From the mouth of an arrogant ignoramus

from EDITORIAL (The Daily Tribune) Jan 16, 2010

http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100116com1.html

Liberal Party presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino appears to be drunk with power that is not even his to exercise and not even if he ever makes it to the Palace.

In a statement Aquino released to the media, he said that not only will he not recognize a Supreme Court Chief Justice (CJ) appointed by Gloria Arroyo if elected president, but that he also warned that any SC associate justice appointed by Gloria “risks his status as a member of the high court.”

“If elected president, I will not recognize a chief justice appointed by the outgoing president, contrary to the constitutional ban on appointments during the wee hours of her presidency, and contrary to propriety, delicadeza and precedence.

“Let me forewarn any member of the Supreme Court who shall accept to be chief justice by appointment of the outgoing president, that not only shall he not be recognized, but he risks even his presence in the court as an associate member.”

The arrogance of it all is appalling, coming from one who is not even president and an ignoramus at that.

How useful are presidential debates?

from Public Lives by Randy David (Philippine Daily Inquirer) Jan 16, 2010
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20100115-247553/How-useful-are-presidential-debates

MOST QUESTIONS ASKED OF CANDIDATES in presidential debates take the form “What will you do about...?” or “How do you intend to solve the problem of...?” More often than not, such questions only elicit silly responses to what, in truth, are very complex issues. A trained politician would resort to stock answers uttered in a fast and unhesitating way, more to impress the audience with his command of the language and confident demeanor than to lend clarity to the issue at hand. A mindful candidate, in contrast, might stutter, take more time than permitted, as he tries to reduce the question to something manageable.

If only for this reason, I find most presidential debates unsatisfying and even misleading. They reward glibness rather than intelligence, shallowness rather than depth, bombast rather than thoughtfulness. But more than this, they reinforce a mindset that magnifies the role of political will in social change while ignoring the concrete conditions that make certain solutions possible or not possible.

We only need to take a cursory look at three major national problems to realize how complex and intertwined these are: mass poverty, corruption, and organized violence. None of these problems can be traced to a single cause. Each one of them seems to spring and lead directly to the other. Moreover, it is not easy to tell how many of these problems are part of the slow evolution of societies, and how many are outcomes of our unique history as a people.

Gordon's complaint

from FROM A DISTANCE by Carmen N. Mendoza (The Philippine Star) Jan 16, 2010

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=541132&publicationSubCategoryId=64

During the week, I went to the Light and Sound Museum in Intramuros for the nth time. It has been there for over two years now but it has not been given the attention it deserves. The last time I went there I was with my three grandchildren, Rafael, Daniela and Alexi. They may be too young to understand all that was being said about Philippine history through the prism of Jose Rizal’s life and execution, but they were mesmerized by the drama created by light and sound and brilliant stage props. It can move even a first time visitor. They were thrilled and soon began to ask questions.

It should be seen by all Filipinos, young and old, and an information campaign should be launched for the purpose. The first step I think is that entrance should be free or at least lower priced tickets. But it is all worth it to revive Filipinos’ patriotic spirit.

On our latest visit, Senator Richard Gordon came to escort us to what he considers one of his most important achievements. I agree. Even if he did not win in 2010, he already has the legacy of the Light and Sound. With us was Carlos A. Arnaldo, former head of the UNESCO Communications Division in Paris. He has now become an avid Rizalista and was surprised to know there was such a Light and Sound Museum.

What should have been just another visit to the museum for me turned out to be an interview with one of the leading candidates for the 2010 presidential elections. Like the story of a spurned lover made famous by Philip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint, Gordon told me he could not understand why those who seek reforms in this country admit his accomplishments and mettle to be President and at the same time think he cannot win. If they do not want a contest of money or popularity then they should not make these things matter. (I had written it in one column repeated by others that we think Gordon accomplished many things but will he win?)

“I do not need to spend a lot of money to win,” he said “and that is how I am campaigning.” He will go around the country and talk to all and sundry and remind them of what he has done.

* * *

Gordon who has never lost an election may have many blocks to hurdle in the 2010 elections, but he and his partner Bayani Fernando are not fazed. He believes both of them combine qualities of good public servants. They have done things and these should speak for themselves.

Comelec approves 144 party-list groups

by Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star)

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=541176&publicationSubCategoryId=63

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has given 144 party-list organizations the go-signal to field bets in the May polls.

The controversial gay rights group Ang Ladlad has made it to the list but not 162 other party-list aspirants.

In its 33-page Resolution No. 8744, the Comelec said the groups’ petitions for accreditation have been approved on the recommendation of the agency’s law department.

The Comelec said the accredited party-list groups have been carefully scrutinized for their track records, programs of action, and nationwide visibility and influence.

Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said Ang Ladlad’s inclusion in the list was on orders of the Supreme Court.

The high tribunal earlier said Ang Ladlad should stay on the list pending the resolution of its petition against a Comelec ruling barring it from the party-list polls.

"Noynoy ignorant, arrogant"—Palace

On Aquino’s threat not to recognize new CJ

By Aytch S. de la Cruz,Charlie V. Manalo and Gerry Baldo (The Daily Tribune)

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20100116hed1.html

Ignorance plus arrogance makes for a dangerous president.

Liberal Party standard bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino’s threat not to recognize any chief justice (CJ) appointed by President Arroyo and his pledge to fire any associate justice who will recognize the new CJ not appointed by him has succeeded in kicking up a storm of protests, with Malacañang yesterday saying Aquino has all the makings of a “dangerous” President if he wins Malacañang in 2010 after showing himself up to be “arrogant” and “ignorant” by issuing such threats to the high court.

Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Prospero

Pichay said Aquino’s warning to the hight court justices is “irresponsible and dangerous” because it does show that he does not have any high regard for the judiciary, a co-equal branch of government.

“If you combine arrogance with ignorance, it is very, very dangerous,” Pichay said during a briefing in Malacañang. You have to respect a co-equal branch of government, you don’t threaten it.”

In a statement released to media, Aquino said, “if elected President, I will not recognize a Chief Justice appointed by the outgoing President, contrary to the constitutional ban on appointments during the wee hours of her presidency, and contrary to propriety and delicadeza and long standing precedence of prohibition against appointments two months before the outgoing President’s term expires.

Gibo: We need to invest in education system

from Peoples Tonight
http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php/top-stories/940-gibo-we-need-to-invest-in-education-system

LAKAS-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer and former Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro underscored the need to invest in and reengineer the Philippine education system from preschool to the tertiary level as part of the next president’s “immediate doables” to heighten the global competitiveness of Filipinos.

Speaking before a forum for presidential candidates organized by the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation, Teodoro said that to strengthen basic and tertiary education in the country, the government needs to rationalize scholarships and realign the education system with international standards.

The forum, which was aired live over the ABS-CBN News Channel to mark the birthday of the late former United Nations Secretary General Carlos P. Romulo, was attended by members of the business community and the diplomatic corps and the media.

“Basic education reform, the roadmap is already there, we have to realign our education system to align it with international standards, additional years perhaps,” Teodoro said at the forum held at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center in Makati City. “On tertiary education, we should rationalize scholarships, and we should have more legitimate masters degree and Phd holders because we have one of the smallest ratios in the world.”

He said local government units should invest in preschool education and standardize how we teach kids literacy, computer skills, English and other formative skills. Unlike other proposals which advocate teaching preschool children in the vernacular, Teodoro said they should be taught in English at an early age to develop both their reading speaking skills in this international language during their formative years.

In his tours of school campuses across Metro Manila, Gibo has been winning the hearts and minds of the Filipino youth with his practical and doable proposals on education, the economy and other pressing national concerns.

More than 7,000 youth volunteers have so far been recruited by the G-Unit or the National Youth Movement for Gibo, following his rounds of various schools in Metro Manila.

Agreeing with Teodoro’s proposals, former Ambassador and Asean Secretary General Rodolfo Severino noted that the Philippines has perhaps one of the shortest formal education programs in the world.

He likewise agreed with Teodoro that the government should focus on infrastructure build-up to help enhance the country’s global competitiveness.

Besides education and infrastructure to seamlessly interconnect the country’s islands, Teodoro said the next chief executive should also focus on increased external trade and foreign direct inflows, regional and bilateral free trade deals, possible free trade agreements with the European Union and the United States and investment opportunities in the Middle East as his “immediate doables” to improve competitiveness.

The forum, which focused on domestic and policy issues, was likewise attended by Teodoro’s fellow presidential bets -- Senators Richard Gordon and Manny Villar. Noticeably absent were Sen. Noynoy Aquino and former President Joseph Estrada.

Former President Ramos, who was among the panelists at the forum, asked where the other presidential candidates were, considering that the gathering was an opportunity for them to air their views and present their platforms of government before the people.

Ramos also commended Teodoro and the other candidates present for taking part in the forum and for providing comprehensive answers to the questions fielded to them.

Teodoro’s plans

from SWAY by Marvin A. Tort (Business Mirror)
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/opinion/20935-teodoros-plans.html 
 
Presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro, a former secretary of national defense, is proposing a national development plan that includes interconnecting the country’s main islands through a modern network of bridges or tunnels. Tunnels or bridges can be built initially to link Bohol and Cebu, as well as areas of Southern Leyte, he says.

“We are still trapped in the time of Roros [roll-on, roll-off ferries]. It is time we seriously consider linking the country through bridges and tunnels between the islands…. Hong Kong has it. Malaysia has it. Why should not the Philippines?” Teodoro was quoted as saying in a recent news report.

He reportedly envisions building a modern national road infrastructure and communications network to hasten economic development and strengthen government efforts to fight rural and urban poverty. At the same time, he wants more funds for local governments for disaster control and management.

And this can be done, he says, by asking Congress to amend the law to allow local governments to utilize more than 5 percent of their Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) for that purpose. The 5-percent limit set by law, he claims, is inadequate for effective disaster response and control by local governments.

Gilbert Teodoro is young, energetic and bright—qualities that can serve him well if and when elected president of the Republic. But other than having served in the Cabinet as defense chief, he has very little executive experience. Not as the CEO of a corporation, nor as governor, nor mayor, nor even barangay captain.

Election Fever

from Merry-Go-Round by Floro M. Mercene (Manila Bulletin)

http://mb.com.ph/articles/238518/election-fever 
 

Armed Forces is ready to ensure peace if there is a failure of election in May.
The military will take over in case of a power vacuum. Is this good?

***

PNP is seeking a dry run to test Comelec’s readiness to conduct a fully automated election.
This is the best thing that can happen. We will know if automation will work or not.

***

Manny Villar is inching close to Noynoy Aquino’s high poll ratings.
The administration bet is No. 4. What’s going on?

***

Noynoy’s nightmare

from Editorial (Manila Standard Today) Jan 14, 2010
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/sectionOpinion.htm?f=2010/january/14/editorial.isx&d=2010/january/14

Senator Benigno Aquino III has had a lot of things going for him. He served for three terms at the House of Representatives and did well in the last senatorial elections. He became the standard bearer of the Liberal Party, bumping off Senator Mar Roxas, even as he mourned the death of his mother. Now he is topping poll surveys.

None of these accomplishments are based on what Mr. Aquino has consciously done. All of them are due to the sheer accident of his being born into a prominent family. It’s a trite argument, his handlers say, but it’s also a recurring—and disturbing—one, especially when you are talking of the demands of the presidency.

Aquino has all the time to show the country he is worthy of his instant rise to fame, that he is not a mere stooge of the real decision-makers in his party, that he will make a good chief executive and that he will not panic in the face of the country’s problems.

But if we go by his recent actions, we do not have much reason to start believing in the senator. Aquino’s performance in a presidential forum held over the weekend tells us he does not know how to handle adverse opinion. It reveals his tendency to be haughty and childish—and wander dangerously off-topic once he must address issues not covered by his prepared statements.

Today he has the chance to redeem himself, but Aquino has reportedly declined the invitation to participate in the Carlos Romulo Foundation Presidential Policy Debate. The event seeks candidates’ policy responses on five main issues: peace in Mindanao, foreign relations and international security, the economy and international economic relations, migrant workers and competitiveness.

The senator’s handlers may be relieved that their candidate will skip the opportunity to embarrass himself this time. The public, however, will always remember the ones who chicken out.

Aquino’s absence will be his loss. His closest opponent, Senator Manny Villar, has apparently shed his fear of debates and has agreed to show up. We can imagine what even a mediocre performance by Villar would do to the narrowing gap between the two frontrunners.

Worse, the public will be deprived of the opportunity to hear how exactly those applying for the job intend to address the country’s ills.

This debate’s theme is “Philippine Credibility and Competitiveness in the World.” Aquino is still struggling with his own. Fortunately for the public, which is beginning to see through him, there is still time to think things through.

Nothing quite bold

by Lito Banayo (Malaya) Jan 15, 2010
http://www.malaya.com.ph/01152010/edbanayo.html

MY friend Jun Campillo invited me to the Presidential Policy Forum sponsored by the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation of which he is one of the main movers, and I am glad I went. There is a difference between watching a forum on television, no matter if live, as against being right there where it unfolds.

The forum, held at the AIM Conference Center, was mainly focused on the country’s external relations and international competitiveness, which are the primary concerns of the policy center named after one of our history’s top diplomats, and is ably presided over by his son, himself a seasoned diplomat, former ambassador and foreign minister Bobby Romulo.

Only three of the five major presidentiables went to yesterday’s jam-packed forum – Gilbert Teodoro, Dick Gordon and Manny Villar. The audience was pretty distinguished, with foreign diplomats and heads of multinational agencies, foreign trade chambers, credible business community leaders, media, and even a former president, Fidel V. Ramos. Erap probably dodged the forum wisely. That crowd would not have warmed up to him, nor he to them. But Noynoy should have been around. Most in the audience empathize with him and Mar. His absence became more felt when FVR asked the obvious when he stood up to ask the last question – "Where are the others?"

Competitiveness

from SKETCHES by Ana Marie Pamintuan (The Philippine Star) Jan 15, 2010
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=540892&publicationSubCategoryId=64

Sen. Manny Villar plans to develop a “competitive culture” starting in government, wherein benefits and promotions will be based on “quantifiable” merit through competition. Former defense chief Gilbert Teodoro vows to implement reforms in basic education, with emphasis on pre-schools. And Sen. Richard Gordon wants to create a meritocracy and make the rule of law prevail, just as he did, he likes to point out, in Olongapo.

Those were some of the plans outlined by the three presidential aspirants at a policy forum yesterday, whose theme was “Philippine credibility and competitiveness in the world.”

The forum was organized by the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development together with ANC, whose anchor Ricky Carandang acted as moderator. It was held to coincide with the 112th birth anniversary of the late foreign affairs chief, Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, a Filipino citizen of the world before that phrase was coined.

Welcoming guests, Romulo’s son, former foreign affairs chief Roberto R. Romulo, said his father wanted Filipinos “to resist insularity and provincialism,” and “aim to be heard by the rest of the world and have our cause judged in universal terms.”

VP bets say they are not just ‘spare tires’

by AMITA LEGASPI, GMANews.TV July 15, 2010

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/181626/vp-bets-say-they-are-not-just-spare-tires

Believing that the post they are seeking is not just a "spare tire," vice presidential aspirants on Thursday revealed what they would do once elected.

During the press conference for GMA’s Isang Tanong: The Vice Presidential Forum, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay of the United Opposition and actor Edu Manzano of Lakas-Kampi-CMD said they would like to utilize their ‘expertise’ on local governance and law enforcement by heading the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Dominador Chipeco of Ang Kapatiran would like to be the Labor secretary, Perfecto Yasay Jr of Bangon Pilipinas wants to be in charge of trade and investment, and former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando would like to supervise all the infrastructure agencies.

Senator Loren Legarda would like to lead the government program against hunger while Senator Manuel Roxas II and broadcaster Jay Sonza said they would give the president a free hand to decide what other government function should be given to them.
Binay added that his president would be able to sleep well “dahil ni isang segundo ay hindi ko iisipin na agawin ang kanyang pagkapangulo (I would not dream, even for a second, of taking the presidency from him)."

Only 3 come to debate: ‘Where are the others?’

By TJ Burgonio, Fe Zamora (Philippine Daily Inquirer) Jan 15, 2010

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100115-247400/Only-3-come-to-debate-Where-are-the-others

MANILA, Philippines—It took former President Fidel Ramos to ask the most obvious question at Thursday’s forum in Makati City for presidential candidates: “Where are the others?”

Only three candidates—Senators Manuel Villar and Richard Gordon and former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, standard-bearers of the Nacionalista Party, Bagumbayani Party and Lakas-Kampi-CMD, respectively—showed up at the Presidential Policy Forum on Philippine Credibility and Competitiveness in the World at the Asian Institute of Management.

The front-runner, Liberal Party standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, as well as deposed President Joseph Estrada, declined the invitation made in October. Sen. Jamby Madrigal, Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Councilor John Carlos de los Reyes were also no-shows.

Aquino’s absence did not spare him from snide remarks by Villar and Gordon.

“... You have to check our records. What have we done in the past?” Villar said in an apparent swipe at Aquino’s purported lackluster record as a three-term congressman of Tarlac. (Aquino was elected senator in 2007.)

Gordon launched a two-fisted attack: “You cannot buy the presidency. You cannot inherit the presidency. You have to earn it.”

It was a broadside at both Villar (who is reportedly spending million of pesos on TV ads) and Aquino (who accepted a sudden clamor for him to seek the presidency after the massive funeral of his mother, the well-loved former President Corazon Aquino, in August 2009).

Bets vow to make RP more competitive

by Mike Prialde (The Philippine Star) Jan 15, 2010
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=540900&publicationSubCategoryId=63

MANILA, Philippines - Steering the country to competitiveness is a centerpiece of the programs of action of three presidential candidates.

In a forum hosted by the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation and the ANC Channel at the Asian Institute of Management yesterday, presidential candidates senators Richard Gordon and Manuel Villar and former defense chief Gilbert Teodoro Jr. stressed one after another the importance of improving the country’s educational system and stamping out corruption in helping the country attain global competitiveness.

“We have fallen out of competitiveness and the first thing that comes to mind is corruption. Leadership must provide an example that corruption must be eliminated right away,” Gordon told a panel composed of The STAR executive editor and columnist Ana Marie Pamintuan, CNN Beijing chief Jaime FlorCruz, and ASEAN Studies Center head ambassador Rodolfo Severino. "Education must be enhanced,” Gordon of the Bagumbayan party pointed out.

The event, dubbed “Presidential Policy Forum: Philippine Credibility and Competitiveness in the World,” was attended by journalists, members of the diplomatic corps and the business community.

“We must make sure that every laborer out here will make sure that when he comes out, it is Philippines incorporated,” he said.

“It is a great product because it is made in the Philippines,” he added.

“The Filipino is a great manager of his talents. What is important is to provide him with the opportunity upon which there is a rule of law, there is a regime of meritocracy,” Gordon pointed out. “That is why he succeeds abroad. When he works hard, he gets good compensation. We make sure that they feel that they are part of the process of making the Philippines A-1,” he added.

Erap ready to take on all debate comers

from The Daily Tribune Jan 15, 2010
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20100115hed5.html

Opposition standard bearer former President Joseph Estrada is more than ready, willing and able to take on all debate comers in any public forum anywhere in the country.

Estrada’s campaign manager former Ambassador Ernesto Maceda issued this statement to dispel talk that the former president was avoiding head-to-head encounters with other presidential candidates as allegedly shown by his absence at a recent forum sponsored by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM).

“To set the record straight, President Estrada has already received 21 invitations and has in fact accepted several of these which are scheduled for the next few weeks,” Maceda clarified.

“He was not at the Ayala Alabang forum because he never received an invitation, and had to beg off from the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation-sponsored forum because of a previous engagement,” he added.

The La Salle Alabang forum whose organizers, led by Vicky Cuisia, wife of the current Namfrel chairman, Jose “Joey” Cuisia, deliberately excluded Estrada from the forum.

The Cuisias are known supporters of Liberal Party standard bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino.

Maceda stressed that Estrada was an active participant in several of the earlier debates organized by various groups and organizations, including the ANC forum at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM); the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) at the UST; Isang Sagot by the GMA7 network; and another by the PPCRV at the Plaza Miranda in Manila.

“It would be physically impossible for President Estrada to accept all these invitations, but most assuredly he will be accepting many more subject of course to his availability,” Maceda explained. “The organizers must also understand that during the campaign season, a candidate must also set aside precious time to go around the country and meet with his allies, party leaders and volunteers in political meetings and conventions.”

Maceda revealed that Estrada has already accepted invitations to participate in the following fora: the  Governance Forum sponsored by the Philippine Futuristic Society and the Lyceum of the Phils. on Jan. 20; Cebu Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Jan. 22; De La Salle forum, Jan. 29.

Even political rivals admire Gibo"s qualities

from The Daily Tribune Jan 15, 2010

http://www.tribune.net.ph/metro/20100115met4.html

Even members of the political opposition are beginning to express admiration for the intelligence and leadership qualities of Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential candidate Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr.

They did so at the birthday bash for Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay in Olongapo City over the weekend that was attended mostly by lawmakers who belonged to several rival political parties.

Magsaysay said Muntinlupa City Rep. Rozanno Rufino Biazon and Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III — both of the opposition Liberal Party — did not conceal their admiration for Teodoro when they spoke at the gathering.

“Both warmly greeted Secretary Teodoro when they met each other at my birthday party,” Magsaysay said.

“When they went up to the stage, both of them praised Gibo for his intelligence, leadership skill and integrity, the virtues he had consistently shown when he was a member of the House of Representatives,” the woman solon said in an interview.

Biazon and Guingona are on the LP senatorial slate of presidential candidate and Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino II.

Party stalwarts from the Lakas-Kampi-CMD and the other political parties as well as former Zambales Gov. Vicente Magsaysay, her father-in-law, warmly applauded the two lawmakers in an atmosphere of genuine camaraderie despite the coming May national elections
Although a gathering of rival politicians, the party was cordial with no visible political distinctions. “Secretary Teodoro was warmly received by all,” Rep. Magsaysay said.

The party guests included a number of senatorial candidates, among them Secretary Silvestre Bello III (Lakas-Kampi), reelectionist Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada (Partido ng Masang Pilipino), Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (Nacionalista Party), Jose “Joey” de Venecia III (PMP), Gwendolyn Pimentel (NP), Susan “Toots” Ople (NP), and Rep. Ompong Plaza. Also visible was former Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane who is running for vice governor of Zambales.

Magsaysay observed that it is in Teodoro’s character not to engage in “mudslinging and spats with his political opponents,” the qualities that have endeared him even to his political rivals. “A stable political environment will bring much good to the country,” she added.

Teodoro, the 1989 Philippine Bar Examinations topnotcher, earlier vowed a leadership of healing and political conciliation should he win the presidential elections in May.

“My leadership will be those of the ‘paghihilom’ (healing) style as I believe friendship is more important than  politics,” he stressed.

“There will be no witchhunt against those who did not help in my campaign. Cooperation between all leaders, regardless of party-lines, will be the hallmark of my administration so that the greatest amount of reforms and benefits will be brought to our people,” Teodoro said.

He added it is important to build a broad-based unity among Filipino leaders and their followers, because a “leadership of hate will be very counterproductive.”

“Working together offers us the best chance to bring our country back on the path to development and progress,” Teodoro said.

Business tycoons as national leaders

from Vector by Sonny Coloma (Business World) Jan 14, 2010
http://www.bworld.com.ph/main/content.php?type=9

How effective are business tycoons as national leaders? This question has become relevant because of the emergence of Sen. Manny Villar as one of the two leading candidates in the 2010 presidential lections. Here is a slightly modified version of BBC News online profiles on two national leaders:

On Silvio Berlusconi: "For some Italians, Mr. Berlusconi’s success as a business tycoon is evidence of his abilities -- a reason for him to run the country. For others, his businesses have done better out of the relationship than Italy has."

On Thaksin Srinawatra: "Big business also liked him for his CEO style of government and his ’Thaksinomics’ policies which created a new boom in the country where the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s began."

In a forum last week, Mr. Villar called attention to his managerial expertise and his track record as someone who can get things done, citing the fact that he has been Senate president and House speaker. "What have you done?" he asked his leading rival, Sen. Benigno Aquino III.

More than managerial expertise, Manny Villar has business acumen. Here’s how Forbes magazine reported on his dramatic rise to being number five in the list of the 40 richest Filipinos in 2007:

"The year’s biggest gainer is Manuel Villar, the Philippine Senate president, who is worth $940 million, up from $110 million last year. He got a big boost from the public offering of Vista Land & Lifescapes. Villar de-listed his C&P Homes and took public a new company, Vista Land & Lifescapes, which included previously private assets as well as those from C&P. The maneuver helped boost Villar’s net worth by $830 million. ’If you want to know the past, talk to an economist. If you want to know the future, follow the tycoons,’ says Manuel Villar."

The arrogance of Noynoy Aquino

from Counterpoint by Alvin Capino (Manila Standard Today) Jan 13, 2010
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideOpinion.htm?f=2010/january/13/alvincapino.isx&d=2010/january/13

More often than not, service companies like Meralco are noticed only when they do not do what is expected of them. But when they do their job well, the public takes them for granted.

We mention this because during the holiday season, Metro Manila and other areas in the Meralco service area were brownout free despite the expected high power demand.

Of course Meralco and the National Power Corporation earlier assured the public that there would be no brownouts or blackouts during the holiday season. Still, such declarations are viewed with skepticism; the opposite usually happens.

We hope that Meralco and Napocor will be true to their promise that there will be no brownouts during the coming May 10 elections.

What raises fears that brownouts or even blackouts could happen during the election period was the forecast made by Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes about power supply shortage in 2010 including the election day period.

Power sector officials, however, were surprised at Reyes’ announcement. They were quick to say that the fears raised by Reyes had no basis at all. Reyes was wrong about the gasoline shortage, after all, so he’s also probably wrong in his prediction about the power shortage in May.

For us, the brownout-free holiday season is an indicator of the efficiency in the power sector brought about by new policies implemented by the Energy Regulatory Commission under its new chairman, Zenaida Ducut.

It was under Ducut’s watch that the commission implemented the Performance Based Regulation.

PBR is a regulatory process with a reward and penalty system based on Guarantee Service Level. Every power distribution company is required to maintain a service standard based on fewer occurrences of brownouts, quick response time to restore electric service in case of power interruption, and faster connection time for new customers.

If power distributors like Meralco fail to meet guaranteed service levels set by ERC, they are required to make cash payouts to customers. ERC will only act favourably on power rate adjustment petitions of power distributors if they meet such service standards.

PBR has been in place for about eight months now. Based on the performance of Meralco and other power service providers, the system is working. The commission, particularly Ducut, deserves recognition for this.

***

Are we seeing the real Senator Noynoy Aquino in the way he is reacting to questions on his qualifications and record to become President of the Philippines?

His advisers should tell Aquino that he sounded haughty, arrogant and pompous the way he handled the legitimate observation by another presidential candidate, Senator Richard Gordon, who said that it seemed Aquino had not done anything for his home province of Tarlac despite having served as congressman for three terms.

Aquino’s landlord forebears would be proud at his response to Gordon. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, “Aquino said he did not think it worthwhile to comment on the remarks of a poll tailender.”

But Aquino should realize that it’s not only Gordon who wants to know what he did for Tarlac in his nine years as congressman, where he even served as Deputy Speaker for Luzon.

The public that he wants to lead as president deserves to know what his record was. He cannot even use the excuse that he was a fiscalizer of the Arroyo administration all the time that he was in the House of Representatives since, as has been pointed out, he served as deputy speaker and he was supportive of the Arroyo administration just as the Arroyo Administration was supportive of him.

Of course we can understand his pique at Gordon’s remarks if he has nothing much to show for his nine-year stint at the House of Representative and his almost three years in the Senate for the province of Tarlac and for Central Luzon.

It would be interesting to see a comparison of what he did with his Countrywide Development Fund and what ex-Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro, who represented the other district of Tarlac, did with his own fund.

If Aquino did nothing for his district when he was congressman and now as senator, then there are questions on what he promises to do if he becomes President.

Gordon, of course, has all the right to make his observations on Aquino’s qualifications. Gordon has an exemplary record of achievements as mayor of Olongapo City, as Administrator of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, as chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross and as senator.

It would have been interesting to know what Aquino’s experience and track record are.

He gave a glimpse of his experience when he responded to the questions on his competence raised by Gordon and another presidentiable, Sen. Manny Villar.

According to news reports Aquino, pointed to his experience as a member of a marketing team that made Nike a household name in the country in the mid-80’s.

He said he also helped implement changes in the sugarcane production of his family’s Hacienda Luisita. This is laudable considering that he has repeatedly said that he only has a four-percent share in the controversial large tract of agricultural land subjected to a stock-distribution-option type of land reform, where shares of stocks instead of land were distributed to farmers.

Aquino said he was also proud in his role as fiscalizer as a congressman and as a senator.

Perhaps he or his defenders should explain how he was a fiscalizer during the time when he was deputy speaker.

If Aquino was a fiscalizer of the Arroyo administration then perhaps what Vice Governor Rolex Suplico told us during a radio interview—that Aquino even supported President Arroyo in the first impeachment case against her—is not true.

We would like to think that what Aquino had mentioned as his experience and track record is only partial and we should be expecting an expanded list of his achievements. Only then can we be assured that the country would be in good hands in case he becomes president.

An unwanted word war

by Nestor Mata (Malaya) Jan 14, 2010
http://www.malaya.com.ph/01142010/edmata.html

A WORD WAR has erupted, incredulously, between the political camps of Noynoy Aquino and Manny Villar, the two leading candidates in the race to the presidency in May.

It all started soon after the Social Weather Stations (SWS) came out with survey results that showed Villar having chopped the lead of Aquino in the last two days of December 2009.

Apparently startled, Aquino, as Liberal Party presidential candidate, suddenly threw a verbal punch at Villar. He accused his closest rival of not being in the forefront of Senate probes into the innumerable corruption cases against Gloria Arroyo and administration.

Naturally, Villar countered that Aquino was lying. "You know," the standard bearer of the Nacionalista Party noted, "he (Aquino) is lying. .. He knows very well that I and members of the Nacionalista Party handled three big investigations against President Arroyo That’s why I can’t help but laugh at Noynoy’s allegations…he doesn’t seem to know what’s happening since the Liberal Party has not done major accomplishments like these."

What’s happening is indeed unfortunate. The people are not going to make their choice of the next president on the basis of a candidate’s ability to hurl verbal javelins at a fellow rival candidate.

Rather the Filipino voters want proof of a would-be President’s experience and capacity to govern, to introduce new ideas of governance which they never experienced before because of the intensive partisan politics.

We have discussed here briefly Many Villar’s own concept to introduce a new kind of presidency that would lead the country to national unity and economic progress. It’s an idea that he had started to carry out, first as Speaker of the House of Representatives and later as President of the Senate.

Now, what can one say about Noynoy’s own record of experience in public service for years now? What are his credentials? And what has he accomplished in all the years he was a congressman and a senator?

Aquino’s political handlers and spin doctors have woven around him the mythos of his martyred father and mother who became an accidental president decades ago. They have gone out on a limb to bring back memories of his parents to gain public sympathy.

It seemed to have worked for a while since September when he announced his intention to run for the presidency. Alas, his high ratings started to decline as indicated by the public opinion surveys, and Villar is slowly catching up with him.

Here are excerpts from the views of two perceptive observers, one an Upsilonian from the University of the Philippines and the other an Atenean, who has been watching presidential politics on the sidelines.

First, here’s the Upsilonian’s statement now being circulated on the Internet:

"…Now comes Noynoy Aquino. His spin doctors want to replicate what Cory did. The analogy may be precise as Noynoy is also accused of ‘walang alam’…Noynoy had 11 years of public service and he has no sterling performance and for this reason he is accused of ‘walang alam’…

"So why will he be a considered a symbol of courage,

trustworthiness and change, when he did practically nothing for 11 years in government service? … His excuse that he is the political opposition and all he could do is co-author bills for legislation.

"Noynoy does not even have an advocacy… His record is a pale shadow, not even, but worse a mockery of his own father’s achievements (as then senator of the land before the Marcos dictatorship).

"For this dismal record, why should we reward Noynoy , a non-achiever, the presidency?"

Well, what this discerning political watcher is saying, in other words, is that Noynoy Aquino, the presidential candidate, is not prepared, has no advocacy, and is merely basking in the mythical reflected glory of his parent’s name, and he has no achievement of his own, but a mere media creation spun by his political operators!

Here are excerpts from the Atenean’s statement that’s now being circulated among Ateneo alumni groups:

"What are the main issues in the election? In my mind, there is only one. The greatest aspiration of the Filipino people in these times is: To attain economic prosperity…

"There is no other issue that comes close. The eight million Filipino overseas workers and millions more of their families dream of this goal. Many more would easily identify with this goal. There are millions of younger people who dream of better paying jobs and more jobs or business opportunities.

"I’m not familiar with the official platforms that each of the candidates or their parties are touting. I don’t bother to read them. They are just for public posturing and they won’t be followed just as Obama did not follow his promise of ‘change.’ What is important is what we can assume that the candidate will do once elected. And the clues to what he will do depends on the candidate’s capabilities and what he really wants to do.

"There no reliable way to know what the candidate intends to do but we can tell more from his past achievements, executive ability, intellectual capacity, political savviness, courage, philosophy, and general qualities as a person."

Trust

by Lito Banayo (Malaya) Jan 14, 2010

http://www.malaya.com.ph/01142010/edbanayo.html

SURVEYS are snapshots of a particular period. When you read their results, always check out when the field research was done. Because that is all the survey is supposed to tell us. If it shows the majority of Filipinos looking sad and depressed in say, October 5-12 of 2005, that’s the state of disposition of the Filipino at that point in time. If by February of 2006, the Filipino is looking sad and depressed still, that’s cause for policy makers and other people in government to wonder why. If after a series of similar findings, and the snapshot reveals the same disposition of the majority of Filipinos by the end of 2006, that’s cause for worry. And if three years later, say in December of 2009, six months before the present government that has ruled the land for almost a decade, the surveys show that Filipinos have been sad and depressed all along, plus or minus a few blips, then the snapshot has turned into a portrait. The portrait of the Filipino as one losing hope. The portrait of the government as a hopeless case. Hopeless because it has not provided the right remedies, the right solutions, and is viewed as incapable of change.

Okay, the snapshots since September 2009 have shown the looming portrait that in the forthcoming presidential elections (if they are held as normally as possible), there are really just two candidates with a high probability of making it, and that the rest of the field can only catch up by way of a miracle from heaven, which has been rare in these benighted parts since 1986. These are Noynoy Aquino, senator of the Republic for two years and six months, before that representative in Congress of the second district of Tarlac for nine years. And Manny Villar, senator of the Republic for eight years and six months, before that representative of Las Pinas, Metro Manila for nine years. During the eight years and six months that he has been a senator, Villar’s wife served in his stead as congresswoman of the same constituency.

Between September and December, a series of snapshots in between have shown that the purported administration candidate, Gilbert Teodoro, for two years Secretary of National Defense and for nine years before that, congressman of the first district of Tarlac, has marginally increased from less than a percentage point to anywhere from 3 to 4 points. It would take a miracle that even the Lord Almighty will have to work overtime and with nary a rest, for such low single-digit esteem to convert into the 35 percentage points that a three-cornered contest would require. Would-be presidential candidates with much more commanding numbers have wisely withdrawn their names from the derby, principally on account of a lack of resources, with snapshots revealing that those resources will be hard to come by. Young Francis Escudero has accepted that 2010 may not be his year. Panfilo Lacson in early June of 2009, bowed out of the race. Loren Legards has lowered her sights, along with Bayani Fernando. Both are running for the vice-presidency.

Joseph Estrada persists, hoping that a once fully-adoring masa could yet convince the highest magistracy that it would be better for them to heed the call of the crowd than the strictures of the Constitution. But the snapshots since 2009 show that the once-adoring masa have thinned out. If the Court will listen to a voice "higher" than the majesty of the law, then Estrada’s legal fate is up to the lady he visited in the stinking palace beside the stinking river last Tuesday. If it suits her purpose that he stays in the fray, then likely he will stay, or Court action is deferred until it suits her purpose that the "erudite" magistrates decide.

So there you are – it is Aquino versus Villar in May 10, 2010.

Now what do the "sovereign" people desire in 2010? Survey after survey for the past several tears have shown that the current holder of the presidency is distrusted by the people she "serves". From the moment Hello Garci was heard, her trust ratings have nose-dived, never to be repaired. Surveys show that even in the final months of her term, the public’s trust cannot be recovered.

Her spokesmen tout the kilometres of roads and spans of bridges she had "built", many of which had been planned and financed by her predecessors, but she had the good fortune to cut the ribbons to complete the same. They mouth economic statistics they themselves do not comprehend the meaning of, statistics the masses cannot eat, statistics that cannot buy the masses enough instant noodles to while the pangs of hunger back. But all for naught. The public trust is gone, never to come back. Perhaps they hope she would at least be remembered like Elpidio Quirino, appreciated by yet a few, two generations after his term of office. But Quirino’s concrete legacies, among them Maria Cristina which 50 years later still electrify most of Mindanao, and dams and irrigation canals in Central and Northern Luzon that half a century later still serve its farmers, and metropolitan low-cost housing that still exists fifty years after they were turned over to the lowly, have stood the test of time and history. Two generations from now, this writer shall have said goodbye to mortality, so in the rest of my life I shall see no vindication for little Dona Gloria. I hope my grandchildren, about a few years younger than hers, could comprehend in their middle age why Mikey’s daughter wished once upon a Christmas time, that her Lola Gloria would be president forever, and ever.

But something worse has happened in the almost ten years that Gloria’s misrule and excessive betrayal of the public trust has been suffered. The institutions of governance and democracy have been damaged, and it would take purposive, decisive, concerted and even revolutionary steps by the next leadership to repair these institutions back to health.

There is no justice in the land, except for the powerful who appoint or cause to appoint, and the rich who are willing to pay the stiff price that magistrates have put upon the judgments they purvey. Not even the highest tribunal is spared from this searing indictment that Lady Justice has become a lady of the night.

There is no order in the land, whether in the hovels of the urban poor or the countryside wracked by secession or revolutionary fever. Worse, more and more parts are like Maguindanao, ruled by the terror of guns supplied by henchmen of the regime to political warlords who assure them of the votes needed to prop their illegitimacy beyond time and sufferance.

Poverty is endemic. Manuel Villar makes much out of young urchins who swim in a sea of garbage, and sleep in the streets, and beguile us that he has the solutions, he has the vision. Noynoy Aquino tells us these problems of poverty and the woeful lack of basic services that worsen its state can be solved by honest leadership.

Who do we believe? Someone who purveys a "vision", or someone who tells us we must begin with the basic element that we have not had for the last miserable decade, which is honesty?

I should like the fact that Villar was born of lower middle class roots. I should admire the fact that he rose from humble beginnings to become one of the ten richest men in the country, never mind if he started the climb by marrying a rich man’s daughter. That after all speaks both of talent and purpose. I should respect the fact that he has been highly successful in the field of real estate and housing, and that because of these collective experiences, he may indeed possess good managerial skills. But I cannot admire, and I cannot respect, based on documents I have seen and testimonies I have heard, facts that show how his fabulous wealth has grown several times over because he did not shirk from the "kalakaran" of using his power and his influence, and took advantage of government resources in so doing.

I should not admire the fact that Benigno Simeon Aquino III was born to comfortable, even rich, beginnings. I should not like the fact that his maternal grandparents once used political influence to be able to famously acquire almost 7,000 hectares of Central Luzon from a Spanish company. I should not respect Noynoy simply because he was sired by proper genes. Gloria’s father after all was not a bad president, but look at how she has abused the public trust. In the twelve years that Aquino III has been in public life, we have not heard any unseemly deed. And I should admire the fact that Noynoy has not acted like the spoiled sons of those of his land-owning class, that he has in fact been living a simple life, and revels in simple joys. I should respect how he and his family suffered the pains of humiliation and personal tragedy when once upon a time, a dictator whose son Villar now famously sires as political ally, incarcerated their father, later to die in the hands of a yet unknown assassin at the bidding of yet unknown mastermind(s). And I do admire how the same family bore grief in dignity, and how Noynoy’s mother comported herself when a grateful nation accorded her the highest public trust. And how two decades later, that grateful nation wept when she died, still loving her, because she never betrayed their trust.

Ladies and gentlemen of the benighted land: It’s all a question of trust. Upon who of these two gentlemen should we repose our trust? Upon who of these two gentlemen should we pin our hopes for change, whether revolutionary in scope or marginal, as like a stone upon the edifice of nation-building?

On one who swears upon the graves of parents we trust that "hindi ako magnanakaw"? Or one who tells us of his vision of a polity and a society where "hindi na kailangan pang magnakaw", as if to say that there is some justification for all the stealing and all the cheating and all the accompanying lying, that has bedevilled this nation and its people? And tells us that he would remove the justifications for "pagnanakaw".

Once more I repeat: It’s all about trust, and who to trust.

Bayani and his Dick

from BLURBAL THRUSTS by Louie Logarta (The Daily Tribune) Jan 14, 2010
http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100114com4.html

One of the hottest topics of conversation these days (aside of course from director James Cameron’s science fiction opus Avatar), especially in the various kapihan groups, discussion circles and radio-TV talk shows that abound is this interesting proposal being championed by the progressive-minded women’s partylist group called 1-Ako Babaeng Astig Aasenso (1-ABAA) seeking to attach a 10-year “expiration date” to all marriage licenses being issued by the state.

1-ABAA officials’ rationale for their radical proposal, which most assuredly is going to be opposed by the Catholic Church, is so that incompatible couples won’t have to unnecessarily spend a ton of money for expensive legal proceedings to formally end their union, albeit a practical solution to an intricate and touchy problem.

By putting a cap on the effectivity of a marriage license that a man and a woman must secure to be able to legally tie the knot in accordance with existing laws, the 1-ABAA proponents hope to do away with the red tape attendant to such messy legal separation cases and spare the protagonists the aggravation of getting snagged in costly litigation, wherein only the lawyers profit, in the event they do decide to part ways.

Like the passports being issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs that have to be renewed in five years and the drivers’ licenses from the Land Transportation Office that have a life of only a year, 1-ABAA is suggesting a mandatory expiration period for marriage licenses whereupon the union will be rendered null and void, unless the parties involved opt for renewal.

According to 1-ABAA, by putting an expiration date on the licenses, this would give warring or unfulfilled couples the opportunity to simply walk away from their commitment to one another without having to undergo the nullification process that is so taxing, tiring and time-consuming, aside from being obliged to relive all their sad experiences for the judge to hear so he can determine if they are truly deserving of being granted legal separation.

But just like the divorce and reproductive health bills, both pro-poor measures that are currently in limbo in the legislature, the marriage bill of 1-ABAA will most probably be consigned to the backburner at least until the election period blows over as congressmen are fearful of incurring the ire of the Catholic Church and the negative political backlash that the priests and bishops are threatening to unleash on the unbelievers.

Probably the most innocuous pairing seeking the two highest elective positions in government in the fast-approaching 2010 elections is that of Sen. Dick Gordon and former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando, both independent candidates who found themselves clinging to each other for dear life after they were bypassed as presidential standard bearers by their respective political parties, forcing them into forming the ragtag Bagumbayan party that, if the surveys are to be believed, is doing quite poorly among the electorate.

Gordon and Fernando, to say the least, are strange bedfellows having come from opposite sides of the political spectrum. The former, a leading light of the once-mighty Marcos-era Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) party, was hoping to become the presidential standard bearer of the Nacionalista Party but was bypassed in favor of Sen. Manny Villar whom they believed could run a more potent campaign with the billions he is believed to have at his disposal; while the latter was an out-and-out administration stalwart for so many years until he dared dream of becoming the administration’s presidential bet. He was utterly disappointed upon being rejected by Malacañang, despite being a loyal follower of Arroyo ever since she assumed power, in favor of their chosen champion former Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro.

Fernando, who had long entertained presidential ambitions, said it was he who had initiated moves in seeking out Gordon to convince him to run as HIS vice president, but in the end it was he who was prevailed upon by Gordon to slide down to the No. 2 spot.

The way it was explained, Fernando said he agreed to become Gordon’s running mate in Bagumbayan as the acknowledged Subic savior had a lot more political experience than he did. Both were highly-successful former small-town mayors (Gordon in Olongapo and Fernando in Marikina) who didn’t squander the mandate given to them by their respective constituents.

A friend of ours, newsman Ali Macabalang who is a provincial correspondent of the Manila Bulletin, was designated recently as the new public information officer of the ARMM. As such, he is responsible for looking after pesky reporters seeking to interview his boss, Gov. Ansarrudin Alonto Adiong, who was named as replacement for the disgraced Zaldy Uy Ampatuan in the aftermath of the Maguindanao massacre, as well as attending to all the publicity requirements of the local government unit.

Macabalang was the “sparring partner” of the late Bong Reblando, another Bulletin correspondent covering the Mindanao beat operating out of General Santos City, who was among 30 journalists to lose their lives at the hands of murderous gunmen allegedly led by Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. of Datu Unsay, Maguindanao last November 2009.

Macabalang can be considered, technically, a Maguindanao massacre “survivor” because normally he should have been with Reblando in the ill-starred Mangudadatu convoy that was intercepted by the thugs in Ampatuan town during that fateful Nov. 23 as they were known to be inseparable during press coverages. But, as the gods would have it, he wasn’t able to join up with his buddy Reblando, and because of this he escaped with his life.

The biggest campaign spender can also be the worst possible plunderer

from AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR By: William M. Esposo (The Philippine Star) Jan 14, 2010
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=540642&publicationSubCategoryId=64

During the presidential election of 1965 the country witnessed what up to then was the biggest campaign spending. The President Diosdado Macapagal versus challenger Ferdinand Marcos presidential battle saw a flood of money that was spent on media advertising, the greasing of opinion makers, events staging (which included bio movie and book launches) and the enticing of ground level political ward leaders.

It came as no surprise that the winner of that election turned out to be the inspiration of sorts of current plunderers. The heights to which Marcos brought kleptocracy no doubt emboldened all those who revered his legacy and followed in his footsteps to infamy.

In this current presidential campaign, we are seeing unusually heavy advertising spending even before the official campaign period had started. In 2009, a news report stated that top ad spender Senator Manny Villar was already spending over P200 million in television advertising. By securing the log of actual placements from a professional monitoring firm, they are able to estimate the TV advertising cost by multiplying ad frequency with published TV network spot rate.

In the top two nationwide TV networks, ABS-CBN and GMA Network, the cost of a 30-second spot is easily P400,000. On television, you will not be noticed if you run less than two spots during primetime so that will already be incurring a cost of P800,000 per night or P48 million for one month’s sustained advertising on the top two networks.

Now the biggest source of political information, television advertising cannot be avoided by anyone seriously vying to become president. Since the 1960s, television advertising had become an indispensable tool in US political battles. This was the result of the popularity of television (reach) and the rich and immense capabilities (optimum message) of the medium to project the candidate in the most favorable light.

As the US evolved into what has been termed as an over-communicated society, people were less inclined to follow the news and opted to watch more entertainment programs. Thus, to reach more voters, candidates chose to place ads within top rating programs. It became more advantageous for a candidate to place a 30-second message in a sitcom rating 28% than to be a guest in a 30-minute talk show rating a mere 3%.

Because of TV advertising, candidates with little access to media are allowed to promote themselves and generate public awareness. In a situation where certain candidates do not merit news coverage, they can still sell themselves if they can raise the ad money to buy expensive commercial time.

There are many issues that have been raised though against political advertising. One is that it is expensive. The high cost tends to limit those who can realistically run for public office to just the wealthy candidates. Favoring the elite, the status quo is preserved. The chances of the underclass to participate in political affairs are lessened.

Another issue is that political advertising is purchased airtime or space where the buyer can say anything superlative about himself even if this isn’t true. After having been a marketing and advertising professional for over 30 years, your Chair Wrecker will attest that there is more truth in brand advertising than in political advertising. Brand advertising here is screened by an ad industry body that verifies if product claims are true. There is no such regulating body for political advertising.

Joseph “Erap” Estrada was sold with the line ERAP PARA SA MAHIRAP (Erap for the poor) but the poor only got poorer during his regrettable regime. In 2004, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sold as OUR LAST BEST HOPE but she drove our people to their deepest point of despair and hopelessness.

In political advertising, Senators Juan Ponce-Enrile and Gringo Honasan can project themselves as defenders of democracy. Senator Lito Lapid can claim that he is a genius. Senator Loren Legarda can boast that she is loyal to her cause and the opposite of hypocrite. Senator Manny Villar, who made billions selling houses to the poor, can claim that he will be their savior from poverty.

There is also the criticism that political advertising, especially the way it is conducted here, somewhat tends to trivialize the issues instead of widen the electorate’s appreciation of the issues that affect their lives. Instead of bridging the Information Gap, political advertising can mislead the mind of the benighted.

It would be good if media will launch the equivalent of CNN’s Truth Meter which judges the claim and assertion of every candidate as to whether this is true, a half truth or an outright lie. That way, Filipinos can be guided accordingly. They’ll know who the lying serpent is and thus be spared later on from having to repent for electing evil.

Filipinos should check out who the outrageous big ad spenders are. Anyone spending over P1 billion just for ads alone makes a good suspect to becoming the worst possible plunderer. Who else but a plunderer will spend over P1 billion of his own money just to land a P45,000 a month job?

Noynoy: Running on empty?

from LowDown by Jojo Robles (The Manila Standard Today) Jan 13, 2010
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideOpinion.htm?f=2010/january/12/jojorobles.isx&d=2010/january/12

From Noynoy Aquino, speaking about his accomplishments prior to seeking the presidency, we learn that he was instrumental in the success of the Nike brand in the Philippines. And all along, I thought that was something that basketball superstar Michael Jordan laid claim to.

At the first clear sign showing that his closest rival in the presidential race is gaining on him, Aquino hits the panic button. During a debate over the weekend after the Social Weather Stations polling outfit showed that his once-humongous survey lead over Manny Villar had narrowed to 11 percentage points, Aquino suddenly started slamming surveys in general.

Some surveys, he commented during a debate with Villar and Dick Gordon at the Dela Salle Zobel school in Alabang, can be purchased in Quiapo. With that one snarky remark relegating public-opinion polls to the level of pirated DVDs and homemade abortion recipes, the only son of Ninoy and Cory seemed to reveal a lot about how he would handle pressure and adversity, something that not a lot of us had any idea of heretofore.

Indeed, if the latest SWS survey indicated anything, it’s the obvious fact that Aquino had better start riding on the coattails of his illustrious dead parents less and begin showing us who he really is more. And what we’ve seen so far, we can’t say that we really like.

Speaking of the latest SWS poll, it’s interesting to note that one of its findings was that Aquino’s running mate Mar Roxas has widened his lead over Villar’s partner, Loren Legarda, even while Noynoy’s advantage over Manny dramatically dwindled. Roxas made the usual modest remarks about this development and did not even hint at the survey’s provenance anywhere near the Quiapo Church.

Roxas, to his credit, seems to have a better ability of rolling with the political punches. He’s trailed Legarda in previous polls and even had to slide down to the number two spot mostly against his will—but Mar never openly expressed his bitterness or frustration at the occasional low points that his political career (like every politician’s) goes through.

Not so Aquino, who followed up on his inexplicable attack on opinion surveys by detailing his own accomplishments, such as they are, including his aforementioned role in developing the Nike brand. Apparently stung by charges that his own (as opposed to his parents’ or even sister Kris’) resume is distinguished by a serious lack of experience in anything other than occupying his hometown’s congressional seat for nine years and spending three years so far in the Senate, Aquino proclaimed that, according one one obviously overawed newspaper report about Noynoy’s “experience in the private sector,” he was “a member of the team that helped Nike become popular in the country in the mid-1980s.”

Doing what, exactly? Well, from 1985 to 1986, Noynoy Aquino was retail sales supervisor and youth promotions assistant for Nike Philippines and later an assistant for advertising and promotion for Mondragon Philippines, which once held exclusive distributorship rights to the Nike brand.

For those who may find the name Mondragon familiar, that company was owned by flamboyant businessman and Ninoy-Cory supporter Jose Antonio “Speedy” Gonzalez. Upon Cory’s assumption to the presidency in 1986, Gonzalez was rewarded with the post of tourism secretary—and a scant two months later, was one of the principals in what former columnist Hilarion Henares called “the first post-Edsa scam,” the hush-hush sale at a bargain-basement price of high-value Philippine government property at 212 Stockton Street in San Francisco, hard by Union Square.

The Stockton property sale was investigated by the Senate blue ribbon committee shortly after Congress was reinstated, with as much fanfare and official hand-wringing that attend such probes conducted today. But while both Gonzalez and then-GSIS president Feliciano Belmonte Jr. were pilloried for it in the Senate and in the press, none of the dirt ever went up to President Cory Aquino—even if her son was employed by Gonzalez at the time.

Aquino’s short stint in a company not owned by his family—but owned by a close family friend—hardly qualifies as “experience in the private sector,” no matter how glowingly that is spun. But, for those who have swallowed the Noynoy myth without questioning, that period of accepting paychecks not signed by relatives or officials of the Philippine government must now rank up there with Manny Pacquiao’s use of those funky, bright-red lace-up boxing shoes as Nike’s first and only Filipino international product endorser.

Noynoy will have to do better than that in the days ahead, if he doesn’t want to see his lead in the surveys fritter away to truly panic-inducing margins as the afterglow of his mother’s death becomes more and more of a distant memory. His bumbling attempts at explaining his dwindling lead in the polls (by belittling surveys in general) and at burnishing his achievement-challenged resume (now that he realizes that he has to declare himself as something more than the least-accomplished of the Aquinos in public life) just leave most people, in a word, underwhelmed.

It may well be that Aquino himself has never been liked to any official indiscretion, as his boosters keep drumming into our heads. But at the moment, more and more people are starting to believe that that’s simply because he hasn’t really done anything yet.

* * *

Perhaps if SWS stuck to traditional opinion polling more often, it would actually serve its purpose as an accurate indicator of the shifting winds of public opinion at any given point in time. For instance, by not employing its controversial “pick-three” method of choosing presidential candidates, the SM of survey companies was probably able to function as a more accurate weather vane for the popular sentiment.

Several times in this space, I have taken SWS to task for its practice of asking respondents to choose three candidates that they would likely vote for, even if voters really get to choose only one in an actual voting booth. And by not assigning descending weights to each of the three choices made by its respondents, SWS only succeeds in muddling the picture some more for people who want to make sense of what the public pulse is.

Let’s just hope that, like in its last survey, SWS sticks to more established polling methods for candidates instead of using confusing and often statistically-skewed systems like its “pick-three” polling. That way, they’ll enlighten people more—and lay themselves less open to the charge that they’re merely dreaming up their data in the shadow of the Black Nazarene’s basilica.

What is certain

from HE SAYS by Aldrin Cardon (The Daily Tribune)  Jan 13, 2010
http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100113com6.html

A comment, coming from a public relations man, raised a howl in a small group gathering recently to organize a team which would help Noynoy Aquino gain some boost in what appears as a dull media campaign.

The PR man believes Noynoy’s rating in the presidential surveys would no longer rise above the 46 percent among people polled by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) from Dec. 5 to 10. But the PR man was quick to supplement his claim by saying it doesn’t mean Noynoy would not win the May 10 polls, only that his rivals would gain a chunk from each others’ ratings, including from Noynoy’s, and that a very close fight might ensue between him and whoever rises to become his rival.

The latest SWS survey proved just that, regardless of whoever commissioned the poll, as Noynoy lost two percent of his December standing to Manny Villar’s 33 percent, which is a big jump from the 27 percent he garnered in the previous survey.

Noynoy may or may not believe the survey commissioned by Rep. Ronnie Zamora, a Villar ally, but it is worth considering if he would want to retool his image further and protect the substantial lead he holds over his closest pursuers with still four months left before D-Day comes.

For one, Noynoy has not done anything substantial to enhance his image as a worthy leader to replace a corrupt one in the months after he had gained an unbelievable high of 50 plus percent in a Luzon-based survey prior to Mar Roxas’ decision to step down.

Granting, for the sake of argument, that that initial survey was a clean one, Noynoy’s rating was obviously boosted by the people’s sentiment against Gloria Arroyo and the death of former president, Cory Aquino.

But it did not help that Noynoy has become an elusive subject soon after that.

On questions regarding Hacienda Luisita, it was Mar Roxas, his vice presidential candidate, who was made to answer reporters’ questions, with the Liberal Party (LP) issuing statements in his behalf on future issues related to the Cojuangco family-owned land.

While his slogan: “Tanggalin ang Tiwali, Itama ang Mali. Laban ng Tapat, Laban ng Lahat,” sounds appealing to people longing for change, other contents of his blog site remained on the traditional side (contrary to his camp’s claim of new politics, whatever that means), they have yet to spur action among his numerous supporters in the manner, say Gibo Teodoro’s team has been doing with the very small core group the Malacañang bet has gained.

Only GMA is pulling down Teodoro, one that is very likely to cause his flat fall.

But Noynoy is different from Gibo. He has a built-in machinery of old Cory supporters, the civil (some call ‘em evil) society, the Church and the mainstream media. Yet Noynoy has not used their full potential for his candidacy, unlike, say Villar.

Villar, moneyed as he is prepared for this haul, has been using various media to get the people’s attention.

Villar’s street talk is sending the message across. The jingle asking voters if he had swam in a sea of garbage and spent Christmas in the street is a work of a genius, even small children are singing it for their bedtime lullaby.

Many say a candidate would win it if children would recognize his jingle right on the first note. Chiz Escudero would perhaps attest his “Sugod kasama si Chiz” in the previous elections did wonders for his candidacy. Or maybe ja-ja-ja-Jamby.

Or it would work against a candidate, like in the case of Migs Zubiri’s “Boom-tarat-tarat,” which boisterous children quickly reinvented as “Boom-kurap-kurap.” And we all know how Zubiri worked harder to get that last senatorial berth.

But not Ogie Alcasid’s sentimental take on Ninoy and Cory Aquino’s heroism in Noynoy’s “Hindi ka nag-iisa” theme. Ninoy and Cory are heroes, alright. But Noynoy has not proven himself as yet if he is worthy of the same reverence.

In fact, the people are still waiting for Noynoy to walk his talk (or at least talk before he does his walk), and prove himself worth of being entrusted with the country’s leadership.

Because if he can’t do that, there are other candidates the people would consider worthy of their votes.

The cacique’s rantings

from CROSSROADS by Jonathan Dela Cruz (The Daily Tribune)  Jan 13, 2010
http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100113com5.html

This early, Sen.Noynoy Aquino’s cacique (landlord) roots are showing. And how!

After issuing all those goody-goody, pa-statesmanlike statements for sometime now as he enjoyed the limelight and the halo of a winner for most of the last quarter last year, the Tarlac solon has snapped and ranted to high heavens. He belittled the latest SWS poll (nabibili sa Quiapo) and pointedly snarled at fellow presidentiable Sen. Dick Gordon (I do not comment on the remarks of a poll tailender) when the latter asked him in a recent forum what has he actually done in his long years as a public servant. In classic cacique style much like Presidentita Cory’s langaw put down on her then Vice President Doy Laurel, his answers to legitimate questions amounted to nothing and/or of no moment.

Probably stunned by the results of the latest survey, the Tarlac solon went to town denigrating the same no end with that classic “Nabibili sa Quiapo... There are credible surveys and there are surveys that can be bought in Quiapo...” comment. Unbelievable. How Aquino and his colleagues at the Liberal Party now say that this SWS survey is a lot of bull and even a “buyable” one after praising the firm’s earlier surveys to high heavens is the height of pique. No, childishness and immaturity. It also bares a deep seated selectiveness, a very colored, intemperate and ultimately wicked view of the world. It is, in the words of a peasant group, classic cacique thinking. And, of the Central Luzon kind, at that, i.e., volatile, vindictive and, highly opportunistic. To think that his runningmate, Sen. Mar Roxas, upped his lead over Senator Legarda in that same survey. Now, I don’t want to go that far into psychology but what the Tarlac solon said in response to the question on his slipping ratings is definitely a no-no. It does not speak well of his preparedness to face the music, as it were, and, more importantly, if that is how he thinks in making life-and-death decisions on matters of high significance.

That put down on Senator Gordon reinforces that view. It is definitely wicked and uncalled for. If that is how he takes the views of a fellow senator asking a legitimate though tough questions, how much more ordinary folks who would like responsive and responsible answers to lingering issues about the solon’s character and, yes, track record. Such as, what is really his position on agrarian reform and Hacienda Luisita? Or, if that is too much, what about the Garchitorena scam and all other Carp palusots at that time? What about the matter of human rights and his mother’s record on this basic issue? What about corruption, dynastic operations and Kamag-Anak Inc.? What about his take on pork barrel and his use of his own allocations during his three terms as Tarlac representative and now as a senator? What about the RH bill and the question of population and development? What about the question of secessionism and the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people? What about the role of political parties in our maturing democracy? Or of the questions of loose firearms and private armies? What about the historical and cultural front and other concerns in that sector?

What about jobs generation, the BROs and the overseas employment program? What about fiscal incentives and our banking practices? What about Charter change and how he wants to go about it since he has in earlier times (unless he has now decided to forget) noted that there may indeed be legitimate constitutional issues which need to be looked into? What about our relations with the US, Japan, Asean, China and the Middle East, to name the more immediate concerns? What about the matter of international terrorism and the need for more security checks? These are just a few of the concerns on top of such basics as food, clothing, shelter, education and peace in our communities. Can we expect responsible answers not childish asides from Senator Noynoy and his team on these concerns? That is a question which has now loomed large in the minds of a growing number of our people as they get to know more about the character, temperament and mindset of the man who would like to be president riding high on the wings of his parents’ iconic heritage. We need answers not rantings.

Senate President wanted?

from CTALK by Cito Beltran (The Philippine Star) Jan 13, 2010
 http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=540338&publicationSubCategoryId=64

Before anyone accuses me of instigating a coup d’état in the Philippine Senate, allow me to give some background to today’s topic.

Yesterday, I received an SMS from JJ Soriano of UP concerning leadership concerns amidst the Presidential elections of 2010. His SMS goes:

“Hi…this is JJ Soriano. I am writing to you because of a valid concern about which I think you are in a position to write about in your column. In the event of a failure of elections this year, the highest official who will have the mandate and the responsibility to be the caretaker-President is the Senate President.

However, Enrile’s term is also ending this June 30. Given this and the fact that the Senate goes on recess on February 6, perhaps it is necessary now for the incumbent Senators to elect a new Senate President BEFORE the recess, whose term is (still) expiring in 2013. I strongly believe that discussion on this should already be initiated given the limited time left.”

I certainly agree with JJ on the part that the idea and the situation be discussed.

I know nothing about the real workings of the Senate so I have no idea just how possible it is to vote for a new Senate President and who that potential candidate would be.

Not only will we need a replacement Senate President, we will also need a competent and trustworthy Senate President who can be trusted to handle the transition and not someone capable of staging his or her own coup to take over as President not only of the Senate but of the entire Philippines.

Unfortunately, our history is full of questions and intrigues concerning “Transition leadership” or temporary Presidents. Remember the Cory Aquino-Doy Laurel controversy, where a power sharing deal allegedly brokered by Cardinal Jaime Sin made Tita Cory would be President for the first half and then Doy Laurel would come in for the second half but never got to.

All of them are dead now but to this day we cannot be certain about what really happened. Was a deal really made? With Doy Laurel’s death anniversary coming up, I’m certain that the controversy will probably be given a few column inches relative to Noynoy Aquino’s presidential bid.

Of course the Cory-Doy tandem was not the only “transition government” that suffered controversy and conflict. Recent history gives us the “temporary” Presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo which, thanks to electronic media, has gone on to be the perfect reason of why we should never rely on temporary or transition leadership.

When Malacañang called for a meeting of the National Security Council, I was somewhat hopeful that this serious concern about failed elections and leadership gap would be discussed and addressed.

In fact I was hoping that the council would discuss not only the Senate Presidency being vacant after June 30, I had hoped that they would also talk about the need to appoint a new chief justice of the Supreme Court in relation to the same problem of leadership gaps. That way the council might have come up with an answer that would kill all the controversies right now.

Unfortunately that apparently did not happen. So what exactly can we expect?

Chances are Manong Johnny will keep the post until the next Congress unless a move is made to replace him. That’s not being selfish of senator Enrile because in truth the problem is that everything hinges on the issue: Failure of elections.

As a seasoned politician, Senator Enrile will be the first to tell us that Filipinos tend to be afraid of their own shadow or have a habit of expecting the worst. Manong Johnny has seen the worst of times in this country and given enough time, our fears and our problems always sort themselves out.

As far as the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is concerned, President Arroyo will almost certainly appoint one because she has to and needs to. PGMA has never been one to pussyfoot on such issues and the best way to make Arroyo do what you don’t want her to do is to tell her “don’t”.

On a practical side, anyone in Arroyo’s place would be better off appointing her choice than her nightmare. Having the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on your side is an immediate advantage in future legal issues as she goes into unchartered territory. My bet is, given a choice; the next Chief Justice will be someone who has a longer shelf life and several years of service before the expiry date!

Erap at the Palace

More than anything it was a basic PR move for former President Estrada to accept Malacanang’s invitation to attend the National Security Council meeting. His mere presence and “comeback” was an instant story certain to get coverage for the major news organizations, which it did.

Erap’s decision to go to Malacañang also made him look conciliatory, the invitation made him look like a vital player and respected even by his enemies. In short Erap should thank God and the NSC for giving him a double favor.

Without doubt, Erap will be a major force to reckon with in 2010.

Those who foolishly dismiss him as yesterday’s news need to be reminded of how a similar character named Imelda Marcos significantly affected the outcome of the 1992 Presidential elections.

Advisers to the leading candidates all dismissed the former First Lady as an insignificant concern. Well little miss muffin certainly got in the way for some people intent on going to Malacañang.

Erap may not be at the top of the charts, but anyone serious about Malacañang should at the very least recognize and respect him as a challenge or a major potential obstacle because he is.