I Am Buraot

As like the rest of millions of Filipinos outside the country, I was keenly awaiting news updates on the Maguindanao Massacre, on the Presidential Proclamation 1959 declaring Martial Law  in Maguindanao the ongoing debates in the joint session of congress.

They were supposed to revoke it, approve  or extend it.

I was watching the news on ANC when I saw Rep. Teddy Boy Locsin, Jr. and Rep. Dilangalen in a heated argument. I became a bit confused. It seems like Dilangalen was opposing the said proclamation but on the other side of the floor, Teddy Boy, from what I read from his mouth issued a sure “put#%$#mo!” obviously referring to Dilangalen.

I didn’t quite get it. Continue Reading…

Some conspiracy theorists had it coming.

They theorized that the Maguindanao Massacre might be a ploy to justify the issuance of a declaration of Martial Law. Besides, they say, the alleged culprits, the Ampatuans, are known to be supporters of the Arroyo administration.

Far-fetched at it may seem to be, I remember the same argument of post 9-11 conspiracy theorists that argue up to this day that the Bush administration’s and the neocons of Washington had something to do with the 9-11 attack.

And given the Arroyo family’s unsatiable thirst for power and plunder, it may not be so hard to think so. Continue Reading…

The Barrio Siete Collective Blog was conceived with a common goal of responsible freedom of expression, radical tracing of one’s provincial roots and the upholding of democracy via the written form of communication despite of various differences and diversity among its members.

One proof of this is the fact that Barrio Siete writers consist of members with different faiths (including Islam), with different financial and legal status, with different political views, with different ideologies, with different citizenship and with different principles in life. Continue Reading…

Ten days after Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed an order creating a special commission for the country’s reconstruction after the country was ravaged by typhoons, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which was tasked to lead the effort is now being questioned due to “rotting” goods in one of its warehouses.

An article from a long-time blogger and alleged DSWD volunteer named Ella had been circulating over the internet Friday morning and blogs accusing the department of hoarding donated goods and supplies instead of sending them out to the people. Continue Reading…

Let us all help in whatever way we can…

I was a kid when I saw on TV this woman dressed in yellow, wondering why lots of people are hovering all round her. Endless confetti kept pouring like rain from the cloudless skies.

Millions of people swarming all over the streets, flashing their smiles and their hands with the “L” signs. Their loud chants echoing from the main roads through the small street where I once lived, “Cory, Cory, Cory…”

I maybe young back then but I was not oblivious. She was my very own symbol of hope… of change… and of better things to come. Continue Reading…