Blogging in a time of crisis

I started blogging myself only about a month ago now (or is it two? have to check) with the then-brewing scandal as topic. It was a good way to kick off but am still on free ride kaya ayun puro text lang. Call me a tightwad. I’ll see in a few weeks if I have the patience to go on. Anyway, nice to have you PCIJ.

[...] Haven’t been blogging (bad) at a time when all the blogosphere is teeming with citizen journalism (good). [...]

[...] Bago rin ang blog ni John Nery ng Philippine Daily Inquirer. Binabanggit ngayon sa PCIJ blog ang mga peryodistang nagba-blog. [...]

hehehehe

blogging rules!

panlaban sa boredom sa trabaho pwamis!!!

next tym mabibigyan na ng memo ang mga employees namin

sasabihin tama nang blogging

bahala sila

che!

more power to PCIJ!

yahoooo!!!

[...] Metacoverage of the President Gloria Arroyo scandal: Inside PCIJ does a roundup of many of the Filipino/a blogs that have been closely tracking the Arroyo scandal, as well as several new blogs that have recently sprung up. [...]

For all those still waiting on the mark for the next FIESTA RALLY, check out this bit of reality check:

“President Arroyo may be stronger than she is aware of. The massive show of support she has been receiving outside Metro Manila should be enough to convince her of her position. She is not popular in the metropolis, but the clamor for her to quit is not that great either.

This means that the silent majority are not totally convinced that she is guilty of any crime or wrongdoing, as the opposition has been insisting.

The opposition, on the other hand, has failed to bring in the numbers. The 50,000 that Bayan seeks is a mere one-tenth of the rallyists who took part in Edsa II, which installed Mrs. Arroyo vice Joseph Estrada. In fact, 5,000 has been the largest crowd they have gathered, with an unknown number paid to attend. That’s one percent of the Edsa II crowd.”
Source: http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/archive/81.html

Mag-isip-isip kayo. Pag walang paki-alam ang mga produktibong sektor ng lipunan na masipag na nagta-trabaho sa opisina at sa pabrika, walang saysay ang pagra-rally niyo.

Pagod na mga tao sa kakapakinig diyan sa mga lider ng mga jolog.

Maghintay na lang kayo na magka-bisa ang DUE PROCESS. Yan na lang ang bantayan niyo. Tama na ang kaka bantay at kaka-tingala sa mga pulitika at stariray. Tama na tsismis.

http://www.getrealphilippines.com

PCIJ is a nice site. I’m also happy that DYAB has its own blogspot. Finally, the Visayans and Mindanaoanons can blog in the dialect….You said that its the first radio station in the Philippines that is complementing all its programs with blogs ? well, Abante Bisaya!

Sun Star Online also has a very interesting blog on the Arroyo Presidency. However, its difficult to register on that site…sayang…exciting sana makasali sa discussion.

rally or walang rally, ang mandaraya ay mandaraya pa rin. gma resign!

hey benignO,
I agree with you. Let’s all continue working… unless of course, your job is a professional placard-holder hehehe …
masha,
who do you think should replace PGMA?

(Yet another) Case for citizen journalism

Bloggers as citizen-journalists? One can be
either a virtual unknown (i.e. not a mainstream media practicioner)
with first time experience in online publishing or a journalist or
media practicioner exploring…

hi lavinia,
my name is marlen d. limpag. i’m online editor of the sun.star website and i’m currently moderator of the arroyo presidency blog. i’m surprised that you find it difficult to register with our blog. please send me an e-mail at onlinedesk@sunstar.com.ph as to the particular problem or problems that you’ve encountered when registering with us. i might be able to help.

thanks to pcij for mentioning our blog here. fantastic work on this blog, guys! keep up the good work. we look up to you.

Hi guys,

I’ve written the following piece (more in reply to benigno O’s post) while basking in the sun in a forgotten beach in Florida. Ah, the magic of blogging . . . you feel too close despite being distanced. (btw, I am one of the founders of the moribund Pinoy-rin.net. My blogs since 1999 are now in book form: BUILD or PERISH! now retailed by National Bookstore)

_______________________________

A season to be jolly

by Abe N. Margallo

There is one very good reason to be happy and optimistic about the present situation in the Philippines. The harmonization of heretofore disparate voices coming from a broad spectrum of the Philippine society appears to be on the threshold of reaching a consensus on the imperative for radical transformation. Paradoxically, this salutary development also presupposes that the system in place must now be let go. Recognizing that what should replace the system more than who should run it is the bigger challenge lying ahead could take some steam off the question of keeping or retaining the present national leadership.

The lesson learned from the two people power upheavals is clearer now: a change of the personalities of the political leadership without replacing a failed system in place is no transformation at all. Now people power practitioners are critically thinking through their alternatives; hence, they are not taking the streets precipitately or lending warm bodies to form the “hooting throng.” The hesitation seems not one borne out of fear or frustration but more as an exercise of superior wisdom.

The Great Beast just does not want to be hoodwinked quite easily into entrusting again its fate to a supposedly better agency. This time, the sovereign particles refuse to serve as mere cannon fodders: they want to be a part of the process of transformation going forward. This way of behaving - instead of emaciating “people power” as even some well-meaning political observers suggest - fortifies the essence of the power because not only that it confronts the system in place according to the system’s own framework, it minimizes the likelihood of violent confrontation. Hence, the good reason and a season to rejoice.

The appeal therefore in the present “crisis” by status quo partisans (the United States, among them) to the rhetoric of constitutional process or rule of law rings hallow to the nearly half of the Filipino populace who are impoverished and excluded. The progressives, or the progressive intelligentsia in particular who sees the impoverishment and exclusion to be self-evident finds the same invocation as no more than a mendacious defense mechanism, and commencing to assess the crucial role it should assume next, poses the question: Can there be democracy, constitutional process or rule of law when only 60 families out of more than 80 million Filipinos dominate the Philippine economy and the top five families control almost 43 percent of the total listed corporate assets?

The system that for the last 100 years has benefited only the very, very few and ignored the plight of the vast, vast many is now forced to rely on a more cogent reason for continued being than by any plea to formalism or proceduralism. The perception is just about to become well-nigh ubiquitous that the national dilemma the systemic virulence has engendered through the generations past arguably transcends the “Gloriagate” and similar scandals in the past or for that matter the legal process of choosing a presidential successor.

This time it is not just the radicalized segments of the community who are articulating the recognition of the true nature of the problem. Just everyone else is conveying the same line and the chorus is converging to become the latest manifestation of people power with or without the tradition of street marching. Among the most prominent of these articulations is the recent pastoral statement issued by CBCP on the present controversy. Certainly, there remain voices of equivocation: preserve against the worse or change for the better. Still bolder strides are acknowledged for either direction. One thing is nowhere negated however: the principle of the people’s “last say.” The principle perchance now regarded more as a sword of Damocles of some kind to hasten enlightenment for the attainment of the good Philippine society.

Going forward, there will be a realization that the political class alone cannot lead the formation of the collective capacity for rediscovery and recreation like strategizing a successful challenge to the “tiger economies” of Asia, not to speak of the well-entrenched economic vanguards of First World countries. Neither can the same class (the trapos, if you will) remain as the perennial whipping boys for the country’s laggardness, economic or otherwise. The economic class must now begin to share this responsibility with the “politicos.” Hence, the need to put up a real challenge against regional competitors as well as those in the global arena, through a solid partnership between the State and private entrepreneurs. This can only succeed if the State/private business collaboration is driven by a strong sense of national identity and consciousness and through Filipino people power, no less.

This new dimension of people power requires more, not less, politics. But it should not be one that comes to the fore only when the fire is aflame and dies out when normalcy is perceived to have been recovered - the so-called ningas kugon variety. More politics means a people powered alternative, as against the elitist project, is now possible - if we believe the deeper anxieties of the various voices being heard - without the threat of violent confrontation.

How should such an alternative look like? It should first of all be defiant against the failed system in place. The existing one is a borrowed (or an imposed one) after all. Historically, it is a system borne out of the uneven compromise between the American invaders and the ilustrado “collaborators” who had abandoned the cause of the Philippine Revolution. Its birthright is therefore one of anomaly by which the nation remains entrapped.

It is high time, so the cathartic formation builds on, to let the system in place go. And the strategy for letting-go requires first a broad-based pluralism through inclusion and participation, with the voiceless being given a voice through their genuine representatives. Whereupon, there should be continuing willingness to re-discover, re-create and experiment to deepen democracy, the rule of law, and constitutionalism and thereby form a new public the Filipinos can call their very own.

the pageman, simple lang naman sa ganang akin. ang sabi ng constitution ang bise ang kapalit pag may vacancy. the constitution precisely provided for this so that we wont have a problem of choosing a successor in a non-election situation. we agreed for the constitution to take affect and therefore must abide by what it contains. if gma really thinks her program for economic reform is working, then she can turnover everything to noli. puedeng ipagpatuloy ni noli ang mga programa ni gma (kung totoo nga itong makabuluhan). as it is, gma has lost the moral ascendancy to lead and the country is spiralling down with her regardless of whether her program for governing is excellent.

btw, di ako fan ni kabayan pero ganun talaga. tiis.

abe, ingat sa sharks at hurricanes.

I’ve had it with people who still keep on insisting that 500,000 people were at EDSA 2 when even at EDSA 1 it is impossible to reach that number unless they occupied EDSA from Quezon Blvd to Pasay Road. And they are squeezed so tight no way people could last 2 hours much less 4 days. The road is too small to fit that much people. I’m posting the following from my blog and everybody can get their calculator and street map to see if it is at all possible to fit 500,000 people in the stretch of EDSA occupied by people during EDSA 2.

——————————————————-
Estimating the number of rallyists is best using the actual surface area on which they are standing on. For unless, the rallyists are carrying each other, there is a limit to how many rallyist a a given area can contain. Other consideration, include breathing space, resting space(esp. rallies that last for hours to days), etc.

In order to have enough space for the typical rallyist to sit down and rest, we usually allocate 1 rallyist per sq. meter. At 2 rallyist per sq.m, they can stand together without suffocating but cannot sit down to rest. When marching, as much as 3 rallyist can occupy 1 sq m. without stumbling against each other. (Try this, draw a square 1 meter by two meters, you can have 2 people stand side by side 3 deep and walk comfortably, for a total of 6 people) In tiangge mode during christmas up to 4 people per sq. m. can be achieved. Now if rallyists can still walk around in small groups the count would be around .5 to .75 per sq. m.

So now lets start with the true mother of all rallies, EDSA 1. Claims of 1 to 2 million have been heard, is this possible?

The width of EDSA is approximately 50m meters with some area wider and others narrower. I was at EDSA 1 for 2 days (actually only 2 to 3 hours for each of those 2 days) and I recall that the space occupied was quite long. A reasonable estimate would be from the intersection of Aurora Blvd.to Boni Ave. The length of this this stretch of road is approx. 4,250 m. The total sq meters would be 212, 500 sq m. Unless the people are crushing each other to death (which believe me they were not) The number would be between 212,500 to 425,000. However, it would be nearer the lower figure as people needs to sit down once in a while. The people also did not extend to the side streets so much except in Ortigas and Bonnie Serrano.

In Ortigas the width is about 30 m. The stretch from Connecticut to Meralco is 1625 m. for a total area of 48,750 sq. m.. The people here are not as thick as in EDSA and they did not really cover the whole stretch.

Bonnie Serrano about 20m wide. The length occupied was from Eisenhower to 15th ave. which is 1500 meters long. So about 30,000 sq m.

So the total sq meters of the protest area is about 264,250 and that is being extremely generous as the crowd started tapering past Shaw and past P. Tuazon. So the estimated number of people at EDSA 1 is between 264,250 to 528,250. A reasonable guess would be 1.2 per sq m. or a total of approx. 317,100. A far cry from the 1 million claimed.
———————————————————-

note: at 2 per sq m. it will be impossible for people to rotate out to go to bathroom or eat since the squeeze is too tight esp. at the center. If you move about, other people have to move to give you space, hard to coordinate when thousands of people are involved.

There is now a claim that 500,000 will go to the Quirino Grandstand. The Quirino Grandstand is approximately 70,000 sq m. If you include the 3 roads, Katigbak, South Road and Roxas Blvd a maximum of 112,000 sq m is reached. Get your calculators, no way it could reach 500,000. One side of the road and the back of the Quirino Grandstand would be used for VIP and Security (unless GMA plans to use a copter) But to be fair, the back is around 32000 sq m. Again no way to reach that number even at 2 per sq m. which no one can tolerate for more than an hour. (They have to go to the bathroom and it will be suffocating.)

As a descendant of Rizal…It’s no stopping for us to strive even the hardest time for this country…

A country full of disgust…though…as a cyber defenders….we are hear to exchange thoughts and ideas that could alarm even the highest person on this land…

What Gloria did is really spending people’s money..really really spending…

from various “pogi points”, pictorials, and campaign prayer rally kuno…

Take note… the mayors and governors and congressman doesn’t represent the whole constituents of their cities and provinces..

If our mayor says …He will support to Manang GLo….duh… support your face!!!!!……

Blogging is simply not a hobby, but a life exist on it…

enjoy the crusade…

Blogging has been a popular way for those with opinions to present to the public outside of the mainstream media. This is true in the United States where there are blogsites for just about everything. Politics appears to be the most popular here.

As we all know, opinion pages in newspapers are quite limited and also biased towards a particular philosophy, which leaves no room for those with dissenting opinions. That’s where the blogsites come in handy. Anybody with something worthy to say can do so, giving us a glimpse - when surverying all these opinons - of the public sentiment on a particular issue.

I am particualrly discriminating in my choice of blogsites. PCIJ, in my opinion, is one of the best although I feel it has to be more balanced in its treatment of issues. Its coverage of the currest problems involving of the president appear to be slanted against her. That is, of course, just my opinion.

AskDoc,

dude, i had a blast reading ur argument!!! you’re the man!!!

To Blog Or Not To Blog………..

THAT is the question.

PING LACSON 4 PRESIDENT!!!! thats ol.

This is my initiation to blogging. Although I am now US based, the Philippines is still very much in my heart. I remain deeply concerned about what is happening in our country, as much as with my family back home. Most Pinoys here are simply ambivalent–perhaps just thankful to have awaken from the nightmare that was the Philippines, to this candy colored chocolate factory of dreams that is America.

This is why I am very grateful for PCIJ’s unflinching editorials that go right to the meat of the matter. I also appreciate PCIJ for providing primary sources like transcripts and audio files, so that I can make my own judgment on the issues. Finally, there’s the blog, not only for blowing steam after reading the news, but also allows us space to participate in the great conversation about what we want our country to be. It is perhaps our way of collective dreaming.

So, to follow Danish writer, Isak Dinesen’s motto: “Je responderay!”–I will respond!

[...] Bago rin ang blog ni John Nery ng Philippine Daily Inquirer. Binabanggit ngayon sa PCIJ blog ang mga peryodistang nagba-blog. [...]