BongBongLand (Philippine) Discussion Thread

[Europa Undivided]

Maybe the people of this country have a hidden BDSM fetish that is sated by licking the boots of politicians.

Now I don't want to be insensitive but if the current President dies ... I swear they'll stage a state funeral explicitly made to out-do the Queen's, replete with hysterical crowds the likes of the motorcade of Kim Jong-il in 2011 (look up his funeral online and you'll see why).

I'm afraid we're going down the path of the American Deep South.

Nah, Sara Duterte (who'll inherit the position at the event of the 'unfortunate' death of the 'president') is too stingy for that. She'll take ALL the money intended for the state funeral and put everything in her confidential funds.

[Pevaritu]

Now I don't want to be insensitive but if the current President dies ... I swear they'll stage a state funeral explicitly made to out-do the Queen's, replete with hysterical crowds the likes of the motorcade of Kim Jong-il in 2011 (look up his funeral online and you'll see why).

I'm afraid we're going down the path of the American Deep South.

Considering that some of them seem to believe that their ideal news media is something comparable to Pravda or the Völkischer Beobachter (read: State Propaganda where the headlines are somewhere along the lines of "'All is Well,' says Dear Leader."), I really have to wonder...

Besides worrying about the national economy, I am also worried with this situation. Questions include:
1. What will be the idea of the generations (specifically the millennials and up) of good governance? That only Marcos folk could do it? That it is okay to keep leaning on "fat" political dynasties? (It's complicated, I know)
2. What will the other countries think? The potential problem is that, the other countries might see our country's case and attempt some sort of historical reputation rehabilitation in their own turf.

Do you remember, the 21st night of September?

※ It actually began on the night of the 22nd when dissidents were rounded up and the law was announced to the public the following day.

I have seen a column (it's a three-parter) by Manuel Quezon III where he said:

The problem is time has blurred our perspective, making us conflate what was a longer, more drawn-out, gambit, not least because of how successful the Marcos propaganda was. Martial law was announced on Sept. 23, 1972; his new tailor-made constitution came into force in 1973. But we have forgotten that the dictatorship wasn’t fully achieved—until 1976.

I am quite curious on the contents of Part 3.

Add: Part 3 link - I forgot to update:

And only after this January 1973 plebiscite did another take place, in July: allowing Marcos to go beyond his term, which expired in December of that year. It also—surprise!—postponed the convening of the Interim National Assembly or new parliament. In 1975, another plebiscite further postponed the convening of the parliament in which the delegates and legislators had been promised seats. Finally, in 1976, the Interim National Assembly was amended out of existence without ever having been convened, leaving everyone who’d gone along with Marcos’ 1972-1973 schemes without having enjoyed the fruits of their collaboration.

---

In other news, a typhoon is visiting, yes?

[Roedthaffen]

In other news, a typhoon is visiting, yes?

It has passed. Very anticlimatic for many Inner Luzonenyo and Manileno Urbanites like myself, we expected a strong thunderstorm last Monday, instead we got sunshine and rainbows. Otherwise it kinda popmarcked the eastern half of our coast for a bit.

[Pasong Tirad]

The story's been missed, but the appointed Bangsamoro Parliament just unveiled the Bangsamoro Electoral Code for the next regional election in 2025. Full text of the code here for the one person who might be interested.

Long post incoming. tl;dr, the electoral system for the Bangsamoro Parliament is cool and good and 1000x better than what we have but also it could be 1000x better than what's proposed.

The key point to consider here is that the Bangsamoro electoral system is likely the country's soft launch with a parliamentary system of government (assuming that GMA gets her way and gets to shift the country to parliamentary with her as prime minister). It creates a parallel system of electing MPs. 72 MPs will be elected in two ways: 50% of reps (40) are called party representatives and will be elected via region-wide closed list proportional representation (largest remainder method, I think? I'm not too good at the math but the second link provides an example and I think it matches) with a 4% electoral threshold (equivalent to 2 seats I think). 40% of reps (32) are called constituency representatives and will be elected from single-member districts by first-past-the-post, no different from the system we have now in the House of Representatives.

The remaining 10% (8 seats) will be sectoral representatives, somewhat similar to the party-list system in the House, but with a lot of differences. The sectoral and reserved seats, as the code calls them, are not elected but appointed - the Speaker and Parliament, with the approval of the Chief Minister, make the appointments. Also unlike the House, wherein – at least in its very original form before a series of Supreme Court decisions really distorted the original intent of sectoral representation – every single sector imaginable is lumped into one list to fight among each other to get past the 2% threshold, the sectoral seats are reserved for certain sectors and parts of society.

Two sectoral seats will be appointed to non-Moro indigenous peoples and settler communities. ideally this should mean one IP representative and one settler representative> But in the language of the Code, non-Moro IP and settler communities are lumped together, strongly suggesting that Parliament could do what the rest of the Philippines always does and give indigenous communities the shaft and just elect two reps for Bangsamoro settlers.

One sectoral seat each will represent women, youth, traditional leaders and the Ulama (Islamic religious scholars, if my cursory understanding of the term is anything to go by). This leaves just two seats up for grabs for any other sector.

A provision in the Code requires sectoral representatives to be bona fide members of the sector they seek to represent. Similar to the party-list system, if I'm not mistaken, before it was whittled down by the Supreme Court.

There's loads of other stuff in the Code that I've yet to get to. It's 62 pages long and the language can be a bit daunting for me. Some other points I've noticed on a cursory glance + on reading the slide included in the second link:

- The Code specifies that 50% of seats must be elected via party-list proportional. The language of the Code at times says that district seats must be not more than 40%, suggesting it could be lower; and the language of the Code also says that sectoral/reserved seats must be at least 10%, also suggesting that it could be higher.
- The Bangsamoro Electoral Office will have the power to recommend redistricting of constituency seats, but still has to go through Parliament for approval. Seats have to be, as much as possible, contiguous and compact and have no less than 100k inhabitants. I'm not sure what the language is for national elections but this seems like a good way to avoid gerrymandering - assuming, of course, that Bangsamoro's courts don't end up getting taken over by political conflicts and whatnot.
- How parties are formed and how they are internally governed have been fixed according to the Code
- Political parties will get some public funding through a party subsidy fund. Fund won't be established for the 2025 elections, as Parliament isn't mandated to establish the fund until six months after the first election.
- Party-list nominees are internally decided (closed list) by "party affiliations" - whether that means the entire party or just the biggest backers I have no clue. But they are required to have some kind of election (language of the law says indirect election), with the most nominated party candidates going to the top of the list.
- 10% of party list nominees are required to be women. A pretty low bar, IMO, but whatever.
- Earlier reports suggested that the parliament would prohibit switching party allegiances after MPs are elected, but I haven't seen anything in the Code to suggest this is banned.

So, to sum up, Bangsamoro's system is already a thousand times better than whatever mess we have in national elections. Still could be a thousand times better - I'm not a fan of parallel elections, for starters, as it'll likely keep leading to lopsided elections ala the LDP in Japan dominating district seats and getting a good enough lead in the list vote to have a comfortable majority despite not really getting a majority of the vote. Would super prefer district and list votes to be linked similar to mixed-member proportional systems like in Germany, New Zealand and even in the single-vote version Lesotho has.

Also not a fan of how basically 10% of the Parliament is straight up appointed. The Chief Minister, the Speaker and a majority of Parliament will have to agree but that just means the majority party/coalition gets to talk amongst each other. I do like how a certain number of seats are reserved for certain sectors though, and that sounds like an interesting modification to consider for the national sectoral/party-list vote, as it would mean sectors like for IPs, women, youth, regionalists and certain sectors of the economy (farmers, teachers, healthcare workers, etc.) won't have to fight one another to reach the 2% threshold. Although I doubt any significant changes will be made to the national sectoral vote considering how screwed up it's already been made into, but fixes to this system are literally simple it would just mean the rolling back of certain Supreme Court decisions and bam it'll be like the party-list votes of the early 2000s.

[Allinburg]

Heard from the grapevines: 88M is in Singapore to watch the F1 race there.

To quote a guy in r/philippines: Sarap talaga buhay ni Junior...

[Europa Undivided]

Heard from the grapevines: 88M is in Singapore to watch the F1 race there.

To quote a guy in r/philippines: Sarap talaga buhay ni Junior...

It seems that BaBy M is just window dressing while Sarah D is really the one in power.

[Diuhon]

Heard from the grapevines: 88M is in Singapore to watch the F1 race there.

To quote a guy in r/philippines: Sarap talaga buhay ni Junior...

let him fuck off to singapore or wherever

one day spent elsewhere is one day not spent here, even if the veep's another freak

[Connori Pilgrims]

Heard from the grapevines: 88M is in Singapore to watch the F1 race there.

To quote a guy in r/philippines: Sarap talaga buhay ni Junior...

It seems that BaBy M is just window dressing while Sarah D is really the one in power.

Oh she wishes. But the thing is, her being sent to DepEd is more a consolation prize, with her obsession with mandatory ROTC (as opposed to, say, mandatory service/conscription, which is what the goons really want) is a desperate effort to play military (which is what she really wanted).

Id sooner bet on Mrs New York being the real power behind Junior. I thought Rodriguez as well, but it seems he's jettisonable fodder, as has happened recently.

[Pasong Tirad]

Heard from the grapevines: 88M is in Singapore to watch the F1 race there.

To quote a guy in r/philippines: Sarap talaga buhay ni Junior...

let him fuck off to singapore or wherever

one day spent elsewhere is one day not spent here, even if the veep's another freak

If he were just a normal dude using his own money this wouldn't be a problem. But he's not spending his money is he

[Allinburg]

Justice for Percy Lapid and the hundreds of journalists who died before him.

They all wanted to share the true state of this nation and deliver the facts — ultimately the State is to blame for letting loose an egregious murder in an urban area.

[Diuhon]

let him fuck off to singapore or wherever

one day spent elsewhere is one day not spent here, even if the veep's another freak

If he were just a normal dude using his own money this wouldn't be a problem. But he's not spending his money is he

penny wise, pound foolish

he'll be spending less as a spectator than if he's inevitably called upon to act presidential only to come off as his dad, watered-down but still ambitious, instead

[Allinburg]

Marcos open to buying Russian fuel, proposes new Myanmar approach

Desperate times and measures? Alright...

Russian supplies? The audacity to think of that ... well both countries have blood on their hands anyway.

[Diuhon]

so instead of the silent treatment the people of myanmar got from us under duts, we're gonna shittalk at them under mardos?

[Feyrisshire]

Marcos open to buying Russian fuel, proposes new Myanmar approach

Desperate times and measures? Alright...

Russian supplies? The audacity to think of that ... well both countries have blood on their hands anyway.

This will be an important geopolitical development to be sure, as Russia will get another customer from a non-traditional source. Its doubtful if this will follow through though, similar to the Russian helicopter deal that got scrapped due to US intervention.

On face value though, it's not really bad or unique. Despite the moral platitudes from the war right now, everyone is kinda still buying Russian oil, including the EU and other countries outside the Western sphere. It's just that our country doesn't rely on Russian oil too much, the majority of our oil is imported from the Middle East (crude oil), and refined petroleum from China, South Korea and Singapore.

This might be good on face value as this might lead to cheaper oil prices in a time where it is really needed, but at the same time, classic supply and demand isn't really the only thing to blame for our expensive-as-fuck oil prices but also monopolization of the oil sector by the Big 3 and lack of regulation in the oil industry since its deregulation, as well as excise taxes on petroleum due to TRAIN Law and value-added tax.

[Pasong Tirad]

If he were just a normal dude using his own money this wouldn't be a problem. But he's not spending his money is he

penny wise, pound foolish

he'll be spending less as a spectator than if he's inevitably called upon to act presidential only to come off as his dad, watered-down but still ambitious, instead

the fuck are you talking about how much do you think a stay in Singapore costs.

Every second he's in the presidency he's spending people's taxes, whether here or there, there's no distinction between whether he spends on personal trips or not.

[Feyrisshire]

penny wise, pound foolish

he'll be spending less as a spectator than if he's inevitably called upon to act presidential only to come off as his dad, watered-down but still ambitious, instead

the fuck are you talking about how much do you think a stay in Singapore costs.

Every second he's in the presidency he's spending people's taxes, whether here or there, there's no distinction between whether he spends on personal trips or not.

Let's also not ignore the sheer absurdity of the optics of the trip. 1 week after Typhoon Karding (Noru) battered Central Luzon, and relief efforts are still underway, he decided to go to Singapore on a random whim - unannounced trip, accompanying his son (his son accompanied by his two girlfriends), flying on a Philippine Air Force jet, then the first place that they went is the fucking Singapore Grand Prix (and nowhere else but the fucking Singapore Grand Prix after that)

For a counter-analogue, I'm not really a fan of Aquino, but...:

“PM Lee regularly invited PNoy to watch the F1 races before, but PNoy always sent his regrets. He felt that such a trip would be purely for recreation, and it was inappropriate to use the influence of his office and public funds for personal matters,...

Ignacio said that Aquino might have perceived attending F1 races as too “lavish” for a sitting president to experience.

“I don’t think it was a difficult decision for him. He felt it was vulgar for a sitting Philippine president to indulge himself in a lavish experience when there were many other important matters that needed his attention,” he said.”

If anything really, I applaud this 88M for the callousness of the optics of all the parties he's doing, because he's doing a really job to make the people hate him and turn against him.

[Europa Undivided]

As I walk from one office to another because of the bullcrap of bureaucracy, I am reminded how much I want to leave this country and never return.

I wonder what manner of war crimes I committed in my previous life to have deserved the cruel fate of being reincarnated as a Filipino?

[Pasong Tirad]

As I walk from one office to another because of the bullcrap of bureaucracy, I am reminded how much I want to leave this country and never return.

I wonder what manner of war crimes I committed in my previous life to have deserved the cruel fate of being reincarnated as a Filipino?

Lots of people leave each year. You wouldn't be the first nor the last. Hope you can find peace in greener pastures.

[Pasong Tirad]

In other news the Archdiocese of San Fernando's Office of Exorcism is now going out of its way to condemn the practice of "pagpag," claiming that it's a form of idolatry

As someone who's had to pagpag more than once these past two or three years, I never did it because I thought the spirits of the dead were going to follow me home. It was really more about hanging out with friends and loved ones after a wake or burial to help us grieve. A cultural practice more than a spiritual one, you could say, so this statement doesn't really bother me as it won't really stop me from wanting to make a pit stop before going home from a wake or funeral (which hopefully won't have to happen for a long time).

[Not Alie]

Tonight I am reminded of how expensive quality VPNs are in the country.

Heck, in the US you can get VPN subscriptions in brick-and-mortar stores.

And prices on everything else are piling up like there's no tomorrow. Fast food that used to be ₱39 became ₱100 or more.

It never ends, this shit...

[Europa Undivided]

Tonight I am reminded of how expensive quality VPNs are in the country.

Heck, in the US you can get VPN subscriptions in brick-and-mortar stores.

And prices on everything else are piling up like there's no tomorrow. Fast food that used to be ₱39 became ₱100 or more.

It never ends, this shit...

FFS McDonald's Sundae is now 39 fk

[New Visayan Islands]

Manila Times: Tulfo: Remove Senate!

Given that it’s the Manila Times, which from what I understand in this post comes with a little bit of Russian propaganda in it—unrelated, I do not quite follow that train of thought—would we stand to gain from a completely unicameral legislature?

[Connori Pilgrims]

Manila Times: Tulfo: Remove Senate!

Given that it’s the Manila Times, which from what I understand in this post comes with a little bit of Russian propaganda in it—unrelated, I do not quite follow that train of thought—would we stand to gain from a completely unicameral legislature?

Sadly, no.

The Senate may be full of clowns, hasbeen celebrities, and old national-level political families whose relevance is questionable.

The Congress on the other hand is a den of political families out to secure more largess for their fiefdoms and their clans provinces, many of whom ARE traitors to the Republic being more than willing to sell out to foreign interests (then American, now Chinese, see the animals that run Cagayan for example) at the expense of the larger nation, and party-list representatives who are largely sockpuppets of the political families (with the natdem Makabayan bloc and even more moderate issue-based progressives getting massacred in the recent election).

I would prefer a Senate that stalemates the Congress rather than a Congress that's united in treason and rent-seeking.

They couldn't even railroad most of even Duterte's own legislative agenda (despite both houses supposedly being largely pro-duts), focusing only on those where they could milk some juicy rents (like the Bayanihan acts) in the guise of "helping the country".

[Europa Undivided]

Manila Times: Tulfo: Remove Senate!

Given that it’s the Manila Times, which from what I understand in this post comes with a little bit of Russian propaganda in it—unrelated, I do not quite follow that train of thought—would we stand to gain from a completely unicameral legislature?

Sadly, no.

The Senate may be full of clowns, hasbeen celebrities, and old national-level political families whose relevance is questionable.

The Congress on the other hand is a den of political families out to secure more largess for their fiefdoms and their clans provinces, many of whom ARE traitors to the Republic being more than willing to sell out to foreign interests (then American, now Chinese, see the animals that run Cagayan for example) at the expense of the larger nation, and party-list representatives who are largely sockpuppets of the political families (with the natdem Makabayan bloc and even more moderate issue-based progressives getting massacred in the recent election).

I would prefer a Senate that stalemates the Congress rather than a Congress that's united in treason and rent-seeking.

They couldn't even railroad most of even Duterte's own legislative agenda (despite both houses supposedly being largely pro-duts), focusing only on those where they could milk some juicy rents (like the Bayanihan acts) in the guise of "helping the country".

Bruh you didn't have to insult animals like that lol

[Feyrisshire]

Sadly, no.

The Senate may be full of clowns, hasbeen celebrities, and old national-level political families whose relevance is questionable.

The Congress on the other hand is a den of political families out to secure more largess for their fiefdoms and their clans provinces, many of whom ARE traitors to the Republic being more than willing to sell out to foreign interests (then American, now Chinese, see the animals that run Cagayan for example) at the expense of the larger nation, and party-list representatives who are largely sockpuppets of the political families (with the natdem Makabayan bloc and even more moderate issue-based progressives getting massacred in the recent election).

I would prefer a Senate that stalemates the Congress rather than a Congress that's united in treason and rent-seeking.

They couldn't even railroad most of even Duterte's own legislative agenda (despite both houses supposedly being largely pro-duts), focusing only on those where they could milk some juicy rents (like the Bayanihan acts) in the guise of "helping the country".

Then perhaps we should just abolish them both.