Juan Country

Media, Police, and the Bus Hostage Crisis

Carlo Ople — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:42:58 +0000

People have started to point fingers over yesterday’s Bus Hostage Crisis wherein several foreigners were killed by the hostage-taker, a dismissed policeman. The media is getting a lot of attention now because they “covered” the event too much and exposed the movements of the police to the hostage-taker. Reporters, news editors, and TV station executives are getting blamed for what happened yesterday. I honestly don’t think it’s fair to blame the media because ultimately they were just doing their job – to deliver the news and the story to the public. In reality the problem last night was the lack of strong leadership and crisis management.

The police partially blamed the media when they said that their movements were restricted because of the coverage and that the hostage taker was monitoring the incident via media reports. The moment they realized this they should have decided on a media blackout because they knew for a fact that the operation was being put at risk by the coverage. President Noynoy Aquino, in a statement, later said that he didn’t want to impose a news blackout because his government is all about transparency. Now here’s my problem with the entire scenario: IF A NEWS BLACKOUT WOULD HAVE SAVED LIVES, THEN IT IS THE DECISION OF THE PNP OR THE PRESIDENT TO CALL FOR IT. All it took was one word and all the coverage would stop. But did the word come? No. Why? Because of a promise to be “transparent”. Transparency should not come at the price of the lives of innocent people.

It is not the Media’s decision to do a news blackout. It goes against the very fiber of their being to do so. Journalists and reporters are trained to go after the story and to deliver it to the people to keep the public informed. They do so with a laser-like focus which sometimes gets them into trouble. However without that focus and dedication then we would just end up with mediocre reportage.

We ALL HAVE ROLES. The role of the media is to cover and deliver the news. The role of the PNP is to control situations like this. The role of the President is to step in and make sure everything is done properly especially if it’s a major crisis.

Let’s face it guys. Leadership is all about making hard decisions. Sometimes leaders make the right ones and sometimes they just don’t.

Huwag masyado asahan si Noynoy

Carlo Ople — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:29:37 +0000

I watched President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) this afternoon and it pretty much was what a lot of us expected. He lambasted the previous administration and talked about potential solutions for the current problems of the Philippines. One thing is crystal clear: our problems will not be fixed overnight. It will take a lot of time, effort, and resources to turn this country around. If there’s one thing I appreciate in Noynoy’s entire SONA though it’s when he mentioned that the government’s primary responsibility is to make sure that everything is fair for everyone, especially in business. Ang problema kasi ng maraming Pilipino ay inaasa lahat sa gobyerno. Pati’ ba naman distribution ng condoms, problema ba ng Philippine government? Pati ba naman “spiritual corruption” gusto ng Catholic Church ayusin ni Noynoy? If your problem is specific to your vocation or industry, wag mo asahan si Noynoy diyan. He has enough problems to deal with already. Instead of whining, complaining, and doing nothing you should just offer solutions. Better yet, be part of the solution. You don’t have to be in government to make a difference or help others out.

What this country really needs is to raise the level of basic services. Our government hospitals are dismal. I would rather the Department of Health divert their “Condom” budget to making sure that we have properly trained medical staff and average equipment than run nationwide condom distribution and awareness campaigns. This topic is very close to my heart because when I was shot a couple of years ago and brought to a government hospital, I got my lung opened and inserted with a tube to drain the blood WITHOUT anesthetics because the hospital didn’t have any. When my former driver was dying in another government hospital there was no respirator so his family had to take turns squeezing an oxygen bag for 3 days straight.

Huwag na natin ibigay ang lahat ng problema natin kay Noynoy. Let’s let him work on the basics and let’s try to do our part as well in building the country.

Manny Pacquiao beats Iron Man, Harry Potter, and Jerry Maguire

Carlo Ople — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 20:00:23 +0000

International boxing superstar and now Congressman Manny Pacquiao just reached another milestone in his stellar career. He placed number 55 in the recent Celebrity 100 power list by Forbes. He beat the following notable Hollywood stars: Tom Cruise (56), Robert Downey Jr. (73), and Daniel Radcliffe (82). It’s amazing how Manny Pacquiao is making a global mark as a Filipino and I hope that he inspires more of us to excel and be excellent in whatever it is we’re doing. For the top 10 for this year, Oprah Winfrey is still number one followed by Beyonce Knowles, James Cameron, Lady Gaga, Tiger Woods, Britney Spears, U2, Sandra Bullock, Johnny Depp, and Madonna.

People are hoping that they’ll get to see Pacquiao take on Floyd Mayweather later this year. Let’s see if the match pushes through. If ever it does, it will be Pacquiao’s last fight as a professional boxer before he focuses his efforts in Philippine politics.

President Noynoy Aquino’s “Cute” Mistakes

Carlo Ople — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:21:41 +0000

President Noynoy Aquino made several “cute” mistakes during his first few days in office. The one that got the biggest media attention was his alleged “palpak” Memorandum Circular which was signed by Executive Secretary Ochoa. Another follow-up mistake would be Lacierda’s boo-boo with the Malacanang Press Corps when he had them waiting while giving an exclusive interview to ABS-CBN’s news channel, ANC. What got my attention the most though was when President Aquino attended a military ceremony function. First, he was half an hour late because he refused to use the Wang Wang and the usual counter flow (which I love about him). Next, his timing was off in the customary salute and lastly he used the wrong podium during his Presidential address. Here’s the video from the GMA news website:

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

And here’s the video from ABS-CBN news about the Memorandum Circular:

I actually find these mistakes a bit endearing because it just shows that we have a human President. It’s a totally different matter though when this happens again 3 months from now (that’s incompetence already). I’ll be praying for President Aquino and his cabinet. Hopefully his administration will usher in a new era for the Filipino people.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. takes his oath as Senator [VIDEO]

Carlo Ople — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 07:31:24 +0000

Here’s a video of Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr. taking his oath as a Senator of the Republic of the Philippines. The support he got from Ilocos was phenomenal. According to reports, he was number 1 in all of the municipalities of Ilocos. It just goes to show that the Marcos family is still dearly loved there (Imee and Imelda won as Governor and Congresswoman respectively).

Congratulations to Senator Bong Bong Marcos! Mabuhay ka Senador!

Taal Volcano about to erupt?

Carlo Ople — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 09:23:38 +0000

I just saw this on the Facebook page of TV5′s news program, Akyson. Apparently Taal Volcano decided to be active again and the lava is now visible at the crater from a distance. I actually gave a talk in Tagaytay a few days ago for a company and it looked much more peaceful then compared to what it looks like now. Let’s pray that if ever it does erupt it won’t do damage to the people living in it’s vicinity.

Photo is from TV5′s Akyson Facebook Page

Erap Relief Package Tickets

Should Noynoy stop smoking?

Carlo Ople — Sun, 30 May 2010 09:33:08 +0000

Senator Noynoy Aquino is being criticized left and right because he hasn’t stopped smoking. He said later on in an interview that he hopes that people will let him keep that one tiny freedom. Should Noynoy Aquino stop smoking? Absolutely. But it should be on his terms and his own time. If you try to ram this down his throat he’ll probably just fake it or it might even affect his decision making capabilities once he’s President, lol.

I genuinely hope though that he knows that smoking is bad and that it can cause damage to himself and to those around him.

Isang Bansa (Juan Country) Video

Carlo Ople — Sun, 23 May 2010 05:44:49 +0000

Felt inspired by the post I made this morning so I decided to work on a short video using pictures that I got from Google. It’s has a pretty powerful message so please do watch it and if you find it touching, share it with your friends and family.

Isang Bansa (Juan Country) from Carlo Ople on Vimeo.

To the photographers of the pictures, please let me know if you took any of the pictures in this video and I’ll immediately credit you guys with a link. If you don’t want to, then let me know and I’ll take it out of the video. I do hope you don’t mind though since this is really an advocacy project.

*Song is entitled Note to God performed by Charice Pempengco

So… what now?

Carlo Ople — Sat, 22 May 2010 20:34:04 +0000

Now that the elections are over losing candidates are throwing a fit about how they were cheated. People are actually finding the “Koala Bear” dude credible and we have Congressman Teddy Boy Locsin accusing Executive Ermita of fielding “Koala Bear” to the public. Some candidates haven’t accepted their fate yet and they’re all throwing fits and hogging media spotlights. Those with grace though have faded into the background and are now starting to heal and move forward. So… what now? Yun’ na ba yun?

I’ve been talking to a lot of friends lately and they all feel lost. It’s as if we’re in some state of limbo until Senator Noynoy Aquino takes the Presidency. I bet you that once he does everyone will be throwing all sorts of stuff at him, including “I told you so” statements which I was also guilty of doing.

So what now?

The problem with us is that we all put the responsibility of moving this country forward on the shoulders of one man – the President. We refuse to acknowledge that we are part of building this country and moving it forward. Our love for the Philippines is only when there’s something significant happening. We need to understand that we’re all in this together and we all have to do our part.

Noynoy Aquino will fail… unless we finally decide to get off our butts and accept the fact that the Philippines is our country too and that loving the country is not just casting a ballot during election day.

So… what now?

I found my inspiration in this song that was written by Diane Warren and performed by our very own Charice Pempengco. If I can get a few minutes of your time, please watch this video and think of the past few months. Think of the elections. Think of the Philippines. Think of your candidate. Think about yourself, your future, you career, your kids, your sisters, your brothers, and your parents.

Some excerpts from the lyrics of the song:

If I wrote a note to God, I would speak what’s in my soul. I’d ask for all the hate to be swept away… for love to overflow. I’d pour my heart out on each page. I’d ask for war to end and for peace to mend this world.

I’d say… give us strength to make it through. Help us find love coz love is overdue. It seems like so much is going wrong on this road we’re on.

I would say please help us find our way. End all the bitterness, put some tenderness in our hearts.

Need help from you. Grant us the faith to carry on. Give us hope when it seems all hope is gone.

So what now?

Pray for the country and let’s start moving on. There’s no point in being bitter and hurtful. We only have one life to live and we are all Filipinos. Let’s all find a way to leave a legacy to our kids and grandkids. Let’s leave this world knowing that we did our part in making sure that the next generation will have a better life than we did.

Teddy Boy Locsin needs to mind his manners

Carlo Ople — Thu, 20 May 2010 10:06:01 +0000

Congressman Teddy Boy Locsin literally laid the smackdown on Smartmatic’s Heider Garcia. In a congressional hearing on fraud this afternoon, Congressman Roilo Golez was questioning Garcia about the discrepancies with the time signatures of the transmissions. While Garcia was trying to answer, Locsin butted in and started to berate Garcia. When Garcia tried to defend himself (though in a very smug way), Locsin exploded and called Garcia an SOB live on television.

This reminds me of his earlier squabble with Congressman Dilangalen where he was also caught on camera cursing at the legislator from Maguindanao.

It’s the responsibility of a leader to be a good role model for his followers. I don’t think it was proper for a congressman to utter expletives during a televised hearing because it sets a very bad example. I’m sure that a lot of people idolize Locsin and we will be hearing SOB a lot more in the coming days from the people who are emulating him.

~_~

We’re taught not to curse and say anything bad in school and yet our Congressmen are blatantly doing it on-air. Whooppeee.

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