'This the season

"I am this... I am that... I will do this... I will do that... I will not..." 

All statements that are templates to every candidate's speech, most especially in Philippine politics. And truly, it is nothing but exhausting. Over and over again, for years even decades now, candidates have been repetitive in their promises. Most prominent is the promise to "eradicate poverty and corruption". I know that, they know that, we all know that. The only difference now is that the people seem to have a better grasp of how a general platform is not enough.

The people are tired and will no longer tolerate the empty promises that campaign season always brings with it in the mouths of the candidates. This time around though, it seems people are more prudent in selecting their leaders. Qualifications in capabilities are being scrutinized even by the people form the poorest of classes, rather than simply choosing a candidate on the mere basis of what they seem to be. This is a little surprising, but it is good. It shows that the people are awake. It shows the realization of concretizing an ideal. It shows a change and seems to have been dormant for a while. 

But still, it is not enough. The people are awake, but their senses are still clouded. Their judgments have more conference bases, but the bases are not reasonable at all times. And the prospect of the effects is scary. Our people are so starved of progress and hungry for change that it seems we will choose a leader who can promise everything in the blink of an eye.  It is scary because it means that while we are no longer willing to put up with their political ways, we are also no longer willing to put up with waiting. The prospect of wanting fast results is scary because not everything can be given thoroughly and correctly in the fastest means. 

At this point in our political development, we need a President who can and will be both the dark and the white knight. 

To the candidates this coming elections, I plead you. Back down if you have no good intentions for this country and its people. Be honorable, be just, and be excellent in your intentions.

To the people of the Philippines beg you, please choose wisely. Vote for the one whom you think and see can bring development to this be labored country in the next six years. Vote for a statesman, not a politician.

Yours,

Czarina

P.S. 

Recommended books for our candidates and voters to read:

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

The Little Prince by Antoine Sant Exubery

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosako

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levity and Stephen J. Dubner

Blink by Malcom Gladwell

David and Goliath by Malcom Gladwell

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Justice for the Fallen 44

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#JeSuis

I am not French, nor am I Jewish or Muslim. I am an artist, and I am a Catholic. As an artist, I sympathize for the members of the French press. As a Catholic, I grieve with them because it was a senseless loss of precious lives. Producing and publishing that work of art was within their rights. Freedom of the press, as we call it, and freedom of expression go together like two peas in a pod; and the publication of that cartoon was merely an example of these rights. However like all rights, even these have limitations. Thus begs the question, was this expression too far? 

In the Philippines, the limits of the exercise of these rights were tested when an incident in August 2010 shook the country. A local police officer held as hostages a bus full of tourists for a whole day as a form of revenge against the force. While on the bus, the suspect and the tourists all tuned in to the local news channels and heard about the movements of the task force. The incident ended in the loss of the lives of all but one tourist. Even the suspect died. This to me seems a good parallel of how freedom of expression through freedom of the press can go too far.

But were the incidents in Paris anything like this?

In my sole opinion, it may have partly been. Yes it may have been because of the explicit display of critique on the varying religious beliefs. As a Catholic My religious affections would have been scraped if it were my God criticized in a way I think is unbecoming. But, as a Catholic as well, I would exercise control over my feelings and be more understanding of others, and not condone violence. This is not the way to deal with it. I cannot speak for those who reacted so violently in the face of so little a threat, but I can speak the thoughts of their religious leaders based on their own words. And I can say that we have the same opinions on the matter.

Partly may have been because despite the knowledge of growing religious tensions in their area, they still chose to publish the cartoon embodying thoughts that they knew would spark religious controversies. As an artist, the knowledge of having to limit my expression to conform with society's emotions and thoughts puts a hamper on my creative process and the results of my work. But because we do live in societies, thinking about others cannot be prevented. Not even when this means producing artwork that would not contain the full extent of the thoughts and emotions I intend to impart. It may have been careless disregard on the part of the victims, or fierce loyalty and violent reactions on the part of the suspects. I do not know which one had more weight in causing the incidents, but one thing I am certain is that too much of anything is never good.

In drawing a parallel on the Paris and Manila incidences, I do not mean to state that the press should stop publishing critiques because that is precisely one of their purposes. I also do not mean to state that the religious should not take offense against wrongful interpretations of their beliefs. We are entitled to both these rights, but that does not mean we always are.

In the context of the law there is such a thing as abuse of rights. This happens when a person exercises a right granted to him by law, or one that is inherent in him, in a way that it impedes upon the rights of others. This incident I think is a good example of what could happen when two factions abuse their rights against one another. 

To everything we are granted, and to everything we are given, there is always a limit. I hope that this disturbing incident leaves a mark in our hearts and in our minds to remind us always of our actions.

My condolences to the victims and their families.

Czarina 

January 10, 2015- 11:00pm

Nothing good comes out of blind empty acts

"Preferably iced tea please"

"Air condition and a pitcher of cold drink, preferably iced tea please. Thank you darling." It is a request you would hear from the rich and famous asking their hired help for amenities, not from convicted and detainees in a maximum facility prison. Alas, this is the Philippines, and prisoner or not, legislators seem to think they deserve only the best of the best no matter what.

Senator Miriam, I commend you, truly and honestly for your efforts in the "No frills bill". It basically states that there shall be no preferential or special treatment for VIP inmates. I agree with your advocacy and standard of outlook in the laws. However, no good intention comes unwarranted, especially when you're a politician in the Philippines.

If this bill ever gets passed, this will yet be another law providing clearer policies and guidelines for Filipinos regarding political affairs. This bill adheres to the standard that "the law is harsh but it is the law." But if this bill does get passed into a law, what does that say about the rest of the Filipino society? Are the current laws not clear enough, particularly the constitution and the rules on criminal procedure, and our criminal laws, regarding the matters of improsonment and the rights and obligations of prisoners? 

I should like to think that with all the general and special laws surrounding the matter, that there should be no issue on this. And yet here we are, reading news articles showing how obtuse and self regarded these politicians are. Should it not already be clear to all that how the law works? Apparently not so. What does it say then about The Filipino judicial and legislative systems that we still need such a legislation just to show us what is already embedded in the constitution?

Intriguing, yet not so material. Depressing, no?

Think about it. But in all honesty, I do admire Senator Miriam for her courage, strength and advocacy on the matter. If only all legislators were as educated and strong as she. The possibility of future legislators being like her is exciting. Then again, if the current ones live long, the future seems like it will be just as glib as it is now.

Kudos Senator Miriam! I hope for the best outcome in this endeavor.

But if you ask me? I suggest a bill passing the establishment of a new maximum facility prison in the middle of an offshore island in the west Philippine sea, preferably close to Spratlys, exclusively for the VIP. Now I think they would prefer that better, don't you?

Most enticed,

Czarina

P.S.

Here is a link to an article by Rappler on how our legislators seem to think they are gods on earth who deserve nothing but the best from the worst: 

http://www.rappler.com/nation/61198-miriam-no-vip-treatment-inmates-senators

Enjoy! Oh and do be careful and watch your blood pressure while reading their requests.

How glib Mr. President, how glib

Indeed smiles can go a long way, just as much as pointing fingers can save your face. Today, one of the Philippines' most famous senators, a former movie actor, voluntarily submits himself to the anti-graft court and asks for bail.

If a common thief were to ask for such, it is a right that shall be granted him upon compliance with the rules of procedure. The same I hope goes for this man and his corrupt colleagues. There is just something to be said for an administration that began its campaign and its governance on leading a straightforward path of transparency, then turning sideways and back at its own discretion just to prove a point. But I am getting ahead of myself. The issue(s) plaguing me about this PDAF scandal are the following:

1. In the course of identifying officials that shall be charged under the anti-plunder and anti-graft and corrupt practices act, there seems to be a selective justice being implemented. For one, if the goal is to try and convict all those who have misappropriated the funds, then should not all of the previous legislators who received them from the time they were allotted be investigated upon? Why is it that only those from the previous administration are the ones being investigated?

One of my professors might call this the peanut butter strategy, which is the very one that the other senator charged used during one of his speeches. But I countermand right now that it is not. My concern is not for the sake of those who are being investigated now, but for the lack in diligence that the adminsitration seems to be practicing. It is not easy work to carry out I am sure, however, if you will pursue something as vigorous a task as this, make sure that you do it thoroughly and evenly. Do not be so limited because of certain political constraints. Which brings me to issue number two.

2. While the list or the "Napolist" is being developed, one of our professor gave the assignment that we conduct our own research under a presumption that published articles and data regarding all officials suspected are true. Our research lead us to reveal about one thousand legislators and members of the executive then and now to be included in the list. Of course this is on a presumption, but given the data we based our research on were accurate, I would speculate that the list published is meager. There are about fifty names on that list out of a possible one thousand. Probably those were the only ones they could find clear and convincing evidence against at the moment.

At this point, that is forgivable since it is difficult to provide the names. However, I do encourage the executive to release more names despite the lack of clear and convincing proof against them. They are or were government officials you are investigating. They position means that they are in public office, which means that they must be ones who uphold the highest sense of morality and service in the country. Slight mishaps or felonies acts should qualify them as candidates because no such tolerance should be granted when it comes to government posts. Doing such taints and ruins the trust and dignity of the offices that should be held in the highest esteem. Which brings me to my third issue.

3. Being in government means transparency of service to the people. This was part of the campaign of the current president and was the goal of eliciting the "Napolist" in the first place. However, the problem with this method of weeding out does not seems to be apparent to all. So, allow me to elucidate on the matter. I mentioned earlier that the investigation is too limited to officials of the current and previous administration. It seems that this investigation only aims to go as far back as then, when the matter stretches way further back. How then is the matter of transparency of government to be attained?

One might notice that in recent months the government has been trying to attain this goal through internet communications. They have accounts on most of the most popular social networking sites, and they are revamping national and local government key websites.this is good, except that transparency goes beyond that. I know they are providing these as a means to provide more access to information and government services much easier. But as I said, it goes way beyond that. Transparency in government means no transgressions in or out of the system, by civilians and officials alike. However, this is not the current state, and will never be the state. Realistically then, transparency in government means no transgressions in the most visible and important offices. This brings me back to my first point, and we have gone full circle.


The people of the Philippines expect too much of its president and his current administration. They cannot be faulted for doing so because of the promises he must keep. However, that does not mean he must be expected to perfect every single promise he keep. But, a double negative is necessary here because though neither citizen and president can be faulted here, the bigger responsibility and burden of proving that government can be trusted is in the latter's hands.

Given the issues presented, I then pray to this administration to exercise the fair harshness of the law, as well as the extraordinary diligence expected of them. It might seem to much to ask, but that is their  prerogative. They asked to be elected, and they accepted the appointments, so they must face the   consequences.

I commend you on a job well done for ferreting at least three of the fifty, out of the possible one thousand corrupt officials you have. How obtuse. Will this investigation continue to be so? I guess we will never know. But of course I hope we do so, otherwise what would be the point of all of it, right?

Yours sincerely,

Czarina

P.S. 

I really have nothing more I wish to say, but just in case you missed it, the world of politics can never be clean and perfectly transparent. But I do hope you do not give up. This country needs more broomsticks in public office than it does in the midnight streets.

Trafficking is... tolerable

I seriously hope that people will not just stop and stare when they see something like this again. 

I also hope that the men who stayed to watch "the show" did not just walk away like nothing is wrong.Or if they did walk, I hope it is a walk of shame.

I earlier saw another video regarding feminism. I only want to add now to it a scene like this, where men are in the place of women.

Human trafficking is rampant no matter how much statistic governments all over the world release about having reduced its incidence. Actually, it may have reduced due to the fact that in some countries it is either not illegal, or it has been declared legal. It is not illegal when the law is silent on it, or indifferent towards it. It is legal when the law declares it to be allowed.

In this video we see the city of Amsterdam. It is well known that prostitution is legal in that city. This was done to allow the prostitutes a way to protect their rights as women, while working in the sex trade industry.

However, just because it is legal does not mean it is right. There is more to what is right than the law declaring it so. The law is merely a tool which states have created to regulate its citizens in conformity with the nation's interests and morals. It does not tell you how to treat another person with care. Nor does it show you how to respect. It only tries to embody those principles which we, as people, deem to be right.

So, if you think it is right that these women who hoped for better futures be subject to occupations they did not want, then I think there is something wrong. There is something wrong with what we think is right. 

For some of those men who watched them dance, the right thing to do was to react and slowly disperse from the crowd. For some of them maybe the right thing to do was to engage themselves in the anti-trafficking campaign. For some, maybe they will continue to patronize the sex trade industry. 




Truly yours,


Czarina

Impressionable Young Minds

It is true what they say about children that they have impressionable minds. And it is precisely because of that that we should take extra care and caution of what we say and do to them and around them. So it is not surprising that the children that grow up to be the best people we know are those who have been constantly given and shown the right amount of affection and discipline.

Butt to discipline a child is entirely different from abusing them. It is often suggested that some of the ways parents have used to discipline their young are already forms of child abuse. I remember in grade school there was this television program showing stories of children who have suffered abuse from their families. Oddly enough then, it seemed like a normal thing to me that those incidents happened in poor families. But fifteen years later I realize those incidents may be happening on a regular basis, but they should not be. In no person's eyes or thoughts should it ever be alright that a child be subject to any form of physical, mental, emotional, or social suffering.

I found an article written by my professor in Rights of Women and Children a few years ago. It lays down elements of what acts by adults would constitute discipline still, and what acts are those that are already borderlining abuse. You can find a copy of her article in the link below. One of those she listed down was if the act was anger-driven. It says in sum that when an adult punishes an action by a child because it caused him anger, then that act of punishment is a form of abuse. I personally experienced this as a child when my nanny scalded me with a hot kettle on my left shoulder when I was about three years old. She got infuriated with me for being a bit of a rugrat.

Child abuse need not be entirely physical as well. I remember one of my high school teachers in religion class shared one of his experiences as a child. We were discussing the power of spoken words could do to others and so we must be careful what we say to them. He noted that this care must be extended especially to children because children have such a terse memory and a fragile hearts, and so they can remember most what struck them most may it be positive or negative. He was in elementary school and they were rehearsing a dance performance for a school feast. During their rehearsals he had some difficulty following the steps so his teacher lost her temper at him. She marched onto the stage, he recalls, and pulled him by the arm and said "Bakit ba hindi mo makuha? Ang tanga tanga mo namang bata ka! Hindi ka marunong sumayaw!" 

Children have a way of retaining memories that affect them. That is probably why you could remember something from as far back when you were five or eight. You remember when someone calls you ugly, or stupid. You remember the first time you were praised for creating a grand sculpture or winning a medal for running. You remember it because it made you feel in a way that you liked, or that you did not.

Children remember as much of those because they are eager to learn. Instinctively, they learn through experience, and in experience, you listen with your mind and your heart. Because of that, childhood memories are sometimes hard to shake. There are so embedded in you that even when you try to forget some of them, you remember them again later on. And so this is what adults hope to achieve when they discipline their children. But just keep in mind and in heart that whatever children experience, they never forget, much like you do.

I just hope that this is not too much for you to remember. I hope you do not forget.


Here is the link to my professor's article:
http://pinayjustice.blogspot.com/2005/04/child-abuse-or-child-discipline.html



Hoping to inspire,


Czarina
April 3, 2014- 4:30pm
"Na sa kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan."
                       - Dr. Jose P. Rizal