Manny Villar's grand entrance at a fiesta nearly kills people

It is a usual recourse of politician who are running for one position or another to attend fiestas as a way of introducing and ingratiating themselves with voters.

Manny Villar, who claims to a be a contender for the 2010 Presidential elections, apparently wasn't satisfied with just getting his PR people to publish articles about his P 10 Billion political war chest. He wanted to show it off as much as he can.

At the Rodeo Festival in Masbate, Villar had set up his entrance to be as grand as possible.

To the blaring sound of music, he orchestrated his arrival on a luxurious helicopter.

Apparently, the ostentatious show was too much for the crowd and the horses in the rodeo. Five horses went wild and nearly ran over several people in the crowd, causing a stampede.

Beware of candidates such as this, Machiavelli warns of politicians seeking positions who nurture a reputation for liberality (with money) and but later starve the people with heavy taxes.

Villar already said that he will increase taxes when he steps in. Right now the BIR is over taxing people with the right hand and collecting bribes with the left hand. In Caloocan, Ever Gotesco was assessed back real estate taxes amounting to P722 Million for the Grand Central property it was LEASING from the Caloocan City government. When it refused to pay, Ever was harrassed by the Caloocan City government.

What can we expect from Villar when he wins as President? Gun wielding taxmen.

Cowboy Manny spooks horses, guests in rodeo
By Ephraim Aguilar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:08:00 03/22/2009

MASBATE CITY – Talk about a dramatic entrance.

A helicopter descended from the heavens, stirring up dust, while a political jingle played at full blast. Senator Manuel Villar, who came dressed as a cowboy, alighted from the chopper and was brought to the grandstand by a mob of aides and supporters.

This happened in the middle of the opening ceremonies of the annual Rodeo Masbateño festival here on Wednesday, disrupting a speech by a top local tourism official.

Five horses, spooked by the chopper’s landing, dashed around the stadium like mad creatures and ran over a boy who was injured and rushed to the hospital.

Dr. Adolfo Almanzor, provincial health officer, said the boy arrived at the hospital semiconscious and was found to have suffered abrasions on his face as well as cerebral contusions.

Meanwhile, the star-struck masses howled as cowboy Villar paced closer and started shaking everyone’s hand.

Villar, who is running for president in 2010, later delivered a speech.

Respect culture of place

For most people, the senator’s entrance was too grand to ignore.

But for education supervisor Erusita Rosero, cultural coordinator of the Department of Education in Masbate City, Villar’s behavior was not proper.

“No one should disrupt an activity like that. Visitors should properly respect the culture of a place,” Rosero said.

“Since he (Villar) was invited by politicians, there could also be something political behind his visit,” she added.

So sorry

Rosero said all guests were welcome to Masbate. She added there was nothing wrong with inviting Villar but his visit should not be used as an opportunity to campaign.

Throughout the opening rites, Villar was repeatedly referred to by emcees and other politicians as the “next president of the Republic of the Philippines.”

Asked for comment, Villar said he had no intention of disrupting the event and apologized to those who felt offended.

“From what I know, there were some [safety] issues but the pilot was able to land without too much disruption. Nevertheless, if some people were inconvenienced, I apologize. The very warm reception of the crowd on that occasion encourages me to return to Masbate soonest,” he said.

Not intentional

Masbate Governor Elisa Kho, who was with Villar during his late entrance, said the circumstances were not within the senator’s control.

She said they already apologized to Maria Ong-Ravanilla, regional director of the Department of Tourism, for unintentionally disrupting her speech.

“I think it was not being disrespectful,” Kho said in a phone interview.

She added that the 2010 elections were not that far off and politicians tend to grab every opportunity to introduce themselves to the public.

“It cannot be avoided,” Kho said.

She also said that Villar pledged support for the annual rodeo festival and to Masbate province once he was elected president.

Why not the airport?

Local trader Carmelito Fajara, 37, said there were varied reactions from Masbate residents. Some were offended, while others couldn’t care less.

“But since the city has an airport, I think it would have been wiser if [Villar] had landed there so he could quietly enter the stadium,” Fajara said.

“It’s only now, after many years, that I have witnessed such a scene during the rodeo festival!” he added.

“Dili pa ngani siya nagiging presidente (He is not even president yet),” was another comment from a local resident.

Vote for a VET

Just today, I read that the administration is supporting Gilbert Teodoro as its Presidential bet for 2010.

Surveys have Noli De Castro in the lead followed by others like Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero and Erap.

It seems powerful and moneyed forces are trying to make up our minds for us.

Perhaps, apart from values, our choice of who we will vote for as President reflects how we see our country and the situation we are in.

When we vote, we are not voting just for ourselves, we are voting for someone who will do what is right for the common good. We are in dire straits.

In two or three years, we will begin to feel the real effect of the global financial crisis.

Corruption is everywhere. Crime is being perpetrated in broad daylight. Both the corrupt and the criminal are unafraid of law enforcers and judges. They know they can get away with it and this makes them bolder, more brazen.

Disasters. We get hit by 20 typhoons, at the very least, every year. Yet every year, we see nothing being done to stop the cycle of disaster and poverty. The same people who got hit by a typhoons last year are the same people who will get hit by typhoons this year. Those whose possessions got swept away by floods will the same ones whose possession will get swept away by floods this year. Fire? Where else but in the Philippines does the declaration of a Fire Month result in more fires than in any other time of the year.

Our people are either unemployed or trying to make ends meet with a job they are overqualified for. But that's nothing new and what is new is the ends to which desperation brings our countrymen. Afghanistan. Iraq. Name a place where there is a very high risk of getting killed, you'll find Filipinos working there.

Our education system is in shambles and it has been that way since time immemorial.

And those who are tired of this ought not to get sick as well. If you're poor, just waiting for treatment and medicines will bring you closer to the grave.

So, who do you vote for as President given these circumstances?

Young guns like Chiz Escudero and Gilbert Teodoro?

TV personalities like Noli De Castro and Loren Legarda? How about Manny Villar?

How about Mar Roxas or former President Joseph Estrada?

Or are you going to think and look for someone who has actual experience in lifing people out of desparate situations?

Do you think you need someone who has a track record for following through every commitment he has made?

Do you think we need someone with a clear vision for what ought to be done for this country at a time of crisis?

His name is Dick Gordon.

He turned Olongapo from Sin City to Model City.

He turned Subic from wasteland into a haven for tourism and investment.

He turned Philippine tourism from a lackluster department to the brightest beacon in the economy, with 2 million foreign tourists coming to the Philippines in 2003 from a low of just 900,000 in 2000.

As Senator, he authored, pushed for the enactment, and implementation of RA 9369 or the amended AUTOMATION LAW. This is the reason why we will have automated elections in 2010, no more hello garci. He now heads the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

In his committee report on the P732 Million Fertilizer Fund Scam he implicated President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, recommended plunder charges against Bolante and others, and filed 7 bills to plug up loop holes in the laws exploited by the group he referred to as a pack of wolves.

If you want the country to get through these dire straits, look for someone who knows how to navigate treacherous waters and who knows where to go.

In 2010, don't look for a good candidate. Look for a good leader. That's Dick Gordon.

Making change happen since 1971.

Better jobs in the Philippines through tourism very soon

In the 2010 Presidential elections, we can expect candidates to come up with all sorts of motherhood vision statements as well as platforms and plans.  Or put it in another way, they'll tell everybody about their general and specific election promises.  

One stupid arguement I got into was whether a motherhood vision statement was worse than a platform and plan, whether a general promise was worse than a specific promise.  I don't know if there was a debate, but both general and specific promises are worthless if they remain promises and can be seeds for uprisings of all sorts if they're broken.

However, there is one point I salvaged from the morass of almost pointless arguements and it is this, specific promises can be accounted for and general promises are most likely fulfilled by tricking it out with all sorts of semantics.

I think what is really worth discussing is not whether a motherhood vision statement is better or worse than a platform and a plan, but how to figure out which candidate can be believed.

Obama mouthed motherhood vision statements, one was "Hope" (not his brand of cigarettes) and "Change" (not barya or a bunch of coins).  But he also spoke about a lot of specific directions that his administration, if voted into office, would take like cutting the outsourcing of jobs in the US, coming up with a bail out plan for the US financial system, getting the US out of Iraq, and others.

Most Presidential candidates in the Philippines will most likely have general and specific promises on what they will do.  I will make a prediction about what those general and specific promises will be like.  They will center around claims of having solutions to the perennial problems of the Philippines.  They will center around so-called gut issues or issues that have to do with the provision of basic necessities.  Why?  Because these are the concerns of more than 80 percent of the voters in the Philippines because most of them are poor or think of themselves as poor.

These problems or issues are:

1. Poverty and the problems arising from poverty.

2. Education.

3. Unemployment and increasing under employment.

4. Agriculture or the country's capacity to produce its own food at an affordable cost.

5. Crime.

In addition to these problems and issues are higher level issues, if you can call it that:

1. Climate change.  Which is the spiffier term for enviromental preservation or conservation.

2. Corruption.

3. Disaster prevention and mitigation.  This is now being connected to climate change.

4. Charter change and other modes of political reform.

5. Population control or population management.  Can you tell the difference?

I don't know how many will vote for a Presidential candidate on the sole basis of better crafted general or specific promises.  

Ideally, if this were true, I'd probably hear our neighborhood's designated street sweeper (and he doesn't have a blog but drinks Bilog -- slang for gin) tell me that he is rooting for a candidate because of his or her stand on a move to legislate a minimum wage increase.  This would be a big step for somebody who just asks everybody for money whether he sweeps their street or not.  He'll probably vote for anyone who buys him his next drink, that is, if he is actually a registered voter and wakes up on election day to cast his vote.

Besides, it ain't a competition on who can come up with the best thesis for solving everything that ails the Philippines.  Not that it shouldn't be.

I still think that Filipinos choose who they will vote for as President based on likeability.

If the 'Hello Garci' tapes didn't surface, perhaps we would have reason to say that this isn't true.  Because then, there would be no doubt that more people voted for someone they didn't like as a person and less people voted for a beloved action star whom everybody in the Philippines grew up watching in movies.

And this is the problem that Mar Roxas, Manuel Villar, Loren Legarda and yes, Dick Gordon will all have to overcome.  Ordinary people wouldn't find them as likeable as, say, Piolo Pascual, Manny Pacquiao, or my favorite actor, Tom Hanks.

If you had been listening to Mar Roxas in the Senate's hearing on the Legacy financial scam, you would have probably heard him say, "Tignan niyo ang mga mukhang ito, ang mga mukhang inargabiyado ninyo.  Kaya, ito ang sasabihin ko sa inyo, hindi ko kayo titigilan."  All words delivered to the effect that he was championing the cause of people who had been taken advantage of.

Who wouldn't like a guy like that?  Besides, even when I was still working FOR him, I really found him to be very likeable.  He's a great guy, really goes out of his way to see how you're doing and will even swap jokes with you.

The whole hearing seemed to be climaxing to the designed effect of showing Mar as a champion of the poor.  That was, after of course, one of the people he had hauled into the hearing missed her line and instead of saying that she had made claims to the Securities and Exchange Commission, had blurted out that she filed claims with the Comelec.  Was it all scripted or what?  That really ruined the whole thing for me.

It was a good thing Mar didn't say, "Putang Ina ka Celso!"  as he did when he said "Putangina! Ano ba naman ito!?" at a rally against charter change in the Makati Business District. 

Manny Villar has a similar gimmick and it is most often seen in the TV commercial of him holding a duck.  Loren Legarda recently had a commercial pitching for 'Pagbabago' and for a few seconds, I thought it was another pitch for Lucida.

Dick Gordon, however, is pursuing likeability too but his approach is kind of traditional in a sense.  He kinda thinks that if he does his job well and does something that will do people good, people will like him.  He also kinda thinks that fulfilling promises and doing what you say is a likeable trait.

When he ran for the Senate in 2004, he promised to improve the country's tourism industry and just recently, the Senate and the House of Representatives approved the final version of the Tourism Act of 2008 -- a law which he authored. 

Here's an article in Manila Times which explains some of the aspects of the Tourism Act.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Govt, private sector, Senate boost tourism 

By Francis Earl A. Cueto, Correspondent 

WITH tourism taking center stage in the Arroyo Administration, Sen. Richard Gordon said he expects the government to use this untapped sector to prop up Philippine economy amid the global financial crisis.

Gordon said tourism as the biggest industry in the world could be the principal growth engine to pull up the country’s economy.

Gordon said such is now possible with the expected signing of the Tourism Act next week, which he sponsored in the Senate.

He said: “This measure will definitely boost domestic tourism as it will provide the necessary infrastructures to invigorate local productivity. An increased productivity means more jobs for the people and more revenues for the government.”

Gordon said the Tourism Act would provide changes for putting in place the necessary regulations and infrastructure, which will make tourism more competitive in the international market.

As it happened, the World Economic Forum has downgraded the Philippines’ global ranking on competitiveness in travel and tourism to 86th in 2008 from 81st in the previous year. In its Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2008, World Economic Forum reported that the country scored 3.73 points among 133 countries in the world.

But Robert Lim Joseph, chairman emeritus of National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (Naitas), said the country could bounce back, adding that the global economic crunch has opened an opportunity to boost domestic tourism. He cited the price war for the lowest fare among local air carriers and the discounts offered by hotels that make travel very affordable to ordinary Filipinos.

Moreover, Mrs. Arroyo in Boracay recently stated that the Philippine tourism industry would withstand the global economic crisis as evidenced by tourist arrivals in the country’s key destinations in the first month of 2009.

At a tour of Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa before a Cabinet meeting on tourism development in the region, the President said the government would continue to spend more on tourism improvement.

Gordon, on the other hand, said the Tourism Act, once signed, provides for the creation of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority and Tourism Economic Zones. It grants investor’s perks such as a six-year tax holiday, extendable as needed, and a 5-percent tax on gross income.

However, he said the new law would promote community tourism in lieu of domestic tourism, where residents preserve, protect and promote tourism spots in their localities and are friendly and helpful to tourists and travelers.

Echoing the ideas of Naitas such as the multi-school gathering of tourism students in Letran, Gordon said now is the time to develop the culture of tourism.

He said it did not have to be costly and grand as it involves keeping the streets safe and clean for all, not just tourists. An example, he said, would be picking up litters in the streets.

As the Tourism Act aims to generate ideas from the bottom to the national level, the senator said it would empower local communities to participate in a tourism master plan.

On the private sector side, Joseph said the government could give tax rebates to citizens who patronize local tourism and to tour and travel establishment that cooperate with the government in this program.

At the same time, the government can help by building new and improving old roads and bridges in various localities.

Joseph said local tourism at the village level would create jobs and mitigate the massive unemployment that is expected to result from the economic crisis.

He said this way, Philippine tourism and travel sectors will not only survive but will be in stronger position to exploit the rebound in global travel once the recession is over.

Does it really take One (1) Billion Pesos to run for President in the Philippines?

Senator Manuel Villar, who was Senate President until he was hit with the double insertion controversy, now again calls attention to his financial girth.

In a news report culled from Reuters, a lot is said about Villar's wealth:

Billionaire lawmaker eyes RP presidency

Reuters | 03/01/2009 4:05 PM

(Paragraph 2)

Manuel Villar, 59, has headed both the Senate and the House of Representatives in a political career that has lasted 17 years. His family owns Vista Land & Lifescapes, a real estate firm with assets worth 48 billion pesos ($1 billion).

(Paragraph 5)

Villar is viewed as a formidable candidate because of his ability to fund a costly election campaign that would need at least 2-3 billion pesos ($41-61 million), a huge sum for a country where nearly 50 percent of households live on less than $2 a day.

(Paragraph 6)

"I believe that while a lot of us will be announcing our candidacies, in the end there will just be a few who will remain," Villar said. "If you can't even raise one billion pesos, why even run?"

(Paragraph 10)

The son of a low-ranking government worker and a seafood vendor, Villar set up a construction supply firm that made him a peso millionaire at age 26. He later graduated to selling low-cost houses which swelled his total assets to the billion dollar mark just before the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis.

As President, Villar says his first priority will be to raise government revenues:

(Paragraph 13)

"The first thing I want to do if I become president is to collect more revenue ... All of the solutions require money, so you start with that first," Villar said while sipping brewed coffee, one his few addictions. He drinks nine cups a day, his aide said.

What the eff is with this mention of coffee being one of his few addictions?  Is this a ploy similar to his TV commercial showing him holding a duck?

(Paragraph 14)

"If you have high revenues, then you can invest in infrastructure, you can invest in agriculture," Villar said, adding widespread corruption in the country would be reduced if wages of government workers were raised.

(Paragraph 15)

Despite being the country's wealthiest legislator, with more than 1 billion pesos in personal assets, Villar is known for his mild manner and simple tastes.

(Paragraph 26)

"With me, what you see is what you get," he said. "With some candidates, you'll have to ask, who's behind you? They say there is one golden rule, he who has the gold rules."

The last paragraph says that if he wins as President, he will be accountable only to himself since he financed all of his campaign expenses.  But perhaps, and this I think will be closer to the truth, he will be accountable only to Cynthia -- the rich wife.

As far as revenue raising is concerned, we have to give it to Villar and allow me to remind you of one such method of revenue raising:

Opposition in disarray as Lacson attacks Villar

By Fel V. Maragay

THE opposition in the Senate lay splintered yesterday over accusations by Senator Panfilo Lacson that Senate President Manuel Villar inserted P200 million in double financing for a road expansion project.

In a privilege speech aired live on radio and TV, Lacson said he was not out to wreck Villar’s plan to run for president in 2010 by exposing irregularities in the national budget.

“I simply followed the narrow trail and it led me to you, Mr. Senate President. But I have no political motive whatsoever. This has nothing to do with your plan to run in 2010 nor with your Senate presidency,” Lacson said.

Before Lacson’s address, Senator Jamby Madrigal urged Villar, an opposition member like herself, to resign as Senate president. Villar ignored her call.

In his address, Lacson also said several senators inserted P4.1 billion worth of infrastructure and other projects under the 2008 national budget, but he questioned a P3.4-billion lump sum for similar projects.

He also urged further investigation to determine who proposed the double insertion and who would benefit from the C-5 road project.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, vice chairman of the Senate finance committee, called for “a manhunt for the criminal missing” lawmaker who inserted the double entry.

But Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, chairman of the finance committee, confirmed that it was Villar who made the insertion but doubted whether he intended to benefit from the act

If Villar becomes the President, instead of having "two roads for the price of one" we will have "twice the price for just one". 

But, then again, why is Villar setting his PR machinery to churn out articles about his supposed billions of pesos?  I hope he doesn't go Eddie Gil on us and propose to pay up the National Debt when he wins.

On another note, and I may be taking the law a bit too literally here, but doesn't the Omnibus Election Code say that candidates for any position are only allowed to spend P5.00 (five pesos) per voter?

Granting that he is running for a national position and estimating the total number of voters to be around 42 million come 2010, this would mean that candidates would only be allowed to spend around P210 million.

Where is he going to spend the rest of his P 2 Billion or P3 Billion?

Another thing we may want to figure out is, whether the money he is now spending for what is obviously pre-campaign period campaigning will be deducted from the P 210 Million campaign expense cap imposed by the Omnibus Election Code?

Will Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago please speak up.

The Inquirer dissects Cayetano's tirade against Gordon's Blue Ribbon Report on the Fertilizer Fund Scam

"I love the Inquirer, I hate the Inquirer, but I read the Inquirer."

 

In its Editorial today, the Philippine Daily Inquirer virtually defends Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman from the snide and sneering attacks of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.  

 

The young Senator, also known as Scrappy Doo (the knephew of Scooby Doo and friend of Senator Villar aka Mr. Itik), had been harping to the press that Gordon's Blue Ribbon Committee Report virtually absolved President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.  

 

The PETULANT ranting seems misplaced since investigations into the NBN ZTE as Blue Ribbon Chairman didn't produce a report -- full, partial, preliminary or final.  In one of the many hearings (12, I think), he had the chance to make former NEDA Secretary General Romulo Neri squeal his guts out about what he knew regarding the deal but for some reason cut the questioning short.  Then after the last hearing, nothing.

 

The PETULANT rants of Cayetano betrays the fact, also, that he did not read the report before he opened his mouth.

 

The Inquirer dissects Cayetano's loose, rabid, slobbering rants.  (Does anyone have a rolled up newspaper I can borrow?  A young dog needs to be taught a few tricks.)

 

Editorial
A pack of wolves 

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:45:00 02/26/2009

 

We share the sense of frustration that Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano gave vent to on Tuesday, when he criticized the Senate blue ribbon committee’s final report that he said “prematurely absolved” President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of direct involvement in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam. [Read story] But we also share the sense of resolve and even the sense of difficult achievement that animated the report, signed by at least 11 senators and released by committee chair Sen. Richard Gordon last Monday.

 

“The public, for a long time, has demanded closure to this issue. We have done our part. Now, let the prosecution arm of government do theirs,” Gordon said.

 

There, in three short sentences, we have a succinct summing-up of the second Senate inquiry into the notorious scam perpetrated by the business-savvy former agriculture undersecretary, Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante. And there, too, in those same sentences, we find the beginnings of an answer to the three plaintive questions Cayetano raised on Tuesday. “Why was the hearing stopped, why is there now a committee report, and why was the President prematurely absolved?”

 

To belabor the obvious: The Senate is not a court; indeed, it isn’t even a prosecutorial service. It conducts investigations strictly in aid of legislation. What that responsibility means is that proof of criminal wrongdoing on the part, say, of a public official need not be ascertained “beyond a reasonable doubt,” for the Senate (and in its turn the House of Representatives) to pass legislation that prevents the same crime from being committed by the same or other public officials. The Gordon report includes several substantial recommendations for remedial legislation.

 

To be sure, the first Senate inquiry into the electioneering scandal that is the fertilizer scam, conducted by the agriculture and the blue ribbon committees of the 13th Congress, found that the President should ultimately be held accountable for it. The second inquiry reaches almost the same conclusion: “While the Committee found no evidence directly linking the President to the fertilizer scam, the acts of the former Undersecretary of the DA, Mr. Jocelyn Isada Bolante ... are deemed acts of the President since they acted within the scope of their authorities given to them by then Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. Since there was no reprobation or disapproval coming from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regarding their actions, it can easily be inferred that the President acquiesced [in] such acts.”

 

Do we need more confirmation that the President did not only authorize the fertilizer fund scam but — the best proof available — directly benefited from it, during the May 2004 elections? The only way to get additional confirmation is for operators like Bolante to confess the President’s own involvement; unfortunately, there is no Chavit Singson in this sordid scandal. As Sen. Panfilo Lacson told reporters, “that’s as far as the evidence could reach.”

 

Cayetano, who said he would be signing a minority report with three other senators, said it was “difficult to believe that only an undersecretary could manipulate P728 million.” The Gordon report asserts the exact same point: “Does anyone really believe that Bolante et al. would have been able to malverse such a gargantuan amount and continue to evade all sorts of liability without the acquiescence of Malacañang?”

 

The majority report’s moral certainty is shared by many people; in the absence of other witnesses, and in view of other, equally pressing matters, the blue ribbon committee did right in putting closure to the scandal. It recommended either continued investigation by the Department of Justice or the Office of Ombudsman of, or the outright filing of plunder and other charges against, the wily Bolante; it pushed for similar action against nine others implicated in the scam, described as a pack of wolves; it condemned Executive officials and agencies, including former Budget Secretary Emilia Boncodin, for being remiss in their duties; it even asked for the resignation of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez for “gross inaction.”

 

The report’s executive summary ends on a dire note: “We dread to see again the unleashing of packs of wolves feasting upon already scarce resources of government. In all probability, there were other wolf packs involved in the disposition of the remaining P535 million in fertilizer funds that have yet to be traced.” But at least, and for a second time, a start has been made.

 

For shame, will it be Philippine politics as usual in 2010?

Perhaps, the only other thing that can save us at this point from Philippine politics as usual in 2010 is if the news media abandons its penchant for horse race chronologies and encourage more debate among the Presidential candidates about the difficult problems confronting our nation today.

Granted that the greatest problem we have or have had for as long as anyone can remember is poverty.

Let's ask Manny Villar how many people he has lifted out of poverty. Sure, we all love seeing him holding an obviously drugged duck as much as we loved seeing Mar Roxas holding bangus by the tail with his thumb and forefinger. But what of it? Is there any truth to his advertising? Does he really know the duck raiser he is seen with? Was the duck raiser given a talent fee?

Moreover, let's ask Villar, how many OFWs has he really helped out. Is it more than five? Ten? Twenty?

Let's ask why Mar Roxas raised a howl over cap and not other pre-need firms. Sure he is offering lawyers NOW, but what did he do then? Did he help out sans publicity?

How about Noli De Castro. What about him? Well, it's one thing to take credit for something you didn't do and another to use other people's money to brag about it.

Pag-IBIG Fund and the billions of pesos it has all belong to the people who contribute to it. Doesn't it sicken you to have this former TV broadcaster going around and claiming or insinuating to claim that he has made Pag-IBIG Fund perform better? Hello! That's largely the work of one Miro Quimbo, the President and CEO of Pag-IBIG Fund.

The other thing that perhaps will save us from Philippine politics as usual in 2010 has already commenced and it is the AUTOMATION of the 2010 POLLS.

This is more than just a claim of helping people in need. This not an advertisement. This is REAL CHANGE brought to you by the same man who brought you Olongapo City and Subic.

How many people has he helped?

In Olongapo alone, count the entire population from the time that he became mayor to the present.

In Subic? Their names are engraved in stone, all 8,000 volunteers who stood up to 'Preserve, Protect, and Prosper'. You can add another 80,000 for all those who got jobs when Gordon successfully made Subic into a major tourism and investment hub NOT JUST in the Philippines but in the WHOLE OF ASIA.

Tourism? By the end of his term as tourism secretary, he successfully brought in 2,000,000 tourists a year in 2003. Every foreign tourist coming to the Philippines supports the job of at least 10 Filipinos. Do the math.

As Philippine National Red Cross Chairman? He started out as a Red Cross volunteer when he was 17 and we have no way of listing down all the people he has helped. But just recently, he was able to build 15,000 homes in a span of three years for victims of several typhoons. Name a disaster and he has surely played some part in helping victims out.

Remember typhoon Frank? He was all over Iloilo and other other provinces, delivering high capacity water sanitation equipment, medicine, food, doctors, nurses, and a whole lot of other stuff people will need to survive.

If you want a list of all the disasters he has helped people out of, I can furnish you a list and its quite long. Just post you e-mail address in the comment section.

The question you really have to ask is this: Does this country need a great Presidential Candidate or a Great Leader?

If you want a Great candidate, any of the moneyed and popular aspirants will do.

If you want a Great Leader, there is only DICK GORDON.

Flash Gordon!

Flash Gordon!

Are we there yet?
By Bong Austero

It’s been quite some time since I last heard Senator Richard Gordon deliver a formal speech. Like most everyone else, I’ve only been catching snippets of the Atenista senator in television coverage of some Senate hearings, which unfortunately, often shows the senator in various stages of agitation and exasperation. Needless to say the images are often unflattering because quite frankly, very few people look good—or for that matter, dignified- when they are about to commit the equivalent of verbal homicide.

If it is any consolation, at least Senator Gordon has not been caught throwing a monstrous tantrum, flailing around like a spoiled child, and striking blindly at anyone within reach. Or, okay, at least not yet.

I have forgotten just how eloquent and engaging he is or can be as a public speaker. Or how infinitely more intelligent—at least sensible—he is compared to the other people who walk the corridors of power in this country, including his colleagues in the Senate who swagger around with their giant egos but often mouth gibberish. Or for that matter, just how inspiring it is to listen to a public figure who actually knows how to work a crowd, not through some cheap song-and-dance routines and through dubious smoke-and-mirror tricks, but through sheer logic, sincerity, and passion.

I had the privilege of being at a gathering of human resource professionals last week, which featured Senator Gordon as keynote speaker. The Richard Gordon that I witnessed last week had a wider girth and was, well, older, compared to the man that was the toast of the town almost two decades ago when he transformed Subic Bay into a showcase of what the Filipino can do once he sets his mind to it. But everything else was the same —the passion, the oratorical prowess, and most of all, the overwhelming faith and affection for this country and for its people.

A number of questions were running through my mind during the first 20 minutes of his speech, which, by the way was delivered extemporaneously. Why isn’t this guy out there as a possible frontrunner in the 2010 presidential elections? Why can’t we have more politicians like him—people who actually believe in this country and its people and look like it too? And even more telling, how come competent people like him with the vision, the burning passion, the competencies, won’t probably get elected into the highest seat of the land?

Let’s face it. There are very few politicians in this country that can hold a candle to the man in terms of manifested passion, overall intelligence, eloquence or oratorical skills. I mean, just how many politicians can deliver a finely textured rendition of Lord Alfred Tennyson, at a moment’s notice and completely from memory? Not that being able to recite The Charge of the Light Brigade or Ulysses automatically qualifies anyone as superior, but it sure is a good indicator.

And certainly, fewer still are strategic thinkers who can formulate a compelling vision of a desirable future. It’s sad, really, really sad that many of our leaders cannot see beyond the present. As someone once said, action without a clear vision is just passing time.

There is absolutely no doubt about it: Gordon is infinitely more qualified to run for the highest post in the land compared to other monkeys that threaten to turn the 2010 presidential elections into a circus.

Why then is Richard Gordon not being considered seriously as Presidential timber? The answer dawned on me during the last twenty minutes of his address last week and it was a disheartening realization as it is a reflection of the state of the maturity of our voting population.

Gordon is not out there as a frontrunner in the presidential derby because he doesn’t seem to have the billions required to finance an expensive presidential campaign; or if he does, he knows only too well that he would have to recover the “investment” one way or the other, most likely through shady deals, if and when he gets elected into office.

He is not a front-runner because he is a stickler for discipline and the rule of law, unlike other politicians who have no compunctions about campaigning early and already spending hundreds of millions in television ads a good year and a half before the actual elections.

In a brazen display of self-importance, Bayani Fernando has decorated our major thoroughfares with giant tarpaulins of his grim visage, in the process assaulting millions of Filipinos everyday. Wherever he goes, he has a brigade of pink-shirted men and women distributing campaign materials.

Senators Manny Villar and Mar Roxas have been campaigning hard since last year. They have upped the ante by producing slick television advertisements that extol themselves as the panacea for our country’s many ills.

While it can be argued that Villar and Roxas are wealthy individuals who are supposedly—although this is met with well-deserved skepticism—spending their own money, they are clearly violating electoral laws by launching their campaigns very early on. Pray tell, what kind of message are Villar and Roxas sending? That they are above the law?

Gordon is not a front-runner because we are a people who don’t like leaders who tell us sobering truths. We prefer leaders that entertain, make politically-incorrect and sexist jokes, make promises that cannot be implemented anyway, and in general, make band-aid solutions to major problems that require surgery and chemotherapy. We certainly don’t like candidates who tell us unequivocally that we are all part of the solution, that our problems are best solved if we all practice good citizenship and do our bit in making this country work. Thanks but no thanks but we’d rather have candidates who fancy themselves as in possession of superhuman powers that they can solve our problems all by their lonesome selves.

I am not saying of course that Gordon is the best man for the job, but he certainly deserves consideration. All I am saying is that in an ideal democracy, he should be a front-runner out there. Unfortunately, we’re stuck in this rut where landing on top of surveys is seen as blanket substitute for qualification, where money is considered the ultimate advantage, where populist strategies win over the principled, etc.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer Blinks on 'Red Cross under fire' Editorial

This is a personal reaction to a rejoinder to an editorial of the Philippine Daily Inquirer entitled "Red Cross under fire".

Corazon Alma De Leon, secretary general of the Philippine National Red Cross has already issued a rejoinder to the Inquirer editorial (posted 23:57:00 01/26/2009) with particular reference to its last paragraph:

“If this is so, this will have an effect on domestic humanitarian workers, particularly as the emerging presidential candidacy of the current Red Cross chair, Richard Gordon, might provide a pretext for such syndicates to think Red Cross workers are actually campaign workers — and so subject to the ‘usual’ election-related violence and intimidation.”

De leon asserted that:

First, Red Cross staff and volunteers are not Gordon’s campaign workers. And those who were kidnapped are ICRC members, not PNRC’s; they are not the least bit interested in the political developments in this country. In fact, as humanitarian workers, they are not allowed to engage in any political activity.

Second, the insinuation that Gordon is using the PNRC or the ICRC for his political ends may severely undermine our operations and fund-raising efforts and prevent us from addressing the humanitarian concerns of numerous communities and victims of war, disease and abuse. Since its establishment in 1947, the PNRC has been relying on donations for our humanitarian activities.

Third, Gordon has been a Red Crosser for 40 years. Since he became chair of the Red Cross, he has raised hundreds of millions of pesos to help alleviate human suffering in this country. Not a single centavo was ever used to promote Gordon’s political ambitions.

Under Gordon’s watch, the PNRC has become a donor society (having given relief assistance to Burma, Indonesia, China and Louisiana, USA) and the leading international humanitarian organization in the country, in terms of quality services provided and the number of people served. And Gordon has made the PNRC modern and efficient. He was awarded the 2001 Silver Humanitarian Award for his outstanding volunteer efforts in alleviating human suffering and the 1991 Aurora Aragon Quezon Peace Award, Philippine National Red Cross (Highest National Award). His accomplishments speak for themselves. They are not political gimmicks.

The Inquirer had what it thinks is the final say stating that:

The editorial merely pointed out that with Gordon being talked about as a possible presidential candidate, terrorists may use this “buzz” as an alibi to justify “an evolving tactic of assaulting even humanitarian workers.” It did not mean to insinuate that Gordon is in fact using Red Cross people for political ends. We regret that Ms De Leon and others in the PNRC came away with this interpretation. — Editor, Philippine Daily Inquirer

In my view, I think the Inquirer may have conveniently reached into the realm of the hypothetical without any basis in fact.

It appears to assert what is clearly an insinuation that Gordon as Red Cross Chairman and Gordon as emerging Presidential candidate equals assaults on humanitarian workers.

The thing is, if this can be said of Gordon as an EMERGING Presidential Candidate, proof of this line of thought would be found if Mar Roxas' Botika ng Bayan or Markets were attacked. Or perhaps if Manny Villar's Villar Cup Billards competition were attacked.

Obama keeps his Blackberry or What Philippine President Gloria Arroyo can learn from Obama about transparency

It must have been a poor joke that fell flat, got stomped on and kicked around.

Philippine Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita was said to remarked that US President Barack Obama might have a thing or two to learn from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Ermita said in an article found on gmanew.tv:

"First of all, our President is ahead of Obama and probably, I would think that if there's anything to be learned, it should be President Obama learning from President Arroyo. And wouldn't we be proud to say that the Philippines continues to be an 'island of calm' because of the present crunches?" he said, when asked by media what lesson Arroyo could learn from Obama.

He said the President could even be a model or the "proper conduct under pressure."

Arroyo had managed to quell all attempts to oust her from power – via impeachment, “people power" uprising or coup plots – despite her very poor popularity rating.

After Arroyo’s allies in the House of Representatives defeated the fourth impeachment attempt against her late last year, it became clear that Arroyo would be able to finish her term until the end of June 2010.

Ermita said Arroyo and her abilities especially in managing the economy and in insulating the Philippines from the full brunt of the economic global crisis had been recognized. And while the US maybe a big country and have the wherewithal to overcome the crisis "being a leader of a nation, President Arroyo has more experience than President Obama."

I don't want to waste my time refuting all that Ermita had said right now because this is not what the post is about.

It is about one word: Transparency.

US President Barack Obama has effectively dealt with the issue of transparency first raised as he insisted on keeping his Blackberry. The second instance that transparency was dealt with was his memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act.

All throughout her term, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has managed to escape attempts at impeachment by simply keeping quiet and blocking all access to all information that would incriminate her.

The 'Hello Garci' scandal which brought up the issue of her direct involvement in wholesale electoral fraud in the 2004 elections was effectively silenced on the grounds that the actual recording of her cellphone conversation with Comelec Official Virgilio Garciliano came from an illegal wiretap.

Then came the NBN ZTE deal which, for some reason, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee under Senator Alan Peter Cayetano stopped investigating. So far, Cayetano has yet to produce a committee report on the investigation which would be expected to recommend the filing of charges against officials involved in the deal, including President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo used measures such as Executive Order 464 to prevent her cabinet members and other government officials from disclosing what they may know about the 'Hello Garci' scandal.

Another measure that she deployed was that of Executive Privilege which functioned as a blanket justification by cabinet officials such as former National Economic Development Authority Secretary General Romulo Neri for refusing to disclose details regarding the NBN ZTE Deal.

The 'Hello Garci' controversy, which has also been referred to Gloria Gate (an allusion to the Watergate scandal which similarly centers around tape recordings of US President Richard Nixon), should have produced legislation similar to what was done with the Presidential Records Act.

In 1978, after Watergate, the Presidential Records Act mandated that presidential records would become property of the U.S. government when the president leaves office. They would be transferred to the federal archives, then become available to the public after no more than 12 years.

This law, if I am not mistaken, basically means that all communication by the US President is recorded and makes it illegal for the US President to conceal any communication.

I think, if my understanding is right, having a law like this would have made it easier to obtain evidence against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

In a press release, Senator Ramon 'Bong' Revilla expressed assurance that he will continue to push for the passage of the Freedom of Access to Information Bill even though he is no longer the chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media.

"Rest assured that I will exert all possible efforts in support of the Freedom of Access to Information Bill. Transparency of government records is vital in exposing scandals and criminal acts of government officials. It will greatly help to eradicate corruption," Revilla said.

He appealed to newly-installed Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media Chairman Allan Peter Cayetano to start the public hearings on the much-awaited Freedom of Access to Information Bill as soon as possible.

One bill filed by Senator Manuel Villar, SB 1578, basically asserts "Article II, Section 28 of the Constitution which provides: “Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law. The State adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest.”

Likewise, Article III, Section 7 also states: “The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents, and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis far policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.”

However, the law itself imposes a list of restrictions on to what information can or cannot be accessed in Section 4. This basically, still, just gives the President various justifications to conceal information which can be easily twisted to suit whatever purpose.

There is no mention of any requirement being imposed on the President to have all his or her communications recorded or any prohibition against not recording communications.

The Presidential Records Act of the United States, from my understanding, orders that all communications by the Office of the President be recorded and made available according to certain prescribed procedures.

In the case of the Hello Garci scandal, the illegally recorded conversations between the President and Virgilio Garcillano cannot be used as evidence. But supposing that we had a law like the Presidential Records Act and all the President's conversations were being recorded officially, then it would not be necessary to divulge the existence of the illegal wiretap and just subpoena the President's official records (of course, this assumes that other causes can be found to initiate an investigative procedure which would make the subpoena necessary).

In the case of the NBN ZTE probe, if the law filed by Senator Villar were improved to state that if evidence were found that a transaction in government were anomalous, all records of all officials pertaining to that transaction would be divulged.

In relation to this, I hope Senator Panfilo Lacson makes good with a commitment to amend the Bank Secrecy law to make the bank records of all public officials exempt from secrecy.

Senators propose summit to stem job losses in the Philippines

Words for Moolah will be amused upon hearing that an old publicity gimmick that creates a lot of noise and a crowd but achieves nothing has resurfaced.

Holding summits to solve pressing problems.

Currently, some newspapers and TV news programs are screaming about "job losses!" after information leaked that Intel was shutting down its facility in Cavite and Accenture reported that some 500 jobs would be cut.

Another big problem in the offing is that of Pre-Need companies (college assurance plans and pension plans) are said to be going under.

To solve the problem of a sharp rise in unemployment, Senator Francis Pangilinan is proposing a "job creation summit".

Senator Alan "Peter" Cayetano, seeing the dire circumstances faced by the Pre-Need industry, wants "an emergency summit" to specifically address their problems.

Meester Eff will probably shout 'DRAMA QUEENS!" and he'd be right, as usual.

Summits are tantamount to shouting 'Looky! Looky! Me solving problem with summit!'.

The question is, have any of the summits in the past achieve what they were supposed to achieve?

During former President Fidel Ramos' time, there were summits of all sorts. There was a summit for agriculture, the judicial system, and even a peace summit. After holding the summits, agricultural productivity stayed the same... the judicial system continued to be slow and corrupt... and the peace summit didn't stop government and rebel forces from engaging in hostilities.

Of the most recent date, former House Speaker Jose De Venecia held a political summit of some sort and politics in the country remains fractured.

In the case of holding a job creation summit, the only jobs it will create are those directly related to holding the summit itself.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, in his usual annoying fashion whines that Congress and the Executive hasn't done anything regarding the reported closure of many preneed companies.

"We should not take this lightly. It's shocking for me that both Congress and the executive will not act right away," Cayetano said.

"Every single minute of uncertainty isn't good for the industry, isn't good for the consumers and is not good for the government, so there should be an emergency summit by the executive and the legislature, or Congress, and solutions that will be felt by those who are already paid for this should come forth from this summit," he said.

My neighbor remarked that the Senator seems great at two things: Pointing out problems for other people to fix and grabbing publicity for it.

Perhaps he should just lead the Pre-Need summit himself.

Did you know that after holding so many hearings regarding the NBN ZTE deal and the Fertilizer Fund Scam, he has failed as Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman to produce a committee report which would have pressured the Ombudsman to investigate cases against Malacanang? All sound and fury signifying nothing.

Anothing thing which a taxi driver once told me about Senator Cayetano was that his tongue is good for two things: spraying saliva all over the place like a sprinkler and licking the butt cracks of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo (whom he once asked for campaign funds) and Senator Manuel Villar (who gave him a high priced election lawyer that helped him in his case with the Comelec and a senatorial candidate who had the same name as his).

So, there, that's what I think about summits.

Does the Philippines have a leader like US President Barack Obama?

I've got two answers right now: No and maybe.

My answer is NO, because all the comparisons made between President Obama and any politician running for the Philippine Presidency is going to end up as a joke.

On one hand, I've heard enough jokes about Jojo Binay being a Philippine analogue to Obama. The idea is so revolting it's enough to make me snort squid ink and dance the Macarena in a bikini in the middle of EDSA at high noon.

On the other hand, can any of SWS Presidential Survey frontrunners lay a claim to being the bringer of hope and change? Of course they can! Silly! They can claim anything under the sun but will it do us any good to believe them?

My answer to 'Does the Philippines have a leader like Obama?' is also MAYBE, because there are still choices outside of the current crop of Presidential survey frontrunners.

I don't think money and popularity should be considered when making a choice for President. The only thing you have to think about is if the person presenting himself or herself as a Presidential candidate can do the job.

You can look at the Philippine Constitution and it lists the basic qualifications for a President. The qualifications aren't that hard to measure up to, because apparently all you have to do is to be born a Filipino and reach a certain age. This is both good and bad because it means anybody can be a President and that anybody can be an individual with exceptional qualities or it can be just the worst choice anybody can make.

In anycase, what a President actually does or what a President ought to do depends largely on the situation that the country is in.

It's not hard to figure out what kind of situation our country is in right now because we've been in the same situation for decades and most of our problems stem from this situation.

The situation is easily described with four words: The Philippines is poor.

The job, therefore, of the President (at least in my opinion) is to lead the country out of poverty.

Have any of the so-called frontrunners in Presidential surveys proven that they can lead people out of poverty?

How many people has Senator Manny Villar helped out of poverty? How about Noli De Castro? Loren? Lacson? Bayani Fernando? Mar Roxas?

Obama in the Philippines

I missed the live TV coverage of President Barack Obama's Inauguration last night.

After waiting around two hours for it (switching between CNN, Fox, and BBC), I found myself fighting vainly against what would become the irresistible pull of sleep.

I snored through the first black US President's inaugural address and now have to content myself with just reading the text of his speech.

It is a great speech and from the snippets being replayed on TV news, I can gather a sense of how truly thrilling his delivery was.

The question now on my mind is what this historic US Presidency will mean for the Philippines.

Being great at mimicking or aping whatever fad there is in the US, I am sure our own politicians will present us with their INNER OBAMA and certainly, they will find a way to make the masa lap it up or at least, make it seem that they are lapping it up.

Will the Philippine Presidential Elections in 2010 be like a talent show where the winner will be the candidate who can come up with the best imitation of Obama?

It was a joke then and still is now, but Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay referred to himself as the first Black Filipino Presidential candidate. He refered to himself as Jejoma and the joke got a few laughs before people got tired of it.

Other politicians who are eyeing the Philippine Presidency are trying to project an Obama-like image, with some blatantly claiming to represent change. From the top of my head I can cite at least Loren Legarda and her pagbabago TV Ad, Mar Roxas and his Oras na campaign (Our time has come), and perhaps even Chiz Escudero.

Survey frontrunners Vice President Noli de Castro and Senator Manny Villar haven't associated themselves or their looming candidacies with the message of change. De Castro is or was largely seen in TV ads hawking Pag-IBIG Fund (though it was unnecessary to spend tens of millions of pesos sourced from contributions of members on a tri-media campaign just to have his face all over the country). Villar crows about helping OFWs (about a few dozen out of the 8 million Filipinos that have sought employment abroad).

Bayani Fernando, the pink loving MMDA Chairman, was last seen on TV hanging on the barong sleeves of Former President Fidel Ramos. As to what this signifies is something that I have yet to decifer.

Former President Joseph Estrada is still peddling the idea of running again for the Presidency and it seems that this is gaining some traction in the surveys.

Given the way things are, I doubt if we will have a President like Obama with the way a great number of our people think about how the political game ought to be played.

Politics in the Philippines, for the most part, is not based on values or ideals but opportunism -- which some times is brazen and sometimes is well camouflaged as a sincere bid to help people out.

If there was someone among our politicians who is truly like Obama, I doubt if people will vote for him.

Filipinos in the Philippines love having it easy and having their way (even if it is the wrong way) about things. Filipinos here will vote for a politician depending on what they can get from the politician whether it's a few hundred pesos for voting for them or a job after they are elected or a fat government contract.

(More later, I have to give my kid a bath)

Supreme Court Chief Justice Puno as Philippine President?

Thank God he nixed it.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno turned down an offer to be a Presidential Candidate in 2010 and said that he would be content to be the catalyst for the creation of a "moral force" movement to help solve the country's problems rather than seek the presidency in next year’s elections.

Yesterday, Senator Panfilo Lacson was on DZMM saying that he would gladly step aside and abandon any Presidential ambition he had if Puno would run for the Presidency in 2010.

Puno, thanked Lacson for his endorsement but said:

"I don't want to be pretentious. I will be happy if I will just be a catalyst of this movement. I am willing to be one of the foot soldiers. But perhaps it may not be appropriate to take leadership while I am in the government acting as Chief Justice."

Fine, except for his use of the word 'pretentious' instead of the more correct 'presumptious'.

Nevertheless, what he said may be indicative of the Supreme Court Chief Justice's view of what will be best for the national interest. Perhaps he knows that it takes more than morality to lead a country as morality can always be questioned. Also, if you want strict morality in government, you'd be in the same basket as Islamic fundamentalist states -- think Afghanistan before the US invasion.

Perhaps, also, he saw through the political gimmick pawned and pumped through the media by Senator Lacson. After all, it was Lacson who donned the image of Mr. Clean when he ran against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo after refusing to relinquish his Presidential bid in favor of supporting actor Fernando Poe Jr. The ploy (if it is a ploy) would have been aimed at making people remember what Lacson stands for -- anti-corruption, an end to criminality, etcetera.

This comes at the beginning of the year before the 2010 elections when Presidential Candidates (declared and undeclared) are now all trying to place themselves in the minds of people.

If the SWS survey results on choices for Presidential Candidates are to be believed, Lacson is fifth (with 14 percent drafting him as they choice for President) from pole position which is currently owned by Vice President Noli De Castro. Coming in second and third were Senators Loren Legarda and Manny Villar with 28 percent and 27 percent, respectively, followed by Senators Francis Escudero (19 percent), former President Joseph Estrada (11 percent), and Sen. Mar Roxas (10 percent).

Going back to Puno and the idea of a moral Presidency, Cory Aquino was the moral choice in governance, but the years that followed her rise to power proved that mere morality will not cure all that ails our government. It takes so much more.

We've had moral choices offered to us too in the 2004 elections. When Lacson ran in 2004, there were other moral choices including Raul Roco and Eddie Villanueva. The immoral choice was Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the popular choice was Fernando Poe Jr., and the insane choice was Eddie Gil.

But were these choices really choices? Did they represent real options and real directions for governance?

I am not saying that morality has no place in politics, the romantic ideal of a benevolent and powerful leader still appeals to me. However, morality ALONE does not make for effective political leadership.

If you asked me, I'd rather go for a candidate with a track record for being a builder of new beginnings rather than one with an image of a destroyer or preserver of a status quo. I'd go for a candidate with a clear plan, a vision, for the country's future.

That's Dick Gordon.

Sure, he isn't in the surveys and the Pedestrian Observer may chide me -- as he or she already has for comparing Gordon with Obama.

Was it a story in the Bible or a often quoted phrase that says he who can be trusted with a portion, can be trusted with the whole.

Gordon began his political career as a Constitutional Convention delegate in 1971, the youngest ever to be elected. He had no political backing (which should have come from his mother, Amelia Gordon) and no funds, but he won and became the youngest delegate.

He didn't run for his own sake. He was actually part of the generation that led the First Quarter Storm and in the Con-Con, he opposed a term extension for then President Ferdinand Marcos. This was apart from introducing the idea of the Philippines sharing control over the US Naval base in Subic, which in those times was considered visionary.

He became Mayor of Olongapo and everybody knows about how his small town became a model for city governance. If New York City had Rudolf Giulliani, the Philippines had Richard 'Dick' Gordon in the very real sense of transforming a filthy and crime infested town into a model city that had color code jeepneys, effective neighborhood anti-crime patrols, a garbage collection and segregation system that was the first in the country, a good samaritan program where all the rich citizens of Olongapo generously gave to the needy, and other city programs that were emulated all over the country.

He became Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman. When he was put in charge of Subic, it was a wasteland with almost nothing in it. After a couple of years of hard work with no guarantees, he turned the former Naval base into what then President Ramos called a new engine for growth and a magnet for investment in industry and tourism.

He became Tourism Secretary with no promotion budget and all sorts of negative news about the Philippines. Instead of saying 'Kawawa naman tayo', he shouted 'Wow Philippines' in almost every major tourism marketing event there was and brought in a whopping 2 million tourists a year by the end of 2003-- straight up from less than 1 million a year in 2001.

Right now, he is a Senator who is known for a couple of important things --

He is the father of Automated Elections in 2010. He virtually dragged his colleagues at the Senate to amend the existing Automated Elections law to make it work and dragged a couple more people in the Comelec to make sure we will no longer have Hello Garci in 2010. He is working to make sure that every body's vote will be counted in the coming elections.

He is also the author of the Text for Change bill, a proposed law that will get 10 to 50 centavos out of every peso earned by Smart, Globe, and Sun and pour these funds into public education. At the current P 2 Billion text messages a day, this will generate as much as P70 Billion in funds that will be added to the budget for public education. This means an end to classroom and teacher shortages, better books, science and computer laboratories in all public schools, higher teacher salaries, free food all year round for students, free medical and dental services, and to top it all off, scholarships for 100,000 college students -- 10,000 of which will be sent abroad to study in Ivy League Universities.

A crazy Presidential ambition

IF SHE DOESN’T MAKE ICJ:
Sen Santiago running for president to ‘terrorize’ foes
By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 13:50:00 06/27/2008

NEW YORK CITY -- If she is not elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said she might run for president “just to put terror in the heart of my enemies.”

But if she does get a seat in ICJ, Santiago said she would resign as senator.

“I would have to resign [as senator] because the term [of an ICJ judge] will begin by about the first week of January and I would miss about one year of my term. So if that happens, I hope that the electorate will forgive me,” Santiago told reporters here at a reception for her candidacy on Thursday.

“If I don’t make it, then I’ll probably run for president of the Philippines. That is just to put terror in the heart of my enemies,” she said.

This reason for running for public office ranks next to Chavit Singson's "I am running for the Senate so that Jinggoy Estrada will have a sparring partner!" or something to that effect.

Brave and loud words which later got muffled by his resounding defeat in the 2007 polls.

When Miriam Defensor Santiago ran for President in 1992, I was one of the many college students that rallied behind her. We believed that she could succeed where the Aquino Administration had failed and that was in the continuing fight against corruption in government. She ran and lost, she screamed that she had been cheated by President Ramos and we believed
her.

The college kids that supported her candidacy moved on, the overriding concern on our minds at that time was getting a job -- which meant minimum wage, even for college graduates. Two or three years later, during President Fidel Ramos' term, I became an Associate Producer and Scriptwriter for Radio Television Malacanang (RTVM) which is an agency under the Office of the Press Secretary. I still saw her on TV and read about her in the newspapers, usually spitting bile at Ramos. It was the constant exposure to this that somehow made me forget the reasons why I voted for her in 1992.

Sixteen years later, during turnover ceremonies for medical equipment in UP PGH, I head her speak again and it reminded me of at least one reason why I voted for her.

She railed against the TV Ads being run by would-be Presidential contenders. While most media organizations focused on the part of her speech where she called the Senator endorses 'ugly', my mind fixed on her challenge to would be presidential candidates to just hold an auction for the country's presidency. This was an obvious jibe at Senate President Manny Villar and possibly Senator Mar Roxas -- billionaires, one on his own account and the other, owing it to his family's fortune.

It's the thought that the Presidential candidate with the most resources will win the Presidency that really gets to me. Will the 2010 elections proved that Manny (as in Villar) and Manny (as in Roxas) can buy everything?

If the 2010 elections were about interviewing job applicants for the highest office in the land, shouldn't we at least look at their records and the policies they are pursuing to get an indication of how they would fare as Presidents of the country -- as the highest, most powerful leader of this country?

So far, in my view, Villar and Roxas are of the same feather. Politically, they have swung wildly from being anti-Gloria to pro-Gloria to anti-Gloria several times over.

As House Speaker, Villar banged the gavel on President Joseph Estrada to impeach him and nearly ten years later, he was seen in Bataan with Estrada after the latter's conviction for plunder by the Sandiganbayan.

Roxas came into the limelight, not as congressman of Capiz, but as DTI Secretary of Joseph Estrada. When the Estrada fell from power, he came back as DTI Secretary of Gloria Arroyo and in 2004, ran in Gloria's line up of Senators. Then, years later, declared he was now with the opposition and was running for President. He'll probably point to the Hello Garci incident as a turning point for deciding to be an opposition candidate.

In fact, almost all presidential contenders in the 2010 race will be either opposition or independent with the exception perhaps of Bayani Fernando (as Vice President Noli De Castro, having won the Presidency as an independent candidate, will probably not yield easily to be part of a party of which he is not its leader).

But what do these Presidential candidates have to offer the people?