One liners

 

Pageant Result: Misters of Filipinas 2025

The winners of Misters of Filipinas 2025 from left to right: Juan Carlos Lopez- Bataan - Mr. Tourism Philippines 2025, Krishna Yasser Rodriguez - Pampanga - Mr. Celebrity International Philippines 2025, Kritzan Karlo De los Santos - Cavite - Top Model Of The Universe Philippines 2025 - Oliver Eugen Kretz - Palawan - Man Of The World Philippines 2025- Winner, Calix Kayden Esguerra - Imus Cavite -Teen Universe Philippines 2025, and John Nietche Hipolito- Bulacan - First Runner Up. The pageant was held at Skydome SM North EDSA last October 2022.

Batang Quiapo - Art Imitating Life

Movies, whether local or foreign (that includes teleseryes), can weave storylines based on reality. Cinematic history will attest that we have more than enough biopic films to offer on the entertainment shelf, with plenty to choose from.

Some of the greatest stories ever translated to film aren't pure fiction at all. Biopic comes from the root words “biographical” and “picture” and refers to a film that dramatizes the life, the challenges, and personal dramas of a real person, a political leader, perhaps a national hero. an artist or an athlete.

It can be a period piece, a stirring biopic... an edge-of-your-seat crime drama?—These ripped-from-reality movies will leave you WONDERSTRUCK or AWESTRUCK, and no doubt send you searching for even more.

Reality-based movies provide good drama (that's a kicker) ... a good documentary re-writing and retelling the life of a historical figure can make movie audiences forget the time frame, and allow them to travel to another place and time. That's the immersive power of movies and television.

On the other hand, there is a handful of teleseryes that make disclaimers saying:  "This is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to real-life events and characters living or dead ... is purely coincidental."

They can say that ... but there is no denying whether fictional or imaginary, the sub-story was inspired by real-life events that are hitting the headlines lately (like the flood control project scams). The controversy was such that it is enjoying tons of media mileage ... the news is the toast of the town ... and with Pinoys' anger nearing boiling point ... it is attracting a lot of media attention.

Take, for instance, Batang Quiapo with Roi Vinzon and Baron Geisler barging in abruptly sa kuwento. Not that I am complaining ... pero mukhang minamadali nila ang kanilang dramatic entrance.  Was it because hinahabol nila na makipagride-on habang mainit-init pa ang mga balita? Strike while the iron is hot ... baga.

It was a stroke of genius they cast them as contractors, and the projects they are involved in are FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT? Coincidence? It was almost too good to be true.

Watching the series last night, there was a feeling of deja vu (the feeling that I have already experienced, seen, and heard the events being presented in the story.) E di ba naman yan din lang ang laman ng mga balita sa TV at sa internet... day in and day out?

And they were talking about corruption, GHOST PROJECTS, substandard materials, and people's insatiable thirst for money and power.

Those talkies really hit us hard. It gave us that feeling like we were eavesdropping on some CONFIDENTIAL and TOP SECRET clandestine government meetings composed of engineers, contractors, and who's who in Manila's mayoral hierarchy. 

One can't help but gasp: "Ganon pala ang mga pinagusapan ... iyan pala ang mga deals nila sa kuwento ... hindi kaya malayong ganon din ang intramurals nila sa totoong buhay... sa kasalukuyang flood control projects?

Beyond issues like "ghost projects" and corruption in Batang Quiapo, flood control projects also discussed feature salient problems such as inflated budgets, rigged bidding systems, and non-transparent budget insertions. 

Kickbacks and commissions have been reported to take a significant portion of project funds, leaving a small percentage for actual construction. These features are the result of a network involving politicians, contractors, engineers, and officials who exploit the system for personal gain.

Was Batang Quiapo giving us a front row seat para marinig nating lahat ang mga ito? Pakiramdam tuloy ng mga publiko ... they were PRIVY to the secret kung paano naghahatian ang mga halang na mga kaluluwa sa perang hindi naman kanila at kung paano ang kanilang involvement maging daan para ubosin at lustayin ang kaban ng bayan.

Last night, another thunderbolt hit us hard ... (parang minartilyo ang aking ulo) when the Vice Mayor Albert Martinez intimidated that some flood control projects ay nilalagay sa mga lugar na hindi naman binabaha.

Ha ...? Anong logic meron ang panukalang ito? Kimpisal ni Vice Mayor ... para daw mabudol ang mga tao at isipin nila na kaya walang baha doon ... it is all because effective daw ang flood control project.

One wonders ... ganyan din ba magisip ang mga taong ating inhalal sa kasalukuyang pagnakaw at pandarambong by way of flood control projects?

Panoorin ninyo ang Batang Quiapo ... para mabuhusan ng malamig na tubig ang ating mga cavalier attitude at matigas na ulo sa pagpili nga ating mga government leaders.

Laqyer's Mumbo Jumbo - Motu Propio

We are not lawyers ... but we need to understand their lexicon (lawyers always have their own lingo only they can understand. Same with doctors, nurses, and engineers) 

We spend our waking hours on YouTube, and we are always exposed to hearings and debates—and also their private conversations. All we do is scratch our heads because they use legal terminologies that sound too foreign and alien to our virgin ears, and our mind wonders what they are talking about.

Let's start decoding and decrypting these words and phrases (it is irreverent for us to enter the sanctum of the in ... but desperate times need desperate measures) so the next time they use these terms again ... we are on the same page with them.  Not in limbo.

We will try to dissect and define them in simpler language so ordinary mortals and laymen (the amateur and the non-experts) can actively participate in the discussion ... and at the same time broaden their legal and paralegal stock knowledge,

So our word or phrase that is hitting the headlines today is: MOTU PROPIO.

PHRASE: Motu Propio

MEANING:  In law, motu proprio is a Latin word which means 'on his own impulse' or on its own initiative. It describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party.

Motu Proprio - refers to an action taken by the LEB (Legal Education Board) on its own initiative, without the need of a complaint being filed, pursuant to the powers vested in it under R.A. 7662 and its amendments.

EXAMPLE:

1. A MOTU PROPIO investigation in the Philippines flood control scandal refers to a probe launched by the office of the ombudsman ON ITS OWN INITIATIVE that is without any referral from anybody.

This was exemplified by the Ombudsman creating a special panel to investigate alleged anomalies in the flood control project, with the investigators examining the alleged involvement of contractors and government officials, including politicians.

2. There is no example of a motu proprio action in the Sara Duterte impeachment case because the process began with formal, initiated complaints from individuals and was followed by the House of Representatives acting on those complaints. 

Motu proprio refers to an act taken "on one's own initiative," meaning without a formal request from another party. In this case, the complaints were formally filed, and the House's subsequent actions were in response to those filings, not taken spontaneously.

3. In Philippine politics, a motu proprio example is the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) investigating and canceling a certificate of candidacy "on its own initiative" to determine if the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) was filed for a malicious purpose, such as to cause confusion or put the election process in disrepute.

Pageant Result: Miss Grand International 2025

The winners of Miss Grand International 2025 from left to right: Faith Maria Porter - Ghana - Third Runner Up, Sarunrat Puagpipat - Thailand - First Runner Up, Emma Tiglao - Philippines - Miss Grand International 2025- Winner, Aitana Carolina Jimenez - Spain - Second Runner Up, and Nariman Vattikha - Venezuela - Fourth Runner Up.  The pageant was held at MGI Hall in Bangkok, Thailand, last October 18, 2021.

A Question Needing An Answer

In Batobato Pick at It's Showtime ... host Jong Hilario posed the P450,000.00 question to the contestant ... "Sa kasalukuyang mga pangalan ng mga bansa ... bukod sa Zimbabwe ... ano pa ang nagsimula sa letter Z.

Halos mapatid and litid ko sa kasisigaw ng ZAIRE ... na ikinagulat naman nina Fred, David, Katong and Bonjo. I know it for a fact that Zaire is a country, and there was no doubt in my mind na mali ako.

In the last final jackpot questions in the same segment in the previous week, I have a 100 percent batting average, and I can't afford to miss this one ... so much so that there are four Doubting Thomases in my company who looked at me doubtfully and unconvinced ... I have to prove them wrong.

And now the 64 dollar question ... what happen kung ako ang candidate doon ... will they consider my answer ... dahil kung sasabihin nila na mali ang sagot ko ... magrereklamo ako talaga kung hindi nila ibigay sa akin ang almost half a million pesos. (Kaso eh hindi pala ako yon .... hehehe.)

Well, it turned out that the only answer they will accept is Zambia. Which is a "mood downer". I felt like my balloon popped. My answer is correct and I am sure I am right ... so where did my answer go wrong?

I tried to examine how the question was formed ... and then I checked the CONTEXT and scrutinized the words one by one. 

To the uninformed, CONTEXT is important because it provides the surrounding circumstances and background information so we can correctly interpret the question and its meaning.

Not understanding the CONTEXT ... the question can be misunderstood. And questions at times in games show like this ... were meant to confuse and mislead contestants. 

And answers like ZAIRE can be wrong (even if it is right) ... because the message sent was not clear (because I was in a hurry to answer the question and I have forgotten the other variables that also need consideration), and in my case, the nuances in the question were vaguely inferred.

Going back to Jong Hilario's question, I found out that the culprit was in the word KASALUKUYAN. As I said before, I was confident that Zaire was one of the right answers... but with the pesky word kasalukuyan, I was misled to arrive at the wrong conclusion or answers.

Zaire is the old name of the Democratic Republic of Congo ... and the name was changed in 1997. So in the context of the way the question was formed, Zaire is not the kasalukuyan or the present ... it was a thing in the past.

Going back to my original question knowing that the money in question here is almost half a million peso (I know I am not a contestant here and I am not the winner ... but let's just play pretense duuuh) ... just in case the situation comes in real life ... will It's Showtime ever consider my answer ... or they will insist that my answer was out of context. Like what I said?

The reason why I am bringing this up is because (I am not really sure if it's Rainbow Rumble of Luis Manzano) the host considered the candidate's answer when he replied SIAM instead of Thailand.

And in America, another host considered the answers like Persia instead of Iran ... Burma instead of Myanmar ... Holland instead of the Netherlands ... and Ceylon instead of Sri Lanka.

Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Or this is a fair question. What do you think, guys?

Paging the producer and the hosts of It's Showtime.

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