The Speaker and the 15th Congress

AND NOW I AM BACK! :) Hello Philippines and hello world! Did you miss me? Hahaha! The last few weeks were eaten up by work and more work. Though it was really stressful, we managed and emerged victorious. Last week we witnessed the election of Congressman Feliciano "Sonny" R. Belmonte as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Senator Juan Ponce Enrile as the new Senate President. With these new leaderships in place, we are hoping for a legislative agenda that will push for reforms for a better society. I hope they'll be able to partner with the Government and usher in a better Philippines for everyone.

The next few photos were taken during the morning of the State of the Nation Address of President Aquino. As Congress opened that morning of the 4th Monday of July, both the House of Representatives and the Senate elected their respective leaders, as dictated by protocol. After they elect and choose their leader, they would have to transmit to Malacanang that they've already chosen the Speaker of the House and Senate President respectively, and would then invite the President for his/her address.

That morning the majority backing the Speakership of Representative Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr. had their breakfast and orientation about the conduct of the opening of the 15th Congress, and how they would elect the Speaker. Everything went smoothly. :) Congratulations SB - Speaker Belmonte! :)

SANA TOTOO ang SONA ng PANGULO

SANA TOTOO ang SONA ng PANGULO

As CHED called off classes this Monday, due to "traffic that will be caused by the 95th celebration of the INC" and the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of GMA, I urge and challenge the UP System to suspend all its classes - from UP Diliman, UP Manila, UP Visayas, UP Los Banos, UP Mindanao, UP Baguio and the UP Open University, to all of its 12 campuses all over the Philippines.

The UP Diliman University Council, composed of assistant professors, associate professors and full professors and chaired by the Chancellor – "said that Macapagal-Arroyo’s attempt to remain in power and to escape accountability 'is an affront to the values (of) public accountability, transparency, honor, and excellence in service' which are held dearly at UP." In line with this, the UP Diliman professors denounce GMA’s con-ass in their latest statement.

The UC vowed to “oppose all attempts of GMA and her allies to convene an illegal constituent assembly and to prolong her rule,” stressing that “(t)he people should freely choose leaders that would truly represent the people’s interests.”

The University Student Council of UP Diliman, the other day, issued a statement vehemently condemning the upcoming SONA of GMA as a mere perpetuation of her lies and illusions.

Now that everything is clear and set, GMA will deliver her last "State of the Nation Address" on Monday. The fate of the country, which we all know, is still uncertain. I appeal to the UP System Administration and the UP Constituent Units and Campuses to call off classes and declare Monday as a National Day of protest!

"And we, too, shall be there— the proud, defiant and tireless Iskolar ng Bayan—to say once and for all, the curtain on GMA’s regime shall fall."

Join the July 27 SONA mobilization! Assembly at Quezon Hall at 10 am.


In the service of the UP students and of the Filipino nation,


sgd.

Bong Ong
University Student Council - Councilor
University of the Philippines, Diliman


*If you believe in this, please sign your name above, and pls pass on to your network/ contacts. FOR DISSEMINATION: PLEASE PASS! :)

Huling KaSONAngalingan

This coming Monday, we will again be subjected to fiction of such magnitude as to leave us incredulous— not because the lies are unbelievable in themselves, but because we cannot understand how anyone has the sheer audacity to take us for utter fools.

And yet for the past eight years, the Gloria Arroyo administration has done nothing but to fabricate lies and illusions of development and change to the Filipino people, despite the stark realities of increasing poverty, unemployment, the fiscal crisis, lack of adequate social services, political persecution, and human rights violations, to name a few.

As a final tribute to GMA’s talent for deception, we offer a compilation of her finest tall stories as a eulogy in what would hopefully be the last SONA of her final days as the President.

Lie #1: GMA does not have political ambitions beyond 2004/2010

Even before Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stole the presidency in 2004, she had already begun to spin her web of lies. Back in 2002, GMA had announced that she will not run for President in the next elections. Little did the Filipino people know that she was already in cahoots with Garci to rig the elections in her favor. And now, GMA’s frequent visits to her home province of Pampanga stirs speculations that she has plans to run for Congresswoman, and eventually Prime Minister. We shall be guarded against the possibility that GMA has secret political ambitions to remain in power beyond 2010, for we refuse to be hoodwinked again.

Lie #2: GMA will reduce corruption in her government

GMA knows that if she steps down, she will have to face the criminal and administrative charges that she has been hiding from under the cloak of presidential immunity. She will have to answer for the corruption scams, kickbacks, and scandals that she and the First Gentleman have used to bleed our national treasury dry. The Jose Pidal Scandal, the overpricing of the Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, the Fertilizer Fund Scam, and the ZTE-NBN deal, among others, sums up to a staggering P20.9 Billion in ill-gotten wealth. We shall hold her accountable for her insatiable greed, in juxtaposition with our country’s underdevelopment and poverty, as the latest government survey shows that the number of poor Filipinos had increased by 3.8 million to reach 27.6 million in 2006.

Lie #3: GMA upholds human rights

As the Commander-in-Chief, she will also have to answer for human rights violations, in what has been tagged as the bloodiest regime post-Marcos era. The number of politically-motivated killings and enforced disappearances has breached unbelievable levels in today’s modern democracy; and yet political harassment and quasi-dictatorial measures are still a reality among us Filipinos. We shall remember the unconstitutional PP1017, the Calibrated Preemptive Response, and the persecution of the Batasan Five, for we refuse to regress into the Dark Ages of authoritarian rule and terror.

Lie #4: GMA sees Cha-Cha as venue for social and political change

GMA thinks that she is insulated from the critiques on her administration by surrounding herself with opportunists and hypocrites, who are all too eager to fork over their accountability to their constituencies for additional pork barrel, and perhaps a travel junket or two. Her accomplices, such as favorite toady Rep. Nograles, have only recently demonstrated how deeply entrenched they are in traditional dirty politics by railroading the Con-Ass House Resolution, despite the staunch opposition from the masses. The manner and ill-timing in which GMA’s administration is fast-tracking Charter Change stink of desperation, self interest, and self-perpetuation. We shall remain steadfast in our principled stand against GMA’s Cha-Cha, for any constitutional change must be for the people and by the people.

This Monday, the stage is set for yet another show— her enthusiastic audience will be over-eager to applaud, her fascist police are freshly-trained to pounce on innocent civilian protesters, and Gloria Arroyo herself has prepared a new speech containing the same old lies.

And we, too, shall be there— the proud, defiant and tireless Iskolar ng Bayan—to say once and for all, the curtain on GMA’s regime shall fall.

UP Diliman University Student Council

Join the pre-SONA Vigil and Cultural Night on July 27 at 6pm.
Join the July 27 SONA mobilization! Assembly at Quezon Hall at 10 am.

PGMA's State of the Nation Address

Watch live video from Live Philippine TV on Justin.tv

Hours before the SONA 2008

The State of the Nation Address 2008

Photo taken during SONA 2006

In a few hours the Filipino people and the whole world will be witnesses again of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's State of the Nation Address. In this once in a year report to the people, a lot of questions, doubts, and attacks have been thrown back at the president for evident reasons such as increase in consumer and oil prices, and for all the anomalies that have happened since her last SONA. Though there are some praises, they are coming from her allies (of course).

The past 2 SONA's, I've heard such grandiose and magical plans and visions of the government. I am not saying that those plans are bad. What I am saying is that I have heard plans and more plans each year. But the question right now is that, what did the government, through PGMA, accomplished (or is trying to accomplish) for the past year/s?

I invite everyone to be critical. Let us go back, remember, and ask ourselves what had happened to all of those promises and plans? Were they accomplished? Were they what the government delivered for the past year? Were they just icing on top of the cake (hoping that the cake would look better with that icing)?

Let us decide. Let the people decide. Let's all watch the SONA, and after, share a thought, feeling or critcism. Will it be the "Same Old Nonsense from Arroyo?" or the true state of the nation? You, what do you think about the SONA? :)