emerging & existing emergency

the coup has been prevented, the rallies have been controlled, people ask me "is it over?"

• there are still sizeable amount of troops milling around critical military installations and at the palace (although they are not as tense as before)
• people known to be critical of the empress' reign are being arrested right and left

i don't think it's over, not by a long shot. i shudder to think of the day when she will take over media outlets (channel 2 and 7), newspapers (inquirer, she already cracked down on the daily tribune - a newspaper i don't particularly read because of its pro-erap stance; but i do believe the niche should be maintained, not shut down), and utilities (meralco).

although i'm confident i won't be caught, arrested, or threatened (i'm just an insignificant number cruncher who's pissed at the reign; there are a whole lot of others more significant than me), it sends a psychological signal down the line that no one should go against her. i mean, the government only needs to catch the leaders to send the shudders down everyone's spine; but it discourages everyone to say anything. pretty soon, i'll be too scared to say anything. that is just plain wrong.

i really should do something about it; but certain conflicts of interests prevent me from doing so. for now, i blog.

seriously scared of shadow

what happens when an organization that has the might but is so uncertain about it's own existence that it uses all of its resources just to survive, even at the risk of looking silly?

this.

just now, they arrested ely pamatong's guys again. you might remember him as the failed presidentiable who claimed he threw spikes on the road to create chaos. he was just a nuisance, and they still arrested him.

last december, they arrested 80-something year old fortunato abat through a "citizen's arrest" with the charge of inciting to sedition. who among those who could fight would even rally to his cause?

they hosed down the 70-something year old former veep during a rally on nationwide tv. they could've just dispersed it the normal way.

they're now blaming abs-cbn for the wowowee incident, because it's a leader in dissing the administration.

every little protest, complaint, and opposition to the fact that the president is not doing a good job (forget legitimacy) would risk you a night in your friendly neighborhood jail. if the press and the internet wasn't spread throughout so many owners, that would've been clamped down too.

i believe the government has a right to defend itself from threats, like the NPA, the MILF, the ASG, and what not. but if it overreacts to every little silly attack, it loses it's focus to do important stuff, say governing. and you end up running the government through press releases and photo ops, looking sillier by the day.

while that happens, everyone jumps ship. and everyone else just goes on with their lives, trying not to notice her as much as they can. it is due to the resilience of the filipino that the economy is still managing to grow and not due to a comprehensive vision and program from the government (is there?).

it just ticks me off that the government would stoop so low and be so paranoid as to jump at its own shadow.

tv tragedy

the wowowee stampede comes as a natural shocker for those waking up on a lazy saturday weekend. as of the latest count, 79 fatalities have been counted and 145 have been injured. the impact of this news has been so great that not only gma-7, abs-cbn's rival station has given this airtime; even cnn has posted news on this tragedy.

as a testament to abs-cbn's professionalism, sensitivity to the local psyche, and speed and mobility of its resources, it was able to marshal it's news staff to report the incidence non-stop. the show was understandably cancelled, with willie revillame, the show's usually rambunctious host, apologizing profusely to the general public and the audience present.

(the show was supposed to have it's 1st anniv, with big prizes being given up to a total of P1M. for an average earning of P100, getting a prize or even just escaping the daily doldrum that is the philippine experience is a treat in itself.)

abs-cbn also offered to pay up for the medical and funeral expenses of the victims. the tickets of the current show would also be valid for the rescheduled show; the prizes are not to be touched, for use of the follow-up show.

it was expected that abs-cbn management and hosts would apologize on tv and to the directly involved audience. what struck me most was when willie apologized, the crowd was saying, "di nyo 'yan kasalanan" (it's not the station's fault).

applauses and boos can be staged, but interspersed shouts of forgiveness is rare, considering that the crowd went through a harrowing experience. the mere fact that you are deeply apologetic and are willing to do anything to rectify the situation beyond the perceived call of duty, i guess for pinoys this makes you more credible, more trustworthy.

this crisis management so far ranks with the cebu pacific crash a few years back, but with a greater media impact. on the political front, with abs-cbn at the loggerheads with the pgma administration, this event was an unexpected silver lining. even more, abs-cbn is now perceived as more credible than the present administration. (pgma can only order a 48 hour deadline on how this happened and issue statements on sympathy, but she has not done anything this fast to help the victims.) any moves on her part would seem routinary at the very least (you are supposed to conduct investigations, which usually don't lead anywhere); at most it would seem opportunistic (why would you get in on the action, when your legitimacy is questioned?).

let's offer our sympathies and prayers to those who suffered in this incident, and let's see how this incident changes the dynamic between a maligned government and an increasingly-powerful and omnipresent media empire.

call me commander, not captain

i guess i can command a strategic space station near a wormhole, or be in-charge of a galaxy or intrepid-class vessel when the captain's in a conference or turning into a salamander... :P

i'm more of a TNG, VOY, and DS9 guy, the TOS questions really threw me off...