Guimaras, setting of Jose Sevilla Ho's first novel

Jose Sevilla Ho or JoeHo, as his friends call him set his first novel in Iloilo and Guimaras, where he grew up. The book was picked book of the month by Australian Literary Management in April 2005. For some reason, it is not yet available in Philippine bookstores.

Jose Sevilla Ho

Roses From San Gabriel is a family saga across four generations, set in the Philippines before and after World War II. It tells the story of two brothers, Jorge and Miguel, who grow up in an empty, loveless house with their father. Their mother, the mysterious Rosanna, died not long after Jorge was born, leaving Miguel with faded memories of a beautiful woman who is no longer there.As Miguel grows he stifles in the small village. He sets out to live the life of an adventurer, leaving Jorge at home with his remote father and the servant woman, Adia. Through her tantalizing tales Jorge forms a vivid picture of the mother he never knew, and learns of the fading city where he and his brother were born, a former Spanish port town in the Pacific, where Vasco da Gama’s great flagship the San Gabriel strayed long ago on its voyage to India, met disaster and sank.Roses From San Gabriel takes on the form of a beautifully inlaid mirror. Obsessed by the circumstances of his mother’s death, Jorge strives to understand the past. His search takes him to the capital, where he learns of his family’s struggles through war and political change. There he also discovers that Adia’s enchanting tales have concealed her own role in the family’s tragedy.Jose Sevilla Ho is a truly remarkable storyteller. He was born in the Philippines in 1961. In 1986 he left for Russia to study Film Directing at the Moscow Film Institute and spent seven years there. He has since worked and lived in Britain, the Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong and currently lives in China. He is married to a British journalist.

Framing Charter Change

A recent book review in the latest issue of the IMF magazine caught my attention because of the reference to how survey questions are framed and how the results can be radically different.
There was a large discrepancy in the responses to the following two questions:

1) Did you see the broken light? and
2) Did you see a broken light?
Yes you are bright and would have guessed that the number of yes responses was about 50% more than those of the latter.
Now it's time to ask, how are the survey questions on charter change in the Philippines being framed?
www.imf/fandd.com

In defense of the gentle tormented man

In defense of The Gentlemean

It is difficult not to sympathize with first gentleman Mike Arroyo. In the first place, he is referred to by the Philippine press, rather condescendingly, as The First Gentleman. That should be condescending and sarcastic enough. But no, the clueless Philippine press persists in demonizing this fellow. As for me, just looking at his pained, tormented, and constipated face is enough to convince me of his innocence.
For why else would he go to Germany just to get a certificate from Hypovereins that he and his brother (who previously admitted to be Jose Pidal) did not have the account that Rep. Cayetano mentioned in an impeachment speech?
The most likely explanation is he forgot about where his accounts really are. It shoud be easy for us to forgive him for that. After all, we middle class jerks often forget about the bank accounts for which we have withdrawn the sustaining balance. He went to Germany just to make sure he didn’t have an account there. So stop smirking, that’s perfectly understandable and Cayetano should just apologize if he wants to remain honorable.
(By the way, whatever happened to that chief of staff of Iggy Arroyo who was interviewed by Dong Puno claiming that he was on the other end (instead of Garci) speaking with the First Lady on election issues after the actual vote? My guess is he will never be charged for anything. That’s how short the memory of Puno and the rest of us Filipinos is. )
Last Thursday, September 7, tv host Ricky Carandang proposed that the basis of Rep. Allan Cayetano's so-called expose on the first family's German bank account was a purported memo from the US embassy in Manila to the State Department in Washington when Ricciardone was still the US envoy to RP. The account allegedly investigated by either the CIA or the FBI or both allegedly contained at least $500M.
Carandang went to the Embassy for confirmation. This is my spurious account of what transpired:
Ricky: Sir, is this document authentic?
Spokesman: I can neither confirm nor deny that.
Ricky: Sir, but you are the spokesman of the Embassy?
Spokesman: Uhhmm....
Ricky: Sir, is it true that a neither confirm nor deny response means a yes?
Spokesman: Maybe. But that did not come from me. You never talked to me and you can't even prove your own existence! I haven't seen you in the Solipsist meetings, have I?
Ricky: Thank you for your time sir. Did you just fart?

As far as I know a no-comment comment is meant to say that the commentor wants to keep the commentee and his/her audience off guard or for cheap deterrence. For example, during the cold war, such a response could have beeen interpreted as either the respondent did not want to tell a lie (if there was a nuclear sub in Subic) or else wanted the enemies to think there was one regardless of reality. In the case of corruption and official records, it might well be the Embassy just wants its cards close to its ass.

The CIA/FBI and the Arroyos of the Philippines

Last Thursday, September 7, tv host Ricky Carandang proposed that the basis of Rep. Allan Cayetano’s so-called expose on the first family’s German bank account was a purpurted memo from the US embassy in Manila to the State Department in Washington when Ricciardone was still the US envoy to RP. The account allegedly investigated by either the CIA or the FBI or both allegedly contained at least $500M.
Carandang went to the Embassy for confirmation. This is my spurious account of what transpired:
Ricky: Sir, is this document authentic?
Spokesman: I can neither confirm nor deny that.
Ricky: Sir, but you are the spokesman of the Embassy?
Spokesman: Uhhmm….
Ricky: Sir, is it true that a neither confirm nor deny response means a yes?
Spokesman: Maybe. But that did not come from me. You never talked to me and you can’t even prove your own existence? I haven’t seen you in the Solipsist meetings, have I?
Ricky: Thank you for your time sir. Did you just fart?

As far as I know a no-comment comment is meant to comment that the commentor wants to keep the commentee and his/her audience off guard. For example, during the cold war, such a response could be interpreted as either the respondent did not want to tell a lie (if there was a nuclear sub in Subic) or else wanted to enemies to think there was one regardless of reality. In the case of corruption and official records, it might well be the Embassy just wants its cards close to its ass.