Naturally, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was quick to react on yesterday’s attacks by the MILF. But her sound bites aside, it was very apparent that a very newsworthy side story was her infamous temper just before she had made her statement.
As former industry colleague Jove Francisco (TV5) insightfully writes, complete with visuals too as shown below, the President was irked when she walked into the briefing room, ready with her prepared statement — but without the needed teleprompter that would allow her to deliver the statement without having to read from paper, or as we say in Filipino, her kodigo.
Not seeing it, the President angrily walked out of the briefing room a few times, and made her tantrums along the corridors of the New Executive Building’s second floor (from the video, I even heard objects heavily falling to the floor). The President even angrily went to the control room of the briefing room to follow up on the prompter. Almost everything was heard and documented, considering the usually tight implementation of security and protocol at the Palace.
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. But what about a ten-minute video? Well, let the TV5 news team’s video speak for itself.
Such scenes are no longer new to the public, and definitely not to the media. Understandingly, one can only imagine what was going on the President’s mind– from her present problems, as well as the backlog of problems since she assumed office in 2001.
Still, it should be noted that it wasn’t just Radio-TV Malacañang that suffered the brunt of the PGMA’s wrath. It was apparent that the media again also became the unintended brunt of PGMA’s infamous temper. This was when a highly-irritated President told reporters herself that she was only taping her message and not answering any questions.
Having covered the Palace myself in the past, this is nothing new, and I don’t think the media needed to be reminded of PGMA’s silence on many issues. After all, the President has kept mum on so many issues, especially since the “Hello Garci” controversy broke out in 2005. The rule since then has been “less talk, less mistakes”. But whether avoiding the media’s questions — and by extension the public’s — has done the country any good, is for the Palace’s bigwigs to re-think.
This is especially in a situation of escalating violence, where guidance from government is much needed by the general public.
I won’t be surprised if the media again will be subject to blame by some quarters and some politicians would again be blamed for this video. But at the end of the day, I trust the media will do what is best — let the discerning general public decide.
Truth be told yet again, the Palace can only blame itself for the bad publicity it gets, for not being able to communicate clearly, and for feeling that its voice is not being heard enough by the public.
At the rate the violence in Mindanao is currently going, not a few would be surprised if the peace talks between the government and the MILF would eventually all together collapse, especially after the MILF raided five towns, and leaving 41 dead. The Armed Forces of the Philippines says that yesterday’s escalated violence was a “virtual declaration of war”. Meanwhile, Malacañang says it is mulling a “close review” of whether or not the GRP would resume peace talks with the separatist group.
There is every reason at this point to reconsider government policy on the peace talks, which includes as the intended end consequence, the stalled Bangsamoro Juridical Entity that is the root of this ongoing violence.
It is very, very difficult to believe that the MILF leadership has no control over the actions of its subordinates. Come on, we weren’t born yesterday! The MILF leadership will need to do more than issuing blanket denials and general statements if it wishes to prove that such violence is not sanctioned. How can the Republic entrust the BJE with its own police force, if the MILF, whose members may eventually occupy BJE seats, could not police its own ranks? The MILF should actively go after its supposed renegade forces and surrender them to the government for due process. As the cliche goes, actions speak louder than words.
If the MILF is truly sincere about attaining peace, it is also essential on their part to wait for the Supreme Court to decide on the legality of the BJE. It should fight to defend the creation of a Bangsamoro state in court and not in the provinces. It should actively fight for the creation of an entity that is created with full transparency and consistency to the constitution. Of course, given the state of things, this is now easier said than done.
What is certain is that the MILF did not gain any more credibility by using civilians — fellow brothers and sisters in the faith — as human shields. By this alone, the MILF has rapidly lost its credibility.
The government, by its own use of force, is showing that it is in a position of strength on the battlefield — although the MILF seems to be always one step ahead. But this is not enough. The government must continue to be in a position of strength in the negotiation table. It should demand more than just statements from the MILF, to find out if the MILF is still sincere about reaching peace. Otherwise, the government itself has every reason to think that the MILF is making a fool out of them.
Much to my own regret and inconvenience, I have gotten the bad habit of sleeping late almost every night. I guess I don’t unwind easily. I couldn’t go to bed without doing anything special or outside routine to end the day. Last night wasn’t very much an exception, so I decided to call it a day by reading a book I haven’t opened in ages. I ended up with Hans Christian Andersen’s collection of fairy tales and read “The Teapot”, which was one of the shortest stories in the book.
Well, thank goodness it wasn’t depressing like “The Little Mermaid” (remember that Disney changed the ending) or “The Little Match Girl”. “The Teapot” was a very simple story. Still, it made me think deeply about my experiences with failure.
To date, there are two most memorable episodes of failure in my relatively recent past, which I look back to as turning points. The first was in high school, when I didn’t make it to the finals of an oratorical contest sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce. The second, was in college four years later, when I lost the student council election by a mere 12 votes.
Of course there I had an hour or two of initial sadness. But this was not the case with my parents.
When I arrived at the house, we celebratedmy failure. My parents ordered food — pancit, fried chicken, the works! For in the end, as they’ve instilled in me, winning isn’t about scoring the most points with the judges or getting the most points. Real victory is when one becomes a better person in the process of trying. Real victory is learning from lessons. Real victory is moving to greater heights after what initially seems as humiliating defeat. This may be cliche or even corny, but it is true. The real victory is in daring to achieve and challenge one’s boundaries.
When I gave an acceptance speech for an award I received nine years ago, I thanked my parents for their two most important gifts: my education; and allowing me to fail so many times, so that after every fall, I could get up on my own as a better person. Nine years later, I realize I feel more strongly about this.
Still, true enough, there was life after each failure, and it turned out there were greater things in store. While I lost the council elections, I gained very good, life-long friends from the campaign, and we founded the UP Communicators for Good Governance, whose mision and vision continue to this very day. I may have only reached the semi-finals in the oratorical contest that I joined in ‘98. But before I decided to take the leap of faith to join the contest, I couldn’t stand up in front of a crowd and deliver a straight, eight-minute, memorized speech in English! I didn’t even speak English that fluently in ‘98! My plans failed. But then again, it turned out that God had better plans — and He does for each one of us, if we allow Him to be in charge.
How wonderful it is that the best in people are brought out during failure, during misery, and when one is able to open up through humility — all well-described in this Hans Christian Andersen story.
***
The Teapot
by Hans Christian Andersen
There was a proud Teapot, proud of being made of porcelain, proud of its long spout and its broad handle. It had something in front of it and behind it; the spout was in front, and the handle behind, and that was what it talked about. But it didn’t mention its lid, for it was cracked and it was riveted and full of defects, and we don’t talk about our defects - other people do that. The cups, the cream pitcher, the sugar bowl - in fact, the whole tea service - thought much more about the defects in the lid and talked more about it than about the sound handle and the distinguished spout. The Teapot knew this.
“I know them,” it told itself. “And I also know my imperfections, and I realize that in that very knowledge is my humility and my modesty. We all have many defects, but then we also have virtues. The cups have a handle, the sugar bowl has a lid, but of course I have both, and one thing more, one thing they can never have; I have a spout, and that makes me the queen of the tea table. The sugar bowl and the cream pitcher are permitted to be serving maids of delicacies, but I am the one who gives forth, the adviser. I spread blessings abroad among thirsty mankind. Inside of me the Chinese leaves give flavor to boiling, tasteless water.”
This was the way the Teapot talked in its fresh young life. It stood on the table that was prepared for tea and it was lifted up by the most delicate hand. But that most delicate hand was very awkward. The Teapot was dropped; the spout broke off, and the handle broke off; the lid is not worth talking about; enough has been said about that. The Teapot lay in a faint on the floor, while the boiling water ran out of it. It was a great shock it got, but the worst thing of all was that the others laughed at it - and not at the awkward hand. Read the rest of this entry »
I was clueless about it the entire day, until I received a text message from my dad. He forwarded a message from his friend, who complimented him about my contribution to Young Blood, the popular column for the “twentysomething and below”, regularly published on the opinion page of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
My dad’s friend was referring to my essay entitled “View from my window”, which I had first written on this site as an entry in mid-June. I eventually decided to send it to PDI.
I was ecstatic! I would even have literally jumped for joy, only if I wasn’t driving at the time. So I hurried home to see it for myself — to also prove that I wasn’t hallucinating! Haha! Truth be told, while I remember having written it for this site, I had almost forgotten about sending it to the Young Blood.
I have always loved writing, and it has been a long-time dream to get an essay published. It’s not because of any mundane illusion of becoming famous, nor any pretensions of being an award-winning writer. I simply wanted to share my thoughts and contribute to the free market.
I partly fulfilled this dream through PDI’s Junior Inquirer section, when I was a feature writer for it in high school. The opinion section had also featured a commentary of mine in 2002 when I was chairperson of our student organization, the UP Communicators for Good Governance. But Young Blood is different. This column has been a wonderful opportunity for the youth to speak up and be heard.
Thank you, Philippine Daily Inquirer! A lot of people do not know this, but I became a writer (and eventually became of journalist) because of PDI. I am deeply honored and humbled to see my work on the same spread as the newspaper editorial and the columns of the country’s most respected opinion-makers. A dream has come true indeed! Prior to yesterday, I would joke myself often that if I don’t get to share anything on Young Blood by the time I reach 30, I would then have to aim for PDI’s other column, High Blood, which is for senior citizens!
I’d like to thank all of you friends for the very encouraging feedback and continued support. The essay, after all, tells the story when of my transition from one season to another. I continue to realize more and more the power of writing, of sharing, and how any individual could be an instrument of good news.
***
View from My Window Ralph Pascual Guzman
There is an exercise in corporate training called “My Window,” which we trainers give for personal planning and visioning.
I first took this exercise many years back at a conference for students. We were given a sheet of paper each, with a blank rectangle on the center, which is the window. Inside this rectangle, we were asked to draw the things we wanted to see and achieve in the next several years: our dreams, aspirations, and the things we wished for.
I enjoyed the activity much, being a meticulous planner (some people have called me “obsessive-compulsive”). Not surprisingly, my drawing wasn’t much different from those of the others, who drew houses with picket fences, stick figures of happy families, drawings representing successful careers, and even some material possessions.
I lost my drawing.But over the years, I kept an imaginary window, keeping in mind the things I drew.
Then, there is also the window in my bedroom.
I’ve turned to this when I am in deep thought and in need of inspiration.The view before was spectacular! I had the very calming view of vacant lots, which were covered with short, wild grass that danced gracefully when it was windy. During the rainy season, some of these empty properties would turn into virtual lakes and ponds, where, after a downpour, a number of birds would play and look for food. Meanwhile, on New Year’s Eve, I enjoy the breathtaking view of fireworks from the houses nearby.
Unfortunately, this view has now been “obstructed.”But I still enjoy looking out of my window. From time to time, I would even have the pleasure of listening to our neighbors play the piano, which reminds me of the innocent days when I still played it for hours.
While drawing windows and having imaginary windows are a good, I’ve stopped turning to my imaginary window.
From high school up to the first years in the professional world, I had a very clear vision of what I wanted.I realized practically each goal that I had set to achieve. I surpassed every hurdle. I conquered. And I was thankful.My clear vision and direction are the reason for all triumphs.
But then came times when things didn’t turn out as expected, and occasions when all the best plans still fail. I was disillusioned, discouraged, and confused.I was haunted by many doubts: Is this what I really want? Will this truly make me happy? Am I realizing my life’s purpose by doing this or that? Am I really getting closer to my goals and dreams? Why am I doing this?
I had all the symptoms of a quarter life crisis, and I was not happy with my very own plans, even if I realized them. The results weren’t as fulfilling as I had thought they would be.
As my unhappiness and restlessness continued to grow, I confronted all my doubts.I realized that as we grow and we mature, our definitions of happiness, security, and fulfillment may change. Our very own dreams change. And yes, the people we encounter along the way – people who are also very much part of the journey – change, too.
A good and wise friend of mine also told me that while we achieve certain dreams, we may be called to be there at a certain place only for a limited time as we enter different seasons in our lives that will bring us closer to greater goals and true happiness. What may be a good place today may not be the best one.It may not be the final, long-term destination, for God may be leading us to another path. Oftentimes, these are paths that we are usually hesitant or afraid to take. But it is really a much better path, the path we are really meant to take.
So I took a leap of faith: I left my dream job, and shifted to another, which was initially way out of my comfort zone. At first, I was somewhat disappointed, thinking I had committed a failure in planning and lacked foresight. Now I am standing by my decision because at the end of the day I now know not only what I am doing, but whyI am doing everything. And, after much complaining and praying, I’ve come cherish that God’s “worst”plans are much better than our best ones. So as long as I’ve done my best and worked with all faith and fervor I have nothing to complain about.After all, He is the better architect.
I don’t know what is in store for me in the future. But everyday has been a true blessing and a pleasant surprise in big and small ways. I’ve stopped drawing windows in my mind. I’ve stopped stressing myself, and stopped planning too much.Instead, I’ve learned to take one day at a time, to live the moment, to enjoy the ride, choosing to look at my real window and to watch the birds dancing, hear my neighbor playing Bach and Mozart, and appreciate the real, beautiful music that each day gives.
Ralph Pascual Guzman, 27, is a former TV news correspondent and now works as a management consultant.
(published on August 16, 2008 by the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
For those who haven’t heard or read about this one, the following story is very unfortunate — but not necessarily an isolated incident. The very same judgment of glorifying wrong qualities is practiced by many private media outfits and practitioners as well for the sake of ratings and profit. It is something that civilized society should not take sitting down.
***
Olympic opening uses girl’s voice, not face
By CARA ANNA, Associated Press Writer 9 hours, 46 minutes ago
BEIJING (AP)—One little girl had the looks. The other had the voice.
So in a last-minute move demanded by one of China’s highest officials, the two were put together for the Olympic opening ceremony, with one lip-synching “Ode to the Motherland” over the other’s singing.
The real singer, 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, with her chubby face and crooked baby teeth, wasn’t good looking enough for the ceremony, its chief music director told state-owned Beijing Radio.
So the pigtailed Lin Miaoke, a veteran of television ads, mouthed the words with a pixie smile for a stadium of 91,000 and a worldwide TV audience. “I felt so beautiful in my red dress,” the tiny 9-year-old told the China Daily newspaper.
Peiyi later told China Central Television that just having her voice used was an honor.
It was the latest example of the lengths the image-obsessed China is taking to create a perfect Summer Games.
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In a brief phone interview with AP Television News on Tuesday night, the music director, Chen Qigang, said he spoke about the switch with Beijing Radio “to come out with the truth.”
“The little girl is a magnificent singer,” Chen said. “She doesn’t deserve to be hidden.” He said the ceremony’s director, film director Zhang Yimou, knew of the change. He declined to speak further about it.
China has been eager to present a flawless Olympics face to the world, shooing thousands of migrant workers from the city and shutting down any sign of protest.
The country’s quest for perfection apparently includes its children.
A member of China’s Politburo asked for the last-minute change during a live rehearsal shortly before the ceremony, Chen said in the Beijing Radio interview, posted online Sunday night. He didn’t name the official.
During the live rehearsal, the Politburo member said Miaoke’s voice “must change,” Chen said.
“We had to make that choice. It was fair both for Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi,” Chen told Beijing Radio. “We combined the perfect voice and the perfect performance.”
“The audience will understand that it’s in the national interest,” Chen added.
He said he felt a responsibility to explain to the country what happened but on Tuesday the link to the video on the Beijing Radio Web site no longer worked.
Miaoke’s performance Friday night, like the ceremony itself, was an immediate hit. “Nine-year-old Lin Miaoke becomes instant star with patriotic song,” the China Daily newspaper headline said.
Zhang, China’s most famous film director, was asked at a post-ceremony news conference about the little girl who swung on wires high above the Bird’s Nest National Stadium during the performance.
“She is a lovely girl and she sings well,” Zhang said, according to a transcript posted on the Beijing organizing committee’s web site.
The switch became a hot topic among Chinese and raced across the country’s blogosphere.
“The organizers really messed up on this one,” Luo Shaoyang, 34, a retail worker in Beijing, said Tuesday. “This is like a voiceover for a cartoon character. Why couldn’t they pick a kid who is both cute and a good singer? This damages the reputation of both kids for their future, especially the one lip-synching. Now everyone knows she’s a fraud, who cares if she’s cute?”
In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Lin Miaoke, a nine-year-old Chinese girl who performed at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on the day before, returns to the Xizhongjie Primary School of Dongcheng District in Beijing on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. A 7-year-old Chinese girl’s face was “not suitable” for the Olympics opening ceremony, so Lin lip-synched “Ode to the Motherland”, the latest example of the lengths Beijing took for a perfect start to the Summer Games.
Others disagreed.
“They want the best-looking people to represent the face of China. I don’t blame the organizers for picking a prettier-looking kid over the not-so-pretty one,” said Xia Xiaotao, 30, an engineer.
“It’s the unfortunate reality that these sort of things turn political,” said marketing worker Zhang Xinyi, 22.
It was not the first time an Olympics opening ceremony involved lip-synching.
At the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Luciano Pavarotti’s performance was prerecorded. The maestro who conducted the aria, Leone Magiera, said this year that the bitter cold made a live performance impossible for Pavarotti, who was in severe pain months before his cancer diagnosis. Pavarotti died in 2007 at age 71.
Also Tuesday, Beijing organizers confirmed that some of the opening ceremony’s fireworks display—29 gigantic footprints shown “walking” toward the National Stadium—featured prerecorded footage. The footage was provided to broadcasters “for convenience and theatrical effects,” said Wang Wei, vice president of the Beijing Olympic organizing committee.
(NBC also has augmented its Olympic coverage in the past to set the right mood. That fire in the studio fireplace during the 2002 Salt Lake Games? It was just a video.)
Neither of the two little girls involved could be reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday, and it was not clear how the ceremony—or the controversy— might change their lives.
Peiyi is a first-grader at the Primary School affiliated to Peking University. Her tutor, Wang Liping, wrote in her blog that Peiyi is both cute and well-behaved, with a love for Peking opera.
“She doesn’t like to show off. She’s easygoing,” Wang wrote. She and other school officials couldn’t be reached Tuesday.
Miaoke, however, was a minor celebrity even before the opening ceremony. The third-grader appeared in a TV ad last year with China’s biggest gold medal hope, hurdling champion Liu Xiang, and she was in an Olympics ad earlier this year, China Daily reported.
Her father, Lin Hui, told China Daily he learned Miaoke would be “singing” only 15 minutes before the opening ceremony began.
Lin “still cannot believe his daughter has become an international singing sensation,” the report said.
Lin declined to answer when asked if Peiyi should be included in the closing ceremony, saying that he was not the director. He said he presumed his daughter was not involved in the closing ceremony, and that she was not doing any rehearsals.
“Yang Peiyi’s looks are OK,” Lin told The Associated Press by telephone on Wednesday. “In my opinion, she’s not ugly. She looks cute.”
Chi-Chi Zhang and Isolda Morillo in Beijing contributed to this report.
Not a few were surprised when the brouhaha about the Bangsamoro juridical entity and the widespread violence that followed its postponed implentation (or will it be eventually be canceled?) took a strange and surprising turn when politicians again resurrected talks of amending the 1987 constitution.
This would now be the Nth time that an attempt for charter change is made. Notorious attempts to push for it in the first started in 1997 when then President Ramos and his loyalists pushed for a people’s initiative. But it was not successful due to widespread opposition, particularly from the Catholic Church as spearheaded by then Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin and personalities like Former President Corazon Aquino. Charter change quickly suffered the same fate in 1999 when then President Joseph Estrada himself pushed for chacha through his CONCORD or Constitutional Correction for Development.
President Arroyo and her allies have been desperately pushed for it. It was in her an integral part of her platform when she ran for election in 2004. She pushed for it more vigorously after the Hello Garci scandal in 2005 — supposedly as a resolution to that scandal. Both people’s initiative and constituent assembly were explored. But at the last minute, the President and then Speaker Jose De Venecia backed out when the Church again spearheaded protests in December 2006. There were also threats that the Church would call on the public not to vote politicians who were seeking reelection in 2007. This most recent attempt also did not prosper because the opposition-dominated Senate refused to participate in a constituent assembly.
Now, following the so-far failed creation of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, talks of chacha are back. But for once, the call is not from the Palace, but from Senators who generally opposed charter change in the 13th Congress. This new campaign is being spearheaded by Senator Aquilino Pimentel. As father of the local government code, Pimentel has also always been known as a staunch advocate of federalism.
He has also made it very, very clear that any attempts to extend the term of the President would have to go over his dead body. We’ll see about that.
Compared to other past chacha campaigns for chacha, this one may have just a little more credibility because it is being spearheaded by personalities not at all sympathetic to the Palace. Nevertheless this shouldn’t automatically mean that they are not free from any political interests or ulterior motives. Many sectors are still on their way to push the alarm, after Malacanang has joined Pimentel’s bandwagon. However, like before, it has denied scheming to extend the President’s term, which would also extend her immunity from suit after she steps down in 2010. But as many anti-Gloria would counter, what can we expect from a President who has been known to renege on her word?
But will charter change finally be a reality this time around?
First, one would again need to consider the methodology to be used. Pimentel is pushing for a constituent assembly, where Senators and Representatives would act do the actual amendments. This brings us back to the debates of 2006. The constitution states that three-fourths (3/4) of Congress is needed to call for a constituent assembly. But what has not been resolved up to now by the Supreme Court is whether the 3/4 involves the Senate plus the House of Representatives combined. Or whether the 3/4 is computed separately. All together, the question is whether both houses of congress vote separately or only as one body.
As it has been pointed out, to count both houses only as one would be disadvantageous for the Senate. If this were the scenario, then what would now stop the overwhelming force of pro-Arroyos in the lower house from having their way without much of a check and balance from the opposition?
But again, what is different now is that the attempt to amend the constitution is spearheaded by an opposition figure. If both houses finally agree to voting separately on the amendements, then they may be in business. And if there is a foolproof to limit amendments to federalism, then they are in business.
A source of apprehension for many sectors in 2006 were the drafts of the amended constitution, which were deliberated in the lower house and contained many sensitive amendments. First was the creation of a parliamentary system of government. There was again the lifting term limits on public officials. The draft allowed foreigners ownership of utilities. The drafts of former Representatives Prospero Pichay and Constantino Jaraula also contained provisions limiting the powers of the Supreme Court.
There are still two other methods to consider for chacha. A constitutional convention would be (too) costly and time consuming for it involves electing delegates to the convention. A People’s Intitiave would still need an enabling law from Congress to be possible.
But is there time for chacha now, since again, there is a rush to push for chacha before Arroyo’s term ends in 2010?
And when is it really the best time for chacha? Many politicians like Former President Fidel Ramos would point to after Arroyo steps down. But what is stopping anyone from blocking the next president’s plans after 2010, for fear yet again that such moves would be for personal political interests?
To simplify all argument let me say this — perhaps like in the past, our Church leaders here in the Philippines would again shed light on when chacha should push through, or if it should push through. Now, whether this is good or bad depends on who you will ask.
August 19, 2008 
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