.jpg)
I watched the video. I cringed and felt angry towards this arrogant behavior when Sara Duterte threatened to exhume the body of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and throw it in the West Philippine Sea.
And if this wasn’t enough, she also revealed the act of decapitating the head of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. All these for her hallucinations and for a wristwatch. I am sure the thirty-one million (and more) felt the same.
The question is, what do we do now? Will we just sweep this under the rug and go on with our lives?
Or will we tell our congressmen to initiate impeachment proceedings to pluck her out from office, living it up from LGU and DepEd confidential funds.
Indeed, a mentally unstable individual will have difficulty maintaining relationships and will have difficulty controlling anger, together with an impulsive behavior to inflict harm to another person, or to wish another person ill.
I tell you; this family has nothing better in mind but to harm other people who they cannot fool. And then come the sycophants to their defense.
Figure of speech my foot! When you threaten to desecrate the dead by exhuming him and throwing him elsewhere far from his final resting place, and then we are told of a lame excuse that this is understandable and tolerable because it is simply symbolic and a figure of speech on her part, what would you do if the Marcos supporters also threaten to exhume the body of Sara Duterte’s grandfather and throw him in the Pasig River if the Duterte supporters continue uploading fake videos of PBBM because they too want you to interpret this as plain symbolism and a figure of speech on their part?
​
But wait, a reminder. The Vice-President of the Philippines can be removed from office due to physical or mental incapacity, but only through a legal and constitutional process as outlined in Article VII, Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution.
Certification of Incapacity: If the Vice-President is deemed incapacitated, a majority of the Cabinet must submit a written declaration to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House, stating the Vice-President’s inability to perform official duties.
Dispute Resolution: If the Vice-President contests this declaration, Congress will resolve the matter. A two-thirds vote from both Houses is required to affirm the incapacity.
Succession: If the Vice-President is officially declared incapacitated, the constitutional line of succession will be followed to fill the vacancy.
This provision ensures a clear, fair, and balanced process in addressing the Vice-President’s incapacity to continue performing her duties, and as such can be removed from office thus ensuring a smooth transition for the successor to fill the vacancy.
Chickened out
Former President Rodrigo Duterte was determined to attend the quadcomm hearings saying he is ready to tell all, until his counsel Atty. Martin Delgra III, a former LTFRB head, wrote to the quadcomm saying the former president is “currently not feeling well” and “is in need of much rest.”
Really? As I recall, his rabid supporters have been saying that he is healthy and can very much carry out a full campaign for his elective post, and that the current president is the one needing medical help.
So why this sudden chickening out? Nevertheless, we await his presence in the hearings, minus his usual invectives and stinky behavior. For indeed, bad manners are hereditary. One inherits them from his children.
​
Remembering father and son JV Cruz and Edvee Cruz
Let’s backtrack a bit. When a dear friend Edvee Cruz (PBBM’s close friend and writer) was still around and his father Ambassador JV Cruz, a former presidential mouthpiece and press secretary passed away, I asked him to accompany me to his wake so I could pay my last respects to one of my late father’s good friends.
Tito JV was a man of the world and lived it up, being the country’s ambassador to the Court of St. James. In the 90s, I would bump into him on occasion as he walked straight inside the Giraffe Bar on 6750, or at the lobby of the Manila Peninsula Hotel.
He would often be accompanied by his favorite drink – a dry martini (a la James Bond) if my memory serves me right still. His wake at the Santuario de San Antonio included a table with his old typewriter and several writing instruments.
But what really caught my attention were the words on top of it written on an old metal plate which said: “When a man is tired of London, he’s tired of life.”
Today, as we sometimes tend to grow weary from the daily grind, we must always find that elusive purpose in our lives, for when we grow tired of it, nothing will ever distract us from being grateful and from seeing a glimpse of eternity.
-o0o-
Random Memorandum: It is imperative that all public officials undergo a psychological test (and pass it) before being accepted as a candidate.
-o0o-
Factoid: A psychological test is a set of stimuli administered to an individual under standard conditions to obtain a sample of behavior for assessment. There are basically two kinds of tests, objective and projective. The objective test requires the respondent to make a particular response to a structured set of instructions (e.g., true/false, yes/no, or the correct answer). The projective test is given in an ambiguous context in order to afford the respondent an opportunity to impose his or her own interpretation in answering.
(Leslie Bocobo is a former Special Assistant to the Secretary at the Office of the Press Secretary, Malacañang, and a former Public Affairs Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources)
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) recently reported that 183 candidates have filed their certificates of candidacy for the 12 Senate seats in the upcoming May 2025 midterm elections.
Additionally, 190 party-list groups have submitted their certificates of nomination and acceptance.
These figures represent a significant increase compared to previous years, suggesting that more individuals and organizations view the upcoming elections either as an opportunity to serve the public; or as a means to pursue their ambitions for power, influence, and wealth.
Regardless of their motivations, one fact remains clear: it is the voters who will ultimately determine whether these candidates deserve the positions they seek.
It is crucial for the electorate to be informed and discerning, enabling them to identify which candidates truly merit their valuable votes.
Moreover, it is important to note that the Comelec has yet to narrow down the list of candidates according to established guidelines.
As a result, many of these Senate and congressional hopefuls may not make it to the final roster, particularly those deemed nuisance candidates or lacking a genuine intent to run a credible campaign.
However, it is worth highlighting that among those who have filed their candidacies, several individuals stand out as deserving of a Senate seat, based on their backgrounds, experiences, and sincere commitment to public service.
One such candidate is former Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos.
Any discerning and informed voter would recognize that Abalos is exceptionally qualified for a Senate position.
As DILG chief, he demonstrated outstanding leadership, championing local governance and initiating various impactful projects.
He also conducted a successful no-nonsense anti-drug campaign with the flagship Buhay Ingatan , Droga Ayawan (BIDA) program that netted thousands of drug users and pushers, and also confiscated multi-billion peso worth of illegal drugs, without resorting to violence and bloodshed, thus ensuring the safety of every community in the country.
In short, his leadership style is a mixture of pragmatism and compassion backed by concrete actions and commitment to uphold the rule of law.
His background as a former mayor of Mandaluyong City and also as congressman and chairman of Metro Manila Development Authority, gives him a unique perspective on local governance and experience at the grassroots level.
While other candidates might resort to mudslinging and even dirty tricks just to gain the interest and support of the voters, I am confident that Abalos will bring his campaign to a higher plane.
He is too decent to be swayed and dragged in gutter style politics and would rather focus his campaign on his platform of governance that is based on performance, integrity, transparency, and accountability.
The problem, however, is that while Abalos is well-qualified to become a senator, he still faces significant challenges because Filipino voters are notoriously conflicted, fickle minded, and immature.
Those handling the campaign of Abalos therefore need to craft a campaign that is consistent and strong enough to convince the voters that he is the one that they could trust once he is elected into the Senate.
At a time when the country needs strong and principled leaders, voters should realize that Abalos could stand up for them and fight for their interests and rights.
Hackers from United States cyber forces and intelligence agencies disguise themselves like "chameleons" in cyberspace by posing as other countries to conduct global cyberattacks and espionage operations, while also pouring dirty water on non-US allies like China, an investigative report published on Monday said.
According to the report Volt Typhoon III: A Cyber Espionage and Disinformation Campaign conducted by US Government Agencies, evidence has shown that "Volt Typhoon", which US politicians, intelligence communities and companies claimed to be a China-sponsored hacking organization, had launched a series of operations targeting networks across critical US infrastructure sectors, as just one of many operations initiated by the US intelligence agency.
The report was jointly published by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and the National Engineering Laboratory for Computer Virus Prevention Technology.
Also, according to the top-secret files of the National Security Agency, the US has for long been taking advantage of its well-developed information and communication technology industry to construct internet infrastructures to control the "Choke Points" of the internet.
There are at least seven access sites for tapping with coverage over all submarine optical cables spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific. All these access sites are operated by NSA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Cyber Security Centre from the United Kingdom. Each information packet intercepted through the access sites are thoroughly inspected indiscriminately, the report said.
Furthermore, the NSA will directly use the "supply chain" attack method, which capitalizes on the advantages of the advanced US information and communication technology industry and products, against a variety of high-valued targets of other countries that have high levels of protection and are challenging to penetrate in cyberspace.
With the cooperation of large internet enterprises or equipment suppliers in the US, NSA is able to intercept the US-made network products purchased by its targets. The products will then be unpacked and implanted with backdoor malware before repackaging and shipping to the various targets.
The method is usually used in attack operations against other countries' telecom and network operators. When NSA gets control of the target telecom network operator's system, they will be able to monitor the target's cellphone communication content. In the attack against the Northwestern Polytechnical University, the relevant internet service provider located in China was compromised by NSA with the "supply chain" attack method. As a result, the telephone calls and internet activities of the victims were tracked by NSA in real time.
NSA used the term "pre-position" when introducing the method in top secret documents, which specifically refers to the implant "backdoor" in IT products used by the targets, which is activated through NSA's subsequent operations. Ironically, the term "pre-position" was also used by US government agencies to describe the tactics used by so-called "Volt Typhoon" groups which carried out cyberattacks on critical US infrastructure in places like Guam. The question surrounding "pre-position" in critical infrastructure worldwide is quite clear.
Previously on April 15 and July 8, the two institutions published two investigative reports on "Volt Typhoon", which launched a series of operations affecting networks across critical US infrastructure sectors.
The reports stated that analysis by Chinese technical teams showed that many of the IP addresses used by "Volt Typhoon" to launch the attacks were previously used by a ransomware group named "Dark Power", which had no country and sectoral connection. And the US government agencies orchestrated and hyped up the "Volt Typhoon" cyberthreat narrative to secure additional funding from the US Congress and to bolster the cyber-infiltration capabilities of US intelligence agencies.
The allegation originated from a joint advisory by the cybersecurity authorities of the US and its "Five Eyes" allies — the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. With the advisory issued based on information released by US tech company Microsoft, which has failed to provide a detailed analytical process for source tracing of the cyberattacks from "Volt Typhoon".