Contrary to popular belief, Roman Catholicism is not the state religion of the Philippines. The state religion is really sort of a sub-belief system or sect of Roman Catholicism called Pakitang Taoism — really more a philosophy than a religion, to be fair. But while Roman Catholicism provides a regimented framework of dogmas offering a rich portfolio of rituals with which one can showcase their piety, moral uprightness, and overall “goodness”, Pakitang-Taoism provides a bit more flexibility for its practitioners.
Pakitang Taoism is derived from the Tagalog term pakitang tao which literally means a person who is all form. The implicit meaning of the term is that said person lacks substance underneath said show. Thus, the concept of pakitang tao can be appreciated for its sublime analogy to the more familiar English phrase “all form and no substance”.
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Today, a renaissance of Pakitang Taoism is in full bloom as Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III himself takes up a leadership role in its promotion. Recall that Noynoy had also recently lent his good name to a re-branding of the renowned Filipino folk hero Juan Tamad (literally “John the Lazy”). Under the re-branding campaign, the term Noynoyism has been embraced by the Filipino public as de facto the term du jour that takes the place of Juan as the embodiment of the renowned indolence that national hero Jose Rizal once wrote about. Malacañang’s response is scripture-perfect Pakitang Taoism — something that the on-line version of the venerable Wall Street Journal itself had recently picked up…
In response, the President’s office has released a series of photos, showing him sorting papers, chairing meetings and meeting dignitaries. But that has not stopped critics, who have in recent days been pictured “noynoying†everywhere from New York to Saudi Arabia, where the Filipino community it sizable.
Thanks to a very cooperative Philippine mainstream media, a heroic effort to release photos of Noynoy looking “busy” succeeded at reaching millions of Filipinos many of whom, in turn, applied some creative Photoshopping license to these (though it is doubtful if many of the Photoshop applications used by Filipinos are, themselves, licensed).
So now Noynoy is not only the new Juan Tamad, he is also the new pakitang tao personified. He is now a true Filipino icon — something that he, the son of national martyr Ninoy and the late former widow-President Cory, desperately needed to elevate himself to. Congratulations, Mr President.
[Noynoying image courtesy Anakbayan.org.]
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
The sleeping president at work? Photo-ops is seen by the frantic palace as the best way to prove that our sleeping president is actually a working president. Notice the desk pictures. No full stacks of documents, folders or envelopes. Just some scattered papers and a posed photo shot. Is this propaganda appearing as work, or work appearing as propaganda?
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/2012/03/22/propaganda-as-work/
Pnoy, may “AIDS”
AS IF DOING SOMETHING syndrome
Make that “Always In Deep Shit.”
How about NATO?
No Action Talk Only.
How about, Noynoy Ayaw Trumabaho Olways?
Is that cold or what?!
He he he cool…
Penoy “Do Nothing” Aquino.
An Incompetent, Dumb Sloth
what about: President “Do Little” Aquino
Der grobe Fuhrer Adolf Hitler hated too much paperwork. Notice the table in the video. One old picture of the sleeping president showed him making a face and showing his temper. Chill and laugh guys!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIr93wet-sI
another english phrase
” all mouth and no trousers”
meaning ‘all talk and no action’
applies to his love life as well.
what a waster
noynoying – a master class by the man himself this week. 52 years of training shows.
issue staged photos pretending to work
get sisters and even foreign girls to defend you , rather than doing it yourself
when asked difficult questions on economics, change subject to love-life
attend parades/ribbon cutting ceremonies – no thinking required.
get friends to lie for you, and keep your own hands clean
only have friends who are also noynoying cult members – hardworkers can make you look bad
get your uncle/cousin to publish survey on how well you are doing and how much the people love you!
claim anybody elses successes as your own, and blame your own failures on anybody else.
dream of retirement
pretend to have a girlfriend – a lot less trouble than a real one
lifes objective – minimise work – maximise sleep
the holy grail – sleeping on the job, or a job sleeping
all hail p-noy – the guru of noynoying
the rip van winkle of the philippines
Noynoy must be thinking that he’s practicing wu wei, “action without action”, or “effortless doing” in English. Well, at least he’s got the “effortless” part down pat.
symptoms of Noynoying:
1. Psychomotor retardation
2. Slowed gait and activity
3. Lack of initiative
4. Melancholia
5. Fatigue
6. Lack of self-confidence
7. Lack of sexual interest.
Number 6 best described Penoy. Number 3 comes next IMO.
Sexual interest? Come on, this dud is a driftwood!
Also, if you have these symptoms you might have AIDS (As If Doing Something).
Good-bye, Juan Tamad. Hello, Noynoying Aquino!
So why is “pakitang taosim” a sub-belief system or sect of the Roman Catholic Church?
In one of those photos, he was carrying a stack of folders. Goshdarnit, it’s not the work that we want you to do.
Side note: our water bill this month came with a notice saying that beginning April we’ll be charged additional 2% franchise tax which will be remitted to BIR. I was swearing like mad because water should be a free in any civilized society. As it is we are already paying a high fee and now an additional tax! All because this administration’s BIR is thinking like mad of ways to fleece us to pay for Aquino’s social programs that include dole-outs and bandaids to shut the mouths up of the most gullible and who are the favorite respondents of pulse asia. Pakitang tao din, di ba? That’s the work he’s good at, to order Henares to impose all the taxes she can think of.
OMG…i think i’ll suggest squatting to my parents so we can get dole outs…hard work is not rewarded here…it is abused…no concern for the middle, working over taxed class…damn this admin!
Technically the water that we are all paying for is clean water. If you want free water than be my guest and use up all the polluted water that we each still continue to create, whether or not we own up to our actions or inactions with regards to water pollution.
The sleeping president and his work distraction games:
1. Electronic games and gadgets.
2. Billiard games.
3. Drinking games. Preferably red wine.
4. Smoking games in 2 to 3 packs of cigarettes a day.
5. Dating and love games.
6. Target practice shooting games.
7. Video X and other themes games.
8. Blame, temper tantrum and mood swing games.
9. Telephone and cellphone games.
10.Eating nutritious and fatty foods games.
11.Party animal games. Includes singing and dancing.
12.Limited desk work and photo sessions. The rest are delegated and/or designated.
13.Famous quotes games. Fascinating.
Name your own observed, spied on games.
With his penchant for all night games he awakens very late at about 10 in the morning more or less. He has all the energy to spare with all his games. The limited desk work, planning, meetings and conferences must be going on at a “killing” pace. His stamina for work is amazing! Really it is…
hahaha!…and they say they are not affected….
The picture “hard at work” is quite ironic. It is like looking at a picture of a student “studying” by having a remote controller by his side and of course removing his glasses to read (in during SHORT SIGHTED excuse). Add that a wine glass, instead of a normal drinking glass.
Seriously whoever directed that picture shot should be fired. Even an idiot who tries to show he is working hard wouldn’t be caught with those items on his desk.
Marcos was better at doing this. He had that shot plowing with the farmers. Aquino makes it looks like doing the minimum for the job deserves a pat on the back.
News headlines from the Philippine Star says: “Noy moves to avert blackouts.” Yes boys and girls blackouts. We have them in Mindanao. There are also impending blackouts in the Metro Manila area due to a damaged transformer in Las Pinas City. The blackouts show leadership negligence and reminds me of Cory. Like mother like son?
I hope that wouldn’t happen. Some intelligent guy said this:
‘And the Cory days are great, huh? Peace and stability? Maybe it’s TOO DARK to enjoy everything due to constant brownouts.’
I wants to add also, in our area near Pasay City. There is a constant repetitious of fire blazing almostly on the area of the house challenged to be politically correct. In accordance to the reports, people are lighting with matches there. Its obvious that there are arsonist.
I think it also the cost of brownouts. And Penoy is to be in top of it but he is nothing to do…..as always.
I think
I think these papers need to check their wording. If it is a blackout, it is like a system wide shutdown or power outage. A “brownout” is basically a certain grid interruption only for a certain amount of time.
Basically, what happened with Las Pinas transformer was an interruption of service because of damage to the transformer. So now, they have offloaded it from that transformer and shifted to the other substations, am I right?
They still need a bit of time to order a completely new transformer, which could take 1-2 months but I think the load that was previously serviced by that specific substation/transformer has already been addressed and trasnferred to another transformer.
I don’t really get why they need to play PNOY into the hero role when in fact if you really consider the Mindanao power outages, then he is late in the picture which doesn’t make him a hero but rather an irresponsible leader at that.
Im just saying. These were already in mind since last year that there would be shortages, and what has happened afterwards? Nothing… Now is the time to act because he will be the limelight, heck, the only source of light could probably be on him for those less fortunate and it would complete the saviour image he wants to achieve.
Hayz…
The King in Yellow ought to look at the bright side, HE’S FAMOUS and his name actually MEANS SOMETHING.
By the way Mr. Benign0 I kinda object to comparing Homer Simpson to Pnoy in one of your last articles. Unlike the King in Yellow, Homer has enough good traits in him that makes him redeemable.
if p-noy is as lazy in bed as at work, then the korean chick is in for a ‘little surprise’ and a big disappointment.
Hey now, I don’t use photoshop but GIMP 😛
Another blame game by the “President”
http://www.tribuneonline.org/20120327/headlines/20120327hea3.html#.T3Cev3qiL7k.facebook
My Gawd! When is this incompetence gonna stop??? The past cannot be undone. When will he effin’ understand that we have to look forward and do something to correct past mistakes.
And there we have it — the president the people elected.
ARRRGH!!!
Great article, benign0! And, kudos to GRP for all the intellectually stimulating articles which I’ve been reading for more than a year now 🙂
Anyway, I just want to share this: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/pnoy-starts-campaign-163848765.html
(Ang kapal-kapal-kapal-kapal-kapal-kapal talaga ng mukha!)
Our President isn’t the one one that looks like he’s doing something when in reality isn’t doing anything at all.
Take the Mall Security or even the MRT Security. It always pisses me off to some degree whenever I walk into a mall and the security personnel looks bored doing what he/she is doing or not doing. I’ve even gone through the security of the MRT without them bothering to check my bag for anything that might harm someone inside, the guy was actually just gossiping with his co-worker. Boy do I feel safe.
Do these people that are supposed to make us feel secure even know what the heck they are looking for in their bags, or better yet do they actually know how to turn on their metal detectors?
Speedometers or whatever the heck those speed gun thingies are called, the news reported that there was a certain number of them at a certain toll gate. I was in a car that was caught going passed the speed limit, we, the people in the car, were informed by the police that pulled us over that they actually had only ONE working machine. ONE!
And we just unlucky enough that someone was actually paying attention to it at the time.