Anthony Nachor's Diary

Entries tagged as ‘change’

Philippine Elections and Political Killings: They Still Exist!

15 December 2009, Tuesday · Leave a Comment

Before the tough part of political killings and election rampage in the Philippines, I’m offering some light videos about how the pre-election processes actually take place. This video shows the various gimmicks of Philippine politicians offering various services and activities that citizens can join in so that they can have a choice whether or not the candidate is good enough to hold public office. Entitled “Random Thought: Gimmicks for the 2010 Elections”, its original version is in Filipino (Tagalog), but, if you want to follow it in English, feel free to click here. Video provided by PinasWatcher1.

November 24th, 2009. It is a day that will be remembered as the day 57 people, including 20 journalists, have been killed in the province of Maguindanao province, in Mindanao, by multiple gunshots. It is also a day to remember that political killings between rival clans or families still exist in the Republic of the Philippines because there is a notion, still, that politics in the Philippines serves as “pride over purpose, surface over substance”. That is a horrible and unacceptable reality that many Filipinos have to face, especially those who are in power take advantage of their positions to gain wealth and fame through corruption, scandals, and controversial laws and statements, all adding up to a massive burden and strain to the citizenry.

It is painful and unacceptable to hear and bear that, just because of political rivalry, wealth, and (almost) limitless power, a rival clan would just form a private army of around 100 soldiers and start shooting members of its rival political clan just to gain more power in the province, and I call this one a “political massacre”, a method of destroying democratic principles through armed struggle and killing innocent politicians and journalists just to hide their “dirty tactics” of drug and gun smuggling, corruption, and massive politicking. I believe that Political Killings still exist for more than three reasons, but, I will just take note of the three most powerful and compelling ones:

- Power. When a politician gains his or her seat (at least in the Philippine context), he or she is entitled to a lot of “gimmicks”, “tactics”, and “weapons” that a politician can use to (most possibly) stay and abuse his or her power while in office. Such tactics could include power grabbing, graft, corruption, bribery, slander, and lies, all used to brainwash its citizens of their supposed “right way of doing things” while actually gaining more power through killing his or her rivals for his or her own benefit.

- Prestige. Sure, when one’s in power, he or she can do whatever is in his or her capability to do projects and programs that will help develop the country as a whole. But, this is not the case, as in other countries: many politicians in the Philippines use their powerful seat to scare taxpayers and befriend Customs and Tax officials to bringing them to an impression that they want to build a country by reducing poverty, and by that, they receive an ample amount of funds, but where do those millions of dollars and pesos go? To the homeless people in Manila? To the struggling farmers in the provinces? To kick-start small businesses and enterprises? NO! Much of the money goes into the politician’s pockets, and more than likely, they share that money that was supposed to be used for infrastructure and poverty alleviation programs to their clan and loyal friends… That is just pure shameful and wasteful of money!

- Publicity. Some politicians come from other backgrounds, such as artists, journalists, and farmers, and they want to use politics just to improve their face toward the Filipino people by showing that they are more than just an artist who acts in movies or a journalist who broadcasts the news: it is a great form of “face-making” in the eyes of Filipinos when one becomes a politician because they are being looked upon as role models of society. But, due to immense mistrust of Filipinos to some politicians, publicity sake thus becomes a question of whether “what they do for the Philippines is for the Filipino people or for just their own make up publicity stunt”.

For videos on the Maguindanao Massacre and its impacts, I have provided some videos for you. These videos are not my own, and I acknowledge the user/s who have uploaded them.

Video provided by TheBlockerOnline (Copyright CNN):


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California Community Colleges Week Heads to San Francisco

27 October 2009, Tuesday · Leave a Comment

The City College of San Francisco will host its first California Community College Week, with attendees and delegates from over 100 community colleges throughout the state, and Anthony Nachor’s Diary is inviting you to participate in the various events that will shape up this exciting week:

(From the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges)

Faculty members across California are invited to participate in the “Community College Week” scheduled in San Francisco, November 2-7. A series of events is being scheduled for the entire week, including mini-educational forums offered to the public at Yerba Buena Gardens on Wednesday and Thursday, November 4-5.

(From the City College of San Francisco, exclusive to CCSF Students and Faculty)

Thursday 10/29, 2:30 – 3:30pm: CCSF Ocean (Main) Campus Postering
We’ll meet in the lounge of the Student Union Lounge and waltz around campus hanging up posters.

Friday 10/30, 11-12 noon: Rock Your Costume!
Meet at the Student Union Lounge and strut around campus clad in costume!  Fliers will also be handed out to promote Community College Week.

Monday 11/2, 6-7pm: How CCSF Rocks the House @ Yerba Buena Gardens, surrounding Mission, Fourth, Howard, and Third Streets

72 Community Colleges from across California will knock on San Francisco’s doors… on the Stone Stage!

Transportation: MUNI 5, 6, 7, 9, 9X, 14, 14L, 14X, 21, 26, 30, 31, 38, 38L, 45, 71, 71L; all MUNI Metro lines; MUNI F streetcar; all BART lines

Friday 11/6, 7pm: Community Candlelight Vigil

This event mourns the loss of California’s Community College Budgets, with approved plans to cut all but 20% of Summer Classes offered. The march will begin from the corner of Powell & Geary to the Yerba Buena Gardens.

Transportation: same as above

Hope that you can participate in those said events!

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Triple Typhoons = Thrice the Whammy?

6 October 2009, Tuesday · Leave a Comment

In the past week, and up to now, two typhoons have hit the Philippines, with a third strong one coming its way, possibly hitting the northern part of the country, the same places hit by the second typhoon. Here’s a summary of the two typhoons’ statistics so far:

Typhoon Ondoy: affected hundreds of thousands of residents, with over 300 people killed. Most affected areas include Metro Manila, Rizal province, Laguna province, and Central and  northwest Luzon, with some of the floods being over 5 feet deep, affecting thousands of residences, businesses, power and communication lines, hectares of farmlands, and severing roads and major highways. Piles of garbage evident after the floods receded, especially in Metro Manila.

Typhoon Pepeng: affected thousands of residents, with more than 20 people killed. Most affected areas include Isabela, Cagayan, and Ilocos Norte provinces, with damages to agricultural lands, residences, businesses, power and communication lines, and severing major roads and highways. Expected not to move away from its current position now, battering the northern Luzon provinces mentioned above due to its proximity to the next typhoon and a High Pressure Area, with sustained maximum wind gusts of 135kph (75mph).

Typhoon Quedan: still in the Pacific Ocean as of now, it has entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility with sustained winds of approximately 205kph (128mph) and maximum gusts of 250kph (156mph). The storm was located 1,020 km east of Basco, Batanes province, and it was reported to moving west northwest at 26 kph.

I believe that it is nature playing furiously over the Philippines right now with massive typhoons hitting quite frequently nowadays, and to account the damages brought by the two typhoons so far, in my opinion, here are some of the things to blame for the damages that could have been lessened or even averted:

Poor infrastructure. The country is at a pace of infrastructure development with a lot of road and highway construction, but, due to rampant corruption and politicking on who gets the projects, a lot of things have been compromised, such as cement-to-asphalt-to-steel combination, or bamboo and poor mortar substituted for high-quality cement, that causes major destruction when natural disasters like the three typhoons happen. I think that through the proper allocation of funds to construct safer infrastructure while being built quickly is the best way to make our roads, bridges, and buildings safer, and let’s not compromise that bamboo stick for bricks: we should really consider safety and security over how much a politician can earn for his own gain.

Failure to Activate an Early Warning System. The Philippines is a vast, diverse nation with thousands of islands, many of which inhabited by millions of people, and by not having an Early Warning System (EWS) for typhoons, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and other possible disasters, people will not get out of the danger-prone areas in time, thus many people left in their homes are “isolated” from the outside world. It is a wise idea to implement an Early Warning System for the entire country, not just Metro Manila, to ensure that the people are prepared for such catastrophes, and there should be drills on how and what to do when a person hears the EWS being activated.

Political Misunderstandings. Yes, this is where the Philippines has a huge problem dealing with — political opponents just debating for hours on end whether or not who gets the job or money, not for what the people actually need. We should really stand up for change in the political climate by letting them know that people are needed to be heard first before themselves because in calamities, whether one’s rich or poor, living comfortably or living in shackles, everyone is affected. It can really take a long time to stand up for a responsible government, but it will really take the people’s — and government’s — will power to make that happen.

Land Overuse and Abuse. Another problem with the government and private investors is that they have been using already-unstable mountainsides and hillsides to develop gaudy, middle-class subdivisions that have good views, and it is not a good idea to develop those unsafe places because when the soil below the developed areas softens, it could potentially cause a major landslide, in which many times, people have died from such incidents from previous storms. Protect those vulnerable hillsides and mountainsides that were caused by over-deforestation by planting trees and shrubs instead in those areas so that the soil can be recovered, making them more stable. I think that proper planning should also be considered in developing cities, subdivisions, and towns — by checking out its location from water and slopes, we could see if the area could be a “water trap”, causing floods from the rising waters when a storm passes by, or a dangerous place to build a home (especially on the hills), causing massive landslides that can take months to be restored.

I think that it is becoming a crises of priorities for the Philippine Government, since it has been seeing numerous corruption allegations that has swamped the country into a political showdown between the current administration and its opponents. I believe that there shall not be fighting or arguing between the two parties right now; they should help reinvigorate the country and rebuild the homes, farmlands, and businesses destroyed by the storms’ wrath. I believe that the people should also cooperate in the redevelopment process by telling government politicians to stop whining about how much money they want to get from its taxpayers and start working on the country’s priorities.

For more information on the latest storm, please visit:

http://abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/06/09/%E2%80%98pepeng%E2%80%99-makes-2nd-landfall-returns-ilocos-norte

http://abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/06/09/wfp-sending-copters-dinghies-flood-hit-rp

http://abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/youth/10/06/09/youth-link-arms-literally-help-flood-victims

Images:

Rosario Bridge (Pasig) after Typhoon Ondoy battered Manila (source: http://reynaelena.com/)

Rosario Bridge (Pasig) after Typhoon Ondoy battered Manila (source: http://reynaelena.com/)

Some of the damaged homes after Typhoon Ondoy battered Manila (source: http://bakitwhy.com/)

Some of the damaged homes after Typhoon Ondoy battered Manila (source: http://bakitwhy.com/)

During the wrath of Typhoon Pepeng, northern Luzon

During the wrath of Typhoon Pepeng, northern Luzon (source: http://eo.ucar.edu/kids/)

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For City College of San Francisco students and faculty: visit the South Pacific Natural Disaster Relief Drive, in which it has started yesterday, which is sponsored by the Poly Club and P.E.A.C.E. (Pilipinos for Education, Arts, Culture, and Empowerment). It is a community relief effort to assist those affected by the recent natural disasters in the South Pacific, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Donations are welcome, which include clothes, water, shoes, non-perishable items, and monetary donations. Check donations must be payable to the American Red Cross.

Donation locations include the CCSF Ram Plaza, CCSF Amphitheater, and the Students Supporting Students (S^3) office at the Student Union, and it will be held everyday throughout October from 9am to 5pm. Feel free to contact me for more information by leaving a comment on this page.

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UC Protests: My Sympathy

25 September 2009, Friday · 3 Comments

With the California budget crisis still looming, the University of California (UC) has made a shocking proposal to raise student fees by 32 percent (32%) for the next school year, and along with that, layoffs are being set for hundreds of UC employees to reduce costs. This is a classic example of what effects an economic crisis could bring, and it affects everybody: you and me, our parents, our professors, our community organizers, the people we meet in supermarkets and hardware stores, and our leaders. And, with that potential rise in tuition fees, that alone, my friends, is the very reason I do NOT want to go to UC Berkeley for next year (unless someone gives me scholarships et al.): the miraculously and shockingly high tuition rates have made not only my parents go angry, but I myself being desperate and disappointed at the same time! It’s like “would you rather sacrifice $21,000+ (if this happens next year, up from $16,300) to go to UC Berkeley but not provide yourself with books or transportation costs, or would you rather go to a CSU (i.e. San Francisco State) to cut down on costs but get the same major?” It is a matter of compromise and costs, and it can indeed change my life forever in the process.

I really call for the UC Chancellor and his colleagues to rethink about the proposed 32 percent tuition hike and to sign a petition to stop the tuition hikes — UC’s primary concern is to provide high (if not the best) quality of education for its students who really deserve to go there, not to let those in power sit themselves in enormous wealth! If the money my parents should have paid for me to go to UC Berkeley would only go to those in the Board of Regents, it will be an extreme shame because that is a serious form of greed that we, the ordinary people, would not accept IN ANY POSSIBLE WAY! Please, if you could leave comments on this matter, I would be so happy to be with you throughout the process, and UC fee hikes are not right — let the leaders step down from their posts, reinstate quality education through qualified professors, and provide the students with the best education possible! If in any way that the tuition at UC Berkeley stands at over $20,000 in my case, I would be extremely pissed off and say GOODBYE, UC BERKELEY!

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Opinion: More Mockery on USD 15,000 (plus!) Dinner

27 August 2009, Thursday · Leave a Comment

I’ve already written about my comment on the $20,000 dinner that the Philippine President (along with 28 of her aides and government officials) spent for dinner in a high-end Midtown Manhattan restaurant. Now, as I read some Filipino newspapers published here in the US a few days back, I saw another disturbing piece of info: the President has spent another $15,000 (I’m not kidding with the figure) for dinner again… this time at a famous steakhouse in Washington D.C., again with the same party! My questions, therefore, are:

* Who really benefited from the dinner — the President herself, her entourage, or the lowly taxpayers?

* Where on earth did she get the money from to spend for those lavish dinners (amounting to $35,000+)?

* What was the penultimate purpose of eating out at stylish restaurants when there are Filipino restaurants abound in both places?

If there was something else beyond those that the government could not explain (like how and why they chose those restaurants over Filipino ones), then I must say that the President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has spent too much money for herself and for her aides… maybe it’s because the Presidential Elections are up next year and they want to show that they’re rich and powerful? Or is it to show to the people that they really want to fulfill diplomatic relations with other countries? Rather neither, perhaps?

It’s extremely shameful, in my opinion, to spend $35,000 total for two nights’ worth of dinner… incredibly wasteful and gluttonous! That, indeed, is a clear example of why I want the current government to be out of office sooner rather than later! Archbishop Cruz of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan has mentioned: “if there are three or more religious leaders vying for the highest seat in the land (the Presidential Office), then it deems that the current government is so corrupt and vile”, and he’s correct in that sense; the current administration has amassed so much wealth that the declared net worth of Arroyo has doubled from an estimated $1,500,000 in 2007 to nearly $3,000,000 last year! The reasons: corruption and bribery. Who else could make so much money through the lowly taxpayers paying the price for their personal gain? What else can the common people do to ensure that their voices be heard to fight against the misdeeds and unacceptable situations the current administration is doing to its people?

I have registered to vote recently in the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco for next year’s Presidential Elections, and I really made my promise to watch the election coverage there very carefully because with so much corruption taking place, where else can the people start to fight it? Probably here online, perhaps? Or maybe start a grassroots organization to condemn corruption and glutton spending?

The Philippine government has promised before over and over again to reform the lives of its people through livelihood programs, poverty alleviation campaigns through jobs and education, and to promote health security. But, as time goes by, still, the spirit of corruption, greed, favoritism, and illusion take place, leading people to become despair, angry, bickering, and worst, fight for their own basic rights by marching on the streets and bloodshed! Have we ever forgotten our own People Power in 1986 that led the country to ousting a former dictator? Have we, if ever, taught ourselves lessons on how to really run a country that is democratically sound and consistent for progress to push through?

I am making an appeal: now is the time for change! Now is the time for democratic actions to work through the political system! And now is the time to step down, Mrs. Arroyo!

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BART Strike Looming: Are You Ready?

16 August 2009, Sunday · 1 Comment

[UPDATE]

August 15, 8:00pm: Potential BART strike averted for now as BART, ATU reach tentative agreement. This means BART commuters will not need to worry about tomorrow’s morning commute. More details can be read here: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=6968169

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As of today, August 15: BART Strike Looms as Negotiations Continue (for story, click on http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=6967176)

I feel that the BART Management and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Chapter 1555 should lay out a deal as soon as possible, in that both sides would be happy. I will lay out what the upsides and downsides of each party’s thoughts on how to close the transit agency’s massive deficit:

BART Management: cut $100 million in labor costs and wants $38 million of that to come from the ATU.

Upsides: since we’re in a financial crisis, government agencies, of which BART is subsidized, must cut their expenses and costs by scaling back workers, reducing monthly wages, and cutting hours to save enormous amount of money. Another could be reducing the supposedly “incompetitive” workers that would’ve increased the costs for the transit agency.

Downsides: if BART has seen that the ATU has a strong workforce, then it should have thought of cutting less than the $38 million they have proposed; instead, they will just need to cut the salary pay for its highest earners (the managers and key executives) while keeping the health benefits and salary of its workers to keep both sides happy. There is little sacrifice made (if any) from the BART management, in my opinion, that’s why the union is threatening a strike.

ATU’s proposal: work three hours a day and pay for the full eight hours from BART.

Upsides: if ATU wants to work a short period of time but be paid for a full workday, that will be a great opportunity for many unemployed and underemployed people who want to find work. It would be also great for those who want instant income since the union wants to lessen their workload due to the continuing crisis.

Downsides: it is not a good idea since it undermines the real worth of a full workday. If for example BART gives them $1 an hour to work, and ATU wants $8 for the 3 hours they’ve worked, it will amount to $2.67 per hour, which is really unfair for the management since they will have to find more funding to give the paychecks to its members. It will also be an unfair move to do so because another union, SEIU 790, has already approved the contract, and it will just adversely affect the outcome of the negotiations.

BART has been provided high-quality passenger commuter rail service for the Bay Area for the past 30+ years, and it has been known to have issues like this — the last strike was in 1997 — because of the BART management’s fiscal irresponsibility to fix certain aspects of its budget: train maintenance, workers’ wages, and accident prevention. Although I have no complaints about its service, the BART managers are partly the ones I blame because if they have known that the government would cut funding to the transit agency due to the fiscal irresponsibility in Sacramento, then they would’ve had a contingency plan to avert a crisis like this. This is just a simple issue to deal with; it’s just made complicated by the bureaucracy made in the Capitol that made the injuries go deeper.

I’d say that BART Management and ATU should really focus on how to make a deal that is sensible, fair, and free of rational inquiry. I’m siding with the BART management on this matter (although I have bad thoughts about them) because it is a short-term emergency measure that will help the union workers (and eventually commuters like me) stay afloat. It is a hard loss if BART’s workers were to strike today because it will impact hundreds of thousands of commuters who rely on it on a regular basis.

I’m really furious and angry at BART (both the management and the union) because they are impending a strike when commuters en masse will be traveling tomorrow morning to San Francisco, around Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, and to and from San Mateo County, without BART, and it will be a huge commuters’ nightmare if the negotiation does not end up with a deal. It will be a really huge hardship for commuters, and it can still be averted if both sides are open-minded and see themselves through the eyes of the hundreds of thousands of ride who rely on their trains.

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And now, speaking of transit alternatives, I will give out the following advise for those commuters coming in from Marin, Solano, Sonoma, and western Contra Costa Counties heading to San Francisco or Alameda County (or reverse):

If you’re coming in from Sonoma and Marin County and wanting to head to Alameda County or El Cerrito: take Golden Gate Transit Routes 40/42 from the San Rafael Transit Center to drop off at either Richmond BART (for points going to Richmond and Pinole) or El Cerrito Del Norte BART (for points heading to Vallejo, Hercules, Pinole, Martinez, Richmond, El Cerrito, and Alameda County). Routes 40/42 operate every 30 minutes on weekdays (hourly beyond 7:30pm), and only Route 42 operates on weekends and holidays with hourly intervals.

If you’re coming in from Alameda County or El Cerrito and wanting to head to San Francisco: Take a Route 72R bus or any local bus heading to either:

1) El Cerrito Del Norte BART for Golden Gate Transit Routes 40/42 heading to San Rafael, where connections connections to and from Routes 26, 27, 44, 54, 70, 80, and 101 can be made. Routes 26, 27, and 44 operate commute hours only to and from the San Francisco Financial District, while Route 54 operates commute hours only to and from the San Francisco Civic Center. Routes 70 and 101 provide service throughout the day to the San Francisco Civic Center, serving Lombard and Van Ness, with Route 101 operating as a limited stop service. Route 80 provides connections to and from the San Francisco Civic Center only when Route 101 does not operate.

2) 20th and Broadway (@ 19th Street BART Station) for AC Transit Route NL. Route 72R operates at, on average, 12 minute intervals, while Route NL operates at 15 minute intervals.

If you’re coming in from Solano County and wanting to head to San Francisco: take Vallejo Transit Route 80 (from Vallejo) or Fairfield and Suisun Transit Route 90 (from Fairfield and Suisun City) to El Cerrito Del Norte BART and take either:

1) AC Transit Route 72R (rapid) to Downtown Oakland (at 20th and Broadway) for the AC Transit Route NL bus to San Francisco.

2) Golden Gate Transit Routes 40/42 to San Rafael Transit Center where connections to and from Routes 26, 27, 44, 54, 70, 80, and 101 can be made.

If you’re coming in from San Francisco and wanting to go to any point in the East Bay, you have two choices:

1) Golden Gate Transit Routes 70, 80, and 101 to San Rafael Transit Center and take Routes 40/42 for the East Bay (board at Folsom Street (@ 7th, 5th, 2nd); Mission Street (@ 1st, 2nd, bet. 3rd and 4th, 5th); 7th @ Market; McAllister Street (@ Polk); Van Ness Ave.; Lombard St.); or

2) AC Transit Routes F (for Berkeley, Emeryville, and north Oakland), LA (for Richmond), NL (for Downtown Oakland and East Oakland), O (for Alameda), or Z (commute-hour service for Albany, Berkeley, and Emeryville). With all of those, connections could be made to local East Bay services.

Another alternative could be riding the ferry (Golden Gate Ferry from Larkspur, Alameda-Oakland Ferry from Alameda and Oakland, Vallejo Baylink from Vallejo (for commuters also from Fairfield and Suisun City), or riding in a carpool (3 or more people).

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If only i had a dream…

2 February 2009, Monday · Leave a Comment

If only I had a dream, I want peace and stability; hope and tranquility; friendship and honesty.

If only I had a dream, I want to travel around the world and expect the unexpected.

If only I had a dream, I want better education, proper shelter, and decent food and water for those who need them.

If only I had a dream, I want long lasting friendships, a happy and meaningful life, and a wonderful future.

If only I had a dream, I want change in our society through camarederie and understanding, acceptance and openness, love and suffrage.

If only I had a dream, it is in me, and I am determined and committed to make myself better everyday, for it is I that want to make a lasting impact in the world I live in.

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