The Party-list system's absurdity

Atty. Oscar Tan discusses the impossibility of fulfilling the Constitutional mandate that 20 percent of the members of the House of Representatives should come from party-list representatives and gives an alternative formula from the one used today.

"A proper party-list formula need only fulfill two simple goals: 1) It must fill up 20 percent of House seats; and 2) Seat allocation must be proportional, including allocations to losing parties.

In this proposed formula, one selects a party, then divides each party’s votes by the chosen party’s votes. One then drops decimals from the resulting ratios, and assigns that many seats to each party, up to the three-seat maximum. If the total number of seats assigned exceeds 55, one chooses another party with less votes, and vice-versa."

I really can't understand how the COMELEC and the Supreme could have bungled this one. Personally, I think the mistaken notion that the party list should be limited to "under-represented" sectors of society is the root of all this stupidity. This notion led to:

1. limiting the number of seats a party-list party can get to 3 - this now limits the growth of a party-list party and will ensure that they cannot become a dominant party
2. banning "mainstream" parties from the party-list elections - which leads to a the absurd situation that "legitimate" party-list organizations are accusing the dominant parties of using proxy party-list organizations to be able to run, and at this moment, the ascendancy of parties affiliated with religious organizations.

The party-list could have led to various parties, with strong party loyalty. The mis-steps only led to our present situation.

How not to be GP

Discuss gays and link to Micketymoc



This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:
* gay (6x)
* poop (1x)

Mingle² - Online Dating

Namatay sa Tule

Isang sanggol sa Canada ang namatay pagkatapos matuli. Naway magsilbing paalala sa ating lahat na maski na minor surgery ang pagtuli, mayroon pa ring panganib (risk) dito. May diskusyon tungkol sa istoryang ito dito

via Pharyngula

Nagulat!

Ayon sa mga mananaliksik sa Connecticut College, mabagal maka-recover ang mga bacteria kapag nahulugan sila ng pagkain, pinakamabilis na ang 30 saglit (seconds) bago mahimasmasan ang isang bacteria at kumapit sa nahulog na pagkain.

read more | digg story

Condoms for Christians

via Pharyngula

Marriage

Recently, a friend of mine blogged about gay marriage. He said that, though he supports gay marriage, it is premature for the Gay, Bi-sexual, Lesbian and Trans-gender (GBLT) movement in the Philippines to push for it. He asserts that discrimination in work, education and just plain physical abuse have to be prioritized. I disagreed, but I can only defer to his and the GBLT movement's judgment since they are the ones in the front line of this struggle.

I remembered our exchange after I read Mildred Loving's statement. Mildred Loving's marriage to her husband, Perry Loving was the landmark case where the US Supreme Court decided that anti-miscegenation laws (laws that forbid marriage between different races) in the US were unconstitutional (more from wikipedia).

Marriage is a personal decision, Mildred and Perry Loving's decision was a personal decision and it changed US policy. There may not be a consensus in the GBLT movement on the necessity of marriage so that gay marriage may have to be pushed by members of the community who want to get married.

P.S.

IANAL but the Philippine Constitution does not specifically prohibit gay marriage, Article 15 in the family states:

Section 1. The State recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation. Accordingly, it shall strengthen its solidarity and actively promote its total development.

Section 2. Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State.

Section 3. The State shall defend:

(1) The right of spouses to found a family in accordance with their religious convictions and the demands of responsible parenthood;

(2) The right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their development;

(3) The right of the family to a family living wage and income; and

(4) The right of families or family associations to participate in the planning and implementation of policies and programs that affect them.

Section 4. The family has the duty to care for its elderly members but the State may also do so through just programs of social security.

I don't know a lot about Philippine laws, but it seems to me that at least within the bounds of the constitution, gay marriage is already legal in the Philippines.

Lakbayan Grade

via MLQ3

My Lakbayan grade is C! Mostly Because of Work

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

This is a Joke :)

Telecom History

After digging to a depth of 100 meters last year,
Japanese scientists found traces of copper wire dating
back 1000 years, and came to the conclusion that their
ancestors already had a telephone network one thousand
years ago.

In the weeks that followed, American scientists dug
200 metres and headlines in the US papers read:

"US scientists have found traces of 2000 year old
optical fibres, and have concluded that their
ancestors already had advanced high-tech digital
telephone 1000 years earlier than the Japanese".

One week later, a Filipino newspaper reported the
following:

"After digging as deep as 500 metres, Filipino
scientists have found absolutely nothing. They have
concluded that 5000 years ago, their ancestors were
already using wireless technology".

Iba ang PINOY!!!!!

Di na ko Papayag (Never Again)

I know this is more appropriate for the EDSA anniversary rather than today, but I think this is still appropriate specially right after an election.



a better (larger) version can be downloaded from Jim Paredes' multiply site here. An mp3 of the song can also be downloaded there.

p.s.

You have to be a member of multiply to access Jim Paredes' page.

The Black Superman

Speaking of Philippine Basketball, I was reminded of Bill Simmon's tribute to David Halberstam where I learned that one of my favorite authors actually wrote about Billy Ray Bates in his book "Breaks of the Game". I haven't read the book but it seems that David Halberstam was not impressed with Billy Ray Bates.

"The underdog grew up on a cotton farm. He could barely read. He could barely stay in school. A freelancing guard with powerful legs, there were dozens of prospects just like him, players with more than enough talent who fell through the cracks for whatever reason. When he landed on the team that wasn't so perfect anymore, he saved a wasted season playing the exact one-on-one style that the coach despised. By the time the playoffs rolled around, fans knew his name and announcers breathlessly pumped him up in pregame shows. During the final few minutes of the Seattle series, teammates cleared out for him and stood around as the underdog tried to beat three guys off the dribble at once. Sometimes, he even did. The perfect team had become something else, just another screwed-up team in a screwed-up league."

At that time, NBA games were not shown in the Philippines so the first time I heard of Billy Ray Bates was when he became an import for my favorite PBA team, the Crispa Redmanizers. It was 1983 and he became instrumental in making Crispa win the 3 PBA tournaments held that year, which in the Philippines is referred to as a grand slam. It was the second time Crispa won the grand slam. Billy Ray Bates was a joy to watch, he seemingly could make shots from anywhere, he does not really play defense but when he had to, he delivered. I remember watching him play against Norman Black, the quintessential Philippine import who have led and will lead his teams to championships. Billy Ray Bates described his experience then.

""Those people, they loved me," he later told The Oregonian. "There, I was like Michael Jordan. I could have anything I wanted. All I had to do was snap my fingers. I had my own condo, my own car and my own bodyguard with an Uzi. Had to fight off the women.""

Billy Ray Bates' later life was less than stellar, but I will always remember him as the Black Superman of Philippine Basketball. I am confident that my contemporaries will too.

Highlights from Youtube