It is GMA's birthday today and of course, we wish her a happy birthday. Birthdays are a good time to reflect too, about the things we have accomplished and on the direction that we will take.
It is a known fact that a lot of people and sectors in Philippine society have been asking GMA to step down since some years back. Given this scenario, I was quite surprised to see the write-up about her in the Philippine Star today were I found the following portions which were taken from GMA's own websites.
"...more fondly known as GMA..."
"...one of the most popularly elected officials since her debut in politics in 1992..."
"...she won the Presidential elections for a fresh mandate..."
You have got to hand it to her publicists. They continue with their positive statements even when they know that more and more people are expressing greater dissatisfaction with how things are in the country now. Some people, for example, just call her GMA (instead of PGMA) as they do not recognize her as the legitimate president. One of the most popularly elected officials and winning the elections for a fresh mandate? Hello Garci remains unresolved and continues to haunt her to this very day.
Well, to each his own. If the publicists don't write such positive and glowing articles, then they might be out of a job by now. The trouble begins when they all start to believe what they have been writing all along.
Showing posts with label GMA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GMA. Show all posts
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Sunday, October 28, 2007
I Beg Your Pardon
Erap is now a free man. Do you agree with his being pardoned? I don't know about you but I feel kind of ambivalent about the whole thing. There's the side that thinks about forgiveness and there's the side that is resigned to the fact that people can do almost about anything in our country, the Philippines, and get away with it.
You can never really believe anything that you hear or read in this country. Just a few months ago, Erap's camp was talking about never asking GMA for pardon. There was even a statement that Erap was ready to go over to Muntinlupa if necessary.
Just a few days ago though, we have Erap thanking GMA for pardoning him. I guess the fact that his mother is very sick had much to do with the way things went.
Expectedly, various groups in the country look at the pardon differently. The Erap supporters, of course, are happy. The militant groups, as always, are up in arms. Do you think GMA pardoned Erap so that when the time comes and if ever she is put in the same situation, the leader that comes after her will also be as forgiving?
Oh well. Life goes on. If Erap is free and he has not acknowledged that he has done anything wrong, what is there to pardon? If there is nothing to pardon then should GMA still be in Malacanang?
You can never really believe anything that you hear or read in this country. Just a few months ago, Erap's camp was talking about never asking GMA for pardon. There was even a statement that Erap was ready to go over to Muntinlupa if necessary.
Just a few days ago though, we have Erap thanking GMA for pardoning him. I guess the fact that his mother is very sick had much to do with the way things went.
Expectedly, various groups in the country look at the pardon differently. The Erap supporters, of course, are happy. The militant groups, as always, are up in arms. Do you think GMA pardoned Erap so that when the time comes and if ever she is put in the same situation, the leader that comes after her will also be as forgiving?
Oh well. Life goes on. If Erap is free and he has not acknowledged that he has done anything wrong, what is there to pardon? If there is nothing to pardon then should GMA still be in Malacanang?
Friday, August 31, 2007
Are You Saying That...
Salbahe talaga ang Inquirer. Their headline today reads: "Surprise! 7.5% growth" And today, I realize even more why Inquirer is my favorite newspaper. It's not only because they have my favorite writer Conrado de Quiros but because they make reading the newspapers entertaining. In my forty years, I have realized that what gets communicated through media all depends on the "spin" that a certain story will take. Am sure GMA's head is spinning in anger as she reads the Inquirer today.
I caught the video footage yesterday on television when a reporter was asking GMA about the fantabulous economic results being reported. She responded by saying: "Are you saying that the NSCB people are liars?..." I personally got irritated right there and then and I thought that the remark was uncalled for. The reporter was asking a legitimate question and she did not deserve such an answer. The last time I looked, being in Malacanang does not give you the power to put words in other people's mouths.
Did we get the explanation? Well, in the newspapers today, the explanation is there. The evening newscasts only run for 30 minutes so right after that response, the video was cut. You could say that it was a bit unfair as people will now be focusing on what GMA said and will probably think that the answer never came but that is the risk that she took by coming up with that question rather than addressing the legitimate concern of the reporter (and probably numerous other Filipinos) directly.
Oh well. So what are we in fact saying? I will spell out what I want to say. We are saying that most people do not feel the 7.5% economic growth. We are saying that we need leaders who will think first before they open their mouths. We are saying that 2010 seems to be an awfully long time from today. What we didn't say was Hello Garci. =)
I caught the video footage yesterday on television when a reporter was asking GMA about the fantabulous economic results being reported. She responded by saying: "Are you saying that the NSCB people are liars?..." I personally got irritated right there and then and I thought that the remark was uncalled for. The reporter was asking a legitimate question and she did not deserve such an answer. The last time I looked, being in Malacanang does not give you the power to put words in other people's mouths.
Did we get the explanation? Well, in the newspapers today, the explanation is there. The evening newscasts only run for 30 minutes so right after that response, the video was cut. You could say that it was a bit unfair as people will now be focusing on what GMA said and will probably think that the answer never came but that is the risk that she took by coming up with that question rather than addressing the legitimate concern of the reporter (and probably numerous other Filipinos) directly.
Oh well. So what are we in fact saying? I will spell out what I want to say. We are saying that most people do not feel the 7.5% economic growth. We are saying that we need leaders who will think first before they open their mouths. We are saying that 2010 seems to be an awfully long time from today. What we didn't say was Hello Garci. =)
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