Dagdag-bawas

Prof. Ben Lim wrote: "The SWS exit poll showed that 31.4% of NCR voters voted for GMA while only 22.9% voted for FPJ. GMA appears to be 4.4% ahead of FPJ. But NCR COCs showed that FPJ garnered 35.9% while GMA garnered only 27.3% or FPJ is 8.6% ahead of GMA. In Region XII the SWS exit poll showed that GMA garnered 45.8% while FPJ only 36.9%. But Region XII COCs showed GMA to have garnered only 25.4% while FPJ received a massive 44.7%. FPJ is 19.3 percent ahead."

Wow, does KNP's own quick count show the same pattern? Why does the press praise SWS quick count given these discrepancies?

The Today editorial hit it right again. The votes of those who conceded this early is prey for dagdag-bawas. It's Roco's right to concede, but he and everybody else should watch his votes and make sure it's not added to whom he has conceded.

My vote goes to ...

On Monday, we’ll have the chance to elect a new president. I’m sure most Filipinos are not satisfied with GMA. Who is, anyway? Jose Pidal fans and cohorts, maybe. But it may be that many Filipinos are afraid of change, preferring what they think is lesser evil. To them I say let’s not forget the time when we wanted the untested Cory over Marcos. We are in similar straits now. We have to change GMA. We must all vote solidly for her nearest rival. We should not split and waste our votes.

My senators are the following:
1. Heherson Alvarez. Tops the list because of his principled independent stand after being dumped by his party.
2. Bong Coo. On the list because of the maltreatment she got from the Comelec and the other Bong.
3. Nene Pimentel. This guy should always be on the Senate.
4. Enrile. Let him do his thing on the PPA.
5. Padilla. For sticking by Ping through thick and thin.
6. Jamby Madrigal. She spent a lot for 2 elections. Maybe she’s got what it takes to be a senator.
7. Gordon.
8. Chavez. We all could use his legal mind in the Senate
9. Yasay.
10. Flavier. He’s not a candidate now, but whenever I hear his pitch for Jawo, it’s Flavier's Senate record that I remember.

A welcome respite

The Holy Week is indeed a welcome respite. The air is less polluted and the surroundings is less noisy because of the less traffic. We have less bad news and that's good news. Even the criminals rest, I suppose. But I fear this rest only winds the spring. By Easter Sunday, the bad news would uncoil. We'd have the candidates again foisting themselves on us. GMA would be refreshed and be at it again. I expect her to proclaim the MRT-2 to be her gift to the Filipino people, ala Erap. I hope she realizes that the only gift that matters is if she's out of Malacanang by July. Can't we have a Holy Week at least every quarter?!

The Passion

I watched 'The Passion' today with Vito. I had to fork out Php192.00 for 2 tickets, another Php 115.00 for a bucket of popcorn and two glasses of iced tea. If the wife and my other son joined us, I would have spent more than Php600. No wonder people patronize film pirates.

I admit I watched the movie, despite the scandalous ticket prices, because of the hype. They said there's too much gore and blood that it's rated R (actually R-13 here. I think we're the only one with the R-13 rating. Can our kids take violence and gore more maturely than foreign kids?) Imagine an R rated scriptures-based film on Christ. It's not Scorsese (Last Temptation of Christ) and its R? This I have to see, and so we went.

This is not the typical religious movie. Old movies on Christ shown on TV have that serene, calming, almost boring quality. Sometimes Christ's face is not even shown, giving that undescribable effect, na pang-bibliya. Watching 'The Passion' is another experience. You know the story. You anticipate the subtitles. You listen to the dialogue even if its spoken in dead languages. You know what's going to happen. But still be enthralled and anxiously wait for the next scenes.

Real life, movie/TV, mass media violence, cenaculos, penitensiyas, and too much 'Faces of Death' have desensitized me. But the movie reinforces what has been force-fed us over the years, that Christ is the Savior. It should remind every Christian, especially the convenient Christians, that His death should not be for naught.

A world-class MRT

I took a free ride at the new MRT-2 plying the Santolan-Avenida route when they tested the system today (April 5). Wow! The trains are wide and long. The stations are big and clean. The ride is smooth. This is better than the MRT-3 (North Ave.-Baclaran). Definitely world class. This system promises a very good alternative to the jeepneys which are further slowed down along Aurora Blvd. by (ironies) the construction of the MRT.

Throngs availed of the test rides. When word leaked that the rides are free, many, even those in their house clothes trooped out to the stations. And all seemed satisfied with the quick ride. It took less than 15 minutes from Santolan to Legarda. Imagine doing that on the jeepney. It's not possible even on midnight of Good Friday.

The MRT-2 is slower but very similar to the MRT system in Malaysia. I wonder if its also driven by computers. Sana huwag ma-baboy ito kapag ginagamit na.