Piercing Pens

Film as Art

For movie afficionados like me, the annual Cinemanila film festival is a haven. This year, the annual festival will run from July 1-12 at the Greenbelt Cinemas in Makati.

One of the featured films this year is Ramona Diaz’s controversial documentary “Imelda,” which as the synopsis describes “dramatically highlights how Marcos transformed herself from a Third World beauty queen into an international political force.” I’ve seen a part of that documentary where the former first lady was being asked about her love for beauty. Hair on my arms stood when she said that if someone was to kill her, she’d opt for a bolo tied with a ribbon on it.

Another Filipino masterpiece worth seeing is Mario O’ Hara’s “Babae sa Breakwater,” a film about a small community of indigents living beside the breakwater of Manila Bay. This film failed to make noise when first shown publicly but has surprisingly earned critical success from Cannes.

Government Politics and Elections

Proclaimed

Before dawn today, while most of us were still in dreamland, the Philippine Congress formally proclaimed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the president-elect and Noli de Castro as the vice-president-elect.

After being proclaimed, Arroyo called for unity: “This is the time for forgiveness and letting-go-of-the-past,” she said.

But how could she call on the people to forgive and forget when doubts on the credibility of the recent elections that made her remain in power persist?

Media

Shooting the messenger

Another media practitioner was killed Thursday last week. The victim was Radyo Natin broadcaster Eliseo “Ely” Binoya of General Santos City.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJP), strongly condemned the killing. “Perhaps because the perpetrators have been able to get away with it, the attacks against journalists continue,” it said in a statement.

NUJP also listed a series of attacks on journalists this year:

February 11 – Ruel Endrinal of DZRC in Legazpi City was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen.
February 13 – Modesto Gutierrez, a radio commentator of DWSI in Santiago City, Isabela, survived a grenade attack.
June 8 – Cirse “Choy” Torralba of Angel Radio in Cebu City was injured in an ambush.

People

What the GIL?

Eddie Gil, the annoying would-be presidentiable is not just boasting of his trillions of money today. Aside from an album, a cameo role in the movie Volta and tv guestings, he’s now making movies—and perhaps more money than he claims to have. He may as well pay our debts, which by the way stands at P3.35-trillion, according to the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) .

***

One tv report caught my attention today amidst the brouhaha on the yes proc or no proc scenario. A Singaporean national was robbed of his cellphone and wallet in Malate. What’s the big deal you ask? Well instead of kicking the thief’s ass and filing a complaint, the Singaporean refused to file charges and even gave his cellphone to his assailant as a gift. Now that’s getting what you don’t deserve.

People

Brats

Don’t you just hate it when you hear about spoiled, rich kids trying to kill each other?

How about when one of those involved is a son of a senator of the Republic?

Human Rights

Freedom and Paranoia

Here are some scenes, as shown in television reports yesterday, inside Queen Gloria’s “Strong Republic”:

Policemen arrested supporters of Fernando Poe, Jr. in Payatas who were distributing anti-administration flyers. They were later freed because the cops did not know what charges could be filed against them.

In Mendiola, a pro-FPJ protesters’ rally was violently dispersed by the police even if the organizers secured a permit. The road to the Palace was also blocked barbed wires.

Are our rights to freedom of expression and assembly already obsolete in Gloria’s version of Bagong Pilipinas?

General

Welcome to Piercing Pens!

“The pen is mightier than the sword.”
— Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Welcome to Piercing Pens.

We are a pair of twenty-something writer-journalists struggling in the troubled waters of the Philippine media.

Join us as we dissect the news and issues that we encounter daily.