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DILG Sec. Puno, are you for real?

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A password key?
Photo by Max (Tj)‘Tis the season of surprises.

As the 2010 elections draws near, the turn of events have been pretty surprising.

Roxas withdraws from presidential bid, Aquino announces his, Roxas slides to veep. The so-called dark horse Teodoro gets chosen by the admin party as standard bearer(well, almost officially, that is), much to the frustration of Fernando who’s been salivating for the presidency for God knows how long. Pangilinan withdraws from VP bid, Binay withdraws presidential bid, Escudero and Legarda postpone announcement of intentions to run, Erap announces his, Binay runs VP alongside Erap, Gordon remains mum, De Castro gets bad press and becomes invisible — as if he isn’t already (and will probably return to broadcasting instead) ,Villar, like the Energizer bunny just keeps going and going and going. Legarda gets courted by own party NPC, the admin party and Villar’s  Nacionalista. Legarda turns down admin party Lakas-Kampi-CMD and limits choice between the other two.

And now, DILG Sec. Puno announces his withdrawal too. So much for those wasted infomercials about how the DILG has increased the number of policemen and has successfully installed women’s desk in all of the police stations in the country.

DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno
DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno withdraws 2010 VP bid. Genuine love of country? Or a classic ploy for upping his image? You be the judge. (Photo: http://www.dilg.gov.ph)

His reason, albeit a little too noble for a public official of his stature, resonated of authenticity — or at least, that’s what it looked like, if we are to believe what he says in this Inquirer article, and I quote “I would like to announce, today, that I am withdrawing my bid to be the vice president of the Republic of the Philippines to remain with the people that I’ve worked with for the decades past; in order to remain with the people in the public service who have shown me, by their example, what it means to be a public servant; who have made my life more meaningful and I know will continue to give my life meaning in the months ahead..”

Secretary, if you’re for real, and I hope and pray you are, then I’d be damned and this entire country will be as well — for immensely ironic as it may seem,  by the time we realize who deserves our vote, we have been deprived of the chance to vote for them.

2 responses to “DILG Sec. Puno, are you for real?”

  1. William Hickocks Avatar
    William Hickocks

    I think that every country sometimes ends with the same problems with politics. I mean that we trust and vote for people. And the people are those who almost always are failing us, not because they are bad or they are not what we supposed they are. The whole democratic system is (or should be) based not on people but on solutions and law. Everyone is supposed to do what he is allowed by law, if he does something that is not allowed he goes to jail. I know that this is very unreal point of view but this is the theoretical concrete that holds democracy in one piece.

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  2. legaladvice Avatar
    legaladvice

    Quite often those who deserve our vote do not get it for whatever reason. In the UK we are currently going through a major political upheaval and so far the coalition government appears to be working. I hope for the sake of your people you get a government that will work for the people rather than for their own aims. Our previous governemnt have almost bankrupted the country for which we all now paying a heavy price with nearly 1trillion in debt.UK legal questions

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● About Me
Cecilia Regina Aquino Blanquera Marmol aka RJ Marmol profile picture

I’m RJ Marmol — writer, musician, and independent creator based in Manila.

I write songs, essays, and books about the messy overlap between money, overwhelm, creativity, identity, and rebuilding. Much of my work circles around what happens when life stops feeling manageable — and how we try to think clearly, make decisions, and keep moving anyway.

I’m also the author of Rebuilding Under Debt: Thinking Clearly When Everything Is a Blur, a nonfiction book published under Steady Hand Press. The paperback edition is listed under my full publishing name, Cecilia Regina Aquino Blanquera.

On the music side, I release work as HeyRJ. On the writing side, this site is where I gather my books, essays, notes, and whatever I’m building next.

Music

HeyRJ is my sonic soul project. I create raw, minimalist-style and deeply personal music interpretations that feel like a late-night conversation with your truest self.

By blending lo-fi acoustic textures with poetic honesty, my work explores love, loss, grief, healing, and the quiet in-betweens of life. Each song is a letter — a journal entry — a gentle companion for when the world feels too loud or too quiet.

While my catalogue began with intimate cover renditions, my work is increasingly being shaped by original writing, drawing from years of poems, lived questions, and emotional survival.

“Stuck Home Syndrome” released on March 20, 2026 is my first original 20-track album written during a period when time felt compressed and days began to blur into each other. The songs came from sitting with thoughts that had nowhere else to go — unfiltered, repetitive, and sometimes uncomfortable. It’s a concept album that isn’t built around singles or polish. It’s closer to a continuous inner monologue, recorded with minimal production and very little ornamentation and meant to be listened to as one cohesive body of work. The goal wasn’t to resolve anything, only to document how it felt while it was happening.

On May 29, 2026 I released new original singles – “Rapturous”, “Uh Huh”, “Look At You”, “All That” and “Blew Print”. I continue to release both original and cover songs and intend to so for as long as I can so check back every once in a while — you might. just find something you’ll like.

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Rebuilding Under Debt: Thinking Clearly When Everything Is a Blur

A nonfiction book about what debt does to the mind — and how to begin functioning again when financial stress has made everything feel blurred, urgent, and overwhelming.

Rather than treating debt only as a financial math problem, the book explores the emotional and cognitive realities of financial distress: shame, decision fatigue, avoidance, panic, relationship strain, and the difficulty of making sound decisions while mentally depleted.

Published under Steady Hand Press. It’s available worldwide in ebook and paperback formats on Amazon. Bookstores and libraries can also be order it wholesale via Ingram.

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For book-related inquiries, media requests, bookstore questions, or discussion-group invitations, you can reach me through the contact page on this site or send me an email to rjmarmol[at]gmail[dot]com or hello[at]steadyhandpress.com

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