blackshama's commentary on Philippine issues

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Noynoy Aquino continue to inflict their insidious kind of karma on the Filipino nation. In what can be described as a tragicomedy in the making we read that Mrs Arroyo wants to be given the go ahead to seek medical treatment abroad. Since she is a member of the House (and an employee of the civil service like yours truly), she had to apply for the requisite travel authority (TA) from the administrator of that government agency, no other than the Speaker, Sonny Belmonte. This was given and like in any travel authority, it spells out the itinerary and the reason of travel. The TA is a public document and has to been by the immigration officer at the airport. A government officer may demand to see it and one must present it. Mrs Arroyo unlike most government employees on  official business travel, faces suits that haven't been lodged in court (whatever that means, since without them being lodged, they aren't suits but possibly malicious accusation...

The outgoing President of the Philippines, Mrs Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivered her swan song of a speech to the public. "Look around you" she said referring to the economic gains of her 9 year watch. When I was in London many years ago, I joined a walking tour of the City and the tour guide brought us to St Paul's Cathedral. The Baroque wonder is architect Christopher Wren's magnificent opus. Aside from the giant baldachin one of the tourist draws of the cathedral is Wren's resting place and its famous epitaph LECTOR, SI MONUMENTUM REQUIRIS CIRCUMSPICE Translated into English it means Reader, if you need to see his monument, look around you. Wren's tomb is plain but his cathedral ain't! Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is not about to join Wren in the afterlife but she sure will be joining him in history. She obviously wants to ensure her place in Philippine presidential history is secure. And indeed it is. Her ascent into power is a historically significant. How...

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo plans to go back to teaching . The blurb quoted Mrs Arroyo's son Mikey. I never had Mrs Arroyo teach me economics (only the indomitable Winnie Monsod). But in the words of Sister Lucy (the nun I helped in teaching science to indigenous Australian kids when I was doing my PhD in Oz) I would say "She would make a good teacher!' Being a prof myself I immediately realised that Mrs Arroyo ran the country as if she were managing a rowdy freshie class. The freshie prof should be able to 1) Throw a bit of temper trantrums some of the time, 2) be imperious , 3) shut up psuedointellectuals and "philosophers" and 4) know what he/she's talking about and come to class prepared. Mrs Arroyo for all her faults was extremely good at this. She would make a good PhD supervisor! As for Mikey, the only way he could shed his "mama's boy" image is to do an act of rebellion that all normal tee...