Wonderer.wanderer asks, “What does the Navy want from a National Artist?” At Midfield answers that the country is now turning into a police state:

No conclusion other than this can be reached with the admission by the Philippine Navy that National Artist and Magsaysay Award laureate Bienvenido ‘Bien’ Lumbera was indeed the target of an actual surveillance operation.

The lame excuse: “it was just a training mission.”

The lie just does not wash as Lumbera’s ‘targeting’ is apparently linked to his active participation in protests against Malacanang’s ‘dagdag-bawas’ moves in the recent National Artists’ Awards.

The message is all too obvious as it is chilling: we will not be secure in our homes if we dare get on the radar screen of the military for holding views opposed to the regime.

The administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has one of the worse human rights record after the Marcos dictatorship. The human rights alliance Karapatan has counted more than a thousand cases of political killings and over two hundred enforced disappearances since Arroyo took power in 2001.

For their part, the All-UP Workers Union reposts the editorial of a national daily on the issue in its blog:

The bungled spying on Lumbera, in other words, forms part of a chilling pattern. Thus, despite the sincerity of official spokesmen, the public cannot look upon the incident as a simple “inconvenience,” or (as Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita treated it) a mere laughing matter; it is of the utmost seriousness—because as we have learned from sad experience, military intelligence agents take their cue directly from Malacañang: as spies from a private army.

On a lighter note, The Construct suggests that the military should add watching James Bond and other spy films in their training program:

So why were they able to trump a marine? Given the supposed reputation of the Philippine Marines, wasn’t the guy supposed to be able to evade capture? Isn’t not cutting corners a basic lesson in the stalking (at least in sniper school)? A simple ploy like posing as a bill carrier or a utility meter reader would’ve worked flawlessly. I mean military folks do have that certain look that make them totally stand out in a subdivision like Dr. Lumbera’s.

But as Rising Sun warns:

Sa konteksto ng maraming kaso ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao, may dahilan para mabahala ang mga katulad ni Lumbera. Ang operasyong militar ay hindi humihinto sa simpleng pagkuha lang ng larawan o pagtatala ng mga naobserbahang aktibidad. Maaaring ito ang simula para sa planong pagdukot o pagpatay, sa pangunguna ng mga sundalong nasanay na sa kultura ng walang pakundangan.

The recent SONA is supposedly the president's last SONA before the 2010 elections. As the president gave her speech, thousands braved the rains to join protests presenting the real state of the nation outside the Congress and all over the country.

For many, the SONA cannot be separated from the scandals and crisis situations that plagued Arroyo's administration and the fears that the president will seek power beyond her term.

The full transcript of the SONA at tonyocruz.com. The following is a sample of the varied responses to the speech in the Philippine blogosphere.

Vernon Go gives the president a passing grade:

I wanted her to be balanced in resenting her State of the Nation Address like mentioning the negatives and the positives but I guess that is not her style. But I give her a passing grade for she did what she can as president, while inheriting the previous problems of the administration that she took over, and facing challenges & problems such as the bird flu, H1N1 Virus, OFW problems abroad, natural disasters and the global economic & financial crisis.

Femme Power asks if the SONA is based on fact or fiction:

Is the economy really doing good as the President confidently stressed? Or is the country’s economy just lucky to be sustained and fuelled by the OFW’s billion dollar remittances? Who among them are giving the real statistics and the real state of the nation? Are the figures reported by the President factual or are they, like what her critics say, merely works of fiction?

For The Construct, the real state of the nation is not reflected in the president's address:

…the true state of the nation is in every Filipino. Your nation is only as good as how your life in it is.

Unless Arroyo has some big announcement (snap elections, Martial Law, or Con Ass), I can only expect it to be more of the same – a speech from president trying to quantify her successes through numbers and qualify them with anecdotes. Some would say, the real SONA is on the streets – the cold hard facts of life compared to the more than optimistic view of an unpopular president.

Ako Mismo reflects on how the president will be remembered by history.

She knows that her administration will not be remembered fondly — hence the repetitive assertion that she brought progress at the expense of popularity — and did her best to expound on exactly what she did and why she did them. She’s justifying all her political failings with the economic progress she has made. Ever the professor, she came with all the numbers and figures she needed. Ever the politician, she came with the human props she helped emancipate. But were they enough?

For A Filipina Mom Blogger, the recent SONA was no different from Arroyo's previous SONA's.

She says “I did not become president to be popular” but I can’t help thinking all the statistics and progress report she is spewing are all embellishments or the creative work of fiction from her speech writers.

This sentiment is supported by data from a series by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism on

the failed promises, the statistical inconsistencies in government economic data, and by all indications, the illusory growth that nine years of the Arroyo Administration leave as a legacy to the Filipino people.

According to the PCIJ, the claims of economic growth by the Arroyo administration are “overstated, and based on inconsistent data sets. The National Statistical Coordination Board admits as much.”

Far From Neutral Notions cites data from the IBON Foundation:

“The last eight years of the Arroyo administration have resulted in record joblessness, deteriorating quality of jobs, falling household incomes, increasing poverty, fiscal crisis, unprecedented debt and debt service, social service cutbacks, and deeper Philippine underdevelopment.” Particularly troubling: “In 2006, the net worth of just the 20 richest Filipinos – including close Arroyo allies Lucio Tan, Enrique Razon, Jr., Eduardo Cojuangco, Enrique Aboitiz and others – was P801 billion (US$15.6 billion), which was equivalent to the combined income for the year of the poorest 10.4 million Filipino families.”

Contrary to Arroyo's promise of creating 1 million jobs a year, A Radical's Nut reveals that

Under the Arroyo administration, the country has been experiencing its worst jobs crisis, which has been further aggravated by the wave of massive displacements due to the impact of the global financial and economic crisis. Unemployment rate since 2001 has remained at more than 11% per year with about 4 million workers jobless every year. Annual unemployment rate under the Aquino to Estrada administrations was between 9 to 10% while the number of unemployed was between 2 to 3 million a year.

Isang Panata assails the president for stating only the positive side in her SONA.

126 na palakpakan ang nangyari. Malamang ay talagang maraming naganap na palakpakan dahil mayorya sa Congressman/Congresswoman ay ka – alyado ni Arroyo. Kahit siguro magpose o ngumiti o mag bad finger siya sa harap ng marami ay magpapalakpakan pa rin ang mga kongresista. Sinabi niya na siya ay ‘napaparatangang ginagamit ang kanyang kapangyarihan para sa pansariling kapanakanan ng walang ebidensiya’. ASA. Hello Garci? NBN ZTE Scandal? Extrajudicial killings? CHA CHA? Marami pang mga naganap at nagaganap na skandalo sa kanyang panunungkulan.

Third Wave blogs about how it feels to be stuck while history happens.

I’m working while history is being made outside. I’m stuck inside the concrete walls of my workplace while people outside harangued and protested against the glaring rottenness of this administration. I’m finding a living while I am supposed to be involved in this very important milestone in my country’s history.

Adarna's Attic looks into the Arroyo administration's legacy of bribes, betrayal and blatant corruption.

The government has lost its moral ascendancy to govern due to the long list of scandals, electoral fraud and corruption issues that have mired its rule. The Arroyo administration has long ceased to perform as a role model government for the youth. It has caused the widespread disillusionment among young people and has been a disappointment to the youth's desire to instill reforms in government.

Pinoy Observer thinks that the system is the problem and not the president:

The problem really is we expect Mrs. Arroyo to churn out miracles after miracles, when we all know that it is this decaying democratic system that is causing the prob­lem. How can you do good things when the very system prevents or hinders you from actually making it? We expect Arroyo to drastically change things when we know even then that this is impossible under a decrepit system.

Mong Palatino, Kabataan Partylist representative in the Philippine Congress and GV Southeast Asia editor, contends that it is the president herself who benefits from and is the number one defender of a corrupt and oppressive system.

Halos isang dekada na si Gloria Arroyo sa Malakanyang. Isang dekada na ring nagtitiis at lalong naghirap ang ating bansa. Para po sa aming henerasyon na naging bahagi ng Edsa Dos, ang nakalipas na siyam na taon ay parang bangungot. Bakit ang People Power president ay naging “halimaw sa banga”? Imbes na pagbabago, imbes na kaunlaran, ang nasaksihan natin ay ang kabaligtaran. Kung mayroon mang pagbabago, eto ay ang pagdami ng mga tagong yaman ng First Family; kung mayroon mang pag-unlad, eto ang pag-unlad ng kabuhayan ng mga kroni ni Arroyo.

Isang insulto sa mamamayang Pilipino ang nilulutong con-ass ng Kongreso. Hindi tayo mangmang; huwag nila tayong lokohin. Ang con-ass ay pinasa para sa kapakinabangan ni Arroyo. Walang ibang layunin ang Kongreso kundi bigyan ng legal na batayan ang hangarin ni Arroyo na manatili sa kapangyarihan habambuhay.

The D Spot asks if the 2009 SONA is Arroyo's last.

Will she promise that this will be her last SONA? (Remember history? She said she won’t run for the elections—and RUN she did!? Will she say “I am sorry”? Indeed she has a lot of things to be sorry for—we may see the hard infrastructures—roads, bridges, airports, schools, etc. that she has been so proud of. How about that which we cannot see? Has her regime made people less poor? Has there been more food on the table of each family? Has her regime made people more educated?

Political commentator Mon Casiple blogs on the unsaid implications of Arroyo's SONA:

By stating that “I never expressed the desire to extend myself before my term,” she left open the possibility that she may do so in the future. By singling out each major presidentiable for snide remarks, she indirectly put herself in the ring with them. Considering that she cannot run anymore in the 2010 elections, this leaves only the possibility for charter change. She hints in the SONA that she will contend for power with them, not necessarily through elections. The not-so-subtle message of her full red gown is: GMA is ready to fight!

The SONA definitely is not a swan song, nor is it a unifying call, nor one of a legacy speech. It sounds like a campaign speech, a call to arms, or an act of throwing down a gauntlet. Is this simply a way to ward off the image of a lameduck presidency or a preparation for a real move towards a strong-woman rule?

MLQ3 sums the SONA in 3 brief sentences:

1. Don’t count me out.
2. Cha-Cha is a go.
3. we will mobilize vs.certain presidential candidates.

“Lola Techie” is the central figure in a Philippine telecommunication company’s marketing campaign which plays on the concept of an internet-savvy grandmother.

The Geeky-Guide tries to gauge the success of “Lola Techie”:

Viral marketing isn't all that new even in the Philippines, but this is probably one of the most successful and most interactive campaigns ever. While I can't determine if this advertising campaign has actually resulted in significant sign-ups for Bayantel's residential DSL service, I can talk about just how popular “Lola Techie” has become and what a great branding campaign this has become for Bayantel.

She's not only active on YouTube in order to release her new videos, but she's also on other social networking services like Twitter, Plurk, Multiply and naturally Facebook. Yes, she will add you as a friend and you can play games like Mafia Wars together. Of course she has her own website at http://www.lolatechie.com/ (which is really just a redirect URL), which acts as the central hub of the marketing efforts and naturally where you can sign up for their services as well.

Bloggers who’ve seen the Lola Techie on TV or the Internet love the video ad for many reasons. For down the rabbit hole, for instance,

The message was clear, showing us that hooking up with the Internet can bridge the gap between people, whether they’re a thousand miles away, or just like in the lola’s case—young and old.

Technograph gives us a glimpse of the new craze by sharing some of Lola Techie’s Plurks:

LolaTechie says the faster internet gets the worm :-))

LolaTechie thinks that we do not stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing! Kaya maglalaro muna ako ng Plants Vs. Zombies. :-))

LolaTechie will now start adding you young people as Plurk friends before I go to sleep.

LolaTechie greets my pinakamamahal na Domingo a happy father’s day. We did good…

LolaTechie bids all my new Plurk friends good night! Bukas naman ulit!

The Citadel lauds the idea of computer-literate grandmothers:

Its nice for them to finally feature the elderly in these commercials rather than just young adults. For a change, they brought somewhat a good message that even the elderly can still learn how to use the computer. And like I really would like to have a DOTA match with Lola Techie LOL The commercial gave us quite a lot of laughs every time it gets played on TV.

Crisboy wishes that his own grandmother is like the figure in the popular ad while Maruism is reminded by Lola Techie of her own mother:

Halos kasing-edad lang ng techie lola sa tv commercial ang nanay ko nung namatay. Sabi ko nga, siguro kung buhay pa si Nanay ko…malamang nagpa-install na rin yun computer na may internet connection para maka-chat kami at malamang nagtatampo na rin yun sa mga apo nya pag hindi sya nai-poke back sa Facebook!

Not everyone, however, are taken in by the craze. Jonas, for example, chose to unfollow Lola Techie on Plurk for the following reasons:

I’m getting tired of muting her plurks when her new grandsons and granddaughters are still on the hype. Lola Techie is receiving 50 replies at average.

She’s taking Facebook quizzes and applications and posting it on plurk! I’m keeping those type of statuses away from my news feed. And there you go! She’s now spamming my Plurk.

The trend is that she might have her own blogger event! Knowing her followers are mostly Pinoy bloggers.

And since Lola Techie is an imagination, I hope her creator should have been packaging her into more techie person. The reason I enjoyed Inday, ang Sosyal na Katulong, is that she and her manager are successful in leaving the audience with their nose bleeding. It should have been more Lola Techie if she had plurked that she’s able to secure a wireless router, to remove a virus from a computer, to use the Konami code and some other geeks stuff. Sana nilubos-lubos na nila.

Meanwhile, The P4TAL thinks that not all grandparents can be like Lola Techie:

…hindi ko magagawang hatakin ang nanay ko sa harap ng PC. Masyadong abala yun sa bahay, at mas gugustuhin pa niyang manood na lang ng sine sa SM kaysa magYouTube at magdownload ng torrent… Hindi na rin kasi niya gusto na matuto pa ng ibang mga kumplikado na bagay. Yun nga lang pagtetext e sapilitan pa naming itinuro sa kanya. Siguro dahil nga naman sa sobrang abala niya bilang ina, hindi na niya magagawa pang matuto nang bagong kaalaman na sa tingin naman niya e hindi niya mapapakinabangan sa pang-araw-araw naming buhay

Lastly, Mong, youth parliamentarian and GV’s very own Southeast Asia editor, draws attention to the ad’s bleak implication that we tend to overlook:

Through the ad, young and middle-aged Filipinos are given a glimpse of the kind of life they will have in the future. The ad is also a gloomy reminder that the future has already arrived. We are all like the Bayantel lola now: inevitably connected to the cyberworld but ultimately alone in the real world.

While Rebelyn was the daughter of Lenicio Pitao, a rebel leader of the communist New People’s Army, her mother claimed that Rebelyn was not involved in her father's activities.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who remains hounded by allegations of human rights violations in its war against the rebels, has denied military involvement in the abduction and murder of Rebelyn.

Many are outraged by the heinous crime. It has drawn not a few reactions in the Philippine blogging community, including a poem by E. San Juan, Jr., a Filipino public intellectual and cultural critic.

Rebelyn would have celebrated her 21st birthday this 20th of March. She could have done more in the service of the community as a teacher if not for her untimely death, writes Norma Dollaga.

Marry Anne's Musings express her sympathy for the victim and her loved ones.

I don't know Rebelyn Pitao personally but I was moved when I learned what has happened to her, when they found her body in a creek clad only with underwear, bore several stabs wounds. And her hands were tied and her mouth was bound with masking tape, fueling speculations she was tortured and sexually assaulted. I as a mother will do her best to protect her children, to do not let them be harm in this cruel world, to get hurt triple times when my daughters are in pain. My deepest sympathy to the Mom of Rebelyn and condolences to the family.

That Word in Me is angered by the incessant disregard for the value and sanctity of human life.

Never mind that she was the daughter of a rebel; a rebel who the government has failed time and again to capture; who has had a string of battlefield victories under his Command against the military and the government.

What infuriates me, what really, really infuriates me is the fact that something so heinous and monstrous was done to an innocent person. Was it her fault that she was her father’s daughter? Was it her fault that her father has eluded capture all these years? What has she got to do with all these?

The gruesome killing points to the sad state of human rights in the country, writes veteran journalist Ding Gagelonia.

We are supposed to be living in a democracy with the Bill of Rights a cornerstone of the Republic.

But what has just happened to 20-year-old Rebelyn Pitao tells us otherwise.

Who killed Rebelyn, Gagelonia further asks? Many, like Musings of a Random Mind, attribute the abduction and slaying to the military.

if it’s not the elements in the military, then who would have the capacity and motivation to kidnap and murder a young woman whose only “crime” was being the daughter of a rebel leader? human rights watch reported last year that the number of extra-judicial killings in the philippines have increased significantly after president gloria arroyo declared an “all-out war” against the new people’s army in 2006.

president gloria arroyo has ordered a probe into the killing so that the murderers can be punished. judging from the results of previous investigations of this nature, however, nothing much can be expected from an administration perceived to be the most corrupt in philippine history.

Father Amado Picaradal, a priest and peace activist, laments the persistence of a “culture of death” in the country.

Over 25 years ago, the killing of suspected subversives and criminals were a common occurence. I was hoping that it would be a thing in the past with the fall of the Marcos dictatorial rule. Today it continues in Davao. There is a death squad that assassinates suspected criminals and there is also another group abducts and kills not only suspected rebels but also their relatives. This is another manifestation of the culture of death and the spiral of violence in our land.