A Business Graduate's Reviewing History Blog

I've observed several anti-constitutional reform pages on Facebook. Whether it'd be Change Scamming, Silent No More PH, Mahal Ko Ang Pilipinas, La Verite (and Pinocchio ironically represents this page), Rule of Law Sentinel, We Are Millenials, etc.--the argument tends to quote the framers (or the Catholic Bishops' Conference in the Philippines) more than anything. Most of them tend to echo the same idea, echo the same sources, etc. In fact, one foolish old man I met said he wouldn't believe anything about the constitution if it's not from Filipino constitutionalists.  In short, I'm dealing with a group of broken records. Why do I say that they're broken records? It's always repeatig the same ideas over and over again. It may not be the same words over and over again. However, one can look at the idiomatic meaning of broken record, as a person  who keeps repeating the same ideas or statements, over and over again , without offering anything new. In fact, ...

IMGUR The philosopher Voltaire (real name  François-Marie Aroue ) was said to have said, "Perfect is the enemy of good." To define the Nirvana fallacy, we can look at Logically Fallacious to help us define it: Description: Comparing a realistic solution with an idealized one , and discounting or even dismissing the realistic solution as a result of comparing to a “perfect world” or impossible standard, ignoring the fact that improvements are often good enough reason . Logical Form: X is what we have. Y is the perfect situation. Therefore, X is not good enough. Example #1: What’s the point of making drinking illegal under the age of 21?  Kids still manage to get alcohol. Explanation: The goal in setting a minimum age for drinking is to deter underage drinking, not abolish it completely.  Suggesting the law is fruitless based on its failure to abolish underage drinking completely, is fallacious. Example #2: What’s the point of living?  We’re all going to die anyway. Ex...

Some people on Facebook are posting, "No to parliamentary system because we had it during Marcos' time." For the nth time, do I need to keep pointing out the facts that we never had a real parliamentary system? As for those anti-reform advocates who say, "The parliamentary system will worsen the Philippines", I would like to ask, "How is the Sara Duterte impeachment going?" The complaints were passed last December 2024 and again, I would like to ask in Tagalog, "How's the Sara Duterte impeachment going"?  If we look at the definition, the Encyclopedia Britannica gives this definition of impeachment: impeachment, in common law, a proceeding instituted by a legislative body to address serious misconduct by a public official . In Great Britain the House of Commons serves as prosecutor and the House of Lords as judge in an impeachment proceeding. In the federal government of the United States, the House of Representatives institutes impeachm...

Kuwento ni Kapitan Kokak Being a Chinese Filipino can be a complicated thing. It took me years to figure out my place in the Philippines. It wasn't until I was in my fourth year high school (in 2001-2002) that the Filipino teacher spoke about Jose Rizal being Chinese by blood . The Filipino teacher asked if one had to be born ethnically Filipino (though it's best to view Filipino as a race, and most Filipinos are of Malay-Indo descent) to be a true Filipino patriot. The answer was no, where she cited several Filipinos of Chinese descent. However, seeing Communist China progress over the Philippines, tends to be my favorite justification whenever I become unreasonable. I even blamed democracy (rather than its misuse, or a wrong notion of it) for the ills the Philippines suffered. An irony is that Communist China should become more powerful than the Philippines. It's easy to brag about the EDSA 1986 Revolution and how it influenced the world. However, take note that the EDSA ...

I'm getting tired of people who still insist that the parliamentary system will never work, because it was "tried and tested" during the reign of Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.. However, further data have proven that there was really no parliamentary system . Salvador "Doy" Laurel even mentioned that in Marcos' own words, Marcos was never legitimately installed as president or prime minister. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. even mentioned in his speech in Los Angeles, "We had a parliamentary form of government without a parliament." The government was supposed to be British type, and it went to the French type. Ninoy rightfully called it  80 Days Around the World . To think it over, the role of the president in a parliamentary system is supposed to be purely ceremonial. However, one must look at the comedy of errors  with the Marcos rule. Marcos' prime minister, until he himself handpicked Cesar Virata as prime minister, was himself (read here )....

I confess that I'm no fact-checker or journalist. I wanted to take AB Mass Communications, but I didn't find a better school. Instead, I took BS Business Administration (general) all before the course was declared obsolete. There have been crazy claims online, such as fetus soup from China. I went to China and realized it was a sham. In fact, it turned out to be a sham and that the "fetus soup" pictures were more than what I'd call, a distasteful performance art . I wasn't too happy about ABS-CBN's role in promoting anti-charter change ads. However, I believe that no one is free from biases.  Jeff Canoy of ABS-CBN admits a truth we all need to hear: In a forum titled “Campus Patrol,” ABS-CBN News chief of reporters Jeff Canoy said journalists are “biased” as their values protrude from the way they craft their stories, but objectivity would come into play when they verify information . “Actually, all [forms of] journalism [are] biased because the way I wou...

Liza Maza Facebook Page It's 30 years since Flor Contemplacion was executed in Singapore. My memories was how some people felt hatred for Singapore, how we were told that "Filipinos are always oppressed." in both values education and civics classes, and how Flor should be regarded as a heroine. The Buwan Ng Wika program came and Flor's execution was also highlighted in the song "Kuko Ng Agila" (Claws of the Eagle). Flor was always romanticized as innocent, a martyr, and even some decent Filipinos bought it once. However, I soon accepted Flor's execution to be what it is-- Singaporean justice .  Some people are still continuing to commemorate Flor--as if she was some kind of Catholic saint or martyr. I could remember rallies year after year, commemorating Flor's "martyrdom". What was also ironic was, at that time, the Vizconde Massacre (read here ) happened and the wrong people were arrested. The public demanded the blood of Hubert Jeffry P....

As the EDSA 86 anniversary draws near, I'm going to say some important things. First and foremost, I don't dismiss what EDSA 86 did and its legacy to the world. However, what I'm going to highlight is that EDSA 86 should never be a reason to go against charter change or constitutional reform. It would be a time talk more about why the Marcos Regime was a terrible time to be alive! People like Raissa Espinosa-Robles may talk a certain degree of truth about the Marcos Regime. However, Mrs. Robles is also spreading half-truths such as the "Marcos Parliament". I would like to review this quote that the Inquirer gave, as spoken by Mrs. Robles: Who is the most likely candidate for President Duterte’s Prime Minister and successor under the parliamentary-federal government being hatched by his administration? It is former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., according to veteran journalist Raissa Robles. Speaking at a forum at the University of the Philippines School of...