Divinely inspired

Who says history can only be written by the victor? It can be rewritten by his girlfriend, too.

As in the case of Divine Lee, former vice president for marketing of Globe Asiatique, who, when things have turned sour for the property development firm, now says she never had anything to do with the business.

“I’m not part of the team. I don’t know anything (about the business and the estafa case her dad is now facing). Ako ang unang maba-bash kasi ako ang nasa harap,” the model-turned-TV host opened up.

So she has resigned herself to the fact that “at a certain point, you just realize people don’t understand.”

Divine adds that she’s helpless against the bashing.

“Wala akong magagawa if they’re bashing me because of my Dad. People will crucify me because of my last name. I guess I have to deal with then. And I can’t stop working. I have to earn a living.”

That living is apparently now earned by hosting a show on TV5, which means she is in the realm of the entertainment press.

Now, entertainment reporting goes by different rules: stars are not required by law to be truthful (unlike, say, politicians, who might get in hot water when their lies are found out) and their studios often make sure all press conferences are carefully managed. A press conference for a paracetamol-shilling matinee idol, for example, was suddenly cut short when someone rudely asked about something that was not on the agenda like a recent breakup with another celebrity.

Breaking the rules set by PR handlers and studios could mean an indefinite ban from events and being cut off from the supply of envelopes filled with money for gas and coffee. To be fair, not all entertainment reporters play by those rules. Enough do, however, for that not to be a hasty generalization.

Being in the realm of the entertainment press, nobody would, of course, dare to press Ms. Lee about her actual involvement with GA.

But consider this excerpt from a 2010 interview on Cosmo:

You’re a model, an executive, a businesswoman, and a socialite; how do you manage to do all those things?

Well, I’m rarely home for one, and I’m not yet married, so I don’t have kids to attend to. So far, I’m managing it pretty well.
I work for GA [Globe Asiatique] in the morning; I check the sites. Then I do all my meetings in the afternoon, then, after that, at night,
it’s free time…

What keeps you going?

I like what I do, I guess. It’s the best thing. I don’t count the hours. I really enjoy everything, from retail, to the club we have with Tim [Yap], even real estate. For me, real estate is like a clothing brand. You see something from paper, you see it being produced, and the next thing you know, you see someone wearing it; in real estate’s case, living there. It’s fun.

Granted, that last bit about real estate being like a clothing brand does bolster the contention that she knows nothing about the business.

Also, this picture.

More here though:

What kind of Philippines would you like to build?

Number one, because I’m in housing–I don’t know if this is too technical–but we have a three million deficit in housing, and when we ask the government [why], it’s always about the people who are illegal, squatters–they don’t have proper housing. But what i want to focus on are those people who are actually working but cannot afford a home yet. So, my dream is, by area, maybe I can provide good housing in line with what we do My dad can build houses, then on the side, we can provide a certain percentage for people who can’t afford housing.

But how can you do that, Ms. Lee, when you have nothing at all to do with GA? Give the poor over-sized sweaters they can turn into tents, maybe?

But that’s Cosmo, you may say (and by doing so be doing the magazine a disservice), that’s just stuff for fluff!

All right, then, here’s something from the Philippine Star:

Divine Lee, Globe Asiatique vice president for sales and marketing, says both Xevera Bacolor and Xevera Mabalacat are the results of extensive consultations his [sic] father held with residents of the area.

“My dad has always been an idealist. All his buyers know him personally. He goes to the projects, he talks to them and asks what their concerns are,” she says.

But wait, there’s more! This time from the Inquirer:

Lee denied being an officer of the realty firm after buyers of GA Tower 2 units filed complaints with the Pag-Ibig Fund (or the Home Development Mutual Fund) accusing the company of “double-selling” their units at the Edsa condomium.

However, in a general information sheet at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Divine Lee was listed as the CEO of the GA Tower 2.

Lee was also named as one of directors and incorporators of the condominium in the documents submitted by the realty firm to the SEC on March 18, 2010.

Now, we’re not saying Divine Lee, or any of the Lees, is guilty of defrauding the country’s housing loan fund of billions of pesos. That’s for a court to decide, if at all. While the case was still developing, Ms. Lee declined commenting on its, saying the lawyers had told her not to speak. Which, because of sub judice and out of the presumption of innocence, we would have respected and still do.

To turn around completely and rewrite history when convenient, though, goes beyond that. She and her father were not estranged when it was convenient for GA to be a family company, but suddenly here comes a sob story about having to make it alone and, apparently, being shut out of the family corporation because that story sells better.

That Ms. Lee was kicked out of the house because of her modelling career might be true. But, surely, she and her family had mended fences by around 2009? Enough, at least, for her not to correct Cosmo when it said she and her dad were very close and all that stuff about working for GA.

Out Come The Wolves

The remains of Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, whose airplane crashed into the sea around Masbate island, and a state funeral is already being arranged. Retrieval operations for the downed Piper Seneca are ongoing but the bodies of Robredo and his two pilots Jessup Bahinting and Kshitiz Chand have either been found or retrieved.

The drama around the crash is done and what’s left is to deal with the loss. Which means, of course, that out come the wolves, if they aren’t already. Expect wailing and hair-pulling about the state of aviation in the Philippines. There will also be much hand-washing on why Robredo’s appointment as Local Government secretary was never confirmed by the Commission on Appointments.
In fact, it has started already:

(Camarines Sur Rep. Luis, Sr., who allegedly blocked Robredo’s confirmation,) Villafuerte said Robredo’s death should not be sullied with finger-pointing. Earlier reports said Villafuerte had a falling-out with his nephew and had even fielded his own sister against Robredo in the 1992 mayoral elections in Naga City.

“In this time, dapat sana these are moments of prayer and grief and remembrance. Lahat ng mabubuting ginawa niya yun na lang ang alalahanin. Kalimutan na natin ang mga kakulangan niya dahil bigyan na lang natin siya ng tribute at commendation,” he said.

Other politicians not directly involved also found ways to insert themselves into the narrative, like so:

Lacson revealed yesterday that Robredo had been “quietly helping” him find a way to resurface without having to be put behind bars in connection with the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.

“I will always remember and be thankful to Secretary Jesse Robredo for personally albeit quietly helping me during my difficult time while in hiding,” Lacson said in a text message to the Manila Bulletin.

Comments circulating on the Internet even before the bodies were found criticized President Benigno Aquino III for taking a hands-on approach to the search and rescue operations for his friend, party mate, and member of his Cabinet. They also criticized the impressive array of assets mobilized for the operations. There was just too much fuss for a handful of people, they said, in a plea to common sense that the opposition may pick up soon.

Ang daming nalunod sa baha ni maayos na paglipatan wala tau maibigay. iisang tao lng nawawala buong navy at airforce pa mobilize ng pangulo.. noynoying

Like so.

This is, of course, valid in the sense that all opinions are, in a sense, valid. This is also rather stupid.

One has to wonder, for example, what the BRP Simeon Castro (PG-374) and Diesel Fastcraft-339, two of many boats deployed to Masbate, could have done in the face of the widespread flooding that drowned parts of Luzon earlier this month. Fire their machine guns in futile frustration, possibly.

Would deep-sea divers have been of much use during the floods? Would motorized bancas based in Masbate?

Critics have to realize, too, that the units deployed to look for Robredo and the pilots came from nearby Coast Guard stations and would not have been of much help to flood and landslide victims in Metro Manila, Central, and Southern Luzon anyway.

It isn’t like the government didn’t do anything during the floods, either.  The President was also around then, distributing relief goods, and attracting criticism for early campaigning.

Laguna Lake: Bringing turtles to a knife-fish fight

Meanwhile, in news that cannot end well:

The Department of the Environment and Natural Resources is considering biological warfare against an invasion of knife fish in Laguna Lake.

The knife fish “an ornamental BUT carnivorous species”, has been terrorizing fisherfolk in Laguna de Bay by eating up their tilapia and milk fish and threatening them with low harvests.

Also, by looking like this.

One proposed solution is releasing soft-shelled turtles into the lake to eat up knife fish eggs.

Isidro Mercado, DENR provincial officer, came up with the suggestion when they learned that the turtles (Pelodiscus sinensis) feed on the eggs of the knife fish.

He said the turtles, although considered “predators,” would not pose harm to marine species growing in the lake since they do not eat fish.

“We think these (soft-shelled turtles) could be a possible solution, although we are still conducting further researches to determine its characteristics,” Mercado said.

Characteristically ugly

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has warned against introducing foreign species into Laguna de Bay without first studying how that will affect the lake.

“In the case of Taal Lake, the fishermen complain about these turtles because they bite off and destroy the fish nets,” Leah Villanueva, chief of the BFAR Inland Fisheries Research Station said.

Should the release of knife-fish-killing turtles go awry, the DENR has a back-up platoon of turtle-eating crocodiles in reserve and ready for deployment.

 

Overplaying the Victim Card

Here’s an interesting update on the brawl between Inquirer columnist Mon Tulfo, Raymart Santiago, Claudine Barretto, and their pal in pink:

InterAksyon, the online news portal of TV5,where Tulfo’s brothers work, has a video showing Raymart and pals threw the first blow. It was a wimpy blow worthy of men in pink who beat down senior citizens, but there you go.

The video shows a man in a pink shirt who was talking to Tulfo. The man was beside a woman in pink tops and white shorts, attire that is similar to what Barretto was wearing during the May 6 incident at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City.

The man in pink shirt was seen on the video hitting Tulfo in the head with his left hand.

The scene reportedly took place before the melee.

And here’s the video:

But allegedly throwing the first punch–or any punch at all–is not the worst that this celebrity couple has done.

After the scuffle, Tulfo’s  brothers Erwin, Raffy, and Ben made threats against the couple, threatening retribution and hinting at a rematch. They have apologized for that, and were suspended by the network. The show itself was suspended by government censors.

That did not stop Santiago and Barretto from playing the victim card in the media, and, in effect, pissing on people with legitimate concerns like human rights.

The couple, for example, approached Gabriela Women’s Party for counseling, support and sympathy because, as a celebrity, Barretto’s only recourse is to run to a legitimate mass organization and make it look publicity hungry. Gabriela cannot be faulted for supporting her, of course. How can they turn away a victim of violence against women?

“While we do not condone Ms. Barretto’s manner of confronting the Cebu Pacific staff for the inconvenience that her family encountered, and how she might have reacted to Mr. Tulfo, she and her family do not deserve, as no human being deserves, the violence they experienced,” Gabriela said on ABS-CBN.com

What rankles is that Barretto is–except for being a woman–unlike the women that are in, or need, Gabriela. She is a celebrity, and probably has enough money for counseling from a psychiatrist. She certainly has enough money to hire lawyer Alex Avisado, who counts Senator Panfilo Lacson as a client. This writer gets the sense, then, that the move was more for publicity than for anything else: Look at us, we’re so poorwawa, we need Gabriela to defend us. And, during the time Barretto was milking that visit to Gabriela accompanied by television cameras and reporters, some other woman who cannot afford counseling or a big-name lawyer might otherwise have been served.

Not content with that, and possibly because Gabriela was smart enough not to let themselves be used to sway public opinion in an incident that does little for its cause, the couple then sought a writ of amparo (Recurso de Amparo) or protection from the Tulfo Brothers.

Which, to be fair, they can under the law.

Which, to be fair, doesn’t mean they should have. The writ, adopted from Latin American jurisdictions, was not originally intended as a legal relief in airport scuffles.

According to the Supreme Court, the writ was meant “to protect against human rights abuses especially during the time they were governed by military juntas. Generally, these countries adopted the writ to provide for a remedy to protect the whole range of constitutional rights, including socio-economic rights.”

The same Supreme Court annotation adds: “The writ covers extralegal killings and enforced disappearances or threats thereof,” a problem that this country has been having trouble addressing.

Again, sure, Raymart and Claudine can certainly ask for a writ of amparo. They can also hire bodyguards or get their pink-shirted buddy to hang out with them more often for their protection. Or, you know, not pay the Tulfos any mind because, come on, they would have to be pretty stupid to make threats on TV and then actually carry those out.

The court granted the petition and they now have police protection, so hooray. We’re paying our Philippine National Police to babysit these two.

To illustrate how this is the height of douchebaggery and a mockery of what the writ of amparo was meant to be, consider who else has filed a petition for that writ: the parents of Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan, two U.P. students who have been missing since 2006.

In Defense of Mon Tulfo

It must be a cold day in hell because, for the first time ever, this website sympathizes with Inquirer columnist Mon Tulfo.

Not because of anything he said but because of what happened to him: Held down and beaten by two celebrities and their man-tourage at an airport.

Also, too much pink

The fight apparently began when Tulfo, being both curious and at one time in his life vaguely a journalist, took out his mobile phone to take pictures of actress Claudine Barretto complaining about misplaced luggage.

According to the Inquirer, where Tulfo works:

Tulfo pulled out his mobile phone and took photos of the scene, which he said would form part of a column he intended to write, when a man from the actress’ group approached him.

The man, whom he later recognized as Barretto’s husband, “demanded to get my phone which I used in taking shots.” Tulfo said he refused to surrender his phone.

Santiago continued to force Tulfo to give up his phone when several men joined the actor, according to the columnist. Tulfo said he could not recall who threw the first punch because he was being ganged up [on].

Tulfo says he was blind-sided but Barrett and her husband Raymart Santiago say Tulfo started the fight:

In an interview with Inquirer Entertainment and posted on INQUIRER.net after the incident, Santiago said that when he approached Tulfo to ask him about his cellphone video, the columnist suddenly punched and kicked him and his wife.

“Why would I hit an older man in front of my children? I wasn’t brought up by my parents that way,” he explained.

As we have no way of knowing how the Santiagos brought Raymart up, we will have to take that at face value. We will also have to note, however, that “not being brought up that way” has as much weight as a legal defense as saying “It wasn’t me.”

Tulfo’s reputation as a hot-headed potty mouth works against him in this case, as was seen on the first reactions on Twitter: They were pretty much about how Tulfo is “less of a man” for getting into a fight with a girl (and her man-tourage). But this was before a video of the incident began circulating on the Internet:

Barretto insists, on ABS-CBNNews.com,  that Tulfo kicked her and kicked her first:

Barretto said Tulfo also kicked her twice when she confronted him about why he punched her husband.

“Lumapit ako sabi ko ‘Anong problema mo? Bakit ka nanununtok?’ Tapos bigla na lang humarap siya sa akin, tinadyakan niya ako ng dalawang beses sa hita tapos tinulak ako sa may counter ng sobrang lakas,” she said.

Tulfo admits he may have kicked Barretto:

While trying to fight his way out, Tulfo said Barretto, who was nearby, repeatedly cursed at him. He said he might have hit the actress with a kick as he tried to fight back.

In that video, someone, presumably Santiago keeps saying “Hindi pa ako tapos! (I’m not yet done!).” And that, more than anything, makes whatever defense that Tulfo allegedly started the fight invalid.

Let’s say Tulfo did start the fight. Santiago and his man-tourage would have been justified in hitting back, but only to a certain extent. Knock him out, maybe. Or push him away and then form a protective circle around Barretto until security arrived. Engaging in a brawl does not count as self defense.

According to the Revised Penal Code, Santiago and his man-tourage can claim self defense in the face of unlawful aggression, but that hinges on the reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel it and the lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person defending himself.*

A choke hold while loudly proclaiming you are not yet done does not count as reasonable necessity in any case except in the Octagon. Tulfo was on the ground and, although he was fighting back, was no longer a threat to anything except his tough-guy image.** Security was also on the way by the time the video was taken, so Santiago, his pal in pink, and Barretto could have–should have–backed off already.

Also, Barretto is seen taking part in the brawl herself, which means she’s as much a part of it as their bad-ass friend in pink whom Tulfo actually hits with a kick. Despite being held in a choke hold. And being an old man. Good job, Turtle.

More important than a celebrity couple beating up someone who is vaguely a journalist is a celebrity subjecting ordinary citizens to verbal abuse:

Barretto allegedly started cursing at Cebu Pacific ground staff Cid Charisse Bocboc and Kristina Anne Ilagan after she found out that their luggage had been left behind.

Aside from not having their luggage, Barretto also got mad because their flight was delayed, Bocboc told airport authorities.

Bocboc said she asked Barretto for the baggage claim stub and description of their luggages for proper tracing, but Barretto reportedly continued her tongue-lashing of the ground crew in front of other arriving passengers.

Ilagan, on the other hand, told authorities she explained to Barretto that due to weight limitations and for safety reason, their luggages had to be flown to Kalibo Airport, Aklan and that these would soon be brought to Manila.

Despite their explanations, Ilagan and Bocboc, in their handwritten statements to airport authorities, said Barretto continued to verbally abuse them.

We get that flying on Cebu Pacific can be a headache sometimes, but that is no reason to take it out on the ground crew in Manila for luggage left behind in Aklan. In the first place, they had nothing to do with it, being in Manila. And also, they are just wage slaves like the rest of us who aren’t celebrities and do not deserve that sort of treatment at all. Especially not for a problem that was already being addressed: the luggage was already being brought over to Manila.

One must also note that the luggage was supposedly left behind due to “weight limitations and for safety reason (sic)” so Barretto and Santiago may have had something to do with that. Maybe they packed too much stuff? Even if they didn’t, it bears thinking about that had Cebu Pacific loaded the luggage on the plane, the argument would not have happened. Possibly because the plane crashed into the sea.

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*An Act Revising the Penal Code and Other Penal Laws [REVISED PENAL CODE], Act No.3815, art.11 (1932)

** I mean, he’s in pink even.

Why trees are better on the ground

In the spirit of discourse in which the previous post was written, Indolent Indio is posting this piece from Michael Bengwayan of Cordillera Ecological Center. Although we can argue with prats who run away at the first sign of debate, we cannot argue with science. 

We assume good faith in this piece, as we assume good faith on the part of SM.

[UPDATE: According to the Internet, Forestry professor, arborist, and urban forestry practitioner Armando Palijon has a different take on the issue. He says balling the trees is useless and that SM should instead use the money on compensatory activities like planting more trees. Check it out here.]

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The Lies and More Lies of SM About Their Tree Massacre

By Michael A. Bengwayan

For the past days, some articles have been written obviously by people who are on the side of SM but ignorant about trees and can’t even tell the difference of what a live tree is from a dead one. Some disinformation have also been written about me and our head legal officer Atty. Cheryl Chyt L. Daytec Daytec. SM is desperate as it has lost so much goodwill as well as income and it will do everything–even to maximize lies and distort truths –just to get into your pockets. But the people of Baguio are wiser than all of SM. They see through the facade of SM’s pride parade, arrogance and greed.

Allow me to let you see through the lies of SM’s so-called Green Expansion Garden in the Sky project. They say that their project is “certified by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the internationally recognized standard for green building design and construction developed by the US Green Building Council.”

[Indolent note: The actual claim on SM’s website is:

The project aims to be the first mall in the North Region to be certified by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the internationally recognized standard for green building design and construction developed by the USGBC.

The project is designed to receive a LEED Gold Rating, which requires a minimum of 60 of the listed points, subject to the review and approval of the Green Building Council.]

However, Jennivine Kwan, Vice President for International Operations of USGBC denied this claim. She said they have never certified any project of SM and do not intend to work with SM.

[Indolent note 2: SM does claim membership in the US Green Building Council:

SM Prime Holdings has partnered with the U.S. Green Building Council. As a member of USGBC, the company committed itself to the mission and guiding principles of the organization in fostering a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy saving green buildings.

SM Prime Holdings is on the US Green Building Council membership directory, though. We’re not sure what that means.]

LEEDS Philippines also said SM’s trumpeting of its so called Green Project is a case of Greenwashing, (Disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image) and called on people to sign the petition against SM.

And rightly so. Why? Because building a garden in the sky is only an artificial thing. There is no substitute to God-made woods, forest or natural gardens. An artificial Garden in the Sky has all the following disadvantages.

First, when you put soil on top of a building and plant trees on it, you are negating the carbon sequestration capability of the trees. The carbon absorbed by the trees accumulate in the few feet of soil on top of the concrete roof and since the trees are not naturally connected to the earth, the amassed carbon dioxide volatilizes back to the atmosphere through the surface soil as there is no deeper ground for the COs to leach. Thus, instead carbon dioxide being trapped, it is released continually to the atmosphere causing harm and danger.

Second, the natural capillary action of tree roots to raise water level to as high as 200 feet deep is totally removed because they are not in contact to the earth. With this, there will be more difficulty in water access.

Third, oxygen release by trees is lessened because a disequilibrium in CO2-O2 exchange. More CO2 are released while the trees, which can never reach their growth potential in terms of height, density and sprawl, will have limited capability to create and to release oxygen.

The problem is, SM wants to invent better what God has made. That is bullshit. There is no substitute to what God has made. Not even science can replace that.

Is this so hard to understand?

—

Does anyone from SM want to chime in?

It’s (Not) All Pine, Dudes

Let’s get this straight. We at Indolent Indio don’t hate the environment. We hate hate. Blind hate, anyway. And SM Supermalls has been getting a lot of that lately.

It’s not difficult to see why.

SM is so easy to hate

Not only are they an enormous corporation, they’re owned by a guy who invites ire simply by being both Chinese and the richest man in the Philippines. This combination of facelessness and figurehead makes it easy for people to lash out blindly at SM’s power while “[attaching] a face to the Baguio trees issue.”

 

Also applicable: "South Korea's Human Cloning Breakthrough"

The Sy family, this fake-ass TIME cover notwithstanding, is publicity shy and therefore easy to condemn and Photoshop.

Did we mention they're Chinese?

People working for SM have likewise been demonized, with their security guards being painted as Martial Law-era goons and their construction workers as environmental terrorists.

This, despite the fact that SM guards have standing and very specific orders not to touch any protesters. The most the malls have done is turn up their sound system so the rest of the 3.5 million shoppers in their 43 malls nationwide could do so in relative peace.

While many shoppers clapped as the protesters chanted, others were displeased.

“Excuse me, I’m shopping,” a woman shouted.

Focus, ficus

Much like the trees themselves, valid but irrelevant issues are being dug up.

Take, for example, SM’s labor practices: inducing fatigue by forcing their salesladies to be on their feet for their entire shift, and inducing unattractiveness by standardizing makeup regardless of skin tone.

This has been happening for years, and not only in SM. Where are the Carlos Celdrans for those ladies with their bunions and unflattering eyeshadow palettes?

Even if true, this has nothing to do with the trees, except that by boycotting the malls, those ladies will not have to stand around all day in horrible makeup. Hooray!

Actually, Celdran does make that point. Good for him.

Look at who is making the most money here and how does it trickle down? What’s the quality of jobs that they create AND support? Ethics? Practices? Policies? Carbon footprint? I think they’ll be measured and come wanting. And let’s not pinpoint here. The Ayalas, Gokongweis, Tans, Angs, and ALL others should be taken to task. This should be the beginning of accountability for ALL who take part in the PH economy. In the public and private sphere.

This is a valid point, of course. One can also argue that the worst quality job is the one where you don’t have one at all. But that has nothing to do with trees and everything with malling as the center of Filipino commerce and consciousness.

Counterpoints or, you know, basic information

Much has also been said about the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, which issued the permits for SM to cut and ball the trees. Mainly that they have been paid off or value big business at the expense of nature.

This might be true, and is always the argument against all the other agencies that support dudes with fat wallets, e.g. pro-Corona, but we — and by that we mean you and I — don’t know if SM paid off DENR for sure.

General disapproval of the permits being given is in no way evidence of corruption. Saying that Environment Secretary Ramon Paje was bribed is unfair to him and hundreds of other people in the DENR who might actually know what they are doing.

Assuming that they’re all corrupt and incompetent because you disagree with the decision is a lazy argument and is disrespectful of Forestry, which is an actual field of study that our foresters spend their careers in.

Even balling the trees at night — SM’s supposed attempt to keep the people of Baguio in the dark — was more for the benefit of the trees than for anyone else. Did you know that? We didn’t, until we decided to find out. Surprise!

The fact is that night time earth-balling was a directive from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

According to DENR undersecretary Demetrio Ignacio, trees have greater chances of survival when it is re-balled in the cooler night environment.

He said that doing this during the dry, hot summer day, would mean greater possibility of death for the re-balled trees.

SM isn’t cutting down or balling 182 pine trees either. Ninety-seven adult pine trees will be transplanted and the rest are either saplings, which are easier to transplant, or alnus (alder) trees which, we have been told, is an invasive species.

Will some of those trees die? They might, but SM has already promised to plant 50,000 saplings, regardless of how many of the original 182 survive.

That makes your “mass murderer” argument invalid. In the next five years, SM is planting a total of 50,000 saplings, which is around 274 saplings for every tree “massacred.”

It's also about ANGRY RED TEXT.

Where the trees currently are, SM’s creating a stronger concrete structure to prevent erosion, and under that is a reservoir that can supposedly hold 6.9 million liters of water, or as much water as around 4,000 trees can soak up. So Ondoy-level floods look like a Metro Manila problem for now.

The floodwater, instead of going into Baguio City can instead be used for fire trucks, watering local parks, and other stuff for the water-starved City of Pines1.

All of these, really, are promises. We don’t know whether SM will follow through or not, but protesters and trolls alike are banking on the belief that all 182 trees will die. Pretty ironic that it’s SM who’s hoping the trees will live.


“Every act of creation is, first of all, an act of destruction,” said Pablo Picasso, and, to a certain extent, Secretary Paje. And this is true. Unless you are living in a tree house and reading this on your banana-leaf tablet, you’re in on it too.

Angry people

We’re inundating you with information about how Baguio is far from inundation itself. So much useless and destructive rage has been leveled at SM precisely because ragefaces are best worn with ignorance, if not reductionist arguments.

SM Baguio’s woes went viral, and while it’s heartwarming to see that thousands of Filipinos suddenly care about the environment, it’s also evidence that going viral is the opposite of discourse.

Think of the children! And by that we mean KONY 2012.

Commentary on slacktivism aside, should you stop opposing SM Baguio’s development? Not at all, but make sure your rage has roots, because your opinion will hold much more water if informed. This issue raises questions about development, about the kind of culture that we have as a people, about local autonomy and economies. These are questions that deserve more thought than clicking on the share button and typing a trite comment that others have already made.

Don’t dismiss everything as corporate spin. It’s nice to think that this is as simple as protecting Mother Nature Magick from Big Bad Biznezzes, but spin goes both ways.

It is, for example, unfair to declare that you’re showing people “the photo of SM cutting trees in the dead of night,” without expounding on the photo, whether to fully say “OMFG SM SO BAD” or taking the informed route and acknowledging that it was a DENR directive. It’s unfair to say “Fuck SM!” and distribute angry links to angrier pieces while pimping some high-class hotel built on reclaimed land. It’s also unfair to dig up five-year-old development plans, i.e. SM Tagaytay, and post them without context. “Holy Shit” indeed, Mr. Celdran.

I guess we can safely say that most haters can’t see the forest2 for the trees.

 

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1 As an aside, WWF’s Lorie Tan says Baguio gets the most rainwater in a year but also has the least access to it. One solution to Baguio’s lack of water is a water catchment system. Which is, ta-dah!, part of SM’s planned infrastructure.

2 SM said they complied with the requirements set by Administrative Order 2000-21, which includes studies, consultations with the community, and “an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) which shall be made as basis for the issuance of an ECC.” Assuming the DENR knows what it is doing–but probably not as well as the social media hive mind–then the issuance of the permit must mean SM’s proposal passed their guidelines.

NOTE: In case you’re curious, we aren’t being paid nor are we part of any international conspiracy. If you’ve been here long enough, you know we don’t play that way.

The Rocket’s Red Glare

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio has, as the newspapers say, hit the government for supposedly causing panic over the anticipated launch by North Korea of a rocket to send a satellite into orbit this month.

Part of the rocket may fall around 190 kilometers East of Luzon, and the Philippine National Research Institute has suggested that people stay indoors during the launch:

“The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) – DOST submits the ‘STAY INDOORS’ policy for the residents of Regions 1, 2, 3 4A, 4B, NCR and 5 during the 12-16 April 2012 period, particularly between 0600H to 1200H,” the PNRI said.

“PNRI will continue to monitor and issue periodic advisories and precautionary measures to the NDRRMC and the general public. In the event of a suspected radiation report, NDRRMC with the recommendation of PNRI will activate the Radiological Plan (RADPLAN),” it added.

That, and proposed no-fly and no-sail zones is a ploy by the government to create panic among the people, Rep. Tinio says. “They are spreading misinformation and sowing fear among the public. It’s outrageous and unacceptable,” he says in reports on Sun.Star and by ABS-CBNNews.com .

“The North Koreans are launching a satellite on that rocket, not a nuclear warhead. Yet Undersecretary (Benito) Ramos even refers to it as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile or ICBM, evoking the doomsday weapon of the Cold War. Such exaggerated language is totally inappropriate coming from a bureaucrat in charge of ensuring public order and safety. Leave the rhetoric to the diplomats and politicians,” Tinio said.

But, you see, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) that Ramos heads does not actually say that on their advisory. There is no mention of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles or doomsday or the Cold War on the report, nor is there any “exaggerated language”.

[UPDATE: Rep. Tinio, through his Twitter account, has sent us a link of the minutes of the NDRRMC meeting where  Ramos reportedly referred to the launch of “an alleged non-nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) named “KWANGMYONGSONG-3“. The document has since been deleted from the NDRRMC website, he said.

From the minutes:

USEC Ramos emphasized, the meeting is not intended to cause alarm but rather educate, prepare and allay all fears that may arise from misinformation or disinformation. This is to avert panic as seen in the Fukushima Nuclear incident where betadine solutions/ products were sold-out locally and schools/ universities suspending classes.

To be fair to Rep. Tinio, the minutes have Ramos giving “a brief lecture on the types of (weapon) trajectories stressing how serious things will be if the rocket veers off course or maliciously intended to hit the Philippines.”]

In its advisory, NDRRMC said  the Unha rocket that will carry the satellite is “essentially the same as the Taepodong missile, which is being developed as a delivery system for Weapons of Mass Destruction.”

Which, you know, is a reason for worry.

But hang on, the same NDRRMC update says reassuringly that as far as anyone knows, “the missile does not carry a nuclear warhead.”

“[PNRI director Alumanda Dela Rosa] allayed fears about the possibility of it being a weapon of mass destruction. Accordingly, there is no reported radioactive material that will be carried on board.”

The “Stay Indoors” policy isn’t even a policy so much as a suggestion. The Army isn’t being called out and put on red alert, Martial Law has not been declared, and the government has not said much about the North Korean satellite launch at all since the long weekend.

But clearly, Rep. Tinio, says, this is fear-mongering and a blatant pandering to US imperialism as well as a negation of North Korea’s sovereignty

Tinio raised the possibility that the report was part of a calculated effort on the part of the Aquino administration to get the public’s support on increased presence of US troops in the country.

“After all, President Aquino has been the most vocal in echoing US foreign policy on North Korea in this part of the world,” he said.

This is probably true, since all the other countries who may have rocket debris land within 190 kilometers of their mainland have been so far very quiet about the North Korea Satellite Launch Question. Who’s launching into rhetoric now, Rep. Tinio?

The legislator challenged Malacañang to review the NDRRMC’s report and take responsibility for providing the public with an objective assessment of the situation and coming up with sensible recommendations.

Sensible, like taking North Korea’s word over that of your own country’s government.

Quite a Character

Guess what, Philippine Daily Inquirer? Funny faces are only funny when they’re made on purpose, and not when they’re the uncontrollable result of a debilitating cerebrovascular accident.

With all the elegance of a national broadsheet stooping to unethical levels that would make a tabloid blush, today’s PDI published incredibly tasteful photographs of witness Demetrio Vicente grimacing his way through a testimony. On the front page, even.

This isn't the picture we're talking about.

The photos have been called “unflattering,” “tasteless,” and “mean.” We don’t mince words. The decision to publish those particular photographs of the septuagenarian stroke survivor was downright cruel.

Inquirer’s instant statement amidst the backlash was the exact opposite of their usual coverage of the impeachment trial: on the defense. Their claim that the four-frame collage of Mr. Vicente’s facial expressions contained “the only photos available” is shut down by the fact that there are actually only two photos, with the other half of the quadrant being zoomed-in versions of the first two. What did you think that editorial call was, PDI? A stroke of genius?

As if the photographs weren’t funny enough — and by “funny” we mean “insulting to Mr. Vicente and stroke survivors and people with basic human values everywhere” — PDI couldn’t resist digging their elbow a little deeper into the side of ethical journalism. Which, by the way, isn’t ticklish.

Their caption:
“‘CHARACTER’ WITNESS The many faces of Demetrio Vicente on the witness stand. He’s no ordinary witness after all. He’s the cousin of the Chief Justice whose wife sold him seven parcels of land in 1990, where he now grows bonsai.”

Oh, I get it! He’s a “character” because he can’t control his facial muscles! Also, he is a witness! So witty, Inquirer. “Character” is properly ascribed to vintage furniture and James Earl Jones’ voice, not disabilities. People who come up with quips like these are the same people who Photoshop Mickey Mouse ears onto pictures of hydrocephalic babies.

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(Thx, Indolent contributor Lady Dada!)

Impeachment at Ateneo

It is often said that the university is a microcosm of society. Granted, this is usually said of the University of the Philippines, but it also applies to other schools, with slight modifications.

At any rate, it can be said that our universities mirror society since they have valid issues too. Valid to the students, at any rate.

Take the Occupy Job Fair at Ateneo de Manila University earlier this year as a protest against a job fair perceived to be aimed at finding jobs for people from the ADMU School of Management:

An unrepresentative and unaccommodating job fair is one more insult on top of all the SOM students who’ve discriminated against us in our very own classes whether out of malice or ignorance. We’re not saying that people mean to marginalize us through all of these things, but all we’re asking for is space and respect for non-corporate ways to make sense of our lives.

At the end of the day even if there is no giant SOMspiracy, students from SOSS and SOH unfairly feel the weight of the invisible hand. We’re making a perfectly legitimate choice offered by the institution and it’s only right that we expect the Ateneo institution to stand by us by validating our choices in the job fair.

Clearly, even though many of them are in the Philippines’ 1 percent (which, in no way means the global 1 percent), students from schools other than the School of Management felt they were in the 99 percent.

Here are photos from that protest:

Photos from Rica Facundo (senorica.wordpress.com)

Ms. Facundo adds:

In my four college years in Ateneo this is the most vocal I’ve seen the community. Perhaps the medium was radical, but if other people voiced their opinions sooner then maybe this could have been prevented. Although there are bigger issues to be concerned about, if you can’t speak up in your community now then what more when you leave it.

But the world has since moved on from the Occupy movement (except for people actually Occupying cities) and the flavor of the month is now the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Which brings us to the potential impeachment trial of an ADMU student council officer for “mismanagement, inefficiency,incompetence, and gross neglect of duty.”

An excerpt, with the respondent’s name redacted:

RESOLUTION AND PRAYER

WHEREFORE, pursuant to the procedure laid out in Section 19, Article II of theSanggunian Constitution, the undersigned complainants, as students of the Ateneo deManila University – Loyola Schools, hereby file the impeachment complaint against Respondent [Redacted].Thereafter, undersigned Complainants respectfully pray that the Honorable Magistratesof the Student Judicial Court conduct trial forthwith and thereafter, render a judgment of conviction against Respondent [Redacted]. Other reliefs, just and equitable, are also prayed for

Indolent Indio doesn’t know whether the complaint, dated February 19, has been filed, or whether it will be filed by ADMU party Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (Crusada) at all. There is a document, though, and it exists online.

In any case, this will not be the first time that impeachment proceedings have been initiated at the ADMU as a cursory Google search has found:

A lot of Ateneans do not know this but there is an Impeachment Trial going on right in their very own campus.

The plaintiffs are members of the Sanggu themselves including [Redacted] and the rest of the top officers in the council.

The Prosecution is headed by Joan De Venecia and William Panlilio.

These are the charges: Violation of constitution and abuse of power And Misrepresentation

On the first day of the trial, Jan. 15,2001, the President is off to a stumbling start. First, her motion for reconsideration and dismissal on the grounds that not all the plaintiffs were present at the start of the trial was shot down at least three times by the Judicial council. When she cited another Article for her reasons, it turns out that the Article was referring to the Judicial Council and JC chief Baldoria told her that they are complete.

It seems that the president is looking for a way out of this through technicality. It seems, however, that she is shooting herself in the foot in her oral argumentations.

It’s the greatest show in school!

That impeachment trial happened in 2001, when, coincidentally, the Senate was trying impeached President Joseph Ejercito Estrada. The Pinoy Exchange thread was started on January 16, 2001, a day before Edsa Dos. It is unclear whether a proportionally smaller crowd later rallied along the Ateneo corridors against their impeached council president. [For accuracy’s sake: there was no such rally.]

(Thx, ‘S.O.M Mall Lady’)