Comments for Philippines: Some Notes, Thoughts, and Observations at http://www.michaelyon-online.com , comment 1 to 14 out of 14 comments http://www.michaelyon-online.com Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:42:03 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19493 Thanks so much for your work. May God bless you, and keep you safe. - Melissa Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:22:19 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19343 I am struck by how the pictures and some of the story line remind me of my time in the Peace Corps in southern Thailand. I wonder how much that you observed can be translated to over there. - Tupian Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:58:41 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19338 I forgot to say this in my previous post...Thank you Mr. Yon for the great article! - J.Bautista Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:13:03 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19336 You are so right on. Our family lived on Mindanao for 8 years in Davao. The great Filipino people are so warm, one on one. Communism was more the threat then though the Muslim influence has long been strong in the west and central mountains of the islands. I remember getting caught in a demonstration among thousands as the only white face as students chanted, "down with the Marcos/US Dictatorship", only to be suddenly greeted with a smile and a "Hey, Joe!" when spotted. As soon as the throng got 5 feet past me, it was back to the chants. As a Christian missionary I admit my bias, but God can change the hearts of people. Thank God for men and women of reason, Filipinos and Americans, Christian, Muslim and others who lay their lives on the line for others. Thanks for your service, your insight, your reporting, and your heart. - Dan Cecil Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:44:33 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19335 Being a Filipino, I would more than welcome the return of the US military in the country in whatever capacity. The politicians who voted Clark & Subic out of the country were all self-serving hypocrites who spend their vacations in the US and have their children go to US colleges. These are the same politicians who are currently selling out pieces of the country to the Chinese and whoever else will give them a cut of the profits. Both my grandfathers were in the Death March and fought for the Philippines. My uncles and cousins have served both in the Philippine military and the US military...those who are still currently serving have said the same thing - the problem is the current government's corruption as well as the corruption of some of the generals. Money that should be used to equip our troops end of going somewhere else. WE NEED the US for military assistance but there's always some hypocrite politician who say the country will give in to "imperialism" if we allow US troops in the country. My relatives in the Philippine military have told stories about how they were always so close to wiping out the MILF/MNLF at times when they were suddenly ordered to stop the attack by some politician in Manila. - J.Bautista Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:22:07 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19334 If you want to stay poor, go into business. If you want to get rich, go into government. This aligns with my wife's family's perceptions as well. Her uncle told me on our trip there last Christmas that he actually misses the days of Marcos's rule for one reason: When Marcos was in power, he took his 10% cut of every deal. Today, the national government takes its 10%, the provincial government takes its 10%, and the local government takes its 10%. Thanks for the insight, and the pictures. I absolutely love the children there. I visited Mindanao very briefly in 2003, but stayed in the northern part. A gorgeous island. I wish there were more I could do to help. - Grant Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:59:05 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19333 My wife is from the island of Cebu and has a brother living on MIndanao. Mindano is agriculturally rich and bountiful, and it is thought that there is black gold under the earth in the region. If things work out on some personal fronts we'll be visiting Mindanao in the near future. A great website for more information about Mindanao -- its dangers as well as its beauty is Bob Martin's Mindanao Blog -- http://mindanao.com/blog/. Bob does a good job of putting it all in perspective while there are definitely no-go areas in Mindanao they are well known and easy to avoid. It is good to point out the Filipinos are hardly a homogeneous group of people. Even on a single island there can be different cultures, e.g. Negros is divided into two regions one half speaking primarily Bisayan (which is different from the official language arising from the Manila region) and the other half a native dialect ( Hiligaynon). Also, adding the the grief of the Philippines are leftists who operate in Luzon The New People's Army and a host of other smaller groups (the one that jumps to my mind all the time is Alexexander Boyncayao Brigade aka the ABB or The Sparrows). The corruption in the PI is infamous and oft times groups such as the MILF, the MNLF, Abu Sayyaf, etc say their most reliable arms dealer is the AFP -- soldiers who did not get their salary. Google up "General Carlos Garcia". - marcus aurelius Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:24:44 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19332 The Moro woman, using stuttering English, asked Lt. Bollinger if she has a wife. Note that Tagalog and other Filipino languages in the country lack gender-specific pronouns and gender-specific words for "spouse". My Filipina wife has spoken English most of her life, been working in the US for 15 years, and married to an American for 10 years. The last 5 years she's worked in "telephonic nursing", talking to Americans on the telephone. Even with that exposure to the language, she still mixes up husband/wife and he/she on a very regular basis, almost daily. All Filipinos that I know are like that. - Michael Chaney Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:58:34 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19331 Your articles are always the best. You faithfully present us with the facts and allow us to form our own opinions. I appreciate this update on the Philippines since I didn't really know what was going on there right now in the broader sense. - Renee Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:40:35 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19330 Amazing the amount of non-information in the news these days... Thanks for providing some of it here. Sobering, when you view information and circumstances worldwide. The trip flares went up sometime ago but everybody thought they were fireworks instead. - Mac Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:33:32 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19329 Thank you for your insightful observations on the situation in the Philippines with regards to the Muslim problem, i.e. the secessionist ambitions of the MILF, and more importantly, in my opinion, the deadly amalgamation of terrorists in their (the Filipino Muslims') midst that has been going on over many years, like perhaps over two decades now. And if I may say so, this piece is like a breath of fresh air in the sense that it was written the way a true journalist writes/reports: factual, fair, truthful. - MzJosephine Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:27:47 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19328 This is a great primer to the situation in the Philippines. I knew next to nothing about our situation there, but now feel like I am relatively educated about the matter. Your writing style is interesting like a good news article and as objective as an encyclopedia. Thank you! - Mike S Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:49:58 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19327 It is an unusual role you have chosen and I feel your place in history is already assured. You are the self-selected man in the field who brings back information that is not available elsewhere. Your insight and honesty provide a welcome alternative to what the media giants provide as news. Your comment on the relative rates of change in American and Philippine culture might be a key to dealing with almost any group that is not connected to the world. It will be interesting to see how cellphones and the Internet open the door to progress for those that desire it. - David St Lawrence Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:16:33 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/philippines-some-notes-thoughts-and-observations.htm#comment-19326 Interesting and insightful as usual, Michael. Two points I'm reflecting on: "the basic culture of violence will persist." "Between money and justice, the perception of justice is always King." - Paul S. Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:54:52 +0100