A GOOD, GENTLE MAN
by Wilfredo G. Villanueva
General Ely in brown shirt stands behind the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the left. Father Robert Reyes, the “running priest,” celebrates Holy Mass at Plaza Roma in the center of Intramuros, facing Comelec headquarters. Responding to observations that we are few, Gen. Ely is unperturbed. “It’s not the numbers; it’s the conviction and persistence in the right,” he said, “The people will come.”
I see him all the time in our events with Father Robert Reyes and other members of Clergy for the Moral Choice, when we pray and celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Plaza Roma in front of the Comelec headquarters at the center of Intramuros, beside the Manila Cathedral.
I thought, hmm, he looks bland, parang pari (Father Robert calls him Bishop), the opposite of swashbuckler, adobong walang suka, pinakbet na walang pait? Where’s Che Guevarra or Fidel Castro when you need them? Where did he come from, what kind of a military man is he, kapani-paniwala ba siya at kagila-gilalas?
I knew there was computer deviltry somewhere with regard to the elections, but Brig. Gen. (Retired) Ely Rio did not inspire at first glance. I’m used to the aura of the Aquinos, Leni, Kiko, and the rest of them, but General Ely had a halo on his head, not the crown of a prince.
Was I wrong.
Just finished an interview on Zoom with him. I call him General Ely. He is the man. We’ve been so used to glitz in the Taylor Swift era, but he was different. In fact, he would be comfortable being left alone, ignored.
Was. I. Wrong.
Studied in Baguio city for his elementary and high school. Served as acolyte having memorized Latin responses growing up. Graduated electrical engineering in U.P. Diliman, 1960-1965. Corps Commander of ROTC. Member, Vanguard fraternity, whose members are officers of U.P. ROTC, creme de la creme.
A dutiful army man, given to information technology, found his calling in the Signal Corps. Saw action in Mindanao and other critical areas, armed to the teeth. Married to Rosalinda, with whom he has three children and four apos.
Go-to man for information technology in government. In charge of the introduction of Dito Telecommunity, the third telco after Smart and Globe, as promised by then President Duterte in campaign. That kind of a man, that kind of a technocrat. Default option: if you want burgers, go to McDonald’s, if you want computer savvy, go to General Ely. That’s the lay of the land.
Fast forward to The Night of the 20 Million Votes, May 9, 2022, sitting on the sofa in his house. Blood pressure rising. Thirty-nine thousand Vote Counting Machines or VCMs transmitting 20 million votes one hour after close of precincts, 7pm to 8:02pm.
O-n-e h-o-u-r.
Then Colonel Eliseo Mijares Rio, Jr., former U.P. Diliman corps commander in the early sixties, joined the Armed Forces of the Philippines in intelligence, Signal Corps, saw action in Mindanao, joined the rebels in Camp Crame in 1986, EDSA revolution.
“Just to make copies of the electoral tallies would take all of 20 minutes, including closing the precincts, doing administrative chores,” General Ely said. Not to mention the speed of our internet, called the slowest in Southeast Asia.
It was incredible.
Found himself sitting with old friend Gus Lagman, and Franklin Ysaac in a meeting where the questionable election victory was discussed. They were of one mind: crying out loud impossible. They formed a triumvirate of computer geeks, the TNTrio, and the rest is history.
“The speed of transmission united us in our quest for truth,” he said, “but the smoking gun is 192.168.0.2. IP address. Can you imagine hundreds of thousands of mobile phones having the same number? That’s what it means,” General Ely said.
“Up to now, Comelec hasn’t provided answers to our questions.”
“Is this comparable to the walkout of computer programmers in the Philippine International Convention Center, the fuse that lit People Power in 1986?” I asked.
“Yes.”
So how come the whole country is quiet?” I said.
“We have no Cardinal Sin, we have no Cory who was palaban,” he answered.
Credit to the owner, from Facebook
“Do prayers help?” I asked. (We have a Last Saturday devotion in front of Comelec, where Father Robert Reyes, Father Noel Gatchalian, Msgr. Melchor David and other men of the cloth celebrate Mass and we recite four mysteries of the Holy Rosary, since March of this year.)
“Yes, they do,” he said. “The information we get from their website, this is not an accident. Comelec insiders input facts which buttress our belief that the elections were rigged in favor of the incumbents.”
“And what do we have? They have policies that serve only themselves, having been elected surreptitiously. They are not accountable, having won by a landslide and therefore infallible in their minds. We have confidential funds, we have shortages of agricultural products, P20 per kilo of rice remains a dream, trips that lead nowhere.”
In 1986, then Major Ely Rio said goodbye to Rosalinda, his wife, to go to Crame to support the coup plotters. She was crying but supportive.
She’s gone now. Two years ago, she left this world. But I can imagine her standing behind her husband in this crusade, crying but supportive.
There should be more Filipinos like them.
One last, I asked him to talk to the Filipino people. (Spoken in Tagalog, translated to English by the author.)
“My countrymen, we are standing at a crossroads. We know what the country should be, to claim our destiny as a nation under God. We have to act as one. Whatever we do, our children will inherit our country after we are gone. Our goal is to have a progressive country. But we won’t get that if we stay in our comfort zone.
We have to decide what we want sooner rather than later.”
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
“A Good, Gentle Man.”
A Brave, Good, Gentle Man.
If you will.
May God bless Gen. Ely and his efforts!
May God bless the Philippines!
Thanks for interviewing Gen Rio kuya Wil!
Many thanks, Will.
The recent profiles of two prominent oppositionists by you give an impression of well-meaning people who in the end are unable to change anything.
Surely their ideals are a great thing to strive for but who is able to convince jaded present-day Filipinos that they are important for them?
The late Edgar Lores somehow diagnosed the spirit of the present times in the Philippines (and I guess in many places worldwide) as tending towards nihilism.
Nihilism is believing in nothing and maybe even laughing as believers are fed to the lions.
I often read comments about ‘sanay na.’ Does this mean Filipinos were ‘trained’ to consign their fate to politicians?
I have kind of gotten used to not asking why anymore as answers elude me..
Gotten used to: sanay na.
sanay na, coping mechanism yan of many. saves them from being discouraged, disappointed and despondent. life’s many tricks as water off the duck’s back.
though there are times when worms turn, and dogs bite the hand that feed them. you can never tell.
Sanay na sa hirap ? Sanay na sa mga lumilimas sa kaban ng bayan? Sanay na sa palpak na pamumuno? Sanay na sa same-o same-o year after year? Kaya OK na kahit hindi OK?
Silence is complicity. Reforms and changes do not happen in a vacuum. They need the voice of the people.
Manhid na lang pag sanay parang mahusay.
worrying are those people who have nothing more to lose.
what’s to love with filipinos is that daing sila ng daing and will daing more to the high heavens until . . . socmed is now like a wailing wall, full of angst and innuendos and whatnots. and still we smile and go on with daily living. he who runs and fight, gets to fight another day. or live another day.
like what pope francis said, some problems cannot be solved, there are questions that cannot be answered. and if we are silent, it’s probly coz we’re weighing our options. we do what we can. to hell with what others think.
love your new avatar, karlG!
i logged via fb
MLQ3 explains Filipino political behavior through two, actually three aspects:
1) the above tweet is about malakas and mahina. You never want to be mahina..
2) the above tweet is about MLQ, his grandfather, saying two things:
2a) Filipinos want quick solutions to present issues from their leaders
2b) paradoxically, they are still afraid of a leader abusing his powers
If there is an equivalent to Niccolo Macchiavelli in the Philippines, it is MLQ3.
Niccollo was also a political insider as son of Florentine councilor Bernardo Macchiavelli.
Another important aspect is the clash between old and modern values.
The present clash between the advocates of transparency and the major advocate of confidential funds we all know is I think an example of that. The supporters of HER see her I guess as malakas for refusing to be checked and balanced, and feel they are partaking in that power by supporting her, they feel good as if they themselves are punching the sheriff, not the deputy.
they have long been supporters of her, long before the sheriff was punched. they already have a share of the ill gotten bounty, and if they want to hang on to that bounty and be prosperous till thy kingdom cometh, they would have to support her all the way. all members of dabaw mafia inc., term I borrowed from micha.
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/inside-track/mar-roxas-marcos-capiz-event-october-6-2023/
maybe this is newer version of never the twain shall meet with mar roxas and pres bong marcos present in the same stage. their body language says they were cordial to each other but woefully cautious.
I doubt if it was the weather that made them adapt a ‘closed’ stance but more like careful not to make a wrong move, so they talk of their happier past. safer that way.
Seeing such pictures, are we surprised that a lot of Filipinos see all politicians as one and the same? Especially if the opposition keeps saying that the other side is a no-go and all that.
Could it be those who just watch teleserye not politics.. are actually smarter than all of us? 😮
https://politics.com.ph/2023/10/06/special-delivery-sara-duterte-imee-marcos-give-away-rice-lipsticks-to-teachers/
medyo barat naman ito! lipstick of all things, tacky e. maliban lang kung french lipsticks yang pinamigay gaya ng lancombe at pwedeng ipagbili uli sa internet.
maybe, instead of lipstick teachers prefer to have canvas sneakers so they can walk to the bundok and villages where classrooms are, or stand long hours in front in classrooms, but lipsticks! maybe umbrella is better, with all that rain and hot sun. lipstick is too personal a gift, methink.
maybe this is quest for respectability, pbbm’s people rounding up the creme de la creme of the opposition. 1st the move to have leni in the fold, she too was invited, but. mar roxas was next, trillanes will probly be invited in the very near future.
seemingly, pbbm is feathering his cap.
for me, nihilism is sort of mental disorder but treatable. ask senator bong go, he is big on mental health and wants plenty money to address the issue. ay, naku, the more people throw money on something, the more and more money is needed.
funny though, I see some nihilists going nude sans clothes, nothing matters kasi, and yet, they still eat and sustain to keep alive. not so fatal yang condition pala.
those that have reached the lowest of nihilism, they could be candidate for shock therapy: the electro convulsive therapy. after one or three bouts of ect, they should be back to normal. hopefully.
The question is, what brand of clothing do nihilists wear if they wear clothes?
Because they cannot wear Prada as the Devil wears Prada. In that case, they would no longer be nihilists but Satanists.
darl, they appreciate the value of nothing. when told to dress up else insects will bite their privates, they probly just grab the nearest clothes available, labels dont matter. satanists? I doubt if they give a hoot, haha.
Thanks, Ireneo.
The ‘malakas’ and ‘mahina’ psyche explains a lot about how Filipino politics operate. It is deeply embedded in the society and is the prime driver of voting preferences.
Palakasan also reigns supreme in a lot of PH life aspects. The ‘malakas’ like the head honcho (big fish) of illegal and criminal activities often gets away from prosecution while the ‘mahina’ (small fish) is used as a scapegoat.
In current events, the VIP who caused the closing of Commonwealth Avenue remained unnamed while the netizen who uploaded the video and the cop who was in the video had been named. The cop was sacked and the netizen has a legal case hanging over his head. The VIP’s identity is still mystery to date.
joy belmonte, the mayor of quezon city is quiet on the issue. the cop who was sacked knew who the vip was, and if the cop thinks his dismissal is unfair, he ought to seek help from public defender’s office. same with the netizen. and if the vip is really a vip, he/she ought to come forward before both the cop and netizen ay magsanib pwersa. netizen is allowed to take pics in public places, and ought to have taken pic of the vehicle’s plate number as well. posting pics in the internet is not illegal.
the cop is probly just doing his job and followed the long held standing order.
I commend the three gentlemen who took upon themselves to prove that the 2022 election was rigged. Their fight is hard and long since there is an overwhelming fear among Filipinos to go against the incumbents. A lot of them are also on survival mode and the foremost in their minds is economics. The rising inflation due to government’s mounting debts, knee-jerk policies, runaway CFIs and extravagant spending could make it worst in the future.
I am praying that the TNTrio’s efforts ends on a positive note. Filipinos deserve the truth. PH also needs election reforms that will inject transparency and accountability into the electoral system.
Thanks Kuya Will for this article.
so election 2022 was digitally rigged, just as many had thought. what can we do to make it right? we have no secret confidential fund to dip into, and manual counting of ballots seemed insurmountable. I think, for the process of manual recounting of votes, the aggrieve party (leni’s) must lodge a complaint, pay millions for the process, and identify or suggest the regions whose ballots are to be recounted.
the onus is on the opposition and if they can afford the fee, peta will commenced and supreme court will chair.
rigged by how much? enough to dislodge the incumbent?
they alleged there was anomalies, comelec admitted there were anomalies and promised to do better like maybe, comelec wont be caught out next time for it will install much better tech far above the reaches of mere mortals!
“… and manual counting of ballots seemed insurmountable.”
What does Gen. Ely say about this?
What needs to be done to effect manual counting?
If still doable, what timelines can we go by?
After he automated results, do it the old fashioned way.
Is doing it the old fashioned way so hard to do nowadays.
methink, congress and senate can pass law to ease recounting of votes, and comelec mandated to comply. at the moment, I think, manual counting of votes is the only modus (check) comelec has against perceived election cheating. there maybe other ways, but I’ll wait for the cleverest in congress and senate to think of them and present them for delibs.
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/9/5/eliseo-rio-petition-disqualify-smartmatic.html
“They [including Gen. Ely] also called for a hybrid election — manual voting and counting on the precinct level, automated transmission — to ensure transparency.”
TNTrio Movement
https://magilas.me/Gen-Ely-manual-1
‘Comelec Chairman George Garcia earlier said the new modems the commission purchased had a common IP address.
He said using a single IP address is not illegal, noting that the results were accurate.
The random manual audit of votes showed 99.95% accuracy.’
kung talagang may 99.95 per cent accuracy yaong manual audit, then hindi dapat mag-atubili ang comelec na pagbigyan ang hiling ni gen ely as regard transmission.
at dapat rin may mga independent observers present at the audit. hwag lang yong sila-sila lang mga taga comelec running the random audit among themselves. mukhang suspicious e.
methink, the 99.95 per cent accuracy na pinagmamayabang ng comelec did not really match the manual tally of the votes. I have not heard, or seen, comelec actually carting up physical ballot boxes and then opening them and counting up the votes.
who knows? maybe the said 99.95 per cent accuracy was probly just a display on computer screen. a figment of fertile imagination, with help of AI, haha.
having lost by a narrow margin the vice presidency to leni in 2016 election, bong marcos paid around 90millions for votes to be recounted in regions he thought had cheated him. and peta confirmed despite all the dramas and threats of justices asked to recuse, bong marcos really did lost the vice presidency to leni.
i7sharp, I cannot speak for gen ely, maybe others like kuya wil can. and I cannot speak for comelec too. though they already have highly paid commissioners and whatnots doing speaking rounds now that october sk election is in the offing.
and if you are interested, pls google and visit comelec’s website. it’s more up to date than me, thanks.
I thought I have come across something that indicates Gen. Ely favors manual counting.
Perhaps it would not be too much to ask him to join us here?
“rigged by how much?”
The questionable votes that came from the single IP are supposedly 20M+. They were from the vote rich area of CALABARZON. Leni had 15M+ votes and both incumbents had 30M+ each after the tally.
This is Juana Pilipinas. Just trying a shorter handle.
ay, salamat. I think leni’s 15million calabarzon plus votes can stand scrutiny, but those 30milions . . . spooky!
@Kuya Will or Gian:
The picture for this article did not appear on the home page so I had to poke the title to read it.
Juana Pilipinas
To the powers that be:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20powers%20that%20be
x-
the powers that be
idiom
: the people who decide what is allowed or acceptable in a group, organization, etc.
-x
From the past
– precisely “September 21, 2014 at 8:23 am”:
x-
Your idea to link the barangays is FANTASTIC. Exactly the kind of thing that could be done for superior disaster preparedness and recovery, or lessons on civic responsibility and health care, or preparing for elections. So simple. So seemingly undoable hereabouts.
DILG!!! – – – are you reading????
-x
Just wondering as a mere participant (posting now and then) in this “The Society of Honor”:
The Powers that be,
Where art thou?
Where art ye?
See my comment elsewhere. It is not your role to do discovery on who is doing what and why here at the Society. We’ve been down that path before, and if you persist again, you get kicked out. Again. Just deal with content, don’t peek into people’s private lives like a creepy Peeping Tom.
“He is the man. We’ve been so used to glitz in the Taylor Swift era, but he was different.”
I learned more about the word karma in the Philippines than my time growing up with hippy parents. I would say the word is more a weapon in the Philippines than some abstract balancing act the Universe performs.
So when I first listened to Taylor Swift’s karma (and many subsequent listens 😉 karl understands ) I wondered how this song would do in the Philippines and with Filipinos in particular.
Thanks, Wil. good to know about this guy. Wonder what his thoughts are with Ukraine vs Russia re signals electronic warfare fight there.
1. Taylor Swift is ENTERTAINMENT … can make Michelle Obama the President of US of A, some say.
2. The SuperBowl is now more about Entertainment, not Sports? Google “Taylor Swift SuperBowl”
3. “Half of Waking Hours Are Now Devoted to Entertainment”
An Executive Briefing Paper on Arts, Media & Culture
Ted Gioia
Oct 6
The world will entertain itself to death?
The world will entertain itself to death?
By the way, Lance:
https://magilas.me/HolyGhost-transition-2
The Holy Ghost (or its local language equivalent)
is not found in the Philippines, afaik.
(Would Gen. Ely care about that? Just asking.)
karma I ‘d assume got to the Philippine lexicon by way of Sri Vijaya empire per Ireneos posts.
Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit would’ve been introduced much later on via Latin, but the question is in the translation and retconning of said concept. What does the Old Testament Hebrew use originally, then how does St. Paul retcon it in his letters? Jesus would’ve used Aramaic for this concept originally, unless he was well versed in Greek as Paul was, so we have to assume Jesus referred to it in terms of Old Testament Hebrew.
Now the concept of soul is as old as the written language, the problem is this notion that Holy Ghost/Spirit is part of a Holy Trinity. that concept is only introduced much later on, keep in mind St. Paul never met Jesus.
We have to assume St. Paul as a con artist. I’ve not clicked on the link by the way. but did so in the other blog as legit url.
karma maybe is related to Jesus’ concept of the Holy Spirit as an Advocate as oppose to Adversary of which Satan is (but under God). But to say that the Advocate is part of God is like saying the Adversary is also part and parcel of God (which is suggested in the Book of Job, cuz he works for God like angels).
Hence the Holy Trinity is bs, i7. either the Adversary and the Advocate are part of God, or they are not. Jesus is part of God just in the same way i7sharp is part of God (and Joe, karl, Wil, Ireneo, LCPL_X , sonny, NH, gian, kb… etc. etc. ). and Gen. Ely Rio too.
thus like that Taylor Swift song,
one can say,
“The Holy Ghost is a cat purring in my lap cause it love’s me.”
“Aren’t you envious that for you its not.” this part is the Filipino part i’m talking about envy and karma. I forgot that word in German that Ireneo taught us back when Shena… something. about enjoying someone else’s bad luck. well that’s how Filipinos understand karma.
So does the Holy Ghost work similarly?
Schadenfreude (from German root words, schaden (harm) and freude (joy). It is associated with envy, jealousy and malicious joy. It is theorized that one’s level of self esteem is inversely proportional to intensity/occurrence of schadenfreude.
No. The Holy Ghost does not work that way. It is not a malevolent entity.
JP,
thanks. exactly my point yet Filipinos when talking about karma (as in verb form in both Visayan and Tagalog) it is understood as malevolent no?
But Indians (from India) understand karma more holistically, as both and or wider concept.
Theres the Advocate and theres the Adversary. one malevolent one not. yet the Adversary is not understood as being part of the Holy Trinity. but the Advocate is?
A lot of Filipinos see things in black and white. I think the rigid mindset is the product of our religion. One can only be good or bad. Nothing in between, no gray zones.
You’re right about the Filipino version of karma. Karma is often seen as a retribution for a crime/ bad deed. Some Filipinos think that getting a chronic disease or having bad luck is God’s way of meting out punishment for past/present wrongdoing. God is seen as punitive rather than merciful. Like a strict parent who will not spare the rod.
“Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.” – Proverbs 13:24.
The Holy Trinity: God, Son and the Holy Spirit distilled in one Godhead. The Holy Trinity could be black, white and gray all at once?
The old folks’ version of karma was merece (Spanish for deserve!) – or mirisi.
The modern version of karma is dasurb.
Oh I like this one, JP,
“The Holy Trinity could be black, white and gray all at once?”
it suggests human understanding is not on par with God understanding thus the inconsistencies, eg. Quiboloy, Socorro cult, Ecleos, Pulahanes, etc. etc.
reminds me of this illusion as well– black, white and gray. all the same really.
Or this:
I love Escher!
it’s easy to survive a bad karma, ask the holy spirit. anyone can offset a bad karma by doing what is good. bad karma is not the end of the world; no need to be in the dump, be miserable and be bogged down with it. do good to your fellow being, be generous and charitable, smile and be happy, wish others well and correct your mistakes if you can.
dont know your mistakes? dont know where you go wrong? in this day and age, others are more than happy to point out anyone’s misgivings. if not, ask the holy spirit for guidance.
“Jesus is part of God just in the same way i7sharp is part of God (and Joe, karl, Wil, Ireneo, LCPL_X , sonny, NH, gian, kb… etc. etc. ). and Gen. Ely Rio too.”
Lance (LCPL_X),
Where are they? (Except for the very few who have been here the last few days.)
Where is “The Society of Honor” going?
Does Gen. Ely – the subject of this blog article – even bother to read postings in this thread?
Does Wil?
All the ones I’ve listed are pretty regular, with JP just being more regularl of late.
Gen. Ely I’m sure doesn’t read here. or probably took a looksy to read Wil’s article.
Where do you want the Society to go? It goes where the Society takes it. As you are a member, you are partly accountable as to the direction. Everyone has a life, and chooses how to contribute. The rules are pretty simple. Be intelligent and respectful, focus on Philippine affairs, and don’t tax the editors by bringing trash to the site.
https://magilas.me/israel-news-1
Israel at War!
Israel, the US of A, and the Philippines,
just to mention three,
are, arguably, in deep, deep trouble.
Psalms 24:1
The earth is the LORD’S,
and the fulness thereof;
the world,
and they that dwell therein.
Who of the three, if any,
are calling for help …
from the LORD?
But, keeping in mind, the topic du jour
at The Society of Honor is
Philippine elections, Gen. Ely, …
why not pursue this (from nine years ago)?
x-
Your idea to link the barangays is FANTASTIC. Exactly the kind of thing that could be done for superior disaster preparedness and recovery, or lessons on civic responsibility and health care, or preparing for elections. So simple. So seemingly undoable hereabouts.
DILG!!! – – – are you reading????
-x
OFF TOPIC (about sports/basketball/Gilas)
Thank you very much to the US and Africa for helping us win the Asian Games basketball crown! We couldn’t have done it without you- whether it’s naturalized, a passport holder, or a mixed marriage offspring. Players & coaches from America and Africa we need you!
Let’s use the same strategy in the WPS!
ha ha ha ha ha ha this is a sarcastic note…
apparently, our special envoy to china, teddy locsin, was in the coastguard ship escorting the latest supply ship that went to ayungin on resupply mission. locsin saw for himself the dangers of the maneuvers, chinese ships humarang na naman, our supply ship pushed through despite. no shoots were fired, no water cannon. just plenty of hair raising tension and verbal stoush.
locsin sabi, now is not the time to activate the treaty our country signed with estados unidos. with china, our policy at the moment is presumably to agree where we can, and disagree where we must!
Otls (On the lighter side):
Will LCPL_X resist clicking on this shortcut?
https://magilas.me/tres-amigos-veranda-2
The key word is “veranda.”
I wish Filipinos get on this boardgame band wagon, I’m seeing Barnes & Nobles every where carving out more and more shelf space for boardgames less books and libraries now hosting game nights.
Dixit I think would play well in Tagalog, Visayan, Ilocano (all Philippine languages really).
To connect it to the blog, Wil’s blog picture is of prayer group meeting.
There needs to be more play maybe less pray in the Philippines. I know some evangelical missions are more and more using game night as their means to get people together then sell Jesus and their brand of soteriology.
But my thing is, forget salvation for a moment just get people together strategizing.
Get people together strategizing. games will do this for you. as player or which I wish more Filipinos would get involved in more game designing.
At least two of the members of SB19 are avid gamers.. they seem to be excellent business strategists as well, based on their recent successes.
One even was so good at gaming that he was accused of cheating at first:
Is DOTA2 still big in the Philippines , I’m no PC gamer, but when I was there I remember it was more like Counter Strike at internet cafes.
I’m hearing its Starcraft II that’s quite the buzz now, but yeah compared to Counter Strike, DOTA and StarCraft involve more strategy than tactics.
I’d love to hear him talk more on how his playing DOTA informs business decisions. ps StarCraft 2 is what AI companies are using to test their A.I. right now.
I’m not a PC gamer either so I can’t tell. I doubt Josh will talk about business BUT he does have this video where he unveils how to spot bank scammers..
I nominate i7sharp as the new chief troll. Lcx time to abdicate.
As Chief Troll I do hereby abdicate said position.
I shall resign the office effective immediately. i7sharp will be sworn in as Chief Troll following this post and will be officiated by the Chief Tanod.
Good luck and god speed.
God help us all.
😅😂😅 Nice try. Titles last a lifetime. But Sharp can be Chief Conspiracy Theorist.
Hahaha
LOL!
OT:
Ireneo,
They teach this at schools over there or what?!! its really mesmerizing, i can watch it all day ngl.
You deserve the lifetime role as trolling chief
Several Fox News personalities, including Lou Dobbs and Rudy Giuliani, have been sued by Smartmatic for their unfounded accusation that it was involved in vote rigging during the 2020 US elections. Now those personalities are watching closely if the money laundering charge against our former Comelec Chair Andres Bautista related to the bribery case involving Smartmatic would prosper since it will then amplify the questionable credibility of the vote counting company.
Gen. Rio’s charge of massive vote dump using one IP address could also further undermine their (and Comelec’s) credibility although, from the looks of it, the seemingly irregular transmission dump of VCMs from Metro Manila, Cavite, and Batangas will not significantly alter the overall result of the 2022 presidential election.
andy bautista was a surprise! allegedly caught receiving bribe and money laundering. his ex has long told of his extra curricular activities and presumably has knowledge of andy’s secret bank accounts. his ex was barely believed, many thought she was just bitter, a woman scorned.
of course, andy denied any wrongdoings. and if andy is trying to elude philippines authorities, he probly chose a wrong country to hide in estados unidos. he should have gone to spain where our country has no extradition treaty.
News item has it that the charge of money laundering was levelled on Bautista by the US Justice Department itself.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/884116/andy-bautista-comelec-docs-requested-by-us-garcia/story/
you are correct, USA has andy in sight.
All respect to Gen. Rio for correctly questioning the irregular use of a single IP address in the transmission of election returns from specified voting districts. And indeed there must be concerted effort from all parties to maintain Comelec’s credibility as an independent constitutional body. That current Comelec Chairman Garcia used to be Marcos Jr.’s lawyer in his election protest against then VP Robredo is a smothering insult in its constitutional mission to objectively and independently supervise our electoral process. His appointment was one of those fuck-decency-or-propriety-in-government-service legacy of Rodrigo Duterte.
However, having said that, is the irregular dump and transmission of election returns uncovered by Gen. Rio and his team enough evidence that the 2022 presidential election was rigged in favor of BBM? Or was the overall result more or less reflective of pre-election surveys (60-20 percent split) on voter preference?
This question needs to be conclusively answered because the opposition might be wasting its time focusing on this issue instead of reflecting on the reason(s) why majority of voters voted in the way they did and to strategize on how to regain their trust moving forward.
https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2023/07/28/2284414/rio-20-m-vote-barrage-shocked-awed-us-silence
I applaud his tenacity and admire him a lot, but what’s rio’s biff? he was not the candidate that lost. what he said may well be alarming and cause for concern but the present govt is not indulging him, not at all. rio et al has legal recourse though. court of law can subpoena comelec transmission/s for rio et al to peruse. if rio et al are indeed interested to see this to the bitter end, it will cost them, legal fees are going to be enormous.
methink, it boils down to the losing candidate: leni. if she has 100plus millions to spend on manual recounting of votes, we may yet know the truth.
that would be terrible if computer data said one thing, the total tally of manual counting of votes said another.
I am not retracting my earlier comments on one of Gen Rio’s companion in this advocacy, Col Leo Odonio’s peference for a candidate other than Leni. Well actually it does not matter so long as he and the rest are fighting the good fight.
More power to Gen Rio and his ilk.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1085333/look-duterte-style-fist-bump-at-google-event#!
gen rio looked good in fist pump.
Let us say this protest moves, what will be the finish line after bbm steps down? What is the line of succession? VP to Chief Justice or place in the elections?
Good question, Karl.
My theory is if the May 2022 results are tainted, all those voted in through that election should step down. That will include some members of the executive and legislative branches, leaving SC to activate its checks and balances power. A do-over with accountability and transparency will appear to be necessary at that point but the decision will remain in the SC’s domain.
Will it be line of succession, new election or some SC wisdom buttressed by the Constitution?
TY
apparently, the line of succession in case pbbm steps down, 1st in line would be vice president, then senate president, then speaker of the house. seemingly, the chief justice of the supreme court is not in line of succession, maybe because the chief justice of the supreme court is appointed and not elected by voters.
TY
The voice of the people was heard. Thank you to the reklamador and ‘kalaban ng kapayapaan.’ It pays to be vocal about issues that matter. Don’t celebrate yet. The budget amendment has yet to pass the senate and the executive.
The small committee removes confidential funds from some of the government departments. Included are: OVP, DepEd, DA, DICT and DFA.
I hope the amendment pass the senate and the executive signs it. pbbm is already into transparency, and has suspended ltfrb boss teofilo guadiz the 3rd for alleged corruption pending on investigation.
the best senate can do is approve the amendment and for pbbm to give his imprimatur, the fund realigned to other agencies that need funding the most like the coastguard, defense, national security, etc.
Was part of socmed brigade pushing back on Fiona Duterte’s disingenuous rationalization of her secret fund. But the House of Romualdez came up short abolishing all CIF for all civilian agencies including those for the Office of the President. Fiona is almost hysterical and about to throw a tantrum because the focus was mainly on her whereas both BBM and Romualdez also have very substantial allocations (billions) for CIF.
The blades are out. There’s a brewing civil war in the uniteam.
The only reason Romualdez and his allies responded to public pressure is because it does undermine Fiona’s prospect and viability in the next election.
The general public should remain vigilant and keep the pressure to abolish CIF for all civilian offices. Only the military, police, and NICA should have such allocation and even those should still be subject to COA oversight.
Kept on wondering why you kept on calling her Fiona.
ahem, shrek’s fiona love animals like the talking donkey, whereas boksingera fiona allegedly loved traveling overseas with mga menor de edad na walang yatang mga chaperone!
porbida, maybe my imagination is haywiring and just plain stupid, I saw kasi a similarity between boksingera fiona and that young fellow senyor aquila from socorro who looks much like the male version of fiona. he also loved mga menor de edad and now facing child molestation something, haha.
ay, mea culpa, pls delete me post.
maybe it is beyond the pay grade of speaker romualdez to abolish cifs as he is not member of congress appropriation committee headed by zaldy co whose vice is estrella quimbo. I’m happy through that romualdez finally threw his weight behind the move to strip the boksingera of cif.
the boksingera has an ally in arroyo and imee and has already made a move to gain the trust of the boss of iglesia ni kristo. iglesia ni kristo has around 5million bloc voters. but, if another computer glitch (dumping) happened like the one general elisio rio saw, who needs voters there days!
imee she is mayhap a double agent: in bed with sara and has sara’s confidence, but reports to pbbm at the same time, haha.
Zaldy Co on his own will not strip Fiona of confi funds; he’ll need the go ahead signal from the Master of the House in order to do that and Romualdez cunningly figured it’s best to make the move now when the public outcry is still very much focused only on Fiona while his and his counsin’s CIF were largely spared from scrutiny.
Imee is a weird case indeed. Seems like a rebel in the family and has independent opinion of issues that are sometimes diametrically opposed to that of her half brother; like recently joining a rally demanding the resignation of Benjamin Diokno or opposing the construction of Bulacan airport. Could be the Lacson blood in her.
She was also pictured vowing and kissing the hand of Fiona in a gesture of complete supplication and gratitude as if Fiona is the resurrected queen mother herself. Such act from a Marcos might have emboldened Fiona to demand more billions she can spend faster than you can say abracadabra.
https://politics.com.ph/2023/10/11/wala-nang-tanong-tanong-ops-2024-budget-breezes-through-senate-panel/
it’s apparent pbbm will most likely get his allocation of cif.
I dont know, but maybe it’s karma. previously president duterte did not allot confidential fund to vice president leni, and now his own daughter is likewise not being allotted.
https://bilyonaryo.com/2023/10/11/sa-pondo-pala-atat-do-nothing-ivan-uy-wants-dicts-confidential-fund-restored/business/
still on confidential fund, ivan uy really should hire more IT experts when hiring underlings, and not seemingly indulged in nepohirings of mga kakilala, kaibigan o kapamilya’t relatives. we have so many data breaches now. maybe ivan uy ought to update and upgrade his cyber capabilities and make himself top of the game, instead of being caught flatfooted oftentimes now, and being played on by hackers and cybercriminals.
what we hate the most about confidential fund is the secrecy and the lack of transparency of this discretionary fund, and how it is prone to corruption. recipients of the fund can barely justify expenses with receipts to prove.
https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2023/10/prophetic-visions-of-philippines.html?sc=1697017372280#c8774541031403373558
Please don’t flood the blog with links. This is a discussion forum.
Musical intermission – Joy Esquivel of Sorsogon turns 4 chairs at Voice of Germany, chooses a German female rapper of Iranian/Lithuanian descent as her coach..
Interesting also her singing Brazilian classic Chega de Saudade during the pandemic – rare that a Filipina sings in Portuguese and I hear a relatively good rendition of the Brazilian pronunciation with just minor errors..
She was in Tawag ng Tanghalan years ago but was barely noticed..
it’s impressive that joy manage to make hard to please ronan keating turn his chair.