Expanding Metro Manila? (T.I.O. #29)
Last Tuesday was the 48th anniversary of its creation BUT no city is qualified for now.
Are we now in November? How time flies!
In this issue, we will tackle:
Events since the Last Issue
Main Story: The potential expansion of Metro Manila, and
Closing Thought: NaNoWriMo in the Age of Generative AI 📖🤖
Events since the Last Issue
Barangay and SK Elections 2023 (Highlights)
Vivid victors 🏆
Pepe Pacheco of Brgy. Bucot, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija — whose viral campaign jingle that we forever remember and has irked COMELEC — finally won as captain.
Alma Moreno almost lost, finished 7th in her barangay kagawad race. (And more from PEP)
Dasurved defeats
“Inflammation” 🔥 TikTokers: The trolls running in SK positions that caught Maggie Wilson’s Instagram last month such as Rozelle Familiara, Rolyn Jay Battad and Ronjoy del Pilar lost. (However, someone namedropped the winning candidates of SK positions whose credentials are unworthy.)
Abegail Rait: The lady who claims she had a past relationship with Master Rapper Francis M, lost kagawad bid in Brgy. Toclong, Imus, Cavite. (She’s going to get sued later.)
San Jose del Monte Plebiscite
Last November 1, COMELEC verified that the San Jose del Monte, Bulacan will remain as a component city and not as a highly urbanized one (HUC). They will still remain administrative — and geographically — part of the province.
The residents of the city in question went on the decisive NO. Outside SJDM, Norazagaray went solid NO due to boundary disputes while Marilao and Meycauayan (most especially) went YES.
Bulakenyos were perplexed as to why they had an extra ballot that day. Most of them were unaware of the plebiscite. COMELEC explained that the involvement of the entire Bulacan in the plebiscite is due to the Supreme Court ruling in 20141 on a similar case in Nueva Ecija. Unlike before when the city itself could participate in such, the decision indicated that all residents affected by the change of constituency in such entity should be consulted.
New U.S. House Speaker
After weeks of bargaining and indecisiveness, Louisiana Representative Mike Johnson was elected House Speaker last October 25.
Mike Johnson is a Republican congressman from Louisiana's Fourth Congressional District. He was recently appointed Speaker of the House. Johnson has been a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump and a key congressional figure in failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election. He is a constitutional law attorney who voted with a group of House Republicans to keep the objection to electoral votes on January 6, 2021. Johnson, along with a group of other Republican lawmakers, played a largely ceremonial role in Trump's Senate impeachment team during Trump's first impeachment trial in January 2020.
In his first formal news conference as Speaker, Johnson offered a wide-ranging agenda for House Republicans. He revealed that the GOP is nearing a decision on Biden's impeachment and will send $14 billion in aid to Israel.
💥 Israel-Hamas War
We’re over a month since that conflict but let’s look at two correspondents:
In a sobering GMA News report dated October 23, OFWs in Israel would rather work in the war zone rather than come home.
2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa was in hot water after applauding “Team America” regarding conflicts. She posted on X and it backfired. (Yikes, it’s emboldening the populists — especially those who side with Palestine.)
At last, a new agri chief… but…
In a press briefing Friday (November 3), President Bongbong Marcos announced that Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. is the new Department of Agriculture secretary, replacing him after 1 year and 5 months. 🧑🏼🌾
He is a fishing tycoon 🐟💰 and the donor 💰 of his presidential campaign last year. Aside from Frabelle Foods, he also served as the President of Agusan Power Corporation.
What about the Education one?
Japanese PM Kishida in PH 🇯🇵🇵🇭
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the Philippines on November 3-4, 2023, as part of his three-day trip to Southeast Asia to strengthen Japan's security and defense ties in the region. 🛡🤝
In a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Kishida declared that the US, Japan, and the Philippines would work together to protect the freedom of the South China Sea. The two leaders also decided to begin talks on a reciprocal troop access agreement to enhance military cooperation amid an increasingly assertive China. Under a new aid framework, Japan promised to supply defense equipment to the Philippine military, and negotiations between the two governments are anticipated to begin on an agreement governing mutual access for their respective armies.
Kishida also gave a speech before the joint session of Congress on Saturday (November 4), where he expressed his commitment to help enhance Manila's security capabilities.
In addition, Kishida visited the Philippine Coast Guard headquarters in Manila.
Political News
Petitioners ask SC to declare ₱125-M transfer for OVP’s confidential funds unconstitutional | CNN Philippines
House ousts Arroyo, Ungab as deputy speakers | CNN Philippines
Lawmakers seek study on relocation of House to BGC | PhilStar
International News
Hungary bans teenagers from visiting World Press Photo exhibition over display of LGBTQ+ images | AP
Royal News
Princess Leonor of Spain turned 18 last October 31, formally becoming an heir-apparent
King Charles III of the UK
Interesting Pieces
Magellanic Clouds must be renamed, astronomers say | Space.com
Tech News
Omegle shuts down permanently (See here)
Main Story
🔍 TURFitorial: The Search for the 18th LGU in NCR
Amidst the anniversary of the modern National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila on November 7, a fascinating narrative emerges about the evolving landscape of this urban hub.
Initially comprising 17 local government units (LGUs) since its establishment in 1975, the NCR, once made up of four cities and 13 municipalities, has transformed into 16 cities and one independent municipality, Pateros.
However, the lingering question remains: Who would or could be the 18th LGU to join this dynamic region?
In the east, Antipolo, Rizal, with its scenic mountainous terrain, stands as a potential candidate for becoming a highly urbanized city (HUC). Despite its proximity to Marikina, Antipolo has yet to conduct a plebiscite to determine its readiness for HUC status, which was granted by the Presidential Proclamation 12 years ago.
Heading south, San Pedro, Laguna, known as a "dormitory town" for commuters from various provinces working in the Metro, remains a third-class component city. Its role in accommodating the capital's workforce makes it an important contender, but it faces hurdles in becoming a HUC.
Moving north, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, gained attention during the recent Barangay and SK Elections. The citizens had to decide whether to transform their city from a component to a highly urbanized city (HUC). However, the debate leading up to this significant vote lacked comprehensive information. Despite support from some candidates and local officials, the provincial government had a different perspective. Ultimately, both the residents and non-residents alike – but are still Bulakenos – voted against the transformation, preventing their administrative exit.
Had the outcome been different, SJDM could have another plebiscite to integrate into the premier metropolitan fabric in a few years or decades. Nevertheless, that road would have involved navigating legal disputes, judicial rulings, and Congressional inquiries to address such complex issues.
The evolution of the NCR continues, but with no city qualified to become the 18th LGU, it’ll just be a pipe dream and another topic in an alt-history forum.
📖 Closing Thought
As it is November, creative people are right now pacing themselves to write a 50,000-word novel for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.) 🖊
Assume you're one of them (and I’m not participating this year). You have all of the necessary elements for your first novel 🗒: characters, settings, plots and subplots, and tropes. You worked hard on your word processors to get every detail, spell check, and grammar check right, but at the end of each day, someone was thousands of words ahead.
You ignored it at first, but as time passed, the gap widened. It didn't seem normal and you decided to pause and ask that person how they did it.
You later found out that the person was using an AI chatbot like ChatGPT. 🤖
Such things can generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way. That means they can help people write novels, essays, and other kinds of creative writing much faster than they could on their own (especially with writer’s block).
It could generate a 1,000-word chapter of a novel in a matter of minutes⌛. That's much faster than a human could write the same chapter. (Modifications would come later.)
Back to the scene, you are also like a sumbungera student who tends to call the teacher and call out the cheater.
Someone who uses an AI chatbot to write their entire NaNoWriMo novel (other than outlining) is not participating in good faith. ☝🏼 They are not putting in the same effort as the rest of the participants.
The goal is not just to exceed the bare minimum in a minimum amount of time. It's all about pushing your limits and challenging yourself. It's all about putting your creativity and discipline to the test.
Good luck with your writing endeavors.
🕯️🙏🏼🕊️ In Memoriam: Conrado de Quiros
Veteran journalist and long-time Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Conrado de Quiros passed on Monday (November 6). He was 72.
De Quiros was well-respected in the Philippine media scene and his passing is a huge loss to the journalism community. He was well-known for his perceptive and provocative commentary on Philippine politics and society through his column "There's the Rub” from 1991 to 2014.
You can pitch your ideas here.
While this publication is accessible to the public, a small donation would help to sustain it. You can voluntarily contribute through PayPal or GCash with this QR code.
You can buy me a Ko-fi.
G.R. No. 203974: Umali v. COMELEC (Lawphil.net)