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Taken from xkcd

The Tale of the Bad Mother

Once upon a time, there lived a mother who had many children. She's not like other mothers. To paraphrase an animal story, this mother treated her children equally, although some are more equal than the others.

The mother hated the independent-minded children. She punished them for the slightest infractions. Even if they knew they were doing the right thing, the mother did not look at them with loving eyes.

The mother liked her brown-nosing kids - those who gushed at her every move, who praised her despite her partiality and cruelty. She gave them what they wanted as long as their loyalty was hers. And their devotion to her grew, thanks to all the gifts they received.

Needless to say, the mother loved her children conditionally.

There was one son that the mother loved most of all. Once, this child brought home a diamond ring as a gift to her mother. Everyone knew the child couldn't have afforded it, but the mother accepted the gift nonetheless. Her adoration for the child even grew.

As time passed by, the child grew into a bully. If he set his sight on something, he would get it at any cost. But no one would stop him, not even the mother. He was the mother's fair-haired boy, and she was the son's doting parent.

One day, he had a squabble with her sister. She wanted the bully's candy, which enraged the boy. The bully beat her sister to a pulp, all because she longed for his candy. All the other children were shocked. Some were outraged, some were scared. None could do anything about it.

The mother wouldn't have lifted a finger as well, although she knew that she had created a tyrant. If it weren't for the neighbors' horrified looks, she wouldn't have considered a slap on the wrist. Truth be told, he kind of frightened her, so she was afraid to hurt the boy's feelings. She tiptoed around the boy's room, looking for a way to approach him.

She is still scuttling outside the room, thinking of ways to make the most out of the situation, as all the neighbors and children look on.

The end?

Photo credit: Brian Yap, Flickr, Creative Commons

Maguindanao Massacre

I was browsing through an Australian newspaper online when I chanced upon the ghastly news that is the Maguindanao massacre. I thought it was a "normal" scuffle between supporters of two political factions. Boy was I wrong. What happened in Maguindanao is the very definition of massacre.

We are a nation used to exaggerations. Take the word massacre for example. Ask everyday Pinoy what massacre means, and the first thing that comes to mind is Carlo Caparas and his tacky rape films in the 90s. Massacre actually means the killing of a large people indiscriminately; slaughter; savage and excessive killing of many people. However gruesome those rape cases (and movies) were, massacre, they were not.

Now, what happened in Maguindanao, that is what you call a massacre.

That kind of heartless act is what you would normally see in the movies, or read in history books. You would not expect in 21st century Philippines. It is saddening and enraging at the same time to see that kind of barbaric act - and for what? For a mere gubernatorial position? How low can you go?

I don't care if it's a political, cultural or religious thing. This is just plain unacceptable. I hope the national government is not just paying lip service when it says it will suppress lawless violence in the area.

Just when the nation is at a high, thanks to the great feat of Efren Penaflorida (and to a lesser extent, Manny Pacquiao), we are now again in the global news for the wrong reason.

Photo: Andrew Mason, Flickr, Creative Commons

Premature Campaign Rant

Finally, COMELEC has spoken up on the issue of premature campaigning. But it is still not enough to stop the deluge of premature campaigning.

A snippet of a Sun Star news article says:

Comelec earlier warned the candidates that once the certificate of candidacy (COC) is filed, infomercials and other forms of propaganda materials must be stopped. Even solicitation for the holidays is not allowed.

Which means that an elective aspirant can file his COC on the last day. Until then, he can bombard us with those annoying infomercials.

I'm sick of these commercials. There is one which describes what a leader ought to be, conveniently forgetting the fact that when the person was in position, he did not do what he ought to have done. There is one which is fully packed with personalities and nothing else. There is one which pits the sans culotte against the supercilious. This is the worst sort of propaganda - the mud-slinging type. It will only get ugly from here on out.

The only good thing I can say is that there is no aspirant yet who has graced us with a song and dance number to the tune of a tacky jingle. Oh wait, I forgot about Bobby Syjuco.

So wala. Walang magandang maidudulot ang mga infomercial na 'yan. Just don't ask the big networks, who are laughing all the way to the bank.

Photo: The Library of Congress, Flickr, Creative Commons

Political Ad Overload

Anyone tired of political ads raise your hands.

Almost every presidential and vice presidential candidate is doing it. The problem is, no one - not even COMELEC - can stop it. COMELEC itself has said that there is no premature campaigning if a person has not submitted his certificate of candidacy. But anyone with a functioning eye or ear knows that these people are throwing away money in order to make themselves known. And this leads to the inevitable conclusion that they are campaigning, tama po ba?

The problem is with the our election law; it allows a "non-candidate" to show ads to toot his own horn months before the campaign period. Perfectly legal under the law but it runs counter to the most common of common sense. Can we trust our legislators to plug this gaping loophole? I doubt it.

So the ball is in our court. It is up to us viewers to discern which ad is true and which is not. Just remember, these political ads are just that - advertisements. And like any other advertisement, the the real thing almost always falls short of the product shown in the commercial. Just like mouth-watering hamburgers shown in ads, but are bland in real life.

Caveat emptor. Let voter beware.

Photo: Ollie Crafoord, Flickr, Creative Commons

Hector de Leon Now Online

I first encountered Hector de Leon during college, when his books were the required reading materials for our Obligations and Contracts and Partnerships and Corporations class. I would later find out during law school that he has authored numerous books covering a wide array of legal topics, rivaling perhaps only Jose Nolledo (If you are a law student and you have not been hiding under a rock, I'm sure you have encountered de Leon). Because he has written books for a wide spectrum of law subjects, he may be suspected as a Jack-of-all-trades, master of none type. But make no mistake, he is a successful author because he writes in a clear and understandable manner especially helpful to students. For that he should be given credit.

Thanks to Lex Discipulus, I have found out that Hector de Leon Jr. (Son of the ubiquitous Hector de Leon, who co-authored some books with his father, I think) has gone digital. He has a blog, Lexoterica: A Philippine Blawg, which can be a very useful tool for law students and practitioners alike. What I like best about his blog is that he makes a summary of the latest Supreme Court cases, which can greatly help lawyers in refreshing their knowledge of Philippine jurisprudence. Perhaps next only to Lawphil, the Supreme Court site and ChanRobles, this is probably the most useful website for those in the legal profession.

Inundation

The bulk of the news today still center on the devastation wrought by Pepeng and Ondoy. It is heart-wrenching to see our brethren helpless amidst storms, floods and landslides. When Ondoy struck, practically everyone in greater Manila area was affected, including us in Malabon. People in our area are used to floods, so the only casualties were the properties not brought to higher ground. Not so lucky were people in other parts of Luzon (notably Marikina and Pasig), some of whose lives were lost. The same goes true for the people in Pangasinan, who bore the brunt of typhoon Pepeng's wrath. For those who lost loved ones, my heartfelt condolences.

It is an anomaly that for a nation hit regularly by typhoons year in and year out, we still seem unprepared for the worst. My father observed that the recent events show that the Philippines is still a country in infancy – we seem to have no set policy and standards on, among other things, disaster preparedness. Almost every action is backed by guesstimation. Tantsahan ba. Hopefully, as we pick up ourselves from the shambles, every person has gotten some learning experience from these events. It is about time, right?

Photo: Dan Saavedra, Flickr, Creative Commons