The Blacklists

Like a  Ludlum novel, the plot of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam thickens with the surfacing of different lists of people implicated in the misuse of appropriations. Former Senator, former police chief and former Metrocom operative, now ‘Yolanda’ rehabilitation czar, Panfilo Lacson purportedly has possession of such a list.  Secretary of Justice Leila De Lima allegedly procured one during a meeting with Ms. Janet Napoles just before her well-publicized (a security gaffe I suppose) surgery. And there’s the list of one Sandra Cam, president of an association of whistle blowers.

I don’t think anybody would be surprised if these lists contained almost everybody in government. The surprise probably would come to the political overlords after seeing their vassals doing more business on their own.

One can see the depths of corruption in governance where the population of whistle blowers increased by so many folds so much as to warrant an association. Thing is, aren’t whistle blowers supposed to be ‘below ground’ to protect them from harm. Isn’t an association much like painting a bull's eye on their foreheads? By the way, whatever happened to that guy who blew the whistle on the wholesale eradication of the Kuratong Baleleng claiming it as a rub out?

I could see the dilemma of the justice secretary (no pun intended), the evidence may probably be insufficient at this point so they’re looking at photographs, really? So why reveal the existence of such as a list? As for former Senator Lacson and Ms. Cam, I can only surmise on their intentions.

Should the list really be kilometric and evidences sufficient, what would the government do? Will there be sanctions, suspensions and frozen assets? Will governance be paralyzed or would it improve? Would the Veteran’s hospital be transformed into a penitentiary? As it is, the first batch of those accused have not even been touched. They are flying on holidays or what not, vilified but nonetheless free as birds. There is something wrong with accused and witnesses being able to just skip town. When will those accused ever get their day in court to clear their names? Would Ben Hur Luy reach the age of collecting on his SSS before anything on the PDAF scam really happen? Does the association of whistle blowers include SSS benefits?

When the scam first exploded,  the topic was in chock full coverage in various news reports and talks in the local hang outs, then came the televised blue ribbon with their supposedly slam dunk testimonies, after which the whole affair has now slid to the inside pages with nothing really happening. What new law has been formulated to mitigate misuse of appropriations?

And now we have the lists.

Would the PDAF scam go the way of the Maguindanao Massacre, which proceedings have been on the grind that witnesses and the whistle blowers as I read somewhere, have started to disappear before their testimonies are recounted in court.

However slow the wheels of justice roll, I think the maturity of Philippine electorate will manifest at the 2016 election. The PDAF scam has shown the way of the dynasties, how 2^nd generations continue their predecessor’s indiscretion. 

I hope we learned something.

Massive infrastructure program to alleviate poverty

Following reports indicating poverty on a standstill despite the Philippines gaining much economic ground, I suspected that the current administration would just leave the result of the survey to the ‘Trickle down’ syndrome as past administrations were wont to do. Happily I was wrong, at least on paper. The plan to inject a massive infrastructure program to hasten poverty alleviation reinforces my belief that the heart of the President is in the right place.

To be sure, the strategy is nothing new but the amount, a trillion Pesos, stands impressive. And bolstered by the President’s doggedness like a pit bull on crack, displayed during the impeachment, I am sure the program will develop traction in no time.

Of course, there would be political under tones attached to it but no matter, the plan sounds good.

Ensuring the program success, however- that it reaches the intended beneficiaries- require a nuanced approach. Left to work on the regular protocol, the program would likely be just another money making machine for the superfluously rich. We know the superfluously rich are the ones who engage the government agency. Based on specifications and financial estimates, the capitalists work out the numbers and should margins look insufficient (counting the tong system in place), we all know where the corners would be cut.

Among the things that prevent real impact on poverty alleviation, in the different incarnations of this strategy, is the exploitation of labor. We know this as a fact. ‘Slave wages’ is the bad language of what is politely referred to as the ‘trickle-down effect’ and it persists in the construction industry where laborers are paid way below prescribed legal rates. For all the dizzying pace of real property development in the country (which somewhere I read, sprouted an RFO industry with an inventory of over 20,000), is it not puzzling that poverty has not inched downward.  With construction employing maybe a third of the labor force, half of us living under the poverty line, why wouldn’t living conditions get better for people in Smokey mountain or Parola where labor is normally sourced?

With labor exploitation widespread, it wouldn’t have been much different had big businesses along with government itself actually conspiring to keep labor wages down and people forever chained to destitution. Where are the good guys then?

Instituting measures for compliance, meaning the right wages along with benefits including but not limited to Social Security (SSS), Home Mutual Development Fund (HDMF) and Phil health, to be sure, would be a gargantuan task but the result I am sure would encompass taxation, savings, housing, education and medical care for a bigger population.  And as far as compliance is concerned, I am not talking about mere clearances from the Department of Labor and Employment, SSS, HDMF but constant monitoring on ground zero.

By the way, the news report of the government plan for a massive infrastructure program carried with it the threat from the DPWH that projects would have tighter monitoring and supervision. Given what’s happening on projects rolled out, I can only wish us luck.

While on the subject of tighter monitoring and supervision, it would be for the greater good if projects followed timetables for completion where sanctions are enforced. There should be a requirement to post completion schedules.

The other thing is, normally, project completions are always shy of entirely covered excavations. It is not the exception to find gaping holes right in the middle of the streets. Now how do these contractors get away with something like those instances? Here in Bacoor city, a length of the Aguinaldo highway leading to the bend going to Cavite City is lined with excavations which stench have become unbearable, being part of the sewerage system. Besides that the excavations pose dangers for both pedestrians and motorist.

In another part, the coastal road seems forever in some stage of construction since its opening. A commuter is snagged by the slow transaction in the toll gates then gets caught in the obstruction of construction in the coastal road followed by the humongous clog in Aguinaldo. With travel time from Manila to Bacoor up to three hours, sometime more, can we expect productivity to improve?

Anyway, I hope the projects at last cascade benefits to those left behind, humongous traffic or not.

Prevalence of Poverty in the Philippines

While Mona Lisas and Mad hatters, sons of bankers, sons of lawyers 

turn around to say good morning to the night 

for unless they see the sky but they can't and that is why 

they know not if its dark outside or light

Mona Lisas and Madhatters, Elton John-Bernie Taupin, Honky Chateau, MCA Records, 1972

Mona Lisas and Mad hatters set to poetry the indifference of the rich and powerful towards the poor from an entirely separate time when the pace of life was slower, the world bigger and the population was only half  of what it is today. 41 years hence, radical changes took place where population exponentially increased, technology hastened pace of life while compressing  the world into a village and Sir Elton, contributed to the new era by departing from the stereo type macho rock star image by marrying another man. We thought, the world would never survive that, whew!

Still the indifference remained with the disparity between rich and poor becoming more acute where 1% of the richest owning 40% of the world wealth and a majority surviving on U$2.50/day. Some advance the idea that poverty ebbed somewhat , down 30% of world population from over 50% back in 1981. The World Bank even made an audacious announcement to eradicate extreme poverty by 2015, part of the millennium development goals.

Because the world will forever be burdened with scarce resources made more scarce by a burgeoning population compounded by greed and indifference, it will never rid itself of poverty. 

Here in the Philippines, scarce resources such as land and capital are controlled by less than one percent of the population (100M as of 2012). The  disproportionate distribution resulted in  26% of the population living below the poverty line and probably, the same percentage, sitting on its fringes. The abject poor consists of the 7% unemployed in the labor force plus another 19% underemployed  and their dependents. 

Poverty is a wholly economic perspective characterized by a set of parameters that deprive individuals of decent living conditions including adequate nourishment, shelter, clothes and education. Government views poverty with alarm knowing the direct proportion of hunger and rebellion. The devil and polluticians see a mass of corruptible souls to be exploited while the pious value poverty as a ticket to the pearly gate or its equivalent. The ordinary working stiff tries hard not to get sucked into it and those living it, may not be able spell the word. 

While so much  government initiatives (i.e the comprehensive agrarian reform program , the conditional cash transfer and country side development through the priority development assistance program among others) have been uploaded to alleviate poverty , one wonders why all these moves failed to make a dent on pervasive poverty. On top of the initiatives, the Philippines made so much  economic headway- the 6.6% GDP expansion, a comfortable foreign reserve and investment upgrades leading to commentaries of the country as the rising star in southeast Asia. Unfortunately, the economy always seem to be rising but never reaching the top with the impending landing into first world category always falling short of the runway of  reality.

Indifference theory

An assessment of the problem may lead to a conclusion that we've been pushing the wrong item as far as comparative advantage goes, therefore limiting investments. For a long time, labor has been the Philippines' comparative advantage made more pronounce by overseas remittance. Labor is the everyday man eking a living- technically capable, English proficient but considered the new nigger of the world and in his home, over taxed, under represented, underpaid and living in treacherous conditions.Labor could easily transform into a broad industry of entrepreneurs if nursed into that transition but, it is neglected. 

Look at the justice system. Magistrates reconfigured the process to serve solely the rich and powerful. A poor man cannot just enter the courts to press his rights. 

What is a temporary restraining order (TRO)? It is not a reevaluation of a case but a petition requiring security equal to 10% of the financial attachments. TRO is the exclusive domain of the rich. With all the TROs released, the justices now enjoy their renovated  Baguio hideaway of a seven star spa category.

Meanwhile, questions linger on controversial rulings. What led to the decision to open the gates of the party list system to every carpetbagger? Why the flip-flop on PAL?   How come the Vizconde massacre came out differently compared to the Abadilla five when both cases hung on the testimony of a single witness? Of the ombudsman, how can she let loose these people who jeopardized national security to enrich themselves. Are their lifestyles not enough evidence? Have we gone senile?

Lady justice maybe blind but she feels. Numbness on display by the justice practitioners is not making people comfortable on the whole much less about investment.

Insult to injury, there is under representation with the legislators who instead of protecting, defining and expanding rights are so absorbed with farm to pocket projects, ghost NGOs and realigning MOOE for additional perks. Legislators unleashed the cyber crime prevention act to stifle freedom of expression, burdened the public with EPIRA to answer for the skimming of profits and outright stupidity of stranded cost, decided to saddle us additionally with VAT while now campaigning under the platform of poverty alleviation.   

And of taxes, you know how much the government is ripping off your hard earned pay, almost half, 35% on income tax plus 12% for VAT, that is if you're a regular working man. If you're lucky to be above the formal economy, a taipan, a captain of industry, a professional, a sitting politician, or below the formal economy, a drug dealer, a gun runner, a pimp, then you pay only 12%.

What do you get in return for paying taxes, a justice system to protect your rights? An armed force to secure your well-being? Peace and order? 

Based on news, our police force is seemingly filled with psychopaths while the environment, of rampant crimes. It has gotten so bad that children have turned criminals and what do you know, the legislative body is looking at a bill that lowers the age for criminal liability. That is entirely lame. 

Meanwhile captains of industries get away with 5-5-5 contractualization and other unenforced laws for the labor group.

Equality as an economic ingredient

What is needed is an environment of equality where rights and privileges of every citizen would be protected;

where big and small landowners would not be deprived of the use of their assets, squatting would be crime, the CARP would issue justified valuation;

where misuse of funds by politicians would be prosecuted, no matter title or social standing;

where there would be just one set of laws to apply to everybody;

where dynasties would not be tolerated;

where civil servants fulfill their oaths of allegiance to the constitution;

where the court rules according to law;

where special interest are sacrificed for the common good, the party list system abolished;

where legislators actually know their craft;

where elections are not won by wealth;

According to the CIA fact book, our population ranks 12th in a universe of 239 countries with a density of about 300+/sq km (Macau has 19,000 people for every sq km). Government feels it is the biggest problem of the country and prescribed the RH as the strategy to combat the bloating numbers of the poor. I think their take on population growth is on the dark side.But the problem is not so much the increase but magnification of prejudice in our society. Prejudice and fear managed to shred our nation into ethnicity, religion, dialect, politics and creed. The RH is saying the poor cannot multiply because government cannot protect its rights. 

To fix the many social ill, the nation has to learn equality.Exacting equality will never eradicate poverty merely injustice. Injustice comes from indifference; indifference comes from wealth and power; wealth and power comes from undue advantage, a primary source of which is too much government intrusion but no governance.

Equality will never create heaven on earth but probably will create viable opportunities to neutralize the prevalent poverty.

Senatorial campaign 2013

The general campaign pitch of the senatorial candidates for the May polls is decidedly poverty alleviation. Sound bytes, images and subliminal messages are directed towards 26.5% (CIA Fact book) of the Filipino nation living under the poverty line and probably, another equal percentage on its fringes.  On print and broadcast, TV most prominently (one reason why political leadership would always be ruled by money), the electorate is bombarded with platforms of job generation, free education, free health care, stable prices and a host of promises dovetailed at what the Filipino poor wants to hear.

Maybe it's just me suffering from an overdose of an endless stream of campaign advertisement but I now alternately view the messages as reeking with  so much condescension towards what I fear these candidates see as the poor, downtrodden electorate. Notice how the word give or its subliminal context is plastered all over the campaign : give jobs, give education, give health care, give stable prices, so on and so forth to the mendicant electorate who thrive under the Conditional Cash Transfer. You can actually feel the bias of these privileged few when they look down on you from the idiot box.

I feel they all missed the point.

Senators are not suppose to give anything. They are not suppose to give to ghost non-government organizations their hundreds of millions of Pesos of priority development fund (PDAF) or to themselves, in particular, fat bonuses from realigned maintenance and other operating expense (MOOE) funds. Senators have nothing to give, in contrast they take from the electorate burdened as it is with taxes of 47% of their income (35% Income tax + 12% Value Added Tax). Senators take from the electorate their  salaries , MOOE, bonuses and PDAF. 

For all their perks, senators are suppose to ensure through legislation that equality, freedom and liberty are accorded to each and every citizen irregardless of social position, ethnicity, religion or creed as demanded by the constitution to arrive at a just and humane society. So, where are those conversations?

We've all heard how the 15th congress unleashed the cyber crime prevention act effectively restricting freedom of speech, an awful law not given enough debate. There is also Republic Act 10389 an act allowing recognizance for indigents accused of crimes. Some may find this cute but  think about it and it might occur that this is biased for the poor. Why only the poor, why not everyone? Take another cute law RA 10361 or the domestic workers' act presumed to protect the household help. Why the need for a special law? Senators of the 15th congress seem think there is a marginalized component of society. There should not be and if there is it's their doing. Laws are for every citizen equally applied. To paraphrase Alfredo Lim, laws are for everyone or no one at all. I hope I got that right.

For spreading equality, the 15th congress of the senate missed so much. As starter, there's the continued dominance of dynasties which suppresses an equal opportunity, political arena. Ideas have staled in the long run of dynasties because the political and legislative leadership are the 'same old, same old." Not surprisingly, most senatorial candidates agree there's nothing wrong with dynasties since they all hail from the same place. 

Even the president seems not immune. Palace spokes person Edwin Lacierda was once quoted as encouraging the electorate to evaluate between good and bad dynasties which was almost funny except it hurts when I laugh. It's like saying someone's an SOB but then its alright because that someone is our SOB. Then there's the VP who actually argued for dynasties, defending its existence with credentials and clamor. When asked about Nancy's credentials, the VP responds with 'She's my daughter'. Again, it only hurts when I laugh.

Here's a news flash, the President and Vice President along with all the officials, swore to uphold the constitution of which the anti-dynasty is a provision. Do they see themselves above everybody else with a license to trample on the constitution?

How about justice, does everyone have equal access? The courts are ruled by money, there is no denying that fact. There are people languishing in jail with far more time than that decreed for their crime because of their lack of lawyers, conclusively money. I have seen people accused of shoplifting having done over 6 months with still no arraignment. Now that's justice delayed, justice denied in clear context. Was RA 10389 the answer? Of course not!  The thing is that there should be a legal limited holding time by which accused should be charged and arraigned. 

The courts, as these stand today, are not  public areas where everyone has access. It is restricted for those with money. How else can one explain the same testimonial circumstance but differing outcome of the Vizconde Massacre and the Abadilla 5? The Philippine Airline flip-flop? And Jonas Burgos? Where is justice when lawmakers become fugitives then given merely a slap on the wrist when finally apprehended?

On May 9, we go to the polls to choose candidates to assume the current vacancies of the senate. Thirty-three candidates vie for twelve seats, six of which are incumbents. The word 'senate' comes from the Latin senex (old men) to mean the council of old men. Roman emperors enlisted retired magistrates to lend advise on political management policies. Obviously they thought the older, the wiser. Unfortunately its not always the case while the young also have nothing to offer. The senate needs 12 men to fill its vacancy who will offer a vigorous debate for equality and freedom which we do not get from the likes of Ramon Revilla, Lito Lapid and Jinggoy Estrada while mocked by the plagiarism of Tito Sotto and Pia Cayetano. None of those I heard discussed core issues of equality and freedom just the same song and dance routine. 

Will Somebody please take the lead in the 16th.

Death and Taxes

Coed commits suicide over tuition. She could have been a shining example of how the public domain works, instead she's dead. There's a vivid connection between  death and taxes.

Education is one of the areas that taxes are suppose to cover. Trillions of pesos, collected as taxes, failed to save this particular life.  We have income tax, corporate tax, value added tax, sin tax, inheritance tax among thousands of variation which should have gone to areas the citizenry can enjoy and avail: (1) education (2) justice (3) peace and order along (4) with parks and roads.

Everybody knows justice is a money game and I am not talking about bribes, yet, but just normal procedures. One gets arrested, even on suspicion and the bills stack up. One needs a lawyer, one needs to pay bail, one needs to pay the court for rescheduling, copies of documents, etc etc. Having had my share of being incarcerated, I saw people doing more time than the offense would merit for a number of reasons: (1) unavailability of the judge or fiscal; my particular case ran ten  years; (2) no representation, the Public Attorneys' Office is hard to access otherwise there won't be cases where holding period before trial surpasses incarceration period decreed by law, example shoplifting; (3) backlog of cases, the court my case was assigned hears over 100 cases a day. 

If that was not bad enough the 15th congress of the senate enacts the cyber crime act effectively disenfranchising the people of the freedom of speech. Where's justice? Then, their own members commit plagiarism after a member of the supreme court. It's funny but it hurts when I laugh. If there was something about the election, it should be to boot out the incumbents.

What of peace and order? In comes the pieces of body parts and they order the investigation. We know why the most famous division of the police is Scene Of the Crime Operative. The call center is a burgeoning industry that sends its employees in the most wicked hours where there are no police officers and if there were, could turn out to be the criminals themselves. 

Here's another, Congress before recess (as if it needed more) debated over house bill 6052 (?) , something to do with lowering juvenile criminal liability from 18 to 12.  HB 6052 was prompted by media reports on rampant shenanigans committed with audacity right in the busy highway of EDSA by out-of-school youth gangs alternately called 'Bakal Boys' , 'Car Wash' and 'Tropang Rugby' .  One very graphic footage captured a taxi driver in mid morning traffic assaulted by a boy, probably no more than 15 whose cohorts, meantime, grabbed the cabbie's earnings. It was a stunning depiction of lawlessness. The inability of the police force to put a stop on the syndicates operating these 'crews' or formulate strategies to bust the gangs hanging out in the peripheries of EDSA have come down to congress making laws to jail children.

Speaking of EDSA, DPHW and MMDA are thinking of renovating the whole stretch. Not a bad idea, except time and again these agencies have shown they cannot handle the consequent traffic jams. 

Now toll on highways are another matter. It's just weird that people pay taxes so roads can be built. Then government builds roads but exact toll which would be a tax on the tax. On top of that, government levies a tax on the tax of a tax.

So BIR is going to put an eagle eye on doctors and lawyers. What about the Forbe's list? What about the congressmen and senators lining up their pockets with their Priority Development Fund?

The Coed is dead because among other factors, some non-existent NGO got funds that could have gone to her education.

In Search for Senators

The word senator comes from the Latin 'senex' which translates to 'old men'. Roman emperors enlisted  retired magistrates to lend advice on management policies of the kingdom because of the supposed relation of age to wisdom.
I know, I know It's not always true. A know a few of my own relatives who grew old learning everything in reverse.
When monarchies evolved to republics, consequently senators became representatives of the people from mere advisers to kings. Emperors were out of jobs and did not need advisers. Senex, still sought for advise by ordinary citizens, parlayed the demand by creating a cushy job. Their new job was defining the aspirations of citizens in building a just and humane society, thus was born the August Hall.
Centuries later the pork barrel was invented, thus was born scandal.
Philippines in May 2013 holds mid-term elections for Senators. 33 candidates of which 6 are incumbents are vying for twelve seats. 12 are over 60 years old and I guess you can name those tunes.
No, I am not campaigining for the oldies. I am just saying.
So while I really think 50% of the votes cast would depend which party 'buses' the electorate first, I hope there's the other half who would vet candidates. I can lend some of my own views in vetting candidates.
Here is my list.
Criteria
1.Wisdom is a foremost quality the electorate should look for in a candidate.
Wisdom is the acquisition of experience and their applications that result to the greater good. Lack of wisdom can best be illustrated in plagiarism, the act of imitation then letting people think the idea is original. Tsk tsk tsk. Lack of wisdom can also be shown when people respond with "I was unaware" after being caught with their hands on the cookie jar. ( the appropriate repartee would be "Tell me to the marines" he he he). Lastly, there's the classic 'There's no law" when questioned about propriety of action.
Is your candidate wise?
2. Fierce belief in Equality and Freedom.
The beginning and end of legislation is the definition of equality and freedom.When in the past, the candidate pushed for clipping of rights- Martial Law, Cyber crime- then the candidate is not for freedom and equality.
3. Understanding the work.
Most senators think that the Priority Development Fund (PDAF) is 'the' work, so they build farm to pocket roads and distribute money to ghost non government organizations (NGO). Really they should scrap the pork.
Talent in policy crafting is the work. Policies generally tend to negatively impact on a portion of the constituency. The trick is to ensure the positive impact lands on the greater number of the population, instead of the other way around.
A purpose of the election: Cleaning the Senate
One way of looking at the coming election is a window to clean the senate. Stories of fund misuse by ranking bureaucratic leaders abound in this country with a corruption perception index (CPI) of 105 that ties with Mali (seriously?), Kosovo and Mexico although as far as I know, the only successfully prosecuted case is that one of former president Estrada.
Recently, the senate had been fraught with scandals specifically its use or misuse of funds; first the realignment of savings to Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) involving Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile which was later discovered to have been given as additional bonuses to Senators and staff; then followed by the Priority Development Fund (PDAF) reported by the Commission on Audit (COA) to have been poured into non-existent foundations again by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile along with Senator Ramon 'Bong' Revilla and Senator Jinggoy Estrada. The three mentioned senators have terms up to 2016 although they all have relatives running for various positions in the coming election.
Jackie Enrile, gunning for a senate seat, is son of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. Senator Ramon 'Bong' Revilla has wife Lani Mercado running for a congressional seat while his son Jolo is campaigning for governorship for the province of Cavite. JV Ejercito seeking a seat in the senate  is the sibling of Senator Jinggoy Estrada whose father convicted former president Estrada is also running for mayor of Manila.
If it isn't clear, I am suggesting that relatives of officials involved in questionable doings should not be voted into office. Why? Foremost, their clout, once in office would affect the investigations or court proceeding  assuming plunder cases are initiated.
Booting out incumbents
All the senators of the 15th congress are guilty of taking away the freedom of speech when they promulgated the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. So the re-electionists consist of Alan Peter Cayetano, Francis Escudero, Loren Legada, Aquilino Pimentel, Antonio Trillanes and Gregorio Honasan. Special Mention should be given Sonny Angara because his father was a member of the 15th congress, also Cynthia Villar whose husband is Manny. Last but not least, voters should exclude Bam Aquino because his cousin is the president who approved its enactment.
No to Dynasty
We can strive for equality all we want but we won't get there until dynasties are vanquished.
Oligarchs and dynasties share the same vision: to ensure dominance in their field and perpetuate that until 'thy kingdom come', that's equality out the window. Ferdinand Marcos hit on a bright idea to take out the oligarchs that controlled the economy. However, he replaced oligarchs with cronies and kleptocracy. But the greatest harm he set on the Filipinos was unleashing Juan Ponce Enrile.
The electorate take away the power of dynasties and these dynasties cannot protect their economic backers.
Its time for a new order.

A Stand up Movie, Stand up Guys, Lionsgate, 2013

I like buddy-action movies. But  take Al Pacino and Christoper Walken then spice it with Alan Arkin and voila, you have a treat that's upped the ante in this genre. They are  funny, believable and entirely engaging, making the film work on several levels:  (a) as pure entertainment (b) as a view on growing old and second wind (that's my own appreciation) and (c) as a look how values stand up to the tyranny of changing times.

The premise is locked tight, how do you kill your best friend?

Seems Val (Pacino) accidentally kills the mob boss' (Mark Margolis) son in a botched heist. After doing time, he walks into his best friend Doc (Walken) who had been handed the job to off him. But Doc is torn so he procrastinates, instead he shows Val a good time, hitting the brothel and finding time to rescue Hirsh (Arkin), a former get-away driver for the mob stuck in a nursing home with emphysema.
In a joy ride, Hirsh confesses to an item in his bucket list for a three-way (menage a troi) and they go back to the brothel.

The trio finds a naked woman in the trunk of the car they jacked who had been kidnapped by a group of thugs. They decide to dispense justice. Hirsh, while waiting for Val and Doc in the get-away vehicle however dies suddenly.

Doc tries to talk the mob boss out of killing Val but fails. The mob boss threatens to harm Doc's granddaughter if he does not deliver  the job. In the end the duo takes on the mob.

"Do we kick ass or chew gum?"

"I'm out of gum" Walken does a little dance as he replies to Pacino's question. Now, how could that miss?
Pacino, Walken and Arkin work on each other with good chemistry.
Initially disconcerting, a disheveled Pacino reworks his Scent of a Woman  (Universal, 1992) role, a man who is cocky on the outside but resigned in the inside. I thought of throwing a molotov cocktail on the screen when it looked liked they were going for Scent of a Woman in that scene in a bar where Pacino asked for a dance. Thank goodness, it was not a tango.

Walken does this eye thing.
In this movie, the plot  engages because of Walken's eyes.
There's the scene that really blows where Pacino washes his face and Walken stands behind him with a cocked gun. At first, the eyes (as I saw it) reflected resolve, then conflict.
Another one was in a bar scene where two guys of the mob boss approach the duo where Pacino was snorting prescription medicine.  Walken didn't say a word but unflinchingly eyeballs the two with a most menacing stare. It was great.
Arkin plays it straight reacting to the other two. His character is another doomed guy just out to have one last party. As in Argo (Warner, 2012, Oscar recipient for best Movie) his role is short but sweet.
Mark Margolis as the mob boss, Claphands, we've seen in countless movies doing the same role but he does it well and comes out believable. Good job.
I like the touch about the painting of sunrise against the movies theme of lost causes.
Stand up Guys is a man's movie without that much violence but instead, lends a reflective view on self-conflict. The movie appeals because that's an everyday dilemma, maybe not to kill but whether to kick out an old friend because you can't afford it.
I have a few friends I spent a lot of time with who I don't see anymore, probably will not, not with our advance age. So, this one appeals to me.