ABS-CBN and GMA 7 should stop accepting ad money from Presidentiables

If ABS-CBN and GMA7 really want to help the people make smart choices in the 2010 polls, they should do the following stop accepting TV and Radio ad placements from recognized or even rumored Presidential candidates. In fact, make it a policy not to accept money for airing TV and radio commercials that have political personalities in them.

This will really make their campaigns for Boto Mo, I-Patrol mo or whatever bullshit it is they are advertising REALLY mean

something more than a self-patronizing and self-aggrandizing play at showing everyone that they

"good" companies.

Huwag na tayong magbalat kayo at magkunwari na walang agenda ang mga news media. Halatang-halata naman eh.

Alien versus Predator: Jamby Madrigal versus Manny Villar

Monday, May 18, will be a very busy day for most Filipino reporters as the newest congressional sarsuela moro-moro makes its nth reiteration.

Perhaps millions of people will be watching the hearing on Senator Jamby Madrigal's ethics complaint against Senator Manny Villar in connection with the so-called C-5 double entry scam.

I am interested to find out if any of the evidence submitted by Jamby's lawyer last Thursday would hold up to scrutiny.

I sure hope it won't be like one of those hearings on the NBN ZTE deal where she made a big deal about a document which purportedly carried the initials of FG. She loudly asserted that the initials FG stood for First Gentleman and she seemed so convinced it was a real bomb.

Wow!

To refresh your memory, here's a snippet of a report I fished out from abs-cbnnews.com:

Negros Occidental Rep. Jose Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo made the appeal in reaction to Madrigal’s disclosure of an alleged National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) document on the NBN contract indicating that one copy went to the President’s husband Jose Miguel Arroyo.

He said the senator "maliciously" linked his brother to the contract on the basis of a "falsified document."

He said Madrigal should have first verified the authenticity of the document.

"Instead, Senator Madrigal threw caution to the wind and immediately put to question the innocence of my brother in the ZTE issue with the falsified NEDA document as basis. With the bias that Senator Madrigal has shown, there is no more reason to hope for fairness and impartiality in her participation in the probe," he said.

The document is a letter of former NEDA director general Romulo Neri to the Chinese ambassador in Manila. Madrigal’s copy shows a marginal note on the right-hand top portion stating "Copy for FG 1/F."

Madrigal said the Chinese embassy employee who received the letter, and whose name is also indicated, wrote the note on the top portion of her copy.

She asked: "Does FG mean First Goon, First Gangster or First Gentleman?"

NEDA later clarified that FG is actually FGI, the initials of its officer who was furnished a copy of Neri’s letter.

The Senate's entire reputation, it seems, is hanging on the balance here. If Jamby's accusations turn out to be true and her evidence holds up, then perhaps we will see a magnificent display of justice being done. Jamby would, perhaps, really be able to stake a claim of being a champion of truth and an enemy of corruption.

But, if the evidence fails to prove any of Jamby's charges, then perhaps this would prove to be a big embarrassment -- to say the least.

I am not certain if Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senator Jamby Madrigal are sharing the same pool of evidence. If they are, then, that would be an ominous sign for Jamby int he days ahead.

Lacson presented evidence against then Senate President Manny Villar at the Finance Committee then headed by Senator Juan Ponce Enrile last year. It was said that Lacson failed to prove his case against Villar.

So, if Jamby and Lacson are sharing the same pool of evidence, there is a chance that the charges against Villar might be dismissed a second time.

Then again, there may be people reading this blog who will say that evidence is irrelevant as the Senators participating in the committee of the whole will vote along partisan lines.

But in reality, there are not enough senators to vote for Villar's suspension or expulsion from the upper chamber. What is needed is a vote of two-thirds of the members of the Senate and that mean's sixteen senators have to agree to mete out punishment on Villar.

I did the math and came up with a possible 10 senators who will give Villar a thumbs down. The number is 10, after subtracting the members of the minority, senators who are not present in the chamber, swing voters, and senators who have inhibited themselves.

The best they'll manage, says a Senate insider who has seen so many similar hearings, is that the senate will issue a reprimand against Villar.

This may seem a cynical assertion to you, but I think all this fuss will end up like all the other hearings the Senate has had.

All fizz, no pop. All whiz, no bang.

In any case, as it is playing out right now, Villar is already being thoroughly humiliated by the allegations of corruption. And so, he is playing the pathetic underdog accused of a crime he swears he did not commit or the sorry female OFW he saved after she was made a slave in the Middle East.

And Jamby Madrigal is playing the fierce defender of the truth and fighter against corruption. Which reminds me of the time when she spoke so passionately about fighting for her inheritance, not for herself, but for the people who are depending on the continued operation of the foundation founded by her deceased aunt.

The only ones who will win in this fight are the two major TV networks who will be broadcasting the hearings live.

Why not a political ad for values, instead of buwa or padyakitos?

This is going to be short.

Instead of using political TV advertisements to extoll one's efforts to help OFW's or brandish an avowal to fight for the common man's interests, why don't politicians come out with ads that urge or inspire people to adhere to certain values.

What Manny Villar and Mar Roxas are saying in their ads is, basically, that they understand the plight of the masses.  They are saying that are going to do everything they can, after they are elected to fight for the common man's cause.  It's an upmanship between billionaires to show off who can be more masa than the other and ultimately, merely a pretense to mask their real ambition.

When did they start caring for the masses?

For Mar, I think it was sometime when he was first appointed as Trade Secretary by Joseph Estrada.  Before that, he was a Congressman whose own district (if he really cared for it) remains a fourth class municipality.  If he didn't care for his own people, how can he really care for everyone else's plight.

I'll be fair with Villar, because as far as Las Pinas is concerned I think he has done some good for low-income families there.  But apart from giving away money, I don't know what else he can claim to have done for Las Pinas -- the city is very much plagued by nightmarish traffic and crime.

Anyway, as I said, it would be better to extol values... Like perhaps, love of country.

Hacking the 2010 Automated Elections or Laying the predicate for Villar's electoral protest when he loses in 2010

I think the name of the game here is to stop Automated Elections in the Philippines, no matter what the cost is.

Then again, we may have an example of a duck that laid, not a golden egg, but a predicate for an electoral protest when his billionaire candidate loses in 2010 -- despite the surveys that say he will win.

In an Inquirer article Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said at a press conference that he has filed a resolution setting aside P100 million as an incentive to anyone who can convincingly demonstrate the weakness of the automated poll system.

Cayetano, at a press conference Friday, said that if any IT expert can establish that the system to be used in the 2010 polls is not secure from fraud and tampering, “Comelec should cancel the contract, save the P11 billion and sue for damages the contractor in the event of such successful hacking.”

He said he would rather revert to the manual counting of votes if the computerized system would lead to wholesale cheating.

The reporter did not mention if Cayetano's resolution identified the source of funding or if such funds are really available.

I think what Cayetano is really doing is laying the predicate for a electoral protest later, just as is often the case with all the elections we have been through since we had elections. This is the rotten, transactional culture that is HIS legacy and heritage -- kay Cayetano, walang nananalo at walang natatalo, kungdi may mga abugadong nagsasabi na may mandaraya at may nadaya.

I think it is short of saying that he knows that with the Automated Election System in place, his favored Billionaire Presidential candidate from Las Pinas will lose in the 2010 elections -- contrary to all the surveys that say he will win.

Another reason why he wants to find out if the Automated Election System has flaws is that he wants to find out how the automated election system can be cheated, so his billionaire buddy from Las Pinas can exploit the vulnerabilities.

But in any case, as I have said, any mere mention of money for hacking is enough to create a friendster among computer geeks.

I can see a situation where hundreds of Filipino geeks with laptops are going to claim that they can hack the Automated Election System and live-out their fantasy of being Hugh Jackman's character in Swordfish -- because many of them weren't alive when Robert Redford did Sneakers.

And right on cue, the Computer Professionals' Union (the first time I've heard of them) has surfaced to say that hacking the Automated Election System can be done.

A group of computer experts has warned that the planned automation of national and local elections in May next year will not diminish fraud and cheating and could lead to the rise of a new type of election operator capable of manipulating the results of the automated polls.

Rick Bahague, national coordinator of the Computer Professionals’ Union, said automated large scale cheating could happen with the Commission on Elections’ (COMELEC) plan for automated elections. He said poll automation could give rise to a new "Garci", referring to former Commission on Elections official Virgilio Garcillano who allegedly tampered with the elections results of the 2004 presidential elections.

"Perpetrators of cheating and fraud like Garci will be back in 2010, more manipulative and more systematic than the past elections with the help of [automated elections system] that we have to be ready to preempt their plans," Bahague said in a statement on the CPU website.

Bahague said the proposed automated election system (AES) has several technical vulnerabilities including insider threats, software engineering limitations, network vulnerabilities and lack of required auditing procedures.

In the last paragraph, Bahague's claim of knowledge about technical vulnerabilities in the Automated Election System seems like he really knows something about it. But then again, terms such as "insider threats" or "software engineering limitations" or "network vulnerabilities" are just high fallutin terms which can be attributed even to the most advanced and sophisticated computer systems.

I am sure, there are geniuses within the Computer Professional's Union that can claim to have hacked an ATM network and made away with hundreds of millions of pesos.

I've met a lot of Filipino super geeks in my life and the more respectable ones are still blowhards when it comes to hacking.

Anyway, not one sentence in the article says that the Computer Professional's Union has actually gotten their hands on the Automated Election System or has actually tried to hack the system successfully.

Just as well, Cayetano and the Computer Professional's Union are both barking at the wrong time as the ideal time to spot flaws has already passed. They should have tried spotting flaws when the Automated Elections System was tested in the ARMM elections.

The Automated Election System was already tested and passed successfully during the ARMM elections. The ARMM is among the most difficult areas in which to ensure honest, clean and accurate elections. It was an acid test for the Automated Elections System and if any so called technical vulnerabilities were present, it should have shown up during the ARMM polls and would have been exploited -- but no one was able to breach the security features of the AES.

The Computer Professional's Union, lest it be suspected of wanting or planning to sabotage the electoral process, should have volunteered to do ethical hacking when Automated Elections were being held in ARMM. For real hackers to earn their keep, they should try hacking on a real live system and not a simulation -- that would have been available during the ARMM elections.

I wonder who's funding the Computer Professional's Union? See if the bank is from Pateros or Las Pinas, you'll have your answer -- unless, of course, they got their money in cash.

Senator Manuel Villar to celebrate Easter with duck eggs?

It will be Easter Sunday in the Philippines tomorrow and as if we didn't all have calendars with Catholic Holidays marked by red print, newspapers like the Manila Bulletin will probably display banners reading "Filipinos celebrate Easter".

Then again, you wouldn't realize it was really Holy Week, anyway. It used to be that as soon as Holy Monday rolled in, most commercial centers in Metro Manila would be closed up for the week. These days, malls are all open.

Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday were regular working days, for all intents and purposes.

Maundy Thursday was supposed to be the beginning of a long four day holiday. You'd expect everything to be shuttered up but no. Malls and fast food chains were still open.

On Good Friday, we called up Ace Water Spa to ask if they were (by any chance) open. They proudly announced that they were. We spent the entire morning there, getting massaged by the many water jet and air bubble massage treatments.

I got a much needed soak in a 38 degree celsius herbal pool and it really got all the ache out of my back, between the shoulder blades.

If there was anything Holy about Holy week in the Philippines, I surely missed it and I am sure, I am not alone.

Next week, thousands are due back to Manila from their vacations, spent not in church but on beaches and inland resorts all over the country. So starting on Monday, for the next 358 days, I'll be missing the peace and quiet of an almost empty Metro Manila.

In anycase, Easter is coming and strangely enough, some shopping malls here in the Philippines might be celebrating it in a big commercial way -- if last year's Easter will be any indication. Malls will have Easter Egg hunts.

With this in mind, I am wondering if Senator and Presidential Candidate Manny Villar will sponsor an Easter Egg hunt using duck eggs? It would be a great publicity gimmick and his supporters in Pateros, Bulacan, and Laguna (all duck raising capitals) may very well donate all the duck eggs that will be used.

In anycase, here are a bunch of duck jokes I swiped from Duck Eggs dot com

Why did the duck cross C-5?

He was tied to the chicken.

***

Why didn't the skeleton duck cross the road?

He didn't have the guts.

***

What do physics ducks say?

Quark, quark quark.

***

Why did the basketball player bring a duck to the game?She wanted to shoot a fowl shot!

***

So, a duck walked into a bar, and asked the bartender, "Do you have any grapes?"

The bartender replied, "No, this isn't a grocery store, get the hell out of here!"

So, the duck came back the next day, and asked the bartender "Do you have any grapes?"

The bartender said "No, I told you before, this isn't a grocery store, and I don't have any grapes, now leave!"

So the duck came back the next day, and asked the bartender, "Do you have any grapes?"

The angry bartender said, "NO! And if you come back and ask me that again, I will nail your butt to the wall! Now leave!"

So, the duck came back the next day, and asked the bartender, "Do you have any nails?"

The bartender, puzzled, said, "No, why?" The duck said, "In that case, do you have any grapes?"

***

Three ducks went into court. The judge called the first one to the stand.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Quack." the duck answered.

"And why were you arrested?" the judge asked.

"I was stepping on bubbles." he answered.

The judge didn't see anything wrong with that, so he dismissed the duck and called up the next one.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Quack," the duck answered.

"Why were you arrested?" the Judge asked.

"I was stepping on bubbles." the duck replied.

Again, the judge saw nothing offensive, so he called up the next duck.

"What's your name?? No wait, let me guess, Quack." he said.

"No," said the duck, "My name is Bubbles."

***

A duck walks into a pub and orders a pint of lager and a ham sandwich. The landlord looks at him and says, "But you're a duck!" "Your eyes work", replies the duck, wryly.

"And you talk!" exclaims the landlord.

"And your ears", says the duck,

"Now can I have my beer and my sandwich please?".

"Certainly", says the landlord, "sorry about that... it's just we don't get many ducks in this pub. What are you doing round this way?".

"I'm working on the building site across the road", explains the duck.

The landlord watches, astounded, as the duck drinks his beer, eats his sandwich and leaves.

The duck visits regularly for 2 weeks. Then one day the circus comes to town.

The owner of the circus comes into the pub and the landlord says to him, "You're with the circus aren't you?, I know this duck that would be just brilliant in your circus - he talks, drinks beer and everything!".

"Sounds marvellous", says the owner, "get him to give me a call".

So the next day when the duck comes into the pub the landlord says, "Hey Mr. Duck, I reckon I can line you up with a top job, paying really good money!".

"Yeah?", says the duck, "Sounds great, where is it?".

"At the circus", says the landlord.

"The circus?", the duck enquires, a bit bemused.

"That's right", replies the landlord.

"What, the place with the big tent?. Big canvas roof, hole in the middle, loads of animals?", asks the duck.

"That's right!", says the landlord.

The duck looks confused. "Why would they want a plasterer"

***

I have two ducks that I use as an alarm clock.

They wake me up at the Quack of dawn.

Mar Roxas the Padyakito Vs. Manny Villar the Itik Man

I am not looking forward to it but the recent Padyakito TV commercial of Senator Mar Roxas may portend other TV commercials that similarly pander to the sentiments of the lowly masses.

It will be a circus of sorts, probably with one billionaire Presidential candidate engaging in a trumpsmanship of sort. They'll probably try to portray themselves as more masa than the other.

And if it is a circus of sorts, will we see Senator Manny Villar eat a live duck? Entertaining? Yes. Helpful? Not at all.

What will these Presidential candidates think of next? Who will eat PAGPAG (food thrown in garbage bins, recycled, sold, and eaten by the poorest of the poor)?

Who will shout invectives at President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo just to show that they are really against her? (Ooops, Mar already beat everyone to that.)

Who will play as the Muslim sympathizer, just to show that they are for peace in Mindanao?

Come on, people.

We deserve better treatment from our politicians. The only way they will treat us better is if we demand that they treat us better and if we hold them to their word.

So, the next time you see Villar or Roxas on TV, switch channels!

Manny Villar's grand entrance at a fiesta nearly kills people

It is a usual recourse of politician who are running for one position or another to attend fiestas as a way of introducing and ingratiating themselves with voters.

Manny Villar, who claims to a be a contender for the 2010 Presidential elections, apparently wasn't satisfied with just getting his PR people to publish articles about his P 10 Billion political war chest. He wanted to show it off as much as he can.

At the Rodeo Festival in Masbate, Villar had set up his entrance to be as grand as possible.

To the blaring sound of music, he orchestrated his arrival on a luxurious helicopter.

Apparently, the ostentatious show was too much for the crowd and the horses in the rodeo. Five horses went wild and nearly ran over several people in the crowd, causing a stampede.

Beware of candidates such as this, Machiavelli warns of politicians seeking positions who nurture a reputation for liberality (with money) and but later starve the people with heavy taxes.

Villar already said that he will increase taxes when he steps in. Right now the BIR is over taxing people with the right hand and collecting bribes with the left hand. In Caloocan, Ever Gotesco was assessed back real estate taxes amounting to P722 Million for the Grand Central property it was LEASING from the Caloocan City government. When it refused to pay, Ever was harrassed by the Caloocan City government.

What can we expect from Villar when he wins as President? Gun wielding taxmen.

Cowboy Manny spooks horses, guests in rodeo
By Ephraim Aguilar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:08:00 03/22/2009

MASBATE CITY – Talk about a dramatic entrance.

A helicopter descended from the heavens, stirring up dust, while a political jingle played at full blast. Senator Manuel Villar, who came dressed as a cowboy, alighted from the chopper and was brought to the grandstand by a mob of aides and supporters.

This happened in the middle of the opening ceremonies of the annual Rodeo Masbateño festival here on Wednesday, disrupting a speech by a top local tourism official.

Five horses, spooked by the chopper’s landing, dashed around the stadium like mad creatures and ran over a boy who was injured and rushed to the hospital.

Dr. Adolfo Almanzor, provincial health officer, said the boy arrived at the hospital semiconscious and was found to have suffered abrasions on his face as well as cerebral contusions.

Meanwhile, the star-struck masses howled as cowboy Villar paced closer and started shaking everyone’s hand.

Villar, who is running for president in 2010, later delivered a speech.

Respect culture of place

For most people, the senator’s entrance was too grand to ignore.

But for education supervisor Erusita Rosero, cultural coordinator of the Department of Education in Masbate City, Villar’s behavior was not proper.

“No one should disrupt an activity like that. Visitors should properly respect the culture of a place,” Rosero said.

“Since he (Villar) was invited by politicians, there could also be something political behind his visit,” she added.

So sorry

Rosero said all guests were welcome to Masbate. She added there was nothing wrong with inviting Villar but his visit should not be used as an opportunity to campaign.

Throughout the opening rites, Villar was repeatedly referred to by emcees and other politicians as the “next president of the Republic of the Philippines.”

Asked for comment, Villar said he had no intention of disrupting the event and apologized to those who felt offended.

“From what I know, there were some [safety] issues but the pilot was able to land without too much disruption. Nevertheless, if some people were inconvenienced, I apologize. The very warm reception of the crowd on that occasion encourages me to return to Masbate soonest,” he said.

Not intentional

Masbate Governor Elisa Kho, who was with Villar during his late entrance, said the circumstances were not within the senator’s control.

She said they already apologized to Maria Ong-Ravanilla, regional director of the Department of Tourism, for unintentionally disrupting her speech.

“I think it was not being disrespectful,” Kho said in a phone interview.

She added that the 2010 elections were not that far off and politicians tend to grab every opportunity to introduce themselves to the public.

“It cannot be avoided,” Kho said.

She also said that Villar pledged support for the annual rodeo festival and to Masbate province once he was elected president.

Why not the airport?

Local trader Carmelito Fajara, 37, said there were varied reactions from Masbate residents. Some were offended, while others couldn’t care less.

“But since the city has an airport, I think it would have been wiser if [Villar] had landed there so he could quietly enter the stadium,” Fajara said.

“It’s only now, after many years, that I have witnessed such a scene during the rodeo festival!” he added.

“Dili pa ngani siya nagiging presidente (He is not even president yet),” was another comment from a local resident.

Does it really take One (1) Billion Pesos to run for President in the Philippines?

Senator Manuel Villar, who was Senate President until he was hit with the double insertion controversy, now again calls attention to his financial girth.

In a news report culled from Reuters, a lot is said about Villar's wealth:

Billionaire lawmaker eyes RP presidency

Reuters | 03/01/2009 4:05 PM

(Paragraph 2)

Manuel Villar, 59, has headed both the Senate and the House of Representatives in a political career that has lasted 17 years. His family owns Vista Land & Lifescapes, a real estate firm with assets worth 48 billion pesos ($1 billion).

(Paragraph 5)

Villar is viewed as a formidable candidate because of his ability to fund a costly election campaign that would need at least 2-3 billion pesos ($41-61 million), a huge sum for a country where nearly 50 percent of households live on less than $2 a day.

(Paragraph 6)

"I believe that while a lot of us will be announcing our candidacies, in the end there will just be a few who will remain," Villar said. "If you can't even raise one billion pesos, why even run?"

(Paragraph 10)

The son of a low-ranking government worker and a seafood vendor, Villar set up a construction supply firm that made him a peso millionaire at age 26. He later graduated to selling low-cost houses which swelled his total assets to the billion dollar mark just before the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis.

As President, Villar says his first priority will be to raise government revenues:

(Paragraph 13)

"The first thing I want to do if I become president is to collect more revenue ... All of the solutions require money, so you start with that first," Villar said while sipping brewed coffee, one his few addictions. He drinks nine cups a day, his aide said.

What the eff is with this mention of coffee being one of his few addictions?  Is this a ploy similar to his TV commercial showing him holding a duck?

(Paragraph 14)

"If you have high revenues, then you can invest in infrastructure, you can invest in agriculture," Villar said, adding widespread corruption in the country would be reduced if wages of government workers were raised.

(Paragraph 15)

Despite being the country's wealthiest legislator, with more than 1 billion pesos in personal assets, Villar is known for his mild manner and simple tastes.

(Paragraph 26)

"With me, what you see is what you get," he said. "With some candidates, you'll have to ask, who's behind you? They say there is one golden rule, he who has the gold rules."

The last paragraph says that if he wins as President, he will be accountable only to himself since he financed all of his campaign expenses.  But perhaps, and this I think will be closer to the truth, he will be accountable only to Cynthia -- the rich wife.

As far as revenue raising is concerned, we have to give it to Villar and allow me to remind you of one such method of revenue raising:

Opposition in disarray as Lacson attacks Villar

By Fel V. Maragay

THE opposition in the Senate lay splintered yesterday over accusations by Senator Panfilo Lacson that Senate President Manuel Villar inserted P200 million in double financing for a road expansion project.

In a privilege speech aired live on radio and TV, Lacson said he was not out to wreck Villar’s plan to run for president in 2010 by exposing irregularities in the national budget.

“I simply followed the narrow trail and it led me to you, Mr. Senate President. But I have no political motive whatsoever. This has nothing to do with your plan to run in 2010 nor with your Senate presidency,” Lacson said.

Before Lacson’s address, Senator Jamby Madrigal urged Villar, an opposition member like herself, to resign as Senate president. Villar ignored her call.

In his address, Lacson also said several senators inserted P4.1 billion worth of infrastructure and other projects under the 2008 national budget, but he questioned a P3.4-billion lump sum for similar projects.

He also urged further investigation to determine who proposed the double insertion and who would benefit from the C-5 road project.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, vice chairman of the Senate finance committee, called for “a manhunt for the criminal missing” lawmaker who inserted the double entry.

But Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, chairman of the finance committee, confirmed that it was Villar who made the insertion but doubted whether he intended to benefit from the act

If Villar becomes the President, instead of having "two roads for the price of one" we will have "twice the price for just one". 

But, then again, why is Villar setting his PR machinery to churn out articles about his supposed billions of pesos?  I hope he doesn't go Eddie Gil on us and propose to pay up the National Debt when he wins.

On another note, and I may be taking the law a bit too literally here, but doesn't the Omnibus Election Code say that candidates for any position are only allowed to spend P5.00 (five pesos) per voter?

Granting that he is running for a national position and estimating the total number of voters to be around 42 million come 2010, this would mean that candidates would only be allowed to spend around P210 million.

Where is he going to spend the rest of his P 2 Billion or P3 Billion?

Another thing we may want to figure out is, whether the money he is now spending for what is obviously pre-campaign period campaigning will be deducted from the P 210 Million campaign expense cap imposed by the Omnibus Election Code?

Will Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago please speak up.

Pinoy Biz is now Pinoy Buzz

Laurence a. k. a. Words for Moolah, Angry Manileno, and Pinoy Media Insider drove home a very good point about my blog's title.

My blog, as it is now, doesn't having anything to do about business in the strict sense of the term and this may be misleading people, thwarting return visits.

Several things confirm this.

Both my bravenet and webstats motigo counters indicate that less than 25 percent of my visitors return to my blog.

The reports from Google Analytics were better at explaining this because it indicated that a fair amount of visitors bounced or clicked away when I posted the articles about blogging for money. The visitors that did stay and read a couple of pages were the ones that had to do with current news (the Pangandaman-Dela Paz Valley Golf Club Brawl).

So, considering my friend's opinion and looking at the data, I've decided to change my blog's title while keeping the URL for the meantime.

The content, as it has been for the past couple of days, will be about my own quirky views about Philippine politics and the media that covers it.