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 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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Covering the SONA ritual

Posted by: Malou C. Mangahas | July 28, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Filed under: Congress Watch, Governance, Media

THE ritual repeats itself yet again today for the President and the press.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for the eighth time in her presidency’s life, will deliver her state of the nation address before senators and members of the House of Representatives sitting in joint session at the Batasang Pambansa. Relatives, friends and guests of the lawmakers, and a motley mix of supporters and critics, will secure courtesy seats at the gallery.

By the hundreds, rival camps will mount contrary rallies outside. A multitude of reporters, photographers and television crew will set up stations inside and outside the session hall to document the event.

It is a typical SONA day, and we are likely to report in typical fashion — count how many times the crowd burst in applause and giggle, time the speech, describe the gowns, estimate the size of the rallies, track the security incidents, list and put a price tag on the projects the President will rattle off in a series, and solicit comments on the speech from a sampling of political leaders and militants.

If she should stage a sideshow (i.e. bring to the gallery three boys who sailed paper boats of their dreams, or summon to stand in attention the generals who had helped rescue government from putschists), we would file a sidebar for additional color and spunk.

In truth, it is difficult to report on the President’s SONA with more vigor from year to year. Covering the SONA has turned into a boring chore to many reporters. In large measure, it has become just another ritual for the President to boast of the great things she has done, and the greater things she promises to do, for the nation.

That the President does so starting 4 p.m. in rather kilometric prose — SONAs stretch on for an hour or longer — our patience runs thin and our anxiety shoots up as our deadline nears.

In prior years, we’ve built our coverage of Arroyo’s SONA on the usual angles.

Her SONA themes:

In 2001, she outlined “the core of my vision,” including providing “trabaho, edukasyon, sariling tahanan… pagkain sa bawat mesa.”

In 2002, she talked about her dream of “A Strong Republic (that) takes care of people and takes care of their future.”

In 2003, she summoned citizens to support “the war against terrorism…corruption…ill-health…drugs…and destabilization.”

In 2004, she pledged to take “a new direction: people first.”

In 2005, she devoted more than half of her speech making a pitch for Charter Change, aspired to balance the budget and launch “other initiatives to the lasting benefit of our people.”

In 2006, she launched her blueprint to “enhance the competitive advantage of the natural Super Regions” that entail rolling out 87 major infrastructure projects — roads, bridges, ports and airports, irrigation facilities and farm-to-market roads.

In 2007, she promised to “invest…invest…invest” in the Super Regions, agriculture, education and agrarian reform.

How long she spoke:

In 2007, Arroyo’s 55-minute SONA was interrupted by applause 92 times (according to the Office of the Press Secretary) or at the incredulous rate of one every 35 seconds.

In 2006, according to a GMANews.TV research, Arroyo’s SONA was all of 4,269 words; in 2005, 1555 words; in 2004, 2,697 words; in 2003, 3,339 words; and in 2002, 4,455 words.

Her sideshows:

In 2001 Arroyo brought to the Batasan gallery Jomar, Jason, Erwin, young boys from the urban poor community of Payatas in Quezon City, and promised to fulfill their dreams of education, food, housing and jobs.

In 2004, Arroyo presented Angelo dela Cruz, an overseas Filipino worker who was rescued from his Taliban captors in Iraq.

In 2006, she was accompanied by Ginoong Ama Balunggay and his grandson Jacob from Tabuk, Kalinga, in the Cordillera Administrative Region. She said Balunggay had received a land title from government, and this he had decided to turn over to his grandson. She also invited news celebrities at the time: two of three mountaineers who made it to the summit of Mt. Everest, 2006 Tourism Queen International Justine Gabionza, boxing icon Manny Paquiao, and the Filipino athletes who won medals in the Southeast Asian Games.

In 2007, she called out the names of 56 politicians (senators, congressmen, local officials) to thank them for the bills they passed or the projects they supported.

Her gowns:

In 2004, Arroyo wore a green terno at a pre-SONA address to businessmen, and a pale yellow terno at the Batasan. In 2005, she donned blue-violet terno, and in 2006 and 2007, a red terno.

This afternoon, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza gave the press an elaborate briefing on the gown that he said would “capture the theme of her SONA…the Filipino’s self-reliance, care for the environment, concern for the poor and vulnerable as well as the country’s stability as a nation (set) to become a First-World country.”

How and whether a gown could do that much is something Dureza does not find incongruous at all. In this SONA, Arroyo supposedly “wishes to project the significance of the world-class capacity and quality of Filipino products made through government support.”

Hence, Dureza said her she will wear to the SONA today “a pale pink gown, with fixed panuelo or shawl collar…a contemporary Maria Clara outfit” designed by fashion designer JC Buendia.

If we are to believe Dureza, this gown could well be Arroyo’s best SONA ever. In its fiber is woven the supposed story of so many good traits and wishes of the Filipino people — self-reliance, concern for the poor and the environment, and a stable country on its way to joining the ranks of the First World.

Six yards of this magical fiber — that sells for P600 per yard, according to Dureza — have been used for the gown Arroyo will wear to her penultimate SONA.

The fiber was reportedly processed by the Philippine Textile Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology using blended silk from Misamis Oriental and pineapple fiber from Aklan, and designed by Manila’s crafstmen. For natural color, the fiber was dyed using the bark of the indigenous plant Sabang.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 28th, 2008 and is filed under Congress Watch, Governance, Media. 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.