Did China send the Shabu to remind us who owns the West Philippine Sea?
P6 billion worth of shabu inventoried (Photo source: Inquirer)
By Andrew Lim
Is Philippine foreign policy under “regulatory capture” by China?
For alert observers of the political scene, it is a puzzling, if not head-scratching event: P6.4 billion worth of shabu made its way to Philippine shores via the Bureau of Customs last May 2017, and there’s hardly any reaction from the President.
For a man who has railed against drugs ad nauseum, making it seem the only issue that mattered while delegating all other concerns, for a man who has unleashed the dogs of war that has rightly or wrongly resulted in thousands of deaths, for a man who has repeatedly said he will defend and pardon any officer charged in the conduct of the anti-drug campaign, it is very intriguing.
His own countrymen bear the brunt of his brutality, but the source of the illegal drugs doesn’t even elicit a reaction? His own countrymen who deal in mini-sachets and loose change get double-tapped while Chinese manufacturers who mass-produce and deal with billions hardly get noticed?
There is one theory that fits all the events that have transpired, and it is up to you, dear reader, to reflect and discern if it is plausible. If you follow the train of thought, it will really cause you to clam up even if you are the President.
What if it was Chinese illegal drug manufacturers who did it all right, but it was under the auspices of the Chinese government, who gave tacit approval to them to operate on condition that they cooperate and follow instruction occasionally?
What if the Chinese state security services told these manufacturers: we know who you are and where you are, but we will not roll you up, as long as you obey our orders from time to time?
On our side, what if the Chinese politburo intended this message in sending that shipment:
“We are the ones in control here. We can turn the spigot on or off, depending on how you behave regarding the West Philippine Sea. We can make your lives miserable by flooding your coastlines with drug shipments, which will result in more deaths of your fellowmen.”
“Show your cooperation by avoiding any mention of our activities in the disputed territories. Make sure your ASEAN communique reflects that. Make sure your Foreign Affairs secretary and his department toe the line. He should be sympathetic to us at all times. Tell your government news agencies to publish our official position in your websites and synchronize with ours.”
PNA posts Xinhua editorial hitting South China Sea arbitration
It can be argued that it was an intelligence tip from Chinese customs that alerted our side about the shipment. But that’s precisely the beauty of such an op: plan it, execute it, and blow it up yourself. The objective was never to profit or make a successful delivery. The goal was to send a strong message to top Filipino policymakers.
Here’s another intriguing point: why were Chinese authorities quick to absolve any Filipino involvement in the whole thing?
P6.4B smuggling of shabu is an all-Chinese operation, no Filipinos involved – China customs
Were they saying it’s all on them? We’re in charge here, and you can’t do anything except obey us. You will spend eternity chasing down your corrupt officials in Customs and local governments but we are the source.
Assuming our theory is correct, what’s the calculus in this gambit of sending us a shipment? What’s the cost-benefit ratio to the Chinese government?
What’s the value of US$ 128M or P 6.4B worth of drugs? It’s charged to the illegal drug manufacturer, not the Chinese government. For the manufacturer it means continued operation. For the Chinese government, it sends a very strong signal who’s in charge. Memo to Filipino leadership: your well-being (less drugs or more drugs?) depends on us, and how well you cooperate.
Has China boxed in Duterte and the Philippines? Has China effectively captured Philippine foreign policy in the same manner power and telecom companies execute regulatory capture over government agencies tasked to act in the public interest? Is the gamekeeper now the poacher?
Foreign policy does not operate in a vacuum; every single issue affecting each state can be used as a tool for bargaining, intimidation, coercion, moral suasion, etc. History is replete with examples of illegal drugs used as an instrument of destabilization and foreign policy.
Territorial acquisition, illegal drugs, foreign aid, display of military might, diplomatic pressure, economic pressure are all weapons in foreign policy and can be wielded and calibrated accordingly.
In an eyebrow-raising interview of Martin Andanar in Rogue magazine (July 2017 issue, p68) by Patrick Paez on his post-Malacanang career:
Paez: So, after Duterte, it’s most likely back to media rather than onto politics for you?
Andanar: “… I’ve always been amused with China, Beijing. So maybe do something with our new friends in Beijing.”
Talk about a revolving door made in China, opens to China and operated by Filipinos.
Lastly, is this why Commissioner Faeldon retains the trust of the President – because the latter knows who’s ultimately responsible and he is powerless to do anything to do about it?
Let’s review the timelines:
On the shabu shipment
The Customs episode all happened within May 2017.
TIMELINE: How P6.4-B worth of shabu was smuggled into PH from China
ASEAN communiques
The ASEAN Manila summit was in August 2017.
PHL wanted issues resented by China dropped from ASEAN statement
All the subsequent statements of the Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary in August 2017 were pleasing to China’s ears.
After Days of Deadlock, ASEAN Releases Statement on South China Sea Dispute
Plausible, yes?
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[…] Did China send the shabu to remind us who owns the West Philippine Sea? […]
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
Those are the same who want to protect us and join the gas and oil nature gift to the Philippines..
Good job Pichay……
”A MINDANAO congressman yesterday sought to forge a mutual defense treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and China following the marching order of President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte to establish “mutual trust” instead of pursuing the traditional confrontational approach to ensure a successful joint exploration in the disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea.
This was suggested by Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr. during a briefing held in executive session last Wednesday by Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano before the House special committee on the West Philippine Sea chaired by former Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr. of Quezon City on the developments in the conflict areas.”
http://www.journal.com.ph/news/nation/china-ph-defense-pact-pushed
Pichay, always the scoundrel ruining things, including chess. So much he should be planted into the ground.
Philippines may have alleged gas and oil reserves but Filipinos would rather not exploit their natural resources to preserve the environment. My hunch is the Filipinos wanted to prove to the world they are with the big boys of environment which is culturally evident.
Filipinos would rather have China invade the Philippines than have American destroyers run aground and ruin their corals. Remember a heavy American destroyer ran aground and destroyed the corals and the Filipinos made them pay for it when Americans are playing security guards for Philippines for free.
To go to war over specks of rocks in Philippine Sea is not absolutely a good idea yet politically righteous because territorial integrity should be protected. Winning these rocks and not exploiting its resources is a disservice to Filipinos. If it is exploited for tourism only the wealthy Filipinos can bask in the glory of this environment not the 90% of Filipinos.
What Filipinos are really trying to prove? What is in this country that they want to leave for the U.S. then fight against China? They are like Armenians who fight to protest the genocide in their country in the U.S. They should go back to Armenia and fight the Turks.
To go to war over specks of rocks?
11 billion Estimated barrels of oil in the South China Sea
190 trillion Estimated number of cubic feet of natural gas in the South China Sea
https://www.cfr.org/interactives/global-conflict-tracker#!/conflict/territorial-disputes-in-the-south-china-sea
First, some figures: One older Chinese estimate places potential oil resources in the South China Sea as high as 213 billion barrels of oil, though many Western analysts have repeatedly claimed that this estimate seems extremely high. A conservative 1993/1994 US Geological Survey (USGS) report estimated the sum total of discovered reserves and undiscovered resources in the offshore basins of the South China Sea at 28 billion barrels.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/timdaiss/2016/05/22/why-the-south-china-sea-has-more-oil-than-you-think/#614c4a15dd8f
Thanks Andrew. Intriguing indeed are the circumstances you narrated and the possibilities you drew from them. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Meantime, I have a quick and simplistic comment.
CHINA GEOPOLITICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND THE CURRENT BLOG
The current buzz word in the US is Identity Politics or the simplistic characterization or labeling of a political group, such as the Racist Group or White Supremacist Group to identify Trump, some GOPs and Trump’s vote-base supporters after the bloody Charlottesville Incident between the white supremacist groups and their opposites.
In a parallel manner, we may also have GeoPolitics Identity to characterize certain countries for their actions and or statements.
We may identify or characterize China for its resources-grabbing and obsession tendencies. That characterization with its corollary motivation, together with opportunities that come their way or manipulate their way into are the main drivers of China. That motivation/ Identity label and opportunities — handed on a silver platter by the Administration to China — correlate or explain well, I believe, China’s actions in the Philippines relating to WPS and shabu as discussed in the Blog.
Sorry, NHerrera, it is not a “simplistic characterization or labeling of a political group” identified with Trump, his voters and the GOP. It is not so complicated either, the likes of David Duke, Steve Bannon, and most of the “nationalists” neo-Nazi protestors in Charlottesville are card carrying racists, far-rightists and white supremacists. I am positive that they will tell you themselves proudly about their racists and fascists ideologies if you have the chance to interview them.
My point? Most Americans call a spade a spade. The ones brandishing “identity politics” are often from the right who have the penchant to accuse the left of inventing the word and are now co-opting the very same word.
Thanks JP, for putting this more accurately than I have, from my narrow reading of events. Yes, I agree, Americans call a spade a spade.
Juana, when I voiced out that China is taking over, a person took offense and told me that no patriotic Filipino would believe that.
I just said to myself time for all of us to be patriots.
You were right, Karl. A lot of our people are in denial and it is time for us to call the situation as it is pero ang mahirap, marami sa kababayan ang bulag, pipi at bingi.
Thanks and I agree.
Philippines is run by Americans, Spaniards and Chinese. Forbes top 100 wealthy “Filipinos” are actually Chinese and Spaniards. No indigenous Filipinos. Filipinos only run Sari-Sari Variety Stores and work for their former colonists who they thought they have vanquished. No! They are there in the Philippines to stay to run the country however they want it like colonists should.
The Fake News, senators, congressmen and elected officials are mere puppet on a chain. Fake News usual suspects are Filipinos never the ex-colonizers. Could it be because ex-colonizers are upright law abiding citizens? Or, are they afraid to gossip about them.
It is unfortunate out of 110,000,000 Filipinos never realize that ex-colonists never land in Fake News most corrupt.
It is clear as day Filipino Fake News denigrate fellow Filipinos. Pathetic.
America is run by white men who never lived in a teepee, but the population is diverse and the term “American” embraces them all. The term “Filipino” also embraces the diversity of the nation Philippines. Dividing people by race or ethnicity is . . . well . . . divisive, most of the time.
Phillipinos beware. The same kinds of events have happened in Vietnam.
The only way Duterte will be successful in the drug fight is for him to wake up and realize that he will not be able to eradicate drug dealing and use in the Philippines, and for him to think outside the box for other solutions besides shooting up both criminals and innocent people. The US has spent trillions already towards this menace without success. Once his term is up, all the drug dealers who are maintaining a low profile will come back with a vengeance. As long as their is a street value of drugs, these thugs will risk their limbs and lives for profit as as long as there are idiots who are willing to use. His aim is very noble because he cares so much about the country. However he should be smart enough to devise non-combative solutions. For starters, he must seek the counsel of the medical community and the public on how best to counter this menace. Secondly, the drugs they seize can be distributed for free to addicts, as long they are willing to be rehabbed for good. This will partly eliminate the street value . Third, early education on the dangers of drug use should start as early in third grade, all the way to college. Support the addicts for whatever needs they have and figure out what drove them to drug use in the first place. Fourth, the President should be unforgiving to politicians and members of the police and the military if they are involved in drug distribution. I am sure a lot of us can suggest more non-combative solutions.
Addiction in the Philippines is mental health issue. Mental Health is science. Filipinos are poor in science, therefore, drug addiction will linger. The only way is to scare them with killings. It seems even killings are not scaring them. It has become more persistent.
The best way is to choke the sources of drug and chemical cocktails that create drugs. Instead they are looking the other way. They are killing the end users not the main source.
What the senators, congressmen and cabinets are doing is debating about it with their Latin tongue and display of brinkmanship.
China itself is driven–to an extent little appreciated by most outsiders–by its humiliation over its addiction to opium for a couple of hundred years–the entry of the drug into China being controlled and conducted by Westerners, principally the British. The opium trade drained China of its silver reserves and literally weakened much of the population through addiction. The bureaucracy became corrupt and ineffectual. (Although other factors led to that, it’s seen as the fault of opium–and those who brought it into the country.) And all this was perceived as the deliberate handiwork of foreign aggressors.
https://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/10/how-humiliation-drove-modern-chinese-history/280878/
That fixation on its collective humiliation comes up again and again in online remarks by China trolls–a pattern in their manufactured discourse for years now–especially when it comes to matter of foreign policy, or the West Philippine sea in particular. They always use it as unquestionable justification (at least in the eyes of PRC citizens) for their own aggression and encroachment on any territory anywhere in the world. So the messaging for PRC citizens is: We, the Chinese, are always being oppressed by bullies (i.e. the U.S. and its sycophant allies); therefore we must strike back at these U.S. allies who dare to humiliate China in the eyes of the world.
Yes, it makes perfect sense then, in terms of narrative, for them to try to shame the Philippines in this matter of the shabu. (Sige, gagawin namin sa inyo ang ginawa rin sa amin.) Already, Chinese friends have told me that the PRC mass media refer to our president as a sort of dog. Not even a likeable or particularly useful dog, but as THEIR mongrel. These are lesser people, these Filipinos.
And maybe, just maybe, producers of shabu are being incentives to ship their product, priced cheaply, into countries the PRC doesn’t like. Letting Philippine-grown bananas rot in their containers at the port–as they did in 2010 over the killing in the Luneta of Chinese tourists–won’t hurt the Philippines as a whole. And we happen to be less dependent on our exports to China than other ASEAN countries.
The humiliation over opium addiction suffered by China at the hands of the West is maybe its single biggest trauma–at least in the collective Chinese mind. (Who among them fixates on the millions who died during Mao’s Great Leap Forward?) And as any armchair psychologist can tell you, those who suffer great trauma tend to repeat it until it is fully acknowledged and finally let go. Think about the ways in which Israel for decades has conducted ghetto containment in Gaza: like it was in Warsaw during the 1930s—only longer.
And so the great collective human traumas live on, re-enacted incessantly, moving across time and crossing from territory to territory. And perhaps it has now–literally–reached our shores. Filipinos have to be made aware of what ignites deep-seated Chinese emotion, and how their Party can make use of that for its own geopolitical ends.
Vicara, good of you to recall that historical event which has traumatized the Chinese psyche — through the link you posted.
I cannot quite understand, though, how this humiliation motivates China in the way they have treated the Philippines. Would it not have been reasonable for China — now that Duterte favored them with its pivot to China and distancing itself from the US and thus favor China’s geopolitical end — to reciprocate by intervening to make it difficult for the Chinese to be involved in the supply of shabu to the Philippines?
One way to interpret your narration of humiliation to China by the West (Britain) is to relate it to something akin to the case of one traumatized by sexual abuse who later, does the same thing that traumatized him on another, not necessarily to the previous tormentor. In our current case, China, traumatized by the West on opium, turns around and does the same thing on a country such as the Philippines? (I am not sold to this psychological interpretation though.)
Seems to me that “reasonableness” is not a priority in PRC foreign relations, although cold reasoning plays a part. It’s no secret that the PRC central government has its long-term goals of economic and geographic domination. To that end and others, tropes like the Opium wars are used to move public perception–in the same way, maybe, that the trope of untried-but-evil-beyond-doubt “drug suspects” has been used by this administration to manipulate Filipinos into accepting state control through Tokhang.
Perhaps to you and me and most functioning democracies. reasonableness is more important than saving face. But that’s not always the case elsewhere.
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1. There are several things that stand out from the narrative.
2. The first is that the intelligence tip that alerted our side about the shipment came from Chinese customs.
2.1. Clearly, China wanted the shipment to be seized despite its value. I agree with Andrew on this point.
3. The second is that China characterized the smuggling attempt as an all-Chinese operation. The exporters were Chinese, the importer (Richard Tan aka Richard Chen) was Chinese, and the middleman (Kenneth Dong) was Chinese.
3.1. I beg to differ. The operation was not all-Chinese. Kenneth Dong is a mate of Paolo Duterte (Polong) who allegedly heads the Davao Group. It is alleged that the Davao Group greased the shipment thru the Green Lane in customs. Polong is the oldest son of the President and the incumbent Vice Mayor of Davao City. He is a Filipino.
4. Josephivo tells us that the Chinese think and plan long-term. So I would say the intent of China in giving the intelligence tip was to implicate Polong.
4.1. But isn’t Polong the son of the President who is a tuta of China? Why discredit him?
5. A third thing, which is not in the narrative, is that the President is in bad health and China knows exactly his condition as he has undergone treatment in Chinese hospitals. The condition is that the President will not live long enough to align with China’s long-term plans.
5.1. Therefore, I surmise that the objective of China in this operation is to discredit the Dutertes in preparation for a post-Duterte world.
6. The great obstacle that stands in the way of China after Duterte’s demise is the Vice President. It is not an insuperable obstacle. And if the obstacle is removed, who will ascend to the Malacañang? It would be the President of the Senate, would it not?
6.1. The President of the Senate and the members of his party (PDP-Laban) are in talks with the Communist Party of China (CPC) to learn “policy training” and the ideology. CPC is the founding and ruling political party of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) which is a one-party state. It is not a far stretch to conclude that the objective of PDP-Laban is to be the CPC of our country.
7. The ambitions of China go far beyond the Dutertes, far beyond the West Philippine Sea, and far beyond the Philippines. But the Philippines appears to be a first and convenient stepping stone. There are so many Representatives and Senators willing to lie down on the stone to cushion China’s trampling boots.
(Anyway, this is my version of a conspiracy theory. Thanks to Andrew for germinating clandestine thoughts.)
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edgar,
Your Item 7 is persuasive to me, especially when I correlate it with my note above on characterizing China as resources-grabbing and obsessed to plan for a future with resources scarcity and fuel its wider dream of becoming Numero Uno in the world.
Thanks for the inputs. In my view, China does not care at all what happens here- who dies, who gets removed from power, who replaces whom, as long as its grand objectives are met – that its goal of controlling the region is not derailed or opposed.
Andrew,
My concern is in the future anyone can be a Manchurian candidate, how can that possibility be stopped?
Knowing is no longer enough, it always remains half of the battle. But the Battle must go on.
Thanks Andrew for your blog installment (as Sonny calls it.)
Neph, pahabol.
Which is better to use? I will defer to your usage, truly. 🙂
Unc,
Blog installment is nice, I meant no harm in saying you use it.
Again, I have to apologize.
I respect all of you here, if I am showing disrespect, I will try my best to be more mindful.
None taken at all, Neph. Pagdating sa cyberspace, takbo ako sa inyo ni PiE. ‘Ung salitang “blog post” shorter than “blog installment.” Kung pareho ang meaning at dating, I won’t worry and just use both terms at will.
This is very disturbing, Edgar. Poor PH is de facto serving another Master.
#2
“The Customs men claimed that China Customs tipped them off about the drugs, but to “please not punish” the Chinese importer-warehouser, alias Richard Tan.”
http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2017/08/09/1726891/no-wonder-drugs-still-proliferate
Why are they telling BOC, in effect the law enforcers too, to absolve Richard Tan?
#6.1
Yes. I am Watson to your Sherlock on this one. Andanar will also go to China for training so he can be the Director of PH 50 Cent Army. He has lots of experience managing trolls for government propaganda so he’s a perfect fit for the job.
I am starting to believe your conspiracy theory, Edgar. 🙂
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Juana, Ahaha!
2. According to my theory, Richard Tan is a fifth columnist. China’s target is really Polong in particular, and the Duterte family as a whole. In discrediting Polong, they also hold his father to ransom. Duterte is nearing his used-by date, but China wants to make sure that he does not waver in his allegiance to them. Duterte has been seen to waver… in his smiling photo with Tillerson and in his thankfulness to the US in their role in Marawi. The President is silent, unable to blast Customs people and allow the Senate to unearth the composition of the Davao Group because of his son’s alleged involvement.
2.1. Isn’t it interesting that China thinks it has that much power to suggest not to punish Tan?
6.1. I think China has a poor opinion of Andanar, if indeed they have one, as they have of Duterte himself. They may hold Pimentel and Cayetano with higher respect. From their perspective, Pimentel has gravitas and Cayetano has boca. And both are relatively young and presumably have staying power.
*****
6.1 If anything, Cayetano is a running dog. Looking at two sides of Taguig (which acquired infamy because of delinquents stoning passing cars on C5), their reign is one of appalling quality and for lip service, kowtowing to one class of people and then bringing a mixture of terror and handouts to one lower than theirs.
The circumstances abound for conspiracy theories. Can we help ourselves here in TSH — who have not lost our bearings — and others to have those theories, especially when the Executive Branch with the DFA, BOC and DOJ; Congressmen and Senators behave the way they do?
I feel whatever the intentions of China, Filipinos will still be the “serfs” the Chinese will have to depend on. Will the self-interests of the Filipino surrogates evolve to be the needed nationalistic pushback?
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The self-interests of the surrogates will always predominate. The national interests will always be secondary.
The Senate majority’s resolution to look into the horrific murder of Kian de los Santos is looking out for Number One.
*****
Aye, Edgar.
To add, President Xi is preparing for the next CCP gathering this year, which means he wants to build up more clout and by the time comes no one would question his supremacy. Besides, 2049 is mostly in the minds of the Politburo.
An agent of influence is certainly capable of shaping or misshaping a country’s policies to favor a certain hostile nation. Right now, I define a hostile nation who makes use of indirect means of warfare to subjugate a state by weakening its pillars without even firing a shot, a death of a thousand cuts, and that includes state-sponsored narcotics exports as well as using the latest in hacking techniques to obtain information (the common USB flash disk, to begin with).
Fascinating conjecture.
Most plausible — and horrifying! with Du30, our country will be a tuta of China!
My summarized tweet for this article:
Duterte does not care how many Filipinos die, as long as China supplies the shabu, which enables him to hold on to power, which results in further loss of Phil territory, due to Phil foreign policy under regulatory capture by China. 🙂
Correct me if I’m wrong.
Chinese customs informed BOC of the illicit shipment and asked them to hands off Richard Tan.
Richard Tan said Chinese customs informed him of the illicit shipment, and he in turn informed BOC.
In Philippines it’s forever ‘he said, I said’ kind of stuff. I’m really laughing at the way the govt is handling these things. The impression is always bumbling idiots. The executive agency — we don’t trust them with whatever they try to do. The legislative – getting in on the act for show, nothing will ever come out of this. I’ll tell you what any other country would have done in this particular case of 6.4b peso shabu. The PRC ambassador would have been called in to explain. And one hell of explanation he needs to give me — when your customs knew about the shipment, why did you let it go, why endanger Philippines? And have you made any arrests in China?
Edgar is probably right. It’s a game, but as to what purpose? The damage is to Pulong, so what is the grand idea? Perhaps Duts is not delivering on certain commitments?
Fake News + Fake Government = “He said-They said”
Eventually it will end up in battle royale of Affidavits and counter-Affidavits.
I do not entertain news that is based on heresay without evidences. Hard evidences. I do not even entertain those who can recite verbatim Article-this-section-that because the laws in the Philippines absolutely are not enforced.
Debating about laws is not my thinking in the arena of the Philippines. It is just utterly useless but good for entertainment purposes only.
But Filipinos has elevated politics into science and THIS IS THE ONLY SCIENCE FILIPINOS KNOW. IT IS CALLED POLITICAL SCIENCE. No math necessary nor logic just gossips and it becomes SCIENCE, Political Science Dear Watson.
Yet, you entertain comments here to show us that what you say is hard evidence.
The whole crystal meths drug problem is controlled from SW China pretty much from what I have found out, the Philippines being a major part of this.
China has strict drug laws. They also have strict enforcement. To produce meth and export it to needy Philippines meth must be manufactured by Chinese government to destroy the Filipinos? Why go that route.
Why not China pay some senators to introduce a bill to make Manny Pacquiao the national hero to replace Jose Rizal.
I bet Filipinos will kill each other over this. After the carnage, all China has to do is send their soldiers in their Chinese junk and take Manila without a fight.
Strict laws and enforcement do not mean that the only way from China to export meth is the Chinese government must manufacture them.
Poverty is still widespread in China, and no matter if there are approximately 2400 executions in 2013 and even if there are police raids of entire villages( strong enforcement), being strict and being tough must be reinforced by other measures.
Kiliing the poor can not eradicate poverty.
Sorry in the Asia Pacific region, but this extends a lot further
I am reading, I AM READING. From the beginning up to this point, if all TSOH is one sage of an author, the one first paragraph ends and tells it all here. The sculpture, the portrait is here almost finish; anything more added in the next few days and that’s a-plenty will just be added value eche bucheche, este (promise to not use those three words anymore) of gold plating and clothing the piece’s surface with stainless steel. It (the piece) COULD be smithing the sword of an El Cid into a mighty pen.
Pero, heto, re-cycle sinabi ko three threads ago:
1. popoy says:
August 15, 2017 at 1:49 pm
In the eche bucheche that’s happening in the Senate now, Guess WHO should have been invited to shed light and to expose the truth on allegations flying here and there in the BOC. Puro bobo cheche ang nangyayari eh.
Bull’s-eye, popoy!
Bull’s eye, NHerrera? Hindi Ah! Hear, listen to this. I was aggie extension worker (57 years ago), visiting farms in lowland and highland villages. In one village I saw arrows embedded in bull’s eyes in big tree trunks and wooden walls of shacks. I ask the villagers for their archer.
I told the archer he ain’t a bolo man, not a marksman but a sharp shooter. I ask how come? Smiling and feeling naughty he said: “I shoot the arrow first then draw the bull’s eye around them when no one is looking.” “Dumbo,” his eyes seemed to tell me. But that’s not you NH, it’s me and some snoozers in the noodle house. Humour is an element DNA of Filipino resilience.
HETO PA. It might take weeks or months for this musings to become relevant or itself the subject of a piece of meat, rather a blog . . . .
popoy says:
August 20, 2017 at 4:47 pm
andrewlim8, if I may, not for MAY BE but for sure EVERYTHING is inextricably link no matter how distant to every other thing in the Universe but that no one knows with certainty how it began or how it will end. The dynamics of linkages is discernible from an art of Leonardo of a naked man (Vitruvian Man) with outstretched arms as the structural-functional model made by God for the Universe.
. . . a pargraph of blah blah follows . . . then
There comes a time when a person, man or woman fueled by greed and powered by megalomania fails to see the crime against humanity, of how a solution is but a delusion resulting in incalculable harm to a segment of mankind.
Of how a mere commercial action movie mirrors life itself; mimicking unfolding events so close to the eche bucheche of home politics. It’s preposterous how and why a HITMAN needs a BODYGUARD. How a movie’s action sequences of a Fleming’s and Ludlum’s fiction can all be deftly put together to distract and entertain snoozers in noodle houses.
See the movie to find out how and why Superman HITMAN Samuel Jackson needs Ryan Reynolds as his bodyguard. Just to give way to entertainment see ineptness? of the ICJ, the ICC, the Interpol and the blue bereted UN peacekeepers. The fiction could in a way be closer to home than the real connection between the WPS and the illegal drugs war. Opinions should remain tentative till after sufficient discussion here in TSOH.
ADDENDUM: this movie UNEXPECTEDLY tops them all in the week end box office with $21 million. Go to Madame Tussaud’s in the Big Apple and have a selfie with the wax figure of Samuel Jackson. It might still be there along with John Wayne and Michael Jordan. I had mine with the wax image of Nelson Mandela.
TOO EARLY TO TAKE A BREAK
But come back to it when you have the time. In the link below, you can see the Indian made video in response to the amateurish way China made theirs against the Indian. It features. in cartoon video, China’s Xi and India’s Modi. Hands down the Indians beat the Chinese on substance and creativity. I watched the video clip several times. A gem of a political cartoon.
In the link, click the picture showing Modi seated and Xi riding a missile.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/18/asia/china-xinhua-india-video/index.html
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1. China accuses India of Seven Sins.
7 Sins of India
(1) Trespassing
(2) Violating bilateral convention
(3) Trampling international law
(4) Confusing right & wrong
(5) Putting blame on victim
(6) Hijacking small neighbor
(7) Sticking to mistake knowingly
2. As I watched the China Xinhua News video, I realized the sins can be leveled against China for their incursions into the West Philippine Sea. They are very applicable.
*****
Indeed!
Ay Naku, talaga para ng sirang plaka si Ako. Paulit-ulit. Eh. pero meron talagang koneksyon yata eh, kaya wala ng giyera, sabi ng manghuhula sa Carriedo.
1. popoy says:
August 12, 2017 at 7:16 pm
WHILE before
The hippies and beatniks
Chanted MAKE LOVE NOT WAR
While Now
Rappers and hip hoppers
Prefer to make noise and loads of Bread
While Un and Donald
Spit venom on each other’s face
WATCH OUT WATCH OUT
Echoes reverberate the Himalayas
To the Great Wall of China
Two sleeping population giants
India and Pakistan happy and
Content with nuclear toys
Just to tickle each other’s underarms
India and Pakistan
Like Sokor and Japan
Are deadly variables conjoined
With US in any nuclear war.
NOW SAYS WHO
THERE’S GONNA BE WAR?
ADDENDUM: Sorry Andrew and Edgar , the intent is not to waylaid the discussion, just a breather for a pause.
just had a short snooze and whadda you know, the tea cup has been boiling long in the microwave, it did not just way laid the discussion, every body’s eyes now n the boiling teapot. See how it MIXPLODE. let me write my take to what karl said.
Alt Right in the USA, Alt-AFP in Ph, Eh. Sanamagan, so says Max Soliven.
popoy sir,
Am confused again,was that sanamagan for everything I said.
You linked author insults, to one of our exchanges,If I insulted you, I apologize.
Karl sanamagan (son of a gun) is perhaps how Max Soliven express in helpless disqust his reaction to an event or a person’s stupidity. In college, I used to blurt out PUSANG AMA (instead of putang ina) as expression of unthinking surprise to avoid confessing to priests I am uttering bad words. In the frat where the word of the Grand Archon is law, a katsila brod thought us to shake our heads to say YOODEE, which actually means a two-legged rat is an hijo de puta. Karl Tu tienes no insulto para mi.
No mas Karl.
Uno mas.
Max Soliven changed sanamagan to salamabit if he is more pissed, I suppose.
No Mas Popoy.
Coming across twitter earlier today was a report by @AltAFP that President Duterte wants AFP troops taken off Pagasa Island, the surrounding seas (perhaps under of the cover of distraction over shabu) having been infested by Chinese ships. The Secretary of Defense and AFP are resisting, saying “it is ours”. If this is all true, all I can say is “Wow!”.
Little did we know the President wanted a jetski so he could flee the Chinese thieves.
“Wow!”.
Two additional discouragements:
1) China is moving actively into Philippine seas: http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2017/08/21/1731136/china-now-patrolling-philippines-sea-air-space
2) @AltAFP reports China has an active spy presence in the Philippines
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If true, grounds for impeachment.
*****
Yes, if the Congress were independent and of high character. It is not. China can buy PH loyalty from the class of impunity and self-enrichment.
What will Bato do next to remain relevant? I am sure he is thinking of options aside from running for Senate.
Año’s extension is only four months more or less. Who will replace him?
I hope Lorenzana stays as DND secretary.
At least for the DSWD, Mocha’s survey favored Leni, but does she have strong ties to the Commission on Appointments?
About my theory about Martial law because of Invasion of WPS, I know it is far fetched, but the news of AFP and DND’s resistance is welcome news.
But ML nationwide must still be discouraged.
I think the phrase “overtaken by events ” is being optimized the the events organizers and they are not the ones who plans for weddings.
Karl . . .
Minutes BEFORE they happen. Have you ever seen an avalanche, the swift river (hayakawa?) before the floods, the landslides by the mountain side, the people’s EDSA revolution (were you there?) Did you hear the eerie silence of the singing cicadas and the birds before the ROAR, the thunderous explosion of gloom and jubilation? It is God and His people’s action RIGHTING something that’s wrong. But, BUT if it is a Tsunami, an Earthquake, a pestilence or the Four Horsemen coming to town, Well, it’s God alone, His Divine mercy granting punishment pardon.
Well, turn the above into free
Or blank verse or whatever
Minutes BEFORE they happen
Have you ever seen an avalanche,
the swift river (hayakawa?)
before the floods, the landslides
by the mountain side?
Saw also
the people’s EDSA revolution
(were you there?) Did you hear
the eerie silence of the singing cicadas
and the birds before the ROAR,
the thunderous explosion
of gloom and jubilation?
Of the entire world’s approbation?
Never cry and save the tears
It is God and His people’s action
RIGHTING something that’s wrong.
But, BUT if it is a Tsunami,
an Earthquake, a perfect storm
or a pestilence or Noah’s flood or
the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse
like cowboys riding into town,
Well, it’s God alone, Thank Him then.
By His Divine mercy He’s granting
Snoozers punishment and pardon.
Next will be the comment on Karl’s.
Is Karl your new eche bucheche?
karlgarcia says:
August 21, 2017 at 5:42 pm
What will Bato do next to remain relevant? I am sure he is thinking of options aside from running for Senate.
Comment: IDMAM (it doesn’t matter any more) karl. The die is cast says the bard. It happened already (in whose administration?) when the academy’s alumnus turned from PMAyers was critisized into PeeMayers. The fat lady may have already stopped singing and is leaving the stage as the shit flies from the rotating fan.
Año’s extension is only four months more or less. Who will replace him?
I hope Lorenzana stays as DND secretary.
Comment: IDMAM Karl, when the sluice gates are opened even the good debris won’t and can’t hold to slow down the turbulent flow.
At least for the DSWD, Mocha’s survey favored Leni, but does she have strong ties to the Commission on Appointments?
Comment: that’s a freak event, not a serendipity.
About my theory about Martial law because of Invasion of WPS, I know it is far fetched, but the news of AFP and DND’s resistance is welcome news.
But ML nationwide must still be discouraged.
Comment: M Law is a good theory, a military solution that’s not been truly tried or implemented in the Philippines. Many dictators (among identified 60 of them) turned its practice into a political crime. It will come as it comes and will punish itself. Nobody rides and gets off the tiger without being eaten by the tiger. So far.
I think the phrase “overtaken by events ” is being optimized the the events organizers and they are not the ones who plans for weddings.
Comment: Watch out, watch out! Multitudes even of the innocents are NOT overtaken but BURIED by events. But not the vermin of society who are immortals like the Count of Transylvania.
Karl I write like this confident and knowing you are not PIKON. Out of topic Karl but I see now the quarrel between E. Hemingway and Robert Frost when Ernest complains that Robert is a pretentious big head because his readers complain they need dictionaries to understand him. Ernest should be thankful there was yet no Wikipidia and the Internet source for Robert’s musings and poetry. Friends or foes sometime complain in awe and surrender. Still I say: Popoy took the road less traveled.
Ok popoy, thanks.
karl the words este and eche bucheche are gone now
gaseous in the atmosphere, even the libidos of antiques
are gone forever what you are and who you are can’t
in the eyes of God be changed by praise or name calling.
Nothing can change those who prefer to enrich themselves
or the fools amongst us who prefer to worry daily for our country.
*******
The tide is turning.
Even Australia senses the turning.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/this-17-year-old-boy-killed-in-dutertes-drug-war-galvanises-the-philippines-20170821-gy0j41.html
o Kian is a variation of the popular Irish name “Cian.” It means “ancient” in Gaelic.
o “Delos Santos” is “of the saints.”
o “Rodrigo” means “famous ruler.” In our case, an infamous one.
o So an “ancient” one “of the saints” hastens the downfall of Rodrigo, the infamous ruler.
*****
You beat me to it, edgar. I can sense that too. The fact that 17 of the Majority Senators initiated the move to conduct a hearing on the Kian de los Santos killing instead of the likes of Senator Trillanes initiating the move. The Senate, more than the House, is some sort of weather vane. A lot of the happenings in the PH aside from the Kian killing, I believe, make the Senator do some “a.. protecting or wiping at the very least” in case the weather changes drastically. We are all mortal after all!
I am advised on FB that this is just more populism, going with the wind, and will not be a lasting change. A key indicator would be if Gordon were replaced as chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee. If not, it is just lip service. Also, there was a ‘selfie’ taken at the majority caucus and, although dealing with a boy’s tragic killing, all senators were beaming and in good spirits.
I would add that the troll effort to paint the boy as a druggie is resonating among the uninformed, and they do not see the horror of a point blank execution by three shots to the head.
The police heads are even quoting or citing Darwin Cañete’s so called findings on the SOCO report.
I watched a press conference, when I heard Cañete, I changed the channel.
Horrible person.
Very horrible.
Same, Same then. So we will have to wait, observe more critically, and see. Meantime the guys up North are eating the rest of the woodwork.
Regardless, REGARDLESS JoeAm and NH, I could be wrong EH. But the Senate and that Boy. It is not a diversion, it’s not a distraction, it’s not a smoke screen IT IS A DECOY. It’s been THEORIZED here, the SHABU importation is a DECOY. Even a dead boy or Anyone who’s born snoozers in the noodle house CAN BE A DECOY.
To add to the “Rodgrigo” name: apparently, it is from the last ruler of Hispania prior to the downfall to the invading Moors. Kinda creepy especially given the Marawi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo
Somewhat offtopic: It is a bit too telling that these collision incidents are two months apart, but smashing into them would force both guided missile destroyers to be berthed up for several months, so cutting down the maritime missile defense system set up up and down Japan.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/stricken-us-destroyer-arrives-in-singapore-after-collision-10-sailors-missing/2017/08/21/8ad075b0-8646-11e7-a50f-e0d4e6ec070a_story.html?utm_term=.7834e3f26199&wpisrc=nl_az_most&wpmk=1
With all the electronic wizardry the U.S. destroyers were not able to evade the tanker and container ships.
They can shoot down North Korea ICBMs in mid-flight but not ………
If Duterte heeds Palma to stop killings …. Philippine Fake News will chide Duterte’s drug war a failure …
If Duterte heeds Palma … Fake columnists from Fake News attacks Duterte for not stopping drug problem …
If Duterte resorts to Philippine fake-justice system … Fake columnists complains Duterte’s justice system is not working …
What Philipine fake news is not reporting is WHEN, WHAT and WHOSE administration was responsible for drug problem taking root.
That is the question that nobody would not want to look into. The answer is obvious.
Please check this out http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/144331-data-drug-problem-philippines
Thank you for the link, this is statistics made by Filipinos for Filipinos even United Nations do not pick-up these Fake Statistics.
Philippines has no Filipino Illegal Immigrants count in the U.S. Americans do, Filipinos do not.
Philippines has no statistics on how many OFWs. CIA has, Filipinos pick up the numbers and publish it in their Fake News.
University of the Philippines flew satellite to space. FAKE NEWS. After some research it was actually the Japanese who flew the satellite for Philippines assembled by U.P.
When I Googled “median income of Filipinos 2016” it returned “according to POLLS Filipinos median income …. ”
*** The operative word is “POLLS” ***
It means the Philippine Government conducts POLLS of their median income. It goes like this, PEDRO-THE-FAKE-NEWS ask me how much my income is … then go to GLORIA-THE-MINIMUM-WAGE-WORKER and answered: Php100,000.00 … then go to HAYDEN …
… then bundle it up and they have PHILIPPINE NATIONAL MEDIAN INCOME OF FILIPINOS 2017
So, when numbers are cranked by Filipinos, buy balut throw in a pinch of salt.
Keep cranking Basq(uet?), you always have the numbers. Siempre, este semper ☺
TIME TRAVEL TO CHANGE THE TIDE OF IMPENDING WAR.
Go get Bruce Willis, “The Looper”
Send BACK Bruce Willis to the Philippine Senate in 1991 but Bruce should hold his horses, ‘cause one of them Senators was my elementary school classmate.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=the+year+of+removal+of+US+bases+in+the+philippines&form=EDNTHN&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&refig=04c6dd03ff064e55ccbd54a76962d5f7&sp=-1&ghc=1&pq=the+year+of+removal+of+us+bases+in+the+philippines&sc=0-50&qs=n&sk=&cvid=04c6dd03ff064e55ccbd54a76962d5f7
Don’t count on Philippine Fake Senate. They are there not serve the people but the masters of those who they intend to serve.
We’re already at the point where Philippine officials are scarier than any possible Chinese invasion.
Yes. China doesn’t want to waste their bombs on Philippines. China is waiting for Philippines to implode. Right now, Filipinos go to Chinese-owned malls, car dealerships, eat at Jollibees, fly Chinese-owned airlines, ride Chinese-owned ferries. Anything Filipinos does it is likely Chinese. They even work for them. These Chinese are not Filipinos. They are Chinese in language, cuulture and in their moves. Because if they were Filipinos they would be running Sari-Sari Stores.
On the other hand, Chinese love Filipinos. Because in the U.S., Filipinos just love Chinese buffet while talking about how bad Chinese products are and their food are mixed with dogs and cats. Filipinos also helped China build that speck of islands into a first class international airport by sending barges and barges of quarried sand from the Philippines.
The Environmentalists turned a blind eye. Fake News never revisited who got hanged for helping the Chinese quarry Philippine sand for obvious reason. Unfortunately, nobody got hanged if ever there were many because there were no News.
That speck-of-island-turned-1st-class-runway was done in two-satellite-passes. 1st satellite pass was a protruding rock … the 2nd pass there was an airport … while reclamation projects in the Philippines takes decades from conception to inception to build ….and after build there is drama after that …. controversies … corruption … Senate investigations …. lost time … lost money … lost opportunity … lost jobs and the jobless go OFWing.
The OFWs are the cause of BRAIN DRAIN. And the BRAIN DRAIN becomes drivers, caregivers, housemaids, cleaners, janitors and those who faked their brains comes back in a wooden coffin others fly wingless from high-rise condominium residences.
So, if Philippines is brain drained who are left behind? They are Filipinos that elected Duterte. That is why Duterte’s popularity is directly proportional to his kill. Because the brain drained just droll killings.
I think we cannot simply generalize all Filipino-Chinese as wholly in favor of the Mainland, for many of them used to be KMT refugees after the 1949 takeover of Mao’s Communist Party. Besides, some old-money Fil-Chinese here are wary of the “new rich” Mainlander Chinese, especially with their ostentatious and overt displays of wealth.
What if Philippines spends half their GNP and lost half their population to retake Philippine Sea and do nothing to develop its natural resources to protect the environment and habitat of dolphins?
ANSWER: Philippine Government will build a monument and run a contest in TFC to pen a poem “Here lies brave 50,000,000 Filipino soldiers to retake the islands and protect the environment for the world”
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on these islands, a protected environment, conceived by Mamasapano and Marawi Generals, and dedicated to the proposition that all Filipinos are seafaring bravemen.
Now we are engaged in a great war against Chinese invaders, testing whether Philippines, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great sea battle ever of that war. We have come to dedicate these seas, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives to protect the environment and habitat of bottled nose dolphins. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
Let us not forget those women and children who died suffering from hunger, starvation, deprivation and famine in the mainland Philippines. For we took away their money for food on the table so we can build the most formidable armadas of jetskis, banca that formed the backbone of the invasion.
Umidlip yong mga dolphins, for 5 seconds, pagtapos here comes the sun again. Calm before the storm, yawa gyud ☹
My job as editor of the blog is to keep a pace of discussion going that is moderate, civil, reasoned, thoughtful, and embracing of different views from people of different discussions. I am wary of people who swoop in unknown and then dominate the discussion to ‘give the law’ to other readers. Usually they are smart, know it, and set out to prove it. I enjoy your comments, in the main. I would like to know your nationality, location (general), and interest in the Philippines, as an introduction to regular readers.
All that said, each blog has a topic, and generally we try to address that and not solve ‘the Filipino condition’, which is complex and probably impossible to solve.
Guilty as charged, Sir . I was just overwhelmed by the eclipse. The next one, they say, will be in 2024. Long live TSOH ☀
Hahaha, live long yourself. I was really addressing Sabtang Basco. If you are the same, color me amused.
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LEADING DUTERTE BY THE NOSE
1. Speaking of the Manchurian Candidate, it is not in the realm of fantasy to suppose that Chinese doctors did not pass the opportunity to do something more for, and to, Duterte when he was treated at the Fuda Cancer Hospital. Duterte denied he has cancer. But he confirmed he visited the hospital to undergo a second circumcision. Power is an aphrodisiac but cosmetic enhancements should not be precluded to woo – and wow — the ladies.
1.1. The something more FOR Duterte would be to look into the President’s illnesses — Buerger’s disease, Barrett’s oesophagus, and spinal problems caused by a motorbike accident – and to render both curative and palliative treatment.
1.2. The something more TO Duterte would be to ensure that the President is always compliant with China’s wishes. Now, I do not know exactly what they did to the President but allow me to speculate.
2. One will recall that in the original Manchurian Candidate, both book and film, the sleeper agent is first brain-washed and then activated to obey orders by a glimpse of the Queen of Diamonds in a suit of playing cards while playing solitaire. In the age of technology, brainwashing is passé, and there are more direct and reliable means to control an agent.
2.1. My conjecture is that Chinese doctors implanted a microchip in Duterte. And where would they embed the device? Well, as you know the best way to hide anything is to hide it in plain sight. And with Duterte, his most prominent feature is his pocked proboscis. Yes, the device is in his nose.
3. The question arises: How would they activate Duterte? Well, again the answer is elementary. Since the device is in his nose, the surest way is by scent. Indeed, the digital device is olfactorial and, one might say, nose-talgic.
3.1. I previously said that the sense of sight is man’s strongest sense. But new research indicates that the sense of smell might be the strongest. One might be attracted to a potential partner by sight… but if his/her smell isn’t right, forget it. Dogs use their noses, and not their eyes, to track, and they have the ability to track long after their target is gone. Yes, we communicate by word as well as by pheromones.
3.2. And if the method is olfactorial, what is the trigger? This is where Bong Go comes in. Yes, Bong Go, the Man Friday extraordinaire, and the Manchurian Candidate controller. Depending on the type of trigger needed, Bong will wear the appropriate cologne. There are basically two triggers, one that is pro-China, known as the Red Trigger, and the other that is pro-Philippines, known as the Charm Trigger. There are lesser triggers such as the Sex Jokes Odor, the Destroy the Enemies Odor (aka the Delima Odor), not to mention the Self-destruct Odor.
o Red Trigger (Medium Strength) – Yves Saint Laurent
o Red Trigger (Extreme Strength) – Hugo Boss (Yes, Go is the boss)
o Charm Trigger – Old Spice
3.3. Bong generally wears Yves Saint Laurent. He wore Old Spice at the SONA and in the visits to Marawi.
3.4. Recently, he wore Hugo Boss when he wanted Duterte to announce that we should give up Pag-asa.
*****
Scintillating analysis, outstanding. It is true that wherever Duterte’s nose goes, Go goes, too. That is proof enough for me that exterior forces are in charge.
ha ha ha worthy of a separate blog post if you hadn’t explained it already…
Ha. Who needs Pavlov.
I think the implant has a low battery now… 🙂
Listen to yesterday press corp meeting at 37.55……
*******
Ahaha! Himagsikan! Kudeta!
It’s not the battery of the implant that has a low charge. It’s his own personal battery. Kulang sa lawak ng pagiisip.
*****
It’s a 50+ min exposition; my pick-up:
– he gives new meaning to “cut to the chase”; is one willing to put his money where his mouth is?
– of my class in high school, by my estimation I belong to the upper 25%; we were a class of 120+; we had the same set of teachers; I do ask myself where am I now;
– the POTPh reminded me of Ulysses tied to the mast of his ship trying so hard to bring home his crew from the wars unscathed; he had to listen to the Sirens to learn how the unknown can beckon and lull you to destroy yourself;
– I like his references to Lincoln, the listener; and Ecclesiastes;
– I think he has a very primal read of himself and others and how things tick;
– Listening to him, all other things being equal and being biased to the use of language, he has removed some of the edge off of his rough language;
– Of course, just like Ulysses I must tie myself to the mast once I realize that I can hear the Sirens singing 🙂
In some ways I see the Duterte-Dominguez-Tugade-Aguirre-et al. clique. Very similar to the FMarcos-Virata-Benedicto-Ver-Ramos-et al. clique. Depending on one’s own value-system, one buys in & out of these types of cliques to survive, thrive or prevail within one’s own sphere of movements, intents & influence. Obviously obvious? (deja vue kasi)
Maybe the formulators of the Constitution had the correct anthropo-sociology of the Filipino psyche after all, hence the absolute 6-yr presidential term. Works for both the leader and the electorate. We now have a presidential history not a mere anecdotal leadership parade. IMO
Aguirre investigating? Is that the reason why a convict emerged to victimize the victim and his families? Aguirre has a track record of planting intrigues and being swayed by manufactured evidence. How will justice prevail with a system manned by people with ambiguous sense of justice?
As my father-in-law used to say, the flies have captured the fly paper ☻
Hahaha!
“The flies have conquered the flypaper.”
~ John Steinbeck, “The Moon Is Down”
Is your FIL Steinbeck, lindrell?
Karl: “The Moon is Down” is a very good book written with a WWII background. Could be a good addition to your growing library.
Thanks Juana.
Juana, darl, I don’t feel the need to flaunt my reading repertoire. Steinbeck was middle school for me, sweetie. Blaming the western schools for all the books in my extensive library. I even own books on backyard farming, wouldn’t you know ? I am sure my father-in- law,who keep on bragging that he went to Erasmus High in some big northeast city, knew his source. Next time I visit TSOH I will make sure to use footnotes, eche borcheche.
This is the problem with Filams: they assume that non-Filam Pinoys are retards. Get back to your backyard garden I say, I say. I really should have gone to a school in Pinas, darned what a mishap ☺
Okay, lindell, cut out your coffee for the day.
@lindrell
Aside from your coffee, cut the crap too.
What is your deal, sweetie? Too much air in your head that you got to let it out here?
Oh boy. Reminds me of a recent contributor here who bid us goodbye saying he had to go to his Michelin-starred restaurant after disparaging the local cuisine.
If you dish it you can CHOOSE to catch it, right ?. It’s a free world after all, just ask
wordpress . It’s all good Joe, even the crappola with steinbeck , he,he ☺ Fun with OT ☺
It’s not. The rules of the blog are no personal jabs. You are new and have no standing to judge a long-standing contributor to the blog, as Juan happens to be. Stick with the issues or be gone.
Now you have me thinking if Trump had a similar procedure and implantation secretly performed on him in Russia prior to launching his campaign for the US presidency. The deepest mystery in his behavior is his bizarre reluctance to hold Russia and Putin to account for annexing Crimea, manipulation elections in the US and Europe, arming the Taliban, and other acts universally condemned by the US public and most nations.
Haha thanks Edgar for the good laugh 🙂
Ironically, I discovered TSOH in the first place when googling “duterte manchurian candidate” or something like that.
Anyway, I was curious why the President has to go to China to cut his foreskin as a 71 year old man. Was he not bothered by his medical issue for the last 60+ years? They’re not even trying to come up with credible excuses…
To me it seems as Bong Go wears his Hugo Boss perfume quite frequently, but some comrades in Beijing might have realized that their Manchurian is malfunctioning. Hence this operation, which Andrew surmised convincingly in the present article.
And then I fully agree with your points 6.1 and 7 in one of your previous comments. PDP-Laban might have a “glorious” future if the comrade’s plans will succeed. Politicians can be easily replaced no matter how “manchurian” they are. The same is not true for ideologies and their vessels, political parties.
Did China send the Shabu to remind us who owns the West Philippine Sea? No need for that we have Cayetano.
I did change his name long time ago to Coyoteno
Thanks Andrew for these very interesting conjectures of yours. If I might adopt an old saying:
If it looks like a Chinese operation, works like a Chinese operation and smells like a Chinese operation, then it is most likely a Chinese operation…