Presidential Mediation

As predicted, President Aquino endorsed DILG Secretary Mar Roxas as the Liberal Party's presidential candidate. Senators Poe and Escudero are left out in the cold after those Palace dinners P-Noy hosted to moderate the trio's political ambitions.

Ambition, like greed and other traits that tend to be excessive, are often dealt with in mediation.

Floating Evidence

Sea bullies, beware! Secure your tools of naval destruction, lest they float to your victim's shores. That seems to have actually happened, when "fishermen found these containment booms with Chinese markings in waters off Cabangan, Zambales," as Inquirer reported recently.

Sometimes in mediation, too, if logic or goodwill fails, a little help from nature could lead to some lucky lead to settlement. My aging mother, sued by lot buyers of her subdivision abandoned by the developer, got off the hook due to her dementia.

Projection

It is a defense mechanism people use for psychological self-preservation. Or political, if you will, as Binay does, when he describes rivals as just depending on "name recall, political rhetoric and drama." He could very well be depicting himself!

In mediation and anywhere else, it is best to assume that what people criticize in others is precisely what they do not like about themselves!

Take 5

Months?, i.e. That is what Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada is saying to market vendors of Quinta (5) Market in the meantime it is being rebuilt. Back to sidewalk-vending for them.

Mediation could have sought the needs and interests of the city and its citizens both vendors and consumers, through a win-win compromise.

Aunor's Horror Stories

Local cinema took to the extreme the maxim "Strike while the iron is hot!" Nora Aunor revealed recently that at one point in her popular career, she was shooting five films in different rooms of a mansion at the same time. Of course, it was confusing, and she had to be prompted as to what particular movie she was filming at the moment of what day!

If only we could do simultaneous mediation sessions, perhaps all disputes on bouncing checks one day. Settlement could be chosen from a schedule of payment.
Like mass weddings!!!

Taking (Wood) Stock

Down memory lane yesterday, as "Taking Woodstock" was shown on cable. It presented the back story of the actual country concert about 5 decades (not of the rosary!) ago. I reviewed the movie that covered the actual event for our college paper and remembered the nuns who came over and even made the "peace" sign. Anyway, the couple-farmers who owned the tract of land were able to pay the loan on their property, as well as taste some marijuana-laced brownies!!!

In mediation, it is good to have an idea of the background of the dispute, only in the course of understanding the situation and the best way to solve the conflict.

Guidance & Control

That is not the new name for Guidance & Counseling, and never will be. It has always been based on the volition of the counselee. Guidance & Control refers to the systems lead of the New Horizons project to Pluto, a hi-tech remote control across the galaxy.

Mediation is likewise not subject to control, remote or otherwise. Like counseling, which it is but for two, it relies on the (good)will of both sides.

More Than Meets The Eye Center

Philhealth recently was faced with charges of eye clinics seeing double cataract operations on a patient within a week or two. That is not regularly done.  So with other irregularities, it was further alleged.

Sometimes even eye centers are not clear on their actions. Mediation surely sees more than enough of this trend.

Rat a To We

Regressed to Disney cable network last night, delighted to catch Ratatouille on role reversal in the kitchen. The former pest becomes a chef instead!

In mediation, previous trouble-makers can morph into peacemakers at the prodding of mediators.

Bar Codes

Today's Biz Buzz of the Inquirer had alarming news that our driver's licenses and car plates do not really need barcodes as the owner's name and address, as well as car plate numbers are already shown. It could just be considered as decorative then.

I always wondered why the sitcom Big Bang Theory has an Indian, Raj as token minority nerd. I guess Filipinos would qualify for corrupt token minority. No mediation needed there.