Andaya: Senate’s Budget diversions worth P83.9-B
A SENIOR HOUSE legislator said that the Senate made P83.9 billion worth of adjustments to the 2019 Budget, continuing the word war between the chambers over the 2019 General Appropriations Bill four months into the year.
House appropriations committee chair and Camarines Sur 1st District Rep. Rolando G. Andaya Jr. said the Senate should take another look at the record in relation to realignments of the budget to fund so-called pet projects.
“I advise the Senate President and other senators to look closely into the budget books prepared by their chamber and consult once again with their technical staff who helped the Senate craft final inputs to the 2019 General Appropriations Bill,” Mr. Andaya said in a statement on Thursday.
Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III signed the budget bill on March 26 with “reservations,” apparently leaving it to the President to veto any provisions that where inserted after both chambers ratified the document.
Senators claim P75 billion was realigned to programs and projects under the Local Infrastructure Program of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
“The senators cannot hide the fact that they unilaterally reduced by more than P75 billion the 2019 budget allocated to the President’s major infrastructure projects and vital social programs. These cuts would also affect the benefits due to government workers, including pension and retirement benefits of retired uniformed personnel,” Mr. Andaya said.
Mr. Andaya said he has kept records of the adjustments in the 2019 General Appropriations Bill.
“The submission of these adjustments are fully documented. The House has copies of videotapes from our CCTV cameras showing the entry and exit of LBRMO (Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office) staff during the submission of the Senate realignments from Feb. 11 to March 8, 2019,” he said.
Mr. Andaya added, “If Sen. Sotto and other senators wish to get a copy of these videotapes, we can send them to the Senate anytime.”
Mr. Andaya earlier accused of Mr. Sotto of sabotaging the government’s flagship infrastructure program, “Build, Build, Build,” which the Senate President dismissed as a “last-ditch effort” to prevent the President from vetoing House realignments.
“Piece-meal explanations of the budget cuts imposed by the Senate and click-bait statements from senators are no longer acceptable. These will only confuse, rather than educate, the public on the budget authorization process,” Mr. Andaya said.
Mr. Sotto said in a statement on Wednesday that the House should not have modified the document after the ratification of the bicameral report of the 2019 Budget Bill.
In response, Mr. Andaya said: “In truth, the Senate made similar adjustments after ratification of the bicam report and increased by P83.9 billion the allocation for their pet programs and projects under various departments and agencies.”
He added, “These adjustments were submitted to the House appropriations committee by members of the Senate’s Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office beginning Feb. 11, or three days after Congress ratified the 2019 budget on Feb. 8. The Senate adjustments were submitted piece-meal until March 8, 2019.”
Asked to comment on the claims made by Mr. Andaya, Mr. Sotto said in a Viber message: “Of course LBRMO staff are there during those times because they are preparing the books for the enrolled bill.”
He also said the House’s statements represent “desperate attempts to convince the President not to veto.” — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras
Palace has ‘no choice’ but to veto contested Budget items — Drilon
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has “no choice but to veto” the items in the 2019 national budget identified by Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III as “unconstitutional realignments,” Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said.
“The President has no choice but to veto the questionable items in the budget, particularly the P75-billion worth of pork-barrel funds, which were illegally inserted into the budget after both Houses ratified the bicameral conference committee report,” Mr. Drilon said in a briefing, Thursday.
Mr. Sotto on March 26 signed the P3.757-trillion national budget for the signature of the President, but had “reservations” about the post-ratification realignments made by the House of Representatives.
In his letter to President Duterte, he noted his reservation to some P95-billion realignments made after the 2019 General Appropriations Bill was ratified on Feb. 8. Of this amount, P75 billion was realigned to fund programs and projects under the Local Infrastructure Program of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
“The certification of Senate President Sotto is clearly limited only to those items which were approved in the bicameral conference committee and ratified by both Houses of Congress, in effect, and very clearly the certification of Senate President Sotto denies the legality and the approval of the realignment,” Mr. Drilon said.
Mr. Drilon cited an August 1997 decision by the Supreme Court, which ruled that the President can only approve a bill validly passed by Congress.
“The Senate President raised a very serious reservation because of the fact that the insertions were made in the enrolled bill after the bill was ratified by both Houses,” he said. “Therefore, the Senate President did not attest to the valid passage of P75 billion worth of insertions.”
Asked if the President will be held accountable if he decides to approve the post-ratification realignments, Mr. Drilon said “there is no liability because the power to veto is the power of the President under the Constitution.”
He said however that the use of such contested funds may be challenged in court.
“If he approves the items which were not included in the bicameral report as ratified, the release of these funds can be questioned in the courts,” he said. — Charmaine A. Tadalan
Supreme Court TRO sought on Chico River project
THE Makabayan bloc asked the Supreme Court (SC) to issue a temporary restraining order and declare as unconstitutional the Chico River Irrigation Pump Project funded by China which would cost $62 million.
In a 67-page petition, the Makabayan bloc, a Congressional alliance, led by Senate candidate Neri J. Colmenares, said the “confidentiality clause” included in the agreement violates the Constitution.
“The Confidentiality Clause of the Preferential Buyer’s Credit Loan Agreement brazenly disregards the constitutional right of the Filipino people to information on foreign loans obtained or guaranteed by the government, and is considered inimical to the national interest.”
It cited Article XII Section 21 of the Constitution which states that information on foreign loans by the government should be made public.
“By allowing the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) to be bound by Article 8.8 of the Loan Agreement, Respondents, as representatives of the Filipino people, committed grave violation of Article XII Section 21, to the prejudice of the rights of the Filipino people and national interest.”
The Makabayan bloc also said the loan agreement does not conform to the Constitution as it obtained approval from the Monetary Board after the signing of the agreement, contrary to the Constitution which states that President may contract foreign loans with the prior concurrence of the Monetary Board.
It said that the Monetary Board approved the loan agreement only on May 17, 2018, more than a month after the country entered the contract on April 10 in the same year.
Under the Article 5.2 of the agreement, final approval of the Monetary Board is to be secured only after the signing of the agreement.
“By forcing (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) approval as a it accomplish after the agreement has been signed not only violates the Constitution but renders the Republic and the taxpayers vulnerable to possible payment of penalties should the BSP disapprove an agreement prematurely signed by the Philippine government,” it said.
It also claimed that some provisions of the loan agreement were contrary to the Constitution preference to qualified Filipinos and existing procurement laws.
According to Appendix 1 on Condition Precedent, an integral part of the agreement, China is not obliged to make any disbursements unless the country provides certified true copies of the commercial contract and any documents proving that the End-User has paid certain amounts to the Chinese contractor which is 15% of the advance payment under the commercial contract.
Makabayan claims that by agreeing to have the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) as the arbitrator for any dispute, the government “betrayed the lack of sensitivity to the Constitution and gravely abused their discretion.”
“Such one-sidedness is plain even to the uninitiated eye,” it said. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
DA to ban pork imports from Cambodia after ASF outbreak
AGRICULTURE SECRETARY Emmanuel F. Piñol said he will immediately move to ban pork imports from Cambodia after the emergence of confirmed cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) there.
“Yes, we will issue (a ban order) right away” Mr. Piñol told reporters on the sidelines of the 28th National Hog Convention and Trade Exhibit in Pasay City.
International media reported that 400 hogs were culled in Rattanakiri province as a result of the outbreak.
Mr. Piñol said that the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) practice is to ban pork imports immediately after the confirmation of ASF in the source country.
At the convention, Mr. Piñol expressed hopes that the Philippines can become an exporter of pork someday, to China in particular, especially at a time when ASF is affecting the hog industry in many countries, including China.
“There is a shortage of pork in China and this is something we could look at,” Mr. Piñol said.
Domestic pork producers said prices have fallen drastically due to oversupply caused by imports. Nicanor M. Briones, ProPork vice president for Luzon and former Representative of the Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines (AGAP) Party-list said that the DA should increase the current tariff for offal from 5% to 35% to help the sector address the oversupply.
“Ang mabilis na pwede niyang [Mr. Piñol] gawin ay ‘yung paglalagay ng taripa doon sa mga offal which is 5%, ibalik sa 35% para sa ganoon, ‘yung nangyayaring smuggling sa taba, laman loob, balat, ang pinapalabas nila ganon pero ang totoong pumapasok at karne, dahil mababa ang binabayaran nilang tariff. 5% lang, ‘pag naibalik sa 35%, wala na silang mapaglulusutan (The easiest thing Mr. Piñol can do is to restore the tariff on offal from the current 5% to the previous 35%. That way those who are smuggling and misdeclaring pork meat because the offal tariff is low will no longer be able to smuggle),” Mr. Briones told reporters.
The Bureau of Animal Industry estimates that more than 392 million kilos of pork were imported in 2018. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio
Gov’t completing documentation on projects to be exempt from election spending ban
MALACAÑANG on Thursday said the government is currently completing documentation on infrastructure projects it is seeking exempts for from the 45-day Commission on Elections (Comelec) ban on public works.
“We assure everyone that the economic managers are on top of the situation. They know what to do and they do not have to be told what steps they should undertake,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement.
“The Palace will follow all the requirements imposed by pertinent laws on the ban against public works,” he added.
He said President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s economic managers “in fact, requested the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for an exemption as early as February, a month before March 29 or when the ban took effect.”
He said various agencies are “now actively coordinating in order to submit the proper and complete documents for such purpose, as required of them by the Comelec.”
“Delays are indeed possible and they are inevitable at times, given the practical dynamics and legal dictates of our country, but these can be avoided or minimized with proper due diligence by those responsible therefor,” he said.
The Omnibus Election Code or Batas Pambansa 881 prohibits the government from disbursing public funds as well as delivering materials for public works 45 days before a regular election. For the May 13 mid-term elections, the ban on public works runs from March 29 to May 12. — Arjay L. Balinbin
Estonian firms seeking to be National ID suppliers
ESTONIAN companies have expressed interest in bidding for supply contracts for the national ID system, the Finance department said.
In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said Estonian officials indicated their intent to participate in the bidding for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys).
Estonia’s ambassador-designate to the Philippines Vaino Reinart sat down with Mr. Dominguez in Manila, together with business leaders from Estonian companies who were previously involved in developing Estonia’s electronic governance system.
Estonia is widely acknowledged to be a leader in digital technology, with its coders helping develop Skype and its e-government services, including filing tax returns, widely available online.
“It is indeed a good time to come here and demonstrate what you could possibly be able to implement provided the digital ID is properly secured in place,” Mr. Reinart was quoted as saying.
PhilSys will collect data like name, gender, date and place of birth, blood type, address, and whether or not the person is a Filipino or resident alien. It will also capture a front-facing photo, a full set of fingerprints and an iris scan.
Once registered, residents will be given a 12-digit PhilSys Number which can serve as their digital identity across multiple platforms — a major reform expected to help improve access to credit especially for the unbanked.
The Philippines is hoping to start registrations soon for the national ID, with authorities targeting to sign up at least seven million Filipinos in 2019. Registrations are expected to grow to 27 million by 2020 as the formal application process kicks in.
By 2023, authorities are expected to complete the registration of Filipinos and resident aliens.
The Estonian firms visiting Manila included security software firm Cybernetica, e-ID supplier RaulWalters, Customs operations solutions provider GoSwift and management systems firm Ecomatic.
Mr. Dominguez also asked Estonian firms to consider hiring Filipinos. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez
PHL must properly manage single-use plastics problem — WB
THE WORLD BANK (WB) is urging Filipinos to avoid the usage of single-use plastics to help protect marine life, noting that eight million tons of plastic go into the ocean each year.
“Every time we use a plastic bag, or a cup or a straw, let us think whether we can avoid it. Every time we go to the beach or diving or island hopping, we should leave the place as beautiful and pristine as we found it. Every time we see somebody throwing trash, we should respectfully educate,” Agata E. Pawlowska, World Bank Acting Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines said in her speech during the Marine Plastics Conference in Taguig on Thursday
“If current trends continue, by 2025, there may be more plastic than fish in the ocean, by weight. The problems of plastics has been created in our lifetime. Half the volume of the plastic ever manufactured was made only in the last 15 years. The costs of inaction are rising and jointly, we can roll out urgent and concrete actions,” Ms. Pawlowska said.
Ms. Pawlowska noted that the Philippines has the third highest rate of mismanaged plastic globally, as the Pasig River and Manila Bay were identified to be among the bodies of water that need urgent rehabilitation.
“There is a lack of statistics on the amount of plastic in the Philippine waters. What is known is that the amount of mismanaged plastic waste is continuously increasing, and that the plastic crisis requires urgent action,” Ms. Pawlowska said.
“Interestingly, less than 20% of leakage originates from ocean-based sources like fisheries and fishing vessels. This means over 80% of ocean plastic comes from land-based sources. Once plastic is discarded, it is not well managed, and thus leaks into the ocean. The impacts of marine plastic pollution are manifold, and include food security, economic, water safety and ecosystem impacts,” according to Ms. Pawlowska.
Meanwhile, Jose Angelito M. Palma, President and Chief Executive Officer of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) — Philippines, said minimizing the use of single-use plastics must first come at local government level.
“I think the policies should be done locally first, LGU level, rather than from the national government,” Mr. Palma said.
“It is all about the capacity, it is all about the consumer, the demand and the user,” Mr. Palma added.
Mr. Palma also called for the upcycling of plastics, to be made into bricks and chairs, rather than recycling which would consume more energy. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio
MORE ride-hailing competition
The ride-hailing, food- and cargo-delivery, other technology-based service sector is a modern and fast-rising one in the Philippines and in Asia. It helps people and companies conduct their travels and businesses become more convenient and safe. The sector should get further Market-Oriented Reforms for Efficiency (MORE) to aid further modernization and competition, which will benefit the public.
The Philippines has a good outlook in the ride hailing business based on Statista projections. The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in 2019-2023 is estimated at 25% and should be among the highest in the world. Indonesia is the biggest market in the region, followed by Singapore and Thailand (see table).
I checked recent reports in BusinessWorld about the sector, I found two:
(1) Ayala Corp. in talks with Go-Jek for PHL venture (March 5, 2019):
“Go-Jek is awaiting regulatory approval to enter the Philippine market after its initial application was denied for breaching foreign ownership restrictions. Ride-hailing apps are considered public transport utilities in the Philippines and must have at least 60% local equity.”
(2) Go-Jek appeal against ride-hailing license ban junked (March 20, 2019):
“The firm applied for a license to operate in Manila in August through wholly owned subsidiary Velox but was denied in January, after ride-hailing was added to a list of industries where foreign ownership is limited to 40%. ‘They filed a motion for reconsideration, but failed to fix Filipino ownership requirement,’ Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Martin Delgra told Reuters.”
So it was the 60-40 constitutional restriction that prevents the entry of Go-Jec in the Philippines. Other big global players like Lyft might consider coming in too someday and they must also endure the 40% maximum foreign equity restrictions.
This is indeed a bad law and constitutional provision that must be corrected and lifted. But while it is still there, we have to live with it. The Philippines’ 30% corporate income tax is a bad and ugly law (vs our neighbors’ 16%-25% rate), the 12% VAT is another bad law, as ours is the highest in East Asia. But we have to live with them until these laws are revised and the tax rates are adjusted downwards and we can join the tax competition in the region. That is how the rule of law works.
We should have more ride-hailing competition in the country, we should attract the big global players as the sector is highly technology- and capital-intensive. These will benefit the public as they will have more choices. But players and the public must respect existing laws then work to amend and liberalize them soon.
Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers
Philippine treaties and the doctrine of incorporation
A topic substantially discussed in law school is international law’s application within our municipal jurisdiction. In other words, may international law give rise to a demandable cause of action or defense before our local courts? The answer is in the Constitution.
Article II.2’s relevant part provides: “The Philippines … adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land …”
From there, a couple of consequences are discernable. One is we adhere to the “dualist” theory (as opposed to the “monist”), which says international law is separate and distinct from municipal law.
Another is the application of the “doctrine of incorporation,” which “mandates that the Philippines is bound by generally accepted principles of international law which automatically form part of Philippine law by operation of the Constitution.” (Justice Carpio, in his dissent in Bayan Muna, 2011; citing Agpalo, International Law, 2006)
This is different from the “doctrine of transformation,” “which holds that the generally accepted rules of international law are not per se binding upon the State but must first be embodied in legislation enacted by the lawmaking body and so transformed will they become binding upon the State as part of its municipal law.” (Isagani Cruz, International Law, 2000)
So far, simple. The complexity comes when it’s broken down to what kind of international law is being referred to. Generally, textbooks point to the following as “primary” sources of international law: treaties, customs, and general principles of law.
In relation to UK practice, “as far as international treaties are concerned, the sovereign has the power to make or ratify treaties so as to bind England under international law, but these treaties have no effect in municipal law (with the exception of treaties governing the conduct of war) until enacted by Parliament.” Nevertheless, “it is not altogether clear which view English law takes with respect to rules of customary international law.” (Oxford Index)
On the other hand, the US seems similar to the UK approach but with a variation regarding treaties: taking note of their Constitution’s Supremacy clause, distinction is made between “self-executing” and “non-self-executing” treaties. The former refers to international agreements that can be made to operate automatically into US domestic law, the latter requires legislation.
And the Philippines?
The Supreme Court seems to posit that we distinguish between customs and treaties: incorporation for customs and transformation for treaties.
Thus, in Pharmaceutical and Health Care Association (GR No. 173034, October 9, 2007, citing Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J., An Introduction to Public International Law, 2002), the Supreme Court, writing through Justice Austria-Martinez, declared: “Treaties become part of the law of the land through transformation pursuant to Article VII, Section 21 of the Constitution which provides that ‘[n]o treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at least two-thirds of all the members of the Senate.’ Thus, treaties or conventional international law must go through a process prescribed by the Constitution for it to be transformed into municipal law that can be applied to domestic conflicts.”
That is an obiter the Supreme Court may want to reconsider.
Several reasons: first is that Article II.2’s “incorporation clause” absolutely makes no distinction between treaties and custom.
Such then logically instructs us to read Article VII.21’s “effective” in its “ordinary” sense, i.e., binding the Philippines to other treaty parties.
Thirdly, laws are not made by the Senate but Congress. Acts of concurrence done by the former are made in the form of “resolutions.” Resolutions are not laws that effects transformations.
Finally, the wording of the Senate resolutions themselves makes no mention of “transforming” treaties as to be part of Philippine law. What is stated is merely that the Senate “concurs” in the treaty negotiated by the Executive (for example, see Senate Resolution No. 131, 2008, granting concurrence to the JPEPA).
The point is that Senate concurrence is just the last of a series of acts to make a treaty “effective” vis-à-vis our treaty co-parties. That effectivity, in turn, lends to the operation of Article II.2, incorporating that treaty as part “of the laws of the land.”
Rightly, we make a distinction between “self-executing” and non-self-executing” treaties but this is different from the American conception of it: both are considered already operative within Philippine law but the latter needing legislation to flesh out required details.
For customs, it is posited here that before incorporation applies for the courts to first demand evidence of and then rule as to a) the existence of the custom, b) the specific content of that custom at the time such is presented before the courts in support of a claim or defense, and c) that the Philippines actually adheres to that custom.
In fine, it is urged that clarification be made either by legislation or Supreme Court ruling: that as far as the Philippines is concerned, only the doctrine of incorporation applies, both for treaties and customs.
Jemy Gatdula is a Senior Fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.
Twitter @jemygatdula
Reason versus Madness
Now on its 26th year in the Philippines — March 29, 2019 marked the 25th year since the country was “wired” into it — the global communication network known as the Internet has been rightly hailed as another milestone in providing the perennial human need for information.
Not only has it made billions of bites of data available at one’s fingertips. It has also armed those with access to a computer-based device with the capacity to acquire and disseminate information, and to make their views known to a global audience. Long denied the full exercise of their right to communicate by the monopoly over one-way communication of the old media, billions of men and women all over the planet now have the means to interactively express themselves and to connect with billions of others.
Anyone with a laptop, a tablet or a smart phone can create a blog and/or a social media account to update their friends and kin with the most recent events in their lives and to maintain communication with them. They can also use the Internet, specially social media, to provide news as well as commentary on issues of public relevance, in the process transforming themselves into virtual journalists.
The economic and political interests behind the print, television and radio corporations and their gate-keeping and editing processes prevent enough, and even reliable information from reaching the audiences they supposedly serve. Absent those barriers, so say its most ardent enthusiasts, the Internet can provide the information that has long been denied millions and made interpreting the world and changing it problematic.
The emphasis on the advantages and upside of the Internet is understandable but tends to downplay its disadvantages, of which its use by the unscrupulous to spread fraudulent and manipulative information is among the worst. The optimistic assumption that it is exempt from the pressures of the political and economic interests that drive print and broadcast has since given way to the realization that the Internet is far from immune to commercialization and politicization.
Both weaken the capacity of the old media to fully discharge the responsibility of providing the accurate and relevant information free men and women need. The same interests have made access to reliable information through the Net problematic, with millions of websites, social media accounts and blogs being focused on providing selective information to advance pre-determined, self-serving ends. Rather than the empowerment the information age promises, billions of men and women have been and are being manipulated into forming uninformed opinions and acting on them, and hence disempowered without even being aware of it.
The Philippine experience is demonstrably troubling. A case can be made out of the argument that the despotism that now threatens the people of this “social media capital of the world” was in no little way made possible through the power of the Internet.
It was of course human intervention,primarily through public relations practitioners, that misused that power. Public relations — the use of both old and new media to create among the public a preferred image of people, ideas, policies, actions, or organizations — is a business that communication scholars have long regarded as problematic.
Its practitioners claim an affinity with journalists, but their only link to journalism is their use of such journalistic skills as the writing of news reports to advance their aims through the media. During election campaign periods, for instance, many of the publicity items that make it in print, broadcast and online as “news” are generated by the public relations hirelings of the politicians running for public office. Because public relations has a predetermined agenda, the “information” it spreads is slanted for or against this or that person or group. Among responsible journalists the consensus is that it is totally alien to the professional and ethical standards that guide journalistic work.
As in numerous other instances, recent events have validated this view. In 2016, ethically challenged public relations mercenaries were engaged, at considerable expense on the part of their clientele, in using the media to convince the electorate the wisdom of electing Rodrigo Duterte to the Philippine presidency. Without any regard for its consequences, and in furtherance solely of their money-grubbing aims, to achieve that goal they used not only the old media but also the new, specially Facebook. They catapulted to national power a provincial despot accused of,and who has even admitted to, involvement in the Davao Death Squad, whose murdering hooligans have killed thousands of alleged criminals and even children in Mr. Duterte’s home turf.
The same public relations philistines apparently devised such of Mr. Duterte’s campaign tactics as his announcing his candidacy at the eleventh hour, by which time his rivals for the presidency had only a limited period in which to challenge his “change is coming” mantra. That catch phrase itself made cunning use of the widespread demand for change that has long resonated among the Filipino millions.
But these manipulators and debasers of political and democratic discourse did not stop there. With their patron elected, together with regime bureaucrats they orchestrated the use not only of the print and broadcast hacks under their pay, but also of hundreds of social media accounts to spread false information. Together they harass, threaten, and incite violence against government critics and human rights defenders, thereby creating, in violation of every ethical and moral standard known to man or beast, the poisoned online communication atmosphere that has made rational discourse increasingly impossible in these benighted isles.
They call themselves “communicators,” but these creatures from the black lagoon of complicity in the conspiracy against the Bill of Rights are nothing of the kind, the right to communicate being premised on ethical responsibility. What they are are disciples of the greed that are the damaged and damaging wares of an evil age.
Like the old media of print and broadcast, the Internet is also an arena of contention between the forces of change and reaction. In the 26th year of the Internet, this thrusts upon those who earnestly believe that the Web can be one more means of realizing the freedom of all humanity that reliable and accurate information can make possible, the responsibility of combating the disinformation, ignorance-mongering and hate speech that the forces of evil are using and spreading to undermine and pervert the liberating promise of the Internet.
That task has never been as urgent as in this time and this place, when what is on the block is the freedom, the rights, the lives and the very future of this country and its people. In the context of the profanity, name-calling, hate speech, incitement to violence and mendacity being peddled by the bought-and-paid for old media hacks and the troll armies in social media, the only way to responsibly discharge that task is to be accurate, fair, honest, and above all, sane — to do the exact opposite of what the fact-resistant flunkies of unreason are doing.
Thankfully, despite threats, attacks and harassments, there are the responsible journalists in both corporate and alternative media, the civil society organizations, the independent bloggers, the human rights defenders, the Church, and the Moro and indigenous people who are doing their all to combat the madness that the oligarchs and their hirelings this country is cursed with have let loose on this sorry land.
Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro).
Smirk
A smirk signifies disdain, scorn, contempt, envy. When something unfortunate happens to someone who seems to have it all, the envious person feels a secret, malicious pleasure. He feels more than a tinge of elation seeing the misery of someone else.
At the office, there are politics and competition. An insecure employee has a sly smile when an associate gets passed over for a much-coveted promotion. He feels elated when someone else is reprimanded. The manager or officer may not be aware of the sabotage caused by malicious-minded subordinates. All of a sudden, the ambitious project collapses. An important presentation loses its sparkle and substance. The once-trusted assistant sticks a dagger and twists it.
The German word Schadenfreude is the appropriate term for this attitude.
Schaden means damage. Freude is joy. Human nature is such that a sense of envy is hard to erase.
There is no equivalent English word for it. The smirk is the facial expression.
German philosopher Schopenhauer once declared that it was an expression of envy and resentment.
Social psychologists have written that law-abiding citizens can feel justified when lawbreakers are punished. Some would even feel smug about it.
People who work hard may feel good when they see that rich, flashy spendthrifts or lazy heirs are brought down a peg or disgraced.
There is the feeling of justice. Then we see the smirk effect.
There have been icons who once seemed invulnerable, successful, perched on top of the world. These celebrities and popular figures became objects of derision when they committed misdemeanors, crimes or scandals.
When a successful businesswoman is sent to jail for insider trading or fraud, and a preening politician loses his reelection bid, there is hidden delight and public scorn for those failures.
In the context of social comparison, the smirk behavior is seen in people’s perception of where they rank (relative to others) and affects the way they behave and think.
The more enviable and attractive a person seems, the more likely others will smirk.
If one envies and dislikes a person, one feels inferior. One feels that his success is undeserved. When he stumbles, others are glad and they smirk.
Citizen Kane, an enduringly popular movie, feeds the audience’s desire to see the mighty fall.
As a sentiment, it is passive and relatively harmless. However, malice is active hatred. A theology professor Richard Smith cautioned that those who often experience it may do so at their own peril. If we frequently get pleasure form someone else’s misfortune, it takes a toll on “who we are as moral people.”
The private recognition of hypocrisy — such as the insincere show of sympathy with crocodile tears for the fallen — reveals morally challenged behavior.
Once upon a time, the domestic diva Martha Stewart was considered the queen who had everything that mattered: power, wealth, success and hauteur. When she was convicted, many people were glad that she had to serve time in prison. Her success was inspiring to many women but it was a double-edged sword. She continued to do her productive work while she was confined and emerged revitalized. To the dismay of her detractors.
Psychologists pointed out that children are more open at displaying the smirk. They show their real feelings — delight or dislike. As they grow up, they learn to hide it.
The condition is complicated. One person’s justice is another’s outrage. This contrast was seen on TV on 9/11 — when the horrible terrorist attacks demolished famous landmarks and innocent people. In the Middle East, there was dancing in the streets, celebrating the devastation in the USA.
Notions of good and bad may change over time. It applies to multi or single cultures.
The psychologists compiled a list of how one can prevent or minimize the smirk reaction.
A person with power and superiority would not hurt his image to do the following:
• Make a few inconsequential mistakes.
• Prevent hostility by being likable and modest.
• Show gratitude and humility.
• Express sympathy to those persons who are suffering around him. It is a way of building up a bank account of goodwill. When he suffers a misfortune, those persons would repay the investment that was made in them when they were down.
The psychologists revealed that it is rare for a diva to stay loved, immortalized on a pedestal. He cited the examples of James Dean, Princess Diana, and Marilyn Monroe. “It helps to die young.”
Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.