The Construct

By noon of June 30, we’ll have a new president.

I really find it funny that it’s been declared a special non-working holiday. Well, sure, quite a lot of people voted for Noynoy and those people would probably celebrating once their “manok” assumes position.

Others have been calling for a “ceasefire” on criticism against Noynoy as president for his first few months as president. Grace periods are for pansies.

As a Filipino one can only be hopeful for things to come but isn’t it one’s duty to be vigilant of things. Let’s face it, Noynoy is not the new face of Philippine politics. If he’d be one thing, he’d be the poster child of oligarchy and the repressive elite.

Winning the election is one thing. Transforming the nation to make winners of us all is another. We’ll see.

In other news, the Lakers beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals and that’s just too damn bad.

The last taboo – martial law. It’s quite ironic that even with the whole Cory and EDSA I nostalgia earlier in the year that martial law is once again part of the Filipino consciousness. Maguindano might be far from the capital but the implications of this latest stunt by the administration does have great implications for our society now, for the coming elections, and for our future.

At the time of my writing, the Congress is holding a joint session and the debate is raging on about the legality and the morality of the declaration. What’s the use of declaring martial law in Maguindanao anyway? Is all due apparent lawlessness that escalated, culminating in the massacre of more than 50 people? That the Ampatuans are now rebels?

Let me take on a different perspective. I was watching re-watching Full Metal Jacket again this afternoon and being in a war/military mindset, let me delve into the military aspect aspect of this martial law. Everyoen’s wondering about the political front, so just to play devil’s advocate and another perspective, let me do just that.

How about attacking the issue on a military sense? As far as I can tell, the administration has not even outlined a concrete battleplan to resolve the issue through militay means. What’s and where is the battle plan?

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It’s so easy to make judgments when your in the outside looking in. Going by Bentham’s Panopticon, positioning oneself in a location where you can view people inside a confined space without them seeing you gives you a sense of omniscience. There is sense in stepping back and trying to look not only at the bigger picture but also from different perspectives and through different lenses.

However, it’s really quite hard to be objective and shift points of view when things are rather personal. Emotion and attachment does affect objectivity. But then again, who’s capable of objectivity anyway? Heck. Not even the half-Vulcan Spock was able to maintain his stoicism.

Just wondering how cautious are we when we express our opinions? Do we bask in the same omniscience (and perhaps, omnipotence) when we get to see issues and phenomena in which we really don’t have any personal stakes? And if we don’t, do we even consider the possible impact of what we express to those who do have stakes?

At least in my case, I find myself struggling to tread by both intellectual and moral high grounds.

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The first time I caught wind of “Ako Mismo,” I first thought of Sir Martin, since, as far as my realm of consciousness is concerned, AKOMISMO is Martin. I thought that he has started a big time advocacy group and was about to check it out, and congratulate him. Unfortunately, a rather cheesy splash page greeted me bearing the mugs of several celebrities and some to the likes of . “Not Martin?” I thought.

Then my good friend, Bryan, who has started to become increasingly active in the blogosphere, posted about it joining the inquiry on who the entity behind this campaign is. At the time of this writing, no one still has a definite answer to the question. Is it just a gig for the ad congress? Or part of the political spin in time for 2010? Both? Someone surely knows who’s behind this but until everything gets clearer, we can all just speculate on the true nature of this online campaign.

If someone’s profiting from this, I hope they pay Martin royalties for ripping the name of his Internet space.

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One of the things that I would enjoy living in a place where I’m practically near the places I frequent is that I would now rarely see politicians (or their relatives, pañeros, and their posse) on the road. They surely are one of my most hated sights in the metro.

I used to drive on Commonwealth Avenue particularly stretch where the chances of sharing the road with one of the congressmen’s convoy are pretty high. I really hate it when that happens. Hagads with sirens blaring and clearing paths for the Mr. Congressman’s convoy of a minimum of five black hulking SUVs with their hazards lights blinking.

Another peeve is of government vehicles (those with red plates) who act like they’re exempt from all traffic laws. Oh and not to mention the proliferation of vehicles with Number 8 plates. It just makes you wonder how many vehicles do these members of congress really have. And on a representative’s salary?

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