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.
This morning, millions of Filipinos will march towards the Quirino Grandstand to protest the PDAF or the Pork Barrel. Over the past week netizens spread the word regarding the much-anticipated rally to Luneta, using the hashtag #MillionPeopleMarch on social media to drum up interest. As word continues to spread about the rally, President Noynoy Aquino announced on Saturday that he has abolished the PDAF in favor of an unnamed budget system.
Despite the abolition of the PDAF, the protest will continue today. Heavy traffic will be expected in the Ermita and Malate areas, and with rains looming, expect a rainy march to Luneta. The protest is an opportunity for people to voice out anger against corruption and greed that has threatened the progress of the Philippines.
From the Tube 