Celebrating the reason for the season.

One downside of Facebook is it gives people a platform to criticize, to vent, and to rant even on every mundane thing imaginable albeit at the expense of other people. Scrolling through our FB wall would give us a variety of posts and shout outs that will elicit varied reactions. There are cute lines that will make us smile, quotes from famous people and Bible verses which can inspire us, observations that we can agree or disagree and there are those offensive rants that are best to be ignored. Of course, there are people who would use the social networking site to brag about their new gadgets, new house or new partner. And how can I forget those people who are obviously out to get their 10 seconds of fame? They will do everything just to get the public’s attention.

What I cannot stomach is when people act as if they have the monopoly of intelligence and the rest of the world are full of idiots. Believe me, I struggled very hard last night to control my emotions and resist the temptation to reply to a post from a college acquaintance who unintentionally (I hope) caught my ire. Now I know why it is a big no-no to discuss religion or religious beliefs in social platforms. It may be a simple statement for someone expressing his/her sentiments against a certain belief but it can be very offensive to other people who chose to subscribe to that dogma.

To further illustrate, this college acquaintance posted a video of a TV personality discussing the origin of Christmas. It was an old theory that Jesus was not really born on December 25 unlike what Catholics and some Christians choose to believe. This was based on the details stated in the Bible that there were shepherds and sheep out on the night when Jesus was born which they say is not very likely to happen on a winter or in December for that matter. The TV personality also said that December 25 was associated before with the pagan festival. Emperor Constantine was mentioned in the report that, if I can recall it right, is responsible for the integration of Pagan festivities with Christian tradition. I used to subscribe to this idea when I was in my rebellious days. But then I choose to worship the reason than the occasion.

Going back to the post from this college acquaintance, she started defining pagan and then she commented that she didn’t see brain in the last part when the TV personality reported that the date of the celebration is not actually the date of Jesus’ birth but then at the end he still encourages the people to celebrate Christmas on the same date.

First, I would be more surprised if the TV personality starts maligning the belief of the majority of the Philippine population. It will be sheer stupidity to shoot the belief of 80 or 90% of the population who celebrate Christmas. That is totally nonsense. Echoing the belief of the majority is a safer stance especially when you are in broadcast media competing for viewership. Second, what the TV personality reported is possibly from one scholarly source but is not bedrock truth. There are other sources that are claiming that the December 25 date of the nativity is valid.

At the end of the day, I believe that what is important is the reason for the season, not the date. Unfortunately, we are more intent on worshiping the occasion than the reason. The reason for the celebration is the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ who came into the world and died to save us from our sins.



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Independence or Incompetence?

Chief Justice Renato Corona’s speech yesterday which in many words can be translated to declaring war against President Benigno Aquino is inevitable. It was a defensive stance of someone who was caught off-guard. He doesn't have anywhere else to go but fight. Unfortunately, it is pathetic. Not because he read the entire speech in the vernacular. If he was up against someone who has a questionable character like the two former presidents then the effect may have been different. He may have gained sympathy from the public and he may have chosen a bigger venue to launch his attack against the President. Unfortunately for him, the latest surveys showed that the President is enjoying more than 70% trust rating with Corona one of the least trusted officials. Even the text poll from TV Patrol the other day showed that about 80% of the respondents are in favor of the decision of the House of Representatives to impeach the Chief Justice.

The chief justice even had the nerve to criticize the President when he himself is failing miserably at his job. If he is doing a great job then I’m sure he will not be in this mess. What has happened to the Supreme Court? Why are the people seeing the Supreme Court in a bad light and how do you explain the low trust rating of the Chief Justice?

The act was desperate and I can see that the Chief Justice is trying to drag the institution that he swore to defend into his own mess. The impeachment case is not against the Supreme Court but against the Chief Justice. It is not like someone is trying to control the Supreme Court and destroy its independence. It is the incompetence and partiality of certain justices inside this institution that is under attack. Had they shown competence and fairness in the cases that they have handled then I don’t think that we will have this problem. The impression that I am getting is that the Supreme Court is running counter to the Aquino administration. How can this administration affect its reforms and policies if there will be legal impediments along the way and if they keep on losing legal battles with other parties? Yes, they can say that they are independent but is this helping the country? Absolutely not! In fact, I think this is only helping the critics and the people who don’t want this administration to succeed.

If the Chief Justice is really thinking the best interest of the country, then he should do what former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez did and resign. He should spare the country from another impeachment trial and let us all move on. I would rather watch teleseryes on TV than to watch the drama of politicians and lawyers on another impeachment trial. Their acting suck!




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The Corona Impeachment

The headline on major newspapers and broadsheets in the Philippines yesterday and today is the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. Based on reports, he was already impeached by the Lower House yesterday with about 188 solons signing the Articles of Impeachment almost double of the required votes needed to transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. On TV yesterday night was interviews of various personalities from opposing camps who are out to get the sympathy of the public. Some say that the process was railroaded on Congress that some congressmen didn’t even read the complaint and just immediately signed in favor of the impeachment. In one speech from Chief Justice Corona, he said that he will defend the Supreme Court and its independence, that or something to that effect.

My two cents on the issue, this is democracy at work. In the first place, the impeachment process is provided for in the constitution to do what they call as check-and-balance between the three co-equal branches of the government. With the heating word war between the Executive and the Judiciary, it is almost expected that the Legislative branch will come into play. That is what they are there for, to break the status quo. It is not the Church that should mediate between opposing branches of government. It is the job of the legislature. It is just unfortunate for CJ Corona that he is the subject of the impeachment procedure. But it could also be the President.

The insinuations that the procedure was railroaded, is a non-issue. Ultimately, these congressmen will decide about this complaint one way or the other. Why prolong the agony? The framers of the constitution should have provided safety nets so this law will not be abused. These congressmen were supposed to be the voice of their constituents and they should be accountable if they fail to represent the interest of the people.

It’s ironic that lawyers and even constitutionalists who helped frame the constitution seemed surprised on how fast things are going. They should know that this is a political exercise; Congress is not a court of law. These solons are politicians and they are expected to act as one. Should we expect them to scrutinize the details of the complaint and conduct a thorough investigation? At the end of the day, it will be a numbers game, the majority rules in a democracy.

If there’s anything that we can learn from this experience, it is the fact that no one is indispensable in the government. Presidents or Supreme Court Justices can be impeached. But more than the impeachment is the people’s perception. If the people think that you are guilty then there’s nowhere else to go but down. You may get away with the impeachment case, just like what happened to former President Erap, but you cannot escape the wrath of the people if they are not satisfied with the outcome of these processes. In the end, this is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. That is what democracy is all about.


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Sykes Asia's Year-End Party on TV Patrol

The officially recognized pioneer call center in the Philippines, Sykes Asia Inc. celebrated its Year-end party with a bang last Saturday, December 10, 2011 at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds. The party dubbed as Masque De Grand, Mardi Gras 2011 was reportedly attended by some 7,000 call center employees.



You can watch the video from the link below:

Logan reports on 7,000 call center agents partying | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features

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MYX Daily Top 10 - December 5, 2011 Featuring "I won't Last a Day Without You" by Sarah Geronimo (video and lyrics)

Kamikazee's "Halik" captured the number 1 spot on today's MYX Daily Top 10. Erstwhile number 1 "One Hit Combo" by Parokya Ni Edgar secured the second spot while "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction remains on the third spot.

"All That's Left" by Christian Bautista dropped from number 1 to number 4 while "The Boys" by Girls' Generation is on the 5th spot.


MYX Daily Top 10 - December 5, 2011 (Monday)

1. Halik - Kamikazee
2. One Hit Combo - Parokya Ni Edgar feat. Gloc-9
3. What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction
4. All That's Left - Christian Bautista
5. The Boys - Girls' Generation
6. Superman - Super Junior
7. I Won't Last A Day Without You - Sarah Geronimo
8. The One That Got Away - Katy Perry
9. It will Rain - Bruno Mars
10. Habang Buhay - BBS feat. Kean Cipriano


Today's featured video is Sarah Geronimo's version of "I won't Last a Day Without You." After 4 days in the chart, it jumped to number 7 on today's MYX Daily Top 10. The song is from the movie "Won't Last a Day Without You" which is currently showing in local cinemas and is reportedly a Box Office hit.




I Won't Last A Day Without You Lyrics

Day after day I must face a world of strangers
Where I don't belong, I'm not that strong
It's nice to know that there's someone I can turn to
Who will always care, you're always there

When there's no getting over that rainbow
When my smallest of dreams won't come true
I can take all the madness the world has to give
But I won't last a day without you

So many times when the city seems to be without a friendly face
A lonely place
It's nice to know that you'll be there if I need you
And you'll always smile, it's all worthwhile

When there's no getting over that rainbow
When my smallest of dreams won't come true
I can take all the madness the world has to give
But I won't last a day without you

Touch me and I end up singing
Troubles seem to up and disappear
You touch me with the love you're bringing
I can't really lose when you're near ... when you're near my love

If all my friends have forgotten half their promises
They're not unkind, just hard to find
One look at you and I know that I could learn to live
Without the rest, I found the best

When there's no getting over that rainbow
When my smallest of dreams won't come true
I can take all the madness the world has to give
But I won't last a day without you
Without You
Won't last a day without you...


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