The 2010 Presidentiables

The 2010 Presidentiables are: Noli de Castro, Manny Villar, Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero, Mar Roxas, Ping Lacson, Joseph Estrada, Miriam Santiago, Richard Gordon, Bong Revilla, Jojo Binay & Bayani Fernando ( in the order of survey ranking). I would add Sec. Gilbert Teodoro, though he was probably excluded yet as an item for the surveys.

Here’s more for bloggers..

A few months back, I raise apprehensions about some real threats to the blogosphere (in my other blog ‘Cheap Talks’.. http://commentyoucom.blogspot.com), especially, after reading some incidents of concern in Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Vietnam (jailing of bloggers) which could probably be only the tip of the iceberg. I presume that there are a lot more similar but undocumented cases.

Journalism and Blogging: mutual interest rather than exclusivity

Much have been said and written about journalism and blogging. There are those who attempted to delve on the possibilities of a good mix between the two, while others tried to make the distinctions as clear as possible.

That there is a distinction between journalism and blogging is clear, and I think, the more interesting thing now, if not the real challenge, is how to draw them quite close to each other. For now, I cannot imagine an ideal mix between the two. It will take so much growing, maturing, finer attitude and understanding from both sides before the world of journalism and blogging will even start moving towards each other. No ultra-modern technology can make that happen. The issue is attitude and freedom (of expression).

But we should be thankful though, that there is journalism and blogging that act like real branches of government (Executive and Congress) and create an opportunity for the so-called ‘check and balance’ sort of thing. The supreme court is the reader who renders final judgment.

That said, I will not add confusion to haste, and doubt to obscurity. I must say, though, that the modern world has allowed both journalism and blogging to exist side by side because it is necessary.

The Valley ‘Golf War’: After the Smoke has Cleared

Now, it can be told with lesser obscurity, who’s who and who’s probably talking with more sense, after the smoke has cleared over the Valley ‘golf war’ or brawl between the Dela Paz and Pangandaman groups. It pays to be impassionate and impartial over the issue and to wait for the impurities in the water after they had settled down to the bottom. Consider these news clippings:

Much ado over the Dela Paz – Pangandaman ‘match’ at Valley Golf

I never thought that the dela Paz – Pangandaman match (some say mauling) at Valley Golf and Country Club, Antipolo City would create that much stir among bloggers and the media. I can understand the media people because that is their job to pick up whatever they think of as news-worthy events. Bloggers (like me) would also understand the outpouring of support for the dela Pazes as Bambee dela Paz (sister and daughter of the alleged victims) is a fellow blogger, who first posted the incident in her blog http://vicissitude-decidido.blogspot.com/. It was already detailed enough in that blog so I won’t get down to the details of the story/issue here. Rather, I shall endeavour to present the middle side of the story even if there are only limited sources from the side of the Pangandamans. One side of the story, even if how detailed, does not guarantee the whole truth.

Stay away Santa

By Stephen Norries A. Padilla

I don’t want you to come to my house this Christmas, so please give yourself an early rest by striking my name off your list. I don’t care about the gift you thought I asked for; I don’t want it anymore. You can keep it. Better yet, give it to somebody else. The material gifts you bring don’t make me happy as much as they used to when I was a kid. Besides, I got my worldly wants all covered, thanks to an early gift I received in May (but no thanks to you).

Is there hope for peace after the SC decision on the MOA-AD?

By Maugan Buat Mosaid, Ph.D.

Dura lex sed lex

“The law is hard, but it is the law”. So goes that Latin legal maxim.

The Supreme Court decided that the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), which was supposed to be signed by the GRP and MILF panels last August 5, 2008, was not consistent with the Constitution and existing laws. Its implications, notwithstanding, the decision was part of a “dura lex sed lex” nature of the legal domain.

Plain citizens, some members of the clergy, lawyers and non-lawyers reacted in various ways on the decision of the Supreme Court. The petitioners got their day in court and celebrated thereafter while those who have seen the wisdom behind the MOA-AD can only respect the decision while they ponder on with some degree of disbelief and awe. Pat Diaz, an avid follower of the peace process, like me, said, “on legal grounds, the Court may be right; but, on the import of the MOA-AD, the Court is wrong.” I agree. Not all that is legal is right, not all that is right is moral. In the same notion, not all that is unconstitutional is wrong.

How a New Peace Talk May Proceed

By Maugan Buat Mosaid, Ph.D.

In a recent article I wrote which was roughly titled “A New Perspective on the Mindanao Problem Based on Some Historical and Current Realities”, I tried to surmise some lessons and current insights based on the experience with the peace process as it has been. They may be worth mentioning here:

DDR? by Kristian Herbolzheimer / MindaNews

Kristian Herbolzheimer
Tuesday, 16 September 2008 07:07

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/13 Sept) — When a government puts DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration) as a precondition for talks it means it is not serious about political negotiations. Rebel groups take up arms to challenge a given political situation, not to negotiate how and when to hand them over. Of course the issues of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration have to be an important component of any peace negotiation. But no armed oposition group will discuss DDR before the root-causes of the conflict have been recognized and addressed.

Silencing peace: The story of MOA-AD

OPINION By SEDFREY CANDELARIA
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There was never any intention to create ‘a republic within the republic’

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Amidst the rumblings surrounding the aborted signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), the nation once again finds itself in a dilemma on whether to pursue the peace process or resort to military solution to finally put an end to the armed conflict in Mindanao.