Politics: Nothing but corruption
POLITICS, as the word is commonly understood, is nothing but corruption.This has been proven beyond cavil about Gloria Arroyo, who has used every dirty trick in the book of politics and corrupt practices to satisfy her intense desire for power and pelf.
She has built structures of deceit and corruption ever since she usurped the presidency from Joseph "Erap" Estrada in 2001, and, once again, when she cheated Fernando Poe Jr. on her way to six more years in Malacañang in 2004.
Indeed, in the last six years of her purloined presidency, she has raised corruption to a new level of magnitude unmatched by past administrations. And this dismaying fact has not escaped the attention of Filipinos in all levels of society.
They know this, and they have seen it all, in the scandal-ridden Arroyo administration. And they have affirmed this in the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS). It showed that 71 % of the people believe that she has been enriching herself through corrupt practices. Those surveyed came from the ABC or upper and middle classes (73 %), the D Class (69 %), and the E Class (73 %).
Oh yes, in the same survey Estrada got better results on the corruption perception category. Of those polled, 66 % do not believe he enriched himself while he was president.
This latest blow dealt Gloria followed closely an earlier SWS survey that showed her trust rating was only 18 %, compared to a trust rating of 64 % for Estrada. In this new survey 76 % of ABC or upper and middle classes, 71 % in Class D and 73 % in Class E, all agreed that corruption has increased under the Arroyo administration.
The shocking survey results should have sent shivers down the spine of Gloria and her political minions and coterie of economic and financial advisers. But as it has been their wont, they have shrugged their shoulders and dismissed it all as untrue. "Hindi totoo ‘yan, "one Palace factotum arrogantly said. "Wala naman corruption nangyayari sa gobyerno." (That’s not true… There’s no corruption in government.)
This very clearly shows the moral apathy of those now in high places whenever conspicuous corruption in government is publicly exposed.
They are blind, and they refuse to read the handwriting on the Palace wall, mindless of that day when it will collapse into a heap of dust with all of them underneath!
An evening of arias and Broadway songs. I was elated to hear Rachelle Gerodias sing as guest artist in a song recital of baritone Noel Azcona at the Philamlife Theater on UN Avenue last Sunday night.
Rachelle was a clear standout with the clarion brilliance of her soprano voice. She displayed strength, accuracy and clarity in her singing of the arias "Sempre Libera" from Verdi’s "La Traviata" and "Chi il bel sogno doretta" from Puccini’s "Le Rondino." She exuded total security and self-confidence while spinning the melodic lines in the two arias, combining her sensuous and soaring voice to suit the emotion of the moment and inflecting the lyrics with theatrical energy.
Noel Azcona exhibited his musical sophistication in singing nine operatic arias and Broadway songs by Handel, Dvorak, Schubert, Mozart, Gounod, Schoenberg, and Rodgers and Hammerstein. He also sang the haunting "Magbalik Ka Hirang," a kundiman by Nicanor Abelardo. He possesses a superb voice that could easily glide from bass to baritone and even tenor levels, but, sad to say, he lacks clarity in singing the Latin, German, Italian and Russian lyrics in his repertoire.
Noel and Rachelle duetted in the delightfully gay aria "Papageno, Papagena" (from Mozart’s "Magic Flute"), and they also performed two other duets, "I Got Plenty O’Nuttin" and "Bess You Are My Woman Now" (from Gershwin’s "Porgy and Bess.")
In all the arias and songs, Mary Anne Espina, assisting artist, accompanied Rachelle and Noel with verve, dexterity and authority, on the grand piano.
Finally, Noel Azcona ended his song recital with the singing of "Anyone Can Whistle" (from Sondheim’s "Anyone Can Whistle" and "Wheels of a Dream" (from S. Flaverty’s "Ragtime", together with the internationally acclaimed UST Singers, with Prof. Fidel Calalang at the piano.
When the appreciative audience rewarded him with a standing ovation and cries for encore, Noel sang "Lenski’s Aria" from Tchaikovsky’s "Eugene Onegin", and "Iyo Kailan Paman," a serenade by Angel Pena.
By the way, Noel’s song recital was the first of three final presentations of impresario Pablo Tariman who announced, sadly, that he was drawing the curtains to a close on his "Great Performances Series", after the concerts of Alvaro Pierri, gold medalist classical guitarist, and Ilya Rashkovsky, prizewinning pianist, on December 4 and 8.
The legendary Luciano Mar warns drug industry lobbyists. His classic Italian tenor voice has been silenced by the ravages of pancreatic cancer.
"The voice of Luciano Pavarotti," as one music critic described it, "had the warm, enveloping sound, touched with a bit of husky baritonal darkness, which made his flights into the gleaming upper range all the more miraculous."
I heard Pavarotti, then dubbed the "King of the High Cs," for the first time when he sang "Tosca" at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. And later, I heard him again at the Philippine International Conference Center (PICC). He was not at his best when he performed there because he was nursing a terrible cold, but he still to managed to spin the lyrical phrases with bel-canto elegance of the arias and Ialian songs in his repertoire.
Now, the world of opera won’t hear anymore that powerful lyric voice that captured the hearts of millions of music opera.
Bravo, bravo, bravo, Luciano Pavarotti!
