, Kong, a core member of the group in Tiananmen Square protesting against corruption, found himself becoming filled with fury. The protests were about standing up for China—not grabbing passports handed out by a foreign power. He later described that moment to an interviewer: “My anger wasn’t jealousy, because I’ve never thought going to America would be a good thing. My place is in China. In China, I wanted to study hard and help build the country.” TRUE SOCIALISM The international media presented the student protesters as wanting to bring American “freedom and democracy” to China, but that

July 26, 2024 Di nagkatugma ang salita ng isang tao laban sa hampas ng mapinsalang kalikasan.

26 July 2024 Sharing Post of  EB Jugalbot ‼️HEADS UP‼️ TROUBLE in the AFP is brewing if we are to digest this article from Banner.ph. Please share this post so the Filipino people will know how this government is bastardizing and humiliating our Men In Uniform and the institution that has long been rated as THE MOST TRUSTED of all government agencies for decades now, the Armed Forces of the Philippines.  — Explosive allegations grip AFP ranks • Thu, 07/25/2024 - 13:33   • Posted in: PEEK—A-BOO Shocking claims of nepotism and cronyism at the highest ranks of the Armed Forces of the Philippines were recently unveiled, including favoritism that is allegedly tainting the military’s promotion system. The pervasive favoritism is said to benefit those from the Comptroller family or close associates of the AFP’s Chief of Staff. Top officials are accused of compromising meritocracy for personal gains, and close associates are reportedly appointed to key positions.  An open letter that has been

July 26, 2024 Pagsuko o Paglaban? Pag-aakda ni Duoi Ampilan  Humanitarian  Sa bawat lipas na sandali, kaakibat ng buhay ang ligaya't tagumpay, lungkot at kasawian. May mga panahong halos lulunurin ka na ng kaligayahan. May pagkakataon din nabubuwal ka sa bangin na kalungkutan. Ang bawat araw ay isang laban ng buhay. Ang matiyaga, ang mga handang magtiis at ang may tiwala, hindi yumuyuko sa hampas ng unos. Ang mga sumusuko ay talunang sawi, madaling igupo ng sakunang lumilipas. Sa bawat yugto ng paglalakbay na ito, tayo ay may malayang pasya. Libre ang lumaban, walang bayad din ang sumuko. Lumaban man o sumuko, tiyak may resulta. Sa pagsukong naiisip, nakalaan ay kasawian. Sa bawat laban, wagi man o talo, tiyak may gantimpala.

July 26, 2024 Proverbs 27:1 DO NOT BOAST ABOUT TOMORROW,  FOR YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT A DAY MAY BRING FORTH.  Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips. Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but provocation by a fool is heavier than both. #SONA2024  #itsmorefuninthephilippines  Halos buong bansa ang nalubog sa tubig. Asan yong nagawang flood control. Yong mga  barnacles diyan wag mo akong pagsabihan na #deepfake sharing  ito ha? Nakikita eh.  "The proof is in the pudding." Kawawa ang bayan kong sinilangan.

July 25, 2024 Lifted from Ed Alunan's shared post: Esther Gatchalian: How sad that our Motherland has turned into something so despicable and unbearable. Public servants turned into public manipulators using their positions to amass wealth that belongs to the people. The couple residing in Malacanang are both devoid of human characters being a snake and an addict surrounded and protected by paid devils disguised as humans. I hope and pray those with a little power left would act before there is nothing left from the country but miseries, poverty and injustices. So unacceptable for a people who believe so much in God yet the country has been turned into a living hell.🙏 

Lifted from FB July 23, 2024

22 July 2024 Source: FOR THE MOTHERLAND - SASS ROGANDO SASOT via FB

Lifted from FB 13 July 2024 A LIGHTHOUSE BEFORE A TROUBLED SEA Essays on the South China Sea Conflict By Sass Rogando Sasot, 2022, 173 pages Edited by Rufi Vigilar Book Cover by Pusang Gala "Filipinos remained misinformed about the Philippine-China maritime disputes because the very people tasked to educate them are ignorant themselves." (Editor) Sass has been educated in the Philippines, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, and the United States. She graduated with a Combined Major in World Politics & Global Justice (magna cum laude) and a Master's in International Relations at Leiden University. She has taught courses in International Relations, Comparative Politics, Policy Analysis, and International Diplomatic Negotiation Skills at Maastricht University. Tnx Ma'am Joie De Vivre for access to this book and the freebie t-shirt supporting "Hindi MOOE Pera Yan!" Campaign which is a movement to end legalized corruption in the Philippine Government particularly in

Lifted from FB 13 July 2024 Why is it important to realize that the USA ~ if it continues to bait China into losing its temper, resulting in a shooting war (and heaven forbid, even an all-out nuclear global conflagration!) ~ it will only lead to a very dangerous possibility of our own country's total destruction?   But first, let's consider the question ~ Why in the first place did the USA covet the Philippines, that led to the Spanish-American War of 1898, when the Spaniards were facing (and already losing) the revolution started by Andres Bonifacio back in 1896, because the Katipunan was exposed to the Spanish clergy as a popular people's movement willing to even take up arms against the Spanish colonial masters, rather than just advocate for political and other reforms (but still remain an insular part of the Spanish empire), as first proposed by Dr. Jose Rizal?   While the US narratives try to sell the idea that it was meant to enable Filipinos to have 'democracy

Tula ni Leah C Dancel ANG SABUNGAN SA AMING NAYON Sa aming nayon Kahit ga'no man kaliit  Tuwing Linggong sasapit  Mga tao ay nag-uumpukan 'Sang lugar na malawak ang paligid. Mga bata ay di maawat Sa paglalaro lahat ay nagkatuwaan. Naliligo sa sariling pawis  Takbo dito, takbo doon  Sabay ingay sa kasisigaw  Di maparam ang lubos na kagalakan. Ang mga kababaihan naman ay abala sa kanilang pagtitinda  Mga kakaning tunay na lutong-bahay  May bibingka, biko, suman at puto  At mga ulam na pagka takam-takam. Mga lakake'y datapwat mabisyo  Pawang manok ang inaatupag Hinihimas-himas na parang sinta Pampa init ng bawat pagnanasa. Sa kwadradong pangsabungan Mga manok ay nakagayak Sa diwa ng matutulis na karayom Kasingnipis ng nagniningning  na patalim.  Sila'y pinagdwelo hanggat isa  sa kanila ay masawi. Yan ay isang ala-ala lamang ng kahapon  Kahapon ng masigla kong kabataan  Ngunit nasaan na ang nayon kong ito. Ni sa guniguni di ko na siya masilayan. ©️ Leah C Dancel  3 July