While you were drowning
(In this video: Proponents of the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Navarro-Gutierrez, among them AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros and Walden Bello, protest the railroading of the dismissal of the impeachment complaint)
While some were still drowning, while some families were still stuck on roofs, while those who were not badly hit were sacrificing their lives to save those who need rescuing and while others were volunteering their energy to provide relief to those who lost almost everything, some of our honorable congressmen and women were busy saving Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, protector of Big Boss Mike Arroyo.
Today, the impeachment complaint against the Ombudsman was dismissed by the House justice committee with a vote of ‘absolute majority’. It was a surreal hearing. After being delayed for several weeks because of lack of quorum, the House committee was suddenly able to force its members to attend the hearing, disaster and all.
They were there, the President’s allies. Mikey Arroyo was likewise there. When the roll call was made, the secretariat declared that 35 members of the committee were present.
When they railroaded the vote to junk the impeachment complaint, they counted 37 in favor of dismissal. Who cares about the discrepancy, they have the numbers after all. That’s their version of ‘absolute majority’: 35 in attendance, 37 voted in favor of junking, and those for impeachment were not counted. They even cheered after the vote.
They did not even bothered to count the votes of those who wish to impeach Merceditas Gutierrez, who needs to be held accountable for letting COMELEC officials involved in the Mega-Pacific deal go scot-free. She is St. Mercy after all, the patron saint of the Arroyo family.
Who cares about having a sound decision on the matter, who cares about an honest-to-goodness debate, one that sharpens the intellect, and one that sieves wisdom from insanity: they have the numbers, and the Chair alone could simply gag the opposition. Appeals and protests were ignored. There were calls to have the vote postponed for the meantime, so that the counter-arguments could be studied and so that all could focus on what is crucial: relief work.
But why worry, when the President’s son was there to cheer the vote and make sure that the stooges will do her bidding. And so the good Presidential son did what he was told to do – enforce the marching orders, and dismiss the complaint.
And like the rest of them, when the complaint was junked, he clapped and cheered, shamelessly overjoyed and gloating while you were drowning.
Tags: GMA, Impeachment, Mikey Arroyo, Ombudsman, Ondoy
September 30th, 2009 at 2:13 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Abbie Real. Abbie Real said: A must read! Ugh! RT @mlq3 More votes than congressmen present in decision to junk impeachment of Ombudsman: http://tinyurl.com/y8hmbs9 [...]
September 30th, 2009 at 2:42 am
Napaka-negative mo naman. Syempre noh. Life must go on for other people. May mga trabaho silang naiwan na dapat ituloy at tapusin despite of what’s happening outside.
Alam na nila na maraming nagdudusa pero enough ba na dahilan yun para tuluyang pabayaan ang naiwang trabaho at maging volunteer? It’s a matter of priority. Nagkataon lng na mas gusto nila iprioritize ang mga trabaho nila, syempre may binubuhay yan na pamilya eh.
Yan ang tinatawag na “they dont have the privilege of time” to become volunteers pero hindi ibig sbhn nun wala sila pakialam. Wala kang karapatan husgahan sila dahil malay mo naman kung ano ang mga sarili nilang pamamaraan para makatulong. Ikaw ba? ano na ba nagawa mo? bukod sa tumuligsa ng ibang tao sa panahon ng krisis?
September 30th, 2009 at 2:49 am
This is precisely the kind of undemocratic practice by ruling politicians that cause the terrible problems that our people have to suffer, for example, the Ondoy disaster.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:25 am
Meron nga akong nabalitaan, si Mikey Arroyo daw eh bumibili ng mamahaling alak sa rustans habang ang lahat ay abala sa pagsagip sa mga nasalanta.
September 30th, 2009 at 6:29 am
“35 in attendance, 37 voted in favor of junking”
damn, corruption that corrupts logic.
this isn’t right anymore…
September 30th, 2009 at 8:36 am
I agree with Smilish. These congressmen wouldn’t have been able to do anything anyway. They would have done more harm if they tried to play hero.
We hate GMA and her co-horts. But I think it’s unfair to just blame her administration for everything that happened as far as rescue is concerned. Even the US’s FEMA, when Katrina hit New Orleans, weren’t able to respond as quickly and as efficiently as they should have.
These congressment wouldn’t have been of help in the rescue effort. They would be more productive in the relief and rebuilding effort.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:37 am
@smilish: ay, ayokong magbilang. just check my twitter. wait, gusto ko pala magbilang. pano naging 37 ang anti-impeachment when 35 lang ang in attendance nung nag roll call? also, unlike the pro-arroyo solons, gusto ko rin bilangin kung ilan ang pro-impeachment.
September 30th, 2009 at 9:01 am
@smilish – is there something wrong with you? are you aware of the whole situation? if you do, then I’ll stop here and won’t even bother to comment.
September 30th, 2009 at 9:49 am
FRUSTRATING!!!
No wonder a lot of politicians go haywire during hearings. Hay Pilipinas kong mahal…:(
September 30th, 2009 at 10:00 am
OMFG. ang bastos bastos nila. We have the worst government ever.
I agree with ahrong, what’s wrong with you smilish??
September 30th, 2009 at 10:01 am
@smilish: read before reacting. doing their job was not the issue, if they were really doing their job. count the pros; count the cons; count the attendees. dont make stupid comments… this article is just saying: while you were drowning, congressmen are still shamelessly corrupt… think before you react!
@joey we are not blaming the government for the tragedy, but we are blaming corrupt officials who spent the money for their own use / stole from the funds that was supposed to be for emergency funds..
September 30th, 2009 at 10:01 am
kung hindi lang dahil kay luli, wala na talaga ako amor sa pamilya na yan, malakas lang talaga magdasal un isa para humingi ng kapatawaran sa mga kasalanan na ginagawa ng pamilya nya e.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:05 am
of course they could have and SHOULD have done something. if only they weren’t corrupt assholes. the fact that malacañang used 800 million of supposed emergency fund for personal gratifications is a big mistake / pure evil dear smilish. and wala silang sariling buhay to continue cause essentially politicians sila at public property and they must dedicate their lives to the people and last priority na sila. kahit ang mga impeachment na yan dahil meron taung tinatawag na CLEAR & PRESENT DANGER. god. auko na. auko nang mag-level down. mahaba-habang kwentuhan to. lalabas nalang ulet ako to help out and volunteer.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:11 am
@smilish and joey
Yun nga ang problema eh, hindi nila ginagampanan ng mabuti yung trabaho nila eh. Hindi naman issue dito ang di nila pag volunteer eh. Kahit nangyari ito sa isang time na walang trahedya, mali pa rin ang ginawa nila. Nakakalimutan kasi ng mga congressmen na ito na ang taong bayan ang pinagsisilbihan nila and hindi yung tao sa Malacanang.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:49 am
@smilish. are you one of those people seated there? how come you’re so defensive dear? arent you aware of what’s goin on in Philippine politics? gawd. u must be nuts. for your academic information, 37 is more than 35. is that so hard to understand? think before you say anything. These people are obviously corrupting our minds and yes you are one of the gullible ones. The video is humiliating but the supporters of the video is pathetic.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Who was the preceding chairman? GRABE! GARAPALAN NA TALAGA.
Politics in this country is a huge circus. Hindi na nga pautakan, pagalingan at pabilisan na lang sa panlilinlang.
PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO BEFORE YOU COMMENT. The MAIN ISSUE here is not about how insensitive they are that the hearing ensued amidst the crisis BUT because the counting of votes was WRONG and they didn’t even try to hide it, like the author said:
“Who cares about having a sound decision on the matter, who cares about an honest-to-goodness debate, one that sharpens the intellect, and one that sieves wisdom from insanity: they have the numbers, and the Chair alone could simply gag the opposition.”
Paano pa kaya sa elections?
And they have the nervvves to cheer?
SUKDULAN na talaga.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:03 am
@smilish …Ano ka Bulag at Bingi? 35 in attendance 37 votes lol …….. more important here is the issue that niluto nanaman ito ….. relief operations aside tama ba yun…lol
September 30th, 2009 at 11:03 am
they’re not doing their job, they’re just cleaning up (covering up their corruption) oo may trabaho nga sila,, pero sana naman isipin nila yung mas importante,, buhay ang pinag uusapan dito,, “THEY DONT HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF TIME”?mali ata yun kase hindi naman time tipong time sa family or sa kung anu anung shit. Time sa mga taong,nalulunod,namamatay,nagugutom ang pinag uusapan …
September 30th, 2009 at 11:11 am
smilish: The bad thing is that they saved a colleague while the country was drowning. They took advantage of us when no one was looking because some were preoccupied with saving others.
I do not care what Mikey drinks or buys when it is raining. That is his prerogative. We cannot oblige him to think like us when he has no capacity to. But to sneak a favorable decision for their family friend is so obvious.
I do not know if this family will not suffer the wrath of the Filipino people the way the Marcoses did. Gibo will assure that they don’t pay in case he wins.
I sometimes wonder myself why we are taking all this. Let us pray for the enlightenment of our nation this next election.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Action must be done. This ombudsman has gone far enough. Imagine protecting the Arroyo family in ways that shame the democratic process.
The ombudsman should realize what her position is really about. She is supposed to counter-check, not protect. Geez, how much are we being charged for tax? This is really disgusting.
In my opinion, these politicians waited for this moment in the hopes that it would get unnoticed by the media and the weakened citizenry.
STREET JUSTICE IS NEEDED. Whoever can carry this out must wait until the crisis is over though.
@smilish: No offense, but the article’s point was more of the action itself, not the juxtaposition of the action with the calamity. The title was more of a soft-sell, to get people’s attention. Your opinion is valued though, but you do realize the consequences of their actions, right?
September 30th, 2009 at 11:22 am
@Joey: I agree with your point about the government doing more harm than good. However, it is not unfair to see that they protect someone who was not doing their job in such a shameless manner (37 votes, but only 35 present? wait until you see what will happen during next year’s elections my friend).
I also think it’s fair blaming Arroyo for using the contingency funds for her trips instead of purchasing Calamity equipment such as rubber boats, or implementing cleaning projects. She’s an economist; she, of all people, should know about preparing for calamities. We are a nation that is, after all, hit by an average of 20 storms per year.
Don’t take it wrong, Joey; I don’t think you’re protecting them. But let’s look at the bigger picture. The government is hoping for people to narrow their vision to what is happening at present and ignore all other catalysts that made the situation worse.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:26 am
who cares talga naman ala sila pakialam di bale isang taon nalang pagtitiis matatpos narin sana sa susunod na halalan tandaan sila.matutu na sana tayo.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Ang KAPAL ng mukha ng mga congressmen. They even had the guts to clap their hands then stand up and walk away to avoid having to answer the objections. And nagawa pa nilang isingit ito when the focus should have been on relief operations! Now, is it safe to assume that our government is hopeless?
September 30th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
This is sad. The outcome of the vote has been expected to be in favor of the administration. But thanks to those who pursued and fight to oust the ombudsman. In no doubt, we all know that who voted to dismis the case were paid by you know who. We’ll see more of this and even worst to come if we the Filipinos will not do our part and let these corrupt gov’t see & feel that we are ultimately the boss and not them. Ituloy natin ung pinaglaban ni Cory A., isa diwa ung mga mensahe ni FrancisM sa mga kanta nya. Alam natin etong mga gawain sa gobyerno. Kumilos tyo at ipaglaban.
September 30th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Smilish and Joey, either mga tanga talaga kayo, or you are not aware of the situation and the politics behind this so called hearing.
You are probably too stupid to see the irony here. The hearing was indeed railroaded ( NILUTO , in case di niyo alam ) in order to achieve a dismissal. kaso, mga tanga rin sa pagbilang so they had an official count of 37 votes when only 35 were in attendance.
Forget the fact that they should have volunteered, wag na yun. Marami naman nag volunteer eh. but the fact is, they proceeded with this hearing at the height of the crisis kasi others that may have opposition to this LUTUAN were too busy attending to their constituent ( maybe ). So who will be present to object?
The point of this article is to highlight the corrupt and manipulative moves this government will do to protect themselves and their patrons.
Anyway, kung ganun kayo talaga ka-tanga, well you won’t get any of this . . . wag niyo na lng isipin, baka dumugo utak niyo trying to figure this out.
September 30th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Joey: We place a higher accountability on people who could have done something. A vendor in the streets could not be blamed because of limited choices. While on the other hand, someone in the administration who had the opportunity and capacity to exercise what’s right and did not do so deserves to be blamed.
We’re talking about countless of unaccountable cases against GMA that she never answered to. While crisis are in fact a social responsibility, the highest one with power who could have exercised something to prevent such things should be the first to blame.
These people should have followed the democratic principles involved instead of railroading the essence of fairness. Privilege of time? Are you crazy? If they give their pork to the victims, then things would have been a lot easier. Instead they hold onto their hollow claims of fortune and prestige. We the – middle class- are the ones helping the poor again.
And if she did not do anything wrong, what’s wrong of impeaching the Ombudsman?
Please properly read and analyze before saying anything.
Joey and Smelish, don’t castigate me for not helping. I have been in the relief efforts since Saturday. Defending the inevitably evil and shallow is very poor exercise of freedom of speech.
September 30th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
@smilish and joey: pwede ba magisip at magbasa kayo mabuti before you react. tungkol to sa pandaraya ng present administration/government
September 30th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
@smilish, siguro pakawala ka rin ng mga arroyo para magreact sa mga blog. kasi para ka ding si mikey arroyo e, kulang ang isip. understand the issue first before reacting. ang issue jan e bglang nagkaroon ng quorum nung lahat ng tao lalo na ung media e abala sa pagcover ng bagyo… so obviously, they did it para ndi malalaman ng tao.. yun un… ano naiisip mo na???
September 30th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
@smilish: Sa lahat ng mga sinabi mo, I can only agree on one thing: Life should go on. Pero hindi yun ang issue.
Una, sabi mo priority, ano ba ang priority talaga dapat? Kapakanan ng sambayanan hindi ba? Sa tingin mo ba eh sa sitwasyon noong kasagsagan ng bagyo, mas importante ang impeachment complaint ng ombudsman?
Pangalawa, sabi mo ginagawa lang nila trabaho nila. Tama na gawin nila trabaho nila. Ang trabaho nila eh tumulong, kung kelangan nila magvolunteer, gawin nila. Bilang mga leader ng ating lipunan, eh dapat un ang ginagawa nila, pinapangunahan ang mga rescue efforts sa kani-kanilang distrito.
Pangatlo, talagang negative article kasi wala ka namang positive na makukuha dun. Di pa ba halata ung no. of votes ng dayaan? Mag-isip ka kaibigan.
September 30th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
hindi yata naintindihan ni smilish ang nabasa niya.
September 30th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
@ smilish: dahil sa mga taong ganyan ang pag iisip kaya ilang dekada na tayong napagsasamantalahan ng mga corrupt na tao sa gobyerno. or baka naman hindi mo nabasa ng maayos ang issue bago ka nag comment. gayun pa man, sasabihin ko pa din na dahil sa mga taong hindi nagbabasa at hindi nakikilahok sa usaping bayan kaya mabagal ang asenso natin.
una, gusto kong ipaliwanag sayo in tagalog para maintindihan mo na hindi naman nalilimita sa kalsada ang aktibismo. ang volunerism ay ganun din. may kanya kanya tayong pagkaka intindi sa salitang aktibismo, pero para sa kaalaman mo, nag uugat ito sa salitang aktibo. sa kung papaanong paraan, ikaw na ang bahala. tulad na lamang ng kontextong ginagalawan natin ngayon.. nasalanta ng bagyo ang Pilipinas — may mga taong lumabas sa kani-kanilang bahay at opisina para tumulong sa mga biktima, may mga taong hindi man nakapunta ng personal ay nag donate naman ng pera, may mga tao sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo at pilipinas na ginamit ang internet para mapalaganap ang bayanihan. ang mahalaga kasi ay nakatulong sila sa paraang alam nila at sa abot ng kanilang makakaya.
ngayon, tungkol sa opinyon mo sa issue na to.. ang tanong: pano nila naatim na harap harapan tayong pagtaksilan, ngayon pa kung kelan kinuha na ng bagyo ang lahat ng meron tayo??? pagiging tapat na nga lang ang tungkulin nila sa taong bayan hindi pa nila magawa ng tama.
dagdag ko lang din to para kay JOEY: what happened in New Orleans was probably as devastating as what we’re going through now but the outstanding difference i see is that their government did not spend their emergency funds (more or less 800M) for extravagant out of the country trips. and though i would agree that 800M worth of cash could not have made the typhoon change its route, it could have saved more lives.
and finally, @ smilish’s “Ikaw ba? ano na ba nagawa mo? bukod sa tumuligsa ng ibang tao sa panahon ng krisis?”
i went to Cainta, Rizal to save lives. i went to Cubao, Ateneo and La Salle to help pack relief goods, i used my facebook account for info dissem. and today, i tried to make two stubborn Filipinos understand the true meaning of activism.
ikaw? anong nagawa mo para sa bayan?
September 30th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
pati pala si joey…hayyyy…
September 30th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
oh.. and sincerest gratitude and respect for Walden Bello and Risa Hontiveros! Mabuhay kayng dalawa!!!
September 30th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
@Smilish: Yes, our officials would not have been much help in the actual rescue/relief operations, but that was not the point of this post. Our officials still had to run the country, even though a calamity of this magnitude has struck. Like what most people have said in the comments section, the point of this blog post was to tell us that while people were out saving their countrymen in need, our officials saw to it that an impeachment case, which by the way was languishing due to lack of a quorum, was ruled in favor of the anti-impeachment side. The other group was not given time to react. Heck, they were not even counted!
I guess this is what we will get if people take out our Math subjects: Congressmen who do not know how to count.
September 30th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
@smilish and joey:
We’d completely understand where you’re coming from, kung ang ginagawa nila e nage-expedite ng approval for a bill or whatever that would do something to improve our beloved Philippines – which is what they’re elected for in the first place – calamity man o hindi. But no. They’re saving their own and their allies asses.
You guys are so quick to defend the very people that are ‘allegedly’ corrupting the taxpayer’s money which you yourselves are paying as well. O baka naman you’re being chased by your own ghosts kaya ganyan. Juicemiyo. Magisip naman kayo.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I agree with Smilish… Don’t the congressmen need to go on and do their work?… A meeting of this importance would have been set weeks in advance, malay ba nila magkaka-typhoon…
“35 in attendance, 37 voted in favor of junking” Mam Risa and the others would not have allowed this to happen while they were there! Did you ever consider na baka may na-late sa attendance, but listened and voted during the decision-making process… possible di ba?
It’s fine to point out the flaws in the gov’t system, but in the same breath you should also work towards making positive contributions… hindi lang yung puro complain ng complain… wala namang ginagawa para maka-tulong sa gobyerno!…
Malicious naman ang pag-post ng video na parang palabasin na this mtg was just scheduled kasi nagka-bagyo! At parang it means to deliberately ignite your negative emotions against these people… wow! bagyo-bagyo na nga ito pa ang ina-atupag mo… go out and donate something… or volunteer to help re-build/repair someone’s house…
September 30th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
nakakatindig balahibo..tsk tsk and even worst na may mga actual persons who defend them
September 30th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
So I’ve donated something. I’ve done my volunteer work, too.
Now, can I point out the flaws of the people who DIDN’T DO THAT?
I love how the lapdogs try to wag the dog here. The numbers were clear: 35 vs 37. You’re now making up excuses for them.
September 30th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Logical: What are you saying? Did you ever read our responses to it? You seem to be academically challenged.
Listening to the hearing and respecting the democratic principles is PART OF THEIR WORK. These hearing could have simply taken 2 hours of their time instead of playing golf somewhere.
These congressmen were sitting lavishly while Ondoy was storming them.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Juan Pasancruz: 35 yung attendance. 37 yung bumoto.
Mang Pandoy: Ano kamo? 37! Aba, sino ang nagbilang niyan?
Juan Pasancruz: Si Congressman M.A. po.
Mang Pandoy: Ano kamo? Si Congressman M.A.? Bakit yun ang pinagbilang? Eh, ang lakas tumoma nun. Kahit bumabaha na ang Metro Manila, lulusong para sa alak.
Juan Pasancruz: As far as I’m concerned, hindi po totoo yan. Mang Pandoy, stop blaming and finger-pointing.
(As far as I’m concerned, kathang isip lamang po ito. Blame it on the tubig baha, ang dami ko kasing nainom noong Sabado. Pampalakas pala ng imagination yun, try nyo, marami pang natira).
September 30th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
talk about opportunistic trash….
Damn. I don’t have the words to express how I feel.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Sarap nilang lunurin sa baha! And if the railroading of the dismissal of the impeachment complaint isn’t bad enough, now they’ve also railroaded con-con! The cost? 2 BILLION pesos lang naman. Susmaryosep! Ilang pamilya kaya ang kayang tulungan nung P2billion kung doon na lang sana inilaan?
September 30th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Its simple why they did it during this time, The media is still busy covering the Relief operations for the victims of ondoy, they want the issue to be buried quietly, and they can’t do that when most of the people will be watching them.
mga opportunista talaga!
September 30th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
HI. COULD WE TRY TO GIVE THIS VIDEO TO THE PRESS? BOTH GMA AND ABS CBN? SORRY HA, BUT MY LITERACY IN THE COMPUTER IS STILL QUITE LIMITED SO HIND KO ALAM KUNG PAANO IBIBIGAY ‘TO.
I DON’T MEAN TO SEEM LIKE I AM SHOUTING HERE, IN-ALL CAPS KO LANG PARA MAKITA AGAD YUNG COMMENT KO. 
MR. FULLMAN? IS IT OKAY IF YOU GIVE THIS TO THE PRESS PEOPLE? THEY REPORTED IT IN THE NEWS LAST NIGHT (SEPT 29) BUT IT WAS ONLY MENTIONED IN PASSING EH.
PLEASE… WINAWALANG HIYA NANAMAN KASI TAYO EH.
SALAMAT.
October 1st, 2009 at 12:39 am
Pwede kaya i-charge sa court ang mga iyan for corupting the process?
Pano nagkaron ng 37 votes out of 35 attendees? Pati ba yung guwardia
at yung sekretarya bumoto?
arrgggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!
October 1st, 2009 at 12:51 am
Hey. the media was actually there during the hearing.
October 1st, 2009 at 10:49 am
For the record, during the previous Committee hearing, it was agreed that 1.5 hrs. would be allotted to both sides for the presentation of their respective positions. Afterwhich, the matter would be subjected to a vote. Note that no debate was previously agreed upon by the Committee. After the congressmen supporting the dismissal of the complaint finished their speeches. Hon. Teddy Casino asked that they be given copies of the speeches for them to study and schedule another hearing for the debate. The Chairman, Hon. Matias Defensor, read the previous minutes (which, by the way, the Committeee approved at the start of the hearing), and correctly ruled that a debate was improper and that the matter should be subjected to a vote. It was Hontiveros-Baraquel, Casino, and Walden Bello (the complainants against Ombudsman Gutierrez) who were asking to prolong the hearing. Also, a lot of congressmen arrived late after the roll call, thats why they counted 37 congressmen for the dismissal of the complaint. I think those against the dismissal were not counted because it really didnt matter anymore. Lastly, those who clapped were employees of the Office of the Ombudsman who were obviously happy about the result.
October 1st, 2009 at 12:26 pm
But how would we know how many reps were actually present when no roll call was done prior to the vote, and when the vote was rushed? (thus the point- it was railroaded). Even the reporters who asked the secretariat for number of the members of the committee who were present were told that based on roll call, 35 members were present.
For the record, too, the pro-impeachment solons were not hedging. rep. hontiveros, for instance, was saying that the public, a stakeholder in the issue, is busy with relief work. They previously called on the house leadership to expedite the hearing, but the hearing has been cancelled several times. I maintain that it i find it suspect that when the attention of the public was focused on relief work, the committee was able to muster an ever-elusive quorum and held the hearing despite a disaster that requires our collective response.
It is always necessary to count the votes of all members of the committee! I’m deeply disappointed that you find it unnecessary. That mindset is reminiscent of martial law. Every vote counts, bec the votes that they cast supposedly represent our voice.
And yes, the pro-arroyo solons cheered and clapped. Mikey arroyo did, i saw him do it. When a request was being made to allow for a debateon the issue, he didn’t ask for the recognition of the chair and register his position. Instead, like a self-proclaimed boss, he simply heckled.
October 1st, 2009 at 6:27 pm
MGa garapal talag….nakakainis…….mga baboy…binababoy ang democrasya sa ating bayan….kaya sa susunod na eleksyon…iboto nyo ang inyong konsyensya……..bumoto at kumampanya sa mga taong gagawa ng mabuti,,,hindi dahil….may 500 pesos o kaya may dalang artista sa rally o dahil kamaganak mo
October 1st, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Potah! KAPAL TALAGA NG MUKHA! Sa mga kababayan ko, wala na talaga tayong magagawa sa mga putragis na yan. Ilang buwan na lang naman, siguraduhin natin na wala na sa malacanang yang mga Puking inang mga Arroyo na yan, at dapat lang na walang manalo sa mga alipores nila! PAYBACK IS A BITCH, i’ll tell you. arrrggg!!!
Nakakapanginig ng laman yang mga HAYOP NA YAN!
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:28 am
Ang tagal ng 2010.. cant wait to vote for someone new. Our President and congressmen are sooo powerhungry they throw every dirty trick in the book and they work on all sorts of loopholes just to stay in power. Di ba marami pang bills sa congress na super mas importante pero nakabinbin, bat kaya yon hindi mafast track kagaya nito? Ay oo nga pala.. wala silang pakinabang sa mga importanteng bill.
October 3rd, 2009 at 5:43 am
what a nonsense… it’s utterly useless to put our hopes on these kinds of people… some always say, “wag umasa sa Gobyerno.. tingnan mo sarili mo if nakakatulong ka…” well there’s some truth in that but absolutely not everything…
It is the right of the people to demand results from those they have given power to govern… the more power you have, the more is expected from you. But again and again and again, it’s common sense that there useless individuals are screwing up our country because we allowed them to… ‘yung mga congressman and senators who are tagged as corrupt and sometimes murderous, have become powerful because we made them become what they are now.
Just think of this… the vote that you have is a political power you give to a candidate. If you vote for a candidate who is known as a psychopath or pervert or fraudster, then it’s just as good as you are giving him/her your power… sa mga pandaraya at pananakot naman, again these idiots rely on those who help them to commit cheating… or to terrorize the town… that’s another form of power which again comes from the masses.. it all boils down to the fact that we, the masses, are making ourselves slaves of our own device…
October 4th, 2009 at 3:41 am
i agree with smilish. kayong mga WHINERS puro tuligsa, wala namang positive recommendation para ialleviate ung crisis. ang method niyo kasi, to criticize others so youd feel better about yourselves. i dont like mikey myself, but you WHINERS are always going overboard. BINAHA ang bahay ko hanggang dibdib, tanghali na the next day nung nalaman ko ang nagyayari with the rest of the philippines. these people are trying to keep the work from piling up. i was back to work on monday kahit walang natira sa gamit ko. all im saying is that you cant judge people on their immediate priorities. especially when you are not directly affected. the bottom line is, you are HATING just for the fun of it. not out of real concern. cos if you are, then youd be out on the streets helping. not posting HATE on blogs while nakabukas ang ibang window sa facebook or whatever sites. dont deny it. let your hands work. not your mouths.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
“ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORD”..lol!!!
@ all commentators: if you disagree of what had done by the congress, then can anyone of you do an action against this issue and better HURRY UP!
October 5th, 2009 at 12:39 am
I have to take exemption to this. As I’ve said earlier, hindi naman siguro tayo dapat magbilangan – while giving my own contribution to our relief work after Ondoy, I’ve seen the admirable job that we collectively have done as ordinary citizens. I find equally admirable people like Xander who went to work even after losing their properties due to the flooding. BUT, and here’s the big BUT for me, public officials are different. we have all the right to criticize them when we see that they’re doing something wrong. i have nothing against with the idea of all these committee meetings taking place while the rest of us are sacrificing to give relief to our fellow citizens, it’s the act of abusing power, and doing so while we are ‘drowning’, that i find repulsive. As i told a friend immediately after the hearing – and I went there, because as a government employee it is my duty, too, to be there, despite feeling tired because of a long day of packing relief goods – seeing what took place was revolting, as if my body was physically rejecting the sight of pro-admin legislators clapping and cheering after they railroaded the junking of the complaint. That’s the issue for me.
(Funny, but yeah, even during the hearing, I was busy sending tweets and facebook status updates – kailangan kasi ng trucks, ng donations, para sa relief work. Seeing what they did in the hearing, I thought social networking was rather more fruitful and meaningful.)
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:20 am
@Xander: Your reply is clear proof of the victim mentality ever present in our society. You have the right to your opinion, and we respect it; but there are several points that you have to consider:
1. Do you understand the main point of the article? Let me give you a hint: it’s not about whining or hating.
2. You complain about those unable to help victims of the calamity (and make yourself a stark example of those who should be helped – I hope you don’t deny this; we’re not dumb); but have you considered helping as well? A lot of us here have helped, and we were all affected, too. Oh, and have you heard of those who lost their homes but still went out of their ways and risked (or gave) their lives saving others?
3. Hating is not “fun”; however, psychological studies prove that in such situations “projecting” what one feels is the best way to cleanse one’s conscience.
4. Look at the bigger picture, not just the snapshots of reality that you choose to juxtapose.
5. Respect our opinions. This is a blog, and THIS IS NOT A DEBATE. FYI, this is a DISCOURSE.
I am not a fan of whiners myself; but to my understanding (and I believe Mr. Webster agrees with me here) whining is more of an audible than a visual. You don’t agree? Here’s a link: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whine.
Seriously, your reply had no essence in it; it’s as if someone asked you to defend them from their actions. No logic, no sense, no rational. If you want to rant, do it somewhere else (e.g. PEx, etc.).
Use more intelligent arguments in the future, ok? And please stop that nasty habit of assuming.
ASSUME = Making an ASS of U and ME.
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:23 am
@logical: Here’s what you said:
“It’s fine to point out the flaws in the gov’t system, but in the same breath you should also work towards making positive contributions… hindi lang yung puro complain ng complain… wala namang ginagawa para maka-tulong sa gobyerno!…”
Here’s what I say:
Walang ginagawa para makatulong sa gobyerno? You must be blind, deaf AND dumb. Or maybe we can give you the benefit of the doubt and just count you as one of the very few uninformed (and apathetic) minority. Aside from having non-government reliant relief efforts (and cash donations being taxed, mind you), we get taxed every single day. Our income tax is almost 1/3 of our earnings. And they still need help??? How useless can they get???
Sorry bro/sis, you just made your side (and, consequentially, the government) look REALLY bad.
A tip to lapdogs: the next time you decide to defend your “masters” (who are ironically PUBLIC SERVANTS – doesn’t that make you feel bad about being a lapdog?), look at the bigger picture. We’re not stupid (excuse my french); we see it real clear.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
@smilish
You’re an idiot. Learn to read between the lines before commenting. Your opinion is as daft and inept like those so called PUBLIC SERVANTS who voted for junking the impeachment complaint. Wonder why the country is a such a mess? People like you..CLUELESS.