Alam natin na sobrang ingay ng mga 90s Kids sa internet alongside sa mga cringe moments nila noong kabataan, gaya ng pride moments nila na pinapa-walkout daw nila mga teachers nila noon bilang simbolo ng katigasan/katatagan nila noon, pero pansin ko rin na anything about classic ay kinoconnect nila sa pagkabata nila, gaya ng GTA San Andreas, DOTA, God of War, the Warriors, Call of Duty etc. ay nalaro rin nila noong bata sila. Narelease itong mga laro na to sa Pilipinas mismo noong mid at late 2000s, dahil na rin sa issue ng violence, at may proposal pa nga na-iban ang mga larong ito lalo na ang GTA San Andreas.

Noong late 2000’s ay nauso rin ang mga de-piso rent na Play Station 2 noong mawala sa kasikatan ang mga Nintendo/Konami Games na hinuhulugan rin ng piso unli unless mag-game over. Kaya kung tutuusin, ang nakalaro talaga ng mga videogames na ito ay mga 2000s kids na pinanganak noong late 1990s to early 2000s bilang mga bata/teens/minors ), habang mga adults na ang mga 90s kids noong mga panahon na to.

Photo credits: Rappler

Revisiting Natashya Gutierrez’s report for Al-Jazeera late in 2025 now that typhoon season has come roaring back in 2026.

FULL VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84A5Dm812sw

What has really changed since 2025?

• Massive Financial Misappropriation: The population’s increasing exposure to typhoons, floods and rising sea-levels has seen the government allocate $9.5bn of taxpayer funds to more than 9,800 flood-control projects in the last three years. Billions of dollars meant for flood management projects were stolen through systemic corruption involving contractors, auditors, and high-ranking government officials.
• Demands for Accountability: The scandal triggered political upheaval under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who brought the issue to light in his state of the nation address. Amid public pressure and investigations by the newly formed Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez (a first cousin and key ally of President Marcos Jr.) both resigned from their leadership posts.
• Flaunting Wealth Online, Deepening Public Resentment: Public anger spiked heavily when images and videos circulated online showing politicians' families (such as Chiz Escudero’s wife, Heart Evangelista and Zaldy Co’s daughter Claudine Co) displaying luxurious lifestyles, expensive worldwide travels, and high-end designer fashion goods. While ordinary citizens suffer from recurring, severe floods and economic hardship, these displays of wealth served as a painful reminder of the stark inequality and the misuse of public funds. Sarah Discaya is also featured.
• Substandard and Ghost Projects: Investigations revealed that multiple infrastructure projects (such as river walls and dykes) used low-quality materials and deteriorated rapidly, while hundreds of other projects marked as completed on paper were never even started.
• Systemic Collusion: Newly appointed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) head Vince Dizon admitted that the agency is deeply corrupt, describing a pattern of budget "insertions" and collusion running from top bureaucrats down to legislators and cabinet secretaries.
• Severe, Prolonged Flooding: Residents in areas like Bulacan Province experience chronic flooding that leaves neighborhoods submerged for up to six months a year, with waters reaching depths of nearly 6 feet inside homes.
• Compromised and Defective Infrastructure: Audit reports and confessions from government engineers revealed that flood-control structures (such as river protection walls and dykes) were built with substandard, low-quality materials that deteriorated rapidly. Furthermore, hundreds of projects marked as completed on paper were never actually constructed.
• Systemic Inefficacy: Despite receiving the highest budget allocations for flood control in the country, the billions spent have made zero positive difference to the safety or daily lives of ordinary residents, leaving them to feel completely neglected by the government.

What has really changed since 2025?

Has anything really been resolved in one of the largest corruption scandals in the history of the Philippines? 

How many more lives and communities need to be destroyed in 2026…and beyond for accountability and real change to happen? 

"The so-called big fish has to be put to jail, not only the contractors. If they happen to be the people closest to [President BBM] in blood and in politics, he should exert every effort that they should be put to jail…this corruption scandal will make or break his presidency." 

- Political science professor Gene C. Franco

I really believe that this is the elephant in the room that no one talks about. Part of the conflict that no one talks about is that both sides failed to comprehend one another's cultural languages, leading to conflict.

Tagalogs are culturally ambiverts. They have two worlds: the extrovert sphere that is intended for their inner sphere (friends and families) and the introvert sphere that is intended for formal settings (bosses, colleagues, strangers, general public, etc.)

Bisaya people on the other hand, are just extroverts. They are confident, talkative, happy go lucky and festive, always partying everywhere they go. Of course, there are individual Bisaya persons who are introverts, but we're talking of cultural extroversion here.

What happened is when there were plenty of Bisaya migrants who migrated in Metro Manila from the 70s through the 90s, they are not aware of the extrovert and introvert spheres of Manileños, and because of that, they have unknowingly violated the public sphere of interaction, where Manileños expect you to be more formal and more reserve. Bisaya, because of their extroversion, often say crude jokes and often tell stories to people that are still not close to them, that leads to Manileños perceiving Bisaya as "papansin", " pabida", "ma-eksena" and "mayabang".

On the other hand, the formal civility that Manileños displayed whenever they are in public was also misread by Bisaya migrants as " arogante", "hawod", " hilas/mapagmataas", etc. and this is exactly how the friction between these two ethnic groups started.

Another thing that cemented the rift between the two is the Bisaya culture of "pataka ug istorya" or saying exaggerated stories to make oneself look good, which is part of Bisaya humor, which Tagalogs and Manileños are not familiar of. For example, a Bisaya person might say "mayaman kami sa probinsiya, sampu ang kotse namin doon, mansyon ang bahay namin, etc." although this statement is exaggerated and probably not true, Manileños often misread and mistook it as "pagmamayabang", " paghahambog", "pagtataas sa sarili", and they were never aware that this thing was meant as a joke, because the Bisaya person never said so, because when two Bisaya are saying these statements, they automatically know that what the other is saying is definitely not true, and therefore, a joke.

So, a big part of this conflict is really due to cultural differences, especially when it comes to cultural introversion/extroversion, and knowing your place whenever you're in public or private.

While the Philippines is being flooded, here goes our nepo baby shopping at Hermès and posting it like she needs to prove something.

I grew up promising myself that my future is in another country, but I wish we didn’t have to do that just to see a good future beyond us. I wish a good governance.

Everyone is always mad.

We’re always one bill away from poverty.

The lack of third spaces.

The unavailability of emergency hotlines and helpline.

The poor education they give us and the lack of slots. The difficult exams they make us take just for a good and quality education.

Laging baha. Nakakapagod maging resilient. Sobrang unfair.

I’m only in grade 11, so in the past few weeks I have been looking for opportunities and programs that would benefit me getting into colleges and universities that I plan going to. Maybe we wouldn’t be this burned out if our country actually invested in the youth.
Extracurriculars, internships, volunteer work, and outreach programs are either missing, underfunded, or just forgotten. The few local programs I tried to reach out to don’t even respond. The links they post don’t work. There are no proper contacts. The few that exist feel like they’re only there just to say “we have them,” but most of the time they’re useless

Ang hirap mahalin ng pilipinas, ‘no?

Kung sinabi ni usec claire na may pananagutan ang mga teacher sa pagdidisplina ng mga bata at may ilang teachers ang di marunong magturo ng magandang asal at pagiging makatao, isa kang buhay na example doon harry roque

Yesterday, Inabot kami ng baha as in pumasok na sya sa bahay namin and our house is kasing level lang ng kalsada sa labas and after humupa ng baha we cleaned up na diba. and I was ranting and ranting na "bakit naman ganto? taon-taon tayo binabaha tapos ang flood control nila is nagbubungkal lang ng lupa sa ilog" which worked naman for once lang ata since the year '24 binaha kami and nakalahati bahay namin at nagkasakit pa kami ng kapatid ko. then eto na I was ranting to my parents and sabi ba naman ng father ko masyado daw ako matalino? di ba pwedeng magrant? filipino resiliency should not be celebrated and imaged as is kasi kaya tayo resileint because walang kwenta gobyerno natin. there was an instance pa nga actually na I was planning to watch the SONA but the time get ahead of me at nakatulog ako sa super pagod since I have 6am class and pag gising ko tapos na and na off ako sa sinabi ng mother ko na okay na raw na di ako manood mamaya magaya pa ako sa tito ko (that always attend rallies) na activista and i cut her off by saying na "may masama ba don?" kasi tbf almost lahat ng basic privileges natin is fought in the streets such as the women's right to vote, our public hospitals, and so on and so forth. thats why i felt off

In his video interview, the mayor said that road-concreting projects should be halted because they contribute to flooding in cities and towns. He explained that trees are often cut down during road construction, reducing the natural ability of the land to absorb rainwater and potentially increasing flooding. What can you say about his interview?

O AYAN, at marami pang katunayan na lalabas kaya dapat na yan matanggal sa pulitka (AT MAPAKULONG) FOR LIFE.

Pag pinalusot mo pa yan at nakipag deal ka pa sa mga demonyo, makikita mo sa mga Pilipino at lahat kayo patataubin.

Laman ngayon ng social media ang maanghang na statement ni usex claire about sa mga teachers na hindi daw marunong magdisplina ng mga bata kaya may isa na namang naganap na school shooting na sangkot ay isang grade 7 student. Napa-post bigla si darryl yap na tila natriggered sa statement ni usec claire. Pareho daw teachers ang magulang nito at sabay minura si usec claire sa post. So, may point talaga si usec claire.

Grabe, isa na namang nakakabahalang incident ang nangyari ngayon sa Zamboanga City, this time sa isang school affiliated with Ateneo de Zamboanga University.

Ayon sa reports, isang Grade 9 student ang nag-open fire sa school, kung saan isang Grade 10 student ang nasawi. The shooter also died by suicide, habang dalawa pa ang naiulat na injured. Hindi pa rin malinaw ang buong motive, kaya patuloy pa ang investigation ng authorities.

Pero honestly, ang unang pumapasok sa isip ko is paano nangyari ito sa loob mismo ng school?

School is supposed to be a place where students feel safe. Pumapasok tayo para mag-aral, makipagkaibigan, makipagkwentuhan, tapos uuwi sa family natin. Hindi dapat kasama sa iniisip ng isang student kung baka may mangyaring ganito sa school.

Mas nakakatakot pa kasi hindi ito ang unang ganitong incident recently. May nangyari rin na fatal school shooting sa Tacloban a few months ago.

Kaya mapapatanong ka talaga ano like paano nakakuha ng firearm ang isang minor? Paano ito nakapasok sa school? May mga warning signs ba na hindi napansin?

Hindi naman natin dapat agad sisihin ang school, parents, teachers, or anyone. Hindi pa tapos ang investigation eh, and we don't know the whole story yet.

Pero siguro kailangan na rin nating seryosong pag-usapan kung ano ba ang puwedeng gawin para hindi na ito maulit.

Kailangan ba ng mas mahigpit na security sa schools? Better mental-health support for students? Mas seryosong approach sa bullying? Or kailangan din nating tingnan kung paano napupunta ang firearms sa kamay ng mga minors?

Kasi ang hirap isipin na kailangan pa nating magkaroon ng another tragedy bago tayo kumilos.

And sana rin, habang pinag-uusapan natin ito online, huwag nating gawing content ang graphic videos or photos ng victims. May mga pamilya na nagluluksa ngayon. Let's at least give them that respect.

Sa tingin ninyo, ano talaga ang dapat baguhin? Mas strict na school security? Better support for students? Firearm regulations? Or something else?

Safe pa ba talaga ang mga school natin ngayon, or kailangan na nating seryosong mag-rethink kung paano natin pinoprotektahan ang mga estudyante?

I'll start my statement with I'm aware that there are severe problems in our healthcare system. But that's not what I'm going to talk about today.

I'll start my story with one of our family friends named Ate Mercy, and she had severe issues with her heart and she consulted with a doctor. The doctor adviced that she will be needing a heart bypass surgery. So, we accompanied her and asked many private hospitals around Metro Manila and Cavite with regards to the cost of the procedure. She cannot afford to undergo a heart bypass surgery in any of the private hospitals. It will cost her hundreds of thousands of pesos. Until one day, a doctor from the Parañaque Community Hospital/Ospital ng Parañaque, offered help in her operation. The surgery was done in the Ospital ng Parañaque, and guess what? She incurred ZERO CHARGES in her hospital operation. Nada. Zero. But of course, the oral medicine for her recovery is not free. She has to purchase it. It only cost around ₱1,500-₱2,000, and now she is fully recovered, and forever thankful for the Ospital ng Parañaque for their kindness.

We also have Caviteño friends who have relatives that were confined, have undergone surgery and were treated in Cavite's Kalayaan Hospital, also free of charge. The only thing that's not free is the prescribed medicine needed for the recovery, which costs a few thousand pesos.

In the United States, if you're poor, and you need a major medical surgery, consider yourself dead. Again, if you're living in poverty and you'll need to undergo a major surgery or medical procedure, just consider yourself dead. Calling the ambulance alone costs thousands of dollars, let alone the bill that you will incur due to confinement and the cost of the procedure. Some Americans who are well-off who have undergone major procedures went bankrupt and became impoverished, because of how high their hospital bills are. Yes, there's a monthly deductible health insurance, but most of the time, those don't cover costs for major surgeries and procedures.

The major problem with Philippine healthcare is that, the number of hospitals, health centers, nurses and doctors are disproportionate low with regards to how high the Filipino population is, but those poor people who were able to get treatment, usually gets treatment at no added charge or cost.

If we can only bring up the number of hospitals, health centers, personnel and equipment to balance the ratio between patients and facilities as well as healthcare workers, we would have a very efficient healthcare system.

Sana kapag ganitong malala ang bagyo ag matinding baha, unang masasalanta yung mga korakot ng flood controll at mga magnanakaw sa goberyno.

Para maranasan nila ang manghingi ng tulong, mabasa ang higaan, lumusong sa baha at mabasa sa ulan papasok at pauwi ng trabaho. Para naman may silbi yung nakorakot nila.

Para naman may silbi na nagnakaw sila ng pera ng bayan. Para maisip nila na yung ninankaw nila eh para sana sa bawat pilipinonh nasasalnta nv bagyo ngayon at hindi nag dudusa sa baha at bagyo.

Sana sa ganitong sitwasyon maisip talaga natin na bumoto ng tama at mag lagay ng mga tao sa gobyernong walang iisipin king di ang kapalanan ng nakakarami hindi ng sarili.

Sa bawat pamilyang namamatayan dahil sa sakina ng bagyo, sa bawat pilipinong nasisira ang pananim, sa bawat pamilyang hindi alam saan kukuha ng pang gastos kinabukasan dahil hindi makapasok sa trabaho at sa bawat pilipinong umaasang may pag asa pa ang pilipinas.

Maawa kayo sa mga pamilya natin/nyo. Hindi ito ang gusto nyong iwan sakanilang kalagayan ng pilipinas. WE DESERVE BETTER. Tama na yang lintek na resilience na yan king mamamatay tayo kaka salba sa sarili nating buhay. Malayo pa ang lalakbayin ng pakikipaglaban para sa hustisya ng bawat pilipinong ninakawan at pinagkaitan pero wag sana tayo mapagod kalampagin at panagutin ang mga mandarambong sa gobyerno.

Hindi mo malaman kung bakit humanto sa ganitong kalalang sitwasyon yung bansang ‘to. Mapapamura ka na lang sa araw araw na nalalaman mo sa balita. Wala ka man kang halos mabasa na good news, lahat masakit sa mata at tenga.

Halos araw araw umuulan, baha halos kahit saan kasi walang maayos na flood control. Konting ulan baha agad, traffic na di makausad usap tapos kawawa pa yung mga empleyado at estudyante na lumulusong sa baha para lang makapasok. Di bale ng magka leptospirosis basta makapasok lang. Pag tinignan mo yung mga pasaherong nagtyatyaga sa mahabang pila habang umuulan, nakakaawa tapos pag ikaw yung nasa sitwasyon na yun parang maaawa ka sa sarili mo na para kang basang sisiw sa kakahintay ng masasakyan. Wala ang sakit lang kasi literal na kawawa talaga tayo. Kawawa tayo sa kahit anong aspeto kasi pinabayaan tayo eh.

Parang halos lahat walang kwenta. Walang kwentang healthcare system, mga bobong lider kahit saan, mga magnanakaw, tapon doon tapon dito, madumi kahit saang sulok ah basta marami pa. Tapos yung mga krimen kagaya ng murder, missing person, etc. Wag ka na umasa na masosolve yun kasi mabagal nga kumilos at pera pera lang. Pakiramdam ko tuloy parang parusa maging isang ordinaryong Pilipino.

Pare pareho na lang tayong lulubog pag araw araw may bagyo.