Clusterfuck Elections

My question is:

Why now?

Cory allowed for the late Danding Cojuangco and Imelda Marcos to return to the Philippines.

Her government also ALLOWED FOR THEM TO RUN FOR THE PRESIDENCY AND NATIONAL POLITICS.

Then Imee and Bongbong followed suit.

They were elected in both LOCAL and NATIONAL positions.

Did anyone hear from the opposition? No.

Did anyone hear from the victims? No.

If they did, it was certainly more of a fart than a nationwide protest.

Imee became a Governor then a Senator. Bongbong became a Senator and a Governor.

Then Bongbong ran for the Vice Presidency and lost by a mere 200,000 at the most that allowed for him to challenge the results.

And this is from the same dictator’s son who should not be qualified to run for public office.

Tax Evasion. Tax Conviction. Forged Oxford Diploma. Cocaine-snorting, partying guy. Stolen wealth. Even a fake person because he’s been supposedly dead.

These are not new things. These are things I’ve heard for half a century.

They showed us documents of the grave corruption of the Marcoses. They showed us grotesque photos of the plight of the people. They showed us videos of their parties while the nation suffered.

The youth bought it. The nation bought it. We bought it.

We kicked them out and said Never Again … to corruption, to political dynasties, to long-term extensions. And we vowed never to bury him in the Heroes Cemetery.

We said all these. We did all these.

And maybe we were just a little insane thinking God Almighty reserved seats for us at His Right Hand.

When Cory came to power so did the rest of her family: Butz Aquino and the notorious Peping Cojuangco.

She appointed her own leaders and called them Officers-in-Charge (OIC) and gave birth to new dynasties: Rodrigo Duterte, Jojo Binay, to name a few.

And, as mentioned earlier, the Marcoses ran for national posts. They did not do it quietly. They did it in our collective faces.

They were there during the administrations of Cory, Ramos, Erap, Arroyo, PNoy, and Duterte. They weren’t hiding quietly somewhere. They were participating in national government.And where was the opposition during all those times?

Nowhere. Dead. Silent.

Tax Evasion. Tax Conviction. Forged Oxford Diploma. Cocaine-snorting, partying guy. Stolen wealth. Even a fake person because he’s been supposedly dead were all the same issues happening at the time.

Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

But you know what else happened that everyone was quiet about — or if they did make a noise it was like a silent fart?

Political dynasties proliferated. Arroyo had 9 years despite the Never Again to term extensions. Corruption was never eradicated and, worse, we NEVER CONVICTED ANYONE FOR CORRUPTION AND — EVEN IF WE DID — THEY WERE EVENTUALLY RELEASED: ERAP, JINGGOY, BONG REVILLA, ENRILE, to name a few.

And we buried Marcos in the Heroes Cemetery.

Let me paint you a picture: Erap Estrada was held and convicted, held in house arrest, then pardoned. Arroyo was held without bail, never convicted then released by Duterte. Enrile was convicted and processed in jail but was released thereafter. Same thing with Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla. Even Senator Leila De Lima languishes in jail as this is being written.

Here’s the icing: IMELDA MARCOS NEVER SAW THE INTERIOR OF A JAIL CELL.NEVER.

Either she had the best damn lawyers in town or she’s simply untouchable.

Remember, this did not happen yesterday. It’s been there since Cory’s time.

In short, EVERY SINGLE LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT THEY TOLD US ABOUT EDSA BROKE DOWN ONE BY ONE LIKE A LITTLE FUCKING PAPER CUT PAIN.

Never Again … to corruption, to political dynasties, to long-term extensions. And we vowed never to bury him in the Heroes Cemetery.

Anybody sells me EDSA today and I will hit that idiot’s head because, as I said, EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF SHIT THEY TOLD US ABOUT EDSA DOES NOT EXIST. Name me one piece of shit in that EDSA that we managed to salvage? Just one.

So change your tack about BBM.

You’ve regurgitated just about EVERY SINGLE ISSUE THAT EVERY SINGLE VOTER ALREADY KNOWS but he’s still emerged as the top candidate shows how INCOMPETENT your CAMPAIGN is or, worse, we’re really all just a bunch of thieves.

Corruption has hounded just about every single administration from the time of Marcos to Duterte.Every. Single. One.

PNoy was not a corrupt president.

Let’s accept that 100% for the sake of argument.

Did he stop corruption during his time? No.

Did he stop his cabinet members from the allegations of corruption? No.

And so on.

If A STRANGER looks at the HISTORICAL RECORDS OF EVERY ADMINISTRATION FROM THE TIME OF MARCOS, THAT STRANGER WILL SEE THE CONSISTENT THEFT AND CORRUPTION OF ELECTED OFFICIALS CONNIVING WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR.

So you can understand why I feel like a disgusted soldier returning from war and throwing his useless garand away.

Now the issue of whether or not BMM and SARA are qualified to run for their posts is being raised.BBM ran and won as Senator of the land. BBM ran and won as Governor of Ilocos Norte.

Why weren’t the disqualification proceedings started then?

Sara Duterte ran and won as Mayor of Davao. SHE NEVER LOST A SINGLE ELECTION.

Why shouldn’t she be qualified?

And since when did qualifications matter in this nation?

The late great Pepe Diokno, Ninoy Aquino, Jovy Salonga, Tanada, Kalaw, and ilk are dead.

Instead, we elected Nancy Binay even when she told the nation that her sole experience was being a PA (Personal Assistant) to her parents. We elected a less-educated but highly popular Lito Lapid and won as Vice Governor, Governor, and Senator. He has never lost an election. And then there’s Bong Revilla. Bong Go. Bato. And until recently, Jinggoy Estrada likewise never lost an election.

How dare anyone ask about qualifications when we elected a housewife as president of the land?

So enough of that shit.

Like it or not, this nation has elected its leaders based on popularity and personality but never about the party. And until and unless Leni shows that she can beat BBM by miles away, she will always be hounded by his mythological powers.

I can only think of 3 occasions where the much-vaunted political machinery and money didn’t impact the presidency.

1. Erap blasted Joe De Venecia so far beyond that the infamous dagdag-bawas scheme could not be applied.

2. PNoy — despite a lackluster senatorial and congressional performance and was not even in the presidential line up then — was catapulted into wild popularity when his mother, Cory Aquino, died. He went to gain over 15 million votes.

3. Digong gained over 16 million votes as opposed to Mar’s measly 9 million voters.

There isn’t a poll — paid or organic — that I’ve seen where Leni leads. It’s still BBM — despite all the allegations — to be the strong candidate.

If you disqualify BBM now, you will have a strained 6 years of administration because his followers will always be galvanized to oppose you. Remember, he consolidated the political parties of Arroyo, Erap, and Duterte. Like it or not, they will run both Houses of Senate and Congress.

So refocus your campaign narratives and focus on the platform you have for the country in overcoming the national debt, management of the contagion, economic recovery, and peace and order.

Every voter that Isko gets is supposed to be your voter. And vice versa. Every voter Ping gets, every voter Manny Pacquiao gets, they should’ve all been yours.

Nobody’s eating any vote from BBM. The Bong Go supporters will never move towards Leni. So BBM continues to build his base.

Let BBM run. Beat him at the polls. Beat him big time.

There should be no room for electoral challenges.

If you beat him, you would’ve beaten the strongest candidate with the strongest political dynasty support.

If you lose, you learn that this nation really doesn’t give a fuck.

#LetLeniLead2022 but don’t let her amateur handlers fuck it up for her.

Because, so far, Bam Aquino is the GREATEST GIFT EVER to BBM.

Peping is likely to be turning in his grave.

You may despise the man but, my God, he knew how to manipulate Philippine politics to favor his family.

Aside from producing the prettiest faces of daughters in my land.

April 2015

Landing in the Philippines equates to listening to Philippine iconic songs that reverberate around heartaches.

One such is this beautiful cover of Vina Morales and Denise Laurel who gave justice to Geneva Cruz’s original song.

Attending my cousin’s birthday celebration a few hours ago, I got to witness Hajji Alejandro perform one of his signature songs.

But I think one of the most heart-wrenching songs of despair remains Verni Varga’s Kahit Isang Sandali. No longing can match such agony.

Life Is A Circus

No other band in the 70s-80s that I can recall has produced so many musical deities that eventually shaped modern Philippine Music, or what would eventually be termed Original Pilipino Music (OPM).

I did not know them. I never even saw any of them perform in the lounges they played in.

But I do know how my elder brothers played to death the music of that era.

It was the 70s, with curfew and Martial Law going hand in hand. As the cliche went, it was the best of times. It was the worse of times. And I think, looking back, people found solace in music when confronted with the uncertainty of the times.

And all I could hear from adults at the time were their trips to the old Dewey Boulevard (now called Roxas Boulevard) and how they rocked and rolled in defiance of the government’s curfew. There was the disco scene and the lounge acts and one band kept popping up at the time: the Circus Band.

The guys wore their hair long and pants that swept the street as they walked while their female bandmates had very short skirts to the delight of my hormones. I would hear of words like Wells Fargo, Rino’s, D’Flame, Siete Pecados, to name a few.

So many musicians came out of that band to have solo careers and — as far as I am concerned, deities of Philippine music: from Jacqui Magno, Tillie Moreno, to Pat Castillo, and Basil Valdez, Hajji Alejandro, Richard Tan, and Pabs Dadivas as the prominent ones that I could remember as an annoying 10-year-old boy back then.

And while Circus Band is nothing but a memory that I could barely remember, the individual members cemented their place in Philippine music because of the hit songs they sang individually: from Basil Valdez’s “Ngayon At Kailanman”, Hajji Alejandro’s “Panakip Butas”, Jacqui Magno’s “Capture The Changes”, Tillie Moreno’s “Saan Ako Nagkamali”, Pat Castillo’s “Aso’t Pusa”, Richard Tann’s “No One Throws Away Memories” and Pabs Dadivas’ “Kung Sakali”.

Of the many individual hits of these musical icons, one song remains as evocative to me from my youth to this day. Pabs Dadivas, what with his good looks and vocal prowess.

God Almighty — in His Infinite Wisdom — knew how to protect mankind by depriving me of both talents.

KUNG SAKALI

VOCALS: PABS DADIVAS

COMPOSER: MARVIC (VIC) SOTTO

Buhay ko ay sa ‘yo lamang
Hinding-hindi magbabago ang isip ko
Tunay ang pagtingin, sana’y gano’n ka rin, giliw

At kung sakali man ikaw ay
Mayro’n nang ibang minamahal, minamahal
At kung sakali mang tuluyan
Ng mawalay ang pag-ibig mo sa piling ko

At kung sakali man magdusa
Ito’y aking matitiis
Maghirap man o maghinagpis
Baka sakaling mahal mo pa ako

‘Di mo ba maunawaan
Pag-ibig na inalay ko sa iyong tapat
Pagkat ako ngayon, nangangamba sa ‘yo, giliw

At kung sakali man ikaw ay
Mayro’n nang ibang minamahal, minamahal
At kung sakali mang tuluyan
Ng mawalay ang pag-ibig mo sa piling ko

At kung sakali man magdusa
Ito’y aking matitiis
Maghirap man o maghinagpis
Baka sakaling mahal mo pa ako

At kung sakali man ikaw ay
Mayro’n nang ibang minamahal, minamahal
At kung sakali mang tuluyan
Ng mawalay ang pag-ibig mo sa piling ko

At kung sakali man magdusa
Ito’y aking matitiis
Maghirap man o maghinagpis
Baka sakaling mahal mo pa ako
Mahal mo pa ako

I’ve Never Been To Me

First came out in 1977 and sat at the bottom of the Billboard Top 100 but, when it was re-released in 1982, it hit Number 3 and catapulted Charlene to global fame … and never disappeared in Philippine Airwaves.

The song is best known as lyrically formatted for a female vocalist and as such is addressed to a desperate wife and mother (a discontented mother and a regimented wife) who would like to trade her prosaic existence for the jet-setting lifestyle the song’s narrator has led.

The narrator alludes to various hedonistic episodes in her life, concluding that while she’s “been to paradise”, she’s ultimately failed to find self-fulfillment, expressing this with the line, “I’ve never been to me.”

Torn

This dominated Philippine airwaves in the 70s, 80s, 90s and I think they’re still playing it today.

As Tears Go By

“As Tears Go By” was one of the first original compositions by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, written for Mick’s then-girlfriend Marianne Faithful.

By one account, Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham locked Jagger and Richards in a kitchen in order to force them to write a song together, even suggesting what type of song he wanted:

“I want a song with brick walls all around it, high windows and no sex.”

The result was initially named “As Time Goes By”, the title of the song Dooley Wilson sings in the film Casablanca. It was Oldham who replaced “Time” with “Tears”.

It’s quite good to see an aged Marian Faithfull still carrying the same song.

But, of course, Mick’s take on the same song is equally iconic.

1965.

Quite a feat for a song older than most people today. And, despite not being a part of their regular repertoire; when they do sing it, you can see why they’re one of the most prominent rock stars of all time.

Cold Heart

4 songs in 1 … hell, yeah.

The Pan Within

After all these years, they still own the Pan

Somewhere Only We Know

2004. I was 2 years into Jakarta, Indonesia. Alone in an unfamiliar archipelago when this song came out. Then it resurfaced in 2013 when Lily Allen covered it for an advert … depicting a multitude of emotions at that time.

Then the live version came.

Somewhere Only We Know … between dream and reality, I await.

True That

Or Another Lifetime