State of emergency in RP how serious?

Well, PGMA is serious in smashing all threats to her government by declaring the state of national emergency in the country for an indefinite period. This was despite persuasions from her economic advisers to lift it before the country suffers from serious economic setback.

But the Palace was determined saying the threats to government are haunting us around especially among the ranks of the military, which was admitted to be the basis for such declaration.

This urgent measure came after the foiled coup attempt last weekend. This was followed by administrative order to investigate political personalities and civilian leaders who might be involved in the coup plot. The government started arresting some known leaders of the leftist movement and naming some other personalities for questioning or investigation.

What we have now is truly a polarizing political situation. The opposition is expected to gain some strength as they now have a reason to rally forces behind them and even turn unsatisfied sectors against the government. With the capture of their leaders, the left is likewise expected to mount covert demonstrations and mass actions since these actions are now prohibited.

Businesses will be put in unstable situation once more and investments will find the atmoshphere very discouraging. Unscrupulous traders might take advantage of the situation at the expense of public interest.

Who is left helpless and without much choice? It is the sector of the working people and the poor population, who are trying to make both ends meet to feed their family. While their leaders and socalled concerned sectors of the society are trying to assert their “precious” constitutional rights and civil liberties.

Try to look at it in a broader perspective, these leaders are just a bunch or a handful of prejudiced personalities who only mind their own economic or political interests while the majority of the population are forced to SWALLOW the consequences of their blunders and misjudgments.

Stampede in Ultra - an Eye Opener

I don't remember any similar (stampede) situation of the same magnitude in the past. Media even call it a deadly stampede that put the country again into the world’s top headlines.

A lot has been said about the mishap and commented on so-called negligence and violations of people and the TV network in instituting the needed system and preparation for crowd control and security.

But, there is another area left unexplored and for me this is more important than any other issues involved. The show carries and conveys a dangerous message -- that it may have nurtured (though unconsciously) into the minds of the viewing public –- it tries to offer people a quick and effortless way to get out of poverty by offering “chance” or “luck” as THE solution.

One newspaper even made a symbolical analogy of the event to that of throwing a small slice of meat to the hungry pack of wolves. People had camped outside Ultra for two-three days already. For them chance was the only available and accessible solution at the moment. The challenge was clear, they must seize that chance whichever way possible.

This could be what all the 30,000 people (who were there) had been thinking too. All were tired, starving, caught up by the heat, squeezed out by the crowd, and dealing with all other inconveniences. Some were overly zealous; others were eager and determined but most have proven to be fatally desperate. There were reports that some people even trampled on the elderly, women, children just to get their way into the stadium; unmindful if they could hurt or get hurt.

I must admit the show truly offered a unique entertainment concept that made it a hot lunch-show pick among the poorest segment of the society.

However, it was a dole-out way of helping people; charitable indeed but not truly developmental and sustainable. Up to when can you ask people for dollar donations and give it to the needy? Up to when can you give people fish before you can realize that what they want is to learn how to fish?

US Calling for Less Foreign Oil Dependence?

I never really wanted to comment on US politics or economy but this one, on Pres. Bush speech during his recent State of the Union Address, was really surprising and commendable.

He also mentioned placing top priority on increasing domestic oil and gas production as well as developing cleaner, cheaper, more reliable alternative energy sources. His goal is also quite ambitious, that of reducing imports of Middle Eastern oil by 75% by 2025, which left some energy analysts wondering how he could define this goal when in 2005 alone, US has consumed about 20 million barrels of oil a day; and 60% of which is imported oil.

Pres. Bush' sudden shift of gear now bound homeward also kept some political analysts skeptical that these would only fall among some of his bold promises that never really took off.

But what is new in his current agenda, and this is what I like most, is his proposed increase in financing for clean energy research, this is great and worth looking forward to!

I just hope that this would serve as a good precedence for other countries, especially developing ones like the Philippines, to look closer into their own borders, explore their own potentials and channel more efforts and resources into developing these potentials.

Afterall, the law of social nature is telling us that in times of crisis like what every nation in the world faces today, the only logical, practical and attainable solution that remain is self-sustainability.