YPS

I suppose everyone knows by now that many parts of Metro Manila and other areas outside the city are not in the best of shape.

The flooding still persists in some areas, right now its 240 dead and probably rising, and I think I’m in some sort of empathetic shock over what happened over the last weekend.

This disaster has really showed us all how this government has wasted so much of our money on useless things, held back money for truly important projects, and how much money government officials have stolen for themselves.

Some people refer to certain points in the future as make or break.

Many say that 2010 is make or break.

I believe every day is make or break.

I believe that the future is only a product of the way we have taken our past to influence our present.

1986 was make or break. Every impeachment was make or break. Every scandal we don’t deal with properly is make or break. Every day a petty theft happens with impunity is make or break.

Every day is make or break and in our recent history we have break-ed more than we have make-ed.

Disclaimer!

While I am a full supporter of automation I still believe that there is much to be done on the COMELEC and SMARTMATIC side to make this election credible on both the process and the automation aspects.

I am also worried about the possibility of a failure in elections. But I would rather approach the problem from a solution building one rather than an adversarial one.

Ok Game!

As an IT practitioner and a member of www.youthvotephilippines.com I’ve been following the discussions about the automated counting procedure with much interest.

Someone should start a fund raiser where the main goal will be to help finance the search for the Filipino's sense of humor. To those who may not know it, David Letterman hosts a talk show where COMEDY is the operative word every day. Now though some jokes may be funnier than others I don’t think this one is worthy of a diplomatic or legislative storm.

I remember a time when I was younger ( looong time ago) and  my cousin told me that he had written a song.

To all those that signed up with AKO MISMO!

In a radio interview today, a representative of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Lawyer Gerard Lucban, seemed to hedge his bets when asked (by the radio talk show hosts Anthony Taverna and Gerry Baja) why the SEC could not just release a list of the Pre need companies that have shaky finances. He did so by saying that should anyone want to buy a pre need plan, they should first come to the SEC and they would more than willingly SHOW THEM the financial statements of the company/ies in question.

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.

My 2 cents....

Without prejudice to anyone, and from a purely academic point of view, I think this will be a great case study for those who truly believe that a political outsider can come in less than 2 years before a NATIONAL ELECTION FOR PRESIDENT.

Some thoughts;

· winning an election is not the end of the road.

· Running a government unit is about managing people not just winning an election

· The people must physically support their winning candidate they choose BEYOND the winning of the elections

Two things stick out less than a week before Xmas; Cha Cha and Carp.

On the outside, aside from both starting with the letter "C", these two initiatives seem to have nothing in common. And yet they do.

Both CARP and the CONSTITUTION happened in the time of Cory Aquino.

Both were landmark document s that promised a better and brighter future for (the farmer and) the Philippines as a whole.

Both represented a monumental change; from the way the Philippines was to the way we/they thought the Philippines should be.