Author: Julian Alejandro

There are circulating text rumors that President Arroyo will declare martial law. I received this forwarded text message twice this morning:

GMA will declare martial law on or before June 21. Larry Mendoza and Berroya to command SOT’s. 500 bushmaster automatic weapons for berroya’s hit squads have arrived. If the plan is exposed baka matakot si GMA. Ikalat na. The plan includes closing mass media and all cell phone. There is some resistance in the AFP. For sure, key personalities will be arrested.

We now have the country’s most in-demand cell phone ring tone: the Hello Garci ring tone, which is said to be excerpts from the Gloriagate tape. Download your preferred format on the links below:

Here are Mp3 and wav files of the Hello Garci ring tone:

Server Mirror 1:
“Hello Garci” ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
“Hello Garci” ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 2:
“Hello Garci” ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
“Hello Garci” ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 3:
“Hello Garci” ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
“Hello Garci” ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

The files are now linked at the TXTPower website and are hosted courtesy of Yuga.

Filipina actress and environmentalist Chin Chin Gutierrez is featured as a mermaid in a recently released pro-vegetarian advertisement of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Dubbed as “Try to Relate to Who Is on Your Plate,” the ad encourages us to stop eating fishes and try the vegetarian life.

I just noticed that the controversy on the supposedly wiretapped conversations between President Arroyo and Comelec Commissioner Garcillano is now called Gloriagate scandal. I have yet to find out who coined the term; most probably those from the pro-Erap media.

Even Michelle Malkin used the term in her blog. (Malkin is a conservative columnist who declared she was “deeply, mortifyingly ashamed of her parent’s native land” when our government pulled out its troops in Iraq to save Angelo de la Cruz).

Blogger L E T T E, in an entry referring to Juetengate 2 and the wiretapped conversations scandal, cites my post “Funny Time Cover” and says “it’s a wonder how we as a nation are taking it all in with a smile (still).”

I say we Filipinos are a happy people. In tough times like this, many of us–the jolly ones–could only laugh. The more serious ones pray. But note that the jokes, even the prayers, could sometimes be a form of dissent.

L E T T E further says:

I for one am getting tired of the same old schtick. We did this in Erap’s time, we did this every other damn president we elected. Every time we get an offical elected, there will always be scandal and opposition, which leads me to wonder why the HELL do we still elect these bad politicians anyway.

Saw this at Paul’s blog:

Kala n’yo totoo, no?

You must have heard about those controversial tapes already.

Transcripts are available at the PCIJ blog while INQ7 has just posted downloadable copies in MP3 format.

(June 14, 2005 update: INQ7 removed the page earlier but it was again posted after a legal review. Meanwhile, Inside PCIJ has posted new download links to the three-hour tape of the controversial wiretapped conversations.)

And since this whole thing is about the administration’s alleged cheating during last year’s election, you might want to look for a copy of Center for People Empowerment in Governance’s Subverting the People’s Will: The May 10, 2004 Elections.