Ranking the greatest Philippine Presidents: What criteria to use?
Analysis and Opinion
By Joe America
A new ranking of American presidents is out based on a survey led by two US political science professors. Here’s an article about it: NEW SURVEY OF SCHOLARS FINDS LINCOLN REMAINS AMERICA’S GREATEST PRESIDENT
This excerpt considers recent presidents:
“The survey shows that while presidential scholars continue to consider Abraham Lincoln the nation’s greatest president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt has passed George Washington as the second-greatest president. President Biden enters the rankings at #14, behind recent Democrats Barack Obama (#7) and Bill Clinton (#12), but ahead of recent Republicans Ronald Reagan (#16), George H.W. Bush (#19), George W. Bush (#32) and Donald Trump (#45).”
So how would we rank Philippine presidents since Aguinaldo? I’m no historian and Joe Jr. knows more about the presidents than I do, MLQIII having gifted us with some fine historical books which Junior has read and I have not. I’d Put President Noynoy Aquino at the top of my list, with Duterte at the bottom and Marcos Senior right above him. Aguinaldo would be lower end. Osmeña and Quezon upper end. Magsaysay the Rebel very high. But these are more impressions than meaningful because, well, what are the criteria? And who were these presidents?
Here are the Philippine presidents in order of service (source Studocu):
- Emilio Aguinaldo (January 23, 1899 – March 23, 1901)
- Manuel L. Quezon (1935-1944)
- Jose P. Laurel (October 14, 1943 –August 17, 1945)
- Sergio Osmeña Sr. (August 1, 1944 – May 28, 1946)
- Manuel A. Roxas (May 28, 1946 –April 15, 1948)
- Elpidio R. Quirino (April 17, 1948 – December 30, 1953)
- Ramon Magsaysay Sr. (December 30, 1953 – March 17, 1957)
- Carlos P. Garcia (March 18, 1957 – December 30, 1961)
- Diosdado P. Macapagal (December 30, 1961 – December 30, 1965)
- Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. (December 30, 1965 – February 25, 1986)
- Corazon C.Aquino (February 25, 1986 – June 30, 1992)
- Fidel V. Ramos (June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1998)
- Joseph E. Estrada (June 30, 1998 – January 20, 2001)
- Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (January 20, 2001 – June 30, 2010)
- Benigno Aquino III (June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2016)
- Rodrigo Roa Duterte (June 30, 2016 – June 30, 2022)
- Ferdinand E. Marcos, Jr. (June 30, 2022 – Present)
What criteria can be used? Competency of staff. Government killings. Military accomplishments. Economic growth. infrastructure development. Social enlightenment. Corruption. International relations. Any number of points to be weighted and scored.
Or a forced ranking shaped by argument until we have general concurrence on a list.
Let’s debate this, eh? Maybe we can get to a definitive Society of Honor Presidential Ranking, seat-of-the-pants methodology. And we can learn about the presidents we do not know.
_________________________
Cover photo by Bing from the prompt “Representation of democracy in the Philippines in terms of the office of the president”.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
Many thanks, Joe.. hard to find a really definitive ranking as everyone has his own criteria.. I will venture my present ranking with the strengths and weaknesses of each President:
1) MLQ, no doubt. He was the architect of the Philippine Republic. Most of the institutions the Philippines still has today are from his time. They do have the 1930s vintage feel at times, badly in need of digitalization. And there we have his main weakness, that unlike his contemporary Atatürk he failed to create a strong institutional tradition, a living one which would ensure stability. Instead, he most probably fostered the Roxas-Osmeña rift..
2) Magsaysay. Brought the Republic closer to the people. First President to wear barong. Inspite of his populism, he was a firm believer in rule of law to help the common man.
3) Roxas. Underestimated as he started off in a war-wrecked country with a simmering Communist rebellion and political warlords staking out their claims. Stabilized the country against all odds. Main weakness, I guess: caring too much to the point of heart attack.
4) Cory. Managed to navigate back to democracy however fragile. Her achievements were the 1987 Constitution, the Ombudsman, and the modern PNP to replace Marcos’s PC- INP. Did amazingly well for someone who was never prepared for that role by her life until that.
5) Macapagal. His time was actually boom time, when Metro Manila was way ahead of Singapore. A modernizer. Unfortunately, he couldn’t sell his vision well and was seen as weak. His successor basically killed the goose after it stopped laying hundreds of golden eggs.
6) PNoy. Probably his time and what follows it might be a parallel to Macapagal. Also failed to sell his vision and get the buy-in of the majority. Mamasapano was his major PR disaster.
I won’t rate the two very neolib Presidents FVR and Arroyo, nor the failed populist Erap.
Garcia had a reactionary economic vision, which actually blocked true industrialization.
Osmeña barely had a chance to rule. Laurel was under duress. Aguinaldo was at war. Quirino according to Prof. Xiao Chua was better than his reputation. Xiao also insists Bonifacio was the first President. Marcos Sr. was a very mixed bag. The last two, no comment as of now.
What is the big picture I see: a Republic that has always been like a jeepney on a rough road.
And a people willing to squander the future for present gains then back to square one again. The Land of Constant Beginnings, as author Ninotchka Rosca famously wrote.
Superb. I like Magsaysay because of his rebel leadership. Man of conviction. And a true nationalist.
Agree with this PIE.
Wow, only hard core veterans of The Society recognize PIE. Terrific, Lou. Regards! Cheers!
Thank u Joe. Cheers 🙂
My list knowing less about these presidents would be:
17. Cory
i think DU30 would probably be (2.) just solely based on how they interacted and had the pulse of their people cuz in the 3rd world its not about human rights per se or having some fancy edumacated vision for the future but knowledge of time and place and your people. then match that with a vision, so the vision needs to be attainable. or realistic. Cory’s in the bottom cuz she neither had both, no pulse of the nation nor vision for the people.
that’s weird that should say 1. Magsasay
It is now, what was it earlier?
i meant, i wrote 1. Magsaysay like 17. Cory with number not indented nor bolded but when the comment went thru its bolded and indented and w/out number. no biggie, karl, just weird.
Got it. TY
What “the Filipino people” are actually has changed over time. Two things, the Zeitgeist or spirit of the times and also who was allowed to vote.
The Commonwealth that brought Quezon into power, the 1935 Constitution required people to be literate. That was already an advancement over the 1895 election that made Aguinaldo a mayor and the 1908 Philippine Assembly, which had wealth (money or land) and/or previous position requirements. The Zeitgeist of that era was a tension between “presentable” and “popular.” Quezon’s political career started in the 1910s when he beat both the popular and anti-US (+pro-Japanese) Ricartistas as well as the snobbish likes of Paterno. He may have dressed formally for our taste, but we should not engage in presentism. He described himself as “not a gentleman, just like Atatürk”. Mestizo looks paired with the occasional punyeta.
Magsaysay won in a postwar Philippines where both Ricartistas, many of whom had become Makapili during Japanese occupation AND Spanish mestizos, many of whom had been on the side of Franco’s allies the Japanese were discredited. Impunity was hated as the powerful families of warlords practiced it. Magsaysay was loved for coming to the rescue of Moises Padilla even if it was too late and bringing his killers to justice. And for breaking the Communist insurgency. Both goons and Commies of that era often had been guerillas before BTW.
The 1973 and 1986 Constitution did away with literacy as a voting requirement. Society had already changed somewhat by then as a lot of people from the provinces had come into the city. Still, some of the well-mannered norms of before were left. That is why both Marcos Sr. and Cory tried to appeal to the needs of the middle classes OF THOSE TIMES. Consider Will a representative of that constituency, just like Sonny and Edgar conserved a lot of the attitudes of Macapagal’s time. Not the masa yet who were just slowly coming to Manila in those days.
Fast forward to the time of Erap, and you had a solid urban masa with a common culture. Lots of them, for example, in Balara, which I have firsthand knowledge of, were still bagong salta, greenhorns straight from the Visayas or elsewhere in the late 1960s. Third gen plus by 1998. Fast forward to EDSA 2/3 when the old middle class mostly became cynical about the street, and finally to Pnoy, who was the last revival of EDSA Uno and as per MLQ3 the last President who truly was of the Fifth Republic established in 1986. The new middle class took over, the masa that had earned money in Saudi etc or in call centers. The “presentable” values of 1935 totally gone, and Duterte the first to roll up his barong sleeves. What about Marcos Jr is that a revival of 1972, also nostalgia-based and only partly knowing what it was about, just like PNoy was 1986 nostalgia and only few like Will still knew what it really meant? If you ask me, I don’t see what real direction the Filipino people and nation have until now. Still look kinda lost to me.
thanks for the backgrounder , Ireneo. finding that next President with pulse of the nation and vision commensurate of the people is key. with PBBM i dunno but i keep seeing photos of his wife the 1st Lady doing things a twelve year old girl does. its like PBBM married a retard. doesn’t bode well for the nation.
Welcome. I don’t know at all where this is going. MLQ3 suspects a rule of barons returning with planned changes to the Constitution by Romualdez etc and a Senate that managed to become more irrelevant in Duterte’s time, back to the time before public opinion started to rule from around 1916 (Philippine Senate founded, MLQ Senate President) – but can one put the genie of public opinion even populist opinion as unleashed by Duterte back into the bottle? The other possibility is someone like Senator Raffy Tulfo riding unto the Presidency along the wave of public opinion. His brand of justice is a mix of hands-on and formal-legal, a bit like Magsaysay. He is like Magsaysay and Duterte, a potential national barangay captain.
No value judgment right here, just possible scenarios. 2025 midterms will tell us more.
I’ll need to read up on Tulfo then. thanks!
Just an illustrative sample of him with a foreigner involved..
He could well be what many Filipinos see as both effective and fair.
Definitely not the Pink’s cup of tea but for sure very popular.
Is this his forte? as a judge cuz over here theres a whole TV industry of judges on TV, judge Judy being the most successful. lol, the dude said lets let the jury decide. as for me, its a case of buyer beware. chic’s just doing her job. she went there in good faith forchrissakes. dude’s there for some fast pussy thats for sure. he’s no angel. i’m interested how the syndicate operates tho seems very convoluted with these two’s descriptions. as for the the whole judge thing, him siding with this sex tourist doesn’t bode well for Tulfo its like a King Solomon ruling tulfo’s overly simplifying the issues, the masa won’t buy that. but i’d have to see more of Tulfo to get a better read of the man. but just these two videos alone, he’s no DU30. DU30 made a foreigner eat his own cigarette, if Tulfo can do more of that then maybe. but his sense of justice and scales to me seems out of whack, Ireneo. ps. lie detectors depending on who’s administering is also a scam. here’s a good book on this, the author himself failed a polygraph test at the latter part of his career cuz its very dependent on the polygrapher’s bias, its like a good cop bad cop act with the polygraph machine acting as the bad cop and polygrapher is the good cop.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?200624-1/gatekeeper
I won’t be surprised if Sen. Tulfo approached Janice after the show and gave her an offer she can’t refuse and ended up in a short time hotel. he strikes me as that kinda guy a shyster. who’ll abuse his power. he’s no hero i think. met lots of cops and military with same demeanor there. Janice is helpless. i notice she never spoke English, she’s the type of girl Filipino men tend to bull doze.
theres also an element here that’s interesting and is very Filipino prevalent. what Mango Ave. girls call try doors. the dude’s “source”.
Well, ipapa-Tulfo kita is a verb among Filipinos, so he is NOT unpopular.
There is one very well-known online lawyer who dislikes Tulfo to the max, though, but I am out of touch with TODAY’S Filipino street, I can just guess.
Re Tulfo not being an angel when it comes to women, there is indeed the rumor that he is with Maui Taylor, former Viva Hotbabe and still hot at around 40, after she separated from her husband.
I Googled him and I guess his dad is DU30’s BFF. wondering now if he’s close to Inday Sara. his style of journalism isn’t really judge stuff but from his other videos he’s like an investigative slash gotcha journalist and all his siblings are into journalism too. Google says he’s got family in Socal and regularly visits Glendale i know Glendale lots of Filipinos and Armenians. there was one video with a maid abused or something by her boss wherein he puts boss on the spot, so I guess if he has more of those videos like masa against the powers that be. he’d be popular. maybe as running mate with Inday Sara? as to his demeanor i could be wrong just a son of cop and i’m just seeing that residue.
The likes of MLQ3 criticize Tulfo’s journalism and TV Patrol as the forerunners of the populist justice of Duterte. They are right, of course, but if one looks deeper, why rule of law is unpopular in the Philippines incl Doc Iggy’s case one gets an idea how Tulfo got big.
As for son of a cop, he has pretty much the typical Filipino cop demeanor.. having family in Socal explains his facility with English and his ease in dealing with foreigners.. I just took a foreigner example for you due to the English. There are cases also where he has had foreigners deported or charged with something. He does seem to try to understand what really happened which a lot of Filipino lawyers don’t they just try to defend their bias with sophisticated lingo.. there are good lawyers in the Philippines but many have an even sleazier rep than cops etc etc
Those closing sentences are humdingers, and spot on. Well, if your goal in life is your next meal, there isn’t much long term direction.
“Those closing sentences are humdingers, and spot on. Well, if your goal in life is your next meal, there isn’t much long term direction.”
TTU-IIMSSM
two thumbs up – if i may say so myself
🙂
👍👍
Irineo — “If you ask me, I don’t see what real direction the Filipino people and nation have until now. Still look kinda lost to me.“
From where I am now currently located, I look down geographically and say this about the Americans, taking off from your statement:
They used to know and act on a main direction but they have greatly lost their way since 2016, and so I am lost too about where they want to go.
It “is a puzzlement.”
But let me quote the whole of it from the King in the film, The King and I:
When I was a boy, world was better spot
What was so was so, what was not was not
Now, I am a man, world have changed a lot
Some things nearly so, others nearly not
There are times I almost think
I am not sure of what I absolutely know
Very often find confusion
In conclusion, I concluded long ago
In my head are many facts
That, as a student, I have studied to procure
In my head are many facts
Of which I wish I was more certain, I was sure
Is a puzzlement
What to tell growing son?
What for instance, shall I say to him of women?
Shall I educate him on the ancient lines?
Shall I tell the boy as far as he is able
To respect his wives and love his concubines?
Shall I tell him everyone is like the other
And the better of the two is really neither?
If I tell him this I think he won’t believe it
And I nearly think that I don’t believe it either
When my father was a king
He was a king who knew exactly what he knew
And his brain was not a thing
Forever swinging to and fro and fro and to
Shall I, then be like my father
And be willfully unmovable and strong?
Or is it better to be right?
Or am I right when I believe I may be wrong?
Shall I join with other nations in alliance?
If allies are weak, am I not best alone?
If allies are strong with power to protect me
Might they not protect me out of all I own?
Is a danger to be trusting one another
One will seldom want to do what other wishes
But unless someday somebody trust somebody
There’ll be nothing left on earth excepting fishes
There are times I almost think
Nobody sure of what he absolutely know
Everybody find confusion
In conclusion, he concluded long ago
And it puzzle me to learn
That tho’ a man may be in doubt of what he know
Very quickly he will fight
He’ll fight to prove that what he does not know is so
Oh, sometimes I think that people going mad
Ah, sometimes I think that people not so bad
But not matter what I think, I must go on living life
As leader of my kingdom, I must go forth
Be father to my children and husband to each wife
Etcetera, etcetera and so forth
If my Lord in Heaven Buddha, show the way
Everyday I try to live another day
If my Lord in Heaven Buddha, show the way
Everyday I do my best for one more day
But is a puzzlement
At the very least, I like the king with his musing,
Shall I tell the boy as far as he is able
To respect his wives and love his concubines?
TFG does not do this. Of course, he is not the King of Siam.
Wonderful, so spot on. Edgar would raise his glass to that one.
also since Joe mentioned the US presidential rankings, i think for 2024 its gonna be the open border crisis that’ll define the Biden presidency with that nursing student in Georgia gaining traction, self immolation in DC encouraging Arab/pro-Gaza voters and now this:
the black and Hispanic votes moving towards Trump is worrying a lot of people right now. all Biden really needs to do is shut down the border now then blame Abbott for busing and flying these illegal immigrants to Dem states. thats all he has to do.
How about we start at the bottom with those Presidents we know stole elections!
Kano, did you have numbers 1 to 4 when you typed that? and when it posted your comment, your list ended looking like that indented and bolded w/out the numbers you typed in. its just the way WP formats lists i guess, karl.
Kano, did you have numbers 1 to 4 when you typed that? and when it posted your comment, your list ended looking like that indented and bolded w/out the numbers you typed in. its just the way WP formats lists i guess, karl. again weird.
now it told me my first comment was a duplicate thus didn’t post so i resent it adding that ‘again weird’ which then took it. but now my two comments are posted. so weird.
Good start. I didn’t have Arroyo there, but you cause me to reflect. Queen of corruption. Fits.
Because the country hasn’t really experienced greatness since its inception (or at least independence), it’s kind of odd to be nominating for a great president.
A few weeks back, Richard Heydarian started a twitter poll on the worst president instead and I guess it was a tie up between Marcos Sr. and Duterds.
what were the parameters, Micha?
For sure there’s corruption, autocratic governance, political violence. Cronyism. Dynasty.
And sheer thuggery.
it’s contagious thuggery is. and I doubt now how rewarding that is. in manila, two super luxury cars, bugati, were recently impounded despite the owners apparent pay of grease money. it is alleged both customs and land transportation office connived to make the two bugatis appear legit, pero nabuking.
bad deed equals bad deed and the bugatis were impounded. had the owners paid the correct custom duties and made the right declarations, they might have spent more money but got to keep the bugatis. ngayon, na-waste of money ang under table deals nila, but they got a very valuable lesson. it’s better to be honest.
Well, Marcos Sr. did campaign on the slogan “This nation can be great again!” back in 1965. Now who said Filipinos always are the copycats, that was decades before MAGA! 😉
I guess one could say lack of guiding vision. Indonesia seems to have a guiding vision for instance inspite of all difficulties. Without a vision of sorts, a vision that doesn’t just look like window-dressing like the slogans of many a Philippine President, a country does stay forever Third World or Global South, with the hand to mouth mentality that goes with it. Sure some Filipino leaders might have had visions, but for whom and did most buy into them? Maybe if visions aren’t believable to a jaded people, tangible steps in the right direction might suffice.
I doubt if by making our nation great again, marcos sr was already thinking of chacha the way his son is. because if chacha goes thru, david c suarez was already saying we shall have universities like harvard! higher education will be opened up 100 per cent maybe to venture capitalists. most are concerned about profits not necessarily for our own benefits but for further money making ventures that can either be overseas or elsewhere.
I dont know how much appreciation does a high school graduate has of higher education when they can be made corporate chief and run a corporation, travel overseas, give speeches and grace events.
maybe our top universities like UP and ateneo, la salle, etc, ought to check their bottom peso, for there may be some possibility that chacha will level them down.
Serious question mark on the word “again”. Has there been a point when the country had been great, lost it along the way somehow, such that he can then propose to reconstitute that “greatness”?
What period in our post-colonial history (or even for that matter pre-colonial) where we have been “great”?
Makoy probably meant Ophir, Maharlika, or the Tallano Kingdom.
Seriously, MLQ actually dreamt of a future Greater Philippines, including what is now Indonesia.
Nowadays, Indonesia probably wouldn’t even want the opposite union, even as a free gift or with trillions of dollars attached to it.
Too many islands. Even if Quezon did managed to actualize his dream, the Celebes Sea divide will make it a geographical magnet for calls of secession or independence. See Timor-Leste for example.
Or Mindanao.
To be objectively accurate in my statement, I will say that Benigno Aguino III is among those in the top 3 considering his achievements despite constraints in our modern times when it was/ is easy to spread lies in the social media; and his acting within “norms” of a democratic country, norms undefined by the Constitution and Laws of the country — such as toleration and not treating political opponents as enemies; and generally appointing people who are competent and can be trusted.
He also avoided using the malleable parts or edges of the constitution or the laws for his interest.
ADDENDUM. Consider his behavior before, during, and after his Presidency and compare that with the former “Neck-Brace President.”
I had him high, too. The arbitration win characterizes his presidency. Determined, laws based, nationalistic, peaceful, accomplished.
a tragedy that is. there is fugue going around and pbbm is serially being compared to the previous great loser as being better than, the standard so low that anybody can be better than. and maybe because pbbm is already better than, he is now content, happy just to grace and traveling overseas at every opportunity he can.
president noy has set up a gold standard and yet it’s the previous loser’s name being branded as the one to beat. mayhap, it’s the media’s fault, too complicit in setting the bar too low, kept on harping of pbbm being already better than, and rarely did they challenge him to aspire for the gold standard. or try to beat the gold standard, be better than the gold standard.
Low-Bar Duterte. Marcos appears normal. My wife was telling me that Filipinos with cars quickly repair any new scratches and dents, and wash relentlessly, so the outside looks great. Meanwhile, they neglect to service the engine so it eventually runs like crap. Maybe that’s the Marcos Presidency, eh? Hard to tell because we only look at the outside.
isnt pbbm big on jeepney modernisation? didnt he force jeepney operators into toe-ing a deadline? pbbm ought to apply the same modernisation to himself and not be stagnant, see how he stacks up. he has already beaten duterte; is better, now all pbbm has to do is step up and go for the gold standard, beat ex president noy’s achievements and be the better man.
He needs cheer leaders urging him on. I’d do it but I don’t look so hot in tights.
he has the pedigree being a son of the rose of leyte and an apparently high achieving strong man. the ability to succeed is already wired in his dna. so why the prevarication still! if he is insecure and feels much of an impostor bec his educational background is meager and probly not up to par, he should ditch that for he is past that point. as president, he now has to deliver the goods, fast.
the suffering of his people, their cry for justice, their loss of livelihood, the high cost of living, etc should be motivation enough to propel him on. but if he needs cheerleader the likes of mocha, sorry to say, he already has the first lady, his true confidant, ally and an ex-lawyer at that.
and keep your slinky tights for the wife, joeam, haha.
Hahahaha! She has her own and fits them nicely, so no worries there.
My take:
If the government can’t support Sarao Motors and Francisco motors, then any modernization in PH won’t wok.
I dont know how committed is the government. it has already failed to support an iconic sugar mill in batangas. it lost out big time to sugar importers and is closing down. local sugar workers are losing their jobs.
https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/2/huge-losses-force-metro-pacific-group-s-sugar-miller-to-shut-down
exactly plus one raised to the infinity
This is what Micha has been saying all along, but all I saw was her blaming Neolib and not implementing MMT.
Strange that Metro Pacific is running a sugar mill in Batangas.
the exporter became an importer and failed to reach the century mark. 97 years before shutting down.
That’s the same Metro Pacific conglomerate of Manuel Pangilinan, right?
Yes.
I so don’t like this joker wannabe, who joked about mindanao indepence and bbm just using antibiotics and aspirin retracting cocaine. so number one one my least liked.
Marcos Sr. Even if I grew up as a millitary brat, I had influential Araling Panlipinan teachers who had no qualms of talking about the Ninoy assasination, etc.
Gloria Arroyo. For Lying,cheating and stealing the 2004 elections.
Erap for being impeached. I mean all the reasons for being impeached not just be his being impeached.
I used the subjectiveness criteria, the most universal criterium of them all.
criterion
I also dont like the joker wannabe, though he has made 21 international trips and visited 20 countries for the six years he was president. habang ito namang si pbbm, for the two years he has only been in office, has already racked up 20 international trips and visited 15 countries, with more future overseas trips already being planned. dyos ko! by the time his term is over, dadaigin yata ni pbbm ang record ni arroyo who has racked up a total of 127 international trips and visited 44 countries!
tapos, sinabi pa ni pbbm na makakatipid ang bayan kung ang chacha plebiscite ay isama sa 2025 election. well, mas kakatipid tayo if pbbm control his travel bug.
apparently, we did not have footage (not reported yata) of pbbm’s speech given at the australian parliament. my aussie friends told me, pbbm was seemingly heckled by australian green senators about remnants of extra judicial killings still going on in our country.
I don’t subscribe to the debt is good all the time especially if Maharlika tanks. Now as to travelling that is a walking or running without dribbling, that is a violation and a turn-over. We paid for Bataan until 2007 and now we want another BNPP notwithstanding earthquakes as if if we can train enough people to run a nuclear plant no matter if big or small. We do have people but trained to do what is on vogue, like nursing, physical therapists, x ray techs when it was in demand abroad like construction workers and engineers in the 70s and sea men in the present where we produce entry level ratings instead of officers. If we supported Sarao and Francisco motors and let them catch up with the times, we do not need modernization if we were up to speed and not remained archaic. Same with tech and manufacturing and AFP modernization, if we were up to speed and had our priorities straight, we would not need any catching up to do. This closed sugar mill of almost a century was closed up without reaching a century because MVP needed to cut losses. Agricculture and Fisheries modernization was legislated almost 20 years ago, but same with AFP modernization it was not implemented mainly because of lack of financing. WADApak! PH is good at SNAFUS no matter who is president.
Fact-check:
Overall, while the passage contains some accurate points and valid concerns, it also oversimplifies complex issues related to economic development, workforce training, and modernization efforts in the Philippines.
too complicated, too hard basket, kaya he is going for chacha and letting foreigners in, let them manage our infras 100 per cent! and if foreigners run away with all the profits and leaving pinoys poorer in their wake, it’s probly okay with him, not concerned bec he is overseas again, traveling, holidaying, watching grand prix, and having nice time abroad, etc. biro mo, under chacha, we shall have education like harvard kuno, its toxic campus awash with woke, cancel culture, and all the antis: anti colonialism, anti imperialism, anti semitism, anti democracy, etc, then we shall be toppling and decapitating statues too, listening and reveling to lectures of hate preachers, dividing people into victims or oppressors, hounding and bullying those of different ideologies, etc. chancellors fired for extremism with views so extreme, society is in danger of collapsing.
hello foreigners, goodbye sovereignty!
Yep.
In subjective are other criteria, mashed together. Reading to catch up, corruption seems to be the top negative. And the abusiveness of Duterte and Marcos Sr. On the positive side, nationalism, honesty, competence. Circumstances have a lot of sway. And the quality of people appointed to run things. N. Aquino was high on that.
Thanks Joe for mashing it up beautifully.
We should add economic performance, fiscal performance, and international relations to the framework of judgment. Duterte was a disaster, Aquino a maestro.
Agreed.
Maestros are NOT popular in the Philippines, never were.
The only niche in the Philippines where mastery is tolerated (yes tolerated as even there you have to prove every day you stayed humble) is singing.. 🎶
Seems right to me.
Maestros here are only for music. The rest are master and servant. Not even a Yoda Obi Wan Luke.
Ahhh. Erap. Yes, the man who never was.
Top
From what I saw: D best were Pnoy and FVR
From what I read
MLQ( Ignoring the American stooge accusations)
Magsaysay (ignoring the CIA puppet accusations)
I experienced only Makoy but am aware that UP is a bubble, especially today.
In fact Duterte’s time made UP, Ateneo and La Salle seem like one big “elitist” and out of touch bubble. The new middle class often were servants of the old middle class and I wonder how much they resented us and what they perceived as our judgmental dictates. Their perceived emancipation could very well be a mix of going to Tulfo while laughing at Chel Diokno, then dancing Jumbo Hotdog in their free time and finding the lyrics cool, I really don’t know by now.
I don’t dare judge any of the recent Presidents except PNoy as I only know what happened in the Philippines from then on from news, not from experience.
You made the new middle class sound like a revenge plot, because it is actually.
OT again: “Charmain” Mergim from the UK continues his Albay tour..
OT but still on the subject of “greatness”.
A different view of right wing Republican motive behind great power rivalry. Europe or the EU is missing in this equation and has effectively become just a vassal of the mighty US empire.
For a movement Make America An EX Empire already. Wait was it ever an empire?
There is this landmark book on that matter, even on how initial American expansion into the Pacific had to do with guano islands and fertilizer before phosphates were made by the chemical industry.
Footnote to the Philippine-American war was that a US Navy ship guarded Legazpi harbor to make sure the abaca shipment was never compromised. In the days before synthetic fibers, there was NO alternative to the crop that helped send my grandfather to law school.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/02/14/arts/14bookimmerwahr1-print/14bookimmerwahr1-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp
One US presidential ranking method surveys 100 historians (CSPAN). Perhaps we can do a survey of one, Irineo B. R. Salazar, and ask him to review the comments here, overlay his own observations, and give us a complete ranking we can then bounce off of. I think you are best equipped to do this. That would move us toward completion of this little exercise.
You mean check out Philippine Presidents based on what historians say?
Prof. Xiao Chua is the one who tackles contemporary history the most..
This is an interview with him on Magsaysay..
Lourd de Veyra is a jazz rock musician with history as a hobby:
This is what he says about Magsaysay..
..while with Aguinaldo he asks “gangster or hero”?
This is part 1 of History with Lourd on the Greatest Presidents we never had..
Comedian Jun Sabayton, aka Bayaw, runs for President as a prank every season..
Lourd and Bayaw together are a riot, and with Xiao Chua, they are informative AND entertaining.. re your request, Joe. I will ask Xiao because he is the one most open to public history, and young Prof. Alvin Campomanes.. let’s see what they say
Xiao on the balance of the Marcos Sr. era:
Xiao on PNoy:
Xiao is BTW from Paniqui, Tarlac and admits to yellow/pink politics
This is what he says about Cory’s legacy:
And about Roxas..
OK, let’s see if I can get him to give a comment here
But first, his feature on Tabako, President FVR:
And on Pres. Diosdado Macapagal:
No judgment on those still alive, it seems, which is fair enough..
I’m sure those videos are helpful to historians, of which I’m not, or to You Tube fans, of which I am not, either. But no matter. The question is unanswerable, in the specific, and we can certainly point to important credentials for a good president. He is honorable, not corrupt. He is intelligent, not a dodo. He works diligently on important matters, not diligently on unimportant matters, or lazily on anything. He has the strength of character to appoint good cabinet members. He is lucky, circumstantially, especially on economic matters. He speaks well and has a good communications team. He gets things done.
I believe America is not an empire in the classic sense of military conquest. There is no Alexander the Great. But there is a Microsoft, and Facebook, and Alphabet, and a Western Hemisphere dogmatism, and global military position left over from World War II. America is not an intentionally malign character, but more an accidental one as little military molehills become mountains that foster landslides. Under Trump, it would become a malign character, something that should scare the bejesus out of all of us. The guy is a classic lunatic much like Hitler.
I asked Gemini aka Bard, and it gave me this as one possible answer:
“Whether the United States is considered an empire is a complex and debated topic, with no universally agreed-upon answer. There are strong arguments to be made on both sides:
Arguments for the United States being an empire:
Military power: The U.S. has the world’s strongest military, with numerous overseas bases and a history of interventions in other countries.
Economic influence: The U.S. dollar is the world’s reserve currency, and American corporations have significant influence in the global economy.
Cultural influence: American culture, including language, music, and movies, is widely disseminated around the world.
Historical context: Some argue that the U.S. has engaged in historical practices associated with empires, such as acquiring territories through war and exerting control over other countries.
Arguments against the United States being an empire:
Lack of formal colonies: Unlike traditional empires, the U.S. doesn’t have vast territories ruled directly as colonies.
Formal structure: The U.S. is a democratic republic, with a constitution and elected officials, which differs from the typical hierarchical structure of empires.
Self-image: The U.S. self-identifies as a champion of democracy and freedom, which contradicts the idea of an oppressive empire.
Ultimately, whether you consider the United States an empire depends on your definition of the term and which aspects you emphasize. It’s important to be aware of the different perspectives on this complex issue.”
What a namby pamby fence-sitter that Bard is proving to be. Damn gemini, indecisive but good communicator. He needs to grow a pair.
You don’t need a conquering army to ransack other country’s wealth, according to Michael Hudson’s, Superimperialism, The Economic Strategy of the American Empire.
You only need Citibank, IMF, and the World Bank.
Extracted preface from the 2nd edition:
America’s free lunch as Europe’s and Asia’s expense.
After World Wars I and during World War II, U.S. diplomats forced Britain and
other countries to pay their arms debts and other military expenditures in the form of
real output and by selling off their companies. But this is not what American officials are
willing to do today. The world economy now operates on a double standard that enables
America to spend internationally without limit, following whatever economic and military
policies it wishes to, without any gold constraint or other international constraint.
U.S. officials claim that the world’s dollar glut has become the “engine” driving
the international economy. Where would Europe and Asia be, they ask, without the U.S.
import demand? Do not dollar purchases help other countries employ labor that
otherwise would stand idle?
This kind of rhetorical question fails to acknowledge the degree to which America
is importing foreign goods and pumping dollars into the world economy without
providing any quid pro quo. The important question to be asked is why European and
Asian central banks don’t simply create their own domestic credit to expand their
markets? Why can’t they increase their consumption and investment levels rather than
relying on the U.S. economy to buy their consumer goods and capital goods for surplus
dollars that have no better use than to accumulate in the world’s central banking
system?
The answer is that Europe and Asia suffer from a set of economic blinders known
as the Washington Consensus. It is a cover story to perpetuate America’s free ride at
global expense, by pretending that the Treasury bill standard is something other than an
exploitative free ride.
Toward debtor countries, American diplomats impose the Washington
Consensus via the World Bank and IMF, demanding that debtors raise their interest
rates to raise the money to pay foreign investors. These hapless countries dutifully
impose austerity programs to keep their wages low, sell off their public domain to pay
their foreign debts, deregulate their economy so as to enable foreign investors to
privatize local electricity, telephone services and other national infrastructure formerly
provided at subsidized rates to help these economies grow.
I’m reminded of NBA coaches who blame their loses on the referees whilst neglecting to cite their team’s awful substitutions, rebounding, turnovers, and shooting.
As it stands, there are no referees in the game of empires.
Ha, true that.
I doubt that any US president has stated that as a goal. It is more a function of a powerful, unconstrained private sector. Words can be bent everywhichway to describe the problem whilst the solution is evermore unachievable. The US as a state is not imperialistic. Its companies are awsomely rich and powerful. If any nation finds itself in a net negative position on wealth, that is because of incompetent leadership, in the main. Other nations have grown awesomely rich under America’s protective umbrella and economic rainfall.
No countries are the same. It would be instructive to cite specific example of “nation(s) that have grown awesomely rich under America’s protective umbrella.”
Japan was already an industrial power unto itself and has centuries of self-rule and political organization before being subdued in WW2; whereas we were barely able to crawl after the Spaniards left and then re-colonized.
ay, sisingit lang po ako rito: I can think of south korea. under american tutelage it has progressed and did much better than the north under kim jung un. as well, the west forced china to open up, its last emperor sent into exile yata. china allied with the west and then went into stealing spree as regard western intellectual properties. many chinese pregnant women even give birth in estados unidos and have their babies registered as american born citizens thus maybe circumventing the one child policy. as well, guam, hawaii, alaska went the american way. even germany is grateful for america’s gumption: germany become a united country, the east and west merging into one, the wall dividing it brought down.
ito dagdag po. from western donation and from americans generously parting with their money, terror group hamas thrived and gotten ample funds to arm itself, build hundreds of kilometers of underground concrete tunnels mostly hidden under schools and hospital, its founder living in luxury in qatar far away from squalor.
All of Europe, for starters. WWII was not an empire-building exercise, but saving Britain’s life, and freeing Europe for self-directed wealth-building. Also, the US kick-started Japan after WWII with huge industrial investments as a strategy to keep communism out. A case where nation-building actually worked. They did a small investment in the Philippines and that money just kind of disappeared.
Until this point Micha agrees with what FDR did. The problem came during Reagan and Thatcher.
I see. Well, President Reagan built no empire but did encourage the Soviet Union to tear down a wall. The US gained military power during World War II, and economic might from that same episode. No US president has sought to dominate the world as China is intent upon doing. It seems to me there are three empire builders at work today, Russia, China, and Iran. The US is not one. The US has sought to dominate some actors in specific occasions, making erroneous decisions here and there, but has no acquisitive aspirations.
I agree with this Joe.
from moscow to tehran, from beijing to pyongyang, the autocrats and dictators are coalescing. and military warfare is now asymmetrical. and as what was heard along the grapevine a german general talking about actual few allied forces in ukranian soil fighting against russians, it can only be expected USA and the west have adapted well into asymmetrical warfare.
and china is no longer into bilateral talks with neighbors in the pacific but now much into control and coercion. in the latest asean summit held in australia, asean countries saw the need to put up a resistance and defend their territories vs chinese aggression.
in the meantime, any countries asking for help in case of calamities and hardship, USA is always giving aids like dropping 38 thousands prepacked meals into palestine.
Yes indeed.
I have an article lined up and will insert assymetrical warfare.
Maybe next week
Terrific. I look forward to it.
Thanks Joe.
OT Break:
WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD?
Plato:
For the greater good.
Karl Marx:
It was a historical inevitability.
Oliver North:
National Security was at stake.
Albert Einstein:
Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road crossed the chicken
depends upon your frame of reference.
Darwin:
It was the logical next step after coming down from the trees.
Werner Heisenberg:
We are not sure which side of the road the chicken was on, but it was
moving very fast.
Saddam Hussein:
This was an unprovoked act of rebellion and we were quite justified in
dropping 50 tons of nerve gas on it.
Jack Nicholson:
‘Cause it (censored) wanted to. That’s the (censored) reason.
Ronald Reagan:
I forget.
Mark Twain:
The news of its crossing has been greatly exaggerated.
Captain James T. Kirk:
To boldly go where no chicken has gone before.
Salvador Dali:
Fish.
McKinsey Consultant:
Deregulation of the chicken’s side of the road was threatening its
dominant market position. The chicken was faced with significant
challenges to create and develop the competencies required for the
newly competitive market.
McKinsey , in a partnering relationship with the client, helped the
chicken by rethinking its physical distribution strategy and
implementation processes. Using the Poultry Integration Model (PIM),
McKinsey helped the chicken use its skills, methodologies, knowledge
capital and experiences to align the chicken’s people, processes and
technology in support of its overall strategy within a program
management framework.
McKinsey convened a diverse cross-spectrum of road analysts and best
chickens along with McKinsey consultants with deep skills in the
transportation industry to engage in a two-day off-site in order to
leverage their personal knowledge capital, both tacit and explicit, and
to enable them to synergize with each other in order to achieve the
implicit goals of delivering and successfully architecting and
implementing an enterprise-wide value framework across the continuum of
poultry cross-median processes.
The meeting was held a luxury resort enabling and creating an
impactful environment which was strategically based, industry-focused,
and built upon a consistent, clear, and unified market message and
aligned with the chicken’s mission, vision, and core values. This was
conducive towards the creation of a total business integration
solution.
McKinsey & Company helped the chicken change to become more
successful.
Micha:
The chicken was driven out of its natural habitat by neoliberalism.
Karl Garcia:
Because it noticed that I was hungry and was afraid I would catch and fry it.
Irineo Salazar:
Historically, the chickens were indigenous and were driven out by newcomers.
Joe America:
It tried to run from Colonel Saunders but got caught by Jolibee.
NHerrera:
It was trying to get to our place because it is freezing cold outside in Canada.
Marcos Jr.
In order to cross political divides and foster Filipino unity
Sara Duterte
Because it is a Visayan chicken and didn’t like the Tagalog side of the road
LCPL_X
I don’t care for chicken, just chicks and only if they cross Mango Avenue
…feel free to add your own takes..
Bwahahaha…that was good.
Long winded McKinsey probe would have given Mariana Mazzucato a beef (or chicken) to fry with.
Hahaha!
FWIW at least when i was there, there was a really good Chicken lechon place across the street from my favorite bar. so if I bar fined early and they were still open then yes plenty a Mango Ave chicks did cross the street with me to partake in the feast of lechon chicken, rice and soda. before the real party began, for energy 😉 . lol.
i would love to see this comic adapted as cartoon ala Trese, Ireneo. also did Filipnos in the 1980s (then 90s, 00s, 10s, to now…) ever get into RPG roll playing games like Dungeons & Dragons (US) and Warhammer (UK). as a business D&D’s claim to fame was in publishing books, while Warhammer started out similar but they branched off to manufacturing of miniatures. the gamist vs narrativist divide. but the two franchise have now circled back to promoting their lore on digital gaming (video games) and now movies/cartoons. was wondering what the publishing industry was like in the Philippines. cuz if they can print comics they can print RPGs as indie labels, like Shadowdark, Quest, Delta Green, Mausritter, hell even Alice is Missing rpg played with players texting each other. like i said 1/3 of my local Barnes and Noble now carry games not books, so Filipinos in comics should get on top of this just master the publishing side of it first, then expand with said Intellectual property to bigger things like licensing stateside, getting movie or cartoon deals, video games etc. etc. Google one page RPG reviews and micro boardgames, start small.
Google cairnrpg dot com, then click on the itch io link for their FREE pdf scroll down to booklet. print and play. theres like a renaissance of mechanics right now and people are just inventing new mechanics and systems which tend get transferred to other mediums like video games, for example Blades in the Dark RPG. i don’t play these games myself just been deep diving this whole world lately and keeping tabs on my local Barnes & Noble making more room for games instead of books. if B&N doesn’t evolve then this expanding business from Seattle will take over, Mox Boarding House. they already have 3 locations plus 1 in AZ now. Filipinos should get on this.
There were a few D&D freaks in my HS batch (Pisay 1982) that spent weeks with one game each, mostly also fans of the LOTR book.
I think there ARE great Filipino online game developers nowadays.
Gian might know because if I am not mistaken, he used to be into DOTA. But you’re right Lance. Comics plus gaming as Filipino priority industry #2 after music, with tax breaks and all, etc etc
yeah,
#1 music & dance
#2 games & visual art
#3 health & wellness
#4 martial art (ties 1-4 together)
here’s another one that looks promising.
Haha, funny work, this is. But I think the chicken crossed the road to get back to the greener pasture. His first crossing proved erroneous.
Hahaha!
Here is a Gemini-AI created pudding in a glass.
If the Presidents Listing is divided into thirds with the creamy good third at the top and the bad (yucky) third at the bottom, we respectively must have our preference on those we will put in the upper creamy third and those at the bottom third. And thus, by a process of elimination put the others in the middle grayish third — the passable ones.
Another, more artistic rendering:
The apple and the chicken liver are nice touches.
ahem, this is suntory speaking, after crossing the road, all that is left of the chicken is the liver.
That’s good. You should drink lots. You connected two different comments, brilliantly. I’m going to order some of that stuff.
Bonifacio, Claro M. Recto, Ninoy Aquino at the top.
(All would have been greats)
Marcos Sr., Duterte, Gloria Arroyo at the bottom.
Excellent process. The good, the bad, and the muddle in the middle. 🤣🤣😂
If extraction is the basis fir an empire then it is the exact prescription of Acemoglu and Robinson in: Why Nations Fail.
I posted here the Debt of the Hasburgs and the French Monarchs before.
.
Patronage and wang wang (if i recall correctly) was mentioned by Acemoglu about PH.
https://aer.ph/industrialpolicy/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/PPSJ-JC-review-of-Acemoglu-and-Robinson.pdf
LCX; read the plot and comment on the First lady if 2 good to be true or too bad to be false
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Lady_(Philippine_TV_series)
It is in netflix here, it might also be in netflix US catering to pinoys.
Oversimplified take as Chatgpt called me out for: Rejecting the bill for too high international standards that would kill the domestic shipping industry instead of reaching for the stars.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1912745/shipowners-laud-recall-of-key-bill-on-seafarers
parang fools gold ito, jubilant today for tomorrow they will cry. if chacha goes tru, there may well be change of ownership and shipping industry may be foreign owned, go full speed and go green. local ship workers who cannot abide with international standard can be made redundant. foreign workers and those accredited under international standard, local or not, may well be brought in to take over local workers lagging behind.
Oo nga ano!
One game changing criteria for a great president is insight into the nature of state or public money elucidated by MMT that will allow the use of that fiscal tool to create societal good.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/mmt-sees-america-through-rapid-economic-recovery,18395
ay naku, ang presidente is more interested in traveling and will soon be flying dutchman off to wintry germany! summat leaving ecocentrism to beloved cuz who in turn is now applying the secateurs to our constitution. such unkind snip. ayan, chicken or the egg, a snip made to order. yin and yang, whatever pledges one gains, the other snips, thus undermining the gain. ang dalawang ito ought to see how foreign investors feel about uncertainty of our constitution. dumb investors will invest, the smart ones will wait and see until after the plebiscite is done and dusted and economic conditions are prescriptive to trade. in the meantime, good investors invest in countries with stable constitution and there is less corruption.
parang may lack of coordination and mag-cousin and cannot see what should come first, the chicken or the egg. if they agree on egg, make sure it hatches before counting them.
Asa ka pa, Marcos yata yan. Concerned more with gaining (and maintaining) power than getting on with the difficult task of developing our local industries – the key to nation building and collective prosperity.
in the first few years we discussed this my wrong impressions are :print print print inflation notwithstanding. That is another over simplification from yours truly.
MMT thinks differently of taxes. I think am partly correct on that one.
What were you partly correct about taxes?
Cirrext me please that normally government treats taxes as revenue sources while MMT sees taxes as tools to induce demand?
correct me please instead of what I just typed
Inducing demand is just one of the many functions or purposes of taxation; chief of which is that it functions as a drain in the bathtub plumbing analogy.
As the national gov’t is the sole sovereign issuer of its own currency freed from the gold standard, it does not anymore need revenue in order to spend.
Gov’t spending is money creation, tax payment is money destruction.
All tax monies are destroyed upon receipt; ceasing to exist in the M2 measure of money supply which includes all cash, checking accounts, and other deposits readily convertible to cash such as CDs.
Many thanks
Suntory for synergy and synthesis
I hope no PH president wishes for an aircraft carrier and actually buys one.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/us-navys-aircraft-carrier-nightmare-has-just-begun-209915
copied from google: The 2023 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (TI-CPI) has ranked Singapore the 5th least corrupt country in the world out of 180 countries with a score of 83. Singapore maintained the same rank and score from the 2022 TI-CPI, and remained the only Asian country ranked in the top 10.
japan, taiwan, bhutan, are also among least corrupt countries. investors must be feeling safe doing business with these countries, even the marcoses invested in singapore. there is predictability in singapore, trust and confidence with barely nasty little surprises lurking in dark corners trapping investors. unlike pinas that will adopt chacha clause of ‘as stated by law’ or ‘as amended by law’ this backdoor can easily derail business agreement. congress with its sheer number can easily pass risque law to the detriment of investors, keeps investors on edge. the executive being absentee.
also copied from google:
What rank is the Philippines when it comes to corruption?
Manila ranked 115th out of 180 countries with a score of 34 in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), up one spot from 116th in 2022 and up two spots from its worst-ever showing of 117th place in 2021. The Philippines had ranked 115th in 2020, 113th in 2019, and 99th in 2018
Courting FDI is a pathetic wrong headed strategy for national development. We keep on hammering the point that apart from clean governance, there’s still no substitute for developing our domestic industries; whether it’s the banana industry, scrap metal industry, ship building industry, or bolo making industry; we just need to excel on those fields and subsidize/protect at least the nascent stage of its branding and development.
Marcos Junior is ecstatic of President Biden’s trade mission to the country but, as is often the case, he should be mindful of the fine prints and the strings attached.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2024/03/09/2339300/bidens-top-level-execs-ready-trade-investment-mission-philippines
share and share alike? I heard there is mucho uptake of business applications in estados unidos waiting for approval, sign baga of surging economy getting stronger, there is confident in the system that can sustain further economic growth. kaso, I also heard na intention lamang ang mga ito, not realised economic activities.
so maybe, what philippines will be getting is little seismic by blows. a cough there causes sniffle here. after all, roughly a year back, biden did ask pbbm to temporarily house around 50 thousands vetted afghan refugees until their papers can be sorted out for them to be settled in estados unidos.
business in return for a favor done? no such thing as free lunch!
If you’ve read the Star article, they’ve listed the names of executives of US companies coming over to make prospectus and survey the landscape. Among them are Presidents of Bechtel and Black & Veatch Corp. Those are private contractors building military bases for the US in foreign countries.
So I guess there’s already the green light to build those new bases in Ilocos, Palawan, and Cebu; the better to prepare for war with China.
But not to worry, also on the entourage is Allan Pineda (aka Apl.de.Ap) of the Black Eyed Peas.
Junior has got the feeling it’s all for good.
Do you support EDCA, or are you opposed to US bases? I had quite a long discussion with a notable on X who argued for neutrality. I see neutrality as rolling over to China. Yes, EDCA is moving fast and Sec of Defense Teodoro is all for it. He seems to me to be very sharp.
mukhang so yesteryears yang neutrality. these days, terrorism sponsored by rogue states has no respect for neutrality, same as cyber hackers, they attack as often as they like, anytime, anywhere and inflect much damage to both economy and security. pity the country who thinks they are neutral. rogue states like iran, russia, north korea, china, yemen, etc would think neutral countries are theirs for the taking and creep up on them when they lest expect. houthis attacking maritime vessels in red sea affects all countries that relay on sea trade, neutral or not. as well, sweden and finland are no longer neutral and have joined nato. their neutrality have been compromised by incursions of armed russian military aircraft traversing their airspace.
This is where “the neutrals” are coming from. This did not wash with Carpio and Batongbacal.
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3215903/philippines-should-stay-neutral-or-risk-being-crushed-amid-us-china-tensions-experts-warn
Especially when it comes to this author. they disagreed with a lot. But above she was cited by Raissa Robles. https://opinion.inquirer.net/byline/melissa-loja
american has invested so much in philippines, we have treaty with america, if america goes into war, we can be called on to support america, side with america. we shall be fighting along side with americans and we shall have casualties both filipinos and americans, the chinese too will have casualties. kaso, we have many military exercises with americans and we already know how to handle ourselves, how to proceed, what to do and what not to do.
despite being aggressive, the chinese on the other hand are untested, it is they who risked being crashed, who knows! they might capitulate at the 1st instance and run to save their lives! ang tatapang kasi ng mga filipinos! freed at last after years of harassment, intimidation and turmoil. ang galit at puot natin finally given outlet! all those times we have been water cannoned at west phil sea, shouted at, our fishermen’s catch stolen by the chinese, our seas poisoned, our eez violated. ahhhhh.
Article requires a subscription so I didn’t read it. Remember DJB? I had a lengthy debate with him on Twitter. He advocated neutrality but could never explain how the Philippines would stop China from stealing Philippine resources. He also pounded the idea that the US is a warmongering state, citing all the deaths and money associated with every conflict on the planet. He of course ignored the basis for each conflict, just putting them all in one warmongers bucket. I think the idea of neutrality is pure fiction. A conspiracy theory like the earth being flat. China will not see it as anything but weakness.
He is an American citizen. I also asked him like I did Micha on their tendency to criticize US. His answer had something to do with Brics and lcxesque answers. Plus Taiwan would fight to the last man.
I thought it peculiar, the US flag in his profile while hammering on the US. And basically spouting Chinese propaganda. Took some of the shine off my impression of him.
I understand how you feel.
Raissa’s word press blog is no longer around. I thought there would be a copy of the article there.
Interesting that.
warmongering bucket should be enlarged to include russia, china, yemen, syria, iran, north korea, etc. russia is stirring up europe and threatening to nuke nato member countries. china is muscling in the pacific with promises and bribes and all boils down to control and coercion of island nations. iran is into terrorism, funding and backing hamas, hezbollah, houtis, etc. while north korea is forever disillusioned, can never take south korea by force and can only console itself by firing missiles into the sea. the presence of american bases in south korea act as deterrent, putting kim jung un forever on edge, thwarted.
agree with joeam, neutrality is myth and may well be leftover from days gone by.
Saying neutral is different than getting there because it is not a peaceful planet, as you describe excellently.
inday sara seems to be lawyering for quiboloy, defending the pastor and saying the senate is unfairly subjecting the pastor to trial by publicity. well, well, well, for a man who loves publicity high up in the pulpit, microphone in hand, his media presence highly ubiquitous, very eloquent and uber influential, to be suddenly shy must be alien. now that he is give a platform to air his side, a time to shine and show his eloquence and brilliance, the nation in awe at his wit and intelligence, the man of the hour is suddenly no show!
really, the pastor can easily turn this trial by publicity to his greater advantage, quoting references from the bible he profess to know so well, deflecting questions with ease with his usual fire and brimstone delivery, his god like persona to the fore, making believers out of unbelieving thomases, and yet . . .
Yes, if the victims remain quiet. I wonder what the FBI has on him. My guess is a lot. Evidently court actions moving toward extradition are continuing.
it has been said that among the pastor’s lot are sex trafficking and bulk money smuggling. he is alleged to be immeasurably rich and can surely afford the best legal defense money can buy.
I heard that stresses of court cases can be traumatic and detrimental to one’s health that if one is not up to it, they plead guilty (they often are!) and save themselves the trouble. no trial then, so straight to sentencing. and this is where things can get exciting. the pastor can opt to settle out of court, maybe compensate the victims with no conviction recorded, be out on bail, and free once again.
Yes. Well, we’ll see. I hope not.
the pastor seemingly have a lawyer whose habit is aiding and abetting, helping his clients hide to evade justice, thus prolonging the client’s insecurity and anxiety. the more clients stay in hiding, the more the lawyer is hired to keep up the charade, the more the fee the lawyer collects, his income assured, his retainer constant. happy man is the lawyer, may mga bakang gatasan at his menagerie.
one of the lawyer’s client is already overseas apparently hiding to evade justice, likewise the pastor has seemingly gone the same route, hide and hide alike.
I could not imagine all the congressmen and senators coming to his rescue as if they were hypnotized by this cult leader. That’s what friends are for?
congress did try to block the pastor’s sonshine thingy, him being only honorary chair, or rather made honorary because bumuhos ang sobrang undue negative attention ng madlang people kuno. but if there are documents proving that the pastor is really the owner, has paid the franchise and stayed on board as director, then he is not really honorary but was seemingly made honorary in a bid to pervert the course of justice.
incidentally, there were 300, 000 attendees in taylor swift’s eras tour in singapore, filipinos celebs among them. I dont think philippines has venue that can hold that much crowd. plus our traffic congestion is world famous, getting to and fro is problematic that even coldplay complained about it.
There is a meme that ticket master is already selling 2054 tickets.
she’ll be 67yrs by 2054, I hope she wont go the way of yusuf islam, the english song writer and singer of both moonshadow and winchester cathedral. a behemoth on his day, he converted to islam, lead a quiet life and disappear from the public.
https://www.rappler.com/nation/mindanao/duterte-becomes-quiboloy-group-property-administrator/
so, digong has been appointed quiboloy’s adminstrator, so come one, come all then. anyone with gripes vs quiboloy can now take it up with digong, court cases included. those gustong magsampa ng kaso can do so vs the adminstrator, and be compensated for the harm done to them, for the neglect suffered, and for the inhuman treatment mitted out to them.
kingdom of jesus christ will for business as usual minus quiboloy, or be liquidated as the administrator sees fit.
‘cos the son of god who was not born in a manger, whose mother is not mary, whose birth was not foretold, no visiting three kings, and no comet in the sky, has gone into hiding albeit in one of the underground tunnels in mindanao. there might be some extra curricular underground activities noted in some vicinity in mindanaw with traffic heavier than usual for the son of god cannot live without luxury, his masahistas, his needs of daily living catered for, the minors he supposedly share his bed with, his chefs, shirt makers, his hair colorists to keep his hair in particular shade, his IT workers supplying him constant feed of above ground info, etc.
nah, that temple cannot be build in three days, too scared to carry his own cross and will not rise from the dead. no resurrection for him then.
anyhow, if NBI is interested, they can always monitor the pastor’s cellphone and see which tower it is constantly pinging, that should tell them his whereabouts. plus, the cellphones of his subterranean visitors should be pinging just as well and that should help confirm his hidey hole. but if the pastor is holed in one of the black holes where there is no signal, the nearest tower should be pinging with higher than average pings, signals picked up from his visitors come to visit, names corresponding their sim cards.
but NBI cannot do anything, unless there is instruction (warrant) from the court and doj.
No more pretenses.
Sara joined Quiboly rally asking for resignation of BBM
https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/march-13-2024/
baka coup ang hantong? the elephant in the room not being talked about but there nevertheless? gotta be in the rally, kasi in the office there might be some bugs planted and conversations are listened to. kaya, sa rally with all that noise and people milling about, shouting over one another and getting agitated, parang white noise ang mga ito, maybe as cover up for things like coup cooked up on the sly. message relayed and action received, a nod and a shake of the head to signify an important agreement.
some rallies are probly more obnoxious than others.
Greatest Philippine president? I don’t think there’s such a thing. The country has never been great, for one, so why will there be a great president? For sure she has seen good and bad times but she was never one that is comparable with the more affluent and economically advanced Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore, etc.
Well, presidents are not dictators and if they are dealt a corrupt and weak framework, they are penalized. Still, what you say is true. Most seem to go with the flow rather than correct the framework.
I think ‘the most accomplished president’ would have been the proper issue to talk about. And admittedly it would be a controversial one because Marcos Sr. accomplished a lot compared to all the presidents combine due to the fact that he served the longest. His extended term, unfortunately, was also the downside on his credentials because of the abuses and the eventual mismanagement of the affairs of the country.
You may wish to write that article and submit it for consideration. There is no “proper way” to present something. That’s why we have a discussion forum. It would be enlightening to address the issue as you state it. It would entail considerable research and organization. Feel free to undertake that effort. Don’t impose it on others.
I would further note that human rights abuses were not the only Marcos failing. You’d have to consider economic failure as well and whether or not his accomplishments “cost” too much, economically.
Not trying to impose anything here. Like the rest, I’m just trying to explore and enrich the discussion.
Well, I’d venture to guess that when “accomplishments” are on a net basis, with positive deeds offset by negative deeds, that Marcos Senior would not come out on top. What good does it do to build lots of roads but bankrupt the economy with mountains of debt so impactful that millions of people who cannot afford cars also cannot afford food?
I agree with what you said but the reality is a lot of Filipinos still have fond memories, if you may call it, of the late leader. For sure that nostalgic feeling have helped Marcos Jr. capture the Palace in the last election. Maybe because of the infrastructures that were built during Marcos Sr.’s watch which the people benefits still from at present. Or maybe because of the initial results of the imposition of martial law when imposition of utmost discipline and public order was observed on the national level. The reorganization of local gov’t. such as the barangays and the promotion of youth participation in government affairs and activity were positive steps that was introduced and welcomed in those days. These ‘positive’ developments practicality subdued the Filipinos into submission to think that the country is on the right track under the Marcos regime.
Eventually we all know what happened when you build a castle in the air, so to speak. Everything was a fleeting moment and things started to crumble when the facade of military dictatorship rear its ugly head.
Agree.