You want to know why I find you annoying, Niko?
Here's why I find you annoying.
Every time I see you, all you do is complain.
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5/30/2012
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5/28/2012
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I want Chief Justice Renato Corona to be acquitted. My reasons, admittedly, are flimsy by all means. I believe that his impeachment is not born of the necessity to ensure transparency within our government and to the Filipino people, but rather, by the urge to intimidate anyone whose perspectives are skewed against the majority. It has been said that Noynoy Aquino and his minions cobbled together eight articles of impeachment - since whittled down to three - out of some sort of pressure, of the belief that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will slip away from their grasp if they don't take any action. That certainly forms the defense's seeming argument of late: the mistrial, that the evidence against Corona was not retrieved through lawful means, or at least not marked properly; and more importantly, that the birth of the trial itself did not go through due process, through due notice. At least Joseph Estrada's impeachment twelve years ago seemed inevitable.
Yet the prosecution, to their credit, slowly built their case. They stumbled more often than they could afford, but tonight, with their final arguments on record, it seems they have a good reason to get Corona out of office. The most compelling argument is his failure to divulge all of his assets in his SALN: the properties, all under his children's names; the peso bank accounts, supposedly "commingled" funds from his wife's family's company, his savings, and his inheritance; and the dollar bank accounts, all $2.4 million in it, all of the foreign currency he supposedly had the foresight to save from when he was little. The prosecution is confident they can get Corona out. After all, if you have the Chief Justice himself admitting to all these hidden assets, effectively incriminating himself, what else can you do?
The defense hasn't gone down without a fight, of course. Sure, in hindsight, they may have done more harm than good in attempting to prove that there are, to put it in a comic book-y manner, nefarious forces out to take Corona down, but they have raised some valid questions. Is the failure to divulge every asset on one's SALN - never mind if the reason for not disclosing them is sufficiently, supposedly, backed up by law - an impeachable offense? Is it enough to bring the whole country along to four months of political and personal drama unfolding on live television?
Read more »
Yet the prosecution, to their credit, slowly built their case. They stumbled more often than they could afford, but tonight, with their final arguments on record, it seems they have a good reason to get Corona out of office. The most compelling argument is his failure to divulge all of his assets in his SALN: the properties, all under his children's names; the peso bank accounts, supposedly "commingled" funds from his wife's family's company, his savings, and his inheritance; and the dollar bank accounts, all $2.4 million in it, all of the foreign currency he supposedly had the foresight to save from when he was little. The prosecution is confident they can get Corona out. After all, if you have the Chief Justice himself admitting to all these hidden assets, effectively incriminating himself, what else can you do?
The defense hasn't gone down without a fight, of course. Sure, in hindsight, they may have done more harm than good in attempting to prove that there are, to put it in a comic book-y manner, nefarious forces out to take Corona down, but they have raised some valid questions. Is the failure to divulge every asset on one's SALN - never mind if the reason for not disclosing them is sufficiently, supposedly, backed up by law - an impeachable offense? Is it enough to bring the whole country along to four months of political and personal drama unfolding on live television?
Read more »
5/24/2012
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...Jessica Sanchez's win dominates the first forty-five minutes of Filipino newscasts.
Of course, Jessica didn't win. Phillip, him, predictably did.
A teenaged boy on the news today badly wanted to assert his awesomeness by saying that he knew Phil would win. "If you look at the history of American Idol, the last few winners were guys," he said, with a smug look on his face. He was, according to the report, one of the few people who watched that free screening in Valenzuela who correctly predicted that the Dave Matthews wannabe (and "country singer", according to Ale, who thinks he's horrible) will win.
Read more »
Of course, Jessica didn't win. Phillip, him, predictably did.
A teenaged boy on the news today badly wanted to assert his awesomeness by saying that he knew Phil would win. "If you look at the history of American Idol, the last few winners were guys," he said, with a smug look on his face. He was, according to the report, one of the few people who watched that free screening in Valenzuela who correctly predicted that the Dave Matthews wannabe (and "country singer", according to Ale, who thinks he's horrible) will win.
Read more »
5/21/2012
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I'm 23 years old. I have been single my whole life.
When my father was 23 years old, he's been in a relationship with my mother for six, maybe seven years. Actually, when he was 23, he was already married to my mother. I was already a year old by then.
Apparently there's this idea that people my age should already be in a relationship, or at least have already been in one. There are books about so-called tweens grappling with their feelings. There are songs about first loves in high school (and whether it's about love or lust is a different topic altogether). There's an episode of Glee about high school students dealing with their first sexual experiences, totally deflated by the fact that Lea Michele is 25 and Cory Monteith is pushing 30. And there's the current season of Pinoy Big Brother. The less said about that, the better.
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When my father was 23 years old, he's been in a relationship with my mother for six, maybe seven years. Actually, when he was 23, he was already married to my mother. I was already a year old by then.
Apparently there's this idea that people my age should already be in a relationship, or at least have already been in one. There are books about so-called tweens grappling with their feelings. There are songs about first loves in high school (and whether it's about love or lust is a different topic altogether). There's an episode of Glee about high school students dealing with their first sexual experiences, totally deflated by the fact that Lea Michele is 25 and Cory Monteith is pushing 30. And there's the current season of Pinoy Big Brother. The less said about that, the better.
Read more »
5/17/2012
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The recording started, innocuously enough, with some fiddling. It was mostly quiet, those first few seconds; there was some odd humming and the occasional murmur.
And then, a loud snap.
For a split second, the noises stopped. And then, someone whispering, very faintly. "I did not do this."
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And then, a loud snap.
For a split second, the noises stopped. And then, someone whispering, very faintly. "I did not do this."
Read more »
5/12/2012
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The first thing you smell when you hit the main stretch of beach in Boracay isn't the sea nor the sweat. It's the sunblock lotion, and it's not pleasant.
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5/08/2012
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There are two things I've learned in my seven weeks (so far) in marketing: you eat a lot, and you eat a lot.
"Tataba ka rito," my cubicle neighbor told me on my first day at work. And true enough, I think my belly's getting a wee bit bigger. When your job involves attending marathon meetings, representing your company in exhibits and networking with potential customers - not exactly something you'd imagine me doing, but as I told Clarence, it's a change of pace, so there you go - you inevitably put a lot of things into your stomach. Can I help it if I want to get one of everything off a buffet during one of those meetings I attend? Not that I'm deprived, but I love to try new things, and it's a hotel I've never been to, and... yeah, I still sound deprived.
Eating non-German food in a German event (this did happen) is one thing. Eating pancit Malabon in the pantry at three in the afternoon is another.
Read more »
"Tataba ka rito," my cubicle neighbor told me on my first day at work. And true enough, I think my belly's getting a wee bit bigger. When your job involves attending marathon meetings, representing your company in exhibits and networking with potential customers - not exactly something you'd imagine me doing, but as I told Clarence, it's a change of pace, so there you go - you inevitably put a lot of things into your stomach. Can I help it if I want to get one of everything off a buffet during one of those meetings I attend? Not that I'm deprived, but I love to try new things, and it's a hotel I've never been to, and... yeah, I still sound deprived.
Eating non-German food in a German event (this did happen) is one thing. Eating pancit Malabon in the pantry at three in the afternoon is another.
Read more »
5/03/2012
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Today we celebrate, or at the very least mark, World Press Freedom Day.
And what a good feeling it is. We're surrounded by neighbors whose media is censored in one way or another. Our media was censored in the past, too; we fought for our freedom to express ourselves a quarter of a century ago; and now our media is bustling and boisterous.
The most important thing I learned when I was taking up my two journalism classes in college is this: a free press promotes public discourse. I realized that the most when I did that half-arsed report - I say it's half-arsed because I still believe I could've done it better - on colorum vehicles; when used properly, the press can inform decisions in a quite profound way. If there's a way to, more or less, legalize shuttles - and there are ways - then why are the colorum drivers not taking advantage of it? And if they are, why are they not being allowed to apply? That sort of thing.
Read more »
And what a good feeling it is. We're surrounded by neighbors whose media is censored in one way or another. Our media was censored in the past, too; we fought for our freedom to express ourselves a quarter of a century ago; and now our media is bustling and boisterous.
The most important thing I learned when I was taking up my two journalism classes in college is this: a free press promotes public discourse. I realized that the most when I did that half-arsed report - I say it's half-arsed because I still believe I could've done it better - on colorum vehicles; when used properly, the press can inform decisions in a quite profound way. If there's a way to, more or less, legalize shuttles - and there are ways - then why are the colorum drivers not taking advantage of it? And if they are, why are they not being allowed to apply? That sort of thing.
Read more »
5/02/2012
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I thought I saw Sarah this afternoon.
(Why am I still calling her Sarah? I always call her Sars. Except in this blog, that is. Here, she's always been Sarah, and admittedly because it's a slightly sexy name.)
Anyway, I wasn't sure if it was Sarah I did see. I was at Megamall running some errands, when I saw someone wearing a flowy dress in an unusual color and I seriously thought it was her.
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(Why am I still calling her Sarah? I always call her Sars. Except in this blog, that is. Here, she's always been Sarah, and admittedly because it's a slightly sexy name.)
Anyway, I wasn't sure if it was Sarah I did see. I was at Megamall running some errands, when I saw someone wearing a flowy dress in an unusual color and I seriously thought it was her.
Read more »
5/01/2012
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Are there jobs? Are there enough jobs? I don't really know the answer to that, nor do I intend to attempt to. From where I am, though, it seems there are enough jobs. I'm judging, by the way, by the number of billboards I see on the roads - on actual billboards and highway posts and street lamps and, unfortunately, on buses as well. It's always a company with a vaguely modern-slash-European-slash-technological name. We're hiring! they exult. We're looking for customer service representatives and technical support representatives. Still. I'm a bit surprised demand hasn't flatlined.
But that's not my biggest gripe against call centers. I don't lament the fact that they're (still) mushrooming around the country, although I do lament the fact that whenever I get new job alerts, I only see openings for BPOs. I do lament the fact that these companies are going the extra mile to attract people. Nothing wrong with that, really, until you realize that all of those billboards have photos of supposed young professionals in their mid-20s looking all happy, possibly with their fists up in the air. Yes! is the general air. As in, yes, I made it! And just to drive the point home, empty rhetoric: we help you move up.
Sure, you can say that. BPOs pay higher salaries. I worked for one for three years (not as a call center agent, of course) and my friends marveled at how high my salary was. It wasn't that high, but apparently, relatively, it is high. Also, BPOs have bigger bonuses. 20K signing bonus! That's a whole month's worth of pay! All that money's definitely enough to fuel your lifestyle of drinking, partying, vacationing, fucking (I do dare say that) lifestyle. All that money at your disposal. It does make you feel like you've moved up.
Read more »
But that's not my biggest gripe against call centers. I don't lament the fact that they're (still) mushrooming around the country, although I do lament the fact that whenever I get new job alerts, I only see openings for BPOs. I do lament the fact that these companies are going the extra mile to attract people. Nothing wrong with that, really, until you realize that all of those billboards have photos of supposed young professionals in their mid-20s looking all happy, possibly with their fists up in the air. Yes! is the general air. As in, yes, I made it! And just to drive the point home, empty rhetoric: we help you move up.
Sure, you can say that. BPOs pay higher salaries. I worked for one for three years (not as a call center agent, of course) and my friends marveled at how high my salary was. It wasn't that high, but apparently, relatively, it is high. Also, BPOs have bigger bonuses. 20K signing bonus! That's a whole month's worth of pay! All that money's definitely enough to fuel your lifestyle of drinking, partying, vacationing, fucking (I do dare say that) lifestyle. All that money at your disposal. It does make you feel like you've moved up.
Read more »
Niko Batallones writes The Upper Blog.
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Some photographs have been edited using post-production curves from Shalla Yu.
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