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If only children could vote, they’d plead…

If only children could vote, they’d plead…

by | Apr 13, 2023 | Gotcha

photo from Philippine News Agency

GOTCHA

written on April 29, 2022

 

“…Ayoko maging bansot, ayoko maging payatot, ayoko maging kulelat.”

Which child indeed would wish to be stunted and wasting? Who’d want to lose out on life from the start?

One in three Filipino children aged 0 to 5 are underheight and underweight. They numbered 3.4 million in 2019, although the malady has afflicted the land for three decades. A stunted, wasting child loses up to 40 percent of brain mass, reducing the capacity for language skills, memory and comprehension. That largely explains why Filipino 3rd, 5th and 8th graders in public schools rank lowest in international tests in Reading, Math and Sciences.

The impact is devastating. Stunted children have ten times less chances than others to survive common childhood illnesses. Most lose five years of schooling. Result, 40 percent lower wages as workers. Also, less healthy families when they begin a new generation.

Malnutrition is the main culprit. Filipinos are the second shortest in ASEAN. Yet this is dismissed as hereditary rather than due to poor maternal health, deprivation and child undernourishment. Malnutrition kills 95 under-5 children daily. The country loses $4.3 billion yearly, 1.5 percent of 2015 GDP, Unicef noted.

But there’s a solution. And only presidential candidate Leni Robredo espouses it, according to scientists. Being the only mother among ten contenders, she understands the family’s critical needs: right food, health care, proper schooling. Those have been her focus as development worker, congresswoman and Vice President. Dozens of nutrition and child care advocates, health professionals and educators have endorsed her.

Most basic is the First 1000 Days program. From conception to 23rd month, mother and child must be afforded necessary nutrients. The first thousand days are vital for a child’s optimal growth and brain development. Also for the mother to prepare for possible next pregnancy.

Leni’s platform banners the F1K program. She links food security and production to nutrition. VP running mate Kiko Pangilinan brings agricultural expertise. Agriculture’s objective should be public health.

Success stories are many. Peru reduced child stunting from 28 percent in 2008 to 13 percent in 2016; Brazil, from 37.1 percent in 1974 to 7.1 percent in 2006. The latter put up a social development ministry to quell hunger as socio-economic goal. The former set stunting reduction as an outcome of food abundance. By child nutrition, China boosted the average height of 19-year-old males by 3.5 inches (9 cm) and females by 2.5 inches (6.35 cm) in the 35 years to 2019, according to Lancet. India’s 16-year-old males and females grew taller by 2.5 and 2 inches from 1975 to 2015, Economist reported. Filipino females became shorter in the past 40 years, health department records show.

F1K has been replicated in Quezon and Cebu by, among others, retired Unicef officer Cecilio Adorna, economics professor Luzeta Adorna, World Bank consultant Cecilia Acuin and Nutrition Center Philippines senior researcher Ellen Villate. Signed by 170, their endorsement of Leni is in signatories (alphabetically) – Google Sheets.

Education Nation also endorsed Leni this week. The coalition of 35 organizations and 21 educators gave her platform and track record a perfect score. A job interview of Leni by the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines drew her stand: “One of the first things I’ll do if elected is to declare an emergency crisis. Kailangan natin ito gawin para all hands on deck tayo.” Meaning government, schools, teachers, parents, students and other stakeholders.

EducNation has been warning of a three-decades-long learning crisis. Indicators: 85 percent of 10-year-olds cannot read simple text (Unicef 2022). Grade 3 students have difficulty in reading: 56.8 percent in English, 60.9 percent in Filipino. Few Grade 5 students meet the proficiencies of their level: Reading, ten of 100; Writing, two of 100; Math, 17 of 100. To make room for next batches, Junior high schoolers are promoted despite low proficiencies: only one percent adept in Math, three percent in English, one percent in Science, 13 percent in Filipino, ten percent in Araling Panlipunan. In 12 years of schooling, Filipinos learn only six-and-a-half years’ equivalent, compared to foreign counterparts. Only half of Education graduates pass the annual teacher licensure exams; three in four are repeat examinees.

The education department has removed History from high school and relegated it to elementary. “The topic of martial law 1972-1986 is taught only for one week in Grade 6,” laments Antonio Calipjo Go, PhD, head of Marian School-Quezon City. “Critical thinking is not fully formed at that school age, so children become susceptible to fake news and historical revisionism.”

“MaJoHa,” a teen contestant in reality show Pinoy Big Brother answered when asked for the acronym of the three priests Gomez, Burgos, Zamora garroted by Spanish rulers in 1872, stoking Filipino nationalism. “Ajajozep” replied another. The admin standard-bearer is criticized for falsifying the past; the running mate’s dynasty has not set up a city high school or college in 30 years.

Pandemic lockdowns, fears and hasty shift to online classes worsened things: 1.1 million students did not enrol in 2020-2021. One in four kindergartners was not in school. Three out of four public schools had no WiFi. One in four parents said their children learned nothing. Usually better in instruction, 1,179 private schools closed shop.

Figures from NGO Philippine Business for Education: Rating the six survey-leading presidential bets, PBEd found “Leni the only one with a detailed strategy to take us out of this mess,” said policy-advocacy manager Marco delos Reyes. PBEd president Chito Salazar added: “Let’s choose a leader who understands the problem of education and listens to all sectors. We need someone with competence, experience and character to be an Education President.” See https://www.facebook.com/100305568984268/posts/281263100888513/?d=n

 

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Agri-smuggling likely a cover for shabu

Agri-smuggling likely a cover for shabu

by | Apr 13, 2023 | Gotcha

photo from Philippine News Agency

GOTCHA

written on April 27, 2022

 

Narcotics authorities can put two and two together. A mere P1 million worth of smuggled agricultural produce carries life sentence for economic sabotage, with no bail while on trial. Yet smugglers sell the contraband at only a fraction of domestic rates. It’s like they just want to unload the illegal goods even at no profit. Why take such inordinate risk?

Example: wholesale price of smuggled red onion, P3 per kilo; retail price of Mindoro-grown, P100 per kilo. Carrots: wholesale smuggled, P40 per kilo; retail of Benguet-grown, P140. Same with broccoli, cauliflower, white onion, celery, leeks, garlic, strawberry. It’s the market vendors and sari-sari store owners who make a bonanza. What gives?

Most of the smuggled produce comes from China. Also from China come such over-imported items that are not in short domestic production to begin with: fish like galunggong, bonito, tulingan, mackerel, sardine; chicken and pork; corn and feeds.

Could the agricultural contraband be mere cover for more profitable trafficking – say, narcotics?

The bulk of shabu (meth) originates from China too. Since the 1990s, Gen. Jose Almonte has warned of a Chinese Communist Party plot to soften the Philippine state. Foremost is by drug addiction; another is by influencing then indoctrinating Filipino officials, academics and businessmen.

Almonte was then Economic Intelligence and Investigation Bureau chief, and later national security adviser and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency head. People’s Liberation Army generals led the shabu smuggling to the Philippines and neighbors, he said. Beijing was beginning to grab 25 shoals and reefs in the South China Sea, including seven from the Philippines: Kagitingan (Fiery Cross), Zamora (Subi), McKennan (Hughes), Calderon (Cuarteron), Mabini (Johnson South), Burgos (Gaven) and Panganiban (Mischief). At first, the shabu was cooked in mainland China, later relegated to erstwhile opium makers in the Golden Triangle of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.

Shabu trafficking thrives to this day, notwithstanding troll hossanas to President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs. The market remains big: three million hardcore addicts. In November 2019, then-PNP Drug Enforcement Group head Gen. Romeo Caramat said each snorted one gram of shabu a week. That’s a staggering three million grams – 3,000 kilos or three tons. Value: P25 billion a week, Caramat said.

Only a fraction has been interdicted by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. From July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, its #RealNumbersPH reported 4,409 kilos of shabu seized. That’s only a week-and-a-half’s consumption confiscated in 156 weeks, with 7,000 killed, including lawmen.

During that same period, PDEA dismantled 14 clandestine shabu labs; hardly any remain today because they are easily detectable by foul odor fumes. Easier to sneak in shabu by various means: inside printing machine cylinders, magnetic lifters, mannequins, tea bags. In the early 2000s, shabu was interspersed with CFL bulbs, which was why those retailed at giveaway P11 apiece. Narco-traffickers recently tried tapioca starch as decoy.

So why not also smuggled and over-imported agricultural products as fronts?

Sneaking in just one kilo of shabu, the size of a kilo-bag of sugar, can fetch a street value of P8 million. What more if by the ton, P8 billion. Same risks – life term, no bail – but infinitely bigger profit. No wonder.

Additional figures derive from Senate and House inquiries. The Senate hearing was by the Committee of the Whole because of multi-departmental concerns: agriculture, health, trade, finance, Customs, BIR, justice and national security. Senate President Tito Sotto elicited that Customs confiscated 542 shipments worth P1.99 billion since 2016.

That’s only one-twentieth of the annual P40-billion smuggling of produce. “Alay lang ’yan,” party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles (Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta) told Sapol-dwIZ Saturday. “Smugglers sacrificed the nearly P2-billion shipments, for crooked officials to have something to show for it, but quietly sneaked in the higher volume.” He cited figures from Federation of Free Farmers chairman Leonardo Montemayor. Since 2013, the smugglers’ shipment declarations to Customs were invariably much lower than records from Chinese and ASEAN ports of origin. Most were even misdeclared, like white onion passed off as green for animal feed but sold to consumers. Or well-milled, long-grain rice disguised as 100-percent broken, also for feeds.

This can go on if China’s candidates for president and VP win. Leading in preferential surveys, they vow to continue present programs. Meaning retain crooked officials, bribing racketeers and kinsmen-protectors. China’s drugging of Filipinos will worsen.

 

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Agricultural over-importing, smuggling can only go on

Agricultural over-importing, smuggling can only go on

by | Apr 13, 2023 | Gotcha

photo from Philippine News Agency

GOTCHA

written on April 22, 2022

 

The Duterte admin misunderstands food security. It over-imports agricultural produce, mostly from China, at slashed tariffs. An illusion of plenty is created.

Yet insecurity results. Domestic growers of grains, vegetables, fruits, sugarcane, hogs, chicken and fish falter. So do makers of feeds, fertilizers, pesticides. No funds are raised to support them. Agricultural workers, one-fourth of total manpower, lose jobs. The rural population, 57.6 percent of total, goes hungry.

The over-importing fosters smuggling, also mostly from China. Diseased pork and poultry are sneaked in and infect local stocks. Frozen fish and fresh produce, soaked in formaldehyde, elude phytosanitary inspection. Filipinos are sickened. Yet no one goes to jail.

Over-importing is likely to go on in the next admin. The ruling party’s candidates for president and VP are leading in preferential surveys. Both profess closeness to the Chinese Communist Party and vow to continue present programs. The agriculture secretary is seeking re-appointment by them. That sworn testimony in last week’s hearing of the Senate Committee of the Whole alarmed opposition presidential candidate Senator Ping Lacson.

That hearing was informative. Contraband worth at least P1 million fetches life-term, no-bail economic sabotage. Customs since 2016 has interdicted 542 shipments valued at P1.99 billion, averaging P3.67 million each. Only one culprit has been haled to court, out on bail on minor charges. Over-imports and smuggling enrich only China, its local partners and crooked officials.

Food security can be achieved not by over-importing but by over-producing what we need. Imports must only be of short stocks, and only to subsidize small planters. Thus can domestic supply multiply, prices stabilize and quality improve. Surplus is stored for rainy days. Domestic producers can earn from exports.

The opposite is happening. Domestic producers are dying.

Over-dependence on China is risky. If China’s agricultural stocks run out for whatever reason, Filipinos will have no more source.

That can be sooner than later. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which China applauds, has disrupted this mid-spring’s wheat planting season. One-third of the world’s wheat comes from the warring lands; a 90-day delay in harvest results in global shortage. Shifting to other grains may not suffice. Ninety-eight percent of fertilizers derive from natural gas, of which Russia and Ukraine are also major extractors. Farms worldwide will be untended. Food prices will soar. Rich countries will corner the meager stocks. Famine will worsen pandemic and joblessness in poorer lands.

The admin candidates say they will continue to set aside Manila’s arbitral victory against Beijing at The Hague. They belittle sea and air patrol craft. Joint military drills with allies will halt. Those will further weaken the defense of maritime jurisdictions. Chinese warships and fisheries militia will be able to trespass more frequently and in greater numbers the West Philippine Sea, Benham Rise and internal waters. More fish will be poached, shoals robbed of mollusks and crustaceans, and gas and oilfields occupied.

Beijing will lend its triumphant Filipino candidates for showcase projects. Once debt-trapped, Manila will cede sea and airports to China, the way Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Djibouti and many others were arm-twisted. Like those countries, the Philippines is over-borrowed. The Duterte admin has more than doubled the public debt in six years, from P5.5 trillion to P12.5 trillion. Yet huge estate and other taxes remain uncollected.

Sri Lanka has defaulted on debt payments in order to import food and fuel. The turmoil that now rocks it may also befall the Philippines, shuddered another opposition presidential aspirant, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno. But he, Lacson and yet another, Norberto Gonzales, refuse to unite the Opposition to defeat the admin. Gonzales was national security adviser and defense secretary of the ex-President who principally supports the admin tandem.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Memories of paying income, estate taxes

Memories of paying income, estate taxes

by | Apr 13, 2023 | Gotcha

Logo of Bureau of Internal Revenue

GOTCHA

written on April 20, 2022

 

Beating last Monday’s deadline to file income tax returns reminded me of a recent Comelec ruling. “Failure to file tax returns is not inherently wrong in the absence of a law punishing it.” In crafting that, Commissioners Aimee Ferolino and Marlon Casquejo were referring to 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985. Bongbong Marcos Jr. had been convicted of non-filing of ITRs as Ilocos vice governor then governor in those four years. Disqualifications under election and tax laws notwithstanding, they deemed Marcos Jr. eligible to run for president.

I wish I had Ferolino and Casquejo’s assurance of no penalty back in the 80s. Every year then in March, Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s controlled media flashed warnings of various punishments for illegally missing the mid-month deadline. Nobody dared run afoul of martial law, lest be imprisoned without charges, tortured and stripped of possessions.

I was employed in 1981 to 1983 in the newspaper of Marcos Sr.’s brother-in-law Ambassador Kokoy Romualdez. For three yearends my compensation Form W-2 showed that income tax was over-withheld every payday. All of us earners filed ITRs. Despite my tax overpayments, the BIR never gave me a refund or credit for the following year.

It was like the medieval age, when the king owned everything and heavily taxed the serfs on pain of flogging, being thrown to the dungeons and seizure of farms. Yet the lavishly-living royal family was tax-exempt.

Aside from income tax, also deducted from monthly salaries were SSS, headed by a Marcos crony kin; Medicare, headed by Marcos’ brother Dr. Pacifico Marcos; and Pag-IBIG, under Human Settlements Minister Imelda Romualdez Marcos.

A footnote to that work stint was that several employees and I were fired three days before Christmas 1983. In busting the new labor union, management dismissed the officers and five like me who falsely were accused of advising them. My wife was pregnant. Ninoy Aquino had been assassinated and the economy was collapsing from government over-borrowing and conjugal plundering. With inflation the following year Filipinos suffered price spikes of food, medicines and fuel. Infant supplements for my newborn disappeared from grocery shelves.

Most Filipinos who survived that harrowing period have forgiven those who caused and benefited from it. Still the basis to clear Marcos Jr. of tax culpability stirs up memories.

Fathers had a way then of inculcating taxpaying duty on youngsters. From age 13 in 1969, I as eldest son was assigned to line up at Quezon City Hall to get the real property and business tax assessments. I would return a week or two later to re-line up and hand over the check payments. Male friends and cousins of the same age did likewise for parents in Manila, Pateros and elsewhere. Sweaty errands in those days of no air-conditioning in buses and offices. A far cry from when Sonny Belmonte, upon becoming QC Mayor in 2010, started serving espresso in a cool special lounge for taxpayers. Tougher was the task of income tax paying for Dad every March; the queues at the BIR building snaked up to two blocks.

Only six years after Dad passed away in 1980 was the family able to pay the estate tax plus penalties and surcharges. We siblings inherited about P130,000 each, enough show money for me to take out a small home loan. There’s no escaping death and taxes. From retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio, Filipinos now learn that the law requires even plunderers’ heirs to pay income and estate taxes.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

As Opposition stays split, supporters defect to Leni

As Opposition stays split, supporters defect to Leni

by | Apr 13, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Leni Robredo

GOTCHA

written on April 13, 2022

 

As Opposition presidential wannabes refused to unite and avert looming defeat, more and more of their supporters are defecting to Leni Robredo. The shift aims to boost Leni’s chances against administration bet Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Leni consistently places second but rising in voter preference surveys, with Marcos Jr. as frontrunner but falling.

Yesterday morning, the NaIs Ko umbrella of Isko Moreno campaigners declared support for Leni. Lead convenor Tim Orbos, former transport undersecretary, claimed a volunteer strength of two million nationwide. NaIs Ko earlier urged the nine non-administration presidential candidates to combine and endorse one among them. Rebuffed, it now calls on volunteers to support Leni and convince their standard-bearers to do likewise.

Ikaw Muna (IM) Pilipinas secretary-general Elmer Argaño joined Orbos in a press conference. Disputing accusations of opportunism, he said if they were, then they would have joined “sure winner Marcos Jr. … yet ours is still an uphill battle and we’re running out of time.” Ikaw Muna in 2021 persuaded Moreno to run for president and claims to number 800,000. Moreno places a far third in voter surveys.

At afternoon press time, founding members of Partido Federal Pilipinas were set to break from Marcos Jr. Asserting originality, the Muslim Mindanaoans said they never nominated the son of their martial law enemy, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Muslim Filipino Commissioner Abubakar Mangelen, PFP chairman, is petitioning the Comelec to disqualify Marcos Jr., because he was never hailed in a party convention.

Last week, Ikaw Muna-Visayas chapter initiated the shift to Leni as “our patriotic duty.” On video, leader Nick Malazarte said they have no rift with Moreno. “There is danger of the Marcoses getting back to power,” he warned. “That is why if we believe Moreno is the best, we have somebody better, Leni, because the alternative is the worst, Marcos Jr.” A faction of the dominant administration party PDP-Laban carries Marcos.

On Monday, Ikaw Muna-Zamboanga chapter also announced a switch to Leni. But it endorsed Marcos Jr.’s running mate Sara Duterte for VP, not Leni’s Kiko Pangilinan or Moreno’s Willie Ong. It claims 20,000 members.

Also on Monday, the start of Holy Week, paid bloggers launched black propaganda on Leni’s daughter in fake, manipulated porn videos. The Vice President’s lawyers are to sue the smear spreaders. Spokesman Barry Gutierrez said its purpose is “distraction from the momentum we continue to gain. It won’t yield votes for those spreading it. Ang malalim na goal nito ay manggigil tayo at magwala sa social media para hindi tayo maka-convert (ng boto). Our response should be to hold the line para sa pag-ibig. Be firm but kind sa pagtatama ng disinformation, kahit gaano ito ka-walanghiya.”

Orbos told Sapol-dwIZ last Saturday that NaIs Ko earlier had won over many field campaigners of Manny Pacquiao, fourth in surveys. Though bugged by funding woes, Pacquiao said he would continue slugging unless he receives a Divine sign to quit.

As lead convenor also of Ikaw Muna, Orbos mentioned members’ defection to Leni from the Zambales and Pampanga chapters. As well, from Aksyon Demokratiko that carries Moreno. (Party chairman Ernest Ramel earlier forecast that a Moreno slide-out of the race would benefit Marcos more than Leni.)

On March 24, Partido Reporma chairman Pantaleon Alvarez withdrew support from Ping Lacson, survey fifth ranker. While the former speaker and Davao del Norte local officials now roots for Leni, they still carry Lacson’s running mate Tito Sotto for VP. Having resigned as party president, Lacson reiterated yesterday he would “crawl to the finish line.”

Orbos texted Gotcha yesterday: “From a general call for unity, we now call for unity for Leni due to the following:

“Except for the camps of Leody de Guzman and VP Leni, all other candidates including our Moreno have rejected unification. (De Guzman has less than one percent of respondents among 67 million voters; four others have less than one-fiftieth percent.)

“VP Leni is consistently in second place for the past months and has been on a steady rise with the biggest increase (nine percent) in the latest (Pulse Asia) survey.

“Less than a month (till Election Day) drastic measures must be taken.

“For VP Leni to win, she needs help beyond her organic support, from volunteers of other ‘presidentiables’.”

Exhorting people “to push their candidates to pivot to VP Leni,” he said, “If their principals remain immovable, then all volunteers who believe in the cause should support VP Leni.”

Orbos said they harbor no ill-will against Moreno or how his campaign was run, and apologized for the hurt their departure might cause. He disavowed any hatred for Marcos Jr. but said on Sapol-dwIZ that he experienced the tenure of Marcos Sr. and fears its return. A one-time aspirant for Pangasinan congressman, Orbos is the younger brother of President Cory Aquino’s executive and transport secretary Oscar Orbos.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

If still fractious by Easter, all is lost

If still fractious by Easter, all is lost

by | Apr 13, 2023 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Leni Robredo (left) and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (right)

GOTCHA

written on April 8, 2022

 

In a video of Earth zooming out from a spacecraft’s camera, Carl Sagan reminded that humans are but specks on a dot in the vast universe. Lives are but split seconds of eternity. Still man must not waste existence on self but spend it for the betterment of all.

Zoom in to the present. Eminent citizens must act now. Get the nine Opposition presidential and eight VP candidates to join forces once and for all. The Holy Week break from campaigning grants the 17 time to reflect. Giving way to the winnable among them offers the Opposition a fighting chance. Bowing out is not disgraceful but noble under the circumstances. Legacy far outweighs ego.

Four weeks from Election Day, their internal surveys show sure defeat of them all. But if they add up their ratings, plus the undecided and potential switchers, a common Opposition presidential-VP tandem can pull through.

Belittling surveys in which they trail behind is natural. They’d rather believe they’re well-loved from attendance in their rallies. “How can I be wrong? Look, all these people are here too,” they tell themselves.

Crowds enthrall, for sure. Ancient philosophers to Kierkegaard have studied the allure of gatherings on individuals. Pedestrians avoid bumping or being touched by strangers. Yet people crowd – in processions, concerts, stadiums, demonstrations – emboldened that many others think like them. Crowds overcome their fear of aloneness. The tighter packed, the more thrilling, Elias Canetti noted in his 1960 book “Crowds and Power.”

But crowds do not win elections. The urge to join rallies can be strong after two years of pandemic isolation. Immense attendance can prick interest of others. Still, votes are won by platform and personality. Rallies were few in the 2013, 2016 and 2019 elections. Candidates presented programs of government and credentials mostly through media ads and leaflets.

House-to-house campaigning is today’s vote-getter. Personal explaining debunks social media disinformation and historical distortions. That works best in the Lingayen-to-Legaspi corridor and other urban sprawls.

Of equal importance is for candidates to visit isolated clumps of barangays along coasts, riversides and hillsides. Bancas and small choppers are crucial to reach rural folk in Bicol, Southern Luzon and Visayas islands, and Mindanao hinterlands.

With just three campaign weeks left after Easter, no Opposition candidate can overcome the lead of the survey frontrunner. Only by combining can they intensify vote conversion, blunt election fraud then take the top two offices in the land.

Factions also need to re-assess their senatorial tickets. Weed out the timid and unpopular. The Opposition cannot afford a repeat of the 2019 fiasco of total senatorial shutout.

The programs of the 17 presidential and vice-presidential aspirants complement. Abhorring corruption, they view the cabal of plunderers not as a political party but a criminal syndicate. They advocate Filipinos’ basic needs: jobs, affordable commodities, education, health, housing. They offer solutions to the learning crisis, government overborrowing, transport mess, agricultural smuggling and slump of small enterprises.

In coalescing, the 17 and their senatorial bets can swear by a common action plan. Foremost is to guard the ballot. The winners must implement and those who give way must hold them to the objectives. All for the greater good.

Failure to band together spells doom for the Republic. Political dynasts will continue to rule and the constitutional ban on them will be expunged. Filipinos will go on seeking better pay abroad; the talented will emigrate; left-behinds will stay unskilled. Plunderers will keep the people ignorant and dependent on “ayuda;” critical thinking might even be criminalized. Sovereignty will be completely surrendered to the regional bully.

The Reform Movement and the Revolution gained or lost ground when leaders helped or pulled down each other. Ambitious rivalries enabled collaborators to gain positions in the first election after the Japanese Occupation. The self-sacrifice of Opposition stalwarts for a common tandem removed the Martial Law dictator.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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Our website contains links that lead to other websites. If you click on these links jariusbondoc.com is not held responsible for your data and privacy protection. Visiting those websites is not governed by this privacy policy agreement. Make sure to read the privacy policy documentation of the website you go to from our website.

 

Restricting the Collection of your Personal Data

At some point, you might wish to restrict the use and collection of your personal data. You can achieve this by doing the following:

 

  • When you are filling the forms on the website, make sure to check if there is a box which you can leave unchecked, if you don’t want to disclose your personal information.
  • If you have already agreed to share your information with us, feel free to contact us via email and we will be more than happy to change this for you.

 

jariusbondoc.com will not lease, sell or distribute your personal information to any third parties, unless we have your permission. We might do so if the law forces us. Your personal information will be used when we need to send you promotional materials if you agree to this privacy policy.

 

II. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All materials contained on this site are protected by the Republic of the Phlippines copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of jariusbondoc.com or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

However, you may download material from jariusbondoc.com on the Web (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal, noncommercial use only.

If you wish to use jariusbondoc.com content for commercial purposes, such as for content syndication etc., please contact us at jariusbondoconline@gmail.com.

Links to Websites other than those owned by jariusbondoc.com are offered as a service to readers. The editorial staff of jariusbondoc.com was not involved in their production and is not responsible for their content.

 

III. TERMS OF SERVICE

 

  1. GENERAL RULES AND DEFINITIONS

 

1.1 If you choose to use the jariusbondoc.com service (the “Service”), you will be agreeing to abide by all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement between you and jariusbondoc.com (“jariusbondoc.com “).

 

1.2 jariusbondoc.com may change, add or remove portions of this Agreement at any time, but if it does so, it will post such changes on the Service, or send them to you via e-mail. It is your responsibility to review this Agreement prior to each use of the Site and by continuing to use this Site, you agree to any changes.

 

1.3 If any of these rules or any future changes are unacceptable to you, you may cancel your membership by sending e-mail to jariusbondoconline.com (see section 10.1 regarding termination of service). Your continued use of the service now, or following the posting of notice of any changes in these operating rules, will indicate acceptance by you of such rules, changes, or modifications.

 

1.4 jariusbondoc.com may change, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Service at any time, including the availability of any Service feature, database, or content. jariusbondoc.com may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict your access to parts or all of the Service without notice or liability.

 

  1. JARIUSBONDOC.COM CONTENT AND MEMBER SUBMISSIONS

 

2.1 The contents of the jariusbondoc.com are intended for your personal, noncommercial use. All materials published on jariusbondoc.com (including, but not limited to news articles, photographs, images, illustrations, audio clips and video clips, also known as the “Content”) are protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by jariusbondoc.com or the party credited as the provider of the Content. You shall abide by all additional copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained in any Content accessed through the Service.

 

2.2 The Service and its Contents are protected by copyright pursuant to the Republic of the Philippines and international copyright laws. You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce (except as provided in Section 2.3 of this Agreement), create new works from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit, any of the Content or the Service (including software) in whole or in part.

 

2.3 You may download or copy the Content and other downloadable items displayed on the Service for personal use only, provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained therein. Copying or storing of any Content for other than personal use is expressly prohibited without prior written permission from jariusbondoc.com or the copyright holder identified in the copyright notice contained in the Content.

 

  1. FORUMS, DISCUSSIONS AND USER GENERATED CONTENT

 

3.1 You shall not upload to, or distribute or otherwise publish on the message boards (the “Feedback Section”) any libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, or otherwise illegal material.

 

3.2 (a)Be courteous. You agree that you will not threaten or verbally abuse jariusbondoc.com columnists and other jariusbondoc.com community Members, use defamatory language, or deliberately disrupt discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or “spam.”

 

3.2 (b) Use respectful language. Like any community, the Feedback Sections will flourish only when our Members feel welcome and safe. You agree not to use language that abuses or discriminates on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual preference, age, region, disability, etc. Hate speech of any kind is grounds for immediate and permanent suspension of access to all or part of the Service.

 

3.2 (c) Debate, but don’t attack. In a community full of opinions and preferences, people always disagree. jariusbondoc.com encourages active discussions and welcomes heated debate in our Feedback Sections. But personal attacks are a direct violation of this Agreement and are grounds for immediate and permanent suspension of access to all or part of the Service.

 

3.3 The Feedback Sections shall be used only in a noncommercial manner. You shall not, without the express approval of jariusbondoc.com, distribute or otherwise publish any material containing any solicitation of funds, advertising or solicitation for goods or services.

 

3.4 You are solely responsible for the content of your messages. However, while jariusbondoc.com does not and cannot review every message posted by you on the Forums and is not responsible for the content of these messages, jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to delete, move, or edit messages that it, in its sole discretion, deems abusive, defamatory, obscene, in violation of copyright or trademark laws, or otherwise unacceptable.

 

3.5 You acknowledge that any submissions you make to the Service (i.e., user-generated content including but not limited to: text, video, audio and photographs) (each, a “Submission”) may be edited, removed, modified, published, transmitted, and displayed by jariusbondoc.com and you waive any moral rights you may have in having the material altered or changed in a manner not agreeable to you. You grant jariusbondoc.com a perpetual, nonexclusive, world-wide, royalty free, sub-licensable license to the Submissions, which includes without limitation the right for jariusbondoc.com or any third party it designates, to use, copy, transmit, excerpt, publish, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, create derivative works of, host, index, cache, tag, encode, modify and adapt (including without limitation the right to adapt to streaming, downloading, broadcast, mobile, digital, thumbnail, scanning or other technologies) in any form or media now known or hereinafter developed, any Submission posted by you on or to jariusbondoc.com or any other website owned by it, including any Submission posted on jariusbondoc.com through a third party.

 

3.6 By submitting an entry to jariusbondoc.com’s Readers’ Corner, you are consenting to its display on the site and for related online and offline promotional uses.

 

  1. ACCESS AND AVAILABILITY OF SERVICE AND LINKS

 

4.1 jariusbondoc.com contains links to other related World Wide Web Internet sites, resources, and sponsors of jariusbondoc.com. Since jariusbondoc.com is not responsible for the availability of these outside resources, or their contents, you should direct any concerns regarding any external link to the site administrator or Webmaster of such site.

 

  1. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

5.1 You represent, warrant and covenant (a) that no materials of any kind submitted through your account will (i) violate, plagiarize, or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy or other personal or proprietary rights; or (ii) contain libelous or otherwise unlawful material; and (b) that you are at least thirteen years old. You hereby indemnify, defend and hold harmless jariusbondoc.com, and all officers, directors, owners, agents, information providers, affiliates, licensors and licensees (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all liability and costs, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of any breach by you or any user of your account of this Agreement or the foregoing representations, warranties and covenants. You shall cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any such claim. jariusbondoc.com reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you.

 

5.2 jariusbondoc.com does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information displayed, uploaded, or distributed through the Service by any user, information provider or any other person or entity. You acknowledge that any reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement, memorandum, or information shall be at your sole risk. THE SERVICE AND ALL DOWNLOADABLE SOFTWARE ARE DISTRIBUTED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

 

  1. COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN JARIUSBONDOC.COM AND MEMBERS

 

6.1 If you indicate on your registration form that you want to receive such information, jariusbondoc.com, its owners and assigns, will allow certain third party vendors to provide you with information about products and services.

 

6.2 jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to send electronic mail to you for the purpose of informing you of changes or additions to the Service.

 

6.3 jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to disclose information about your usage and demographics, provided that it will not reveal your personal identity in connection with the disclosure of such information. Advertisers and/or Licensees on our Web site may collect and share information about you only if you indicate your acceptance. For more information please read the Privacy Policy of jariusbondoc.com.

 

6.4 jariusbondoc.com may contact you via e-mail regarding your participation in user surveys, asking for feedback on the Website and existing or prospective products and services. This information will be used to improve our Website and better understand our users, and any information we obtain in such surveys will not be shared with third parties, except in aggregate form.

 

  1. TERMINATION

 

 

7.1 jariusbondoc.com may, in its sole discretion, terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Service for any reason, including, without limitation, breach or assignment of this Agreement.

 

  1. MISCELLANEOUS

 

8.1 This Agreement has been made in and shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the Republic of the Philippines law. Any action to enforce this agreement shall be brought in the courts located in Manila, Philippines.

 

8.2 Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, nothing in this Terms of Service will serve to preempt the promises made in jariusbondoc.com Privacy Policy.

 

8.3 Correspondence should be sent to jariusbondoconline.com.

 

8.4 You agree to report any copyright violations of the Terms of Service to jariusbondoc.com as soon as you become aware of them. In the event you have a claim of copyright infringement with respect to material that is contained in the jariusbondoc.com service, please notify jariusbondoconline.com. This Terms of Service was last updated on November 7, 2020.