Neri comes, Neri goes... and the Carlo Caparas Blunder

It's been a while (again) since my last post. Even then, visitors continually access this site looking for something new. And tadaaannn!!!! Here's the list.

1. Romulo Neri will be suspended for his participation in the ZTE Scandal especially for being shy to talk about his President's participation and for being so shy to tell Ben Abalos to "back off".
   
2. Abalos is also indicted "just for being nice to the ZTE people." Talaga? Is that also the reason why he is so nice to Neri for offering the 200...? Kaso mukhang kulang ang 200. Dapat siguro 300 para wala ng mag-squeal.
   
3. Joey de Venecia, the squealer, is planning to run for Senator. Ayos yan para walang sikreto sa Senado... if the price is not right. (?)
4. Pero ang kakapal naman. Kay Bayani Fernando nga okay na ang P1.6 million. Diba BF? Musta ang mga kakalsadahan natin? Mukhang maraming nagkalat na picture mo at praise releases. Kasama ba yan sa P1.6 M?
   
5. Pero if Joey De Venecia is running for Senator and BF for President, Komiks writer-turned director is running for Senator para patunayan na karapat-dapat siya to receive the National Artist Award. Quoting Caparas: They are forcing me to run for a political post, mapipilitan siguro ako because of what they are doing, na parang walang karapatan ang isang galing sa masa na katulad ko na maging National Artist.

Akhhhh!!!

Nabulunan ako dun ah. Since when na ba ang eleksiyon naging venue for the selection of the National Artists?

Di na ba puwedeng magbiro sa Pinoy?

For his joke, actor Alec Baldwin was banned from entering the Philippines. This is after Hongkong columnist Chip Tsao was also banned for making a joke on Filipinos last March 27.

Baldwin joked in a May 12 interview on the “Late Show with David Letterman” that he thinks "about getting a Filipino mail-order bride at this point or a Russian one, I don’t care, I’m 51. Tsip Chao, meanwhile, said that Filipinos should not think higher than the Chinese who employs them as domestic helpers.

Teka, teka, teka. While the joke has a racist color (daw), there is also truth in it. Wag na tayong magpaka-ipokrito. A few clicks in the Net, makikita natin na halos Filipina ang nasa mail-order bride websites. And the government admits, it sends Filipinos abroad as domestic helps to compete with Indonesians, Malaysians and even Indians. All of these because of poverty.

Mukhang masyado nang sensitive ang gobyerno ngayon. Pero just like its head, Orwellian sensitivity lang ang pinaiiral. Pinipili lang ang gustong patulan. Otherwise, dapat nahiya na ang Gloria in the Palace mula ng sumingaw ang "Hello, Garci!" Scandal. O kaya umalis na sa puwesto matapos ang sunod-sunod na dagok ng mga iskandalo. O kaya, napansin na ng gobyerno ang talamak na kahirapan at pagkagutom.

Kung sabagay, ang kabayo na may tapa-ojo, diretso lang ang tingin. Ganun din ang Administrasyon Ni Gloria. Kaya wag kang magbiro, baka ma-Jun Lozada ka. Di ba Mike?

RP blacklisted for its bank secrecy law

The Philippines is among the four countries "blacklisted "as uncooperative tax havens yesterday after Group of 20 leaders declared the age of banking secrecy was over and said they would no longer tolerate shady havens draining away badly needed tax revenue", reports Philippine Star.

The other countries are Uruguay, Costa Rica and the Malaysian territory of Labuan.

The blacklisting was done because of "mounting concern that banking secrecy in tax havens has helped to worsen the economic crisis by disguising the true value of some global assets. Anti-poverty activists say such places provide corrupt officials places to stash illicit funds, often depriving poor nations of needed resources."

Can we expect the palace to say that the work of the G-20 is instigated by the opposition? Puwede!!!

Pero teka, why is it that the Palace is mum for comments? Dahil ba wala silang plano na alisin ang Pilipinas sa blacklisted areas for being a tax haven? At least si Pareng Erap, nag-approve ng Anti-Plunder Law which eventually caught him on the hook. Even then, the law partially opened the windows enabling some to peek into the bank accounts of suspected offenders. Takot din kaya si GMA na magsalita (through her nose) na "I will look into the matter and see to it that the laws will be relaxed on bank accounts"? Kala ko ba, iron-willed siya gaya ng ipino-project ng mga PR persons niya? O iron-willed siya na okay lang na blacklisted ang Pilipinas otherwise mauungkat ang mga bank accounts ng First Family at mahirapan silang idepensa kung saan galing ang mga perang laman ng mga accounts na iyon?

Aminin!

Anyway, let us look at the brighter side. World Record holder na naman tayo... and that seems to be the reason why Filipinos and the Philippines exist -- ang gumawa ng record.

Congratulations!