vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 5 months, 1 week ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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Baseco or Basilan?

Posted by: Alecks P. Pabico | June 9, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Filed under: Governance, Image Galleries

THE sight of soldiers no longer alarm residents of Baseco, a densely populated urban-poor community of mostly migrant families and relocated slum dwellers occupying 56 hectares of reclaimed land at the South Harbor in Manila. Fully armed soldiers on patrol have become a regular fixture in the area ever since the military ordered troops deployed there back in the last quarter of 2006, along with at least 25 depressed barangays in Metro Manila.

The deployment, which the Armed Forces of the Philippines justified then as part of its efforts to boost the government’s counter-insurgency drive in urban areas, was largely seen as an attempt to neutralize urban-poor communities like Baseco which were perceived to be strongholds of leftist party-list groups critical of the Arroyo administration that were seeking reelection in the May 2007 elections.

Despite the ordered troop pullout before the 2007 polls, soldiers have not abandoned Baseco, with a platoon-sized contingent continuing to man the barracks which they built right next to the public elementary school.

“Nasanay na kami sa sundalo (We’re already used to the presence of soldiers),” said one resident. So accustomed to such a militarized situation in fact that if given a choice, he said the people of Baseco would rather have them anytime than policemen.

Yet even with all the exposure, nothing apparently prepared Baseco dwellers for the scene they beheld a month ago when Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came a-visiting to inaugurate the Baseco Reclamation Expansion Project, Phase 1 of which will reclaim 10 hectares to be used for socialized housing to benefit some 3,000 Metro Manila poor families. (more on this later) Arroyo graced the project’s groundbreaking ceremony last May 13, assisted by Andrea Domingo, general manager of the Philippine Reclamation Authority (formerly Public Estates Authority), Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, and 5th district Representative Amado Bagatsing.

What proved out of the ordinary — as depicted by the above photos contributed by Laarni Salanga, a volunteer teacher involved in the Urban Poor Associates’s tutorial program for Baseco children — was the seeming “overkill” in Arroyo’s security arrangements that residents and observers pointed out would have been more appropriate in war-torn Basilan or Sulu.

Because unless there had been new threats to Arroyo’s life, which was just uncharacteristic of Malacañang and the Presidential Security Group to have suddenly become silent about, there seemed no sense at all in her dropping by Baseco, with a couple of tanks and a busload of soldiers in full battle gear in tow. Residents said snipers were also visible in their designated positions even as one patrol boat was on standby at the back of the makeshift stage.

“Parang may giyera sa loob ng Baseco (It seemed like Baseco was in the midst of war),” said Jeorgie Tenolete, president of the Kabalikat sa Pagpapaunlad ng Baseco Compound, one of several community organizations in the reclaimed government resettlement site.

Tenolete said it was the first time in the 21 years he has been a Baseco resident that he saw tanks rolling down its unpaved and narrow streets, recalling how Arroyo’s previous visits to the community evoked none of this war-zone feel.

Still another resident remarked what probably best reflected the deep alienation suffered by the governed from those who govern this country. “Parang may kriminal na hinahanap sila sa Baseco (It was as if they were hunting down criminals who have sought refuge in Baseco),” he said, complaining how the heavy security did not allow the people to even get close to Arroyo.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 9th, 2008 and is filed under Governance, Image Galleries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 person has left a comment

“Nasanay na kami sa sundalo” speaks volumes, and this comment really saddens me. It illustrates what feminist pol. scientist Cynthia Enloe writes about militarization, how a society can come to be controlled by or dependent on “militaristic criteria.” It’s easy to post soldiers wherever, but it’s quite another level for the presence of soldiers to be seen as normal, whether in Baseco or, for that matter, in Basilan. How widespread is this “nasanay na” attitude towards militarization?