Salient Points in the Public Life of Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.
Interview by Wilfredo G. Villanueva October 21, 2023
Nominated by President Benigno S. Aquino III to be Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States of America on November 30, 2010 and confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on February 9, 2011. He formally assumed his position on April 2, 2011 and served until June 2016.
Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Cuisia was Vice Chairman of Philam Life after having served the company as its President and Chief Executive Officer for 16 years.
Before becoming Philam Life’s President and CEO, Ambassador Cuisia served as Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines and Chairman of its Monetary Board from 1990-1993.
photo: Ambassador Cuisia, from Wharton Magazine.
“PRAYING FOR A MIRACLE TO HAPPEN” – CUISIA
It was painful to watch. The patient is distressed, but I had asked Ambassador Joey Cuisia, financial and management expert par excellence, to assume the role of chief oncologist to our moribund country. “How long will he live?” I asked. He winced, peering through thick, gold-rimmed glasses. “He will not live long if we don’t do something drastic.”
“We’re headed south,” he said when asked if we are nearer to Vietnam which has had economic gains in spite of having emerged from war, and Somalia, poster boy of a failed state. “I still have faith. I’m praying for a miracle to happen. We can’t give up. Our strongest weapon is prayer, hoping that the Blessed Virgin Mary will find a way to perhaps make it possible for a new leader to emerge who will save us from total destruction. We need all the prayers we can get.”
“But what if I were a Filipino who didn’t believe in God or a Supreme Being? What is the point of my being a Filipino if all I have is hope?”
“Faith is not enough. We have to do our share. That’s why we in the Makati Business Club, we are speaking out. I can’t rest on my laurels, being a key figure in organizations that help the country.”
Ambassador Cuisia is retired, has medically-controlled ailments, works out everyday, looking fit like a young daddy who can throw his toddler into the air for bonding. Yet, he is a lolo, has five apos, four here and one in the U.S. He’s another candidate for bishopry, after General Ely Rio. (It is good. For where there are unpalatable characters, good men will come forward to help undo the bad. That, ladies and gentlemen, is itself a miracle in a country given to frivolity and lack of critical thinking.)
“I am concerned about a possible social upheaval. There is a growing number of people who experience lack of food as gleaned from a survey of Social Weather Stations, and yet you see excesses at the top, like a fashion show in Malacañang or a botched request for confidential funds,” he said. The latter was strangled at birth in budget deliberations by Makabayan bloc in the Lower House, principally Kabataan party list Congressman Raoul Manuel in budget deliberations.
I asked him, if he were the teacher of the country as a whole, what would our grade be, in economics, history, all the humanities and business subjects. He was quick to reply: “Fail.”
(NOTE: INSERT HERE BOXED ARTICLE TITLED: SWOT ANALYSIS ON THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY BY AMBASSADOR CUISIA)
—————————————————————————————————————————
A SWOT+PROMISE ANALYSIS OF THE PHILIPPINES BY AMBASSADOR CUISIA
Strengths:
A young and trainable workforce. This is the so-called demographic dividend. Our average age is 23. Ours is one of the youngest workforce in the region.
English-speaking workers. Can learn other languages, such as Spanish, Japanese, Chinese.
Good location. Accessible in three to four hours to points in Southeast Asia, world’s growth center.
BPO or Business Process Outsourcing. 1.5 million workers; can grow by another million in the next 2-3 years. U.S.$33 billion earnings for this year alone
The Filipino diaspora or dispersion. In the Middle East, U.S., Europe, Australia, OFWs to the world. U.S.$32 billion a year in foreign exchange remittances to the economy.
Weaknesses:
Poor agricultural productivity; lowest in the region.
High poverty incidence; gone up by 20 per cent.
Widespread corruption.
Weak education system.
Poor health care system; vulnerable to various diseases.
Largest economic contraction in 2020 due to wrong policies that were adopted.
Opportunities:
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a free trade agreement, the Philippines being one of 18 countries participating.
Recent strategic free trade agreement with Australia and South Korea.
Membership in Philippine-U.S.-Indo Pacific framework.
Stronger relationship with Japan. Showcase of such a relationship: the Metro Manila subway being funded by the Japanese government which has a lot of experience in this regard.
Growing Intra-ASEAN trade.
Threats:
Continuing high inflation which leads to high prices of food and other basic commodities.
High poverty incidence.
High underemployment at 15 per cent.
Not enough job opportunities.
Wide disparity of income distribution.
Growing divide between the rich and the poor.
Shows Promise:
Eighty per cent hotel occupancy rates. Higher than the 72 per cent pre-pandemic. Tourism is growing: Boracay, Palawan, Bohol. More local than foreign tourists.
Continuous OFW remittances. Two to three per cent increases v. 5 per cent in the past, but still growing.
AI. Robotics, increasing Digitalization. We need to enhance the skills of our workforce. If we don’t upskill, we stand to lose 600,000 to 700,000 jobs in the IT-BPM industry.
_________________________________________________________________________
“You have been involved in an industry that caters to investment funds. What do you make of the Maharlika Investment Fund?” I asked.
“I cannot argue with its objectives,” he said. “But why are we setting up a sovereign wealth fund? A country sets up a SWF when it has excess funds which can be used to provide for developments in the future. Where will the funds come from? P50 billion from Land Bank, P25 billion from the Development Bank of the Philippines, P50 billion from the national government, through Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. These government financial institutions have their own mandates; by investing these funds into the Maharlika Investment Fund, they will have P25 billion or P50 billion less to accomplish their mandates. Plans have to be delayed by a few years. I wonder if this is the right approach. They talk of higher returns, but this necessitates higher risk. I just don’t know whether the country can afford such risks. We should be cognizant of the risk we are taking by having that kind of a fund, and I think this is why quite a lot of people are very wary about the intentions of this administration for setting up the Maharlika Investment Fund.” (As of posting time, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has ordered a review of the objectives and mechanics of the fund.)
Ambassador Cuisia mentioned Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, which sustained paper losses. (Paper losses remain on paper unless it is monetized, by which time the owner of the wealth fund will realize his losses.) In Malaysia, former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been found “guilty on all counts in the first of his multiple corruption trials over a massive scheme to divert billions from a state investment fund to several personal accounts, including his,” this from NPR program stream of July 2020.
“Is President Marcos Jr. working for the majority of Filipinos?” I asked.
“Well, it’s ah… I would say mixed. I think he’s working for the interest of the Philippines in terms of the repivot to the United States by strengthening the Philippine-U.S. strategic alliance. Majority of Filipinos are in favor of that because they distrust China and they want a stronger relationship with the U.S. Fortunately, he’s done a 180-degree turn. I give him credit for that,” Ambassador Cuisia replied.
photo: Ambassador Cuisia in Zoom with author.
In this interview conducted by Zoom, the financial and economic genius in Ambassador Cuisia has been oncologist (not much time left to live), teacher (Fail). And if may be forward with my observation, he is also chief mechanic in this interview, if the country were a sputteriing vehicle in need of rescue. The spark plugs have encrusted deposits that spell C-O-R-R-U-P-T-I-O-N, as evidenced by the SWOT analysis. We just keep going back to the Big “C” consigning the poor country to the boneyard.
The problem of the country is corruption, plain and simple. He is impressed by the movement of mayors led by Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, which directly addresses the problem.
“Given that you have that appraisal of our country as a whole, why are you still here? Why not enjoy the rest of your days in a comfortable place, free of worries over the fate of our nation?
“Like you, my family and I recite the Holy Rosary every night,” he said. “I haven’t given up on our country. Hope is where home is.” Thus spake the oncologist, teacher and mechanic. He’s only saying, from any angle of approach, from any discipline, that the country had better find a solution. Real quick. And to those who pray, you know what to do (Self-talk).
Wilfredo G. Villanueva October 21, 2023
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The Society of Honor by Joe America 
Thank you, Gian! God bless you…
Thanks Will. Especially the SWOT analysis of the Philippines is impressive.
Cuisia impresses me as a highly analytical man who knows what he is talking about yet still explains it clearly, not hiding behind jargon or credentials.
Yes. Edmund Burke will be pleased. Good men and women are awake, not letting the bad men and women have their way with us.
I like the SWOT
Per Cielito Habito, the LGUs must monitor their agricultural development. But with no land use, the so called master planned mixed use development will keep on mushrooming.
Will end up solving some housing problems , but not food and water.
https://politics.com.ph/2021/05/14/taken-for-a-fool-cuisia-falls-for-ex-us-envoys-word-on-chinas-withdrawal-of-ships-from-scarborough-shoal/
’tis just a blast from the past.
From a certain former chief justice, I grabbed thid from a viber group.
“PCG Commandant Tan, the head of PCG at that time, has narrated in this viber group that he was personally instructed by Pnoy to withdraw from Scarborough Shoal. Ambassador Joey Cuisia, our ambassdor to the US at that time, has explained publicly that Kurt Campbell brokered the agreement to withdraw. Cuisia also personally told me that he was talking with Campbell who brokered the agreement to withdraw with the Chinese dilpomats.”
Reply of a certain former Senator.
“There was no face to face meeting between Fu Ying and Amba Cuisia. Campbell as broker talked separately to Fu Ying and Cuisia.”
More on this.
Tit
“Justice Carpio, is the article you posted your basis for saying we lost Scarborough and not the assertions of our own security officials and facts on the ground as I have stated above?
As to the supposed “agreement” in Washington, we checked the DFA records and we did not find any official meeting between the Ph gov’t and China in Washington in relation to the Scarborough standoff. What happened in fact was an informal meeting between Campbell and Fu Ying which has zero binding effect to us as the principal party involved because we were never represented in that meeting.
Which is why I asked PNoy as to who represented the Ph in that meeting? He said none. He said further that the PCG ship was ordered to leave without his authority. Also, if the “agreement” was for simultaneous withdrawal, why did we leave first? Simultaneous is “sabay” dapat, bakit tayo nauna? And why didn’t we go back in when the Chinese ships didn’t leave? Kaya nagalit si PNoy to the person concerned after that. He then asked me to fix that mess.
Having been assigned there in Scarborough I know that “simultaneous” withdrawal of 3 ships (1 PCG and 2 Ch) is impossible because the mouth of the shoal is too narrow. What I was negotiating on at that time was a sequential withdrawal. CCG first, then PCG and then the 2nd CCG ship, with clear instructions for our PCG ship to go back in if the 2nd CCG ship didn’t leave. But since our PCG ship was already ordered to leave, I negotiated for the CCG ships to leave within 48 hrs. They left. PNoy ordered the PN to conduct aerial inspection to confirm this and they did confirm that the CCG ships left. To this day, there are no CCG ships inside the Scarborough shoal.
I admire your passion and your patriotism Justice Carpio, but let me remind you that you were never there when these things were happening. I was. I have explained everything in the video I posted above.”
Tat
“This is the viber group duscussion:
“Probes, protests, litigations we must but it is bottoms of BFAR/PCG/PN we need. We “entitled” ourselves with huge waters and we expect others not to sail it if we dont? I asked in a post Scarborough stand off forum that was not answered: If we did not withdraw, could PCG have sustained the stand off?”
“Yes, sir, i believe so we can sustain our presence there in scarborough shoal at that time. I was the PCG Commandant then and i strongly believe we can do it. In fact, we were ready to go back to scarborough after taking shelter in subic due to the typhoon that prevailed in the area at that time, but we were advised not to do so anymore. Reason explained to us by sec del rosario was that there was already an agreement brokered by the US which China agreed for the simutaneous withdrawal from the area. We took the typhoon as the excuse, as china also took shelter somewhere else, for this simultaneous withdrawal. However, china went back after the typhoon while we didn’t for the aforementioned reasons i stated. (Adm Tan)
“Adm, who gave you the directive not to go back?” (J Carpio)
‘It was PNoy himself, sir. And then i was told to coordinate with sec del rosario on that.” (Adm Tan)
“I thought so. Only the commander-in-chief can give such order. That clarifies a lot for history. Thanks!” (J Carpio)”
thank you, karl misa garcia. pnoy made cruisia recipient of order of sikatuna with gold cross distinction. since both pnoy and del rosario are now dead, it is left to the living to to haggle and wiggle hair raising passage to scarborough.
I am supposing the scarborough incidence still rankled with cruisia, he rarely talks about it. maybe, he has reconciled his past and as god is his witness, cruisia has put all behind him. for good.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/787677/ex-envoy-cuisia-china-was-duplicitous-in-the-scarborough-agreement/story/
https://bilyonaryo.com/2021/07/08/gag-itong-ull-na-ito-duterte-offers-to-give-cuisia-uniform-and-gun-dares-him-to-take-back-scarborough-shoal-akala-niya-ganoon-kadali1/business/
Take back ?
Why did we lose it in the first place?
”
Karl, let me correct you about the oft repeated statement that “we lost Scarborough.” We did not lose Scarborough in 1999; we did not lose it in 2012; and we haven’t lost it until today. There is no factual basis to say this.
To this day, there are no Chinese ships inside the shoal and there is no reclamation there as well. The 3 Chinese ships loitering outside the shoal (around 5 n.mi) doesn’t mean physical ownership because they do that to the Japanese Senkaku islands as well.
When I had committee hearings back in late 2013 (executive session) and 2015 (public), all the security officials then (NSA, DND, Navy, PCG, etc.) gave categorical statements saying we did not lose Scarborough legally and physically. In fact, the Navy showed satellite photos showing that there were no Chinese ships inside the shoal and there were even around 12 Filipino fishing boats inside. All these are in the archives of the Senate.
PNoy even ordered a covert mission by the PCG in 2015 (Sec. Jun Abaya knows this) to investigate the reported construction materials supposedly placed there by China. They found nothing except old cement blocks with US markings and the 2 old concrete posts that the PCG constructed in the 80’s as attested to by the late Adm. Chuck Agustin. More importantly, the covert mission proved that ships can go in and out of the shoal freely, at least back then.”
This matter reminds me of the difference between possession and property.
If for instance I drink with kb and friends and leave my cellphone on the table.
KB takes it and the next day when I ask for it her mates tell me it’s hers now.
Well she is in possession of my cellphone, but it still isn’t her property on paper.
But I go away as most of KB’s friends are unlike me young – and from Mactan. 😉
ay, naku, unlike trillanes that got his amnesty made null and void, pres duterte did not strip cruisia of his order of sikatuna.
anyhow, during duterte’s regime, china leapfrogged and often refueled in dabaw, free of charge yata! nag-build, build, build pa nga sila sa west phil, nag-swarm ang mga barko, killed our giant clams as well as the reef, hinakot pa ang mga isda natin! they promised duterte so much, na-debt trapped tuloy ang bayan. pbbm really ought to review the chinese loans duterte made, baka kasi bayad tayo ng bayad, repaying for non existent chinese projects!
about vietnam, I think, cuisia was being kind to our pamahalaan. vietnam did not show barbie the movie, and told its young ones to bugger off! more are at stake than their viewing pleasure.
habang ang pinas was seemingly so indulgent, it showed barbie and misted the chinese squiggly propaganda like we are so dumb not to know what was being misted, like we are so gullible to believe a mist is mist forever. like we have our heads in the sand but the rest of our anatomy is up and flagged for all to see!
with all due respect po, pnoy may have given us his greatest legacy, the unclos ruling. china’s 9 dash line is not recognize by law. the ruling made china an illegal settler, a squatter in the high seas, a pain in the tucos, and a sore loser.
Before this happened. I got lectured first.
“Karl, let me correct you about the oft repeated statement that “we lost Scarborough.” We did not lose Scarborough in 1999; we did not lose it in 2012; and we haven’t lost it until today. There is no factual basis to say this.
To this day, there are no Chinese ships inside the shoal and there is no reclamation there as well. The 3 Chinese ships loitering outside the shoal (around 5 n.mi) doesn’t mean physical ownership because they do that to the Japanese Senkaku islands as well.
When I had committee hearings back in late 2013 (executive session) and 2015 (public), all the security officials then (NSA, DND, Navy, PCG, etc.) gave categorical statements saying we did not lose Scarborough legally and physically. In fact, the Navy showed satellite photos showing that there were no Chinese ships inside the shoal and there were even around 12 Filipino fishing boats inside. All these are in the archives of the Senate.
PNoy even ordered a covert mission by the PCG in 2015 (Sec. Jun Abaya knows this) to investigate the reported construction materials supposedly placed there by China. They found nothing except old cement blocks with US markings and the 2 old concrete posts that the PCG constructed in the 80’s as attested to by the late Adm. Chuck Agustin. More importantly, the covert mission proved that ships can go in and out of the shoal freely, at least back then.”
My analogy of the cellphone – OK I used KB as an example and unjustly made her and her friends balasubas, even if they probably are nice and like most Cebuanos grew up with a guitar and probably are great singing with – is about the difference between the expectations of different groups in the Philippines, some care about what is right on paper and other play by street rules. Actually stranding the BRP Sierra Madre was playing by street rules and very street smart, mixing street and paper rules because a direct attack on a navy ship at sea can provoke MDT. Why do the Chinese resort to the maritime equivalent of young men elbowing each other or pushing but denying they did? Because they don’t want the next step of escalation.
Now I don’t really want to go into Scarface Marlboro matters again, but sometimes I have the feeling that PNoy’s disente folks lacked street smarts. One doesn’t have to be a bad person like for instance Dutz, but just being good isn’t enough in a world that often plays by street rules.
so many chinese spies around? that each time, our coastguard take to sea, chinese coastguard already know what our sailors had for breakfast! the body weight of each sailor, their shoe sizes, their body temperature and blood pressure!
still, chinese coastguard has not yet use AI and run a command that interfere with our supply ship’s navigational system. made it to run aground – on own volition. uncle sam kasi is watching kasi and monitoring all.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0u6Kgf3w4cTk8VoV6mLnwGUNFUvG2fQbiUZkw9CMbaW4fK3iWUKSmRoxCroLHXub5l&id=1254072299&mibextid=CDWPTG
apparently, our armed personnel are so easy to track via facebook, instagram, tiktok, etc. they nearly live their lives in the internet and posting everything about themselves. chinese AI are collecting their data, and targeted them for misinformation, influencing them with lies, half truths and innuendos. I think, gibo sabi, for the sake of national security, our armed personnel ought to refrain from internet activities. their work cellphones though are vetted and secure.
as well, gibo is reviewing our exchange program where our military send officers to china for ‘study’ purposes; china likewise. we may have some returning pinoy officers already indoctrinated and implanted with chinese doctrines and maybe working for china and compromising our security.
dati, before AI, chinese officers here on study purposes may have been planting listening devices. their job made much easier by the easy camaraderie and trusting nature of pinoys. and now that AI is well and truly here, the chinese may have upped the ante, and have gained remote control of our power grid. anytime may ompong sila, they switch off the control and cause brown outs. punishing us all.
and here we are, kamot ulo did not know what cause the brown outs, and the outages in airports, haha.
pero, lately, browns outs and outages are kept minimal. I think, pinoy techies are getting suspicious. kaso, china may have changed tactic and hacked into govt websites. their bots sending misinformation about our govt’s activities when our govt have no such activities done. causing stress and anxiety among our people. then our people start not trusting our govt, apparently.
I have less love for the word FAIL. methink, fail is onerously judgemental, cold, callous and heartbreaking and can be so flagellating that getting out of it takes enormous effort, so why bother at all. maybe it’s better to wallow with less expectations.
my kainuman prefer the phrase, could be better instead of fail. yes, we could do better, we could try harder, we could smile often, spend less, etc.
sorry, ambassador cuisa, bec words can be abusive, hurtful and even libelous – what the heck! to each his own, kampai.
Could be better, much to be desired a sugar coateners of a bitter bilic taste on the mouth.
Needs improvement. It hurts only if uber onion skinned.
ahem, mayhap like that senator na so in love with own name at balat sibuyas pa, a nemesis is being sued for cyber libel yata. paminsan, our law is such an ass, haha. kung ako lang, I give warning muna, a threat, that if nemesis wont stop defaming, nemesis will be sued till they kingdom come. not sued nemesis kaagad, thus deprive the family of nemesis a breadwinner. unlike the senator who is a top lawyer kuno, the said nemesis is medyo bobo yata and needed to be prodded.
yong storm nga, may storm warning, bago ang dating. ay, hell hath no fury like a senator scorned. apparently, when in public service such as the senator, it pays to be balat kalabaw.
ahem uli, haha. si paolo duterte anak ni dating president duterte sabi hwag daw onion skin those in public service. I can say the same thing about dearly beloved of dabaw, paolo duterte, na hwag siya masyadong mag-onion skin and let law proceed. his tatay kasi is being taken to court for threatening death to mambatas france castro.
dili na presidente ang tatay ni paolo, hence tatay should learn to bite his fat traps at hwag dada ng dada. tatay’s immunity days are over, civilian na siya ngayon at pwedeng kasuhan.
those in public service should not be onion-ed skin is also applicable to paolo duterte. but if there is threat to life and the threat is made on national t.v. all those in public service including maybe paolo duterte can take remedial court action.
kaya ko siningit onion skinned. kung ba naman sya isat kalahating ogags. death threats should nit hust be shrugged off.
rep paolo duterte ought to practice what he preaches, those in public service should not have onion skin.
hwag daw masyadong drama si france castro, sabi ng brother of the drama queen mismo!
it was ex pres duterte who once said sara is drama queen. ang pamilyang ito, they so like throwing their own mud at others, haha.
methink, all filipinos believe in god, though that belief is stretched thin to very thinly during adulthood. when one is at the height of fame, health, wisdom, vigor, influence and stamina. and everything is possible. the world is theirs for the taking and in their life’s journey, belief in god is put on the back burner.
once adulthood is spent and old age beckons, many take up and reconnect with god, again. thankful p’haps or having survived hedonistic youth! now having ample time for one to one with god? the chaos and turmoil of youth tempered and gone, replaced by peace and therefore, acceptance of a life well lived.
Fail = palya.
If you miss one it is considered a fail.
Pass or fail.
At least when you are good in failing you would be an epic.
Even fatalistic ones say bahala na or leave it to God.
Atheists? Singular of theists hehe.
. . . do not worry over what to eat, what to wear and put upon your feet, trust and pray, go do your best today, and leave it in the hands of our lord . . . so goes the song often sang at sunday mass.
👍👍👍🙏
https://championsofchangecoalition.org/champions/ambassador-cuisia/
Click to access cuisia.pdf
https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2014/09/13/1368544/looking-widodo-philippines
Cuisia listed as presidentiables by a random fb user. circa 2014.
indonesia’s widodo has his own hubris. instead of addressing climate change, widodo is making borneo as indonesia’s new capital. jakarta is being abandoned, it is sinking kasi, mired in pollution and heavily populated.
one thing I can say about widodo, he has massive public relation machinery in full swing and he will always be portrayed as hero with superlative deeds.
incidentally, kerabokan jail in indonesia is home to our own mary jane veloso, a convicted drug mule, who is currently serving time.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44636934
The fastest sinking city.
Ground water depletion.
Villar of all people warned:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/886141/cynthia-villar-warns-metro-manila-might-sink-like-jakarta-due-to-reclamations/story/%3famp
cynthia may have her heart in the right place, but. she ought to know our govt has 51 per cent stake in all reclamation projects in manila bay. kaya, siguro, kahit under review, reclamation projects are still going on, there is deadline to chase.
RE Matino
the DOTR sec is a straight shooter but accused by a transport group of corruption.
Maybe vicarious liability which is unavoidable
https://www.rappler.com/business/department-transportation-secretary-jaime-bautista-statement-corruption-allegation/
what do we have here, hail, hail, the gangs all here? haha.
it’s very convoluted allegation facing dotr sec jaime bautista et al. apparently, mind boggling as well, money makes the trip go round and round like the wheel of a bus. as sec bautista sits at pbbm’s cabinet, bus driver pbbm has to reach for the cambio now.
like what happens when allegations are made, manibela has to provide hard facts and evidence and not just hearsay. any lists, times and dates, when bribe money changed hands? is there traceable paper trail? pics and photos? since corruption may have been going on for sometime now, manibela should have enough evidence gathered to support their claim of corruption.
That whistle-blower against that ltfrb recanted his testimony.
I hope the witnesses against Delima will continue to recant.
napagkaisahan yata ang whistle blower, bought off? his life for his silence? unlike whistleblowers from dabaw vs duterte’s dds, and given govt protection; ltrfrb whistleblower was on his own and given not govt protection.
as former justice sec and then senator, delima has put whistleblowers under witness protection program, securing their safety and well being. with delima jailed, the witness protection program these days is rarely used. and current day witnesses are either killed, maimed, silenced, fired, and lost their livelihood.
Musical break: Joy Esquivias passed the battle in Voice of Germany. In fact both won, but her coach must throw out two in another battle.
She nearly cried when Ronan Keating praised her singing.
it is going to be harder from then on, I hope she survives the coming battles. she is not really amateur singer, her voice control is more than good, and she hits those notes squarely and smoothly. her co singer is just as good and has nerves of steel and did not let himself be intimidated by an up and coming diva!
me? I was more interested in the yellow boots the compere was wearing! very eye catching and looks comfy.
thanks for the post.
There won’t be sing-offs in this year’s Voice of Germany, there will be Team Battles instead where the coaches chose who from their team battles who from the other team and the audience decides who stays. That will be hard.
Even as the video of Joy’s battle was over 400K views in YT when I last checked while her blind audition video was at over 500K. The second highest number of views is still with the blind audition of Claudia Emanuela Santoso though, the Indonesian who won in 2019.
Jose Cuisia might just really meant well and really believe the morality of his views but the business culture and world where he thrives and operates has a certain engrained paradigm that is in dissonance with the needs of the rest of the country and, might I add, a major contributing factor why Duterte in 2016 and Marcos in 2022 won overwhelmingly.
While his words are cloaked in apparent fealty for nationalism, it is the kind of nationalism that is fit only for the Filipino rentier class that he represents.
while cuisia is blissful in retirement, rodrigo duterte is ditching retirement and thinking kuno of running for senate seat in 2025! as well, old man enrile despite being terribly vision impaired has adapted well and working for pbbm. now, enrile is hoping to have his previous corruption conviction squashed citing old age as reason, and maybe with pbbm’s under the table input, enrile may get his wish!
and I was thinking, maybe the fake vice president whose win cannot be verified by transmission log so asked by gen rio, can ask her mother who is a jew, to give guest talk or zoom a history lecture about why gaza is not occupied territory. that should liven up sleepy deped!
it’s apparent old people still have much to impart. si mar roxas nga, namuti na ang buhok, but was still being himself. guest of pbbm si mar sa capiz yata, dating schoolmates sila nuon sa wharton, usa. pbbm sabi what happens in wharton stays in wharton, but mar has other idea. true they had lovely time in wharton, but mar said, he went on to finish economic studies, whereas pbbm dropped out! thus confirming what many have been saying that pbbm’s economic antena is p’haps infantile.
though as president of our country post 2022 election, pbbm was given honorary doctorate by wharton university.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/31/23/barmm-conflict-watchdog-blames-govt-complacency-for-rise-in-violence
itong barmm ay hindi pala gaanong autonomous, they still need input at guidance ng national govt. ang election duon ay madugo, and national govt is being blamed for it. comelec allegedly showed delikadiza and did not step on barmm’s toes, and allow barmm to manage their own election affair, and it resulted in violence.
no one knows barmm better than barmm themselves, and if trouble was anticipated, barmm should have asked help, not wait for bullet to start flying! mahirap naman kung armadong kapolisan were deployed duon without barmm’s by word, baka kapolisan pa ang ma-masaker, at mapagbintangang manlulupig.
kapolisan eventually did turn up, replacing the absent 2000 teachers supposed to oversee election. next time, pls ask for help, before bullets starts flying. there is no shame in asking for help, autonomous man o hindi.
sabi ni pbbm, if ghost visits you, say hi for him kuno. well, if ghost visits me, I’ll ask for winning lotto numbers!