While I was reading news about Malaysia’s recently-concluded election, I could not help but shake my head; it was as if I was reading about the Philippines. Some of the things that were being said about the Malaysian government and its society could likewise be said about the Philippine government and its society too. It actually came as a surprise that widespread corruption, cronyism, racial tension, abject poverty, not to mention vote rigging or electoral fraud is still rampant in Malaysia.
Razak: under attack for alleged election fraud
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“Democracy works only when the people understand the limitations of democracy. When people think only of the freedoms of democracy and know nothing of the implied responsibilities, democracy will not bring the goodness that it promises. Instead it will result only in instability and instability will not permit development to take place and the people to enjoy the benefits of freedom and the rights that democracy promises. No sooner is a Government elected when the losers would hold demonstrations and general strikes accusing the Government of malpractices.â€
Apparently, things are not so peachy in Malaysian politics after all. While the incumbent Prime Minister Najib Razak has been quickly sworn into another five years of office, Razak’s political rival, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is still crying foul over allegations of electoral fraud. Ibrahim complained to local and foreign media or anyone who would care to listen that during the election, there were “documented cases of electoral fraud and calling for an independent Election Commission to investigateâ€.
Well, if this isn’t déjà vu, I don’t know what is. We really do have a lot in common with our Malay neighbors. Obviously hocus-focus and political drama is not exclusive to Philippine politics at all. The possibility of having similar scenes — disputed election results, say — after the Philippine mid-term elections this month is quite strong. Just like how Malaysian opposition leader Ibrahim predicted the alleged cheating plans of the Malaysian government before the election, there are a lot of concerned Filipinos already predicting that there could be a failure of elections with the use of what they say is an unreliable automated system called Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) system. The complaints about technical glitches in the 2010 election were quickly dismissed by government agencies just to be able to declare that first automated election a success.
A documentary show in Manila even claimed that the transmissions by the PCOS could easily be hijacked and replaced. I guess if someone really wanted to cheat in the election, they will find a way to do it. Seeing how desperate most of the candidates are to win the election, there could be mayhem on Election Day itself. Unfortunately, Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS†Aquino seemingly couldn’t care less about talks of failure of elections. He is very confident about his team winning with just a flash of the Laban sign. His minions, the so-called “little ladies” and thugs-for-hire will handle all the little details just like how they handled it in the 2010 elections. The little details could include but not be limited to vote buying, intimidation of voters and supplying of flying voters.
The thing that made me shake my head even more was when I was reminded of some Filipinos who keep insisting that a parliamentary system as opposed to a presidential system could solve the Philippines’ mediocre political leadership. Just to reiterate, I am not against the parliamentary system of government. But looking at Malaysia’s situation with Prime Minister Najib Razak’s party ruling for the last 55 years, I could not help but realize that a parliamentary system will not solve leadership mediocrity in Philippine government just like it has not solved political leadership problems in Malaysia. It could actually help keep an incompetent and vindictive leader like BS Aquino in power for the rest of his life with his relatives taking over after he dies. The scenario is not too far-fetched. This early, BS Aquino’s celebrity sister Kris Aquino already announced she is going to join politics in 2016. They are already planning ahead to ensure that their family continues to rule the country uninterrupted.
The thing that most people don’t realize in both Malaysia and the Philippines is that, at the end of the day, whoever controls the media, rules. The system of government will matter very little to the flow of information, particularly propaganda – both negative and positive – when media is under the control of one entity.
In Malaysia, the government controls the mainstream media. During the height of the election campaign, it was alleged that the government attempted to shut down independent media organizations that were set up to report a little bit of balanced news. The Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim actually wanted to free Malaysia’s government-controlled media organization and would likely have done so had he won the leadership. He claims that smear campaigns against him worked to poison people’s minds and put the government in a good light. In 1998, Anwar was jailed, beaten and assaulted while detained and was later convicted of crimes he said he did not commit. He is adamant that he is just a victim of a falling out with his mentor, former PM Mahathir.
In the Philippines, something similar is happening too. Stakeholders of giant media organizations are said to be beholden to the incumbent President BS Aquino owing to their allegiance to his late mother, former President Cory Aquino. Mrs Aquino was said to have been instrumental in giving back control over said media companies to the previous owners after the ouster of former President Ferdinand Marcos. With the media beholden to the President, it seems they highlight only the things that would make him look like he is working hard. Some say media organizations mount smear campaigns against BS Aquino’s political enemies and splash the “right” headlines in their front-pages while hardly ever highlighting instances where the cases against them have been dismissed or dropped. Former President Gloria Arroyo is one of the media’s favorite punching bags. Recently, the Inquirer even came under attack for their gaffe when in their haste to glorify the President; they made a mistake of putting a fake TIME magazine photo of BS Aquino on their front page.
If Malaysia is truly Asia, with corruption and cheating an acceptable part of their society, then the Philippines is not far from being truly one with our neighbor. The current Philippine government could even be trying to copy Malaysia’s style with BS Aquino reportedly making deals with the Malaysian government to drop the claim over Sabah, not to mention allowing the Malaysian government to broker the Bangasamoro Framework agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Mindanao. Indeed, one can be forgiven for thinking that the Malaysian government’s realm has been extended to the Philippines under BS Aquino’s watch.
In life, things are not always what they seem.
Could corruption common to other third world or developing countries?
@Mercury
Yes, corruption seem to be quite common in developing countries because the society in general would not be mature enough to handle the system in place. In the Philippines for example, we have the Presidential system copied from the US but the checks and balances don’t seem to work the way it should be. The branches of government don’t function independently because we have a President who can control congress through the use of pork barrel funds and not to mention the padrino system.
Our public servants don’t seem to have a clue how to make things work.
But now it is changing, because the president is clean and has promised to fight corruption
That’s what his mom said 25 years ago.
And this country is still corrupt today, thanks to Cory and her family’s crookery.
Fact is only real-life FOOLS would believe in the Aquino Hype Machine. Pity are the fools who live in that delusion. -_-
Well, UK got one [1]. Corruption can happen anyway.
The question is, how is this handled in a country. In UK, some Member of Parliament were persecuted, in the Philippines, government officials involved in scandals are still in power. :-S
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_parliamentary_expenses_scandal
Correction: “Corruption can happen anyway.” -> “Corruption can happen anywhere.”
I’m British. We do have a constant battle with corruption in our media, in the Police, in local government, in government procurement and in our legislature, but it’s fair to say that the public have a zero tolerance approach to corruption – they expect to see it rooted out and punished, every single time corruption is found to have occurred.
We are confident that no corruption takes place in our Judiciary. The idea of bribing a Judge is actually unthinkable – we honestl cannot imagine it. Our Judges have other faults – arrogant, pompous, out of touch and of course well paid but they are not “bent”.
This gives us a huge advantage because a Judge can always be appointed to investigate a corruption scandal.
Great post, Ilda (as always). I agree with you on most points. However, I can’t help but speculate on the last part regarding the incompetent PeeNoy possibly making a deal with Malaysia on not pursuing the Sabah claim.
Have you read The Vincenton Post on his view of the matter? It goes contrary to the claim of Philippines over North Borneo.
And while we’re on the topic, what is GRP’s view of The Vincenton Post in general? I hope benign0 can also answer this.
@Commiecs
Sorry, but I do not read that site due to its use of foul language and biased views.
From what I’ve read in the past, I do think he has some good points. It’s a shame though because he can’t stop jumping to conclusions. He onced accused me of being a statist. He does use name-calling a lot to argue his points.
Issue in Sabah must be resolved peacefully but according to the plebiscite held in the 20th century, Sabahans chose Malaysia. That means we must not waste our time in this issue.
But it could’ve been settled very well if not for Noynoy’s stupidity. It seems you love being stupid like he said-
“You should refrain from this HOPELESS cause.”
For Kiram, this is more like an insult. And it seems that you love to INSULT other people. Wow, I can’t believe your evil. A bad person to be exact. 😛
I luv this post Ilda! I also have the same thought! Great article!
Hi Goody!
Thanks for reading. Glad you see my point. 🙂
@Ilda
Great post, except that, want to correct you on a single matter! Anwar Ibhahim was jailed in 1998, not 1997! 1997 was the year of the Asian financial crisis — which is the source of fight between Anwar and bloody Mahathir!
@Jose
Thanks for the correction. Will edit later.
Cheers!
No issue, sister! Warm regards!
Political dynasties and corruption permeate asian politics and culture to such an extent that all countries seem like copycat regimes following similar paths, experiencing the same criticisms, and with a political elite driven by self-interest and feudal thinking. Only the family names are different, the goals are the same – maintain power and the status quo.
“Last year, India’s most respected election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms informed us
that nearly a third of MPs – 158 of 543 – in the parliament faced criminal charges.
New research has now thrown up more bad news.
After examining affidavits filed by candidates to the Election
Commission at the time of contesting elections, the watchdog found that a third of all lawmakers at the centre and all states – or 1,448 of 4,835 – faced criminal charges”
BBC india – jan 2013
‘Philippine Politics, a society sport for the rich, and enslavement for the rest’
Political, economic, military, and social position/influence make up the power quadrant, and the degree of concentration and interdependency tend to determine the overall approach to the acquisition of power ( coercive or non coercive), the use of power ( progressive or regressive), and the impacts of power ( inclusive or exclusive)
The control in the philippines by a very small number of families across all 4 sectors is most probably unique in a ‘democratic’ country, and only found at the same level in a dictatorship, and with dynastic families accounting for 70% of political positions, the philippines dwarfs india (28%), and every other ASEAN country in that respect.
And despite much social media discussion about dynasties, nothing will change, especially as Eight out of 10 Filipino lawmakers aged 25 to 40 are from political clans, according to Ronald Mendoza, economics professor at the Asian Institute of Management, so the next generation is already being put in place as the monopoly consolidates its grip and closes the door on any ‘threats’ or ‘competition’.
And with political dynasties comes impunity, immunity, and a licence to steal taxpayers money almost at will, especially where a weak and accomodating press act more like political propagandists than investigative journalists.
The electorate are accepting without questioning as evidenced by someone like nancy binay achieving a high survey ranking and likely election to the senate, despite not only no experience, but not even participating in debates/interviews. There is a built in arrogance that political positions are there for the taking or to be assigned from one family member to another
And with such subservience from the electorate the dynasties, oligarchs, and power brokers know that they can get away with anything at anytime and consequently only pay lip service at election time to the masses, who they insult by simply using slogans, song and dance routines and false promises, and hardly stoop to discussing ideologies, platforms etc. with the great unwashed.
The only thought on the campaign trail is how quickly they can get back to their cocoon and 5 star lifestyle behind secure walls which has not been earnt through hard work, innovation but from the golden trough of pork barrel and contract scams.
And just to add:
With vice president binay supporting dynasties, the aquinos fast tracking bam aquino ( and kris aquino in the wings), then things will get worse before they get better
@Cory
I’d have more respect for BS Aquino and his minions if they stopped pretending they are not corrupt. You are right about their goals – maintain power and the status quo.They should be less obvious by allowing other families to take over once in a while.
Thanks for the input.
Political dynasties are allowed in the constitution.
they are to be defined- idiot
Juan dela Cruz,
“Political dynasties are allowed in the constitution.”
That is a BLATANT LIE.
Article II Section 26 states “The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and PROHIBIT POLITICAL DYNASTIES as may be defined by law.”
The charter DOES NOT call for a law banning dynasties. Under the Declaration of State Policies IT IS ITSELF ALREADY BANNING THEM. What the constitution requires is the enactment of a law DEFINING “political dynasty.”
For 26 years, Congress has avoided this. By refusing to do so, politicians (especially the Aquinos) have perpetuated the notion that their political office is a thing to be inherited from one generation to the next.
And that’s why we need to change the constitution.
Amending the constitution won’t really amount to substantial change if the officeholders and political personalities in the Philippines remain consistently mediocre, ill-prepared, ill-equipped, and, most importantly, unwilling to put the welfare of the group ahead of personal advantage because they are utterly devoid of morals despite several lifetimes of inculcation by the Catholic Church.
Is their a person alive that does not know that these two countries are headed by corrupt-as-shit governments? the West says “Jump,” and the leaders of these countries say “How high?”.
Always have and always will.
elections are nothing but a farce in these two countries.
The winners have already been decided. Sad as it is,the best part about voting in these elections is the P300.
if the ‘massa’ has figured out that the machines can be hijacked it can not be too far a stretch to figure that the gov’t. knows how to do it as well, EH? Dang, they are the ones who bought the machines in the first place,LOL!
That changes now because the government will start to implement it’s fight against corruption.
Don’t look now, but Eduardo is back with a new name. 🙂
Eduardo’s back but he still sucks at trying to convince us of his “leader’s” supposed achievements.
He might have a new name but he still can’t WIN.
He’s been in office for three years and he’s just “starting”? That’s the most basic example of incompetence.
Anyways, eduardo, you should say this to PNoy: get rid of the PADRINO SYSTEM.
It seems this eduardo guy is corrupt because he still doesn’t want to get rid of it. 😀
Sometimes I wonder if corruption is actually a standby of Southeast Asian Culture in general. I mean, taking something from history, that happened in South Vietnam as well before the American War escalated. And even in the North, I’m sure.
Every culture has its business etiquettes but china has perfected the art of guanxi (connections), and of gifting, to such an extent that ‘red envelopes’ become the norm, and what many westerners regard as corrupt practices are simply seen in china as the price of doing business and ‘joining the club’. Confucian in origin, and now embedded in society.
So it is no surprise that in the philippines where chinoys run the economy that the same culture abounds, building upon family, networks, favours given, and obligation owed.
The difference is always one of degree. A business lunch is one thing, a paid holiday for the family quite another.
It soon builds into corruption on a huge scale particularly for those in power and awarding govt contracts/land allocation etc, as long as they remain in power, or switch allegiances quickly when necessary in order to have continued protection. Hence no parties but many turncoats fighting to keep their ill gotten gains intact.
In the same way, the old school network which used to exist in the west now hardly features. It may lead to introductions but certainly no guarantees of cosy jobs. Companies want the best not a buddy from school.
Here it almost standard practice to give jobs to schoolmates, promote in sequence, stick together throughout life.
The danger is that it becomes a vicious circle and everyone takes what they can within their sphere of activity/influence or risk being left behind economically.
Doing business usually means being part of the process so it becomes a self perpetuating and growing cancer which ultimately completely takes over.
And since everyone is part of it then information can be used against anyone at anytime since the rule of law is only applied politically, whether a provincial governor in china, an oligarch in russia, or a chief justice in the philippines.
The government know everyones skeletons in the cupboard – (all SALN’s of senators, congressmen, governors, mayors, gocc heads etc are submitted, not to the civil service commission, but to the office of the president). Play ball and you are left alone – cross the line and the axe falls.
Loren legarda – p-noys schoolboy crush – has already been exonerated by p-noy and his public comments are also a message to the ombudsman to kill the graft case. Legarda now is obligated.
@ChinoF
There’s corruption everywhere but the level of corruption seems to be higher in societies that favor the padrino system.
Hi Ilda,
As usual, great article. 🙂
I’d have to disagree with your observation that patronage politics — i.e. the “padrino” system — seems to be the root of the problem. If that were the case, then one might conclude, erroneously, that the US and/or the UK would have the same chronic problems in development that plagues the Philippines. As Libertas pointed out, patronage politics isn’t something new to western democracies. Yet these are vibrant, progressive, and highly industrialized societies.
Libertas also mentions the phenomenon of social etiquette that has evolved out of Confucianism into a set of behaviours that are part and parcel of Chinese business practice. Clearly, that hasn’t hampered Hong Kong. The financial powerhouse was built as much on “red envelopes” as its adoption of western free market ideals.
That there is corruption in the Philippines is without question. That just puts us at par with other nations in Southeast Asia. But, what sets us apart is this:
First, what prevails in the Philippines is CLAN-BASED POLITICS. Almost none of the players in the country today have a concept of “nation” that is greater than the individual’s own clan/family/tribe dominating as many of its neighbors as possible. We may be aware of how interconnected we are with the world today; we pay lip service to how the Philippines needs to become part of the global community; but we are rooted in the notion that the initial step for us (our friends/family/etc.) is to CONTROL everyone around us as much as possible before thinking about the “nation” or any “big picture.”
Look at the aftermath of the Philippine Revolution. Upon seceding from the colonial power, one or two of the several powerful families in the various districts once ruled from the capitol stepped in to become the dominant force in the region. These magnates then spent their time burning out rival magnates.
Looking back over the last 115 years, you might reasonably come to the conclusion that nothing much has changed. The Philippines has this in common with Iraq, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. All vivid modern examples of the brutality resulting from clan-based politics.
The second characteristic that sets Philippine corruption apart from its neighbors is the fact that you can’t even rely on it being consistent.
In Hong Kong, gift giving will seal the deal. In Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, you buy somebody off, he generally stays bought. In the Philippines, buying somebody off doesn’t amount to much. It still leaves open the possibility that the deal will not push through regardless of how much money has been sunk in it. Why? Somebody else wants a cut who wasn’t in the deal before. Or the original deal maker decided to change his mind. Or the administration changed. Or any of a number of seemingly random reasons.
I’ve dealt with a number of western business people who lament that while they accept payoffs as a prerequisite for doing business in Asia, they shy away from the Philippines precisely because they can’t rely on Filipinos to deliver as promised. Even when the deal is legal, we’ve been criticized for being arbitrary in the application of the laws of the land. And its that randomness that businesses can’t afford to deal with.
This problem arose from the past two presidents. One who is smart but most corrupt politician ever (based on Guinness) and one who is smart but in stealing.
and the current president p-noy aquino has been voted the worlds worst leader with corruption increasing under his watch by 300%.
if you took an I.Q. test, the result would be a negative
Juan dela Cruz,
Stop LYING about the culpability of the Aquinos in dragging the Filipino people into the malaise we are suffering from. You are quick to point out the Estradas and the Arroyos as thieves. But you conveniently overlook the fact that Ninoy Aquino — BS Aquino’s father — nearly started a war between Malaysia and the Philippines to further his ambitions toward the presidency. The Aquninos also fomented the leftist rebellion that is still ongoing today. BS Aquino’s grandfather, Benigno Aquino Sr. was a MAKAPILI — a Japanese collaborator during World War II.
If there were ever a poster child for clan-based politics, BS Aquino is it. The Aquinos epitomize the close- and small-minded, self-centered, clan-centric thinking that NEEDS TO BE ELIMINATED from our society.
Nope. It all started during Spanish times, not Marcos and Arroyo.
Because of your username, eduardo, I’m starting to think that the show totally sucked. 😛
^believe me bro, that show totally SUCKS, just like the twat that uses the name of that show. Eduardo, you should just change your name to WHY BOTHER since it suits YOU and your dumb bald president.
@Juan dela Cruz: When you base your thoughts on Guinness, you’re bound to come up with some pretty ludicrous statements. Lay off drinking the Guinness.
@Johnny Saint
Thanks for the compliment. You are not doing so bad yourself. 🙂
I like giving the floor to the visitors of this site because you guys have such wonderful insights to add to the article. You say it well, indeed.
I guess we could say: padrino system + clan-based politics = Philippines.
The reason why I tend to focus more on the padrino system is because I think it is more evident. BS Aquino exhibits this behaviour every chance he gets. He’s done it quite a number times – saving his KKKs who are in trouble with the law. He is now trying to save Sen Legarda from public attack. You can’t say that is being clannish but you can say that it is the padrino system at work.
You are right about their lack of loyalty though. I wouldn’t be surprised if Legarda turns her back on BS Aquino once his family is not in power anymore. Most of the congressmen did the same thing to GMA.
If politics is ugly, it’s uglier in the Philippines.
“padrino system + clan-based politics = Philippines”
Nice summation
“You scratch my back and i’ll scratch yours”
Elevated to
” you fill my bank account and i’ll keep quiet about yours”
Thanks, Ilda. 🙂 I guess the insights people post are good because the original material is great.
“padrino system + clan-based politics = Philippines” :-\
Ya! That sums it up nicely.
—
“You can’t say that is being clannish but you can say that it is the padrino system at work.”
One thing you have to recognise is that “clan” doesn’t just mean “family.” It actually includes “family” and their “RETAINERS.” In anthropology, a CLAN is is a group of people united by ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a “stipulated” common ancestor that is a symbol of the clan’s unity. They don’t have to be blood relations but are definitely members of the same group. So BS Aquino’s protection of his KKK mates and his favors on behalf of Loren Legarda (and others who have allied themselves with him or asked for his protection) stem from a padrino system that is a direct result of clan-based politics. Much in the same way it was done in the middle ages.
—
“You scratch my back and i’ll scratch yours”
Elevated to
“you fill my bank account and i’ll keep quiet about yours”
That is…until I get caught and I have to give up information about you to keep from being prosecuted 😉
@Johnny
Unfortunately, it’s just too difficult to determine who is really part of the “clan” in the Philippines. The situation is all too complicated and convoluted. I wouldn’t have thought Legarda is part of Aquino’s clan for instance. She was running against Mar Roxas in 2010 election.The only reason she now seems part of the “clan” is because of her support to oust Corona.
I think for the sake of simplicity, I would refer to that as padrino system. It’ll all be too much for the average reader to understand if we make it too technical.
Thanks!
Ilda,
Point taken. Though I think that even back in the middle ages, people who pass the time watching this game of patronage rigamarole would probably be scratching their heads and wondering the same thing. 😉
It’d be best for all of us to stick to simple rules when dealing with politicians in general and Filipino politcos in particular: Don’t trust anything that comes out of their mouths. An honest politician is like an efficient bureaucrat. They’re both mythical creatures. If you see one coming, run the other way. And if, on occasion, you find you might have to shake hands with one, count your fingers after. You never no what you might have lost. 😉
Politicians today must be glad it’s illegal to be killed by a sword today. They are certainly too dense to be affected by the pen.
A certain william shakespeare from the middle ages gives a good analysis of p-noy aquino and politicians in general
“A knave; a rascal; an eater of broken meats; base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave; a lily-livered, action-taking knave, a whoreson, glass-gazing, super-serviceable finical rogue; one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a bawd, in way of good service, and art nothing but the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, pandar,
and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch: one whom I will beat into clamorous whining, if thou
deniest the least syllable of thy addition”.
W Shakespeare – King Lear
It’s the Corruption Perception Index. Juan dela Cruz’ statement is misleading. While the image of the Philippines has improved slightly, that same CPI indicates we are still near the bottom third MOST CORRUPT COUNTRIES in the world. On a par with Mexico and Algeria.
But according to the CPI, corruption is dramatically lessen in the Philippines.
the CPI being what exactly
It’s the Corruption Perception Index. Juan dela Cruz’ statement is misleading. While the image of the Philippines has improved slightly, that same CPI indicates we are still near the bottom third MOST CORRUPT COUNTRIES in the world. On a par with Mexico and Algeria.
Thanks for the lies, eduardo.
Thanks for glorifying MEDIOCRITY. You’re happy right?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- NO. 🙁
@Juan dela Cruz
Assuming a 100 point exam whose passing score is 70 points, if Philippines had its recent exam score increase from 26 to 34, you call that an improvement? 34 is still a falling grade.
Sadya bang pinatalo ng PNoy camp si Mar Roxas nung 2010 para hindi obvious na nandaya sila?
I think Mar overestimated his popularity.
Dinugas siya ni Binay
Dinugas siya ni Binay…
…Who happens to be a close ally of the Aquinos going back to the 1986 presidential election and the EDSA uprising.
…and a win-win situation for the Aquino camp.
When oh when will you gonna suffer a very painful death vincensus ignoramus?
Salamat kay Chiz :-S
Or the people might just be trolling Korina Sanchez.
It’s an open secret that the woman wants to be the First Lady, or at least the wife of someone who has one of the top positions. I know at least two people who campaigned against Roxas among friends for this reason.
Unfortunately, in every country. There are people, who are hired to sanitize the news. Or to magnify the accomplishments of politicians. Fraud exists, where there are elections. Hocus PCOS will be there again. They hire good computer experts to do Hocus PCOS. The Election Commissioner is old. He does not understand about : electronics and computers. Or, he may be a part of the coming Hocus PCOS…
It’s all part of the game, Hyden. “Whoever has the gold makes the rules”.
I’m very sure that Juan dela Cruz (a.k.a. eduardo) wants corruption altogether. He’s proven being stupid by always stating that only two people are the cause of it, and not on the CULTURE.
TBH, Lee Kuan Yew pointed out that the problem of the Philippines is not corruption but the CULTURE. A culture of corruption. I was wondering: why those trolls never want to mention the padrino system? Every politician has that; the Aquino-Cojuangco clan are also part of it, from the implemention of the 1987 constitution to businesses and stuff.
It’s really funny that people like the guy named ‘eduardo’ favors the padrino system, which is the source of corruption in the Philippines. Just pointing out the fact that the Aquinos are not ‘clean’.
And I’m very sure he went crickets when I say this. That’s because I pity people who whine about putting away any corrupt official while never understood the full lengths of the corruption. But what do I expect from Yellow Trolls who are real-life homosexuals who are also ignorant plebs?
Kris aquino, who thinks that sleeping with politicians counts as political experience, won’t endorse Nancy ‘ironing lady’ Binay. The potty calling the kettle black. The only smart thing to ever come out of kris aquino’s mouth is a penis.
The Carthusian monks and Carmelite nuns have endorsed nancy binay by holding a silent farting contest.
Nancy binay is the voice of the silent majority, but in the land that time forgot, if a housewife could become president, then why can’t a housemaid become a senator.
She is an ironing board with nipples.
A coffee machine on legs.
If brains were gunpowder, she wouldn’t have enough to blow her nose.
The Deaf association want to hear from nancy binay, and the dumb want her to be their voice. A case of the blind leading the blind.
“She has just enough intelligence to open her mouth when she needs to eat, but certainly no more”
P.g. wodehouse
Lol…I shouldn’t be laughing but they are funny!
😀 😀 😀
Waiting for my free T-shirt and 500 peso’s and all the pomp and pagentry will be over for another 4 years.
I don’t predict any change to the Municipality I live in, no major chain resturant at the entrance will be constructed and it’s on to big boy hamburgers and red crappy hot dogs as usual, Oh I know why don’t I travel at least 30-45 minutes and get your McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza hut the Chinese don’t want any business outside of Mecca also known as Manila and they also must require that all government employee’s stay in Mecca so that it’s easier to give out gifts, another election back to making Mecca even bigger and more crowded to hell with the rest of the Philippines.
They should fix the roads and bridges instead of giving away lousy shirts and loose change.
You have to eat the duck embryos and the IUDs from the street vendors then. 😉
You got my spot pegged, people have money here but they need to travel either S or N to the next city just to eat at any major fast food restaurant and there’s no such thing as delivery here, dang it… I do eat duck but over the years the price has doubled and chicken taste better. I haven’t had a balut in a very long time but like the one without the beak and feathers, price for those has double also.
I assume you have your reasons for tolerating mediocrity. They must have nice beaches where you live at least.