PulitikangInaMo

When integrity means protecting GMA, et al.

2011-02-15T12:14:00.003+08:00

Political analysts, pundits, spin doctors, and social network whores can argue all they want whether or not former AFP Chief of Staff Angelo Reyes' suicide is an act of honor, befitting a "man of integrity", but the more they involve themselves in circuitous discussions, the more it becomes apparent that the issue will die a natural death soon, like many scandals that rocked the nation. After all, dead men tell no tales.

Reyes' "unfinished letter" sent to PCIJ reveals his thoughts prior to the suicide. Readers are expected to read between the lines and draw up their own conclusions. But what is evident is Reyes' unwavering loyalty to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA). This kind of loyalty is akin to that being pledged by Cosa Nostra bosses and henchmen. If an alleged "man of integrity" can pledge allegiance to a woman of questionable character, then the sense of right and wrong becomes dubious.

The ultimate sacrifice is to give up one's life for someone else but it would be such a waste if it meant burying dirty little secrets; secrets that can shake the political and military landscape to its core.

No clear opinion on Hubert Webb, et al. acquittal

2010-12-15T16:25:00.008+08:00

By now, the news about the acquittal of Hubert Webb and 6 others involved (and convicted) in the Vizconde massacre has made the rounds in various social media platforms. The clear-cut opinion of the general public is that the Supreme Court's decision is an outrage.

If I have a clear opinion on this matter, I'd probably say the acquittal is an even more cruel act than the crime itself. But this does not bode well with me because despite the courts finding Webb, et al. guilty beyond reasonable doubt in 2000, the evidence seem to suggest otherwise -- evidence that Judge Tolentino seemed to have deliberately suppressed (DNA, passport, etc.).

Ironically, this willful suppression of evidence that sent Webb, et al. to prison is the same evidence that set the acquittal procedure in motion.

Fifteen years is too long a sentence for an innocent man; and too short a punishment for a guilty one.

There's injustice rearing its ugly head both ways.

The Philippine Hostage Crisis: Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?

2010-08-24T15:47:00.004+08:00

Every blogger in the Philippines will have his/her opinion of the Philippine hostage situation that tragically ended with 8 deaths. I could put in my 2 cents worth of righteous litany on how the PNP bungled the rescue efforts, but I’d rather not. Local media has that covered. What I am painfully curious about is the defeaning silence of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, Vice-President Binay, and President Noynoy Aquino during the 12-hour ordeal.

Mayor Lim, who once spray-painted houses and hideouts of alleged criminals with messages that violate human rights, was not in his “Dirty Harry” self. Age must have mellowed him down so much that he could not even muster enough courage to give an official statement to appease the public.

Vice-President Binay, who always figured prominently in hostage situations back when he was Mayor of Makati, was nowhere to be found. Oh how he looked awkward in Boy Scout uniform.

President Noynoy, who was so bold and brazen in his State of the Nation address, only managed to find his voice after lives have already been sacrificed. Obviously, his spin doctors held him back. I may be alone in saying this, but I expected much more from Manuel L. Quezon III and the rest of the president’s communications group

Who did we get instead? A fumbling former actor-turned-Vice-Mayor Isko Moreno. And in CNN too. He was the inarticulate representative of the Philippines in a time when we needed someone who can make sense of the madness that had transpired. Perhaps he deserves credit for just “being there”, bad publicity notwithstanding.

The only lesson learned from this crisis is that when the chips are down, we cannot rely on our leaders to save the day because they disappear like the thieves that they truly are – robbed us of our money and our dignity as a nation.

Outrageous MERALCO Bills! We are so screwed!

2010-04-14T05:04:00.004+08:00

OMG! WE ARE SCREWED BIG TIME!

Filipinos have been warned of the "inevitable" increase in power rates. This is not shocking. Let's face it, we're used to price hikes. Big companies have this notion that we should shoulder the bulk of the taxes that are imposed upon them. They have this warped view that any unfavorable result of a disruption in the market should be shouldered by the consumer. And what do we do, as consumers? We adjust like hell.

There's a food price hike. We eat less.

There's a gas price hike. We walk more.

There's a power hike. We grope in the dark.

Chuvaness shared her outrage when MERALCO billed her Php 41, 902 for March 2010. This is a stroke-inducing report considering her household's average bill is only around Php 21,000. It is NOT a remote case because most of the 251 commenters seem to have been slapped with the same oppressive increase in bills, albeit in varying values. The rich and the poor finally have something in common. This is MERALCO's warped way of forcing equality up our ass.

Upon reading many reports of skyrocketing bills, I knew that I will be facing the same fate. I just wasn't sure what the final numbers will be. The wait is over. Earlier today, I received our Meralco bill and as expected, there was a substantial increase in the total bill.

Summary:

JAN - 2339.80 (274 kwh)

FEB - 2467.70 (264 kwh)

MAR - 2748.20 (266 kwh)

APR - 3867.45 (307 kwh)

I have come to accept that a power hike is inevitable, but what I don't understand is the sharp increase in consumption. MERALCO says it's SUMMER and power consumption is usually high in summer months. This is total bullshit. So, how would they explain the increase in consumption for households whose residents were on vacation for weeks? How would they explain the increase in consumption for households whose residents are at work for at least 10 hours each day and only come home to sleep with lights off and no aircon?

What hurts the most is that we will shoulder additional cost for an increased consumption that we never really enjoyed. You see, we don't use our aircon. I don't have TV. We rarely iron our clothes and laundry is just once a week. I even bring mine to the laundromat. Essentially, we'll be paying 3,867.45 for usage of (3) 12-watts Philips light bulbs, 3 stand fans, and 2 laptops. This is a dagger through my heart.

MERALCO's PR spin is that they are just power distributors and not generators. That doesn't mean anything. That does not take away the fact that their rates are oppressive.

Our theory is that the increase in power rate is accompanied by an increase in consumption REGARDLESS of the actual consumption. According to my dad, "Niyari tayo sa consumption".

This is not just a case of one disgruntled household, we are looking at 4.7 million MERALCO customers who got screwed in the past, are being screwed today, and will be screwed in the future.

Is Noynoy Aquino losing his magic?

2009-12-15T18:39:00.003+08:00

If the results of the recent survey conducted by Issues and Advocacy Center are indicative of the the current pulse of the public, then it would seem that Noynoy Aquino is losing his grip on the segment that made him a household name. Thirty one percent said that they would vote for Noynoy and 24% prefer Manny Villar. Noynoy is still ahead, but it is clear that his campaign is losing steam very early in the game. It makes the contention that his campaign is nothing but a marketing gimmick all the more substantiated.

Cory Aquino's death is a huge factor in the Noynoy campaign, but what happens when it all starts to wane? The problem here is that many people have this notion that Noynoy has no other thing going on for him apart from his link to the former president and to the greatest president that the Philippines never had. To break this notion, Noynoy has to work harder. MUCH harder than, say Gibo or Dick Gordon. Noynoy is standing on political quicksand and he has to get out of it before Manny Villar's well-oiled machinery starts to go on full swing.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo - Congress Bid Not Necessarily a Lower Position

2009-12-04T03:37:00.004+08:00

Months ago, if you were telling me that Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was running for Congress, I would look you in the eye and laugh at you. But now that the incumbent president has actually filed her Certificate of Candidacy to represent the second district of her home province Pampanga, I am nothing less than hysterical. No, I am not appalled nor angry. Just hysterical. Mrs. Arroyo’s decision only proves that her detractors were right all along, that she has become addicted to power after 10 years as president.

Well, people can whine all they want. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has all the right to run for Congress. Legally speaking, there are no impediments to Mrs. Arroyo’s lower house ambition. So now, her critics are turning on moral ascendency and good old fashioned delikadeza to dissuade her from seeking another public office. The only problem is that such characteristics have evaporated from Mrs. Arroyo a long time ago. Besides, if her Cabalens in Pampanga want her to be their Representative, then the rest of us living in Manila, GenSan, Sulu or anywhere that does not speak Kapampangan can all shut up.

At any rate, before everyone becomes hysterical like me, there is one issue here that really bothers me. Well, I do not think that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is running for a lower position. On the contrary, I think she is going up the political ladder. Ask yourself - Is Congress really lower than the Office of the President? If I remember things correctly, Philippine presidents after Ferdinand Marcos have all become hostage to grandstanding members of the legislative branch of the government, from budget issues and impeachments to appointment of cabinet secretaries. So, I think Congress is actually the higher office.

In the same vein, we have always thought of our presidents as scapegoats for what has happened to our country. Thanks to the Marcos regime, we have become so paranoid to a point that we all distrust any sitting president. At least, for our congressmen, we always imagined them as crocodiles waiting to gobble up the public coffers and suffer nothing more than free airtime in radio and television. Now ask yourself again which one sits higher in the food chain, goats or crocodiles?

Today, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has singlehandedly grabbed the spotlight in the 2010 Presidential Election, even if she is not running for president. Her decision has been described as historical, in the sense that she is the first ever Philippine President to run for Congress (Excepting Jose P. Laurel who ran for Senate after serving as President of the puppet government during the Japanese Occupation). But let us not forget that having a seat in the House of Representatives is not necessarily a lower position compared to that of the president. If there is something that we can do about Mrs. Arroyo’s latest move, it is that we should be very scared right now. She can open the legislative Pandora’s Box that could ruin us all.

Maguindanao Massacre: Ampatuan is The New Face of Evil

2009-11-26T20:14:00.008+08:00

What happened in Maguindanao was reprehensible. With at least 57 deaths reported, alleged mastermind Andal Ampatuan, Jr. is now the new face of evil. But then again, that's two notches below of what he truly is, because to us he is BEYOND EVIL. It is so difficult to comprehend how such acts of violence can be concocted; and for what reason? Initial pieces of evidence point to Ampatuan as the diabolical entity (he doesn't even deserve to be called human) who ordered the massacre of at least 57 people, majority of which are media men and women.

Moral outrage may not be enough to tip the scale in favor of the victims but it can at least shake the Arroyo administration vigrorously until it is forced to act swiftly without protecting the accused. We believe in letting justice take its proper course but when blatant and incessant misuse and abuse of power lead to deaths of the innocent, we wish that dark justice is served as cold as the heart of the diabolical creature that is Ampatuan.

Election 2010 Cast of Characters Taking Shape

2009-11-20T12:58:00.007+08:00

What a busy week for Philippine politics! After Edu Manzano "accepted the challenge" to become Gilbert Teodoro's vice presidential runningmate, Loren Legarda stole Doods' thunder by agreeing to become Manny Villar's number 2 (that's VP to you!). We don't know how many millions of pesos were promised in this "offer-counter-offer" dance; but our jaws would probably hit the floor if we knew. Not that we're saying these VPs come with pricetags, but there's got to be some form of compensation for swallowing prides, eating words, and overstepping party lines.

Gilbert Teodoro - Edu Manzano
We were surprised with Gibo's choice for VP, but we understand the desperation and near impossibility of securing a much more competent runningmate. Vilma Santos turned down the VP overtures, so Gibo and his partymates went to the next best thing, the ex-husband. Doods is highly likeable but if Lakas wants to get mass appeal, they are betting their chips on the wrong man. Come on, no sellers or buyers of pirated DVDs will vote for the man who ordered the burning of millions worth of fake DVDs. We know 3 people who are anti-piracy advocates, even then, there's no guarantee they will vote for Edu.

Erap Estrada - Jojo Binay
The most boring tandem at the moment is the Erap-Binay ticket. There's just no spark. The only thing that glues them together is their involvement in corruption, one at the National level, the other at Makati-level. The eligibility issue should have been a major concern, but it has taken a backseat, not because it's a complicated process, but because people don't care about Erap anymore. He has lost his grip on the same group of people that catapulted him to the presidency.

Noynoy Aquino - Mar Roxas
Noynoy Aquino is enjoying immense popularity, despite the Hacienda Luisita debacle. A recent national survey puts him at pole position and it looks like he will continue to be number 1, barring any misdemeanor or faux pas from kid sister Kris Aquino. Mar Roxas, on the other hand, seems to be happy with his current standing as VP to Noynoy and hubby to Korina Sanchez. It's probably just us, but we see this as "I could care less if I win or not." This is fine because he is a shoo in for the VP slot, even with Loren Legarda joining the fray.

Manny Villar - Loren Legarda
Villar took his time choosing a runningmate. He even resorted to gimmickry to lull people into thinking he is THAT desperate to consider Willy Revillame, Manny Pacquiao, Richard Gomez, Dolphy, and other non-entities in the political scene. Villar has been a consistent number 2 in the surveys. His supporters believe that he will pull through come 2010. What's our take? The song says it all, "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do, Two can be as bad as one. It's the loneliest number since the number one."

Hermogenes Ebdane
Some say he is a "dangerous" man, whatever that means. He is the Labor Party's bet. His intentions are vague, almost unknown. Being cryptic in the political race is tantamount to political suicide. One word describes this whole Ebdane drama -- nuisance.

Of course, there are the incessant dramas on the sidelines.

Chiz Escudero, the lost soul. No party. No chances. No presidency. All drama.

Bayani Fernando is not giving up the fight. It's presidency or bust. Enjoy the latter, chairman.

Richard Gordon. We guess Dick wants to play, but there are not enough playmates around.

Serge Osmena vs. Ralph Recto. Osmena threatens to leave the Liberal Party and run as independent (senator) if the party welcomes Recto into the fold. If all politicians are like Osmena, then we'll see a rigodon of party members on a daily basis. Do we really need this drama? We don't, but Osmena does. It's still publicity.

Edu Manzano is Gilbert Teodoro's VP

2009-11-13T19:18:00.003+08:00

After weeks of political courtship, Gilbert Teodoro finally found someone who he will bring to the cellar - Edu Manzano. This is perhaps the best tandem yet! That is if we are voting in the political beauty pageant for men. In the looks department, they get our votes. Other than that, there's really nothing much going on for this team-up. Sure, Edu has some credentials to give him a little push. After all, he was the former optical media board chairman and he was vice-mayor of Makati in 1998.

Edu was supposed to join the Liberal Party (and perhaps run for senator) but he cancelled when he was given an offer he couldn't refuse. Why couldn't he refuse when several others before him have turned down Gibo? Some say it's leveraging for future political ambition, but Edu could easily secure a senatorial seat and that would have been the only push he needs to get to a higher position.

Well, Edu Manzano is the person who accepted the "challenge of standing beside Secretary Teodoro in the quest to become the next president of the Republic of the Philippines..." Make that, he is the ONLY person who accepted the challenge -- challenge being a euphemism for "mission impossible".... tan tan tan tan tan tan tannanan...

Manny Pacquiao: Having the Time of his Life

2009-11-11T01:44:00.002+08:00

Manny Pacquiao is gracing the November 16 cover of Time Magazine Asia. However, the 5-page feature article about the rise of this Filipino boxing icon will be published in all editions of the magazine. This shows that Manny’s popularity is no longer confined to the four corners of the Philippine archipelago. Indeed, this Filipino boxing icon has arrived.

At present, Manny is preparing for his fight with Miguel Cotto and is hoping to snatch his seventh title in seven different weight divisions. If the pound-for-pound boxing champ wins this match with unbeaten Cotto, Manny will be the only boxer in history to emerge as a champ in seven weight categories. This is really a feat that will surely put him in sports hall of fame.

The question in everyone’s mind now is what would be Manny’s next move in connection with his political ambition. He is already 30 years old and he cannot be a boxing champ forever. If Gilbert Teodoro still has not found his running mate for the 2010 elections, he should probably consider picking Manny Pacquiao. Even if Manny does not win the post, at least Gibo will enjoy jampacked caucuses even if there are no other movie stars invited to grace the resigning Defense Secretary’s meetings.

Ebdane declares 2010 presidential bid, Now what?

2009-11-08T17:51:00.005+08:00

So it was not a joke after all. Former public works secretary Hermogenes Ebdane officially declared his 2010 presidential bid under the Lapiang Manggagawa Party (Labor Party). What he hopes to achieve, no one really knows, because as it stands, he just dislodged Gilbert Teodoro as the cellar dweller among the presidentiables. And we all know what that means, he is at the point where people might think he is a nuisance candidate. Suddenly, Gibo is looking pretty good, huh?

Those who have been following Ebdane's career would say that he is a dangerous man because of his close ties with powerful generals who played a big role in keeping GMA in power all these years. One can only offer conspiracy theories at this point. And while we are not too keen on the military underpinnings of the issue, it is worth mentioning that Ebdane is seeking former president Fidel Ramos' support. We'd like to think such "cry for help" is to boost Ebdane's chances to get campaign funding from Ramos' Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats party. If Ramos supports Ebdane, the latter would be assured of funding that would otherwise go to Gibo in light of the impending merger with GMA's Kampi. Ramos is protesting such merger so there is a glimmer of hope for Ebdane. But then again we don't need a madam Auring to tell us that Ebdane will not win in the 2010 Presidential Election.

Here's what we think: Ebdane is sowing the seeds of his political ambition to be harvested at the right time. He's not keen on becoming the president in 2010 (who is he kidding?), he has his eyes set on something else. Whatever it is, no one seems to care.

Presidential Election 2010 ANAGRAMS

2009-11-05T15:35:00.003+08:00

An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place. (Source: Wikipedia)

Sometimes, when we're not covering political news, we tend to stray a little and write about stuff that are completely unrelated to Philippine politics -- pretty much what we are doing at this point. It might be boredom, or it might be overexposure to Chiz schtick, but we decided to play anagrams using the names of some presidentiables and vice presidential candidates. We tried using our brains but it was too much work. So, we decided to use this site. It saves time and money (for the paracetamols). All possible combinations were shown but we choose those that seem appropriate, even if they don't make much sense.

Here are the results:

MANUEL VILLAR...................................RIVAL ALL MENU
JOSEPH ESTRADA..................................A SAD HERPES JOT
GILBERT TEODORO..............................ROBOT ELDER GOT I
LOREN LEGARDA...................................A GRENADE ROLL
MANUEL ROXAS.....................................A MA LOREN SUX
JOJO BINAY.............................................A JOB IN JOY
CHIZ ESCUDERO.....................................SEDUCE RICH OZ
BENIGNO AQUINO.................................A BIG NONE IN QUO

Noynoy Aquino did not return good results, perhaps due to the letter "Q" and repetition of letters, so we used Benigno instead. Oh well, he did show a little bit of his funny side when he twittered:

noynoyaquino: We now have more than 100k supporters on Facebook. Dahil sa inyo, mas marami na akong fans kay Kris :-D Salamat!

Well, that's about it for the lighter side of Philippine politics. Back to regular programming...

Philippine Politicos Want Restrictions, As ICANN Frees Up Internet

2009-11-04T19:58:00.010+08:00

As a netizen, I am glad that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved the Internationalized Domain Name Fast Track Process. With this process, a myriad of non-Latin characters can now be used in domain name extensions. Eventually, this will help people who do not speak English or other Western languages to become more active on the Internet.

Countries can now apply for domain name extensions derived from their respective local languages. Soon, there will be domain names that are entirely made up of characters based on Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, and many more. Before, only the registration of non-Latin domain names was allowed by ICANN, now, even the extensions can also be non-Latin.

All these developments point to more freedom on the Web. But while the ICANN and other Web governing bodies are finding ways to take down barriers in cyberspace, some of our politicians are bent on restricting the use of the Internet among local netizens. This is reminiscent of the times when deposed President Joseph Estrada – in his bid to please the masses - wanted to make Filipino the official language of the land not only in schools but also in government agencies (If you graduated anytime between 1998 and 2001, your diploma will have tasteless Filipino words trying hard to translate English ones, example: Akawntansi for Accountancy.)

Today, the same thing is happening on the Internet. Recently, Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo wanted to have the world’s biggest social media site Facebook regulated, just because a picture of him shopping for alcohol on the eve of Typhoon Ondoy, which wreaked havoc across the Metro and nearby provinces, rapidly spread online via Facebook. This caused countless people to criticize the congressman. He claimed that he was maliciously attacked online and now feels that the Web should be restricted.

Not long ago, Senator Loren Legards also pushed for restrictions online. In 2008, the senator was annoyed by the domain name Lorenlegarda.com which she did not register. In short, someone beat her to the draw at the domain name register. But should her annoyance warrant restrictions online? Of course not. When you are online, the one who registers a domain name first owns that domain. Even PLDT had a taste of this unwritten law on the Internet when it lost its case against PLDT.com, which used to be owned by Gerry Kaimo and not the telecom giant.

Alas, the Philippines has always viewed the world backwards. From trams to pedicabs to poverty being the standard to emulate (wheras being rich is considered evil), now we may see total Internet freedom reduced to Error 401s.

2010 Presidential Election Side Story: What’s in it for Binay?

2009-11-04T18:29:00.002+08:00

Mayor Jejomar Binay is one of the shrewdest politicians in the Philippines today. His decision to run as vice president of former President Erap Estrada this coming 2010 Presidential Election is baffling a lot of political pundits. Let’s face it, Binay is not running as Erap’s VP simply because he is a staunch supporter of the former president. Besides, Binay probably knows that Erap is not going to win anyway.

So, what is in it for Mayor Binay? My guess is that he is fully aware that Erap will not be allowed by the Supreme Court to run again this coming 2010 Presidential Election. If this happens, the Makati mayor will be “forced” to run for the highest post in the land. Maybe he would invite Chiz or Jinggoy to run as vice president. But if I were Erap, I would insist on making my son Jinggoy to run for president in case I was barred by the Supreme Court to run for the post.

After all, Jinggoy is Erap’s own flesh and blood. Besides, Jinggoy is also more popular than Binay. This will give Mayor Binay a taste of his own medicine when, purportedly, he promised then Makati Vice Mayor Toro Yabut the chance to run for mayor back in 1998(?) only to give the slot to Mayor Binay’s wife, Elenita, when the election came.

A Step-by-Step Guide to 2010 Automated Election

2009-11-04T17:17:00.004+08:00

Yahoo! Southeast Asia presented a demo of the automated process for the 2010 Presidential Elections. Click here to watch the video.

Step-by-step Guide

An election officer operates Precint Count Optical Scan (PCOS) with an electronic key
The election officer enters the username and password
The election officer will verify your identity
After verification, you will be given a special ballot and a marker; the special ballot contains the list of candidates from president to local councilor
Shade the oval next to the candidate's name; shade the oval completely
Don't overvote. If you shade the oval for two presidential candidates, your vote for that particular category will be invalidated. Cast only 1 vote for the following: President, Vice-President, Governer, Vice-Governor, District Representative, Mayor, Vice-Mayor, Party List
You can undervote. There are 12 slots for Senators, 8 for Councilors, and 2 Board Members -- Example: You can only vote for 8 out of the 12 Senators.
Once you're done voting, bring the ballot to the election officer, insert the ballot into the machine. NOTE: You will be the one to insert the ballot not the election officer.
A small screen will show show the ballot fed or vote casted
After the close of th election, the machine will print the votes casted
Copies of the results will be given to pollwatch groups or parties accredited by Comelec
The results are then electronically sent to the municipal, city, provincial, and national board of canvassers.
At the same time, the results are sent to a secure system wherein Comelec can extract the data and publish the partial results in a secured website.

Now you know...and knowing is half the battle.

Manuel Quezon III for Senator?

2009-11-03T11:52:00.006+08:00

Facebook has become the platform in which news (confirmed or not) are circulated in record time. The Mikey Arroyo booze and the Ella blog controversy are just two examples of how effective Facebook is in sending messages across intended audiences. So, it was not surprising to wake up to numerous updates of friends joining the Manolo Quezon for Senator Group in Facebook.

This group is for people who would like to see Manuel L Quezon III elected as senator on 2010.

Disclaimer: It is not certain whether or not Manolo Quezon will throw his hat into the ring for next year's elections.

MLQ3 is perhaps one of the most hard-hitting yet endearing political pundits in the land. His CV is the envy of aspiring journalists and opinion writers. While his wealth of experience speaks volumes of his involvement in the political landscape, there's really no need to drag his good name to the murky depths of hell known as the senate.

He is already a pundit god, why reduce him into a lowly senator? I'm just saying...

Noynoy Aquino's star-studded Ad: Hindi Ka Nag-iisa

2009-10-30T22:39:00.003+08:00

It's very rarely you see big stars from two rival stations (Channels 7 & 2) come together to promote a product, a concept, or in this case, endorse Noynoy Aquino's candidacy for the 2010 election. It is unclear if these stars were paid to appear in the video but we think that if they asked for talent fee, the producer of the video will go broke. What with Kris Aquino, Regine Velasquez, Sharon Cuneta, Ogie Alcasid, Boy Abunda, and Ai-Ai delas Alas top billing the ad; that's already millions of pesos between them. Add to that Dingdong Dantes, Marian Rivera, Anne Curtis, PBA players and a host of ABS CBN and GMA talents -- it's a producer's video dream come true! We commend the stars who appeared on this ad if payment is "gratis".

The song is written by Ogie Alcasid and sung by Regine Velasquez. The ad's message is pretty straightforward; the singing is not over the top, and admittedly, Noynoy Aquino looks nice in this video. The first stages of the makeover seem to be working wonders on his image.

No other presidential candidate has this kind of starpower, if elections were based solely on this, then Noynoy will be a runaway winner. The only question is, where is Mar Roxas?

Erap’s Candidacy can Open Former Presidents for Reelection

2009-10-30T01:05:00.007+08:00

In a surprising turn of events, the Palace is now saying that former President Erap Estrada should be allowed to once again run for president in the 2010 Presidential Election. According to Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, the Filipino people should be the one to decide on this matter.

However, this does not mean that Malacañang is confident that their “manok” will win the race. Just a week ago, after the disgraced ex-president announced his bid for the presidential seat, Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III expects an influx of petitions when Mr. Estrada files his certificate of candidacy in November.

There are only two reasons why I think that the Palace has a change of heart regarding Erap’s candidacy. First, I believe that PGMA (and the rest of the country) knows that the charms of the slurring Asion Salonga will no longer be enough to help the ex-president win in the 2010 Presidential Election. Second, if Erap is allowed to run because he is not an incumbent president, then PGMA and even former President Fidel V. Ramos could run again for president in 2016.

By the way, the COMELEC yesterday rejected the petition filed by Oliver Lozano seeking to disqualify Erap from participating in the 2010 Presidential Election. COMELEC Chairman Jose Melo said that the petition filed by Mr. Lozano was “premature” because Mr. Estrada has not yet filed his certificate of candidacy.

Chiz Escudero leaves Nationalist People's Coalition

2009-10-28T11:00:00.005+08:00

File this one under strange but true category. In a weird turn of events, Francis "Chiz" Escudero has bolted from the Nationalists People's Coalition (NPC), the political party that he had been affiliated with since 1988. His reason borders on dramatic effect and rubbish logic: "Hindi puwede na nakakadena ang kamay at paa sa partido,"

This seems to be an unbelievably misguided Chiz Escudero telling everyone that:

A political party is not needed to win the 2010 Presidential Election or any election for that matter
An affiliation to a political party will impair your faculty to decide whether to run or not for the 2010 Presidential Election
A candidate will not be able to do what he is set out to do if he is affiliated to an incumbent congressman or senator who belong to the same political party

We'd like to think that Chiz hit his head on something hard on the way to Club Filipino, because, in all honesty, he is not making much sense. That, or he is trying to dissociate himself from traditional politicians (TRAPOs) and appear as the true independent candidate unmarred and uninfluenced by the powers that be in the NPC camp. Bollocks, we say! Chiz is perhaps the youngest trapo around and some people refuse to see him in that light.

We reckon NPC main man Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco is not keen on giving Chiz full support (read: funding) given the former's blood relation to Gilbert Teodoro and Noynoy Aquino. In the same breath, Chiz is not keen on getting Loren Legarda as VP, and Legarda feels the same way. In other words, "di nila feel ang isa't isa!"

Chiz has not decided whether to run as president or vice president and this indecisiveness is gonna cost him his ambitions for a higher office. Remember when Noynoy got the flak when he could not immediately decide whether to run or not? Well, it's pretty much the same case with Chiz, only double the flak.

Without a political party, Chiz is standing on quicksand and he can just forget about the 2010 presidency. BUT if he decides to run as Vice President to Manny Villar, then he may just have a chance at securing the vice presidency, but he has to lock horns with Mar Roxas. But then again Chiz said that he would NEVER run with or under Villar. Well, eating his words can be good for his political health at this point.

So Chiz is a "free agent" and the only candidate without a VP is Villar. Legarda may be forced to accept Villar's offer in light of this latest development. That, or she will become NPC's standard bearer and will have to start shopping for a VP.

We believe that Chiz is more inclined to run as VP than risk a defeat as a presidentiable. But for the love of god, please cut down on the drama.

Volunteers at work in DSWD compound

2009-10-26T03:19:00.004+08:00

Relief operations volunteer Gizzzzo took it upon himself to get to the bottom of the "Ella blog" controversy. Armed with a camera and several other volunteers in tow, he was given access to the DSWD compound where 5 warehouses are located. He posted the video on Youtube to show that there are only 15 volunteers at that time. It is unclear if the number includes the UPS and Don Bosco volunteers. In any case, Gizzzzo's message is clear, he believes in DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral when she said that the goods are not moving because there are no volunteers. Gizzzzo also said, "There's no corruption here, only people working".

We appreciate his efforts to show the real score at that particular point in time, but it still does not answer many pointed questions that stab the DSWD right in the heart, where it bleeds the most.

At this point, people have already formed their opinions about the situation and it is no surprise that DSWD is adjudged as incompetent. But the good thing that stems from this ruckus is that there is a way to verify assertions. This has been proven when several people headed to the DSWD compound right after the issue exploded. Much of what was written was confirmed (that the goods are just sitting in the warehouse); but the reason behind it needs to be further examined. This should pave the way for DSWD to re-evaluate its methods and procedures during national emergencies.

VP Drama: Puno Out, Legard In

2009-10-25T23:12:00.002+08:00

DILG Secretary Puno announced on Friday that he is no longer interested in running as vice president. In fact, he claims that he is not interested to be involved in politics. Instead, he intends to put all his efforts in helping the poor victims of typhoon Ondoy and Ramil. With this announcement, many people are speculating about the probable reasons behind Puno’s “tantrums”. Is the administration still courting Ate Vi to run even if Puno was the chosen Lakas-CMD-Kampi standard bearer? Maybe Puno just feels that Gibo is a candidate he cannot help win. Many know that Puno has served almost all presidents since Marcos. Only the late president Corazon Aquino was impervious to Puno’s charms.

In other news, Loren Legarda finally announced that she is gunning for the second highest post in the land. This is not really surprising because she has been all over the news in the past months. It is very likely that she will be the running mate of Chiz Escudero. With Puno and Noli out of the VP race, Loren’s toughest competition would be Mar Roxas. In fairness to her, she seems to be the only candidate to provide a platform. Some of the things that she said she would focus on if by some stroke of luck she wins the post include rejuvenating Filipino culture, zeroing on issues related to the environment and climate change, and addressing the main cause of the conflict in Mindanao.

Relief Goods in DSWD Warehouse Not Being Distributed?

2009-10-23T16:39:00.009+08:00

This entry is written in light of the "Blog ni Ella" expose on the undistributed relief goods in the DSWD warehouse. The site http://www.ellaganda.com/ has already been blocked; however, several bloggers have intuitively copied and pasted the content and circulated them in Facebook, Multiply, and Twitter. The expose can be found on this site and this one.

The content is disturbing, to say the least; but in situations like this, it's important to get both sides of the story, no matter how difficult it is. PulitikangInaMo had made repeated attempts to speak with DSWD representatives, to no avail.

In an (alleged) interview with Philippine News, DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral was said to have explained why the goods are not moving. "Wala kasing volunteers". Short and sweet, but we demand clearer explanation.

This is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed, especially with Typhoon Ramil hovering and threatening to strike the country. We challenge DSWD to come clean and ease our weary minds.

Long Weekend Breaks This November

2009-10-22T14:35:00.002+08:00

For those who love holidays and long weekends, you will surely be excited to learn that everyone will enjoy long weekends this November. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo just declared November 2 (All Soul’s Day) and November 27 (Islamic holiday) as special non-working holidays.

This means, at the beginning of the month, there will be a three-day weekend break from October 31 (Saturday) to November 2 (Monday).

The second long weekend break is on November 27 (Friday) to 30 (Monday). Both November 27 and 28 are non-working holidays in observance of the Feast of Sacrifice (Eid’l Adha), which is celebrated by Muslims after their yearly pilgrimage to Mecca. November 30 (Bonifacio Day) is a regular non-working holiday to honor Katipunan founder Andres Bonifacio.

Loren Legarda Turns Down Gilbert Teodoro

2009-10-22T11:42:00.008+08:00

In what seems to be a short-lived political courting dance, Loren Legarda said "no" to a Gilbert Teodoro tandem. Inquirer reports that Legarda has ruled out running under the administration ticket, saying,

“If I declare to run for a higher position, I will remain and will run with the opposition,”

This is a statement that stops short of saying, "Hey, I will run with Chiz Escudero, so beat it, Gibo!" But then again, it's so un-Loren Legarda to say that. She has to bank on her delusional idea of being the most sought after Vice Presidential candidate in 2010; and turn down each presidentiable that she does not fancy. That's her prerogative, but then again, has anyone even stopped and think of the status of her political clout nowadays? Is her influence enough to get massive votes to catapult her presidentiable of choice to victory? Maybe a little memory enhancing vitamin should help her get off her high horse --Fact: She lost to VP Noli de Castro.

This does not kill Gibo's chance of winning because he doesn't have as high a chance as his political backers want him to believe. So what do we make of this announcement? It's nothing that we don't already know. Our heart goes to Pichay though, because this news killed the "potent tandem" that he was harping about a few days ago.

Apo Hiking Society's 'Sagot Ko Ba Ito?'

2009-10-20T12:47:00.010+08:00

The Apo Hiking Society are known staunch supporters of the Aquinos. They figured prominently in the EDSA Revolution through the medium they know best. Who could forget the song "Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo"? It was the "We Are The World" of the People Power Revolution and the second most popular song during that period (Virna Lisa's "Magkaisa" being the revolution anthem).

Now, more than 20 years later, the Apo Hiking Society is back with "Sagot Ko Ba Ito?" a song that attempts to re-ignite the nationalistic fire within the hearts of the Filipino people who have been made callous by the experiences from one corrupt government to another. It goes on the offensive and attacks the GMA administration, albeit in the most subtle way possible. But more than the expression of contempt, the song doubles as a Noynoy Aquino campaign ad. Clever move.

If "Sagot Ko Ba Ito?" sounds rather familiar (overly familiar, to say the least), it's because the music is from The Beatles song "Eleanor Rigby". Catchy, haunting, mysterious.

Of course, Apo Hiking Society cleverly structured the lyrics to appeal to the masses.

SAGOT KO BA ITO?

Ahh, luhaan ang mga tao
Nagkalat ang kulay na yellow
Cory Aquino, minamasdan ng madlang
Dumagsa sa lamay
Sila'y matamlay

Ang dami ng tao
Pila-pila sa labas at nanahimik
Naghihintay
Tumutulo ang luha na di humuhupa

Ang dating Pangulo
Mahal siya ng madla
Ating Pangulo, naglulustay
sa New York kasamang barkada
Nagpapakasasa

Congressmen, cronies
Nag-uunahan saluhin ang ginastos nila
Nagtatanong ang Tao
Kanino bang pera?

SAGOT KO BA ITO?

Nagtatanong ang Tao
Bakit ko binoto?

Nagkalat ang kulay na yellow
Ahh, luhaan ang mga tao

Ninoy Aquino, kayakap na nya muli
ang kanyang kabiyak
Nagagalak

Mga naka-yellow, bigla nabuhay
ang hanay at puno ng sigla
HANDA MAGPASYA

Di na pababayaan
Di na iwawaldas
Muling ipaglalaban

BAYANG PILIPINAS

Source: Youthfornoy

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