Piracy traffic and Jakie's Rush Hour 3

One sad news: Jacky Chan's 'Rush Hour 3' performs poorly in Hongkong
Another sad news: Piracy devoured Chan's movies.

Even in the Philippines, the streets are crowding with clear and not-so-clear copies of Rush Hour 3. Paano naman po, ang mahal ng sine ngayon. Nag-evolve na sana ang mga tao from radio drama and comics to movies pero eto, ang mahal na rin ng sine. Swerte ni Tikboy dahil ang kapitbahay niya ay nagyayabang na pamangkin ng isang miyembro ng VRB (now Optical Media Board) raiding team kaya hayun, laging may supply. At ang buong barangay, happy-happy ang buhay. Libreng DVD (pronounced as "deebeedee" sa may kanto ng Quiapo at sa may Divisoria) disk na pirated, me kasama pang DVD player na pirated din. Galing daw yun Hongkong. Tseng-wawa kasi ang brand.

Pero teka, ba't ganun? From VRB tapos me pirated DVD and VCD disks? Kala ko ba sinisira nila ng lahat ng makumpiska? Tulad nung magagarang sasakyan sa may Subic na sabi winasak ng wala ng makina? Ba't ang magagandang kopya nasasalin sa kamay ng iba? Kasama siyempre ang kay Francine Prieto na pelikula. Kuya Edu, bakit nga ba?

Ewan. Basta ang alam ko, somebody named Kautilya once said: Just as it is impossible not to taste a bit of honey that passes through one's tongue so it is impossible not to taste a bit of money that passes through one's hands. Siyempre kasama na dun ang deebeedee. And this simply means super serious ang gobyerno ni Aling Gloria sa paglansag ng piracy with Edu on the front. Kaso nga lang, to err is human kaya ang ilang duling sa VRB nalalagpasan na sirain ang ilang magagandang kopya.

Pero seryoso, kahit patawa ang Rush Hour 3 ni Jackie, me message dun na patama kay Bush at sa mga kaalyado nito -- ang mensahe ng taxi cab driver (Yvan Attal as George) sa France na sobrang war freak ang mga Kano at ang kaya lang ng mga ito ay ang mga maliliit na bansa tulad ng Iraq, Afghanistan, at iba pa. Kaya nga sabi ng driver ayaw niyang maging Kano. Pero di dun nagtapos, later inambisyon niya na maging American Spy dahil gusto niya ring pumatay ng tao for free.

But who will notice Attal's words? Tumagos kaya ito sa puso at utak ni Aling Gloria? Mukhang Hindi, no? Kasi sabi niya: We won't back down versus the Abu Sayyaf. Galing, di ba? Pero ba't Abu Sayyaf lang? Ang laban against piracy, nag-back down na ba? Kasi ang kapitbahay ni Tikboy nagpapahiram na naman ng The Bourne Ultimatum.

Pagkatapos mo Tikboy, pasa mo sakin ah?

More responsibilities but lesser resources for LGUs

In its recent decision, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled that the local government units have the primary responsibility over flood control and management in their respective jurisdiction, including areas in private subdivisions.

The decision stemmed from the case filed by a group of homeowners whose subdivision became a catch basin of the water from the Naga River in Paranaque. Now, they are asking the subdivision developer, Filinvest, to address the problem or "upgrade the elevation of the affected areas and repair the units, or transfer them to flood-free housing projects and “sell-back” their affected units."

But while it is true that based on the Local Government Code the LGUs have the responsibility to address such flood-related problems, it is a very big lie to say that they have the capability to do so. Bakit kamo? Kasi hanggang ngayon, di pa rin settled ng isyu sa internal revenue allotments (IRA) ng mga LGUs. Karamihan sa mga LGUs, baon sa utang dahil hindi pa released ang mga IRA nila.

Second, karamihan din sa mga LGUs, ang liit-liit ng IRA dahil sa in-equitable distribution nito. May mga munisipyo na nabubuhay sa 7 million pesos lang na annual budget as opposed sa kung ilang milyong pork barrel ng mga congressman natin as well as sa bilyones na pork barrel ni GMA. How is that, then?

Buti ang Quezon City at Makati City dahil malaki ang tax base. Kahit di n sila umasa sa IRA, puwede silang mabuhay. Ang problema nga lang, mas malaki ang IRA ng QC at Makati (na malaki ang local income) as compared sa halos walang local income na mga munisipyo at mga probinsiya. And now, the Local Government Code is expecting much from these low-or-almost-no-income LGUs?

Baka puwedeng pag-isipan din, Senator Pimentel, lalo na ang IRA-sharing. This will also answer your proposal to delimit the conversion of municipalities into cities. Karamihan kasi gustong maging cities para lumaki ang share ng IRA.

At baka puwedeng pag-isipan din, Gng. Gloria. If you are aware, lubog sa utang ang karamihang LGUs natin dahil sa kakulangan sa resources. And soon, with this decision from the Supreme Court, dadami din sigurado ang lulubog sa baha at iba pang kalamidad.

Total war policy: What's the logic?

According to a story, the Americans bombed its own ship in Cuba in order to participate in the second world war. Similarly, there is also an inkling that the 9-11 attack happened so that there would be a reason for the United States to attack Iraq and Afghanistan. Could this logic be also the reason for Gloria Arroyo's total war policy?

Tikboy happened to read the thesis of now-Senator Trillanes. In the thesis, Trillanes presented accounts of military officials selling arms to MILF and other Mindanao secessionists -- allegations which the government did not dare to peek into. Similarly, there are stories of military officials involved in selling guns to the New People's Army members. Again, nobody dared to lower their brows and look into it. The question is: Why?

Well, taking a frame from conspiracy theorists, it can be argued that the total war policy may be related to the non-investigation of the allegations on military personnel selling guns and ammunitions to enemies. For instance, why can't the few hundred strong Abu Sayyaf and NPA rebels or terrorists be eliminated by several tens (or even hundreds) of thousand strong soldiers of the government? Latest intelligence statistics show that NPAs, for instance, is only less than 10,000. Why is it hard to eliminate them?

Sabagay, kung alang giyera, what would be the use of our PMA graduates? And our soldiers? At paano pa ba makakahirit ng intelligence funds?

At kung alang giyera, how can Gloria Arroyo prove that she is a strong president? And that she is fit for a strong republic? Well, the father and son (Bush) used the wars in the middle east and won the elections. And so did Tony Blair. And all of them saved their fading popularity. Is Gloria also following their footprints? If so, paano na ngayon ang mga civilian casualties? Can somebody tell the bullets: Excuse me po, di po kami kalaban. Civilian lang?

Related readings: Only Abu Surrender will halt drive: DND
Arroyo: Minimize civilian casulties