fidel f. oliva

Kris avid video collector and so with the rests of the highwaymen

[Heidi Mendoza @HeidiMendoza45]

May mga panahon na ang pinakamahirap gawin ay hindi ang manalo, kundi ang tumindig kahit ginagawa kang target ng kapangyarihan.

Bilang isang taong matagal nang lumalaban para sa pananagutan sa pamahalaan, alam ko na ang tapang ay hindi nasusukat kapag tahimik ang paligid. Nasusukat ito kapag malakas ang atake, mabigat ang pressure, at mas madali sanang manahimik na lang.

Senator Risa Hontiveros has shown that courage time and again. Hindi siya tumitindig para sa ingay. Tumitindig siya para sa katotohanan. Sa mga imbestigasyon tungkol sa POGOs, Alice Guo, human trafficking, abuse, corruption, and failures of public institutions, she has shown what it means to follow the trail even when the trail leads to powerful people. She has pushed for accountability where others would rather look away, and has consistently used her platform to protect those harmed by abuse, exploitation, and institutional neglect.

She asks the questions that many are afraid to ask. She gives voice to people who are often ignored. And even when the attacks become personal, she does not retreat from the work.

That kind of leadership is exactly what our democracy needs: principled, steady, prepared, and unafraid.

Hindi ko ito kayang tapatan ng pananahimik.

Naranasan ko na kung paano tumindig nang walang kasiguraduhan kung may yayakap ba, may sasabay ba, o may mananatili hanggang dulo. Naranasan ko na ring maiwang nakatayo mag-isa, sumasalo ng puna, batikos, at paninira, habang ang iba ay umatras na dahil mahirap ang laban.

Kaya alam ko: hindi madali ang lumaban para sa transparency, justice, and good governance. Pero posible ito kapag may mga lingkod-bayan na inuuna ang prinsipyo kaysa pulitika, at ang kapakanan ng taumbayan kaysa sariling ginhawa.

Naranasan ko nang masabihan: “Hindi ka naman mananalo. Masasayang lang ang boto.”

Pero kung ang laging pipiliin ay ang mukhang mananalo, kailan natin ipapanalo ang tunay na nararapat?

Gawin nating hamon ang panghihina nila.

Kayanin natin ang mahirap,
Ipanalo natin ang karapat-dapat.

Hindi ito para kay Risa!

Ito ay para sa ating lahat!

[fidel f. oliva @del2reb]

One is quorum, the other one is quowrong 😂🤣🙃

[🅶🅸🆂🅸🅽🅶 🅹🆄🅰🅽 @ProfHeist]

Spot the difference 😂

[Leila de Lima @manayleila]

I refuse to support a law that effectively institutionalizes political dynasties!

I vote NO to House Bill No. 8389 or the “Anti-Political Dynasty Act.”

HB 8389 is not a true or genuine anti-dynasty law, but rather a dynasty legitimization act.

First: The bill has no succession ban. A governor can be succeeded by a spouse, who can be succeeded by a child, who can be succeeded by a sibling – indefinitely, legally, under this bill. 

Second: The bill permits a governor, a mayor, and a Representative from the same family governing the same province simultaneously, as it only prohibits relatives from holding office within the same level of government, not within the same territory. 

Third: The bill permits multiple congressional districts controlled by one family within the same province. Three adjacent districts, three relatives, all voting for the same party line: legal. Exactly as it operates today. Nothing changes.

Fourth: The bill neither covers party-list representatives as protected positions nor references incumbents. Therefore, a senator's son or daughter can be nominated and serve as a party-list representative – perfectly legal under this bill

Fifth: The bill limits the prohibition to relatives within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, covering spouses, parents, children, and siblings. However, this second-degree prohibition excludes broader kinship networks, such as grandparents, first cousins, uncles, aunts, nieces, and nephews, through which dynastic power is often exercised. Limiting the prohibition to only the second degree narrows the reach of the law and allows extended family networks, which remain close-knit in Philippine culture, to continue operating within the same political sphere.

Sixth: The bill does not address, hence, permits substitution, caretaker designation, and every indirect route to office. The prohibition under this bill covers only direct candidacy, not the back doors.

The Filipino people have been waiting for this law since 1987. Tatlumpu't siyam na taon. 

We can do better than this. We can pass a law worthy of the wait. A law the framers of the 1987 Constitution would recognize as the fulfillment of their mandate, not a betrayal of it.

I vote NO to HB 8389, not because I oppose anti-dynasty legislation. I vote NO precisely because I support it. I refuse to support a law that effectively institutionalizes political dynasties.

The Filipino people deserve better. The Constitution demands better. We can do better.

[Mang Inasar  @Mang_INASAR]

KAHIT NAGKAKAGULO SA SENADO DAHIL KAY ALLAN CAYETANO, HUWAG NATING KALIMUTAN NA

SOBRANG LAKAS NG MGA EBIDENSYA LABAN KAY INDAY SARA DUTERTE!👊

[Vin @vince2681]

WANTED: BATO DELA ROSA

[Leila de Lima @manayleila]

Excuse me, Sen. Robin. Huwag nyo nga akong gamitin sa baluktot nyong naratibo. Acquitted na ako sa hinarap kong mga gawa-gawang kaso. Napakalayo ng sitwasyon ko sa pinasakay mong fugitive from justice na si Sen. Bato.

Saka neutralizing drug lords talaga? Sabihin nya yan sa pamilya ng libo-libong biktima ng EJK. Ipaliwanag nya yan sa ICC.

[Kiko Pangilinan @kikopangilinan]

BINABALEWALA ANG ATING RULES. KAMI SA SB-11 AY TUTOL DITO DAHIL IMPUNITY ITO!

Ang nangyari ngayon ay malinaw na pag-abandona sa tungkulin, pagpapabaya sa responsibilidad, at tahasang pagsasawalang-bahala sa mga alituntunin ng institusyong ito. Hindi maaaring patigilin ang Senado sa pagtatrabaho dahil lang tumatangging mamuno ang presiding officer nito.

[Raissa Robles @raissawriter]

Do not worry, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, you will still be remembered long after your stint. As the Senate President with the shortest term ever. That's an accomplishment!

[Heidi Mendoza @HeidiMendoza45]

Nitong mga huling pag-ikot ko sa iba’t ibang paaralan, maraming lumalapit sa akin mula noong nakaraang halalan, nagsasabing binoto nila ako kahit akala raw nila ayaw ko sa mga bakla.

Hindi po iyon totoo.

Ang totoo, galing ako sa konserbatibong pinagmulan at sa henerasyong hindi laging naturuan na pakinggan nang buo ang karanasan ng LGBTQIA+ community.

Inaamin ko, tulad ng maraming Pilipino, may mga bagay akong mas matagal dapat pinakinggan, mas malalim dapat inunawa, at mas maaga dapat ipinaglaban.

Mas nauunawaan ko ito dahil minsan ko na ring naranasan ang pakiramdam na tila mag-isa ako sa laban. Noong panahong tumetestigo ako sa Sandiganbayan kahit resigned na ako sa COA, alam ko ang bigat ng paninindigang hindi palaging komportable, pero kailangang gawin.

Sa mahabang panahon ko sa COA at sa United Nations, napalibutan ako ng mahuhusay, matatalino, masisipag, at mapagkakatiwalaang LGBTQIA+ colleagues and friends. Marami sa kanila ang naging katuwang ko sa trabaho, sa paglilingkod, at sa mahihirap na panahong kailangan ko ng tapang at malasakit. Marami rin sa kanila ang nakasama ko sa kampanya.

At dahil ligtas ako sa piling nila, may mga panahong inakala kong ligtas na rin sila sa mundo.

Doon lumalim ang aking pag-unawa.

Hindi sapat na mahalin natin ang LGBTQIA+ sa opisina, sa pamilya, sa simbahan, sa kampanya, o sa barkada kung sa labas ng mga espasyong iyon ay may mga Pilipino pa ring maaaring mawalan ng trabaho, mapahiya sa paaralan, maitaboy sa ospital, tanggihan ng serbisyo, o husgahan dahil lamang sa kanilang pagkakakilanlan.

Lilinawin ko lamang: hindi ako tumalikod sa aking mga prinsipyo. Mas naging malinaw lamang sa akin na ang prinsipyo, kapag tunay, dapat marunong makinig, matuto, at magprotekta sa taong mas madaling masaktan ng lipunan.

Alam kong may mga relihiyosong Pilipino na nag-aalala. Naiintindihan ko po iyon. Mahalaga ang pananampalataya sa ating mga pamilya, komunidad, at konsensya.

Ngunit hindi kailangang magbanggaan ang pananampalataya at proteksyon laban sa diskriminasyon. Sa pananampalatayang buhay, may puwang ang katotohanan, katarungan, awa, at pagpapakumbaba.

Nalulungkot nga ako kapag naririnig kong may mga LGBTQIA+ na hindi na nagsisimba dahil hindi nila maramdamang may puwang sila sa Simbahan.
Mas gaganda siguro ang usapan kung magsisimula tayo sa pakikinig, hindi sa takot; sa paggalang, hindi sa paghuhusga; at sa malinaw na layuning walang Pilipinong dapat apihin dahil sa kanyang pagkatao. Sa ganitong konteksto, gusto kong taos-pusong bumati ng Happy Pride!

Maraming salamat sa paghintay sa mga katulad kong mas mabagal na nakarating sa mas malinaw na pag-unawa. Pero dapat hindi naghihintay ang karapatan habang kami ay natututo.

Kailangang seryosohin ang proteksyon laban sa diskriminasyon. At kailangang matuto rin ang mga tulad ko na ang mabuting intensyon ay hindi sapat kung hindi ito nauuwi sa mas makatarungan at mas makataong paninindigan.

#HappyPride
#PrideMonth2026
#PridePH

[Richard Heydarian @RichHeydarian]

“GEN TORRE TO RESCUE!?”: Why the admin struggles to arrest DU13 alleged criminals? #DeepDive

[Bicolano Penguin @BicolanoP]

If true, there is at least there is at least one sensible person in the bloodline.

[Jesus Falcis 🇵🇭 @jesusfalcis]

🚨 BREAKING NEWS TALAGA:

Sandiganbayan 5th Division issues warrant of arrest against Senator Jinggoy Estrada.

This is for the non-bailable case of PLUNDER.

Mababawasan at malalagasan ang Du-13 Majority. BASAG.

Bato and Jinggoy, OUT! 😂

#Accountability

[DJ Chacha @_djchacha]

FAKE ANTI POLITICAL DYNASTY BILL?

[Edwin Lacierda @dawende]

SEN. MARCOLETA AND THE PROBLEM WITH RULES, NUMBERS, AND STRATEGY

Fresh from being corrected by Senator Tito Sotto on the Senate rules, Senator Marcoleta offered another remarkable lesson and this time, not on parliamentary procedure but on the difference between knowing a rule and understanding how it actually works.

He claimed that senators who walked out could have been arrested and compelled to return because the Senate rules allow it.

He presents the majority's decision not to trigger the arrest as an act of restraint, even magnanimity.

That is an interesting claim.

But before taking credit for not arresting the senators, there is a more basic question:

Who exactly was going to order the arrest?

The Senate can only conduct business if it has a quorum. Without a quorum, the body cannot validly proceed with its business.

And here lies the problem.

If senators walked out in sufficient numbers to deprive the chamber of a quorum, then the majority no longer had the numbers to proceed. No quorum means no meaningful business. No quorum means no votes. No votes means no practical mechanism to exercise the powers he invoked.

Which brings us to the second and more revealing problem: strategy.

The issue before the Senate was electronic voting.

The objective was to persuade enough senators to support it.

So how exactly does threatening to arrest the very senators whose votes you need advance that objective?

Politics is ultimately a numbers game. If you need votes, your task is to build a majority. You persuade, negotiate and build consensus.

You do not threaten to jail the people whose support you seek to obtain. That is not strategy. The arrest would have been a Pyrrhic victory.

Even assuming the power existed, exercising it would only harden the opposition and deepen the division. Pray tell, how then does that make achieving the vote more attainable?

What Senator Marcoleta’s statement reveals is not strength. It reveals two fundamental misunderstandings.

First, a misunderstanding of parliamentary reality. Rules do not operate independently of quorum and votes.

Second, a misunderstanding of political strategy. The purpose was to pass electronic voting, not to demonstrate that the majority can arrest senators.

Arresting the senators would not have brought the majority closer to passing electronic voting. It would have moved them farther away.

And that is why this episode reflects not merely a misunderstanding of the rules but a misunderstanding of strategy itself.

Ironically, in presenting oneself to be strong, Senator Marcoleta unwittingly revealed the impotence of the majority’s position. For all the power he claimed they possessed, he could not explain how threatening to arrest senators would secure the votes needed to pass electronic voting.

In the end, power was never the problem. The problem was persuasion.

(Photo courtesy of Ang Balita Ngayon)

[KP @kheipea]

Former Senator Trillanes talks about everything: Duterte, Cayetano, Padilla, Bato, the ICC, the recent senate coup and shooting, DDS fake news, and SWOH’s impeachment hearing.

Whether you like him or not, you can’t deny that he is a crusader of justice. Put respect on his name.

[Morgan J. Freeman @mjfree]

Please, no matter what you do, do not post this photo as Donald Trump will lose his mind.