The Yellow Card And The Yellow God

The SONA yesterday was quite amazing in the fact that Pnoy somehow resisted the urge to defend the DAP and to take passive-aggressive swipes at the judiciary. Otherwise, it went as expected. He touted the achievements of his administration and painted the picture that the Philippines is fine and dandy.

What was most interesting to me about the speech yesterday, however, was the pathetic retread of the "struggle". If you're Filipino, you know what I mean. The story of Marcos, martial law, Ninoy, Cory and yellow ribbons. At this point, it's not so much our history as it is "his story" - specifically, Pnoy's story where he is the righteous hero of course. The part of the speech where he echoed the words of his father and tried to rekindle that old "laban" feeling is, in my opinion, the most important part of his speech without a doubt. Nothing else matters. The carefully staged part of the speech where Pnoy said, "The Filipino is worth living for." and the camera zoom on the tears of his family was the key. It was the play, the money shot, the climax, the master stroke, etc. 

Did another boyfriend leave her, or something?

The listing of achievements is secondary, as whether or not something is an achievement takes time. The primary thrust of the speech was the reminder that Pnoy was "the one". Just as we Filipinos are slaves of our own wretched history, so is Pnoy a slave to his own mythology - that of the son of the heroes of martial law, Ninoy and Cory.

When you think of it in this manner, it isn't so hard to see why Pnoy acts in such a self-righteous and overzealous manner. For him, the events of the eighties never ended. The story is continuing and he is the continuation. He sees the world as history unfolding in a storybook manner where there are clear sides of good (him) and evil (his critics). To put it bluntly, he has his bald head shoved up so far his own ass that he believes in his own hype and his own aura of do-no-wrong incorruptibility. EDSA was the promise and he is the fulfillment. Why do you think he wears that yellow ribbon on his barong all the time? That's what it's about. That's what it has always been about.

Symbols have weight. (source)

Logically, it does not make sense. Just because Pnoy is the son of Ninoy and Cory doesn't mean he is "good" as the culture portrays his parents to be. But Pnoy believes it. His sycophants reinforce his belief. Again, he is a slave to myth but not history. It's almost like a religion, come to think of it. All of this hinges on the belief that Pnoy is the hero and can do no wrong because he is the son of heroes. He is the yellow warrior, the knight in golden armor who fights monsters; monsters like a sickly old woman and a hapless magistrate.

Maybe I'm going too far, but ask yourself if Pnoy would have been elected if he weren't an Aquino. Remember that the man rode on a wave of sympathy from the death of his mother. Frankly, if Pnoy weren't an Aquino, his speech yesterday wouldn't have any impact.

If Pnoy were smart, he'd be guilty of mere exploitation; of milking the family name and history. Based on his words and actions though, I think the man honestly believes the hype. In a way I feel sorry for him that he is unable to step back and view things from a normal point of view instead of yellow-tinted glass.

The most disturbing part of the speech was Pnoy's assertion that his enemies were not only his enemies but were enemies of the people as well. That is why the reinforcement of the myth was the most important part of the speech yesterday. Pnoy is the supposed force of good. He is the product of people power. Therefore, he represents the people. He is the people. The people are him. He is the Philippines. L'etat c'est moi. So stop wondering why Pnoy acts the way he does. There is nothing more dangerous in this world than a zealot.

In soccer, a yellow card is a warning that you have committed an offense. Pnoy has been warned but for him, the yellow card is one he plays to gather sympathy and reinforce the beliefs of his worshipers. But warnings should be heeded and he who fights the "monsters" of the present should see to it he does not become one himself.

History has a nasty habit of repeating itself.

More BS from BS

Today, El Presidente gave a press conference to address the outrage over the "pork barrel scam". Actually, it's not entirely correct to call it a press conference since he didn't deign to allow hard questions. Anyway, he said the words he should have said years ago; "Panahon na po upang i-abolish ang PDAF. (It's time to abolish the pork barrel)."

Except not really.

In an amazing moment of blunt political doublespeak, Dear Leader then went on about how a "new mechanism" is needed to address the needs of the people. Jesus Christ, this man still DOES NOT GET IT. 

A "new system" to allow lawmakers to fund their projects? Hey, here's a novel idea; How about we let the lawmakers focus on studying and crafting laws like they're supposed to and just send that pork money in the general budget. I'm sure the Department of Public Works and Highways can make better use of that money like say, drainage for floodwater? Just a suggestion.

The problem here is that El Presidente seems to miss the problem entirely. He sees the pork barrel system as perfectly alright and the problem is just  the misuse of the money. He made a statement that the PDAF could be used for "good or evil" and all we need are better guidelines. His simplistic way of thinking fails to dig deeper to the root of the problem; that the pork barrel IS the problem. It's unnecessary, it's prone to corruption and only enforces the patronage system of politics where we have to beg for scraps from the tongressmen and representathieves.

Let me tell you a story.

The Rains of Every Year

by ThatGuy

You live in a house. It's a bit crowded  and smelly but it's a charming old house that's quite beautiful and you call it home. However, there's a large gaping hole in the roof. When the rains come, the rainwater just pours into your living room and ruins all the furniture and appliances, not to mention soak everyone. Tired of being drenched day in and day out, you all chip in to hire the only carpenter in town.

The next day, a balding carpenter in glasses and yellow overalls arrives. He looks a bit stupid and arrived later than scheduled but he assures you he knows what he's doing. He takes a look at the hole and scratches his head.

"You know..." He starts. "This hole isn't really all that bad. On sunny days, it provides free natural lighting. It can be a good thing or a bad thing." He grins.

"Yeah, but we're living in a country that rains often! We can't just sit here waiting to see if the sky decides to rain or not. I'd rather have it fixed!" You say.

"Well..." He begins again in a condescending tone you steadily begin to hate. "What you really need is a better system to deal with the problem. You should check the weather bulletin to see if it's going to rain or not. If it rains, you and your family should just leave. Alternatively, we could just move all your living room furniture into the kitchen. It'll be like a New York studio apartment!".

"Well, can't I just have it fixed? I'd rather have it fixed." You say as it becomes increasingly clear there was no getting through to him.

"Fixing a hole this big is just too much work." He sighs. 

"If you're not going to fix this, me and my family are going to rally in front of your company's main office this Monday!"

"Oh no, don't do that!" He says with a look of panic on his face. "I'll get on it right away!"

You and your family leave for the mall for a few hours while the carpenter does his work. When you arrive, what you see leaves you speechless. "There, it's fixed." the carpenter says proudly. You are amazed to see an array of pots, pails and basins placed on strategic locations to "guide" the rainwater and keep it "regulated". All the furniture are covered with large tarps which you pray are at least waterproof.

"Here are some yellow raincoats for you to wear too for when it rains! I made them myself." He smiles with glee as he hands your youngest with his very own branded yellow raincoat. He hands you the bill.

"That will be about ten billion pesos, Sir!"