A Business Graduate's Random Blog on History and Gossip

Back when I was in elementary, we were told that EDSA 1986 was a good thing. I don't want to deny the well-documented human rights abuses of the first Marcos Administration . The repeated call to amend or reform the constitution has unfortunately been demonized as if it's always a bad thing. I guess that's a result of people with poor reading (and listening) comprehension for so long . If only people started to read in-between the details of Philippine history, if only people read through the book From Third World to First and not just quote the late Lee Kuan Yew about the Marcoses, they'll see that using EDSA to demonize charter change is really a bad move. Startling facts during the Marcos Years that may have been ignored by anti-charter change proponents What happened during EDSA was practically a revolutionary government . Above is a video of the late Benigno Simeon A. Aquino Jr. aka Ninoy. I confess that I do tend to admire Ninoy, especially with his Los Angeles sp...

There's really something so beautiful about aboriginal language songs. Some versions of the song "Girl of Mt. Alisan" featured an aboriginal language chant. Landing into the aboriginal songs in Taiwan gives me a sense of awe. This is another random song that came out in my recommendations! Enjoy!

It's crazy but some people say that a parliamentary system isn't democratic for this reason--it's because people don't vote for the prime minister. They argue that people will vote for the parties but the prime minister isn't voted by the people. It's different from the presidential system where the president is voted by the people. However, I'm afraid that the presidential system is very prone to mob rule . Meanwhile, I wrote why the parliamentary system would be more democratic than the presidential system . I'm also getting tired of similar people who still believe that the first Marcos Administration was a parliamentary. It had a parliamentary without a parliament , which means it was a fake. The office of the prime minister However, becoming prime minister has never been easy . It has seven rigorous steps that are  not found in the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. How can we expect better leaders if the system itself is lacking? Sure, the 1987 ...

As the call for charter change (or constitutional reform) happens, I must write this entry. Let me remind you that I'm no fact-checker so many of my posts labeled under "facts vs. gossip" may be very wrong. I recall the anti-cha-cha ad that happened in the 1990s and the 2000s. One of them was during the reign of the late Fidel V. Ramos. The Marcos Years (1965-1986) were often  said to be dictatorial not because of how the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. ruled but how long he ruled . One of the ads said, "Just think, under a parliamentary system, a president will rule for more than six years. A scary thought, right?"  I talked with some people about the rule of Marcos Sr. Some told me that, unlike the current president, Marcos Sr. was a vindictive person. It was also known that Marcos Sr. himself has documented human rights abuses. LKY even recalled in his book From Third World to First how the Philippines was left in a terrible condition. It's a shame that some...

As an advocate for constitutional reform, I've been looking at the campaign for more than just voting wisely . Sadly, the Vote Wisely campaign hardly works since the presidential system focuses on popularity. Some people think that a trolling campaign is going to help. I try to explain why the parliamentary system will be better. However, they will continue to throw in the same old narrative where it says, "But we were a parliamentary system under Marcos!" The idea itself has been long refuted . The late Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" A. Aquino Jr. even mentioned the absurdity of it . The way he mentioned, "We had a parliamentary without a parliament ." (read here ) showed how the 1973 Constitution of the Philippines wasn't a real parliamentary government. Even the words of the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. showed that his government wasn't parliamentary (read here ). More importantly, I noticed that many of those I run into on Facebook are actually stu...

I've grown tired of watching television. It has drawn some flak, especially with the framers (and apologists) of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines . It's not a surprise either that many of those who comment on Facebook, "It's not the constitution, it's the people running it that's the problem!" are boomers . Yes, that reminds me of several people born between 1946 and 1964 who tend to be stereotyped as resistant to change . Sure, not all boomers are resistant to change, but some people have been like that.  An article from Linkedin writes this sad fact: Why do some baby boomers refuse to learn or change? There are several reasons why some baby boomers may resist learning or changing: Cognitive rigidity: As people age, their cognitive abilities may decline, making it more difficult for them to learn new information or adapt to change . Fear of the unknown: Baby boomers may feel uncomfortable with new technologies or social norms that challenge thei...

  People can falsely accuse me of colonial mentality because I've been quoting Kishore Mahbuban over Hilario G. Davide. I'm really sorry to say but I'm seeing various Facebook posts like La Verite (and the Pinocchio really fits it ), the Rule of Law Sentinel, Silent No More PH, and many more anti-reform Facebook pages (and very ironic too) quote Davide Jr. a lot. It's straightforward to say that Davide Jr. has been the favorite source of such people. An old man with a toga (who blocked me) also often quoted Davide Jr. Also, Davide Jr. turned 88 years old last December 20. I wish I had written this earlier but sometimes it's better late than never. In my case, it's better never late.  Davide Jr. also mentioned that the 1987 Constitution is "the best in the world". It's easy to spew out words but can he defend his claims? One of his old statements went like this: It’s not change of structures, [whether] it would be federalism or parliamentary. It is...

Christmas can bring me some memories. One of them was having a Christmas vacation with the Chiong Sisters Case in mind back in high school. Above is a vandalism I found on Wikipedia (which I take with a grain of salt). Please be reminded Wikipedia is where anyone can edit therefore it's a spurious source. Without her permission, the 2023 photo was most likely taken from Mrs. Thelma Jimenea-Chiong's Facebook. I agree with Marty Syjuco that Mrs. Chiong was the victim of the crime. However, seven innocent people were wrongly tagged as the public demanded answers. There can only be justice for either side once the real culprits are discovered. Some cases happen and the real perpetrators have not yet been found.  I'd like to really point out some simple facts. Let me remind people of the following facts: Amelie Arquilliano-Chiong was born as Amelie R. Arquilliano. She is the wife of the late Marijoy Jimenea Chiong's brother Bruce. She's in Canada.  The three Chiong siste...