Not Sore Losers

I'm reposting this from the blog of Nicanor Perlas. Though some people call it sour-graping, I call it consistency. He is being true to what he has always fought for, for the principles he will always stand for. You can also view the statement here.

Evidence of Electronic Garci Mounting

JOINT PRESS STATEMENT JC de los Reyes, Jamby Madrigal, Nicanor Perlas Thursday, 13 May 2010 Since the 11th of May the media have been asking us why we have not yet conceded and why one of us retracted an earlier concession. The question is not whether we should concede to any particular candidate but whether to concede or not to the validity and integrity of an unproven and flawed automated election system. In the recent euphoria surrounding the perceived success of these automated elections we may sound like voices crying out in the wilderness, but ours is a voice of caution and reason, a stand based on principle rather than on personal politics and agenda. We have decided to put the Filipino peoples’ interests at the forefront. We have put our political agenda aside. There has been a constant and steady flow of reports from the field that have suggested that there were considerable problems with the automated elections. At this point, there are some questions that I believe need to be answered: How did the Comelec manage to recall, replace, debug and reprogram the 76,000 CF cards in a few days What happened to the supposedly recalled CF cards? Where are they? How sure are we that the same CF cards were not pre-programmed to favor particular candidates? Is the automated election system really fool-proof ? With the disabling of the UV lamps how sure are we that unused ballots were not filled up and counted in favour of certain candidates? With this in mind we cannot in principle and with a clear conscience concede to a system which is unproven, not transparent and which has been riddled with technical and security flaws. This is a national dilemma. This is why the COMELEC needs to prove to the Filipino people the transparency, accuracy and credibility of the system before we can make the correct moral and ethical choice. We are making this stand so that the Filipino people will not be rushed into thinking that the automated election system is a success when millions have been disenfranchised and millions of votes may have been incorrectly counted. This stand is not about winning or losing but about doing the right thing for the Filipino people at the risk of going against current popular public opinion. We must make sure that the current elections were clean, fair and accurate. We cannot allow the recent automated elections to become an ‘’invisible electronic Garci.’’ That would undermine our democracy.

Has New Politics Died?

Padaca lost. Not just to anyone, but to the same political dynasty she so valiantly won against just years before. Panlilio lost, too, and it looks like his situation mimics Padaca's. The old corrupt are back. As Carlos Celdran recently put it, we have not made history, we have simply repeated it.

A few friends are mumbling the word "migrate". It's just a word for now, but I wonder if it will ripen into deed or remain just that. Heartbreak weaves through those of us who have worked so hard so that 2010 would be a banner year for change.

I spoke about feeling like we had crossed a threshold as a nation on May 10. That nebulous feeling is beginning to take shape. We crossed a threshold, yes. And yet it seems we turned back. Our choices have created an impenetrable wall. We can't complain that it blocks the sunlight and keeps us in the dark, or barricades roads when we need to get across; we built it.

Yet a threshold WAS crossed. Because of our inability to understand what it takes to create change, we are now faced with the most daunting task of all--to face our role in this bloody stage we have reconstructed out of lessons never learned, out of our tenuous attachments to the familiar.

There can be no more finger-pointing. There can be no more blame. Now we need to work on creating incorruptible new shapes, forms and ways of moving in society--where pockets of integrity and uprightness can bloom, each creating a link to the next, working from the ground up.

More than ever, we must trust that committed individuals CAN make a change. If you believe that, then your work is cut out for you.

The only hope for the emergence of new politics is the birth of a new culture. That is our task.

And yet....

I've been watching more than my usual share of television lately, just trying to keep up with the count. There's a lot of jubilation and elation over what seems to be a successful and peaceful elections, but there's an odd silence about what is also so glaring:

What do you see that isn't being clearly discussed? From the VP down, nothing has changed. Though NoyNoy was not my candidate, I still hope that the position he now holds (assuming the final count sees him at the top)will inspire him to be more than he has ever been. But from Binay down, I see nothing but traditional politicians. The rest are old, old, or new but have gone the way of traditional politics fast. Where is the change I thought we stood in line for?

It needs to be addressed. True to form, many are calling for unity and calling people who speak out negative, but I do not think it is negative to call out the truth before us. Yes, there is something to celebrate about the way things turned out. Who isn't jumping for joy that GMA is out (well, lurking, but no longer in Malacañang) and Noynoy is in? Who isn't thankful for the swifter count?

And yet.

One of our helpers was offered P400 and a sack of bigas to vote for Noynoy. This was in Cavite. A friend's helper was offered the same in Bacolod. Our driver and his wife were offered P1000 each to vote for Villar. And look at the names of the people who have made it into the Senate. Or the Marcoses winning not just there, but also in their hometown. Macapagal-Arroyo and Pineda winning in Pampanga. Is Mangungudatu truly better than Ampatuan and will he create change in Maguindanao? And isn't anyone bothered that ERAP did so well?! Or that Acosta--an invisible and disqualified candidate--did better than Perlas, Madrigal and delos Reyes? So much is going on that we must pay attention to as well! How can we not talk about how we put the same TRAPOS in office, when we could have done differently? How can we jump for joy without seeing what else is going on? With this kind of Senate and a distressingly similar Congress, just how much room will Noynoy have to create change?

Seeing the full picture is not being negative. It is seeing the full picture. It is being vigilant. We can only truly move forward as a nation if we quit looking at stuff that's easy on the eyes, yet ignoring the filth that is but a hair's breadth away.

Change is at the doorstep but it has yet to make its entrance.

I Voted!

I was going to upload a photo of my violet voter's finger, but the ink turned out to be no more than a miniscule dot, mostly on the flesh, which has now faded considerably. While friends and relations lament their heavily-inked fingers, I managed to escape it. Not that I wouldn't have worn it with pride. At 43, I'm a first-time voter.

Yesterday, I felt as if the nation had crossed a threshold. People waited hours and hours and hours to vote. And that's something. Never mind that we all voted differently. We made sure we voted, no matter what that took.

Though the numbers are not going my way and I'm appalled that we're all crying for change but doing the same old things over and over again, and re-electing TRAPOS again and again, I really feel there was a shift somewhere. I do not know how this shift will translate, though I feel that it has something to do with Filipinos waking up to their power as individuals.

I hope I'm right.

Oh, Grizzly!

This photo doesn't even capture the majesty of this tree. It's called the Grizzly Giant and stands way above the giant sequoias at the Yosemite National Park. Its branches are as thick, if not thicker, than some of the trees in the grove. It was awesome. The road to the grove was closed so it was a long hike up, but it was worth it, just to be able to sit before this tree.

I looked at it and could feel my heart opening, tears of recognition and connection springing forth. I have been trying to live in harmony with the earth for many years, but this tree made everything real to me again. I compost, segregate, grow and eat organic, recycle, you name it, I do it, for the same reasons everyone else does it--to save the earth. That statement and others like it, have become quite abstract through the years.

As I sat before this tree, it all came home to me in a practical and profound way--to feel that connection again between myself and nature, so powerful as to break open a heart that I so wrongly thought was already open, to recognize the essence of who we are. That is what it's about.

It took the Grizzly Giant's ethereal embrace to make it all personal again--to make it universal again.

My heart remains full.

Delightful Discoveries

I am a fan of all things organic, because I know it's the sure path towards a sustainable future for humanity and the earth. But when organic meets utter delight--well--my world just explodes in color.

I have always been a fan of Green and Black's organic chocolate. My favorite is Butterscotch which, unfortunately, isn't easily found. (D. and I are lucky to have sisters living in the U.K., ensuring at least a yearly taste.) But on this trip, we discovered a new to-die-for flavor: PEANUT. And don't you just love the packaging? It tastes like peanut brittle with a little bit of sea salt then bathed in a wonderful, creamy, not-too-sweet, organic milk chocolate.

What's my name again?

Green and Black's is available at Healthy Options, though I'm not sure they have this flavor in yet. Go and demand it! I've bought not-so-fresh bars there, so it's really hit or miss. But if you have relatives from the U.K. or the States who are just dying to bring home the perfect "pasalubong" for you, you know what to ask for.

AWAY FROM HOME

I do not enjoy airplanes. My sinuses act up, I come out looking rumpled, tired and ill, so I look upon travel with both excitement and dread. But once landed and unfurled, I am quite glad for the suffering! Look at this magnificent view.

We watched the sun disappear rather quickly into the sea--from a fantastic and surreal orb of flame, to what seemed like a portal into the next life, and then into a blip, before leaving behind this breathtaking sight.

There, on the hill, braving the biting cold, there was only gratitude.