Congrats Smart Gilas Team Pilipinas, 2012 Jones Cup Champions!

Congratulations Smart Gilas (the Philippine Men's Basketball Team) for winning gold in the 34th Jones Cup! Beating the USA, Iran, Korea, Jordan, Japan, and Taiwan — teams that have always broken our hearts — is truly something, especially for our dream to reclaim our old basketball glory!

This so-called "Smart Gilas 2.0", as compared with the first team under Serbian Coach Rajko Toroman,  does not have much training and system playing together for long, but their hearts have paid off. Kudos to Coach Chot Reyes, the mentor who has instilled in me also the importance of moving out of one's "comfort zone" to explore the "talent zone" of adventure, learning, and satisfaction.

Congrats and thanks also to Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP), the Philippines' most generous sports patron today. In the current relations and context of Philippine capitalism and (under)development, sports — like the arts — needs patrons among the wealthy to flourish. 

Now, we are considered serious contenders for the FIBA-Asia Cup in Tokyo in September!

Mabuhay Team Pilipinas!

Congratulations Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno! "Kapag kayo'y gumagawa nang tama, darating ang gantimpala."

Congratulations to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, the first woman chief justice of the Philippines! I believe that her appointment is a triumph in itself for real reforms for the country — as such, it must be nurtured and sustained. 

It is not because of her gender that has made me support her among the 'insider' nominees. I look more at her politics, moral values, and spirituality. (Among the 'outsider' nominees, I was rooting for Raul Pangalangan and Chel Diokno.)

Sereno will be Chief Justice for the next 18 years. Expect judicial reforms during her leadership. In the context of deep-seated structural and moral bankruptcy in the history of our judicial system, all reform efforts are (necessarily) conflict-ridden between the reactionary forces for the maintenance of existing power relations and the progressive social forces for change. Hence, Sereno's leadership must get all the principled and conscientious support that can be mustered.  

Towards a truly democratic, developed, and just Philippines in 2030, Sereno's judicial reforms must be matched with political, economic, and moral reforms among our leaders and the resolute commitment of activists, social movements, civil society, and active citizens to social justice.

Indeed, "Kapag kayo'y gumagawa nang tama, darating ang gantimpala". So be it, CJ Sereno. Mabuhay po kayo! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Godspeed!

On the Fabros-Carabuena Encounter: Sad Realities of Philippine Class and Social Relations

Reference to the PDI article "Why MMDA traffic aide took it on the chin"

This story (i.e., the life of the poor Saturnino Fabros and his unfortunate encounter with the rich Robert Carabuena) is telling about a number of sad realities of Philippine society and social relations, including: 

(a) the nature of class conflict in which there are incommensurable differences between the rich and the poor in material, psychological, and spiritual terms;

(b) the sorry state of our economic development structure that favours the rich but perpetuates social immobility of the poor - even the most hardworking and efficient among them - who do not get the income and social entitlements they need and deserve to lead a dignified life;

(c) the logic of the social structure of poverty that locks the poor in a system of exploitation (be it in personal, electoral, or labour relations) but, at the same time, locks them out of political decision-making and socio-economic progress.

I'm just happy to note that in this Fabros-Carabuena encounter, the Filipino 'middle class' (at least the overwhelming majority of 'netizens') have taken the point of view of 'the victim', seen through the eyes of 'the poor', and chosen the side of 'social justice'. May this class formation continue in the enduring struggle for real social change.

Mabuhay po kayo, Mang Saturnino Fabros, kasama ng puwersa ng mga mulat na mamamayan na may kamalayan para sa pakikipagkapwa-tao, katarungan, at pagbabago!

Dear Southeast Asia

I love Southeast Asia so much — its peoples, cultures, and foods. But I detest its political and economic elites! The irony is that I have I spent my graduate and postgraduate life studying these elites and the ways they have forged, negotiated, or dictated the region's historical political economy and the very lives of Southeast Asians!

Anyway, a note for the Philippine Department of Tourism, it might be useful and strategic to reflect on, decide, and popularize a national landmark for the Philippines!

Noypi tayo, astig!

Noypi tayo, astig!

Laban Noypi! Panahon na naman ng bayanihan, pakikipagkapwa-tao, at diskarte. Pinoy tayo!

" Ang dami mong problema, nakuha mo pang ngumiti.Noypi ka nga, astig! 

Saan ka man naroroon, huwag kang matatakot...

Sabi nila may anting-anting ako pero hindi ni alam na Diyos ang dahilan ko ... 

Buo aking loob

May agimat ang dugo ko! "

Buhay Sampaloc

Dito sa tapat ng USTe ako ipinanganak at lumaki! Sanay sa baha at sa marami pang iba. Sa 30 taon gumanda na rin ang ilaw at kalsada ng España, kaso sa 30 taon na ito pa-grabe nang pa-grabe naman ang baha. Ito ay sa kabila na kahit pa mula nung elementary ako ang mga sikat na proyekto ng mga pulitiko sa Manila City Hall man o barangay ay "clean and green" (kasama ng "peace and order"), at sa school naman ay ang mga sikat na organisasyon ay patungkol sa kalikasan gaya ng 'Earth Lovers' at 'Green Brigade' (kasama ng mga Boy and Girl Scouts).

Sana makita at mapagtanto natin bilang mga mamamayan, at ng mga namumuno sa mga komunidad at gobyerno, ang mensahe at oportunidad para sa pagbabago sa panahon nitong krisis. Makiramdam, at ibalik ang respeto, sa kalikasan. Paghusayan ang mga proyekto para sa kalikasan at kapaligiran, kasama na rito ang pagbubuo ng mga alternatibong pamamaraan ng pamumuhay at pag-organisa ng mga komunidad.

It's Man-made

With all due respect to friends of faith, I believe that the natural tragedy we are in now is not at all an "act of God". It's by all means "man-made". It's a tragic manifestation of the worsening disrespectful, hostile, and alienated relationship of human beings with nature.

Our caring and loving sense of nature and the environment has long been missing. Respect for the natural environment is most urgently needed. We have to be reconciled with nature — personally, ideologically, technologically, and policy-wise.

  

Meanwhile, at this very moment, we have families, friends, kababayans, fellow human beings — the victims, evacuees, as well as the rescuers and volunteers — who need our help, support, and prayers in the worst flooding that has hit Metro Manila and Luzon in recent years. 

May this trying times bring out the best in human beings, and may nature show compassion and accord forgiveness to us. 

Renaissance and the RH Bill

Still having a holiday hangover.... Berlin, Pisa, Florence, and Venice are all uniquely beautiful. Each is legendary and has its own place in history. But Florence has charmed me the most at this time. Maybe it's because it was my first time in Florence, whereas it was my seventh visit in Berlin and the third in Venice. But there's something in Florence that has caught my curiosity, my worldview, my interest.

Wish I were an artist or an architect, but I'm just a student of history, a student of politics, a student of development, a student of science, a student of change. Florence has reminded me of the system of patronage crafted by the Medicis, the excesses of the clergy, as well as the viciousness of the church, the state, and the elite families whose accumulation drive for wealth and power entailed violence and the establishment of the regime of mendacity that took the name of 'God' in vain. At the same time, Florence has recalled to me the personal and professional lives, works, struggles, and tragedies of the greats Machiavelli, Galileo, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Raphael, Giotto, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, et al. There must be this longing in me for the virtues, spirit, and lessons of the Renaissance — to begin anew, to question, to experiment, to think, to act, to imagine, to fight, to resist, to rebel, to change....

And then I thought of the Philippines and the Filipinos whose tragic political-economic-cultural development past and present have not been served well by the elites of the state, the church, and business. Brilliant ideas, creative initiatives, and talented people are often ignored, thwarted, or co-opted by these self-serving elites who have material and ideological interests in the protection, perpetuation, and expansion of their presumed hegemonic power over resources, nature, and human lives.

On Tuesday, 7 August, may the social forces of Renaissance for enlightenment, reform, and change overcome the Philippine Savonarolas and win (out) over the medieval forces of Inquisition.

God bless, the Philippines and the hopeful Filipinos.

On PNoy's SONA 2012: Speaking Truth to Power

How to evaluate a SONA? In form, it should have SAD - situation, action, and direction. In substance, it should contain nothing but the truth.

As I said earlier, I'm satisfied already with the achievements of the PNoy administration in the last two years. And it will be very satisfactory if the reform promises and development targets that PNoy mentioned today would be realized in the coming years. 

Yet, we can help this government by speaking truth to power - through offering both critique and alternatives. Among many other important and urgent issues, I maintain, urge, and propose: 

• that we still lack a clear-cut development strategy which should not only be reduced to mere 'inclusive growth' rhetoric [to me, this strategy should have a synergistic framework between technology-intensive industrialization, agricultural productivity, and knowledge-based services that would be able to bring about higher incomes for workers, increasing earnings for businesses, and a larger tax base for the government to enable it to support universal social entitlements to health care, education, and other social security services];

• that the increasing GDP we have, the appreciation of the peso, and the rising indices in the stock market are not good indicators of our real economic progress or prospects, and that these figures are only desirable if they would lead to raising the standard of living of the people [hence, redistributive justice through political will and institutional reforms have to done to alter the elitist development structure where workers-led growth is only enjoyed by the privileged few];

• that the environment and ecology should be given utmost priority these days, including methods of adaptation and disaster risk reduction, as well as the bolder agenda for green technology production; and

• that peace and order and the fight against criminality, especially those brazen street crimes, have to be seriously eliminated.

Nevertheless, kudos to the reform efforts of PNoy and his team and most especially to all the Filipinos' achievements and contributions in the last two years of the incumbent administration. No doubt, this SONA is also a campaign speech with a view to the upcoming elections. With this speech, the reform coalition and allies of PNoy will be the team to beat. 

Now, let's continue doing good, contributing to our country's development in our own little ways, and remaining hopeful that we are on track to reclaiming a nation of peoples with a sense of social justice and a life of dignity and happiness. Right on!

References to PNoy's Third State of the Nation Address (SONA) here: 

- Speech from gov.ph and 2012 SONA Technical Report

- ON AIR: SONA 2012 | Video

The Dolphy Virtue

Watch Dolphy's Rappler profile here:

The only Juan: A Rappler profile

Salamat Mang Dolphy.... :) 

Thank you for the gift of nostalgia. The fun and laughter in your memorable shows, and especially that distinct voice and the sound of your TV sitcoms which had made growing up in the 80s and 90s in a working class, university belt neighborhood in Manila such a fond and inimitable experience. 

Thank you, too, for your unique presence in the life of a hopeful nation. Your attempts at injecting a little cheer into Filipinos' stressful lives and gloomy days are truly well appreciated. 

And most of all, I thank you for the values and simple advices that I have personally noted not only from your TV sitcoms and movies, but also from your interviews and the life that you led. I take inspiration from these ten wisdom:

• Humility. 
• Focus on what you do best.
• Put your heart in your craft. 
• Give happiness to others. 
• Have a heart of gold.
• When the going gets tough, tell yourself 'This too shall pass'. 
• Have a sense of humour. 
• Love. 
• Laugh. 
• Smile.

May we always be reminded of the Dolphy virtue. The Dolphy spirit must live on.

The Importance of Context, History, Learning, Emulation, and Timing in Policy Planning and Implementation

Reference to Mike Luz's article in Rappler here:
The importance of history


Here are some useful and commonsensical policy-making pointers for the Philippine government from Juan Miguel Luz. I particularly like the last section on 'How to ask the right questions'.... 

I agree with Luz's main thesis on the importance of 'history' and 'timing' in policy planning and implementation, but I'm afraid that he has failed to provide an adequate and astute historical perspective on his diagnosis of the problems and challenges specific to the Phillippine political-economic experiences in the intricate issues of land reform, devolution, ARMM, and K-12. 

Luz's institutionalist approach to the analysis and resolution of social and developmental issues reminds me of my short stint as a fresh grad researcher at his current institute, the Center for Development Management (Asian Institute of Management-Makati) exactly ten years ago. I remember the methods of 'organizational diagnosis' and 'lesson-drawing', as well as the related concepts of best practice, learning, emulation, and innovation. However, I think that Luz's institutionalist method has got the better of his intelligent analysis whereby he has ended up misreading the specificities of the complicated issues (especially of land reform, local government devolution, ARMM autonomy, and K-12 basic education reform) and almost reduced the complex and convoluted political-economic-social-cultural-historical problems to a simple question of institutional reform. Here, we are reminded of the Law of Instrument - 'If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail'. 

Nevertheless, this article is a reflective advice for serious consideration of our policy makers and development planners. We ought to remember that the method of best practice lesson-drawing must be examined and/or balanced with context-specific and history-sensitive policy analysis and prescriptions.

Just in time for Filipinos' reflection and for PNoy administration's prompt action....

The Enduring Challenge for PNoy's Legacy

After two years, I also give PNoy's administration a passing mark.... No doubt, some important institutional reforms are under way.... But the greatest challenge for an underdeveloped country remains: instituting fundamental 'economic' reforms, which stays forever in Filipinos' memories and the determinant of a national leader's legacy. As Walden Bello rightly asks, "What does 'inclusive growth' mean?". In our 'elitist' development structure, once the economy gains growth, it is only enjoyed by 'the few'.

The workers, the 'informal' labourers, and the poor are all organically included in the system of production and process of accumulation, but they are systematically excluded from the fruits of their own produce and labour, or simply they are inhumanely dispossessed of their collective rights to wealth, resources, nature, social entitlements, and a life of dignity.

At this time when the advanced capitalist countries of the US and Europe are in crisis - with their neoliberal, market-oriented, growth-obsessed development paradigm losing legitimacy - we should be daring enough to explore alternative futures.

The administration's ADB fanboys of 'inclusive growth' should give way to the wisdom of progressives who drafted the 'Blueprint for a Viable Philippines' for PNoy's legacy, for national development, for the good life of hopeful Filipinos....

Four more years left for PNoy's presidency, but there are only three more years left to attain the Millennium Development Goals!

To be for hope.

Budget Deficits For Whom, Deficit Spending For What

Reference to the News Article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer here:

5-month budget deficit hits P22.79B

There's cause and reason to be skeptical about this.... In principle, I am for deficit spending, and I made this argument when the PNoy administration registered a surplus in its first year in office. But then we have to ask: deficit for whom, and what for? I am all for deficit spending for boosting our mode of 'production' in employment-generating and job-creating projects, and also for the workers, the poor, and those vulnerable to become poor.

In this news article, it says that government spending has been primarily 'driven by MOOE' — that is, mainly for maintenance, rather than spending on new public facilities. My worry is that our government's economic managers are not Keynesians; most would in fact proudly claim to be neoliberals. As such, this evokes of the nightmare of the old Ramos-style justification for rampant privatization of state assets (i.e., private-public partnerships [PPP] under PNoy) to offset the deficits and that was said to be instrumental to the attainment of years of budget surpluses in the mid-1990s. 

As always, vigilance is necessary. 'Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will'.

Much is Expected from Merkel's Germany

With the impressive way Germany has been playing in the Euro 2012, winning won't be easy for its semis and finals(?) contenders. But, just like in life, sometimes all is needed is one good luck!

Anyway, while Merkel's tough stance and austere response on the crises in the Eurozone and EU members' sovereign debts is akin to Germany's government acting as if it's now the indebted countries' new colonial master, we should also not forget that the irresponsible, greedy, and inept political-business-financial-banking elites in Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and Italy should also be made accountable. As it's said, it takes two to tango - both creditors and debtors have caused the crises and in both of them also can we find resolutions to these crises. At this moment, however, most is expected from the strong, that is, Merkel's Germany. 

Oh well, if only football could effectively resolve the ongoing predicament....

Why the Philippines Has Remained Poor: An Important Reason

Reference to the news article here:

Henry Sy still tops Forbes 2012 list of PH’s 40 Richest

Here's one important reason the Philippines has remained poor.... 

Among many other socio-economic dimensions, this new Forbes' list of Philippine billionaires is telling about the relative backwardness of our country's productive and technological structures. Philippine capitalists are mainly merchandisers and marketers and not producers of industrial and technological goods. In effect, no productivity explosions, no technological innovation, no diversity of specializations, no huge division of labour, no high wage regime, no larger tax base for the government, etc. A country of SM or tobacco or condos won't be as rich as a country of Samsung, Toyota, or Silicon Valley!

P.S. These richest peoples in the Philippines are ethnically Chinese and Spanish. In a highly unequal, elitist, and exclusionary society like ours, it would be difficult now to catch up with the wealth of these blokes/families since they enjoy all the first mover advantages in business and the society as a whole. It's very easy for them to diversify interests and even overcome barriers to entry. We thus need a government with a vision and the will to build a mode of production conducive to wealth creation and the necessary institutions for serious asset distribution.

The Filipino Connection .... Congrats Miami!

At 4:50, there goes an expression of the Filipino connection.... Congratulations to the Miami Heat! To the Filipino-American coach Erik Spoelstra! And, of course, here's to the super LeBron James! :)

On the USD 1 Billion Pledge to the IMF: Irresponsible and Risky

Reference to a Philippine Daily Inquirer news article here: 
Palace: Philippines duty-bound to help poor nations

This issue is too important to be left to bureaucrats and technocrats. It involves people's money, especially from hard-earned OFW remittances where most of our foreign currency reserves come from. We work, we earn, we send remittances, and who are they to decide on this lending???? There must be a mechanism to democratize issues of finance (and the economy) in the country. 

Yes, Malacañang, we are duty-bound to be in solidarity with our fellow poor nations. But I'm afraid that this lending of the Philippine government of USD 1 billion to the IMF for the Eurozone is, among others, irresponsible and too risky.

Irresponsible. IMF and EU (especially Germany's) terms on Greece, for instance, will just deepen the sovereign debt crisis. It's not only debtors that are expected to be responsible, but creditors as well - the problem with Merkel's government is that it thinks the Greeks are the problem. If we do indeed care for collapsing economies in the Eurozone, we should have shared them lessons of our own traumatic experience when we have been painfully entangled in IMF and other foreign lenders' decades-long (and continuing) conditionalities and structural adjustments. 

Too Risky. My sense is that lending for sovereign debt crises is very risky especially for poor economies like ours with very limited reserves simply because there's always a big option and high probability for default. If Germany won't change its austere response or even to expand aggregate demand that Greece needs, the only way out of the crisis for Greece is to default on these onerous loans. Besides, indebted countries in Europe would only have to emulate how Iceland is managing the recovery well - through debt default, political will, and other reforms. 

The technocrats from Bangko Sentral are peddling lies that these reserves cannot be used for tangible national development projects.... Come on! Of course, you/we can! It boils down to political will!

Comparing Mahathir to Rizal: Disgraceful, Insulting!

There is this disgraceful and insulting commentary in the PDI today comparing our national hero, Jose Rizal, to the megalomaniac Mahathir of Malaysia. Within a week, Mahathir has been in the national dailies. On the 12th during our Independence Day, Mahathir criticized our democracy. Today, the birthday of our national hero, a Filipino veteran journalist simply misunderstood Rizal's social critique of colonial Philippines and completely misread Mahathir's racist/culturalist ideas and the political economy of development of Malaysia.

Lest our mainstream observers and media continue to extend blind adulation to the authoritarian, self-indulgent Mahathir, I'd rather post below Randy David's more grounded and reflective essays on Rizal's sociology and 'Indolence of the Filipinos'....

Here's a line in my thesis: " ... Mahathir remains an apologist for his perceived socio-economic and political achievements, putting the blame on a people’s culture without even questioning his own politics and economic policies."

And here's a paragraph from my thesis summing up the achievements of Mahathir's political economy:

"After two decades of neoliberalization, if the project had to be assessed of its progress vis-à-vis the overall NEP-NDP objectives as well as Mahathir’s vision for Malaysia’s capitalist development, the outcome would be frustrating and disappointing for Mahathir and the power bloc behind the project, and more so for the peoples of Malaysia who were unwittingly implicated in this particular accumulation process. Despite modest economic growth achievements for 20 years, interrupted by the crises and recessions in 1985-1986 and 1997-1998, this accumulation regime under the Mahathir government had been replete with missed targets, failures, malpractice, economic inequalities, and social injustice. NEP-NDP ownership restructuring target of 30% for Malays remained elusive (Gomez and Jomo 1997; Khoo 2001, 2006a). Big privatization projects led to renationalization (Jomo and Tan Wooi Syn 2005; Tan 2008). The BCIC and many protected Malay conglomerates failed to emulate the success stories and global competitiveness of the Japanese keiretsu and South Korean chaebols (Rasiah 1995, 1998, 2010; Jomo and Edwards 1998; Jomo 2000, 2001a, 2001b; Gomez 2009). Malaysia Incorporated had been ridden with serious issues of graft, corruption, rent-seeking, nepotism, inefficiency, and incompetence (Gomez and Jomo 1997; Jomo and Gomez 2000; Wain 2009). Both inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic inequalities deepened and widened (Jomo 2004; Khoo 2004; Jomo and Tan Eu Chye 2006). If it is any indication, Mahathir’s frustrations on the nonfulfillment of his ideals of progress and the disappointments on the Malay recipients of decades-long affirmative action have been well conveyed in a memorable speech a year before his retirement: ‘The New Malay Dilemma’, which is about ‘whether [Malays] should or should not do away with the crutches that they have gotten used to, which in fact they have become proud of’, whereas the ‘old dilemma was whether they should distort the picture a little in order to help themselves’ (see Mahathir 2002). Still, Mahathir remains an apologist for his perceived socio-economic and political achievements, putting the blame on a people’s culture without even questioning his own politics and economic policies."

Links:

• Randy David's 'Rizal's sociology of colonial society' (19 June 2010)
• Randy David's 'Rizal's "Indolence of the Filipinos"' (29 December 2007)

From OKC to Miami: Get it, Coach Spo!

Respect for these two wonderful players, LeBron and Durant.... Both deserve the championship ring - LeBron's competitive spirit and Durant's graceful artistry....

Initially, I wanted OKC to win, but I also realize that for the Philippine national pride, it would be better if the Heat's Filipino-American coach Erik Spoelstra got the championship this time around!

Some Good Prospects for the Philippine Economy

Some good prospects for the Philippine economy (i.e., 'newfound business confidence') featured in the first 4 minutes of this Al-Jazeera report....

Let's hope that the PNoy government, especially his economic team, does not squander the series of positive reviews that the country has been receiving these days from mainstream media and market pundits....

Well, I wish favourable perceptions could heal, rather than just conceal, poverty and underdevelopment....

On Mahathir's Authoritarianism and the Need for a 'Theory of Democracy for Development'

Reference to the ABS-CBN news article here:

Mahathir questions Filipino-style democracy | ABS-CBN News

Well, Mahathir has to! Democracy is dangerous to authoritarian leaders like him and his ilk! 

The more I study the political economy of Malaysia, the more I realize that there are so much to "unlearn" from its racist, elitist, corrupt, authoritarian, and unjust political relations and socio-economic development. 

But there's a very strong argument of Mahathir and all the other proponents of 'Asian Values' that I still am having difficulties to counter: that is, these guys have a 'theory of authoritarianism for development' (Why is authoritarianism conducive to capitalist development?). They also have strong empirical evidence to flaunt — Singapore, China, and Malaysia (and this may include Japan and South Korea during their catching-up period, as well as England and Western Europe during the colonial times). 

I have yet to find a 'theory of democracy for development' (Why is democracy conducive to development? Or, what does democracy have that is necessarily developmental?). What we have so far are 'normative' arguments (i.e., why should democracy come with development) like the one from Amartya Sen's 'development as freedom'. I believe this is an important theoretical and practical challenge for democratic forces to communicate with the people and show that democracy is indeed conducive to development so as to put an end to the false nostalgia of the Marcos regime which continue to arouse the imagination of countless Filipinos. 

Anyway, today is our Independence Day! Maligayang Araw ng Kalayaan, Minamahal kong Pilipinas! Tungo sa tunay na kalayaan sa kahirapan at kawalan ng katarungang panlipunan! Tungo sa tunay na demokrasya ng mga mamamayang Pilipino! 

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Let sports be a sphere where natural talents bloom and refined skills contend!

Reference to the Guardian news article here:
Euro 2012: 'racism' mars Dutch training session - video

Bad day for world sports!!!
Earlier, capital accumulation in Las Vegas Boxing - "Using MANNY to make more MONEY"!
Oh well, tomorrow is another day....
Let sports be a sphere where natural talents bloom and refined skills contend!

Corona's Conviction: A Step Towards Real Social Justice

Reference to the GMA News Online report here:
Corona convicted

Celebrate for now. Every victory counts. Believe us, we are also well aware that soon enough we are faced with sober senses the real conditions of our people, our polity, our economy, our nature....

We believe that the time will come when real social justice, change, and development are realized through people's conscious collective action and active citizenship. And that shall be the time when we are no longer elite-struck and entangled in the vicious cycle of alternatively cheering and jeering the same elites and politicians who have perpetually caused misery and oppression to our people.

To be for hope.

On France's New President and the Continuing Challenge for the European 'Left'

I was in Paris five years ago at the time Sarkozy just won the presidency, and I thought Sarko won't be a good president. Some French classmates-friends even despised me for being critical of 'their' new president. What now?!? Au revoir, King Sarko! So that's 'karma' for you, killing your most generous benefactor, Qaddafi!!!

I must say I'm pessimistic about the difference Francois Hollande can make at this time of crisis. But let's give him a chance. What does it mean to be leader of the 'socialist' party in France, in Europe these days?!? Though not supported by MEDEF or the bosses, I find Hollande's policies still very much within the ethos of 'neoliberalism', still pro-capitalist market, pro-capital, pro-business, and less on labour and the marginalized. To be socialist is not only to be anti-austerity. Austerity measures are only symptoms of the failed neoliberalism framework underpinning them.

My bet was Jean-Luc Mélenchon who understands pretty well what being a 'socialist' mean, why neoliberalism is deepening Europe's crisis, and why xenophobia and Islamophobia should end!

On the surface, it looks like Europe is now turning 'left' or 'socialist', but what frightens me is the constantly increasing number of supporters of fascist, extreme right parties. Imagine, the fascist Marine Le Pen getting 18% of votes, a considerable figure, truly alarming. Combine it with the numbers of neoliberal economic right-wingers! Meaning, progressives cannot afford to be complacent and there are more consciousness raising and touching lives to do!

I just hope that in France, in Denmark, in Greece, and soon in Germany, these so-called 'left' - or whatever is left in their socialist ideals - won't just prepare the ground for the return of the right neoliberal, xenophobe idiots!

To be for change!

On Marx's Birthday: Nemenzo's Lecture 'Marxism in Our Time'

On Marx's birthday, I've found myself watching a classic lecture of the inimitable Ka Dodong, the first who taught me 'Marxism', particularly Marx's analytical method and normative ideals....

Indeed, so long as there is injustice and exploitation in the world, Marx's ideas will continue to inspire the social forces for change and haunt the exploiters!

Link to the videos of the lecture of Francisco 'Ka Dodong' Nemenzo, 'Marxism in Our Time':

http://www.dilc.upd.edu.ph/index.php/vod-socsci/41-marxism-in-our-time

Wanted: Alternative Leaders for Manila!

Reference to GMA News report here:

Erap begins campaign attack: ‘Police mentality’ no longer working in Manila

Oh, my Manila.... God, save my city! Another breed of competent, visionary, innovative, creative, no-nonsense Mayor and local leaders is most urgently needed! 

There's really something essential to human dignity and respect for electorate intelligence that has been lost with the wretched socio-economic conditions of the city and with the dumbing down politics of the country. To be for alternative futures. To be for change.

On China's Capitalism: Mao must have been turning in his grave

Reference to BBC News:
'In pictures: Chinese warships dock in Hong Kong'

And the bully is showing off its arsenals.... Mao must have been turning in his grave as the greedy spirits of capitalism and imperialism have possessed the Chinese government and the country's clique of new political-economic elites....

Before capitalism — with its logic of accumulation, interests in expansion, and requirements for more energy and natural resources — discovered these disputed islands, there was peaceful coexistence and a sharing community among diverse fishers, among nations.To be for peace.