Roy Tang

Programmer, engineer, scientist, critic, gamer, dreamer, and kid-at-heart.

Blog Notes Photos Links Archives About

All entries tagged philippines.

You can subscribe to an RSS feed of this list.

Mar 2016

  • Reply to a comment by NPAofMNL on 'Hello, r/Philippines! I'm an NPA rebel. AMA.' on /r/Philippines:

    After the socialist revolution, which comes after enacting genuine national democracy.

    What exactly does that mean? No propaganda BS. Like if someone came up to your leadership and said, sige ano yung top 10 action items na kelangan gawin para matapos na ito?

    The business investments themselves are taking advantage of the workforce surplus in an impoverished setting through cheap labor. Papasok diyan yung “at least [insert statement here]. We should not settle for less. As Filipino citizens, we should be entitled to the same rights and opportunities, regardless of socio-economic status.

    Again, what exactly does that mean? What exactly should a business be doing to not be victimized by the NPA? If ako business owner ako, and I want to bring jobs to the people, why should I bother going to regions where there is a strong NPA presence?

    That I don’t know. Sa unit ko, walang ganyan. Cliche na pero, each unit in different areas operate independently from one another, so kung majajustify nila yun, sila na yun.

    Please find someone who can answer, that would be great

    Posted by under notes at #Philippines
    Also on: reddit / 0
  • Reply to 'Hello, r/Philippines! I'm an NPA rebel. AMA.' on /r/Philippines:

    What exactly is the endgame of your movement? What are the conditions where you get to say “That’s it, we did it guys, quitting time”?

    Don’t you think NPA activities in the poorest provinces act as a hindrance to business investment and development in those regions?

    How does bombing cell sites and power plants (thus depriving the area of infrastructure) help improve the lives of the people?

    Posted by under notes at #Philippines
    Also on: reddit / 0
  • Reply to a comment by presidium on 'Finding die-hard supporters of politicians cringey' on /r/Philippines:

    I didn’t mean to imply that they are good candidates (I agree my wording was poor here, IDK about Sanders, but Trump certainly isn’t a “good” candidate), but rather that they are taking advantage of a subset of voters that is known to be previously not participating in the elections by offering something significantly different from the establishment candidates.

    Posted by under notes at #Philippines
    Also on: reddit / 0
  • Reply to a comment by TagaKain on 'Finding die-hard supporters of politicians cringey' on /r/Philippines:

    You’re ignoring the fact that this election is not just about the president.

    Er, didn’t I say that even if abstaining for president you should consider voting for VP and senators?

    While I personally don’t have a problem with people not voting for a president, the least evil argument is pretty valid here. Heck, look at the anti-Binay sentiments you see all over.

    If you want to vote for someone just so Binay doesn’t win, that’s fine. But the last time people voted for a candidate just so the supposed terrible candidate would not win, we got GMA as president, so there’s that to consider. It’s something I’m considering as well

    Posted by under notes at #Philippines
    Also on: reddit / 0
  • Reply to a comment by presidium on 'Finding die-hard supporters of politicians cringey' on /r/Philippines:

    I think the mandate by which the president wins matters, which means abstention matters, since it informs the strength of the president’s mandate.

    One of the reasons PNoy was able to push through many of his initiatives early on during the presidency was that he was elected with a relatively strong 42% mandate. A president elected with a relatively weaker mandate (say, 25-30%) will have a much tougher time with controversial issues and will be facing a much more independent senate (many of whom will be elected by more voters than the president)

    The strength of the mandate even affects those who don’t win - Erap placed second in 2010 showing himself to still be a strong political force which leads to his still being influential today

    The comparison to the US low voter turnout is interesting, since the voter turnout for their primaries this year is significantly higher compared to 2012 mainly because both parties have significant anti-establishment candidates (Sanders for the Dems, Trump for the Reps) which would lead one to believe that their historically low voter turnout is precisely due to a lack of good candidates, an opportunity which Sanders and Trump can potentially take advantage of. That is the same message that a significantly large abstention (although unlikely) could send - not saying it will, but it’s a possibility.

    I’m not saying abstention is some magic thing that will send a message (although it’s a possibility if enough people do so), but that people shouldn’t be ashamed to abstain if they don’t find the options palatable. Even if your reason is something as simple as “I can’t decide”, that’s fine, your abstention still has meaning since it indicates that you consider none of the candidates outstanding enough to support

    Posted by under notes at #Philippines
    Also on: reddit / 0
  • Reply to a comment by presidium on 'Finding die-hard supporters of politicians cringey' on /r/Philippines:

    If you feel that there is a candidate worthy of your support, go ahead and vote for him/her. I encourage you to do so. I’m not saying people should abstain, I’m saying people can. It’s a valid choice and every voter has the right to withhold his vote if he so chooses. There’s no need to downvote if you disagree

    I understand that we would prefer high voter turnout so that the will of the people is more accurately reflected, but that doesn’t mean we should lower our standards and just vote anyone into power. If there were 5 Binays running for president, choosing one at random is the same as not voting.

    Even choosing a “least evil” candidate is still a choice and can be spun into support. If you decide to vote for say, Mar Roxas because you consider him the least evil choice, if Mar Roxas wins with like 30% of the vote (unlikely at this point, but whatever), he’s going to be able to point to that and say, “this is my voter base, these people support me. If you are against me, you disenfranchise them”. You will be tacitly endorsing his incompetence and saying you’re fine with that, it’s acceptable for you. (Not dissing on Roxas in particular, I can make an example of any of the other candidates). If that’s not something you want to be part of, you shouldn’t be forced to.

    Posted by under notes at #Philippines
    Also on: reddit / 0
  • Reply to 'Finding die-hard supporters of politicians cringey' on /r/Philippines:

    I have a number of otherwise intelligent friends who often post things in favor of certain candidates that are obviously biased. And if you call them out on their bias they will just be all defensive and ask if you have a better idea, etc.

    Like literally, one of my friends posted something along the lines of:

    “Candidate A - lists negative points; Candidate B - lists negative points; Candidate C - lists positive points. Easy decision right?”

    Not even pretending to be fair or anything.

    It’s normal to be turned off by such things, especially for people who are truly undecided and trying to weigh pros and cons of the candidates. I try to stay informed and read everything even the biased ones post, but I tend to give more weight to those who I know to be undecided and are trying to be objective.

    I have to agree that none of the presidential candidates look good enough (at the moment, at least), and I wouldn’t object to abstaining the presidential slot. Abstaining is a vote too, in and of itself.

    Edit: If you also find that none of the candidates meet your standards and are considering abstaining, you might want to read this: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/abstain4president2016/

    But at the very least consider voting for the other positions. There is (in my opinion) at least one worthy candidate in the VP slot, and your vote could help some of the more worthy senators get past the cringe-worthy ones in the bottom half (sadly, I think we’re going to have to live with another term of Senator Sotto)

    Posted by under notes at #Philippines
    Also on: reddit / 0

Jan 2016

Dec 2015

Nov 2015

  • Posted on r/Philippines: Anyone here have a flight out of NAIA during the APEC days that is not cancelled? Or anyone here from Cebu Pacific?

    I have an international Cebu Pacific flight out of NAIA early morning on Nov 20 (4:50am). I’m from QC and plan to leave for the airport around 12mn-1am. I’ve just done the web check-in. My flight is not on Cebu Pacific’s list of cancelled flights found here: https://www.cebupacificair.com/Pages/travel-advisory.aspx?id=110

    Does anybody know:

    • if there’s any chance that my flight could still be affected despite not being on the list above? There’s supposedly a no-fly zone, but I couldn’t find any information on whether that’s applicable 24 hours or what.
    • if I’ll even be able to make it to the airport? There’s some road closures on Airport Road I think? I’m not sure how my taxi would be able to get into NAIA T3.

    I’ve tried calling the Cebu Pacific hotline to ask, but it seems their call center is always busy and I just end up spending a lot of time on hold. If anyone else here is successfully able to fly out of NAIA during the APEC days, that would help assuage my worry :p

    Posted by under notes at #philippines
    Also on: reddit / 0

Oct 2015

Aug 2015

  • Posted on r/Philippines: r/Philippines, what do you think of this (anti-Binay)

    Something I originally shared over Twitter/FB:

    Any friends here who are graphic designers and are anti-Binay? Just an idea: instead of just of sharing stuff on social media, how about someone designs an easy to print flyer with quick bullet points that are easy to understand why he should not be supported? Then any of us anti-Binay middle class folks can print a few copies and give them to drivers or vendors or whatever other common people we encounter, or leave them behind in buses or carinderias. The flyers can have English and Tagalog versions, and we can leave copies somewhere on the internet (the flyer itself can have the link) and also encourage other people to design and distribute their own flyers

    Some bullet points I would include are:

    • supports political dynasties
    • wants to get rid of term limits
    • thinks he shouldnt be held liable for contracts he signs off on
    • encourages his supporters to defy the law (re: suspension of junjun)
    • wants us to give up our claim vs China etc

    maybe other people can suggest things that would have more impact on the masses. I would avoid anything outright libelous though (all of my examples above are from known articles)

    Sharing stuff on social media is easy, and it’s great, but we really only reach the people who are already smart enough to be against Binay. The aim of this idea is to get a grassroots-type thing going that can reach even common people. What do you think? Is it doable? Is it a terrible idea?

    Share if you think it’s a good idea

    Posted by under notes at #philippines
    Also on: reddit / 0

Feb 2015

Aug 2014

Jul 2014

  • Reply to 'This "mag-aral kang mabuti para pag-graduate mo ikaw na magpapa-aral sa mga kapatid mo" is personally... too heavy to handle!' on /r/Philippines:

    When I was growing up, I was acutely aware of how much my parents worked hard and sacrificed to not only get me and my brothers through school but also buy us nice toys and other things on occasion. They would spend overtime at work, commute every day for hours at a time, sometimes even pull some extra work on the side when the family needed extra money. I promised myself that when I graduated I would try to ease their burden as much as possible, and I put in my share - paying some of the bills and putting my youngest brother through college, especially once my mother retired (my father is still working). And my parents are certainly very grateful for any help that I do provide, and never ask anything of me unless there is no alternative (usually ako na ang nagvovolunteer)

    Everyone has a different situation; maybe you are not as grateful to your parents for some reason; maybe they can easily support themselves and your siblings without your help; maybe you have nothing to spare even for yourself. You are certainly not obliged to take on their burdens (especially if they are more than capable of doing so), but there is no harm in showing gratitude for the life they have given you, if you can spare it.

    Posted by under notes at #Philippines
    Also on: reddit / 0

May 2014

Apr 2014

Mar 2014

Feb 2014

Jan 2014

Dec 2013

On This Site
Things I Write About
Elsewhere
Subscribe