Week #12: The Current Philippine Political Scene in Photos

The Spratlys and Treason


(Photo from Malaya. Red area covers near Palawan Island shorelines. There are ongoing El Nido offshore oil explorations, so it’s not only Kalayan Group Island, Palawan is also included in the alleged deal sell-out.)

Sold: 24,000 sq. km. of Philippine territory at Ellen Tordesilla's blog. The much disputed 'selling-out' of the Spratlys by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the Chinese government, including 24,000 sq km of Philippine territory for oil exploration, which encompasses Palawan, the leading environmentally-conscious province of the country. Read more here. And Six RP-occupied islands covered in controversial Spratlys deals talks more about the coordinates specified in the Annex of the agreement. For a another detailed report of the sell-out and the people and departments involved, check out Ricky Carandang's blog First the Spratlys, Next Palawan?


The Rallies


(Photo by Rep. Teddy Casiño)

More photos of the Ayala interfaith rally.



(Photo by Kabayan)

Of Symbols and Manifestos, more photo scenes of gloria-out rallies.



(photo from arkibongbayan.org)

Arkibong Bayan has a website of photos, where pictures paint more telling words, with photos of Oust-Gloria rallies all over the country and around the world.



(Photo from Kabayan)

Even Philippine bloggers had their own rally in the form of a blogswarm. See a list of the blogs that participated. The blogswarm also made the news, read Blogswarm in headline news! for the Inquirer report.


The Struggles and Fight


(Photo from EQ)

The Equalizer presents poll results from his blog, Gloria Arroyo versus the People:"The Final Straw"Scenario.




The Philippines under scrupulous powers, called the "circles of infuence" by Secretary Neri. This is the chart presented to the Philippine Senate for investigation which shows six families that influence Philippine politics. Manolo Quezon has more in his post, Dodging Concrete Demands.



(Photo by Kabayan)

For Whom do We Fight For? (Conclusion), a heartfelt reminder of the things we're fighting for from Kabayan. A must read.

Week #11: Philippine Bloggers Question the Spratlys Deal

We've been hearing about the Spratly Islands lately. We heard about it during Marcos' time, a territorial rights dispute that almost sent us to war with China. And now, we hear it again in Gloria's time, that's about to send us to civil war. Many are asking, did she commit treason? Was she just greedy, selling parts of the Philippines to China for a $2B low-interest loan every year until 2010, with no conditions of transparency? Has she bigger plans that we can't see? Here are the questions being asked by Philippine bloggers over the Spratlys deal, and the answers uncovered.

Watch ABS-CBN's The Correspondent in-depth report of the ZTE-NBN scandal's connection with the Spratlys deal. (Video at YouTube)

Ricky Carandang wrote more about this in his blog, raising the question whether Gloria Arroyo's Spratlys agreement with China was treasonous or not.

At the same time, Manolo Quezon wrote this commentary at Inquirer Net about the Spratlys deal, Today the Spratlys, Tomorrow Palawan, voicing concern for our sovereignty on those lands.

Quezon has an updated and more detailed report on his blog on the Spratlys deal, focusing on the Philippine-China relationship.

While at Malaya.. Probe Gloria Treason, ‘Sellout’ of sovereignty seen for dirty Chinese loans, where Sen. Antonio Trillanes files a bill to investigate the Spratlys deal. The same is written at Magdalo Para Sa Pagbabago where Bagong Katipunero accuses Gloria Arroyo of treason (written in Tagalog). Walang Ku-Corrupt! is a copy of a speech given by Sen. Ping Lacson at UP Diliman where he says, "I plan to deliver a privilege speech next week... and possibly accuse that good leader of treason."

In the meantime, fishermen's group also seeks probe of alleged Spratlys deal. They say that the Spratly waters "are a breeding and spawning ground for many species of fish that eventually find their way into the country's waters. The area is also a route of migratory marine animals such as tuna, whales and dolphins," which would be destroyed by oil explorations.

Ellen Tordesillas, in her blog wrote Arroyo Spratlys deal impacts on balance of power in Asia. There is also this same article, Manila's Bungle in the South China Sea that implies China's territorial ambitions on the South China Sea.

Far Eastern Economic Review reports the same story on the Philippine sell-out of the Spratlys to China.

Available at Newsbreak is the full text of the PNOC-CNOOC Agreement on the Spratlys.

I'm not much into conspiracy theories, but we should be questioning the bigger picture in this Spratlys deal. For us, the main concern is just the corruption in our country, Gloria's alleged treason, our fishing grounds in the Kalayaan group, and our right to sovereignty of that area. From China's point of view, it's oil and much more. DJB Rizalist wrote about China's past and its territorial ambitions in the South China Sea. I agree in part with him, and according to the Global Security Organization, Spratlys is much more than just oil, natural gas, and minerals. It's true, we should not just sit back and wait for China's dole-outs, like we did with the US. China is known for its long-term goals, its patience, and its race with the West for world economic domination. We're known for our impulsiveness, our quick-cash solutions, and our 'enjoy now, pay later' economic plans. What are we gaining now, and what are we sacrificing tomorrow? We should also not forget China's past, its relations with its neighboring countries, and what happened in Tibet. We could be next.


Photos from Philippine Commentary.

Week #10: Bloggers on Philippine Politics

The past week and the week ahead will be tumultuous ones for Philippine history. In this week's feature, I'll give you links to blogs that write about Philippine politics, and you can check on them everyday for the news and analysis you don't see or hear on newspapers and tv. (UPDATE 2/29/08: The past few days and today especially, the following blogs are said to have been hacked so you will only see the Homepage: Ellen Tordesillas, Manolo Quezon and Uniffors.)

Ellen Tordesillas, Making Life Worth Living - Here you can read the latest news and scoops. Ellen Tordesillas is a journalist at Malaya, and her blog is widely read by concerned bloggers and citizens. Read the many comments too, for unheard of before information.

The Daily Tribune, the online version - Although not a blog, this opposition 'newspaper' is a perfect complement to Ellen Tordesilla's blog. Check out the Commentary Section's Editorial and Ninez Cacho-Olivares' Frontline.

Manuel L. Quezon III, Punditry, Politics, History, Commentary - If you like reading long and serious political analysis explained clearly, this is the blog to read. It may have anti-Arroyo topics, but the subjects are dealt with objectively and fairly.

Ricky Carandang Reporting - I often see him on ABS-CBN and ANC. It is rare for a journalist of a big tv network to blog as 'himself' and post anti-Gloria entries. The posts here though are moderate and 'careful'.

Our Times, Writings of Susan 'Toots' Ople - This blog raises questions we only think about. With the insider's view of the political circle (Susan being the daughter of Blas Ople), Susan blogs about politics and events from her personal view.

Viewpoints, Personal Views and Commentaries - written by Most Rev. Oscar V. Cruz, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop's Residence, this is only one Catholic priest's view of the current events. The events are commented upon, but no names are mentioned, even Jun Lozada's. But a good peek at the Church's moral stand on the issues.

Uniffors, Life in Gloria's Enchanted Kingdom - To 'cool off' from the heated events, here are jokes and funny stories inside Gloria's palace. I love the stories here, funny versions of the breaking news. But there is always truth in humor.

The Daily PCIJ - Keep updated with the news blog of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.

And here is a list of other regular 'bloggers' who sometimes rant, sometimes analyze, sometimes personalize, sometimes criticize, and always blog their discontent:

Pedestrian Observer - A human rights blogger, critiques the "dysfunctional governance in the Philippines... ravaged by corruption and mismanagement."

Bayan ni Kabayan - Malacanang and its oppositions compared to Star Wars. Gloria as the Emperor, Joker Arroyo as Darth Vader, Speaker Jose de Venecia as Yoda, Congressman Nograles as Jar-jar, and the infamous Atty. Antonio Bautista as Bautista the Hutt. Can we call the youth of today as the young Jedi knights?

Tongue In, Anew - Personal anti-Gloria commentaries of the current political events. Sometimes too sad but funny. Or is that the other way around?

Manila Bay Watch - Here, no words are minced. Get high and get politicized.

The Equalizer - Equalizer says this in his blog: "What We're Fighting Against: Corrupt Establishment, Incompetent Establishment, Authoritarian Agenda, Political Spins." This is what he blogs about.

Mon Casiple’s Weblog on Philippine Politics - "A running commentary on Philippine politics." Objective analysis of the latest political news.

Diego K. Guerrero - Diego's "chronicle, perspective, random standpoint, rantings and personal opinion on Philippines current events, politics, and environment".

TonyoCruz.com - Commentary and personal blog.

Still working on the list.. more to come...

And also, announcing the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Resign Blogswarm:


(Photo from Kabayan)

ANNOUNCING THE SCHEDULED BLOGSWARM ON FEB 24-25, 2008. USE GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO RESIGN ON YOUR TITLES AND CREATE LINKS WITH THOSE TWO WORDS. POST YOUR FAVORITE PICTURE OF GLORIA! SHARE YOUR DISCONTENT WITH THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION ON YOUR BLOGS! ALL FILIPINO BLOGGERS ARE INVITED TO JOIN!