Caloocan, sliced and diced
Analysis and Opinion
By Joe America
The City of Caloocan has been sliced and diced by history and politics. It is an urban legend, historically, and now has two different geographical areas, one that is north of Manila, and a larger one north of Quezon City. Both are thick with businesses and homes, the latter generally lower income to middle income housing. The population is heading toward 2 million. That’s meaningful, eh?
Caloocan is not Makati, but it does have one barangay that is so industrialized that it has a population of two. There are 188 barangays overall that are divided into three legislative districts that don’t follow geographical lines. There are also 16 “zones” that do, and that is basically how government is organized. Zones.
Barangay 176 has a population of 262,000 due to relocation of informal settlers. That’s about 15% of the total population.
Sonny Trillanes wants to be the mayor.
That’s why I did this small bit of research.
The current mayor of Caloocan is Dale Gonzolo R. Malipitan of PDP (Partido Demokratiko Pilipino). That’s the party that had a major split in 2022 between its Pimentel and Cusi factions. The latter backed Duterte for President in 2016. The Cusi faction grabbed the name PDP earlier this year after dropping Laban from their title, much to the frustration of Koko Pimentel. PDP will field as candidates Senators Dela Rosa, Go, Tolentino, and actor Phillip Salvador for senate in 2025.
The president of PDP is Senator Robin Padilla. He has a clownish presence in my memory banks as the idiot who stood in the streets in 2018 challenging then Senator Trillanes to come out for a fistfight, or debate, I can’t exactly recall. The Senator was holed up in the Senate office building to keep whacknut Solicitor General Calida from arresting him on a politically motivated charge of plotting a coup, saying Trillanes’ amnesty was invalid. The court said Calida’s case was nonsense, but they used different words.
President Duterte is a member of PDP.
Senator Trillanes joined the Aksyon Demokratiko political party earlier this year. Well, that party has a history of some flamboyance as well. When its governing board selected Isko Moreno, the Mayor of Manila, as it’s president and presidential candidate for 2020, Vico Sotto and Florin Hilbay left the party. Vico Sotto is the sterling Mayor of Pasig City (see “Vico Sotto III is old enough to be senator in 2025“). Florin Hilbay was Solicitor General under President Noynoy Aquino.
This illustrates that political parties here are fluid. People and opportunity move in and out and policies are just near-term ideas that don’t mean much.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet both Sonny Trillanes and Florin Hilbay personally, and they are both intelligent and purposeful people. Patriots. Principled. Enjoyable. Good people.
I hope Sonny Trillanes wins, and I hope that all the mayors of Metro Manila unify and target specific goals and principles to make Metro the Pearl of the Orient again.
I’d also say that, if there were an umbrella organization that could overlay political parties with principles, goals, and money, Sonny Trillanes would win easily with their backing. This is what I laid out in the article “Organizing to win in 2028“.
Short of that, he’ll have to work very very hard.
That’s my point, I suppose.
The Philippines can’t change from dynastic greed to principled good governance by doing things the same old way.s.
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Photo from Benar News (Indonesia), “Former Philippine President Duterte, aide face criminal complaints over multi-million-dollar projects“.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
Re: PDP but off topic
Tolentino resigns due to differences about WPS
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/915938/tolentino-resigns-from-pdp-due-to-differences-on-wps-stand/story/
one door closes, another door opens, tolentino is now free to pursue another path. there will be moment of mourning, parting from friends, but he’ll get over it. he’s politician and knows which side of his bread is buttered.
at kung ako si tolentino, I would not have resigned. pinalayas siya at umalis. if tolentino have not received padilla’s formal letter asking him to cease membership and leave the party, then tolentino can respond similarly and leave sans formal letter of resignation. let pdp deal with its own apparent folly.
Ah, interesting. So he was kicked out for his anti-China position on the WPS? Haha! So CHINA had him kicked out, we can imagine.
That was a surprise. By his reckoning, PDP is China’s party, and that was too much for him, so he resigned. Interestingly, that was on principle rather than personality and favor.
I agree with this. Kicked out or not, he was planning to resign a long time ago.
he was only planning to go, then the china syndrome kicks in and he gets going.
I am guessing the questions people will be asking of sonny trillanes is whether he is dexterous to multitask without getting himself tied in knots! he has filed cases vs the duterte clan. and for him to run as mayor of caloocan city, his plate must be full. if he can handle the complexities and the conflicting demand of his time, and still be able to run a successful campaign, city of caloocan is more the richer to have trillanes as mayor.
Yes, I’m sure the job will be demanding. The population is greater than that of Cebu City, to put it in perspective. But he is a worker, not a partier, so will dedicate the time required, I’m confident.
trillanes’ new party, aksyon demokratiko political party may have flamboyance in the past, his apparent opponent and current mayor of caloocan city, malipitan, whose party is the partido demokratiko pilipino, its supremos (duterte et al) are facing the pressure of ICC probe, has worst than flamboyance in the offing.
trillanes has chosen well. the court cases he filed vs duterte et al has the potential to bring down his opponent too. they’re in the same boat to be hit with the same missile! though malipitan may not have much to do with ejks, his membership of duterte’s political party may well signify he is also abhorrent of the unclos ruling.
That’s true. If I were Sonny Trillanes, I’d play the China card for sure.
Another example of China card.
Where did Roque get the millions he used to donate to the campaign kitty of Sara Duterte?
Roque once said that we should thank China for reclaiming thousands of hectares in wps as if they will give it to us one day.
Methinks they would rather destroy the islands than give it to us.
Now as Mayor he could still use the China card even if pogo would truly go because WPS affects us all especially the fishing parts in CAMANAVA
Harry Roque seeks fame and fortune. Period. He keeps slipping deeper into the dark as his desires exceed his abilities to deliver. He’s a sad, tragic case of humanity’s worst endeavors.
Well put.
Funny that those who exposed his China trip in the so-called backdoor negotiations were the ones who did front door with matching red carpet dealings
He will also be after Bong Go, regarding the Frigate deal. I personally witnessed one involved leave a viber group because of a bitter exchange regarding this topic. I know some of them from the Navy side and from the supplier side.
Plus the favored investor on infra of the Go family in Davao.
The strategy of the Pinks and Yellows ought to be to take major cities to their side. Caloocan would be a good one. Cebu City will have an election in 2025. They should be viewing them as “battleground cities”. But they are doing nothing, I think. A failure to think forward.
Yes vote rich places.
I observed that while the US, Senators and Governors oftentimes run and garner the presidency and vice presidency, PH has penchant to elevate its mayors to the two highest government offices, the Du30s for example. It will not be a surprise if Trillanes win as Caloocan mayor and succeed in uplifting the locality’s people, he will get the popularity and name recall that could propel him to a presidential candidacy.
I agree that the opposition should organize and mobilize 24/7. That means working for the people and with the people outside of election years. Townhall meetings are very well received because they give the people who feel used and abused during election campaign periods and ignored till the next election the chance to seen and heard when their vote is not needed.
the mayors in philippines also have habit of going for governorship. gwen garcia was mayor of cebu city, now she is governor of cebu. she is a strong marcos supporter and ally, and her daughter christina was appointed by president bong marcos to be tourism secretary.
agree totally agree, working for the people and with the people in and outside election years and that means being trustworthy, be there present when most needed, in times of natural disaster like floods and typhoons and be seen giving aid, consoling and helping so people can get back on their feet soonest.
and not leaving people on the lurch by going on vacation and letting the office take care of what needs to be taken care of.
It struck me the other day how weak the political parties are here. They don’t have the strength to develop master strategies and carry them off. Like targeting cities to flip. The Pinks and Yellows are idle during the off season, rather than building.
I think most political parties are semi idle during off season and actively discouraged turncoats. all are kept busy as we rarely have peace and prosperity with climate change and flooding rains, hotter days and brown outs, we have problems with cost of living and crimes galore, corruption, graft and smuggling.
cities to be targeted knew their worth and what their currencies are and hold them close to their hearts. until a better offer comes along, and often, offer may have nothing to do with love of country but promises of plum jobs, higher social status and entry into higher echelons of government. political parties that cannot make semblance of such offers are destined to – I dont know – oblivion?
it’s a numbers game, the more votes, win. let’s just pray wisdom prevail and that those that love their country chose the lesser evil.
I don’t think you should have to pray or wish. The dynasties can be broken without a constitutional amendment if the “good guys” would get past their own parochial interests and build the umbrella political “monster” that I spoke of n another article. They should be targeting cities for conquest the way US political parties fight for battleground states. By turning the cities, they turn the barangays. By turning the barangays, they turn the voters. But they can’t just sit and hope. They have to work at it.
sit and hope? it may look that way but look closer, they’re texting and forging alliances, taking selfies with potential clients, checking and sending emails, wining and dining and having brunches, their eyes on the lookout, observing, judging, collating knowledge for later use. filipinos may have perfected the laid back look and sometimes the utter lack of commitment look, but I wont let that fool me. I know that trick.
bong go has apparently been targeting cities with his malasakit centers all through the country, his pictures everywhere, allegedly keen to peddle his influence, while the designated survivor has a number of satellite offices in major cities doing exactly what, only god knows.
‘good guys’ targeting cities would need funds for travel, accommodation, etc. and they cannot just go to barangays empty handed, they have to bring something. it’s in our culture to be friendly and hospitable, and giving.
then good guys would probly have to hire bigger town halls as municipal halls may not be big enough for the purpose. they cannot all be sitting on the hard ground under the shade of a mango tree! and maybe the good guys would need to hire sound system too and have some entertainment so audience wont fall asleep. or wander away, bored.
and maybe have some snacks like coke and potato chips distributed. safer that way so the good guys cannot be accused later on of food poisoning. and still there is no guarantee barangays will behave and wont change their mind when the time comes.
I am supposing barangays will be just as accommodating and receptive when the bad guys come similarly calling, plying their wares.
I am working on revisiting my direct democracy article. I am not proposing to abolish representative democracy but rather a synergy. If political will is the problem, the electorate is the problem, then what is the solution? Maybe a citizen’s assembly once they found a sustainable way to justify their existence can help our dear representatives without being rendered redundant or a third house of representatives, this can be done by tackling only those that is being often bypassed like the dynasty bills and other bills that seem to go on a stalemate more often than not.
I’m for a dictatorship under Teodoro.
He’s FVR 2.0
But also a lawyer like Marcos Sr.
That’s a problem, isn’t it. The greedy have lots of money because they cheat to get it. The decent have to ask for it but don’t like to beg. I suppose if the Philippines is ever to go honest, the oligarchs will have to lead it. Lotsa luck.
Yes, the greedy never rest. The honest do, mistaking faith for action.
Speaking of that Frigate Deal….
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/08/07/2376119/trillanes-files-plunder-case-vs-duterte-go-over-p16-b-frigate-deal
Best of luck Sen Tri.
Happy Birthday Senator Trillanes
A bit off topic but still on doing things differently to get results: I’m so pleased with Kamala Harris’ campaign style, although I havent looked at it comprehensively. They know how to fight, how to be tactical, how to bob, weave, duck, throw punches and keeps the opponent off balance much of the time. Calling JD Vance weird is very good. Way to go for the good guys. I hope our local Kakampinks learn some things from them.
Yes, indeed. Call names. “China Duterte.”
re Kamala Harris, she still needs to sit down and do interviews or hold press conferences and answer questions not the prepared ones but hard hitting ones where she has to bob and weave and duck in real time. seems like she’s hiding. much like how Biden was hidden and manicured, so when it came time for the debate people were surprised. Trump has never had a problem with this and hence his appeal, he’ll answer questions all night long if he could, granted the answers won’t be mind blowing may even be dumb, but Trump always was and has accessible. that’s the main take away for Kakampinks. not the name calling. instead be accessible, answer as many questions as possible. don’t be manicured. be authentic. had Joe Biden done more appearances prior that debate performance wouldn’t have been so jarring. the power of language is in real time use. oratory.
these two women are worlds apart, but they tackle the same subject. namely language and power. Trump has power just by being so accessible his language is middle school level at best but he’s out there all the time. Harris may sound smarter reading prepared speeches but if she doesn’t step out of the podium between now and Nov. she doesn’t even have to debate Trump mind you just do more interviews and press conferences and answer questions. Trump and JD Vance are taking questions and answering back, especially hostile ones. not Harris.
To the contrary, Trump is not accessible to a lot of people except those who kiss his rump. Access to Trump is business. Mar-a-Lago membership fee was just raised from $2.5K to $1M. The interviews he had lately are mostly from far-right influencers/propagandists and Fox Entertainment. His schedule recently include a Montana campaign and lots of golfing. The only interview outside his box was the National Association of Black Journalists where he disparaged Rachel Scott of ABC News Network because he was called out and fact checked about his lies. In contrast,Kamala had all the battleground states on her schedule while doing her VP duties and meeting with her campaign staff. Face it, Kamala is young, energetic and joyous. Trump is old, slow (physically and cognitively), and a whiner.
We’re not talking about rallies, JP. we’re talking about “how to bob, weave, duck, throw punches and keeps the opponent off balance much of the time” per andrew. Harris has done a lot of rallies, yes. but she has not gone thru the gaunlet of the press and facing tough questions. she’s in an ivory tower, protected. at least Hillary was able to show this very grit during her congressional hearing on emails and servers. though Hillary too wasn’t very accessible to the press. I’m not talking about whether or not the public has access to Trump, JP. both he and Harris are not publically accessible due to their status. but accessiblity via the press thru real questions not prepared statements. I fear that this Harris honeymoon feels a lot like 2016 with Hillary all over again. you gotta be out there facing hostile questions, talking extemporaneous. Trump s secret was never with the name calling, but with how much he puts himself out there availaible to questions by the press. He is accessible. the people and this is true in the Philippines too want all they want is authentic. and the best to gauge that is not thru rallies but thru sit down long in depth interviews with hostile questions.
re NABJ interview, that’s the stuff Harris should be making herself available to. yeah, Trump was aggressive towards the ABC host but remember the black chick from FOX was there too. so it was fairly balanced, but again andrew’s right its about bobbing and weaving. and Trump did that in said panel. the strategy for Trump is different. he should just lay low, people already know him and what he’s about. He can win I think the contested states simply by being quiet at this point. but he’ll not. Harris has the opposite problem, no one knows her. everything about her is curated. like no ones talked about her Willie Brown scandals yets in SF of the pay to play variety. if she doesn’t come out to explain that, and I’m sure the GOP will set all that up for her soon. then people will be like oh so Harris is not like Obama after all. squeaky clean. this is not dodge ball, JP.
Kamala is a pugilist extraordinaire, there has never been a potshot by the Trump or his campaign surrogates left unanswered. Their muckraking and innuendos had been debunked. Trump and his ilk are left on the rope for every jab she and her supporters took since the day she was announced as Biden’s replacement. Kamala does not need any interviews by MSM owned by oligarchs whose intent is to get Trump to the finish line so they will not pay wealth tax. You should know this. She has not declined any invitation either. She did not make it to the NABJ because she attended the funeral of her mentor and colleague. Kamala’s honeymoon will be in full swing till Nov 5. That is the blessing of her short campaign. People are tired of Trump and his lies. Only his MAGA base are his steadfast voters. Even Republicans are coalescing behind her. She has been raking unprecedented campaign funds and being endorsed by people of all age and stripes. There is no greater authenticity but being a person of honesty, integrity, optimism and joy. Kamala and his newly announced VP have all of those characteristics in spades. Trump always find something to complain about everything under the sun. He’s the master whiner and his specialty is name calling, put downs, negativity and calling American localities ****holes. Kamala is for problem solving and progress in every frontier of American lives. Take a look at the recent polls and people’s sentiments, they are very positive towards Kamala and negative towards Trump.
“Kamala does not need any interviews by MSM owned by oligarchs whose intent is to get Trump to the finish line so they will not pay wealth tax.” that’s a cop out, JP. i fear this Hillary approach to the media will result similarly in another 2016. too curated. in the bubble. polls in the swing states is what matters. its not in the bag. the more she hides from the press, the more Nov will slip away from her. honeymoon will be over soon.
Nope. You know what the oligarchs’ bottom line is. 2016 happened because people did not know what Trump is all about then. He has now exposed himself through several incidents that are not beneficial to Americans and America.
All of the things Hillary said in 2016 about Trump and his ilk turned out to be true. Lessons were learned and Kamala is the recipient of the best practices. Hillary is one of the Democratic elders who advises her. Polls in the swing states are now all in Kamala’s favor. It will never be in the bag till after the people spoke. Even Nate Silver who was so gung-ho about Trump is now turning a new leaf. Kamala, like Hillary, is going to win the popular votes. We’ll see what will happen now that the Electoral College is being watched like a hawk so Trump can’t slip in his fake electors.
https://www.npr.org/2024/08/05/nx-s1-5061729/harris-trump-swing-states-electoral-map
I mean she is doing better than Biden a lot better, Nate Silver is right about that, but its just too tight to say, you know what I’m gonna hide from the tough questions, JP. democracy is at stake here, and Kamala Harris’ strategy is to hide from the press?!!! against Trump and Vance who love extemporaneous interviews. thrive in.
That is a July 2024 poll. It is now August and is the fourth week of Kamala’s presidential candidacy. Look at the recent ones. Trump is now trailing Kamala in all battleground states and she is predicted to win the popular and EC votes if the election is this week. Most of the “July surprises” seem to be about Trump. I do not think that will change a lot. I am looking forward to Judge Merchan’s sentencing on his fraud case and Judge Chutkan’s “immunity” case decision. Jenna Ellis just striked a deal with AZ about the fake elector scheme. I got a feeling that she will sing like a bird and implicate Trump. Oh, what about the Egypt 10M bribe thing and recently released Epstein file? Trump will drown in legal controversies that he can’t erase from people’s mind till election. Kamala is not hiding from the press and she is attending the scheduled ABC News debate. Trump wants it moved to a different date on Fox Entertainment where he and Vance can drop anytime they feel like being “interviewed.”
Candidates have to be like rappers in a battle if necessary. A moment similar to the first failed battle of Eminem in 8 Mile can be awful.
One moment like that was the 2016 Presidential debate where Duterte told Mar Roxas that he was “bayot” if he wasn’t willing to kill.
Unfortunate Roxas lacked the capability to answer in an effective way – I don’t even remember what he answered, but he certainly lost for a great number of people even as Duterte talked nonsense. Tameme si Mar, Pinoys would say.
2002 Chancellor candidate debate in Germany, Schröder versus Stoiber. Bavarian premier Stoiber tried to show competence by coming with stats o Freising, the Bavarian town with the lowest jobless rate in Germany.
Schröder responded in a non-intelligent way, telling the bureaucratic and boring Stoiber “hey let’s not talk about Freising” with a grin. Stoiber couldn’t respond and also practically lost in that split second, looked like a fool even if he isn’t.
The German word schlagfertig means quick-witted (in responding) but literally means ready to hit, and that captures the essence of politics as often being a verbal street fight. Manuel Quezon was known for instance to be able to demolish his political rivals in arguments. He won against candidates who were far more popular than him initially because they were espousing immediate independence from the USA, not Quezon’s gradual independence agenda.
“Unfortunate Roxas lacked the capability to answer in an effective way – I don’t even remember what he answered, ” kb, might know it. but theres a specific Cebuano phrase that means i’ll take you now up your ass. he shoulda said something like that. you don’t go high, you go lower. then you go high, talk about policies. Vance is really good at talking, but Trump talks like a 13 yr old i don’t think he’s quick witted per se. but like a 13 year old he’s always probing for weakness. its all trial and error with him, like he hasn’t found a way to cut down Harris yet. but he’s probing. when he does find that in, Harris is dead. that’s why i’m telling JP that Harris needs to get in front of that. in your line of work, Ireneo, theres a specific phrase for this probing. i ‘ve forgotten the phrase though.
as heir to two dynasty, mar roxas was not made for political life, his brother was. when the brother died of heart attack, mar was tasked to step in. mar probly gave politics his all but he seemed more like a round peg in a square hole.
I’ll hands off on mar roxas now, he seemed happy being private citizen and deserved his peace and tranquility. he has done his job to his country, it’s others turn now to do a better for their country.
Walz is going to be Kamala Harris’ VP. He is the MN Governor who originated the “weird” labeling of Trump and Vance.
He is a retired non-commissioned officer, a rural America advocate as a congressman and governor, a retired teacher and youth sports coach, and a champion of popular social policies such as free meals for all MN students. He will bring out rural and Mid-Western folks to the voting booths for Democrats in November. This is an often neglected sector of the voting population who lost a lot due to Trump’s agricultural products tariffs. He is a regular guy with a killer sense of humor and who is as joyful as Kamala. They will be laughing all the way to the White House. The Harris-Walz duo can’t be anymore different the the Trump-Vance in a good way.
shoulda gone with Sen. Kelly. he reminds me of this dude, inconsequential. in the long run. the Trump camp is very happy. they were worried it would be Kelly ngl.
The Democrats has a deep bench of good and decent people. Kelly is one of them but I think Kamala has info that we’re not privy with that made her choose Walz. Walz is going to be a good VP especially when compared to JD Vance. Vance is not faring well with his foot-in-mouth disease that it is rumored that Trump is not happy with his VP pick. He is going to lose instead of winning votes for Trump. The most visible casualties are the “cat ladies” and women of all color because of his misogynistic staples.
cat ladies, childless women and women of color isn’t his target, JP. Vance is being anti-woke. theres a huge segment of the population in swing states that don’t want any more woke. sick and tired of it. He’s gaining their votes. theres a lot more christian and conservative women in swing states. basically if you’ve seen Hillbilly Elegy its Glenn Close’s character.
Kindly Get back on topic. It is really quite simple. This is a blog about the Philippines and we wish to attract Filipino readers. If you Americans want to argue, do it on an American blog. Geeze Louise. It is so simple. Y’all hold yourselves up as intelligent but can’t grasp this?
“how to bob, weave, duck, throw punches and keeps the opponent off balance much of the time” per andrew.
sorry, Joe. was just making a point about bobbing and weaving. and how its crucial. i’ll shut up now.
Sorry Joe. I was just giving an OFF TOPIC update and got carried away by LCPLX non-sensical views. I will now cease and desist.
Thank you. Yes. I think a lot of elderlies are past the stage of trying to build anything, and just like to hear their teeth clatter and gums flap.
The idea of senators seeking local gov’t office is so foreign to me. Mayor Willie Brown went from CA state congress to Mayor of San Francisco, i guess that’s similar. but you’re going from small to big. theres like a stairway trajectory. but in the Philippines its like people go up and down, then up again. Do people stay in politics there just to ensure protection either from jail (by opposition) or violence (from opposition)? thus just a means to self perseverance. or is it because the private sector is so nil that they have to always be seeking office, any office will do. like is the town or city arbitrary, for example could Trillanes have chosen Cebu City or Tagbilaran in Bohol?
in philippines, presidents are only allowed one term. ex pres gloria arroyo run and become a congresswoman representing her district. if philippines presidents want to extend their term beyond the 6yrs allowed, they would have to concoct charter change and affect the constitution.
trillanes cannot be mayor of cebu city bec he is not resident of that city. 1st, he would have to be a resident of cebu city for at last one year prior to his candidacy. only then can be he considered.
thanks, kb. i’d imagine you have to be seen as local too to get the votes. that makes sense. cuz over here candidates seem able to just slip in any district. like Cheney’s daughter. i don’t know how domicile is established though thru state or county or city lived.
Trillanes is Bikolano by ancestry but grew up in Metro Manila. He definitely is a local.
Caloocan BTW is the town where Andreas Bonifacio hid out when Spain found out about the Katipunan. American writers described it as a place full of “riff-raff.” A lot of tokhang BTW happened in Caloocan as it is still mostly poor. Bishop David of Caloocan was one of the most vocal opponents of the drug war. The CAMANAVA (Caloocan, Malabo, Navotas and Valenzuela) rally of VP Leni in 2022 was probably the one that had the most masa crowd of all city rallies.
trillanes is metro manila boy alright, born and raised in caloocan city. though he traces his roots back to ligao albay in bicol, both his parents from capiz.
although pdea did not consider caloocan hotspot for illegal drugs, caloocan has around 373 deaths attributable to tokhang.
His dad was from Albay, mom from Capiz.
thanks.
My pleasure
The Philippines is deep within still what it was in 1521. A collection of chiefdoms. The nation is still an abstraction for most.
Aguinaldo also started off as a barangay captain and was voted as Mayor in 1895. His support base was Kawit including the Kawit brigade that killed Heneral Luna. An early Davao death squad.
funny that, the more we changed, the more we stay the same.
What do you think will break the PH cycle of self abuse? My take is: It will take a lot of willpower and integrity for the Congress to write the implementing legislation for a Dynasty Bill. PH voters have the power to kick them off the curb if they do not want to move the needle towards a Dynasty-free PH. So far, we’re not seeing even baby steps in that direction. Likewise, the progress PNoy made towards ridding the government of corruption was dialed back by Du30 and seems to be still prevalent in present administration. The incumbent president can make things happen. He will secure a legacy of good governance and seal his fate in a positive way if he can work on PH dynasties and corruption.
my take? in philippines all are mostly related, kumpare, kumare, ninong, ninangs, sponsors, kapitbahay, kakilala, etc. nice to one another and sometimes indulgent to a fault.
in congress, most are are related to dynastic families, if not mga manok sila ng dynasty vs another manok ng other dynasty and sometimes, they clash mightily! resulting in empasse and bad blood. though they try hard to be collegiate and civil as much as possible. pero may tampuhan pa rin. and sometimes, they got the job done, else the senate push them back to square one to redo their shoddy work. then the bucks stops with the president. without his signature, nothing comes to pass.
the incumbent president despite seemingly in control of the state of the nation affairs, does not seem to know what to do with the designated survivor gone awol! haha.
I think that is an important factor JP, however the Philippines probably also needs to face a “new founding,” a new Republic if necessary, that once and for all acknowledges all the various major blood groups that make up the Philippines. A lot of political fighting seems to stem by regional loyalties rather than national loyalty.
You took the thoughts out of my mind once again Irineo.
To me the original mistake of the Filipino founding fathers was to forge a nation based on abstract blood kinship that no one believed rather than a common idea that disparate groups can agree to. Due to this, if nothing changes, long after modern travel has mixed the national bloodline across regions, undoubtedly people will still identify as part of this tribe or that tribe.
Caloocan’s slicing and dicing aka: gerrymandering.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php/articles/1171648
“MANILA – For the first time in the history of the 60-year-old Caloocan City in northern Metro Manila, its residents of over 1.5 million will be electing three representatives to Congress in the May 9, 2022 polls.
This is because Republic Act (RA) No. 11545, enacted by the 18th Congress and signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on May 26, 2021, will be implemented by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) this year.
RA 11545 increased the number of Caloocan City’s congressional districts from two to three by reapportioning the populous District 1 or North Caloocan.
The original District 1, composed of Caloocan barangays located north of Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), was divided into two districts. Eleven big and very populous barangays, including Bagong Silang, were segregated to form the third district. The rest of the barangays remain in District 1.”