Tomorrow will be the second installment of the Million People March, an event in which rallyists voice their anger and discontent against Pork Barrel. The first Million People March was held at the Quirino Grandstand, and attracted nearly a million protesters. Tomorrow’s event will be held at Ayala Avenue, Makati, and will start at 3:00 p.m, with the hope that they can attract the upper class and white collar workers into the march.
Heavy traffic is expected within the streets of Paseo de Roxas, Arnaiz, Chino Roces, Gil Puyat, Makati Avenue and EDSA. Fair weather is likely to occur tomorrow, but bringing various rain gear is still a must in case of rain. The protest will again provide an opportunity for protesters to shout against greed and corruption in the country.
Pork Barrel and Janet Napoles remain the hot topic of conversation this past week. And even the GMA gag show ‘Bubble Gang‘ took aim at the issue.
During last Friday’s segment of ‘Ang Bagong Dating Doon’, there were two questions that jokingly reference the word ‘whistleblower’ and ‘Pork Barrel’. But before they tackled the issue, a viewer submitted the question regarding the originality of the GMA teleserye ‘My Husband’s Lover’. Brod Pete (Isko Salvador) then answered that it was not an original series, but rather it was inspired from the 1960s pop groupPeter, Paul and Mary, which he claimed that Mary was the offspring of married gay couple Peter and Paul. In reality, Peter, Paul and Mary were a folk group comprising of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers, and contrary to Brod Pete’s claim, Mary was about the same age as Peter and Paul, and gay marriage was illegal at the time.
The first reference of the Pork Barrel scam came when Mikael Daez asked a question: ‘May nasusulat po ba tungkol sa ‘whistleblower’?’ (Is there a written reference regarding the word ‘whistleblower’?) Brod Pete then gave reference to the Simon & Garfunkel song ‘The Boxer’, which Brother Willy (Caesar Cosme) then mentioned the chorus ‘lie la lie’, which he then changed to ‘luy la luy’ in reference to another Pork Barrel whistleblower Benhur Luy.
Brod Pete then answered a viewer’s question regarding words that he claims were not used correctly. This time he tackled the contents of a bio-data, during which he disagreed with the listing ‘sex’ and instead corrected it with the word ‘gender’ in the description, and then disagreeing with the description ‘salary desired’ in the bio-data. He then claimed that ‘doorbell’ is not the correct terminology, thinking that it is placed near the gates of the house, then ‘doorbell’ is not the right word, but rather ‘gatebell’. He also mentioned text lingo in the segment, thinking that it is inappropriate.
The next question was asked by Antonio Aquitania: ‘May nasusulat po ba tungkol sa ‘Pork Barrel’?’ (Is there a written reference regarding the word ‘Pork Barrel’?) Both Brod Pete and Brother Willy then referenced the song ‘Beer Barrel Polka‘, which they changed the chorus to ‘Roll Out the Barrel of Funds’ and linking it to the Million People March that occurred at the Quirino Grandstand two weeks ago.
Another ‘Bubble Gang’ segment with political references was ‘Sec. de Anim’, a joking reference to Department of Justice secretary Leila de Lima. The highlight of the segment was when the reporters (Paolo Contis, Chariz Solomon) asked questions about possible bills named after GMA teleseryes such as ‘My Husband’s Lover’, ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ and ‘Mga Basang Sisiw’. However, the highlight of a politically-charged episode of ‘Bubble Gang’ was the ‘Ang Bagong Dating Doon’ segment which referenced Pork Barrel and its related terms.
The entire ‘Ang Bagong Dating Doon’ segment can be viewed below.
The week in news is all about the Pork Barrel, and its whistleblower Janet Napoles. Monday witnessed the Million People March at the Quirino Grandstand, then Wednesday night saw the voluntary surrender of Napoles at Malacanang. The narrative did not end there, however.
On Friday night the court finally approved the transfer of Janet Napoles from the Makati City Jail to the Fort Sto. Domingo facility in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. It was the same complex that housed former president and Manila mayor Joseph Estrada during his plunder case a decade ago. The court approved the move citing security concerns within the Makati City Jail.
Throughout the week all major television networks extensively the issue of Pork Barrel and the surrender of Janet Napoles. Some segments took exception to the issue by presenting it in a light-hearted manner. On the TV5 program T3: Reload, the Tulfo brothers Ben, Erwin and Raffydecided to make fun of the issue with the use of social media, presenting memes and pick-up lines relating to Janet Napoles and the Pork Barrel scam. Then on the ‘Word of the Lourd’ segment by Lourd de Veyra, he presented a photo of Napoles and asked several people to identify the subject, with one mistakenly identifying the subject as the Korean rapper Psy.
Despite the serious nature of the issue, people still found a way to lighten up the mood of the nation by presenting them in a humorous manner. That ability to construct humor amidst the negativity of the situation enabled the Philippines to rank among the top 10 in the happiest countries poll last year. And that humor overcomes all the poverty and hardship that the country experiences these days.
Meanwhile, more news about Janet Napoles’s transfer will be reported over the next few days, so stay tuned.
Twelve years ago, reggae/rock band Radioactive Sago Project released a single called ‘Gusto Ko Ng Baboy’ (I Want Pigs). The song was described as a protest against greed and corruption, hence the emphasis on the word ‘baboy’ throughout the song as a way to depict power-hungry and avaricious officials.
These days, frontman Lourd de Veyra is a host and news anchor at TV5. Perhaps he should have reunited Radioactive Sago Project and perform during the Million People March as a way to drum up national interest. Still, even with the band not performing, ‘Gusto Ko Ng Baboy’ should be appropriate for the ongoing national situation, one embroiled with the arrest of Janet Napoles and the recent abolition of the Pork Barrel.
From the Tube 