SOUNDING BOARD is an outlet for opinions on good and crazy things going on at home (wherever I may be). All are welcome. You are not expected to bring anything except your common sense & sense of humor.
'If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.'
-Robert X. Cringely (from geek wisdom)
SOUNDING BOARD
Friday, September 26, 2003
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Abuse of women in intimate relationship: going beyond Kris and Joey
The headlines were shattered by Ms. Kris Aquino's revelation that boyfriend and live-in partner Paranaque Mayor Joey Marquez allegedly physically and emotionally abused her, and worst, pointed a gun at her. That prompted Kris to seek help from her mom (former President Corazon Cojuanco-Aquino) and brother (Representative Noynoy Aquino). Forget Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's falling rating, whether she will run or not, the failure of Cancun talks, the anomaly in the recent Bar exam, Charter change, forget everything. This is one 'national issue' wherein every Filipino, rich or poor, male or female, and every other category you can think of, has been closely and eagerly following. In a society characterized by stereotyped gender roles (thanks to the gullible majority), the not-so-gullible among us should go beyond downplaying the issue as a private matter.
Abuse of women in intimate relationship is the issue
The quarrel apparently climaxed when Joey received a text message from a lady. Kris got jealous and a heated argument followed. Joey, being sexist that he is, reasoned 'buti kung maganda yung babae, eh hindi naman' ('It's ok if the lady is pretty, she's not.') (Manila Bulletin 23 September 2003). What kind of reasoning is that, Mayor? But that's beside the point. The issue is this: Joey allegedly physically abused Kris and pointed a gun at her. The succeeding revelations by Kris over national television took all of us by surprise: it wasn't the first time that Joey physically abused her; she has endured verbal abuse from Joey; and maybe the most shocking of all, Joey has inflicted her with a sexually-transmitted disease (which was eventually cured at St. Lukes). Kris had to be the first to reveal it because Joey was allegedly using it to blackmail Kris and prevent her from coming out in the open about the abuses she endured from Joey.
Gender stereotyping
The issue took us all by surprise because we did not expect this to happen to Kris. After all, she is quite powerful, rich and famous. We have been unfortunately conditioned by the stereotyped world we live in that expects women to be boxed into certain roles. Thus when women are outspoken and sexually active, when they do not conform to our stereotypes, we give them bad connotations. Worse, when they get hurt, we blame them because they do not live up to the roles that our macho, double-standard society ascribes to them.
This is not to say that we are pre-judging Joey. We will let the courts decide on the case. However, when a woman presents herself as a victim of abuse in intimate relationship, we, especially the government, have a responsibility to see to it that the victim/survivor gets the all the assistance she needs, and ensure that she is not look down upon as a Mary Magdalene who should be stoned to death because she did not conform to our stereotyped view of women.
We should not also fall into a flawed reasoning by the Mayor's gullible constituents and friends that because Joey has not abused them in anyway, Joey could not have done such acts. Bear in mind that this is a crime committed within the context of an intimate relationship. So if you are not or has not been in an intimate relationship with Joey, if you are not or have not had sex with him, chances are your limited and gullible mind does not fully grasp the situation at hand.
It is NOT a private matter
There are a large number of people saying that Joey and Kris should resolve their differences among themselves because this is a private matter. This is NOT a private matter. When a woman in intimate relationship is physically and emotionally abused, the issue ceases to be a private matter. It becomes a crime. Let noone make you believe that physical abuse is part of buhay mag-asawa (married life).
In aid of legislation
It is this particular reason why there is a proposed legislation on Anti-Abuse of Women in Intimate Relationships (AWIR). No man has the right to physically or emotionally abuse his partner, and no man should get away with that by couching the act as a 'private matter'. I hope that this issue serves as a wake-up call to our legislators.
posted by Allan at 9:28 AM (GMT+8)
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SOUNDING BOARD
Thursday, September 25, 2003
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On internet censorship and freedom of expression (or the lack of it) in China
The Human Rights in China (HRIC) reported that another person was arrested in China for voicing dissent over the internet. Li Zhi, a 32-year-old local official from Dazhou, in Sichuan province, has been charged with conspiracy to subvert state power. According to HRIC, Mr. Li was detained on 8 August 2003 and formally charged on 3 September 2003. If found guilty, he could face 15 years in prison (BBCNews.com 24 September 2003).
This is not the first time that the Chinese government had someone arrested for voicing political opinions over the internet. Internet crackdowns and bans seem to be a common thing behind China's red firewall, even to the extent of banning Google (and consequently lifting the ban).
For an empirical analysis of internet filtering in China, this site is worth checking out. See also a BBC article on China's Red Firewall.
Given the openness of web access technology, and the growing open-mindedness of its citizens, the Chinese government will find it increasingly difficult to impose its selective ban on internet access. Two words: human rights.
posted by Allan at 10:06 AM (GMT+8)
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SOUNDING BOARD
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
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Dragging God into dirty politics
When President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced in December 2002 that she will not be running for President in 2004, she categorically stated that God was her adviser. Ms. Arroyo is now praying very hard for divine guidance whether she should run in 2004. Has politics become so dirty that even God is being dragged into this mess? If the President is really hell-bent on going through with her feigned retreat, then there is only one ‘good’ thing that came out of this --- I now realize who I am NOT going to vote for in 2004.
SOUNDING BOARD
Friday, September 19, 2003
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This week's pick: nose picking
Between Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's gloating over the forthcoming visit of George W. Bush to the Philippines and anti-US protests, it's quite amusing to be (willingly) side-tracked by interesting news on.... errr nose picking?
Marc Abrahams, founder of Ig Nobel Prizes, has come up with the book 'The Ig Nobel Prizes: The Annals of Improbable Research'. The book offers insight into some of the most bizarre research ever presented, among them is on nose picking among adolescents.
The 2001 report found that nose picking is the same across social classes. They also found that about 80 percent of teenagers do it exclusively with their fingers while the rest are split almost evenly between using tweezers and pencils as their excavator of choice. Delving deeper, the good doctors found about 50 percent of people pick to unclog their nose, 11 percent do so for cosmetic reasons while a similar number does it just for fun. (Reuters 18 September 2003)
SOUNDING BOARD
Friday, September 05, 2003
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Amend the Constitutution to boost investments?
Director General Romulo Neri of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Wednesday's Manila Times Internet Edition boldly came out in the open advocating for the need to '...amend the Philippine Constitution to rid it of protectionist provisions that have limited foreign investments in the country.' Vice President Tito Guingona was not very happy with the statement and therefore asked Neri to explain if his words 'constitute national policy and signal a 180-degree shift in President Arroyo’s declared neutrality and non-involvement in the persistent attempts to amend the 1987 Constitution' (Philippine Star 3 September 2003). Of course DG Neri's statements were entirely his and do not necessarily reflect NEDA's position, not even the President's. Are we missing something here?
Neri's position completely mirrors his mentor's --- Joe De Venecia. The great De Venecia 'dream' is to amend the Constitution. 'Plan 747', mouthed by both by JDV and Neri, catapulted Neri to his NEDA post. And where would De Venecia want to fly with his '747' and proposed Constitutional amendments? We could be gullible at times, but definitely not stupid.
Understanding where Neri's statement is coming from isn't that difficult if one remembers the circumstances when he was appointed as replacement to then NEDA DG Dante Canlas. As posted from 16 December 2003 edition of Sounding Board (a few days before the President declared she will not be running for Presidency in 2004):
Malacanang further rationalizes its motives behind the "resignation" of Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning and NEDA Director-General Dante B. Canlas, amidst the criticisms that the country's economic performance has nothing to do with it. Through Spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao, Malacanang even had to resort to saying "....Canlas wanted to go back to the academe because he was bored by his tedious work at the NEDA, which required more of his handwriting than his analytical skills" (INQ7.net 14 December 2002). Critics are not biting. Only Amando Doronila seems to have picked it up.
Romulo Neri, the new NEDA chief, outlines the "necessary" changes: "...refocusing of strategy from external sources of growth to internal sources of growth; shift from demand side stimulus represented by grand infrastructure programs to supply-side productivity and efficiency; and shift from macro-economic reforms to micro-economic reforms (INQ7.net 16 December 2002). Before we all get lost in these big words, maybe we should go back to some basic questions. Do we really have an "economic" problem as Malacanang desperately emphasizes? So why the sudden change and desparate rationalizations? Malacanang knows very well that the government's economic team has been practising a centrist economic management. It is as if Mr. Canlas is an extreme "demand-sider". It is as if Mr. Neri is an extreme "supply-sider". It is as if both are not for freer markets. It is as if we will see major policy shifts. It is as if we are that stupid.
And what about Mr. Neri's Plan 747? The President seems to have been terribly impressed by it despite the fact the the economy is doing fine. Plan "747" stands for a growth rate of seven percent for seven years. This is a recycled platform which nobody picked up when it was launched several years ago. So why the sudden interest from the President? This is the same President who reviewed and approved the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP), which is the country's socioeconomic plan until 2004. This is the same President who heads the NEDA Board, which subjected the MTPDP to a tedious consultation process - within government, across sectors and regions. This is the same President who wants to be with us even after 2004. Unless we do something about it.
We do not know yet if the President is not really running for 2004 elections. Her statements have been transforming from 'I'm not running...' to 'No comment' to 'I think I should stick to that decision'. And as I said before, she did not say she WILL stick to her decision. She said she thinks she should (stick to her decision).
What seems clear is the way Neri's position on charter change resembles that of De Venecia's. In fact, if you substitute JDV's name and position to that of Neri's, you wouldn't probably recognize the difference. But is it possible that Neri's statement reflects Malacanang's position on the issue, and Malacanang's hand is at work here? Again, we could be gullible at times, but definitely not stupid.
posted by Allan at 12:15 PM (GMT+8)
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