The last play station

A local official stated they received many text messages during the pre-Yolanda period (November 2-7) and until minutes before the huge 3-storey waters overwhelmed the people of Tacloban City, Palo Leyte, several other places in the Visayas, killing as many as 7,000 people (by NDRRMC estimates) or so much, much more.

In selected cases, there were some phone calls, but mostly directed at relatives and high officials; the lowly government functionaries did not get more than these text messages warning them about supposedly 7, 8, even 9 foot-high waters called storm surge.

In many countries in Africa, in Malaysia (Open University System) and India the use of the text message service or short messaging service (SMS), in college education is a real key factor. Malaysia Open University, that promotes the "University for all" mission, states that text is the lowest common denominator of the all the technologies available today. Meaning that it is the easiest to acquire and cheap to maintain. 

When used as extensively as it is being done in China's health workers sector, the text message is no longer as effective, they say, than a phone call reminder. Meaning, that for rural doctors and other medical and health practitioners, using the text is highly limited and cannot satisfy the requirements for health work.

The Canada-based International Development Research Center (IDRC) undertook a study on the use of text messaging for learning. IDRC and other open university advocates have invented a term for text messaging as an adjunct in education: MLearning - from mobile learning.

Clearly, as the above situations point out, text messaging can be effective, only as an adjunct to other tools of education (Open University and Mobile Learning - Africa, Malaysia, India) and information or instructions dissemination (Health Workers Sector - China).

Text / SMS therefore is ineffective, just on its own. Furthermore, in the experience cited above, its usefulness applies to college education and therefore, it is being extensively used in that level of learning. Moreover, if engaged as an educational tool, the use will be frequent, with great level of regularity and distinct clarity of delivery.

What happened in Leyte, such as as Tacloban and Palo, Leyte, as well as in Cebu (the hardest hit was Bantayan Island), among other places, was that the text or SMS could not properly inform, educate much less portray the full extent of the threat of what was handed down by PAGASA Weather Bureau and NDRRMC Manila as storm surge.

No matter how the government keeps telling people that they gave warning, sent out messages, used TEXT BLAST (damn them all!), it could not have been sufficient enough to lead the people away from the tremendous hazard that will confront them and take their lives away.

If they had used the text to students studying geospheric science, atmospheric and hydrologic events, the use of the jargon of powerful winds above 250 kph and 7,8 9-foot high storm surge, will be appreciated.

But then they were texting the poor laymen and ordinary folk serving as local government functionaries, who then still had to explain these text / SMS content to their constituencies. What if the local government functionary was barely literate? And had to explain the content of the text or SMS to a doctor, nurse, engineer, policeman, soldier, teacher, vendor, student, etcetera?

Many people are saying that these cheap means of preserving and saving the lives of people is the last play station that Noynoy Aquino the 3rd will be playing with. Senator Tatad openly called for the 3rd to go away now. Over the Philippine Daily Inquirer comments page, some commenters state: "dapat umalis na sila", "yung pamilya niya, mga kapatid niya ubod ng yayaman na", while others say "mula ng umupo sila, naghirap na ang bansa, kinukuha ba nila lahat ang pera? bakit kami lagi na lang walang pera?"

The last gaming at the play station indeed...

What to do?

The PDAF that Malacañang assiduously fought for, is dead. The Honorable, The Supreme Court killed it. Congress says, it will now be without any money to pay for scholarships of their poor, indigent constituents. Perhaps, those poor children and youth will then be asked by their dishonorable Congressmen and Senators to stop studying, we will never really know. Although, the money man, Secretary Florencio Abad, says they are looking for ways to get add on funds - or as Senator Franklin Drilon says, "supplemental funds."

This is good for the country, but not for Mr. Aquino the 3rd. What to do? Señor Aquino de Tercera, said Senador Francisco Tatad, must go now. in his column at Manila Standard: 

From the dead to the dead, until death doth us part

The zarzuela continues. This supposedly "good-intentioned" Senate Hearing, in aid of Demolition, succeeds as a major public relations campaign of world wide magnitude. As a play, the entire production does not rate even a low D grade. It was too transparent to be stage managed, with Madam Janet Lim Napoles talking to her friend-senators as if they were long-lost friends. She does not even use the respectful address of Your Honor and never leads her statements with Mr. Chairman of the Committee.

Madam Napoles was in the Senate at her best element. She even complained that she must be given her free lunch time.

Led by Senators TG Guingona, a known substance abuser and Peter Alan Cayetano, a man insanely driven by the ambition to rise above the person who fed his young models-loving father from the palm of his hand (called Tanda by Sen. Miriam Santiago, ex Judge and former Cory appointee as well as collector of about a half-million pesos bribe per head now ensconced in Switzerland from the lion's share of undocumented 4 million chinese in the Philippines during the 1986 installed revolutionary regime), the drama goes on attempting to be the best Pitong Komikera-Komikerong Itlog show in this part of the globe.

The lady from Lima was also present, hubnubbing with Sen. Santiago during recess with Sens. Cayetano and Trillanes trading ideas from time to time during the interregnum when the Great Madam money giver to presidents, politicians and bureaucrats and money grubber, in the league of Mr. Zaldy Co and Mr. Edwin Gardiola said Time Out, I Have To Eat Lunch. Missing the action was the real lawyer of Madam, Atty. Fred Villamor, for whom the lady of Lima lawyered for Madam Napoles, being an obedient , willing partner with or without her underwear.

The useless debates centered on the scripted silence of Ms. Napoles and the supposedly honest, "credibility of the truth" statements of Benhur Luy, as well as other Napoles underlings. Even President Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino the 3rd did not bother to listen to any of the burdensome, inane and previously scripted talk flying freely at Senate. The turd had prepared speeches to media about the bagyo - super typhoon Yolanda. The Madam continuously denied everything while Brain dead Miriam Santiago became her tutor in how to deny everything in the most decent, legalistic manner: "I refuse to answer, I invoke my right against self-incrimination."

On occasion, at least once or twice, it was mentioned that the famous NGO (non-government organization) and PO (people's organization) community organizer, Madam Napoles, even used the dead to populate her NGOs and POs. From her probably great gratitude to the dead, she possibly bought beautiful Heritage Park lots for her benefactors - Senators, Presidents, Congresspersons, the President's top men and women, local officials and national budget bigwigs.

A multi-million several days' partying and catering marks the visit of Ms. Janet Lim Napoles to the Heritage Park in Global City aka The Fort. The Inquirer reports that the Heritage Park mausoleum dedicated to Ms. Napoles' mother even became a tourist spot recently after this same newspaper broke the news on the Napoles fund scam:

Napoles Mausoleum in upscale Taguig now a tourist spot 

The luxurious two-story Lim-Napoles mausoleum at Heritage Park in Taguig City has become a “tourist spot” after the Inquirer broke the exclusive stories on Janet Lim-Napoles as the alleged mastermind behind the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

Those laid to rest in the upscale memorial park must be turning in their graves.

Janet Lim-Napoles, alleged pork barrel scam mastermind, owns around 280 square meters of “lawn and estate lots” at Heritage Park in progressive Taguig City, according to an insider privy to the sale of the lots.

It was at Heritage Park that Napoles made her voluntary surrender to presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda on Aug. 28.

“The lots were under different names, but it was Ms. Napoles who paid for 200 lawn lots and eight family estate lots,” where the mausoleum now stands, said the source who spoke to the Inquirer on condition of anonymity.

“She bought all the adjacent lots of her mother’s mausoleum because she said she wants space for catering and tents when they celebrate All Souls’ Day as well as the death anniversary and birthday of her mother,” the source said.

The source said the Lim mausoleum is the burial site of Magdalena Luy Lim, the mother of Napoles, who is now detained at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna province.

“It is complete with amenities and furnishings of a high-end condominium unit,” she said.

‘Tourist spot’

The two-story dark grey mausoleum adorned with Halloween trimmings on the ground became a “tourist spot” after the Inquirer broke the exclusive series on Napoles’ illegal transactions using public funds, according to the source.

“Madami nagpapicture (A lot of people are having their pictures taken at the grave site), especially now,” the source said.

The lowest value for a lawn lot based on Heritage Park’s latest price list is P95,000 at 1.2 sq m and a family estate lawn cost around P4.6 million at 4.9 sq m.

“The worth of Napoles’ lots alone could reach around P30 million, but the cost of the construction of the mausoleum we do not know,” she said.

She added that government people who claimed they were with the Commission on Audit had also visited the mausoleum.

Said the source: “For the past four years, at least three times a year, they held a party complete with 24-hour catering and air-conditioned tents.

“Usually, the party preparation began on Oct. 30 and the party lasted three days, until Nov. 1. It was a festive costume party and the kids were given chocolates and candies.

“There were nuns and lots of people arriving and going during the celebration. Plenty of cars.”

Party’s over

Emy, a dirty ice cream vendor who claimed she supplies the ice cream for Napoles every Nov. 1, showed up yesterday at the mausoleum, but was turned away by a man named Marco, because “there was no party today (walang party ngayon)”.

Emy said she saw the developments of Napoles’ case unfold on TV but she took the chance and brought ice cream to the mausoleum but was told that no party guests were coming over.

“Madame Jenny (as Napoles preferred to be called), who was good to us, paid us P6,000 for the ice cream and gave a P1,000 tip,” Emy told the Inquirer.

Another family who had relatives buried near the mausoleum told the Inquirer that they “kind of missed the fanfare, because they even had a stage there once and some concert, plus free food.”

“We did not know who she was. We were told when we asked that the owner was a Chinese businesswoman very close to Erap,” the neighbor said, referring to former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada. Read More >>

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The administration is making the people of the Philippines look stupid and tickling the entire nation to emotional highs using a badly written script played by a drug addict, a highly ambitious imbalanced person, a mental retard called the turd, a brain damaged collector of undocumented chinese bribe money, a fat frog looking principal actor, among a coterie of what Madam Senator Brenda calls cockroaches and assholes (public relations experts and specialists).

At the same time, a super typhoon waits to ravage the entire country with storm surges and possible numerous deaths, damage to crops, property and countless losses and sorrows for millions of people in the land. Still the people are being occupied with the stupid spin of media doctors and drug addicts, brain damaged solons and a turd also using drugs to pacify his reported Asperger's Syndrome. God bless the Philippines that is growing stupider everyday while the fatted cows in government and in their plush business offices keep laughing at all of us.

If the awful drama continues, a crippled duck might soon get kicked out of the duck pen.