abo sa dila

"So it is with a tinge of disappointment that I now have to bear with his TV ad, Padyakeros. Firstly, because it is way too early for political ads. Secondly, because it is almost a blatant pandering to the poor. There are dignified ways to make a statement, and this is not one of them. It almost insults the intelligence. I say almost only because I want to believe this is a temporary setback."

"hey james. i work for mar too-- and yeah we've been getting some flak because of the ad. we could get a beer or something so we (kapi and myself and the rest of the beer-loving cluster of our team) could explain things to you more clearly, but really, man, kami na nga ang nahuli na magkaroon ng ganitong media push. so it's not too early, actually-- some would say that it's a bit late. 

"and about the blatant pandering to the poor, well, i'd have to say it's only pandering if the guy didn't really feel that way, if he didn't realy sympathize with them. and who's to say what pandering is, anyway? the ad was really just a more affective way of saying that all the issues and programs that mar has fought for-- cheaper medicines, educational reform, tax relief, transparency and accountability in government-- all of these mean one thing: mar wants to fix the system so that the poor have an equal chance at upward mobility as the rest of us have. i.e., it means that mar cares for the poor. it's not an insult to anyone's intelligence, not if we come to terms with the idea that there is no such thing as "a more intelligent way of looking at things." some people-- the more educated (i.e., those who can afford an education, i.e., the not-so-poor, i.e., us) -- would want bullet points of laws passed, programs of government, etc, while others subscribe to a more affective mode of rationality. meaning-- and i'd have to say this even at the risk of being accused of pandering and insulting the intelligence of the poor-- they really do look at things differently, and in terms of communications, they really do search for different things from candidates-- character and heart more than platforms and level of intellect, actually. 

my point is that "may puso" counts as much-- more, actually, in terms of the sheer number of voters who look for it-- as "competent" and "not corrupt." mar has proven his competence. he's just about the straightest arrow in the business. having an ad that shows he has heart wouldn't take anything away from those qualities of his. so maybe it's about time that that "may puso" aspect is played up.

still, beer. nasa cubao lang kami. mogwai sometime?

Cure 

“…They throw them on their backs, stick a gag in their months to keep it open, then proceed to fill them with water till they cannot hold more. Then they get on them, and a sudden pressure on the stomach and chest forces the water out again. I guess it must cause excruciating agony.”

- from a statement of an American officer 

published in the Springfield Republican, 25 April 1900

In search of secrets, you imagine them 

tearing his chest open and finding 

only water. On the page his eyes 

are a century apart from yours. 

You imagine his lungs swollen, pale as if bleached. 

They poured and poured until the native

--until when? Until he was cured of his secrets? 

They heard nothing but some animal, howling. 

Sinunog nila ang parang. Ginapas nila nang tila 

--stalks. They cut his brothers down like stalks. 

There is so much time to search for words. 

So much water in your country. 

Dalawang gabi akong hindi nakatulog 

nang una akong nakapatay ng kaaway.

Marahil dahil sa tuwa. This is the truth.

His body lying on the page like a puddle

of secrets, the names of his spies

pouring unto the soil, the strength 

of his numbers dissolving into his blood. 

You imagine yourself cleansed,

as if betrayed by thirst, or maybe 

the weightlessness of drowning. 

There is nothing more to say.

You are only some animal, howling.