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2010-06-23T14:12:00.000+08:00

Still Unemployed? Here’s What You May Be Doing Wrong

2010-05-23T01:03:00.000+08:00

Posted by Mark in Career on 02 18th, 2010

Job search can be frustrating, no doubt about that. Often times we hear job seekers talking how they never hear back from the employer after a job interview. We agree that employers should contact each job applicant even if they are not hired, but when you have thousands of job applicants for two openings, it might be a little too hard for the company too.

There are many reasons why an employer may reject a job candidate. We explore five reasons below which shows why the employers aren’t too keen on hiring you.

1. Your Resume Sucks

Online job search is highly effective and using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. can help you land a job. However, a resume will always be required. Online resume or offline, without a resume that can highlight your experience and one that is effective, landing a job is next to impossible. Having a resume alone isn’t enough. It needs to be effective. Too often we see people using their LinkedIn profile as an online resume but everything on it seems unprofessional. If your profile image on LinkedIn shows you holding a beer can, good luck getting prospective employers interested in you. The first and foremost thing that you need to make sure is the fact that your resume doesn’t suck.

We’ve covered resume tips in the past. Below are some links that will help you guide in the right path when it comes to making sure your resume doesn’t suck :

If you are looking for jobs in a industry that demands you be creative, these creative resumes might be something you could draw inspiration from.
Writing an effective resume requires use of effective words. Take a look at these words that will help make your resume stand out.
If your resume looks like the resume of the future that we created a while back, it’s obvious you won’t get called for a job interview.
Ever think of lying in your resume? If you have, these are the resume lies employers usually don’t catch on to.
Before you throw away the junk mails, make sure you learn how to create outstanding resume using tactics used in junk mails.
And finally, here are a few tips on how you can write a killer resume by making the best out of your biggest screwups.

2. You’re Begging For It

It’s natural to be desperate when you lose a job. The desperation kicks in full swing if you haven’t saved any money and it comes down to putting food on the table. Being laid off from a job or getting fired and losing a steady income isn’t easy, both financially and emotionally. However, if your desperation starts showing during the job interview, it’s almost guaranteed employers aren’t going to hire you.

Employers look for people who are confident and can turn things around. They are looking for someone who can handle a tough situation. If you act desperate there is no way an employer is going to hire you. They might feel bad for you but they have a business to run, and in this case, their business mind will certainly overcome the emotional side. Grabbing an interviewers leg and begging while at the job interview isn’t the best way to land a job. We understand you are desperate and it’s natural, but don’t let it show.

3. You Are Being a Bit Too “Cocky”

Some job applicants are way out of their head. Most articles that you read on the web related to job interview tips always says “be confident.” This does not mean you have to act cocky. There is a difference between being confident and being an ass hole. Your employers wants someone who knows what they are talking about, they don’t want an aggressive person who might be a problem for the whole department down the road. Besides the whole cocky part, some job applicants seem to talk a bit too much.

Don’t get too personal with your interviewer. There is no reason to point out that your ex-wife or ex-husband made your life hell and you couldn’t perform as expected at your last job. Watch what you say while at the interview. Every word coming out of your mouth and every gesture you make is being watched. If you are talking out of your ass, there is a reason the employer didn’t extend the job offer to you.

4. You Don’t Exist On The Web

Although employers still use traditional ways to hire a job applicant, online channels have become extremely important. There are more employers looking to hire someone through social channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. As these platforms grow, employers are realizing they need to have a presence on there and they expect you to be there as well. Just make sure you are using these channels wisely and not sharing your darkest, deepest secrets for the world to see.

Your presence online can either be the reason they will hire you or the reason they won’t. Having a web presence is definitely something that can’t be ignored. If you don’t have one, that certainly may be one of the reason the employer isn’t too keen on hiring you.

5. You Forgot To Do Your Homework

Don’t ever go for a job interview unprepared. And we aren’t talking about ironing your clothes or brushing your hair. We are talking about the fact that you need to know about the company. Interviewer’s often like to ask questions related to the company such as history, name of the CEO, etc. to see how much time job applicant has put into researching. If you can’t answer some of the basic things about the company, it just shows you haven’t done your homework properly. You need to prove the employer that you want this job not just for the money (although that might be the primary reason), but cause the work itself interests you.

The more information you have on the company, the more reasons they have to believe that you are an ideal candidate. This is a critical step in preparing for a job interview and many seem to ignore it. And that my friend, is a very good reason that a particular employer doesn’t want to hire you.

Your Turn

We shared a few reasons as to why an employer may not be interested in you. We would love to hear what you think of them. Also feel free to add more to the list in the comments section.

BirthStone Information

2010-05-21T02:06:00.000+08:00

Garnet - the birthstone for January

Garnet is a naturally occurring gemstone with vital power and energy, and lends vitality and strength. It aids in raising and directing the flow of kundalini energy and increases sensuality, as it is associated with the root chakra. Given as a gift, garnet symbolizes true and never-ending love and devotion.. Garnet invokes and releases one's creative ability and inner fire. The garnet is a symbol of friendship, love and devotion. It was believed throughout the ages that garnets bring luck in love and friendship and keep enemies away from their owners. It is found in Africa, Brazil, Canada, India, Madagascar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the USA. The Garnet is the birthstone for zodiac sign of Capricorn.

Amethyst - the birthstone for February

Amethyst is a form of quartz. It is one of the best stones to use for meditation. It guides the awareness away from self-centered thought patterns as it lures the mind towards a deeper understanding. Because of its calming mental effect, amethyst is a stone that can be used for over-worked, over-stressed, or over-whelmed mental states offering protection to those who wear it. It is one of the best stones to use for tension or migraine headaches. It is good for people who tend to be easily angered or suffer from recurrent nightmares and brings a peaceful balance of mental and emotional energies. A good stone for insomnia and intuitive awareness. Amethyst is found in Africa, Australia, Russia, South America, Brazil, Uruguay. Amethyst is the birthstone for the zodiac sign of Aquarius.

Aquamarine - the birthstone for arch

Aquamarine is a member of the Beryl family of stones. Meaning -"sea water," it's not hard to figure out that it derives this name due to its color being similar to that of the ocean. The color ranges from very light to medium light blue, frequently with a light touch of green. The most desired color is the deeper shade of blue. Aquamarine is very durable and well suited for jewellery. It is often considered to have a soothing influence on married couples and its power to help husbands and wives work out their differences, makes it a good anniversary gift. A dream of aquamarine means that you will meet new friends. Aquamarine is found in Brazil, Africa and in all other continents. Aquamarine is the birthstone for the zodiac sign of Pisces.

Diamond (Hira) - the birthstone for April

Diamond, often called the King of Gems, is a woman's most favourite accessory and a man's emblem of power. It signifies purity and innocence and has always been associated with strength and good luck. It gives calm sleep and takes away nightmares. It can help you achieve material wealth and prestige. It is considered to be the most powerful when combined with other gemstones. The first wearers of diamonds were the Princes of India seeking magical protection and to display their power and wealth. Early Egyptians believed that the vana amoris, a.k.a. the vein of love, ran directly from the heart to the third finger on the left hand, which is why women wear their diamond rings on their the third finger to this day. Diamonds are found in India, Brazil, Russia, Australia and South Africa. Diamond is the birthstone for the zodiac sign of Aries.

Emerald (Marakatam) - the birthstone for May

Emerald is a gemstone from the Beryl family of stones having a stunning green color symbolizing serenity, success in love, wealth, happiness and peace of mind. It is a precious gem that promotes creativity and perception and also acts as a natural tranquilizer when you are worried or your mind is troubled. It Improves the memory, helps insomnia, strengthens the immune system, helps with eyesight, restores youth, aids neurological diseases, and heals ear problems. Emeralds are found in Colombia and are occasionally obtained from Brazil and Zambia in yellow-green, grey-green and spinach green varieties.. Emerald is the birthstone for the zodiac sign of Taurus.

Pearl (Mukta) - the birthstone for June

Pearl, often referred to as the "Queen of Gems," is a classic piece of jewellery. It is formed in shellfish as a reactant to an irritant such as a piece of sand. Cultured pearls are created by adding a piece of mussel or shell inside an oyster, which then creates a pearl as layers inside the shell grow over the alien substance. The prices of pearls vary widely as a result of luster, size, color, type and how they were cultured. Natural pearls are the most expensive, followed by cultured pearls with Fresh water pearls relatively less expensive. Pearls are said to help in self discovery and improve self-worth. Natural pearls are considered to be one of the nicest gifts you can give to your loved ones. It allows the wearer to see the love of the person who gave them the pearls. The Pearl is an emblem of modesty, chastity and purity, symbolizing love, success, and happiness and in many countries is used as a wedding gift. Pearls were once thought to be the tears of God. Natural Pearls have been harvested from the Red Sea, Gulf of Mannar, and the Persian Gulf. The coasts of Australia and Polynesia produce mostly cultured pearls whereas Fresh water pearls occur in many rivers in countries such as Austria, France, Scotland, Ireland, India and USA. The Pearl is the birthstone for the zodiac sign of Gemini.

Ruby (Manikya) - the birthstone for July

A Ruby, considered to be one of the most precious and perfect gemstones, is actually a Sapphire with trace amounts of chromium giving the Ruby its bright red color. It symbolizes the sun, freedom and power. It is well suited for all jewellery applications as it is an extremely hard and durable gemstone. Top quality Rubies are highly prized, and in larger sizes are frequently valued above all other gemstones, including Diamonds. It increases energy levels and will stimulate love if worn close to the heart. It protects sensitive natures, health and wealth, controls passion, stimulates blood circulation, gives calm sleep and takes away nightmares. In the ancient language of Sanskrit, the Ruby is called "Ratnaraj," or king of precious stones. Rubies are found in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Burma and Cambodia. Ruby is the birthstone for the zodiac sign of Cancer.

Peridot - the birthstone for August

Peridot is a green gemstone that is as popular today as it was in the past. It is considered to have the power to drive away evil spirits and that power was even more intense when the stone is set in gold. They are receptive and promote protection, health, wealth and sleep. Peridot is worn or carried for general healing purposes. Its deep green hue suggests its use in wealth - attracting spells. Peridot is found in Burma, Pakistan, China and USA. Peridot is the birthstone for the zodiac sign of Leo.

Sapphire (Nilam) - the birthstone for September

Sapphire is the Gem of Destiny. It is extremely hard, durable and is considered very valuable. It will bring out the best within you and help make your dreams come true. It has always been associated with luck in romance and is said to bring peace and happiness. It relieves mental depression and stimulates motivation and goal orientation. This stone will help you with the heart and stomach, stimulating the pituitary glands, strengthening the eyes, reducing fever, and nose bleeds. Sapphires are found in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam, Madagascar and Africa. Sapphire is the birthstone for the zodiac sign of Virgo.

Opal - the birthstone for October

The Opal, Eve of the Gods, is a stone of hopes, love and romance and a stone to grant wishes and personal happiness positive actions and achievements. It is a mysterious gem, as each one appears different in its delicate beauty. It has always been one of the most popular and esteemed gems, known to absorb, carry and pass enormous amounts of energy. The Opal is not a particularly hard stone, so care must be taken to preserve the natural beauty of this gem. Beautiful Opals have featured in many of the Crown Jewels of Europe and they remain popular with heads of state and the rich and famous. Opal is found in Western USA, Mexico, Australia, North, Central and South America and Indonesia. The Opal is the birthstone for the zodiac sign of Libra.

Topaz - the birthstone for November

Topaz is a stone that can be readily available in a variety of colors, with the popular ones being white and blue. Being very hard, it is well suited for all jewellery applications. It controls anger, balances diseases of emotional origin, calms stress, restores physical energies and also enhances creative power. It will bring light and warmth into your life and protect against external stress. Topaz is available in Africa, Asia, Mexico, Russia, South America and USA. Topaz is the birthstone for the zodiac sign of Scorpio.

Zircon - the birthstone for December

Zircon is considered to be a very brilliant stone because of its high refractive index. It is also very hard and well suited for a wide range of jewellery uses. An important identification mark for all Zircons, (except the green) is a strong double refraction easily seen under the loupe at the facet edges. Blue and Green are the most desirable Zircons. Zircon is said to aid sleep, bring prosperity, and promote honor and wisdom for its owner. It can be used as an amulet for travelers. It brings the wearer financial success and protection from being struck by lightning. In the symbolic Kalpa Tree of the Hindu religion, Green Zircon represents the tree's foliage. Zircon is found in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar and Australia and is one the birthstones for the zodiac sign of Capricorn, with the other one being Turquoise.

INSTALLING LOVE

2010-05-21T01:51:00.000+08:00

Current mood: confused
Category: Blogging

Tech Support: Yes, ... how can I help you?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love. Can you guide me though the process?
Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?
Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?

Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support: What programs are running?

Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?

Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.

Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - Program not run on external components ." What should I do?

Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.

Customer: So, what should I do?

Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.

Customer: Okay, done.

Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.

Customer: Thank you, God.

For Taxi riders in Manila

2010-05-21T01:34:00.003+08:00

PLEASE BEWARE!

Just to give you a warning, avoid riding cabs with names like Wallis, Romcat & Lucky8.

All these taxis are owned by just one family and most of its drivers are muggers, rapists or simply swindlers. According to the driver who is the source of this information, he used to work for the said company but lasted for only 2 days since he couldn't bear the idea of "manggagantso" .

He said there is no single unit of this company that doesn't cheat. Each and every car that they own has "batingting" that is used to manipulate the taxi meter.

Further, the driver also informed that the owners hire anyone even if the person has a criminal record. As a matter of fact, the owners are fully aware of their drivers' misconduct yet they turn a blindeye on it coz what matters most to them is the boundary of their drivers that's to be given to them at the end of the day. He also said that prior to leaving, he found out that one of his co-drivers mugged his passenger and even touched her private parts. When the passenger filed a legal complaint about it, naturally the driver got apprehended but was released because of bail.

Immediately the next day, the very same criminal was hired back by their company and was out driving his unit again.

He said you will be able to recognize the taxi units of this company even at night since their taxi logos on top of their roof have a unique lighting. Instead of the usual yellow light on the "taxi" sign, theirs are red.

Prior to writing this, there was a research about the taxi company and it was found out that they have been featured in one of the shows in GMA-7 (Imbestigador) . Indeed they have proven that the drivers of this company are swindlers and muggers.

If you care about your family, friends, co-workers, classmates And other people close to you, pass this information along. We can never tell who their next victim will be.

Voting Process

2010-05-07T16:02:00.002+08:00

Be sure to check your name in the list of voters that will be printed in the precinct where you will vote. It is the responsibility of the Board of Election Inspector to post the final list of voters in each precinct.
Tiyakin na ang pangalan mo ay nasa listahan ng mga botante sa presinto na kung saan ka boboto. Dalawang linggo bago ang halalan, tungkulin ng Board of Election Inspector na ilagay ang listahan ng mga botante sa bawat presinto.
On the day of election, present your Voter's ID (or any valid ID) to the BEI in your assigned precinct. Upon verifying your identity, BEI will give you a ballot containing the list of candidates in various vacant elective positions.
Sa araw ng halalan, magpakilala sa Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) sa presinto kung saan kayo nakarehistro. Matapos mapatunayan ang inyong pagkakilanlan, bibigyan kayo ng balota na may mga pangalan na ng mga kandidato.
Using a marker, shade the entire circle corresponding to your choice of candidate.
Gamit ang marker, itiman o i-shade ng buo ang bilog na nasa tabi ng pangalan ng inyong mga napiling kandidato.
After filling up the ballot, feed the form to the PCOS machine. The ballot will go straight to the ballot box.
Pagkatapos bumoto, i-feed ang nasagutang balota sa Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) Machine. Ang balota ay didiretso sa ballot box.

Mar Roxas

2010-05-07T16:01:00.001+08:00

"Mr. Palengke" is Senator Mar Roxas, the son of the illustrious Senator Gerry Roxas, and the grandson of the venerable President Manuel Roxas whose public service careers have greatly benefited the country. Mar graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1974 and the Wharton School of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. Before entering public service, Mar worked as an investment banker, mobilizing venture capital funds for Small and Medium Enterprises.

Mar's public service life began in the House of Representatives in 1993. After his congressional stint, he was appointed as Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry; and then in 2004, he was elected to the Senate with a staggering 20 million votes, the largest ever obtained by a candidate in any Philippine election.

Owing to his record of accomplishments as a public servant and political leader, the international community described Mar as "one of the young leaders in politics and business who will bring Asia and the Pacific to the forefront of world affairs." At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mar was named as "one of the Global Leaders of Tomorrow who is expected to shape the future." Recently, the Singapore Government has awarded him as the 16th Lee Kuan Yew Fellow.

Learn more about Mar Roxas, including projects done and laws authored, as a Congressman, as a cabinet secretary, and as a Senator, at www.marroxas.com

SLAMAT LORRRD

2010-05-07T16:00:00.002+08:00

We are the 12 men and women representing the Filipino people in the Liberal Party (LP) Senate slate for the May 2010 elections. Coming from all walks of life and working from our respective strengths and core advocacies, we shall work together with our President, Noynoy AQUINO and our Vice-President, Mar ROXAS, to deliver change and lasting reforms.

Sonia "Inang Guro" ROCO

Widow and "partner" of former Senator and Secretary Raul S. Roco, Sen. Sonia Roco hopes to spread the seeds and continue the legacy of her late husband. She is an educator and co-founded Our School, a center for Early Childhood Education. Her advocacies include Women in Nation-building (WIN), Metro Manila Community Orchestra (MMCO), St. Michael's Hospice Foundation, and Raul Roco Foundation.

As the “Inang Guro”, she believes in accessible quality education for all and aspires to implement a study-now-pay-later law.

BGen. Danny Lim

Gen. Danilo LiM is a scholar-soldier who graduated at the top of his class and is known for his exceptional bravery. He has served as commanding officer for various anti-insurgency, anti-terrorism, and anti-secessionist operations and has been wounded in combat twice.

In February 2006 and November 2007, he joined multi-sectoral groups in their collective call for the resignation of GMA to expose corruption and has been unjustly imprisoned since then.

"Teacher" Neric Acosta

Neric is the current Vice President of the Liberal Party in Mindanao and former Representative of Bukidnon. He is an ardent advocate of the environment and is the principal author of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Ecological Management Act. He is also an Associate Professor at the Asian Institute of Management and the Ateneo de Manila University.

Dr. Martin “Dr. Balikbayan” BAUTISTA

“Dr. Balikbayan” is a doctor by profession and a man of service by heart. He was born and raised in Quezon City, graduating as an “Iskolar ng Bayan”. He gained extensive training in the US after working in medically underserved areas until establishing his own practice.

In 2006 he came home to the Philippines vowing to provide proper medical care for the underprivileged, to serve those “who are weakest, poorest and ill”.

Atty. Alex “Pinoy” LACSON

Alex is the author of national best-seller 12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country. A graduate of UP College of Law and Harvard Law School, he has served as a legal counsel of the United Nations Development Programme (or UNDP) in the Philippines. He is also a columnist (on-leave) for the newspaper Business World.

Among his awards are the Galing Pilipino Award 2005, the Young Filipino Achiever’s Award 2006 and the Model Filipino award 2009 given by the EDSA People Power Commission.

Rep. TG GUINGONA

TG is the son of former Vice-President Teofisto Guingona. Prior to assuming his congressional post, TG was a developer and active mover of mass housing projects.

As a house representative, TG co-authored the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Bill of 2009. He believes in honest transparent governance and seeks for ceasefire in Central Mindanao as well socio-economic development in its poorer provinces.

Yasmin BUSRAN-LAO

Yasmin is a staunch advocate of women’s rights and of peace in ARMM. She is the current chair of Women For Truth and Justice in the Bangsamoro. Having experienced discrimination in school and fleeing from private armies in war-torn Marawi, Yasmin was exposed to harsh realities at a young age. Since then, she has been pushing for gender equality, a people centered-governance and the rights of indigenous women.

In 2005, she was awarded the Benigno S. Aquino Jr. Fellowship fellowship for Professional Development by the foundation and the US embassy.

Sen. Serge OSMEÑA III

Serge comes from a long line of senators. He is known for being a political prisoner during Martial Law who executed a daring escape from his maximum security cell in Fort Bonifacio. In office, 65 bills he authored have been passed into law. He continues to be a champion of the rural poor as he has spearheaded the construction of thousands of infrastructure projects and farm-to-market roads. In addition, he has funded a total of 935 school buildings nationwide, the most by any senator.

Rep. Ruffy BIAZON

Three-term congressman and author/co-author of 45 Republic Acts, Ruffy is known for being a dynamic hard-worker by his colleagues and is acknowledged by the press for his principled stand on issues. He has been cited by the Free Press Magazine as an Outstanding Congressman of the Philippines and the Philippine Graphic Magazine as one of the Top 100 Young Leaders of the country.

Ralph RECTO

Ralph is a former congressman, senator, and NEDA director-general. At the House of Representatives, he dealt with economic reforms and poverty alleviation. At the Senate, he chaired the Committees on Ways and Means and on Trade and Industry.

As NEDA chief, Ralph helped craft and monitor the government’s Economic Resiliency Plan (ERP) and advocated various development issues, until his resignation in August 2009 in preparation for another run for the Senate.

Rep. Risa HONTIVEROS

Risa was first recognized as an activist/journalist before turning to politics. She is currently in her second term as representative of AKBAYAN Party-list. Her fearless views as a journalist continue to resonate in her progressive law-making and advocacies of peace and women’s rights. She has served as the Secretary General of the Coalition for Peace and is a prime mover of the recently enacted Cheaper Medicines Act and CARP Extension with Reform Law. She was given the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award for Peace Advocacy in 2001.

Sen. Franklin DRILON

Dubbed “Big Man ng Senado”, Frank Drilon has become an institution in Philippine politics over the years. He has assumed several Cabinet posts under 2 administrations and positions of leadership in 19 other government agencies. He served as Senate President and was one of the senators who voted for the opening of the infamous 2nd envelope during the impeachment trial of ousted President Joseph Estrada. He is also the current chairman of the Liberal Party.

Noynoy’s Service Record

2010-05-07T15:58:00.000+08:00

GOVERNMENT SERVICE

Senator Senate of the Philippines
14th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines
Member House of Representatives (1998-2001; 2001-2004; 2004-2007)
Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, 13th Congress of the Philippines (November 8, 2004-February 21, 2006)
Vice Chairman Liberal Party of the Philippines (March 17, 2006 to present)
Secretary General Liberal Party of the Philippines (2004 to March 16, 2006)
Vice-Pres. for Luzon Liberal Party of the Philippines (2002-2004)
Secretary General Liberal Party of the Philippines (1999-2002)
Chairman of the Board Central Luzon Congressional Caucus

HOUSE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
13th Congress

Banks & Financial Intermediaries
Energy
Export Promotion
Public Order & Safety

12th Congress

Civil
Political & Human Rights
Good Government
Public Order & Security
Inter-Parliamentary Relations & Diplomacy

11th Congress

Civil
Political & Human Rights (Vice-Chairman)
Public Order & Security
Transportation & Communications
Agriculture
Banks & Financial Intermediaries
Peoples’ Participation
Suffrage and Electoral Reforms
Appropriations
Natural Resources
Trade & Industry

SELECTED HOUSE BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

House Bill No. 4251 – granting annual productivity incentives to all workers in the private sector
House Bill No. 4397 – strengthening the regulatory power of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to effectively enforce consumer laws
House Bill No. 4252 – increasing the penalties for non-compliance of the prescribed increases and adjustments in the wage rates of workers
House Bill No. 3616 – extending the reglementary period for the educational qualification for PNP members
House Bill No. 1842 – providing for the codification of criminal laws
House Resolution No. 65 – inquiry in aid of legislation into the policies and processes of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in granting rate increases to electric utilities
House Resolution No. 788 – creating a select Congressional Oversight Committee on intelligence funds to check and study the use of intelligence funds by government agencies to ensure that funds allocated therefor are utilized for the purpose they are intended
HB05506 – An Act Increasing The Penalties For Non-Compliance With The Prescribed Increases And Adjustments In The Wage Rates Of Workers, Amending Further For The Purpose Republic Act No. 6727, Otherwise Known As The “Wage Rationalization Act”, And For Other Purposes
HCR0027 – The Government Procurement Reform Act, For The Purpose Of Formulating The Necessary Implementing Rules And Regulations (Irr) For Foreign-Funded Procurement Activities Of The Government
HR01497 – Resolution Directing The House Committee On Suffrage And Electoral Reforms To Conduct An Inquiry, In Aid Of Legislation, On The Commission On Elections’ (Comelec) Resolution No. 7767 Promulgated On November 30, 2006.

LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE

Made the procurement of the petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL) requirements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines transparent by requiring public bidding.

sources: www.noynoy.ph, www.noynoyaquino.ph

Noynoy’s Platform

2010-05-07T15:56:00.000+08:00

A National Leadership in Need of Transformational Change

Its legitimacy is under question;
It persecutes those who expose the truth about its illegitimacy and corruption;
It stays in power by corrupting individuals and institutions;
It confuses the people with half-truths and outright lies;
It rewards, rather than punishes, wrongdoing;
It offers no lasting solutions for the many problems of the country;
It weakens the democratic institutions that hold our leaders accountable.
It hinders our local governments from delivering basic services;
It has no vision of governance beyond political survival and self- enrichment.

A People Crying out for Change

Corruption robs our children of their protection, nutrition and education.
Corruption destroys our families and communities.
Corruption steals from our farmers and workers.
Corruption deters businessmen from investing in our economy.
This has eroded our spirit as individuals, as communities, as a people.
We have lost trust in the democratic institutions we so courageously re-established after the dictatorship.
Our proven capacity for collective outrage and righteous resistance has been weakened.
We have ceased to depend on the patriotism and civic engagement that used to animate many of our efforts.
We have become divided and alienated, focusing only on ourselves and on our individual pursuits.
Our moral faculties as a people have been paralyzed.
We have retreated into a dark world of self-absorption and cynicism. Our collective despair has reached its lowest point.

Then finally, the gift of Light
Cory Aquino passed on to the next life. From our sadness, we awakened to a shaft of light cutting through the darkness. She left the
Filipinos a legacy of selfless love for country and people. Filipinos’ connection with each other was rekindled.
In death, she enabled us to hope again for decent government. The millions who connected with Cory at her funeral represented something more than euphoria, sentiment or transient emotions. They represented the reverent memory of a good leader in the past and the firm hope of having a similarly good leader in the future.
A People’s Campaign of Renewed Hope…

Anchored on Ninoy’s and Cory’s legacy of change through the ways of democracy
Embraces the qualities of integrity, humility and trust-worthiness in public leadership
Recognizes the absence of these qualities in government as a major cause of widespread poverty, misery and despair.

The Vision for the Philippines:
A country with…

A re-awakened sense of right and wrong, through the living examples of our highest leaders;
An organized and widely-shared rapid expansion of our economy through a government dedicated to honing and mobilizing our people’s skills and energies as well as the responsible harnessing of our natural resources;
A collective belief that doing the right thing does not only make sense morally, but translates into economic value as well;
Public institutions rebuilt on the strong solidarity of our society and its communities.

Our Mission:
We will start to make these changes first in ourselves—by doing the right things, by giving value to excellence and integrity and rejecting mediocrity and dishonesty, and by giving priority to others over ourselves.
We will make these changes across many aspects of our national life.

A Commitment to Transformational Leadership:

1. From a President who tolerates corruption to a President who is the nation’s first and most determined fighter of corruption.
2. From a government that merely conjures economic growth statistics that our people know to be unreal to a government that prioritizes jobs that empower the people and provide them with opportunities to rise above poverty.
3. From relegating education to just one of many concerns to making education the central strategy for investing in our people, reducing poverty and building national competitiveness.
4. From treating health as just another area for political patronage to recognizing the advancement and protection of public health, which includes responsible parenthood, as key measures of good governance.
5. From justice that money and connections can buy to a truly impartial system of institutions that deliver equal justice to rich or poor.

Economy

6. From government policies influenced by well-connected private interests to a leadership that executes all the laws of the land with impartiality and decisiveness.
7. From treating the rural economy as just a source of problems, to recognizing farms and rural enterprises as vital to achieving food security and more equitable economic growth, worthy of re-investment for sustained productivity.
8. From government anti-poverty programs that instill a dole-out mentality to well-considered programs that build capacity and create opportunity among the poor and the marginalized in the country.
9. From a government that dampens private initiative and enterprise to a government that creates conditions conducive to the growth and competitiveness of private businesses, big, medium and small.
10. From a government that treats its people as an export commodity and a means to earn foreign exchange, disregarding the social cost to Filipino families to a government that creates jobs at home, so that working abroad will be a choice rather than a necessity; and when its citizens do choose to become OFWs, their welfare and protection will still be the government’s priority.

Government Service

11. From Presidential appointees chosen mainly out of political accommodation to discerning selection based on integrity, competence and performance in serving the public good.
12. From demoralized but dedicated civil servants, military and police personnel destined for failure and frustration due to inadequate operational support to professional, motivated and energized bureaucracies with adequate means to perform their public service missions.

Gender Equality

13. From a lack of concern for gender disparities and shortfalls, to the promotion of equal gender opportunity in all spheres of public policies and programs.

Peace & Order

14. From a disjointed, short-sighted Mindanao policy that merely reacts to events and incidents to one that seeks a broadly supported just peace and will redress decades of neglect of the Moro and other peoples of Mindanao.

Environment

15. From allowing environmental blight to spoil our cities, where both the rich and the poor bear with congestion and urban decay to planning alternative, inclusive urban developments where people of varying income levels are integrated in productive, healthy and safe communities.
16. From a government obsessed with exploiting the country for immediate gains to the detriment of its environment to a government that will encourage sustainable use of resources to benefit the present and future generations.

This platform is a commitment to change that Filipinos can depend on. With trust in their leaders, everyone can work and build a greater future together.

NoyNoy!

2010-05-07T15:53:00.000+08:00

"I am determined to continue the fight started by my father and my mother to see that democracy takes root and is strengthened in our country. This cannot happen in a government that serves the interest of the powerful few. We must strengthen the institutions of government so that they truly serve the interests of our people."

Aquino Widens Lead, Villar Slips in Philippine Election Poll

2010-05-07T15:48:00.000+08:00

Philippine presidential candidate Benigno Aquino widened his lead in a survey for the May 10 election as Manuel Villar, previously his main rival, fell to a statistical tie with former President Joseph Estrada.

Senator Aquino, son of former President Corazon Aquino, had the support of 42 percent of respondents in a May 2 to 3 survey, BusinessWorld newspaper reported, citing a survey it conducted with Social Weather Stations. That compares with 38 percent in their April 16 to 19 survey.

Senator Villar’s support fell to 19 percent from 26 percent while Estrada’s support rose to 20 percent from 17. The survey covered 2,400 respondents and had a 2 percentage point margin of error.

“With three days remaining, it will be difficult already for Villar or Estrada to catch up,” said Bobby Tuazon, director of the Center for People Empowerment in Governance in Manila.

More than 50 million people are registered to vote for president and thousands of other national and local positions. The Philippines is switching to a computerized system to reduce the cheating that occurred during manual counting that took weeks. Election officials are racing to install new programs in 76,000 machines after a glitch was discovered this week.

The lead may protect Aquino from problems that may occur as voters use the new system, Tuazon said. It may also help Aquino counter the organization Villar, has funded and built since entering politics in 1992 and which will be used to get supporters to their voting centers. “That’s a safe margin,” he said.

Aquino, who wasn’t a candidate until his mother, credited with ousting dictator Ferdinand Marcos, died of cancer in August. Nostalgia fanned calls for her son to run. He declared in September and has topped the polls since, running on an anti- corruption platform. He alleged Villar, who ran as a poor boy turned real estate tycoon, used political influence to benefit some of his property projects.

“As a political message it looks to be having impact,” Tuazon said. Villar “has been consistently defending himself; he should have been more offensive, hitting Aquino on performance and leadership.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Francisco Alcuaz Jr. in Manila at falcuaz@bloomberg.net

Reminders to Voters

2010-05-07T15:44:00.000+08:00

Here are some helpful reminders to remember on Election Day. Please take a few minutes to read it and share with your family and friends.

Click here and read the Tagalog version "Mahalagang Paalala sa Pagboto".

Know your precinct number before the actual election. Ask your local Comelec or go to Comelec's Precinct Finder at http://www.comelec.gov.ph/precinctfinder/precinctfinder.aspx
Prepare your codigo. Prepare a list of candidates of choice before going to your precinct to make the voting process faster.
Download LP Slate Flyer
Polls open at exactly 7:00am on May 10 and close at 6:00pm. Try to be there before opening in case there’s a line. Remember since automated election is new, you should expect a lot of confusion and longer voting time so VOTE EARLY.
Make a visual inspection of the ballot provided by the Board of Election Inspector (BEI). Make sure the ballot is clean and free of marks before accepting it from the BEI. Do not accept ballots with marks or dirt because the PCOS machines may be unable to read them. You get ONE CHANCE to ask for a change of ballot.
Use only the pen provided by the BEI in shading.
Make sure you fully shade the ovals, or the machine might reject your ballot for having "ambiguous marks." DO NOT check, line, cross, dot or half-shade. Make an effort to shade within the outline of the oval.
Do not over-vote, otherwise the PCOS machine will not read the votes for that position. Vote only for the number of candidates allowed per position. The allowable number will be stipulated in your ballot. You may, however, vote for less than the required number.
Do not fold the ballot.
Only one ballot per voter. You will not be given another ballot if you make a mistake while voting.
Your ballot will only be read by one specific PCOS Unit to which it was pre-registered. Make sure you line up at the correct machine.
You get FOUR tries to feed the ballot through the PCOS Unit. You can put it in forward, backward, right side up or back side up so relax and make sure you get the ballot through in four tries.
After inserting your ballot into the PCOS Unit, wait for the read out to see if your ballot was successfully scanned. It should read: "Congratulations! Your ballot has been scanned."
If a precinct runs out of ballots, a voter can still cast his vote in the next nearest precinct. The BEI should accompany the voter after giving the latter a certification.
Only the BEI can hand out ballots. Not even local officials, Comelec personnel and Smartmatic technicians can interfere. Also, no one should tinker with the PCOS machines during voting time.
Voters should makes sure they sign the voters’ list at the start, and have their fingernail marked with indelible ink at the end. This is one safeguard against "flying voters".
Make sure you affix your signature and thumbprints in the necessary forms.
At the end of the voting period, the PCOS Unit will print out the vote count on a paper, similar to a cash register receipt. The print out will be put in a sealed box and sent to Comelec for proper disposition. The machine will also count the number of voters based on ballots inserted into each PCOS Unit. Make sure to watch the screen for voter count as well as other important messages it may display.
The allotted voting time is from 7am to 6pm. Voters who are within 30 meters from the precinct or are still in line after 6pm can still vote. They should have their names listed down by the BEI. Voting should continue until everyone within 30 meters of the precinct or in line has voted.
Armed police, military, para-military forces, security guards, barangay officials, armed goons and supporters of politicians who are campaigning are barred from the polling precinct. The BEI should send them out.

Analysis: “Villar his own worst enemy”

2010-05-04T00:52:00.000+08:00

By Amando Doronila

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 04:29:00 05/03/2010

The fall in the poll ratings of Sen. Manuel Villar accelerated during the last two weeks of April when two issues exploded to derail his presidential campaign.

The first was the news story on April 23 that Villar put pressure on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) between May and June 2007 to release for a public offering locked-up shares of stocks of Villar’s real estate company.

The second issue stemmed from news reports on April 8 of an alleged psychiatric report on the mental health of Liberal Party presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III that turned out to be fake and originated from overenthusiastic “volunteer” supporters of Villar.

This report was dumped into the media stream as Villar’s poll ratings were going down. The publication of the falsified report in both broadcast and print media marked the descent of the 2010 presidential election into its lowest level of dirty tricks and smear campaign.

These news events have something to do with the decline of Villar’s ratings and the widening of the lead of Aquino up to the most recent 20 percentage points over the second-placer Villar in just a week before the May 10 presidential election.

These news developments threw into sharp relief as the underlying key election issue, i.e., who of the presidential candidates can be entrusted to run an honest and ethical government to replace the corrupt and scandal-ridden administration of exiting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The issue of integrity, honesty and conflict of interest has been highlighted by the media events of the past two weeks as the defining theme of the 2010 election.

Enrile disclosure

On April 22, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile disclosed in a press conference minutes of the PSE discussions in 2007 on Villar’s Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. showing that Villar appeared in a regular meeting of the PSE board and then had a caucus with them in June 2007.

As a result of Villar’s intervention, the PSE board allowed the release from escrow locked-up Vista Land shares for the company’s public offering.

From the record of all these proceedings, Enrile said there was no doubt in his mind that Senator Villar himself lobbied and exerted pressure to railroad the approval of his family-owned company’s request for exemption to enable him and his family to sell at a hefty premium their shares which were otherwise subject to a lockup period.

Enrile raised the issue of conflict of interest. He said that intervention of Villar showed that the latter, who was directly managing his company, violated the law. “He should have divested all his interests when he assumed his position as senator,” Enrile said.

Lirio article

Also delving into Villar’s interventions in the SEC and PSC, an article by Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter Gerry Lirio came out on April 24 revealing that Villar, then the Senate president, made several phone calls to the SEC and PSE officials seeking to release from escrow about 1.2 billion of the 5.3 billion secondary shares of Visa Land so these could be offered as both as primary and secondary shares at the same time, or several days apart.

According to SEC and PSE lawyers interviewed by Lirio, Villar not only made the calls but also appeared in SEC and PSE board meetings.

Villar and his wife Cynthia, the Las Piñas representative in Congress, are majority stockholders of Vista Land, the couple’s flagship company. Lirio’s article said the couple became P6.75 billion richer from the secondary offering of 985.9 million shares that began on July 26, 2007, or within the escrow period of 180 days from the date of initial offering.

According to lawyers, this offering violated Article III, Part D, Section 7 of the PSE’s revised listing rules, which provides for a 180-day lockup on secondary shares. The article said that simply put, Villar wanted the secondary offering held at once despite the 180-day lockup period. “He wanted to seize the day while the market was bullish,” the article said. “And he got it.”

Law on divestment

Villar said there was nothing inappropriate with his interventions in the PSE, pointing out that the PSE was not a government agency but a private company. He said the government earned more than P100 million in taxes from the public offering of Vista Land shares.

Villar is not entirely correct when he said his intervention did not violate any law. He must have overlooked Republic Act No. 6713, known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

Section 9 of RA 6713 states: “A public official or employee shall avoid conflict of interest at all times. When a conflict of interest arises, he shall resign from his position in any private business enterprise within 30 days from his assumption of office and/or divest himself of his shareholdings of interest within 60 days from such assumption. The same rule shall apply where the public official or employee is a partner in a partnership.”

There is nothing on record that Villar has divested himself of his holdings in his company when he intervened in the PSE and SEC.

Not so long ago, Sen. Joker Arroyo called the attention of Villar that the latter cannot be a senator and a businessman at the same time.

Villar has to make up his mind whether he is senator or a businessman. He is even aspiring to be the country’s president, who has vastly more powers of intervention in official or private business matters than a senator.

Ethical issue

We have to hear from Villar whether he will divest himself of his business interests and put them in a blind trust if he were elected president. This is an ethical issue that puts him on the spot.

His interventions reveals not only the ethical values of Villar on the issue of public office as a public trust but more so throws light into his methods in accumulating vast wealth as a businessman cloaked with the powers and influence of being a member of Congress for 16 years.

The newspaper disclosures of Villar’s interventions have drilled into the public more deeply ethical issues arising from the C-5 extension project which the Senate investigated and sought to reprimand the presidential candidate for his conduct.

The disclosure on Villar’s interventions in the PSE and SEC came at a time when he was struggling to overtake the widening lead of Aquino.

There is little doubt that the last-minute emergence of this ethical issue has not only badly damaged his campaign. It has allowed Aquino to pull away with a wide margin.

Villar laments he is swimming in “a sea of black propaganda.” But the case of his interventions are backed by documentary evidence.

Self-destruction

They are not faked documents unlike the fabricated psychiatric reports on Aquino.

Villar’s response to this crumbling ratings has only sunk him deeper. Reeling from the blows delivered by the surveys, Villar is his worst enemy.

His reckless and desperate responses have revealed that he has an enormous talent for self-destruction.

"Kung Walang Corrupt, Walang Mahirap"

2010-04-29T23:37:00.001+08:00

Noynoy Aquino, out of the shadows.

2010-04-27T15:37:00.000+08:00

BY JAEMARK TORDECILLA

           BEFORE the August 5, 2009 funeral of his mother, there was no public clamor for Senator Noynoy Aquino to run for president in 2010. Neither was there any reason for his youngest sister, popular television personality Kris Aquino, to discuss his love life on national television after its details leaked out in different broadsheets and gossip rags.
          He had been living a quiet life, or at least as quiet a life as someone named ‘Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III’ could live. A cursory check of headlines over the years reveals how the spotlight seemingly shone on Noynoy only incidentally; his name was mentioned mostly in stories about the political crusades of his mother, former President Corazon ‘Cory’ Aquino, against Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada in 2000 and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2005, or in items about the twists and turns of Kris’s love life and how these affected the Aquino family.
          Then Cory Aquino passed away last August 1. A few days later, her funeral triggered an outpouring of sympathy from millions of Filipinos, who soon turned their gaze on her grieving 49-year-old son as the only candidate who could supposedly summon the so-called ‘Cory magic.’

Romancing politics        BENIGNO SIMEON ‘Noynoy’ Aquino Jr. has become the third member of his immediate family to be thrust into the vortex of what a sociologist calls periodic episodes of “romanticism” in Philippine politics and history.
        But the real burden of the senator and now presidential aspirant is not just proving his sincerity and integrity. He also has to declare what he stands for, and on his own merits and in his words, convince a public awash in goodwill for the Aquinos that he is a worthy son to his parents, and a worthy candidate to the highest post in the country.
        And then after he has accomplished that, Aquino will have to sustain the interest of a public that is notorious for being fickle-minded and having a short memory.
        It’s a formidable task for someone who political strategist and Aquino family friend Reli German says has been seen by most people as “a political lightweight, (with) his transformation not yet sufficiently remarkable.”
        But since Noynoy Aquino has heeded the public clamor for him to run for president, observers like sociologist Randy David say the surprise 2010 presidential candidate now needs to ask himself, “Am I the one? If I take on that mandate, what will I do? What do I stand for?”
Read more…

Support for Noynoy’s run for president has since grown steadily, highlighted by the withdrawal from the race of early presidential aspirant and Liberal Party colleague Sen. Mar Roxas, as well as other potential candidates such as Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio and Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca. Yet the truth is that the public remains in the dark about the not-so-apparent heir to the Aquino political legacy. Between now and May 2010, the country will be trying to figure out who Noynoy Aquino is, apart from being the son of Cory and Ninoy, the brother of Kris, and the uncle of Josh and Baby James.
          IT CAN be argued that Noynoy, a fifth-generation politician and a scion of two political clans, already has politics in his DNA. But Noynoy did not show the political precociousness of his father, the so-called “Wonder Boy of Philippine politics.” Noynoy won his first political race in 1998, a seat in the House of Representatives from the 2nd District of Tarlac, at age 38. This was in stark contrast to the political career of his father, Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr., who was the country’s youngest mayor at 22, the youngest governor at 29, and the youngest senator at 34. And unlike his father, who was a captivating speaker even outside the halls of Congress, Noynoy is seen as less eloquent, albeit with his own folksy speaking style.
          Veteran PR man and close family friend Reli German himself says he has heard about Noynoy’s “quiet sipag (hard work)” but cannot recall any major law that the younger Aquino has passed as Tarlac congressman for nine years and senator for three years.
          He swears this much about Noynoy: “He is sincere, ‘di siya peke, ‘di siya plastic, straight shooter, simple living, hindi mahilig gumimik.” Dining at restaurants and occasional visits to a gun-firing range are the “worst” indulgences of Noynoy, says German.
          Noynoy did not dive head-first into politics, to be sure. After earning his degree in Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1981, he joined his family in Boston in exile. In 1983, shortly after the murder of his father, Noynoy had a short tenure as a member of the Philippine Business for Social Progress. He followed that up with stints in Nike Philippines and Mondragon, working in sales. In 1986, he joined two family-owned corporations, Intra-Strata Assurance Corp. and Best Security Agency Corp., serving as vice-president for both companies.
In 1987, he almost lost his life during a military coup d’etat, after encountering rebel soldiers at the gates of Malacanang. To this day, a bullet remains lodged in his neck.
          He went to work for the Central Azucarera de Tarlac in 1993, the sugar refinery owned by the Cojuangco clan. He started out as an executive assistant for administration, before becoming field services manager in 1996.
          By 1998, Noynoy decided to run for representative in the 2nd district of Tarlac. It was perhaps inevitable; two relatives, cousin Gilbert C. Teodoro Jr. and uncle Jesli Lapus, also ran and won congressional positions in Tarlac’s two other districts.
          BY THE time he got to the House of Representatives, Noynoy had hitched his political wagon to the Liberal Party, along with other young politicians such as Mar Roxas, Florencio ‘Butch’ Abad, and Michael ‘Mike’ Defensor. The party was part of the administration in 1998, but they withdrew support from Joseph Estrada when allegations exploded against the president. Cory Aquino also joined those calling for Estrada’s resignation, and in late 2000, Noynoy signed the impeachment complaint against Estrada.
          In a 2002 interview with the Philippine Star, a year after Estrada was ousted from power, Noynoy revealed his friendship with the former president. “Erap up to the end was very good to me,” he said. “Even up to today, after I had withdrawn support for him, I still consider Erap on a personal basis as a good friend. Unfortunately on the public side, on his politics, I felt that his policies were leading our country towards a civil war arising from hunger,” Noynoy said.
          By 2004, the Liberal Party membership in the House had grown substantially, and the group threatened to bolt Jose de Venecia’s administration coalition and install Noynoy as House Speaker. De Venecia was able to placate the LP, with Noynoy being designated Deputy Speaker for Luzon.
But the Liberal Party soon had a falling out with Gloria Macapagal Arroyo after the ‘Hello Garci’ controversy. Noynoy was stripped of his Deputy Speakership in 2006.
          Noynoy was elected to the Senate in 2007, after running a campaign that featured an ad with his mother promising “lagot siya sa nanay niya (he will get it from his mother)!” if he was ever to do anything wrong as a public servant. In the last three years, he has quietly made his mark as an active and independent-minded legislator. He led the call for the renegotiation of the Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), and was one of four senators who voted against its ratification. Roxas was one of the co-sponsors of the treaty.
          He currently chairs the Senate Committee on Local Government, which is in charge of, among other things, taking in proposals for the creation of new legislative districts. One such controversial measure aims to create a new legislative district in Camarines Sur, supposedly so that presidential son and incumbent Rep. Diosdado ‘Dato’ Arroyo and Department of Budget and Management Secretary Rolando Andaya, an Arroyo ally, would not have to run against each other in next year’s election. Noynoy’s opposition to the measure has put him at loggerheads with its proponent, Sen. Joker Arroyo, Cory Aquino’s former executive secretary who was also one of her most loyal advisers.
          NOYNOY HAS authored a total of nine bills. This pales in comparison with the 738 bills filed by Miriam Defensor Santiago over the same period, but not with the eight bills filed by fellow freshman Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.
          Two bills authored by Noynoy have passed Senate and are pending before the House of Representatives:

Senate Bill No. 2978 would amend Republic Act No. 6875, or the Local Government Act, to put in place parameters for the selection of PNP Provincial Directors and City/Municipal Chief of Police for local government units.
Senate Bill No. 1710 would ban the re-appointment of a regular member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) who has already served the full term.

A look at other bills he authored pending before various Senate committees tell us his apparent advocacies and priorities:

Government Procurement and Corruption
- Senate Bill No. 2160 would introduce an amendment to Republic Act No. 9864, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, which seeks to remove ambiguity so that the act would cover projects such as the National Broadband Network (NBN) project, the Cyber Education (CyberEd) project, and other projects of the scale.
- Senate Bill No. 2035 would require contractors to handle the regular maintenance and preservation for public infrastructure after the end of the project
- Senate Bill No. 3121 would add Congressional oversight to budget decisions undertaken by the President, including budget rescission, reservation, and deferral
Human rights
- Senate Bill No. 2159, or the Superior Responsibility Act of 2008, would adopt the doctrine of ‘Superior Responsibility’ for all military and police personnel, in response to extra-judicial killings, particularly human rights activists and media practitioners
Workers’ rights and benefits
- Senate Bill No. 1370, or the Workers Productivity Incentives Act of 2007 would grant annual productivity incentive bonuses to all workers in the private sector amounting to no less than 10% of the company’s net profits before taxes
- Senate Bill No. 2036 would amend Republic Act No. 6727, otherwise known as the ‘Wage Rationalization Act’, to increase the penalties for non-compliance of the prescribed increases and adjustments in the wage rates of workers
Presidential appointees
- Senate Bill No. 1719, or the Appointee Eligibility Act of 2007, would limit the reappointment of presidential appointees by-passed by the Commission on Appointment, in response to the alleged presidential abuse of appointments

          He has shown diligence in his chairmanship of the Committee on Local Government. He has sponsored six Senate bills, two of which have been passed into law: Republic Act No. 9649, which amended the Charter of General Santos City, and Republic Act No. 9640, which lowered amusement taxes from 30 percent to 10 percent. The rest are pending in the House of Representatives.
          His sponsorship of House bills has also resulted in the creation of two new legislative districts, in Malolos City and in Agusan del Sur, with sponsorships for bills for reapportionments in four other districts (Lapu-Lapu City, Cavite, Camarines Norte, Iligan City) still pending. He also sponsors House bills concerned with special city and municipal holidays, such as the Cagayan de Oro City Day and the Getage (Bohol) Foundation Day.
          LAST WEDNESDAY, in the question-and-answer session that followed his announcement of his candidacy in the 2010 presidential race, Noynoy gave his take on various issues in broad strokes.
          Asked a question about his peace plan in Mindanao, he talked about his consultations with people from Davao and Zamboanga discussing the Memorandum of Agreement on ancestral domain, and cited the need for more dialogue, the setup of baselines for the talks, and perhaps the need to find better intermediaries for the process.
          “I want to make democracy work, not just for the rich and well-connected, but for everybody,” he answered when asked about his governance platform. He segued into a discussion of a couple of his pet peeves: the proliferation of erroneous text books come school opening each year, which he described as a tragedy that he would aim to correct if elected; and, the slow delivery of justice in the country, citing the hidden wealth of the Marcoses as an example. He added that solving these issues require strong political will.
          He also detailed his plan to battle corruption, and revealed that he is already working with his people on methodologies and timeframes for catching, investigating, and prosecuting erring public officials. He reiterated the need to strengthen the judiciary to ensure swift and effective delivery of justice.
          He also addressed the issue of funding for his campaign, saying that he could not afford to run a traditional campaign given the lack of time and resources because of his sudden entry into the race. Instead, he said that the people would have to run a non-traditional campaign alongside him.
          When asked about how he would want to be remembered at the end of his term if he became president, Noynoy answered: “I hope that I will be a president that will be missed when I step down.”
          It was a rather ironic remark from someone who used to be barely noticed or was often overshadowed by a more prominent relative (usually female, and often either his mother or his loquacious sister Kris). But during the biggest moment so far in his political career, Noynoy managed to be a mild success, displaying wit, humor, and even a little charm – all traits that his father had in abundance.
          In all probability, Noynoy has been compared constantly to his parents in the past. It’s a situation that he will have to endure all the more as a presidential candidate, and it’s inevitable that even not-so-pleasant points during Ninoy and especially Cory’s respective political lives would be brought up.
          In the case of Cory, Hacienda Luisita was a sore spot in her legacy, a symbol of the failure to bring equity to the nation’s poor. At the time of the 2004 Hacienda Luisita killings, Noynoy himself drew flak from various groups after he said that leftists had goaded the workers in the Hacienda to go on strike. Noynoy drew further criticism from human rights groups following a spate of killings of Hacienda’s union leaders, even as he issued statements condemning them.
Of course, Cory’s mission as president, as she understood it, had always been to restore democracy. Noynoy would no longer have that excuse, and it is perhaps the biggest question he will have to answer as he tries to duplicate his mother’s feat. – with additional reporting by Malou C. Mangahas, PCIJ, September 2009

Go to link: http://pcij.org/stories/noynoy-aquino-out-of-the-shadows/

Why will I vote for NoyNoy? -WINNIE MONSOD

2010-04-19T15:05:00.001+08:00

Monsod's Musings

....Winnie Monsod

Villar still refuses to attend the Senate to face questions, and it only reminds me of how GMA used the privilege of her office to avoid questioning. What will happen if Villar wins and more corruption scandals surface? With Villar catching up to Noynoy in the polls, I am honestly quite terrified of the prospect of him winning. There is a clear case of graft in this instance, and instead of delving into the issues, his allies in the legislative are simply brushing off the allegations as "politically motivated".

As a citizen, we should not accept this. If there is smoke, we must see if there is a fire that needs to be put out. Yes, the timing of the allegations seem a bit off. ( Joker Arroyo was pushing these issues as early as 1998). A known crook and political opportunist, Juan Ponce Enrile, is the person leading the censure. However, when the facts are presented, it is clear as day that something is amiss. It just further builds on my strong suspicions that Villar is a businessman simply looking to control the political arena

to make a boat load of money.

I have never trusted Villar since day one. I never trust businessmen who enter politics, because in the end, their core value is and always will be profit maximization. It is well documented that Villar's real estate empire ran into some serious financial problems when his overexposure to the real estate market and the Asian Financial Crisis made him unable to pay debts he took out to expand his real estate business in the early 1990s .After the Asian Crisis hit, Capitol Bank, owned by Villar and heavily exposed to his real estate investments was essentially ran to the ground and needed to be bailed out. In 2005, Villar tried to solve his debt problems by hiring a group of investment banks to advise him on how he can consolidate all his assets into one company (Vista Land). With the local and foreign investment bankers, Villar came up with a growth story for investors: "Invest in my company because we need it to fund all these wonderful project!"

However, what was downplayed during the IPO roadshow was that instead of financing growth, resources from the offering would be used to finance his debt. To appease creditors, Villar even had his investment bankers pitch some form of a debt-to-equity conversion that raised skeptical eyebrows of many.

In 2007, the IPO of Vista Land did not do as well as planned,in part because many investors and brokers were the same people who were burned by Villar's inability to pay back his loans. Now, as part of a corporate growth (or should I say corporate restructuring) plan, Villar is lusting for the highest position in the land. This scares me because Villar already has a track record of using his political position to gain the upper hand for his businesses. To save his empire and increase shareholder value of his business, Villar used his influence as Senate Finance Chair to shrewdly derail a Cavite road project that was supposed to be BUILD, OPERATE, and TRANSFER. Villar built a longer and more expensive road, the C-5 extension, adjacent to it; subsequently forcing the private investor in the initial project to pull out. The fishy thing is that this new road, longer and more expensive than the previously planned project, passed through all of Villar's land in Cavite. It is a clear case of graft, pointing to Villar use of influence and government funds to substantially improve the values of his real estate properties. To add insult to injury the right of way the government would have to pay in order to complete the project was substantially higher for the land that Villar owned. These funds could have easily been used to build needed schools.

This scandal should be a red flag for all voters. However, the scary part is that Villar is spending billions to keep this out of the picture as he continues his attempt to brainwash our masses that he is their saviour. He convinces the masses that he is one of them.

A poor boy from the slums of Tondo. In actuality, he is more like the 5-6 and syndicates, slum dwellers themselves who make a profit out of their poor brethren. Villar's ad agencies are doing an excellent job of maintaining this image as well as doing damage control. TV and radio continues to churn out Parokya Ni Edgaresque jingles that compete with "Nobody, Nobody." Dolphy is Villar's new spokesperson and Wowowee is one giant ad for him. In this process of brainwashing, the masses are not cognizant of how Villar conducts business as a politician. What they do not see is a man hell bent on turning our archipelago into his own personal piece of real estate.

It is sad that the efforts of Juan Ponce Enrile, who is leading the censure for Villar, is actually giving Villar more sympathy votes. People do no trust Enrile, and when Enrile pounces on someone, it is usually met with a high degree of skepticism. I do not blame people for feeling this way.I also think Enrile is a crook who should be jailed for conspiring to implement Martial Law, for coup attempts, and for the human rights abuses during the Marcos regime. If someone with a more respectable reputation were to level these charges on Villar, I am sure the surveys would tell a different story.

I also fear from some credible reports that Malacanang has actually made a deal with Villar (under the table). Essentially, GMA's goons said, "We will help you, in return, leave us alone when you win". Villar's behaviour in recent forums further adds credence to these reports as Villar has been very tame and quiet when it comes to how he will treat GMA after the elections.

Appealing to common sense, it makes ALL THE SENSE for GMA to support someone who has a chance of winning, not a person rating at 4% in the surveys. GMA tried to reach out to Noynoy after Tita Cory died. All she got was rejection.

Who can stop Villar in his quest for the presidency?

I am known to be a Noynoy supporter, but to those skeptics and to those who are still undecided, I do concede that he is not perfect. His record as a politician is average and unspectacular at best. He does not have the charisma of his father. Before the death of his mother, he did not get much mileage. But I am going all out in support for Noynoy in 2010 because he stands for clean governance and appear willing to accomplish this. In addition, he has the best chance of preventing a opportunistic businessman, the assured next President of our country before Cory died, from using the Office of the President as a personal growth asset to his business empire.

Noynoy's clean record is a big plus for me. It is a trait that I think should be the most important quality that we should look for in our next president. His appeal is that his track record is not tarnished by corruption, scandals and his political debts are minimal. I know that many critics are trying to make an issue over his involvement in Hacienda Luisita, but Noynoy is not even heavily involved in the company. As a shareholder, Noynoy only owns .04% of Hacienda Luisita, a drop in the ocean and hardly in any position to do something about it. The case of the Hacienda does not have the substance that the C-5 extension controversy has a lot of.

In addition, Nonoy also has an incredible legacy to live up to. All the pressure is on him to be clean and stay clean. He can't afford to tarnish the Aquino name and the immense legacy that his parents left behind. Cory and Ninoy practically sacrificed their family for their dream of a better Philippines. For Noynoy, to know that your father and mother went through so much hardship to improve our country is a heavy burden to think about if you do decide to become a crook and destroy everything that they fought for.

We all have to make a choice. In my opinion, it has to go to the presidentiable who has an independent mind, stands up for what he believes in, is clean, and has the legacy his parents to live up to and maintain. For me, Noynoy, with all his flaws, is that candidate.

For what this country needs is a clean president who can set an example top-down for the entire state; it needs a president with the will to change things and stamp out corruption; it needs a President who can set an example and is willing to perfect our dysfunctional democracy.

I want someone who stands for being clean. He does not need a degree from Harvard. He does not need to have a multi-million peso business to show me he can make us all rich. He does not have to speak well. He just has to be clean. Nothing else should matter. He has to prioritize a platform of clean and effective governance and make sure that it delivers on that

promise.

Policies on the economy, education, energy, environment and health can all follow after the fundamentals are taken cared of. So far, the only candidate who promotes my vision with a clean record to back it up is Noynoy.

Our urban landscape is replete with political slogans that attempt to convince people of certain candidate's ability to lead our nation

Galing at Talino? Sorry Gibo, those were the supposed qualities of GMA, rubber stamped with a Phd in Economics. And what happened? She only worsened our economy. To GMA's credit she did balance our budget at one point, but it has again ballooned to the level where the next president will have to deal with the same economic issues she faced in 2005. During GMA's watch investment in infrastructure was insufficient, poverty incidence worsened, public education deteriorated, our nautical highway is still incomplete, goons like the Ampatuan's flourished in the south, and a culture of corruption flourished in our institutions. Instead of creating jobs, GMA focused on a policy of exporting labor without measuring the social costs of such a policy- thousands of broken OFW families and children of OFW's who do not have the proper parental supervision to teach them the differences between right and wrong. In effect, our next generation is left on their own to figure out how to become empowered patriots who love their country and will fight to defend it. In effect, whatever statistics in GDP growth GMA and her allies love to advertise, non of it trickled down and benefitted

the poor..and none of it accounts for the social costs to her policies.

Good speaker? Sorry Gibo, Marcos had that quality and he did nothing good for our country. In fact, Marcos squandered the opportunity to be our Lee Kuan Yew and Dr. Mahathir. If I want a good, charismatic, and eloquent speaker, let's just run down the list of effective public speakers and vote them in.

Para sa mahirap? Sorry Erap, you had your chance and failed miserably. Your only accomplishment is in convincing our masses that movie roles do not carry over into the political area.

My only concern with Noynoy is how deep he might be in the Liberal Party and whether he has accumulate political debts to Liberal trapos. The Liberal PArty, like any party, has its own share of crooks (including those bandwagon trapos who jumped off GMA"s boat to ride on Aquino's popularity).

How much will Nonoy have to give back to the Liberal trapos (and bandwagon Liberals who jumped GMA's ship) if elected? We will never know. However,I am willing to live with that unanswered question if it means preventing someone like Villar from turning the Philippines into Vista Land's next subdivision development. I am also reassured by the fact that he has that "Aquino" name and the ghosts of his parents to answer to if does decide to go down the immoral path.

Nonoy will not solve all our problems. One person can't. But we need a start somewhere and it should be with someone who pushes honesty, reform, and good governance. It will be a tough battle, but I want to give Noynoy the chance to build on what his mother tried to accomplish. And I hope that if Noynoy wins, he will have the courage to make tough decisions and go after crooks, even if it means hurting a lot of friends and colleagues

in government.

To give you a better sense on how Villar conducts business, here is also a link to Joker Arroyo's 1998 privilege speech:

http://www.malayang halalan.com/ 2010/01/26/ joker-arroyo- raises-issue- of-accountabilit y-of-public- officers- against-manny- villar/

Actual notes scanned: http://www.scribd. com/doc/22789941 /Joker-Arroyo- Privilege- Speech

I guess "if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck.." Well, as the saying goes......

Vote wisely Philippines. And continue to work towards uplifting the masses and freeing them from their state of hopelessness. Defend them from opportunists.

DEVELOP THEM (FIRST) SPIRITUALLY AND BEHAVIORALLY; THEN ECONOMICALLY! When we lift up the poor and ween them off the mentality of hopelessness, our country will become first world. Only then will we have the powerful middle class that our young democracy is screaming for.

Winnie Monsod

If you want to see the black and white facts on the C5 controversy, check it here =)

http://www.abs- cbnnews.com/ nation/02/ 01/10/monsod- c-5-road- extension- unnecessary- wasteful

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=nUQDt-sXdlk