Eduardo Pontaoe
22 August 2006

The circumferential dike that our vainglorious columnist Jun Velasco is talking about are the movable dikes of Holland.

These dikes moved on hydraulic power to stop the ravages of the North Sea during high tide. If the PCE’s idea of having these contraptions applied in Dagupan nobody can afford it. As of now, I think, it already cost the Dutch $127 billion dollars to construct….that’s with a capital B.

You’re right, Jerry. The problem of flooding is not from the outside, it’s from within. Dagupan does not get flooded during high tide. Flooding happens mostly during the monsoons. The water arteries that are supposed to hasten the flow of water into the sea are clogged…water is retained.

Look at Dagupan. Even during a not heavy downpour the streets and surrounding areas are flooded. Why? The problem lies in the drainage system. It’s either there is a drainage system that is unusable or not at all.

Where is that dredger that Benjie Lim bought with all the fanfare that it will solve the problem? Let us ask our PCE what’s that machine doing right now. According to Ermin’s rat at City Hall, the machine was last seen floating in the Pantal river….out of gas.

And for our illustrious Prolific Columnist Extraordinaire Jun Velasco, he is very lucky to be working in Dagupan. If he were in America…practicing his craft…he would have been cashiered out a long time ago.

Rafael L. Oriel, Jr.
August 22, 2006

Ms. Ric, I respectfully disagree when you said, “Good is when you can look at yourself in the mirror and know that you’ve made a difference without asking for anything back in return. Good is never about rewards or punishments.”

One good example is a guy who found large sum of money and honestly returned it to the owner. He was offered some reward money in return for his honesty but he gladly refused it. Of course, an honest man like him expects something in return after doing something that is good. He deserves and expects a simple thank you, a sweet smile, two thumps up or stamp of approval, a hero’s welcome by his relatives, friends, acquaintances and by others who heard the goes news. He deserves and expects sign or seal of approval in recognition of his good deeds or a job well done so that when he will look in the mirror, he will see a happy man who was given the opportunity to make a difference. He deserves and expects high degree of respect for what he has done with the hope that nobody will tell him that he is being stupid for returning the money. Lastly, he expects something in return for his being a role model. He expects others to follow what he has done and to do the same thing so that our world will become a better or the best place to live. This is the ultimate reward that money cannot buy. Good is about that ultimate reward.

During election, we often hear people say, “It is a choice between greater and lesser evil.” They sound as if all candidates are evils and as if there are no more Filipinos left who are good. In reality, out of the more than 80 million Filipinos, only a few are rotten. The rest are good ones. We better separate them to prevent the rot from spreading.

Good and law-abiding Filipinos certainly want to honestly serve and protect the country and its people. They work hard and to the best of their ability will give that extra mile to make a difference and a job well done. Of course, a good and honest Filipino who will run for an election expects something in return from his countrymen when the election comes. He expects their overwhelming support to get him elected or re-elected for another term so that he can continue his good accomplishments.

Unfortunately, high performances and superior accomplishments do not always guarantee the victory of an election candidate. This is especially true when many voters support only those who can make them financially richer during and after the election.

I wonder why there are times when bad guys have more admirers and supporters than good guys. Is it because bad guys can tolerate forbidden and illegal activities more than good guys? There are times when it is hard to be extremely good because you attract more enemies. We often hear about good men and women who are either killed or destroyed mainly because they are good.

When extremely loyal supporters of an election candidate with questionable character will employ black propaganda to demonize a good and honest candidate and undemonize the candidate they are backing to ensure his winning the election, the aw-abiding candidate sometimes have a lesser or very slim chance to win the election because he does not want to use any dirty tricks just to win the election. Of course, both good and bad guys want to win the election but it is very unfortunate for the country and its people that good guys are not always the winner.

There must be a better way to pinpoint with accuracy the good from the bad so that we can support and reward those who are really good and to reject and punish those who are really bad.

Actually, there is a better way. It is called parliamentary system. I know this because of my knowledge and personal experience of presidential system of government in the Philippines and my knowledge and personal experience of parliamentary system of government here in Canada.

I like the parliamentary system better most especially when the senators have lesser power and minor role in legislation like here in Canada. In fact, I heard that there are many Canadians who want the Senate abolished.

According to the news, of the 10 most transparently governed countries in the world with almost non existent to very low perceived corruption as measured by Transparency International, 9 have a parliamentary system and of those 9 countries, 7 have unicameral parliamentary systems.

Unicameral, without the Senate, is much more economical for a smaller country like the Philippines.

Lily Castillo
August 22, 2006

Edwin:
I didn’t think you had it in you. You just insulted 750,000 San Franciscans, including myself. What was that you said about people being mean in the forum?

Edener Benitez Fabella
August 22, 2006

Whew! Punch Forum is smokin’ hotter than a habanero. Today I will try articulating on Filipinos affinity, passion and love affair with a product we call ‘Hollow Block’. However, before expending on the subject, allow me to digress into things so troubling you wish you were in a bottle waiting to be rubbed by someone to get out and help poor Filipinos.

I know I am supposed to operate under a ‘SIB-WUS’ decorum code but heck, I am a man on a mission. Besides it’s not easy teaching an old dog specially a septuagenarian such as myself held together only by regular doses of metamuccil, pla-pla pis-pis oh what a relief it is and pads of Salompas. Siguradong masasabon na naman ako nito but it’s hard to give it a rest. I figure prospects here are looking better than on the bingo tables and lottery outlets in winning friends O di ba? I don’t mean to sound patronizing but Ms. Ric’s commentaries reflect deep rooted intelligence and she makes a lot of sense. One need only have the ability to read between lines, capture every subliminal messages without a tinge of sardonic linkages and you will come out fully appreciating her views.

Now then, there are some loose ends that no matter how hard you try, it just don’t add up. I recall vividly, in the early days of her assumption to power, GMA bragged to the Filipino people ’she is the best thing that ever happened to the country (what chutzpah)!’ Weeks later she was in Mindanao where she was presented a criminal named Manero (a person jailed for killing an Italian missionary reportedly eating part of his brains). By golly, she even shook hands with him (ugh). There of course were other instances but by this time medyo mataas nang lahat ang kilay nang mga Filipino. When she claimed she was put there by God and has in fact a direct line to God, something else beside eyebrows rising up and no (silly you) Levitra and Cialis were not the culprits. It is loss of confidence among many Filipinos. Perhaps the motto in Malacanang is - ‘In God I trust but more on cash!’

Where am I going on this? Well, simply this. It would do well for this administration to cut the braggadocios since it cannot even do things without the help of the international community.

How can you face the people and say things with a straight face, the country will be a first world class status in 20 years time and an enchanted kingdom with big bucks coming out of her ears she wants to transform the country into various super mega regions? Meron pa bang Filipino na naniniwala sa mga sinasabi nitong si Ate Glo?

First, the USA needed to infuse a million bucks to assist the country rid itself of graft and corruption. Second, IOM did most of the airlift of OFW’s fleeing Lebanon and a Greek shipping tycoon offering vessels to ferry some of our OFW’s. Third, an international organization is now looking into the unabated killings of people critical of her. Finally, in the Guimaras oil spill, our government admitted helplessness and now soliciting international expertise in cleaning up the mess. If this is the enchanted kingdom of Gloria Pidal, it sure sucks to high heavens. Bakit kahit man lang skimmers, booms, vacuum systems and dispersant equipment wala ang ating coast guard units? Our honorable polithievians are sporting state of the art SUV’s and flashy cars but cannot allocate funds for these equipment for use in emergencies such as this tragedy in Guimaras? Hoy mahiya naman kayo!

Yes, we Filipinos adore hollow blocks. We use it for erecting our homes (still do). There is now better use for this. In our type of democracy, it is easy to feel one hollow block tied up to your leg. Every time your pockets are picked by crooks in government, it’s like an anchor preventing you from slipping further down a grave. But if we let the same crooks from riding roughshod down everyone’s throat this ‘cha cha’ scam, there will be 2 hollow blocks instead of 1 tied to your legs and on your way to the vast ocean never to be seen or heard from again. In other words, wise up mga kababayans don’t let more tomfoolery and hang on to your wallets tight! Tignan ninyo pati ‘cedula’ gusto nilang pagkakitaan?

Ms. Ric
August 22, 2006

Mr. Carrera,

And I thought they were called circumferential dikes because of their shape, not because they had to surround the whole city. I guess we’re able to use them around my area because the closest city is thirty miles away. If you’re familiar with the geography here, along highway 1 from Monterey to Santa Barbara, you’ll see these inner tubes hugging the hillsides as well. They’re supposed to help keep the low-lying cities/areas stay connected with the rest of California.

I hope you and Vicky are enjoying retirement. Thanks for the info.

Jeremias Andrade Carrera
22 August 2006

 

Ms. Ric:
Mr. Velasco said circumferential dike which means it must encircle Dagupan which he claims to be below sea level. Where will all the water that drains through Dagupan and the water that will accumulate within the dike during heavy storm go? Think about it together with the required engineering, real estate acquisition, the environment, the legal implications among other things. Can a city just put a dike around it and floods the surrounding towns? I believe the Philippines also has laws that are similar to the USA which protects others from harm by anybody who does not exercise reasonable duty of care and it is more stringent for large projects such as what Jun Velasco was THINKING ABOUT, if indeed he was thinking when he wrote his opinion. The NEPA of the USA though is more stringent than the requirements in the Philippines through their ECA.

Ms. Ric
22 August 2006

Living along California’s coast, I’m very much aware of methods used in the past to control flooding and erosion. One of these contraptions I’ve seen used is what’s called geosynthetic tubes filled with slurry. When stacked around low lying areas, we’ve called them “circumferential dike” as opposed to regular sand bags. I’ve also seem them used alongside hills to help prevent erosion. Could this be what Mr. Velasco is talking about?

Jevie de Guzman
22 August 2006

Sensationalism and seditiousness in journalism is unavoidable in a democracy where:

1) Truths become lies and lies become truths
2) Plights of the oppressed and the poor are not heard
3) Corruption is rampant but no one is punished
4) Politicians are getting richer but the masses are getting poorer, in short oligarchs rule
5) Increasing victims of injustice because justice is being influenced by the politicians and the rich
6) Deteriorating peace and order situation, unsolved killings.

Is democracy still working in our country? If justice which is the last defense of democracy is being curtailed and influenced by the politicians and the rich, how can you prevent journalism of being sensationalized and seditious? Jose Rizal and Ninoy Aquino were involved in sensationalized and seditious journalism but probably because there was no democracy during their times. If nowadays, some writers are involved in seditious and sensationalized journalism then it probably means something. Democracy is no longer working in our country.

In my point of view, politicians who contributed and continuously contributing to the above scenario are the ones destroying the very essence of democracy.

By definition, sensationalism is the practice of emphasizing the most lurid, shocking, and emotive aspects of anything under discussion or investigation, especially by the media.

For the victims it does not matter if what they express is sensationalized or seditious. For them, JOURNALISM is all about the TRUTH.

Jevie Posadas de Guzman
OFW
Worldwide Oil Exploration Consultant

Ms. Ric
22 August 2006

 

Edwin, let’s keep our focus straight. We are talking about martial law. Let’s not show everyone your true colors based on your comments about San Francisco. If I had mentioned that Assoc. of Asian Studies home base is Boston, Massachusetts, would that make it better for you? And to answer your question how martial law hurt me, it didn’t hurt me one bit. But you already knew that, I am assuming you’ve read my previous posts. The holocaust didn’t hurt me either, but I’ll be damned if I can say that I don’t feel for the Jews. But let’s get back to martial law, Marcos style. He supposedly made people disappear, so there’s no mass grave to speak of. He supposedly incarcerated political opponents, including nuns, priests, and students simply for speaking out. He supposedly bought or shut down television, radio, and newspapers. Those that stayed open were pretty much puppets for his amusement. He also supposedly squandered billions of US aid or should I say the money disappeared. The examples I used are just a few documented cases extracted from the public records in Honolulu, some from history books, but most are from the printed media. But you’ve also made it clear how you feel about the media and the US court system. Unless you can debunk history books, I’ve been totally duped. By the way, didn’t Marcos die a while back?

A REUNION OF LONG TIME FRIENDS - Jose (Joe) Estrada (standing 1st from left) beside Ben Arcalas of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada hosted recently a reunion of long time friends of former Pangasinan Gov. Tito Primicias. Also shown in photo, (L-R) Former Gov.Primicias, Frank Maralag, Retired Editor-In Chief of Pilipino Star Ngayon Tony Sicat, James Carino, Jun Espiritu, Tony Asuncion, Emeterio Estrada, Nanding Gubatan, and Bill Viray. (JOJO TADURAN)