PHOTO GALLERY: DANIEL-KATERINA WEDDING PHOTOS

Take a look at the exclusive photos of the highly anticipated wedding scene of Coco Martin and Julia Montes in ABS-CBN’s top-rating drama series “Walang Hanggan.”

“BE CAREFUL WITH MY HEART” MAKES PINOYS SMILE AMID TRYING TIMES

ABS-CBN’s no.1 romantic-comedy Prime-tanghali drama series, “Be Careful With My Heart” continues to rule nationwide daytime TV and one of its directors, Direk Jeffrey Jeturian is in high spirits with their show’s unprecedented feat.

“The consistent high ratings of our show is really overwhelming,” said Direk Jeffrey. “We did not expect that there is a morning audience that big that would propel us everyday to the 5th spot of the top overall TV programs nationwide.”

Direk Jeffrey, who co-directs “Be Careful With My Heart” with Direk Mervyn Brondial, shared that the huge following of their ‘kilig-serye’ can be attributed to a lot of things including the Filipino viewers’ need for a fresh and optimistic story amid trying times.

“The show’s simplicity and feel-good tone was able to capture the audience’s fancy. It doesn’t only leave viewers feeling romantic every time, but also with a smile in their hearts,” Direk Jeffrey said.

He further shared that ‘secrets’ of the huge following of their ‘kilig-serye. “I think the show is effective as a romance comedy because of the chemistry between Jodi Sta. Maria as Yaya Maya the naive and pure-hearted nanny to the deaf kid of the stern and stone-hearted widower played by Richard Yap,” he explained.

The director also confirmed the viewers’ comments regarding the show’s unconventional visual quality. “Be Careful With My Heart” is the first soap of ABS-CBN that is shot on HD or high-definition camera,” Direk Jeffrey said. “That explains the glossy look of the show when people watch it onscreen, plus we shoot the series film-style so it has the feel, look, and ‘magic’ of a movie.”

Continue to feel the ‘magic’ of Yaya Maya and Mr. Lim’s unique love story, catch “Be Careful With My Heart,” everyday, 10:45am, before “It’s Showtime” on ABS-CBN’s Prime-Tanghali.

No. 1 Vilmanian sa likod ng pelikula ni Nora

By Art Tapalla

MAY panahon noon na, among the media people, si JC Nigado (or Julio Cinco N.) ang itinuturing na No.1 Vilmanian. Sa katunayan nga, si kasamang JC ang nagbansag kay Vilma Santos ng “The Star for All Seasons” noong 1987 nang sulatin niya ang script para sa 25th anniversary (in showbiz) show ng aktres sa top-rated weekly TV variety nitong Vilma! Regalo lang iyon ng kaibigang JC kay Vilma, with a very minimal token as a gesture of appreciation kuno. Meron ba si Vilma nun? 

Pero noon pa yun, at tila nag-iba na ang ihip ng hangin. Ang latest na usap-usapan ngayon ay nasa kampo na ng superstar na si Nora Aunor ang katotong JC. At maraming Noranian ang natutuwa na may halong pangamba at pagka-asiwa. Ibang klase kasi ang JC, ibang klase...

Una, hindi mo siya mahagilap. Daig pa si Greta Garbo sa pagiging “recluse” at mailap. May cellphone number nga, pero di naman nagri-reply. Nagri-ring kung minsan ang cellphone niya pero wala namang sumasagot. Minsan, lumalabas at lumilitaw, pero most of the time ay wala.

Sa pagkakaalam ko ay sa Center Stage Productions na ni Direk Brillante “Dante” Mendoza nagtatrabaho si JC. Ang sabi niya sa akin noong huli kaming magkausap ay “parttime” at “consultant” lang daw ang trabaho niya sa Cannes Best Director (2009).

But the facts betray the real situation, ayon na rin sa ilang reliable sources. In fact, kay JC Nigado mismo nanggaling at siya ang nagbigay ng kakaiba at karapatdapat na title sa pelikula ni Brillante na Thy Womb (Sa Iyong Sinapupunan).

Ang sabi, ang original title ng naturang pelikula nina Brillante at Nora ay Bajau (or Badjau?). Tapos, pinalitan ito ng scriptwriter na si Henry Burgos ng Barren, na napakaliteral na description ng baog na character ni Nora sa naturang pelikula. Tipong ABS-CBN ba!

Hindi umano type ni Brillante ang naunang mga working title at, siyempre, nag-consult daw ito kay JC na lagi raw nitong kasa-kasama kahit saan magpunta ang award-winning na direktor. Si JC Nigado na ba ang alter ego, ghost writer at overall consultant ni Brillante Mendoza? Aba, can afford siya! JC is very precious, sabi pa nga noon ng yumaong National Artist na si Lino Brocka.

Malamang, ayon naman sa isa pang nagpupunta sa garden-studio ng Center Stage. Anyway, binago nga raw ni JC ang gasgas at pangit na title ng pelikula ni Nora at ginawang Thy Womb (Sa Iyong Sinapupunan).

Very JC, at siya lang ang makakaisip ng titulong iyon, given the circumstances at hand. JC is a Temple person and, knowing him to be very spiritual (araw-araw siyang nagme-meditate sa pagkakaalam ko), talagang kanyang-kanya ang titulong Thy Womb. Hinding-hindi maiisip nina Brillante and company yun.

Incidentally, alam ko ring si JC ang nagpalit ng dating title ng pelikulang Captive, Brillante’s official main competition entry to this year’s 62nd Berlin International Film Festival na umuwi nang luhaan noong February 2012.

Pero sabi ni JC noon, bet niya at mahirap daw talunin si Isabelle Huppert sa best actress category. Napulitika ba ang sikat na French actress at iba ang nagwagi? O baka naman nagsawa na sila kay Dante.

From Prey to Captured (unang title sa Berlin) naging Captive ito nang umeksena na si JC Nigado sa Center Stage. Bongga, di ba?

Balitang kasama sa Tawi-tawi si JC at nakihalubilo ito sa production team ni Brillante. Nagkita at nagkasama ba sina Nora at JC roon? Alam kaya ni Nora na ang taong kasa-kasama nila sa shooting at may malaking kinalaman sa produksyon ng pelikula nila ay ang dating avid Vilmanian na si Julio Cinco N., na noo’y halos linggu-linggo ay may column at articles tungkol kay Vilma sa kasagsagan ng Movie Flash, Moviestar at iba pang magazines? Pati na sa broadsheet na Malaya, Inquirer, Manila Standard at Manila Times/Sunday Times Magazine ay madalas ang writeups ni JC noon at panay ang banat kay Nora?

Nagkakilala at naging magkaibigan ba sina JC at Nora sa Tawi-tawi sa loob ng dalawang linggong shooting noong Abril?

Bali-balita na noong last shooting day ng Thy Womb sa Tawi-tawi ay namigay diumano ng pera si Nora sa members ng production staff at crew. May binigyan ng P40,000, may P20,000, may tig-P10,000 at ang karamihan ay tig-P2,000 bawat isa. May inabutan ng tig-P1,000 at tig-P500, tulad ng mga Badjau. Si JC kaya, binigyan ba siya ni Ate Guy? Magkano naman?

But knowing JC, hindi niya tatanggapin ang perang ibibigay ni Nora. At kung saka-sakaling tanggapin man niya ito, yun ay ibibigay rin niya sa Temple.

Hanggang ngayon ay ayaw pa ring mag-reply ni JC sa mga text ko. Parang ayaw niyang magbigay ng anupamang karagdagang impormasyon maliban doon sa konting nasabi niya noon. Pinagbabawalan ba si JC na magsalita tungkol sa Thy Womb o ayaw lang talaga niyang magsalita? (Pero ang galing talaga ng mga Noranian – basta tungkol sa idolo nila wala silang palalagpasin at di kayang gawin. Halos kahit anong impormasyon ay talagang hahanapin at kukunin nila basta tungkol kay Nora.)

Anyways, kung kilala ko si JC, malamang na ayaw lang talaga niyang magsalita o maging source ng anumang impormasyon tungkol sa unang project na kahit papaano’y “pinagsamahan” nila ni Nora. Pero sa totoo lang, excited naman ang ilang mga Noranian (na kagaya ko) hinggil sa bagong development na ito. Biro niyo, isang matinding Vilmanian ang nasa likod ng bagong pelikula ni Ate Guy! At hindi basta-basta, ha!

Pero kahit anong “pagtatago” pa ang gawin ni JC Nigado (o Julio Cinco N.) ay may mga bagay pa rin na lumalabas tungkol sa partisipasyon at ginagawa niya sa Thy Womb. Kamakailan, isang kopya ng tinatawag na “Director’s Intention” para sa pelikulang Thy Womb ang nakalap namin at, believe you me, ‘ika nga, tatak JC Nigado ang pagkakasulat nito.

Matagal na akong nagbabasa ng mga article, column at iba pang mga sinusulat ni JC Nigado na ang pinaka recent ay ang critical at hard-hitting niyang cover stories ng dyaryong Opinyon.

At ang naturang “Director’s Intention” na supposedly ay galing kay Brillante Mendoza, natitiyak kong 99 percent na sinulat ito ni JC. Tunghayan natin ang nasabing “Director’s Intention” ng Thy Womb:

“I AM making a film about the Bajaus, with the aim to celebrate a nonviolent people amidst a very violent world. It’s an intriguing premise about a particular people of peace living in a place of endemic violence.

“One of the most interesting peoples in southern Philippines, the Bajaus are native sea-dwellers that are also found in the neighboring Malaysian and Indonesian archipelagos. They are the so-called Sea Gypsies who are skilled in building various types of boats, and widely known as fishermen, pearl divers and mat weavers.

“As a film, Thy Womb (Sa Iyong Sinapupunan) examines the opposing natures of two women (Nora Aunor/Shaleha’s sterility against Lovi Poe/Mersila’s fertility) to reflect the prevailing condition in Tawi-tawi, a place endowed with natural beauty and rich resources but mired in economic and socio-political crises. A quiet hell of a paradise, Thy Womb’s “birth place” and its environs are constant reminders of yesterday’s conflict that has remained unresolved up to the present.

“The Bajaus are considered to be the most primitive and oppressed among several ethnic groups in the region; and they assume a subordinate status in their diverse and divided community, which includes the Samal and the Tausug, among others. But in spite of this, the Bajaus are generally perceived to be non-confrontational, forgiving, seemingly contented and happy people.

“When wronged, it is said that the Bajaus would simply move to another place, bringing their houseboats (lepa-lepa), constantly roving, living in harmony with nature. To this day, they are mostly looked down, degraded and much maligned by their ethnic neighbors and others, thus rendering them harmless, helpless and almost powerless.

“But in their heart of hearts, are they really so, or is it just another way of life merely misunderstood by those inured to violence? With this thought and theme, and my curiosity further piqued, the narrative voice of the film has emerged loud and clear.

“With intensive research and truthful depiction of certain characters and their circumstances, as articulated in the poignant tale of an aging, childless couple who resolve to find the mother of their much-wanted child, I hope Thy Womb would show a slice of life in the best possible light.”

Ang “Director’s Intention,” ayon sa mga nakakaalam nito, ay kasama sa folio ng isang filmmaker na ginagamit sa paghahanap ng investors, funding at distribution ng pelikula at bilang requirement ng major film festivals sa abroad gaya ng Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Pusan, Toronto, New York at iba pa. Anong say niyo? Paging JC Nigado, please! (Sinusulat , kalahok ang “Thy Womb” sa 69th Venice Int’l Filmfest.)

Mayor Danny de Guzman vs. Mayor Tarpaulin

MISTULANG showbiz ang labanan sa pagka-mayor sa Mandaluyong City sa darating na midterm elections sa Mayo 2013. Ang kinikilalang siyudad ng mga baliw (dahil sa tinatawag na “Mental Hospital” na siyang matagal nang landmark ng naturang lugar) sa loob at labas ng bansa ay may natatanging aliw na idudulot sa karambola ng mga pulitiko.

VMayor Danny de Guzman

Kung ang pulis ay may patola ang pulitiko naman ay may pulpol kahit gaano pa ito katagal sa puwesto ng mga buwaya at trapo. Kamakailan ay nagdaos ng isang payak na birthday celebration ang 58-anyos na si Precy Portillo sa 524-C M. Gonzaga Street, Barangay Hagdang Bato Itaas, Mandaluyong.

Si Precy ay kapatid ng dating artistang si Venus Portillo na noon ay naging malapit sa sexy star na si Rosana Ortiz na namayagpag noong late 1960s at early 1970s. Sa simpleng pagtitipong iyon ay napag-alaman naming tiyak na pala ang labanan nina Mayor Danny de Guzman at Mayor Tarpaulin. Ang vice diumano ni De Guzman ay ang beteranong si Bibot Domingo at si Konsehal Edward Bartolome naman ang akay ng Tarpaulin.

Ito’y isang kuwentong kalye sa loob ng sagradong bahay nina Precy sa mismong okasyon ng kanyang kaarawan na dinaluhan din nina Gloria Huen Dollentes, 89-anyos (ipinanganak noong Pebrero 29, 1923), Susan Martinez, Minerva Intia at ang mga bagets na apo ni Precy na sina Zshaneille at Zhendrick Bayona kasama ang kanilang ina.

Ang simpatiya ng halos lahat ng tao roon ay na kay De Guzman na ang litrato ay makikita sa loob ng bahay ni Precy. Pero may mga konsiderasyon ang ilan dahil sa mga kapatid o malalapit nilang kamag-anak na nagtatrabaho sa city hall.

Gusto at nasa puso’t damdamin nila si De Guzman pero natatakot naman silang mawalan ng trabaho at kabuhayan ang mga kapamilya nila na umaasa sa pansamantalang biyaya ng Tarpaulin Mayor. Siyangapala, sa nakaraang kaarawan ni Mayor Tarpaulin (July 19) ay nagkalat ang mahigit 33 tarpaulin greetings at iba pa sa entrance at lobby ng mayor’s building. At sa buong Maysilo Circle ay naglipana ang iba’t ibang mga tarpaulin ni mayor na mistulang mga basura sa paningin at environment.

Mas marami ang mahihirap sa Mandaluyong (tulad ng halos lahat ng bahagi ng Pilipinas), at karamihan sa kanila ay si Mayor De Guzman ang isinisigaw ng puso’t damdamin nila. Pero nababalot ang buong siyudad ng mga tarpaulin ng kaliweteng mayor na siyang patuloy na bumubulag sa kanila.

Malaki ang kasalanan at pagkukulang ni Mayor Tarpaulin sa mga iskwater at iba pang mamamayan ng Mandaluyong sa mahigit 25-taong panunungkulan nito at ang naunang kaalyadong alkalde. At panahon na ng pagbabago at totoong pamumuno sa bayan. 

Marco Gumabao

Bagong dugo sa pulitika at bagong dugo sa showbiz. Sa mga newcomer sa ABS-CBN, nangingibabaw ang appeal at arte ng matangkad at 17-anyos na si Marco Gumabao, anak nina Dennis Roldan (Michel Gumabao sa tunay na buhay) at ang dating modelong si Lollie Imperial. Simple lang at natural kung umarte si Marco kaya siya’y napapansin at namumukod sa hanay ng mga TH at nakakainis umarte na kasamahan niya sa Luv U, tuwing Linggo ng hapon.

Sa GMA-7 naman, isang sorpresa ang 18-anyos na La Salle student na si Raymond Manuel, na mapapanood sa Walang Tulugan ni German Moreno. Si Raymond ay galing sa isa ring showbiz family na tila nakalimutan na ng panahon. 

Raymond Manuel

Pero dahil dugong showbiz ang nananalaytay sa mga ugat ni Raymond kaya pinagbibigyan niya ang kanyang hilig kahit na mag-umpisa pa siya kung saan. Na sinasabayan naman niya ng kanyang pag-aaral sa Taft and the tough world of showbiz.

Umpisa pa lang ito, Mayor Danny, Marco at Raymond! 

Who Copied Whom: Front covers of two glossy magazines

Anne Curtis on Rogue magazine october issue
Nora Aunor on Yes magazine october issue

A Princess among Manny’s many women

By JULIO CINCO N.

Princess Snell               and             Manny Pacquiao

IN showbiz and in the so-called civil society, hot rumors fly fast and thick before they turn into cold facts. These days the loudest whisper in town concerns what many consider is an illicit affair between a homegrown world famous celebrity and a starlet upstart. “Hindi pa man sumisikat, laos na,” the rumormongers would say.

         But her 15 minutes of shared fame or infamy, as usual, is treated with a double standard in a country known for major double talk, major double faces and major double cross. The young woman in question, a putative victim, is allegedly pregnant and is identified both in print and in cyber space gossip. But, as of this writing, the celebrated moneyed man, is almost always written blind, so to speak, and remains a big question.

          Until now. Billionaire and boxing champ Manny Pacquiao, if rumors are to be believed, is once again proving to all and sundry that he is the pound-for-pound womanizer to reckon with, with or without he wife Jinkee watching  over him. People in the know say that’s what the former poor boy from GenSan gets from fraternizing with the likes of Gov. Chavit Singson and company, It’s a vile world of vices and, as the latest installment of the film “Wall Street”’s blurb say,”money never sleeps.” But Manny does sleep with strange bedfellows many of them women.

           His current conquest, or so various sources say, is 19-year-old (born on April 14, 1992) Princess Snell of GMA-7’s stable of little known talents. Princess entered showbiz in 1988 as part of ABS-CBN’s Star Magic. After portraying bit roles in “I Love Betty La Fea” and “Kambal sa Uma,” she transferred to GMA-7 and joined the fifth season of StarStruck, making it to the final 14. She did more bit roles and became one of the Castaways contenders in the 2010 Survivors Philippines: Celebrity Showdown, but quit on the second day. At present, she continues to do some bit parts on TV until the wild rumors about her supposed relationship with Pacquiao have put her on the spot.

         Of course, Princess denies the rumors about her purported interesting stage, as they always do and then deliver a different story after more or less nine months. Or else you know what they say about the abortive Reproductive Bill--born or bust!

         The semi-retired starlet even dares and challenges others: “Gusto niyong makita ang sexy body ko?” But, as we go to press, she’s not quoted yet denying her relationship with the man of many vices. And what about the reported car and condo gifts?

         So far, we also haven’t heard from the fishwife who practically went berserk at the height of the Manny Pacquiao-Krista Ranillo romantic escapade. Back then, feeling wronged and wasted, she really went to town spewing strong and scathing words in print (and otherwise)—if memory serves, even on the cover of Pete Lacaba and Joan Maglipon’s Yes Magazine—and called Krista a “golddigger”.

         Indeed, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Remember what the notorious groupie Bernard used to tell people about the private bout between the erring husband and wife within the confines of their conjugal home then? “Lumayas ka! Kung gusto mo, dalhin mo na ang pera, at lumayas ka na!” But how true…?

        Just how much gold Krista has dug in Pacman’s Land remains the subject of much speculation up to this very day. The often-touted hundreds of thousands of dollars allowances and business grants from La Vista to Las Vegas still ring in many people’s ears.

        And now this.

        Money Manny is not only a very generous gift giver but he’s also so discreet that people in his inner circle call him a “silent smooth operator”. An SSO to his damsels’ SOS.

        Let’s rewind to the guarded and secretive days of the more creative fortune hunters. The movie press is littered with insiders who claim that they know about the Ara Mina-Manny Pacquiao involvement during a certain time when Jomari Yllana was dancing in the dark.

        At that time, the rumor mill was rife with talks about a “house-and-lot gift” and a “gifted” business establishment somewhere in Quezon City. Somehow, somewhere along the way, the actor-boyfriend got wind of the rumored secret liaison, courtesy of Glorietta’s eyes and ears. Or was it Shangri-La’s night of a thousand eyes, as the old Bobby Vee’s (with a more popular cover by Gary Lewis and the Playboys) song goes.    Other tongues wagged and pointed to a certain Man “of the angels” (“de los angeles”).Or were they such a simultaneous catch of an affair, one on top of the other?

         At any rate, the next time we knew Jomari was crying a river on national television, and most people were clueless where the wailing waterfall was coming from.He kept mum and didn’t mention about any third or fourth party, but it was a quite obvious he was hurting because he lost to a triangle or to a square, as the case might have been

        Or else, why would some movie people insist that should Manny Paquiao have his biography written a certain portion—nay, a chapter—should be devoted to Ara Mina. But then again, Jinkee has been quoted by some quarters as saying she wasn’t as sore she was as in the more controversial Krista-Manny episode. Apparently, Ara didn’t get her GenSan goat in the same manner that the sly and stealthy operator that was Rufa Mae Quinto didn’t seem to bother her either. As a matter of of fact the Manny-Rufa Mae Quinto thing remains a curious guessing game up to now.

         The main bone of contention in Rufa Mae’s case is the much vaunted one- or two-carat diamond ring that she allegedly got from a certain Mr. M. When the scheming comedienne was asked to give a clue by naming Mr. M’s most beautiful facial feature that endeared him to her, she quipped: “His eyes!”

         Oh, the eyes of a woman in love with Manny or his money. Whichever way the whirl wind blows one thing is clear: Money is power and power corrupts!

         Now back to Princess (Snell), is she corrupt or is she corrupted? Whichever comes first, the Manny of many prizes can always come forward and hopefully be man enough not only to face the music but to dance to its tune as well. Meaning to say, he must admit whatever it is that there is to admit and assume full responsibility toward his family and flings.

        How he will handle them requires not only the talent and resources at his disposal but also the experience and advice of the older Don Juans in our midst. From the senior Ramon Revilla to Erap to Bong Revilla, Jr. is a long line of womanizing and family/fund raising that stretches the imagination from the early Customs to the Mayor’s  office to the Senate to Malacanang.

       From smuggling to landgrabbing to jueteng to other nefariors activities the road to perdition is now well laid and clear. All Manny Paquiao has to do is follow it, and everything else will fall into place.

The Worst Actors in Philippine Showbiz

By MARK BENIGNO


AYOKO nang magpasakalye dahil baka kung anu-ano pa ang masabi ko. Diretsahan na tayo, kumbaga. Itigil na ang mga tambol!

1) Diether Ocampo

2) Vic Sotto

3) Edu Manzano

4) Vic Sotto

5) Diether Ocampo

Nais ipaalala ng ating natatanging kritiko sa mundo at iba pang dimension na hindi kasali sa anumang listahan ng mga actor at actress ang nasa kategorya ng mga starlet na gaya nina German Moreno, Tito Sotto, Jimmy Santos, E.R Ejercito, Vhong Navarro, John Lapus, Eula Valdez, Jean Garcia, Jolina Magdangal, Nova Villa at iba pa.

 

Corruption in the Philippines: From Macapagal to Macapagal

By JULIO CINCO NIGADO

 

“The Republic Of The Philippines is a weak post-colonial state. The public sector is basically subservient to the dominant social classes and deeply entrenched special interests. The reasons can be traced back to the historical evolution of the political system and modes of governance.”
                                                                       --From cyber space

Diosdado Macapagal       Ferdinand Marcos       Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

 

CORRUPTION in the Philippines, whether in public office or in the  private sector is deeply rooted from the time the natives and the islands were collectively called “Islas de los Ladrones” (“Islands of the Thieves,” no thanks to Ferdinand Magellan) by the thieving Conquistadores themselves. But who stole from whom first? The encroaching colonizers who grabbed lands and appropriated long-inhabited ancient properties for their own, or the “poaching” original inhabitants who were curious about the trespassing invaders?

 

       Viewed from this context, it’s easy to see the endemic and pervasive corruption in our society from the historical and cultural perspective. From Spanish times (1521-1898) to Emilio Aguinaldo’s Biac-na Bato Pact (1897) to the American Colonization (1898-1946) to the Japanese Occupation  (1942-1845) to the present, the never-ending dispensation of favors and largesse in various forms continuous unabated. And given our long history of patron-client relationships, the modern-day caciques continue to rule in our “colonial democracy.”

 

       As a matter of fact, the so-called First Philippine Republic was a sham, a shameless result  of betrayal, corruption and crimes unsolved, perpetrated by an infamous collaborator. From the Spaniards to the Americans to the Japanese to the native tyrants, he negotiated the waters of collaboration and corruption on different levels until his dying day.

 

       On May 10, 1897, Katipunan leader Andress Bonifacio and his brother Procopio were murdered by his rivals masquerading as revolutionaries. In the still unnamed (because unknown to this very day) hills of Laguna (or Cavite?), the Bonifacio brothers were executed by the very same pretenders who hungered for power and devoured Katipunan in the end.

 

      And it’s not a coincidence in history that the Bonifacios’ executioner was named Commandant Lazaro Macapagal from whose lineage descended Diosdado Macapagal. According to the commandant’s account, “Andres Bonifacio died a coward, begging for his life as he realized that his near was near.” Indeed, the stories surrounding the Katipunan founder’s murder were as diverse as they were blurred, according to the mode of corruption in those days. (The Macapilis, somehow, figure in many periods of our history as a nation.)

 

      Some say the Bonifacios were supposedly shot and quickly buried on the same spot. Others claim that they were hacked to death by bolos, in the still of the night. Until now their skeletal remains have yet to be found.

 

      As one writer asked, “How could the man, who founded the revolution, be called a coward? How could the man who fought the hardest battles in Manila, to draw attention away from the provinces, be so disgraced by his own sons? How could the Father of the Revolution fall prey to his own sons? Could this betrayal and other resounding events in history be noted as fundamental in the creation of corruption?”

 

     Massive and modern-day corruption, that is. 

     This is not to imply that there was no corruption during the time of Manuel L. Quezon (1953-44) and the subsequent administrations of Sergio S. Osmena (1944-46), Manuel A. Roxas (1946-48), Elpidio R. Quirino (1948-53), Ramon F. Magsaysay (1953-57), and Carlos P. Garcia (1957-61).

 

     In fact, every candidate for president—from Manuel Quezon to Noynoy Aquino—has always campaigned to fight against graft and corruption in government. “Throughout our colonial history, the colonial powers utilized the local elite in exploiting and oppressing the people. In turn, the latter colluded with the colonial oppressors and exploiters so as to ingratiate themselves to the rulers and to maintain and expand their wealth and political influence in society,” said another source.

 

     Both the Spaniards and the Americans (and the Japanese during World War II) “used the illustrados and have gifted them in return with power, education and wealth.” Unfortunately, many of them, when times got rough, were the very same people who jumped ship and joined the revolution. Again, from the Spaniards to the Americans to the Japanese to EDSA… Truly, history repeats itself.

 

     In the process, however, the same illustrados were able to amass great wealth and political power, which they currently use to dominate the neocolonial society we have today. A puppet people make a puppet government that is subservient to the bigger powers. From Malacanang to Congress to the Judiciary to the smallest barangay to the church to the media to the Filipino family and to any other group in between, corruption permeates the whole of Philippine society.

 

     How did this happen and when did it start to get out of hand?

 

      The 1949 presidential elections is still considered to be the one of the most dishonest electoral exercises in the country’s history , and the Quirino  administration (1948-1953; Vice president Quirino  served the last part of President Manuel Roxas’s term when the latter died due to heart attack)  was tainted by widespread  graft and corruption. Still, nothing could compare with the brazen and institutionalized corruption that characterized the Marcos regime and Gloria- Macapagal Arroyo’s extended term.

 

     But did Marcos, the “world -class thief” that he was, really lay the blueprint for the institutionalization of across-the- board corruption in the government?

      

     Think and look again?

 

     Before 1961, when Diosdado P. Macapagal was elected as president, the Philippines ranked as one of the most prosperous and advanced countries in Asia. The state even “played a key role in economic development following the dictates of import substitution and economic nationalism,” according to a certain report.

 

     Back then, our film industry was way ahead in the region and cinema veterans say Hong Kong and others in the area learned film-making techniques from us. In the 1940s and 1950s, films of Manuel Conde and his peers competed for honors in Europe and Asia, (among the notables are Conde’s “Genghis Khan” and Lamberto Avellana’s “Anak Dalita”).In manufacturing, we even made some products better than Japan, at a time when the label “Made in Japan” was derided by many as inferior, just like many of China’s consumer products now.

 

     And the rate of exchange was two pesos to the US dollar.

 

     As a young child in Kindergarten, we bought our candies at two for one centavo, a highly respected coin then. That meant enjoying 10 “balikutsa,”(a native candy made of “kalamay”--caked muscovado or rough brown sugar, coconut milk and peanuts in Leyte) for five centavos.

 

     All that changed, however, when Cong Dadong sat in Malacanang.Initially, like all other previous presidents, he vowed to work against graft and corruption in government and to stimulate the Philippine economy. (Before him, President Carlos P. Garcia, a true-blue Boholano, had drum beaten his well-known “Austerity Program” and the “Filipino First Policy” of governance, a move that displeased the US.)

 

     Then, Macapagal placed the peso in the free-currency exchange market, which cost the treasury millions of pesos annually. And that started the ball rolling, in a manner of speaking. From that time on, the peso floated freely as the currency’s rate had soared to crisis level during the Marcos years. The so-called “Champion of the Common Man” balked and blinked in various important issues of the day—from the ceding of the British North Borneo (Sabah) and our frustrated claim to the deceptive Maphilindo (Malaysia-Philippines-Indonesia club) to the sending of troops to Vietnam, among others.

 

      His call for reforms were mostly lip service and by the time he ran for re-election against Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1965, among the issues raised against the incumbent administration of Macapagal were graft and corruption (again!), rising prices of commodities and the worsening peace-and-order situation

 

       In the heat of the 1965 election fever, children were chanting, “Macapagal, makamahal!, Macapagal, makamahal!, Macapagal, makamahal!”, alongside the naughty and ribald street jingle, “Divina Valencia, Stella Suarez (mother of Richard Gomez), nagbuburles…”

 

      And then, of course, who would forget about Harry Stonehill, the Herminio Disini of Marcos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Joc-Joc Bolante?

 

      The former Mr. Steinberg (Stonehill changed his German name in 1942 for practical reasons) from Chicago started his career in the Philippines during his US Army service in World War II, until he built up a $50-million business empire in Macapagal country. He said, “Every man has his price,” and in the Philippines after World War II, he found out that the going rate was fairly cheap.

 

       At one time, Stonehill even boasted: “I am the government.”

 

       Macapagal was identified with Stonehill, and vice versa. It is quite ironic that Cong Dadong’s autobiography was entitled “A Stone for the Edifice.” Was his subconscious still rooting for Stonehill in his later years as he put down his memoirs on paper? Or was it a cosmic atonement of some sort?

 

       But, first, people nowadays should know who Harry Stonehill was and how he was intricately connected to Macapagal and his company of wolves. The following is an entry from cyber space and since it is written without a byline, I will quote it en toto, and “as alleged”:  

   

“HARRY Stonehill was just about the most successful American businessman in the Philippines when Diosdado Macapagal ran for the presidency of the country. Coming out of World War II as an American soldier, Harry built a business empire and owned, among other things, the US Tobacco Corporation. He also owned most of the politicians as evidenced by his ‘blue book’ that had names, dates and amounts listed neatly.

 

       “With Macapagal as president, Harry got into trouble because, before a congressional committee, he kept mum, refused to say anything, whether to explain or defend him. Thus, he was held in custody. 

       “In 1962, when Harry Stonehill refused to answer questions in the House Committee on Good Government headed by Uncle Jovy (Jovito) Salonga, he was promptly declared in contempt and detained in the chamber. But President Diosdado Macapagal connived with Speaker Kune (Cornelio) Villareal and Speaker Pro Tempore Salipada Pendatun to release him without Uncle’s knowledge. DM then quickly deported Harry. Uncle was aghast and said: 'Harry Stonehill was deported but who can deport the truth?'

 

       “Supposedly, among the items in the blue book was the name of presidential candidate Macapagal and the amount of three (3) million pesos when, as the old folk say, “money was money.” As the story goes, Harry was told by CIA operative Edward Lansdale to help out since America was keeping a low profile in the election between President Carlos P. Garcia and Vice President Macapagal.

 

       “Macapagal’s problem was his former brother-in-law, actor Rogelio de la Rosa, who was a third candidate in the election. The American problem was Garcia because of his “Filipino First Policy.” (A similar policy with a bias towards the bumiputra [supremacy of the Malay race] obviously worked for Malaysia, since they are now so far ahead of us.)

 

       “Harry supposedly gave Macapagal the money, of which a million bought off Senator Rogelio de la Rosa, who, because of the buy-out, lost the next time he ran for the Senate. (Rogelio later was a standout Philippine ambassador in Cambodia and The Hague.)

 

       “Among the sidelights of the Harry Stonehill case was Meinhart Spielman, an American executive of the US Tobacco Corp.Meinhart was a government witness against Harry Stonehill in a tax evasion case, who suddenly disappeared.

 

       “The report was that Spielman was killed in Siasi, Sulu. As the story went, a Badjao boatman was hired to spirit Spielman away in his kumpit. As proof of the story, Spielman’s Rolex watch, his shoes and clothes were still in the kumpit many days after he disappeared.

 

       “Then Secretary of Justice Jose Diokno, who was eventually axed by Macapagal probably for his part in the Stonehill affair, saw the kumpit story as a setup. Diokno dismissed the evidence and the story.

 

       “Eventually, a charge of murder was filed against a real estate businessman who was, of course, acquitted because there was no corpus delictus and no witnesses to any murder.

 

       “I bring this up simply because, to me, the present times (GMA’s administration) have the same feel to it as those times in 1961, when the Stonehill story hogged the headlines. By the way, the Harry Stonehill affair also led to the filing of an impeachment charge against Cong Dadong.

 

       “What happened to Harry? Cong Dadong’s pals in Congress snuck (sic) through a resolution pushed by Speaker Kune Villareal, releasing Stonehill from the House Committee’s custody. Upon his release, Stonehill was then immediately deported, citing national security as the reason. He died some years ago at the age of 84 in Bangkok. His wife was a Filipina.”

 

       In addition to this, JB Baylon in his Malaya column in September 2006 wrote: “…Harry Stonehill was one big American businessman who in the 1960s was said to have most Filipino politicians in his pocket. Most, including, we are told, the President of the Philippines, Diosdado Macapagal.

 

      “…The investigation unearthed a ‘black book’ in which Stonehill is supposed to have listed names and codes for politicos and the corresponding monies he was giving them.

 

       “Reading history books that account for those times, one is made to understand that the list spanned both the ruling Liberal Party and the opposition Nacionalista Party, and included, other than the incumbent president, the names of his predecessor and his wife, former President Carlos and Mrs. Leonila Garcia.”

 

       A certain account traces the degeneration of public or civil service in the Philippines after the country became independent in 1946. (During the American colonial period, the same source said “the civil service, staffed predominantly by Filipinos, was relatively efficient.”)

 

       “The combination of low prestige, incompetence, lousy pay and inadequate resources was demoralizing and opportunities for graft were many. The resulting corruption should not be surprising.

 

       “…The government’s intermittent efforts to promote democracy and development in the countryside, encouraged by donor agencies and the American government, were sabotaged by conflict with the elite classes. Efforts at land reform, for example, never had much chance of success given the entrenched power of the land-owning classes.

 

      “During the same period, the state began to lose its monopoly on armed forces. The Americans had relied on the Philippine Constabulary (PC), a legacy of the Spanish era (the Guardia Civil), to enforce their will. But as local elites gained power after the war, their private armies became a de-facto source of power and the Constabulary was undermined. The provincial bosses settled into a comfortable role in which they exchanged the large blocks of votes they controlled for economic booty and special considerations. One of the main consequences was endemic political violence.”

 

       This socio-economic political situation has continued to the present, with the Ampatuan Massacre in Mindanao on Nov. 23, 2009 at its most violent peak. The Maguindanao warlords, like their counterparts elsewhere in the archipelago, were already well-entrenched in power and pelf through the years, and were largely abetted by the military and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration 

 

       Ferdinand E. Marcos, like almost all politicians in the Philippines, was a typical product of the same socio-political and economic machinery. The same report continued: “Marcos himself emerged from this corrupt environment. He learned the political trade from his father’s pre-war political campaigns for the National Assembly.”

 

       In 1933, the 16-year-old Marcos was accused and tried for the murder of Don Mariano’s political rival, Julio Nalundasan, who was assassinated under cover of darkness in his own house. In 1939, after topping the bar, Marcos argued his case on appeal to the Supreme Court, and was acquitted a year later. (A curious footnote: Marcos’s first political presence as a defendant charged with murdering his father’s political opponent in 1933 coincided with the same year Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, the president immediately following him, was born. On the other hand, Marcos’s death in Hawaii on Sept. 28, 1989 fell on the same day and month Diosdado Macapagal, the president immediately preceding him, was born on Sept. 28, 1910. Talk about some “cosmic links.”)

 

       Marcos’s subsequent claims as a be-medaled war hero in World War II (exposed as a big fraud by Jose Burgos, Jr.’s We Forum that led to the paper’s raid and closure by the military in 1982) and his putative “important role in the Filipino guerilla resistance movement greatly helped his political success later, but U.S. government archives revealed that he actually played little or no part in anti-Japanese activities during 1942-45.”   

   

        Instead, it was found out that Marcos’s “wartime experience included significant black marketing and fraud. It’s not surprising that he brought the violence-oriented philosophy of the provincial politician to the national level.”

 

       One of the justifications why he declared Martial Law on Sept. 21, 1972 was Marcos’s supposed hatred and war with the country’s old oligarchs, e.g.the Lopezes, Ayalas, Aranetas, Elizaldes, Ortigases, Moratos and their ilk. But he was a congenital liar and his oppressive regime continued to patronize the “friendly” old oligarchs, and created new ones, including those from his family and friends.

 

       To be sure, “Marcos took corruption to unprecedented heights through systemic plundering of the Philippine economy. Members of the Marcos family and key associate accrued tremendous wealth from bribe-taking and kickbacks from crony monopolies. They also diverted government loans and contracts into their own pockets, made fortunes from profits from over-priced goods and construction projects and directly skimmed from the public trough.”

 

       In short, Marcos’s Martial Law regime has completely institutionalized corruption in all government agencies the levels of which had permeated through the heart and soul of the Filipinos. More than anything else, it’s the one monumental legacy of Marcos that was immortalized in McDonald’s shirts after the EDSA Revolt in 1986: “5 BILLION DOLLARS STOLEN!” it screamed.

 

       Marcos’s legacy of institutionalized corruption was fine-tuned during the succeeding administrations despite Cory Aquino’s initial efforts at “housecleaning,” in the hope of creating a good government. The roots of corruption had been deeply ingrained in our psyche though that the Cory administration did not survive from allegations of the same web of corruption, favoritism and incompetence.

 

       To continue from the same report: “President Ramos also took on the anti-corruption mantle and made some apparent progress. The achievements of his administration were substantial, particularly in such reforms as liberalizing the telecommunications industry and welcoming foreign investments.

 

       “However, the Ramos administration was not above reproach, as evidenced by various scandals and allegations of corruption, including the Philippine Estate Authority/Amari mess and kickbacks associated with the Centennial Expo at Clark.” That is, to name but a few.

 

       One of the Ramos administration’s most favored real estate companies from the private sector then was the San Jose Builders (owner of Real Bank and a close friend of media man Neal Cruz of the Philippine Daily Inquirer) that almost monopolized many of their infrastructure projects in the 1990s.

 

       “If we think of the transition from the Marcos dictatorship (dark ages) to Aquino (transitional administration) to Ramos (breakthrough administration) as three steps up the progressive ladder, then the election of Estrada in 1998 represented a throwback to a crony-dominated system that should never have happened.”

 

       Of course, Estrada has been a dyed-in-the-wool Marcos Boy for a very long time that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to shake off and get rid of old habits. One only has to remember the fabled Boracay Mansion, the alleged centralized jueteng operations in Malacanang and Jingle Bell’s (code name for Jinggoy Estrada during the turbulent Erap administration) and his brother’s (Jude) reported monopoly on the drugs, gambling and smuggling triad.

 

       To paraphrase from the same report, Estrada’s election was clearly understandable given the dynamics of the Philippine democratic system. His disgrace and eventual fall from power demonstrated just how flawed our system is."While corruption and a crony-dominated system may not prevent a country from growing during boom times, such a system can create major problems during bad economic times.”

 

       To quote more from the same report: “The Philippine state remains weak, and the continued power of entrenched elites makes it difficult for the central government to provide cohesive and non-corrupt leadership.Insider factions still maneuver for their pieces of the government pie, tax collections and customs collections are highly centralized, and the Philippine bureaucracy’s long tradition of corruption remains intact. Further, the President and other national officials remain dependent on local politicians to deliver the votes on demand. All in all, a recipe for continued corruption.

 

       “In short, the problems are structural and institutionalized.”

 

       It is with this knowledge and background that the economist in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has perfected the culture of corruption during her nine-year administration from 2001 to 2010. From making commissions to cutting and wheeling dubious deals to juggling and stealing government funds to massive cheating in elections  to faking anything (e.g. names, bank accounts, reports and what-have-you) GMA and her caboodle of shameless “slaves” have done their thing amidst a prevailing culture of impunity.

 

       It seems useless recounting the misdeeds of her administration and the pervasive corruption practices now under investigation without expecting justice being served in the end. Like her father Diosdado, Gloria almost walked the tight rope of impeachment, so to speak, but never did. “That’s part and parcel of the syndrome… and the continuing debacle reflects a major crisis in the entire system,” said the same report.

 

       “Corruption occurs all over the globe and in all historical eras. Just think of 18^th century England, the urban political machines of 19^th century America (Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall), the caciques of Spain and Latin America, or the chaopao (godfathers) in Thailand. However, especially given the Asian economic crisis and increasing and apparently irreversible globalization, crony capitalism must somehow give way to more enlightened forms of governance if developing economies are to move forward.”

 

        But the big question still is: How is our economy developing, and for whom?