Mong Palatino

Blogging about the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific since 2004

About

@mongster is a Manila-based activist, former Philippine legislator, and blogger/analyst of Asia-Pacific affairs.

Archive for March, 2010

Parachute politician in Palawan

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

If there are parachute journalists, there are also parachute politicians. During elections, national politicians become parachute candidates. I am a parachute candidate. I visit provinces and far-flung towns to campaign for Kabataan Partylist but I only stay for less than 24 hours. This prevents me from deepening my knowledge about the issues confronting our kababayans […]

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Bicolandia

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

I arrived in Legazpi City on February 28, Sunday. After an eat-all-you-can breakfast at Quick n Hearty resto, we checked-in at Sampaguita Tourist Inn (free wifi at the lobby). Then we proceeded to the headquarters of Makabayan Coalition to prepare for our Sunday caravan. From Legazpi, we motored to Guinobatan where we conducted a handshaking […]

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Wika ng halalan

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Para kay Rowie, manunulat at guro ng Filipino sa De La Salle. Salamat sa mungkahing magsulat ako hinggil sa paksang ito…. Sa Pilipinas may tatlong panahon: wet season, dry season, at election season. Pero para sa ibang pulitiko, dalawang panahon lang yan: eleksiyon at paghahanda sa eleksiyon. Hindi nakapagtataka, kung gayon, na umusbong sa bansa […]

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Flock voting

Monday, March 15th, 2010

March 11: The Red Shirts are coming! March 13: Calm before the storm? March 15: “Reds” vow a bigger rally today An Insider’s Diary on the 2010 Philippine elections. My Yahoo Meme account. Religious groups are powerful political blocs in the Philippines as they can deliver solid votes to their anointed candidates. Because of this […]

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Bomb politics in Davao

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

I was in Davao City last February 26. The hot news item was the two bombs found inside the City Hall and near the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The mayor was very angry as he resumed leadership in the Davao City Police office. This kind of news is not good for Davao tourism. In 2009 […]

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Arthro politics in Cebu

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

I was in Cebu last week (February 23-24). To learn more about the local politics, I bought two Cebu-based newspapers: Sunstar and Cebu Daily News (affiliated with the Inquirer). What did I discover? 1. Mayor Tommy Osmena vows to go after manufacturers of herbal medicines and “dubious” drugs which give “false hopes” to sick people. […]

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