Panlilio for President? Whaaaaaaat?!

Perhaps this is an example of people being too literal about restoring morality in governance.

Priest on leave and Pampanga governor Among Ed Panlilio was heard on news radio yesterday referring to himself as a 'last resort' Presidential candidate. He explained that if a suitable Presidential candidate could not be found, he would be compelled to run for the highest position of the land. He also said that unlike most candidates for the position who are afraid to lose, he said that he is afraid to win.

I don't really know what to make of what he said over the radio and I was straining to hear some more.

It's not the typical spiel for a Presidential candidate or a candidate of any sort to say such things. I will grant that it is a breath of fresh air in an atmosphere polluted by the spleens of so-called frontrunner Presidential candidates who wave their money about, dance like lunatics in every fiesta including Cenaculos (passion plays), and announce to the whole world that they are going to save the country from the mess it is in.

But then, again, will it amount to anything?

The idea of a philosopher king ruling this 7,100 islands of ours is a romantic ideal. Having a priest President (as priests usually, at least in UST, major in Philosophy in their undergraduate studies) might be the next best thing.

Perhaps, Panlilio wouldn't be so scared of winning as President if he knew exactly what to do if he gets elected. It would help if he had a vision for where to take our country and a specific plan or plans of how to solve a couple of perennial problems.

For the moment, I'll pass on his vision statement because I'd hate to hear about the pearly gates and Jesus floating down from the clouds.

I'd like to hear about what he'll do about stopping corruption in government, since he is presenting himself as a moral alternative which I assume should be against all manner of stealing.

Stamping out corruption in government alone would do a lot of good and perhaps, if accomplished within the first year of his term, we would be amazed to find out that:

• the construction cost of classrooms are at P350,000 to P400,000 per unit. Right now, the government bills us P1,000,000 per classroom.
• the construction of roads only cost 30% of what the government bills us. What is surprising is that contractors still earn from road construction.
• fertilizers and seeds cost only 10% of what the government says it costs.
• text messages and wireless internet connections should be free! (Er, if you are wondering where that came from, so am I.)

(more later)

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.

Gordon's response to Bong Austero's column "Flash Gordon"

Blogger and Manila Standard Columnist Bong Austero previously wrote about Senator Richard Gordon not being a front runner in the surveys.

This pricked a reaction from Senator Gordon and so he wrote a letter to Austero.  The first thing he wanted to say was that he was thankful that Bong Austero had given him space in his column and how he appreciated that Austero was taking up an issue he was concerned with.  The second, was to take up the issue of why being a front runner in Presidential surveys is no big deal.

I've reposted Mr. Austero's column below:

Gordon's response

"Are we there yet?"

By Bong Austero

A couple of weeks back, I wrote about Senator Richard Gordon in this space. I wondered why the Senator was not a front-runner for the 2010 elections. I listed the man’s qualifications in terms of traits and track record and argued that a major test of our maturity as an electorate is choosing who should be in the shortlist of candidates for the 2010 elections. So while my column was about Gordon, it really was more about the sad state of the electoral system in our country.

The senator has written a rather long reply to my column, which I am sharing with my readers below. I would like to state for the record that I am not endorsing Gordon for the presidency. While he has indeed expressed interest in and availability for the highest post in the land, he has not openly launched his bid yet. I haven’t decided on whom to support, myself.

He says that he is still busy with his legislative work as chairman of the Blue Ribbon committee. We should note that this committee, under his watch, came out with a report on the fertilizer scam last week. That a Senate committee came out with something concrete after all those physical exertions and emotional hara kiri by our lawmakers during the hearings is a wonder in itself. That the report actually implicated the President and the Ombudsman and made specific recommendations as way of moving forward gives us some measure of hope, no matter how fleeting, that some things still work in this country.

Gordon is also heavily at work pushing for the automation of the 2010 elections. In a related development, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and the National Movement for Free Elections have come out with full-page ads in some broadsheets asking for support for the project.

I have decided to lend space to the senator’s letter because I feel that he raised some insightful ideas about what the 2010 elections should be. Of course it can be argued that the senator’s letter drips heavily with undisguised political agenda; that is to be expected. I am not that naïve. But at least the man has not been putting out slick television ads that, quite frankly, are so gratuitously self-serving. If we want the 2010 elections to make a difference in the country, then we must make sure that our pool of candidates are not limited to those who have the means to build a cult following through magic tricks. What follows is Gordon’s reply to my column.

“Thank you for your article ‘Are we there yet?’ which appeared last Feb. 2. It is indeed humbling and flattering to find out that at least one more person of your stature believes that we should be considered as a possible presidential candidate for the 2010 elections.

“Apart from expressing my deep appreciation for what I take as a kind compliment and acknowledging the merits of your analysis, perhaps it would do well to point out that your entire column speaks more of what we ought to change in ourselves as a people in order to save our country from continuing on a downward spiral.

“Perhaps the crux is not so much that I am not a front-runner, but rather, in your own words, the real problem is that ‘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.’”

“I wholeheartedly agree with you in sounding a call to the Filipino electorate to look beyond a candidate’s popularity, claims of fabulous financial girth, and demagoguery. While these attributes may make for an interesting and lucrative candidacy, they will certainly fail to solve what ails our country and, in the years after 2010, we will once again witness protests against whoever is the occupant of Malacañang.

“Therefore, the next election should be all about competence, integrity and reliability—not popularity, much less money or political machinery. The tragedy of our political history, of course, is that money had not always been able to buy electoral victory. Even our present political parties have become graveyard of real ideas and the birthplace of empty promises. Everybody talks about change. But who had stood for that message when nobody else would?

“I have yet to declare my candidacy as president for a number of reasons, the best ones are the many pressing legislative matters at the Senate, notably as Chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, and with our humanitarian work I lead in the Philippine National Red Cross. Nevertheless, while we have already expressed our interest in seeking a higher position, I have on top of my list the automation of the 2010 elections. We all need to see to it that the Commission on Elections would no longer have any excuse not to automate the country’s elections. We have proven it can be done in the last elections in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and given the national political will, we can do it too in May 2010.

“The title of your particular column caught my attention. ‘Flash Gordon’, after all, was an old monicker given to me by people who believed in and supported my brand of leadership back when I was still Mayor of Olongapo.

“It brings me back to the time when I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with my townmates as we lifted ourselves out of the morass of criminality, corruption, literal filth, and hopelessness that was Olongapo before my term as mayor. It has also made me recall the time when 8,000 of my townmates and I volunteered to transform Subic into the tourism destination and industry haven that it is today.

“We also remember the monicker having regained some currency when we were promoting the country as tourism secretary and succeeded in bringing two million tourists to the Philippines a year despite the negative tide of publicity brought about by SARS, coups d’etat and whatever else was there.

“Right now, I am given to a fair amount of wondering: Will my track record as well as my current performance as senator be enough for people to consider me as their choice for president in 2010?

“I stubbornly believe that meritocracy is still attainable in this country. I still believe that if one works hard and becomes the best in what he does, he will be recognized and rewarded with the privilege of a greater responsibility. But regardless of how passionately I fight for my beliefs and demonstrate my willingness to sacrifice for what I believe is right, all I can do is offer myself and my service in humble gratitude to the nation and its people whom I hold dear. The Filipino people want a president who cares for ordinary people, who can be trusted and relied upon to make tough decisions. It is my ardent prayer that I measure up to their expectations.”

Bagumbayan Movement to be launched on April 27

My Presidential candidate for the 2010 Philippine National and Local Elections, Senator Richard 'Dick' Gordon made a big announcement yesterday at the Senate Press Office.

This is a transcript of that announcement.

Question: Are you running for President in 2010?

Answer:

I’m really considering running and maybe it’s time to announce it in the sense that on the 27^th of April we will have a big meeting of the Bagumbayan Movement at the Manila Hotel.

The Bagumbayan Movement will be represented from all provinces of the country and we will meet there in the Manila Hotel because ang Manila Hotel nasa Bagumbayan.

We will meet there on the day Lapu-Lapu repelled the colonial invader and we will meet in a place where Legaspi kicked Rajah Sulayman out and he created Bagumbayan, isang minimithing bayan na bago ang pag-uugali na may kakayahan, hindi natatakot sa malalaking tao, taglay ang tapang ni Lapu lapu at taglay ang talino at tapang ni Jose Rizal.

Question: Will you be announcing your candidacy on April 27?

Answer:

I do not know. Because I don’t believe na, ang nangyayari sa atin ngayon ay marami ng kumakampanya even if the law does not permit it.

The spirit of the law says you cannot campaign long before the election period.

Ang lumalabas ang pinapairal dito ay ang patapangan ng apog. I stand against the coarsening of the culture of our country.

Masyado ng matapang ang apog ng lahat. Nakikita natin ang corruption lumaganap na sa atin, sa SEC tinatamaan ngayon, tinatamaan lahat ang ating departamento, lahat ng bidding ng gobyerno naku-question.

So it’s time we change the paradigm. It’s time na magkaroon tayo ng Bagumbayan. Matagal ko na rin minimithi yan.

Nuong panahon ng kastila, lahat ng mga nag-aambisyon na magkaroon ng pagbabago sa ating bansa sa pamamagitan ng isang rebolusyon, pinaslang sila sa Bagumbayan. Sila Gomez, Burgos Zamora, Jose Rizal, dyan sila pinaslang. Hindi nila nakita ang Bagumbayan.

When you run for the presidency you’re asking for the trust of the entire country not only on your skill, not only on your experience, not only your integrity, but in your ability to motivate your people to take them into the promise land if you will, to take them into an era na bago na ang sitwasyon.

Hindi porke mayaman ka ikaw lang ang talagang mamamayagpag, na kung ikaw ay mahirap wala kang pag-asa.

Dapat sa isang Presidente, baguhin ang paradigm o ang tinatahak na landas ng ating bansa upang maging patas ang lahat.

Ayokong ikinakahon ang pag-iisip ng tao na porke ikaw ay mayaman panalo ka, o porke ikaw in-anoint ka ng presidente talo ka. Dapat may sarili tayong pag-iisip, yung boto natin pagpasok natin sa botohan atin yun, tayo ang magdedesiyon, mahalin natin ang boto na yan kahit pa sabihing matatalo yung kandidato mo, kung naniniwala ka doon sa kandidato mo, iboto mo yun.

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.

Better Philippines???

Better Philippines was apparently too chickenshit to name me in this entry.  So I am reposting it here to say that I am the one being referred to in this entry in his blog.

"Lately, this friend of mine has been highlighting his boss’ success in getting several measures relevant to our election system legislated. Here is where my friend makes the big jump. Because of his association to this lawmaker, he now believes that he can rightfully say that he was a part of the “change” his boss worked so hard for. I can understand where he is coming from but is that really the case? I’m not sure. What I’m sure of is that he was rendering paid services to this lawmaker. Following his logic, would it then be safe to say that the lawmaker’s driver was also a part of change?"

To which I responded:

I work for a lawmaker who believes that even a lowly street sweeper, just by doing his or her job the best way possible, can rightfully claim to be part of change and he or she would be right.

A lot of people worked for the passage and implementation of RA 9369 or the Amended Automation Law.  That includes lawyers, writers, researchers, secretaries, executive assistants, clerks, political staff, interns, utility, security, waiters and yes, drivers.

Yes, these are people with salaries -- some sourced from the government and some sourced from political contributions.  

Yes, they were part of changing the way we will vote in 2010.

I certainly hope that you're not belittling anybody's contribution towards the enactment and implementation of RA 9369.  Or maybe you are but will not admit it and say "You missed my point..." which is some times another way of saying "You're too stupid and what I said is above you..."

Whatever it is, suit yourself. 

The fact that people get paid for the work they do doesn't necessarily diminish their participation in the results that are produced.

Another thing to consider is that the hundreds of people who worked for the passage and implementation of RA 9369 couldn't have been paid for the painful personal sacrifices they made.

How can you possibly compensate someone for the countless hours spent away from their families?  

How can you pay someone for losing nights of sleep?  

How can you pay someone for getting sick from too much work and despite the doctors' orders, still reports for work?  

How do you pay someone who, instead of living up their youth, has chosen the drudgery of long hours of work for a piece of legislation that he knows will work for everyone's interest?  

How can you pay someone who didn't get paid his salary at a time when he badly needed the money but went to work anyway?  

How do you pay someone who actually refuses to get paid and really volunteers for work?  

How can you pay someone who, despite their qualifications, chooses to work for government pay just because he or she believes in the lawmaker her or she is working for?

No matter how small a part these people played in getting RA 9369 enacted and implemented, they still played a part in change.  

They can tell it to the world and the lawmaker will openly credit them for it, that's the kind of leader he is.

Plans and Platforms don't get voted into office, people do.

Better Philippines says:

"Instead of basing your choice on the politicians they represent why not base it on the SPECIFIC PLANS (not motherhood vision statements) that these politicians propose. Simply put, let’s support the PLANS, the PLATFORMS not the personality."

I agree but with a minor distinction.

I think the better way of stating it is "let's support the PLANS, the PLATFORMS not JUST the personality."

Plans and platforms can be the ugly sisters of motherhood vision statements.  

This is especially so when the person espousing or advocating such a plan or platform had nothing to do with such a plan or platform for most of their lives and only adopted the plan or platform a few months before the election.

You have to look at who's talking and figure out if they can really deliver their on their plans and platforms.  

What experience does the person have in making the things in his platform happen?  What is their track record for succeeding?

You can even try to get a closer look and weed out any embellishments in their vaunted experience or track record.

Then again, even with the best effort at scrutinizing a candidate, there are still risks but these can be mitigated later by a citizenry that is able to make the candidate accountable for their campaign promises.

What makes good candidates bad leaders is the fact that most people fail to hold them accountable.  Some people think that their only duty under a democracy is just to vote and this is the flaw that most corrupt politicians exploit.

Kaya Natin's declaration of support for automated polls, what does it really mean?

I just discovered Kaya Natin's blog and posted several questions regarding their statement of support for automated elections.  I hope they answer it.

Here are the questions:

Hi,

What have you guys done to show support for automated elections in the past?

What did you do in 2007 when people were calling on the Comelec for the immediate implementation of RA 9369’s pilot testing phase?

What did you do in 2008 when congress was deliberating on the automation of the ARMM polls?

What did you do in 2009 when congress was deliberating on the supplemental budget for automated elections?

Since automated elections is already a sure thing by now, are you going to enlist your organization in voter education?

Senate passes supplemental P11.3 Billion budget for 2010 Poll Automation

Has anyone thanked Senator Dick Gordon for passing the Amended Automation Law which made the passage of the 11.3 Billion supplemental budget for poll automation necessary?

As I was scanning on-line editions of Philippine newspapers, I came across an article titled "Kaya Natin! airs support for full poll automation".

It was apparently a declaration of support from a group headed by JESSE ROBREDO, mayor, Naga City; GRACE PADACA, governor, Isabela; EDDIE PANLILIO, governor, Pampanga; SONIA LORENZO, mayor, San Isidro, Nueva Ecija; Teodoro Baguilat, governor, Ifugao.

It declared:

"We, the founding leaders of Kaya Natin! A National Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership, fully support the Commission on Elections’ program for the full automation of the 2010 elections. We believe that the Filipinos’ right to elect our leaders is one of the main pillars of our democracy, thus we stand firm on our belief that this issue of fully automating the upcoming elections is very critical to our country’s future."

I am a bit flustered by this statement of Robredo, Padaca, Panlilio, Lorenzo, and Baguilat. I really don't know what their intent is but it seems THEY'RE COMING OUT WITH A STATEMENT OF SUPPORT A BIT TOO LATE.

Where were they when we were in the figurative trenches? Kung kelan tapos na ang boxing doon pa sila magpapahiwatig ng suporta? What for?!!

I feel I have a right to be slighted because I was with Senator Dick Gordon, Bagumbayan - Volunteers for a New Philippines, and other groups when we started pushing for poll automation.

It was a lonely and exhausting fight at the start when Senator Dick Gordon decided to take up the cause of poll automation in 2005.

I was working for a video production company when Gordon filed the bill that would later become RA 9369.

The full title of the law is "AN ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8436, ENTITLED "AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS TO USE AN AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM IN THE MAY 11, 1998 NATIONAL OR LOCAL ELECTIONS AND IN SUBSEQUENT NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTORAL EXERCISES, TO ENCOURAGE TRANSPARENCY, CREDIBILITY, FAIRNESS AND ACCURACY OF ELECTIONS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE BATAS PAMPANSA BLG. 881, AS AMEMDED, REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7166 AND OTHER RELATED ELECTIONS LAWS, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES"

I can only guess at what drove Gordon to file the bill which would later compel Comelec and the Arroyo Administration to fully automate the 2010 polls.

Perhaps it was the 'Hello Garci' controversy that drove him to find a solution to the wholesale cheating alleged in the Senate probe after the Garci tapes surfaced. The solution was to automate the elections and Gordon wasted no time in filing the bill.

For all the rancor against the wholesale manipulation of votes in 2004, you would think that a bill that would end whole sale cheating in the elections would sail through congress. It didn't.

At one point, during deliberations on the bill, a number of senators chose to hide inside the Senators' Lounge and effectively stalled the passage of the bill. Gordon had to break a few chairs just to get their attention and get them back in the session hall.

I started working with Senator Gordon when the bill finally passed into law on the eve of the 2007 elections. The problem now was that the Comelec already gave indications that it would not implement the pilot testing phase mandated by RA 9369.

When I began working for Gordon, I enlisted to be part of Bagumbayan - Volunteers for a New Philippines.

BAGUMBAYAN had long campaigned for credible elections through poll automation. It lobbied for the enactment and implementation of what is now known as RA 9369 or the Amended Automated Election Law. After the enactment of the law in December 2006, they demanded former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos to implement the pilot testing of automated polls during the 2007 elections.

When Abalos refused to implement the pilot testing phase of the Automated Elections System, BAGUMBAYAN convened with several other groups at the historic Club Filipino in January 2007. They signed a manifesto demanding the pilot testing of the automated polling system and they mounted a massive rally at the Head Office of the Comelec in Intramuros.

Gordon was with the people of Bagumbayan every step of the way.

In the succeeding days just before the 2007 elections, BAGUMBAYAN conducted a nationwide automated mock election to refute the claim that pilot testing in 6 provinces and 6 cities was not possible.

BAGUMBAYAN successfully conducted automated mock polls, bringing automated polling machines to 6 provinces and 6 cities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Around 1,800 students participated in the automated mock elections which were held at the Don Mariano Marcos University, Northern La Union Campus; Don Mariano Marcos University, Mid La Union Campus; University of Makati; Negros Maritime College in Dumaguete City; University of the Philippine Los Banos, Laguna; and Ateneo de Davao University, Davao City.

If it still means anything, thank you Dick Gordon at sa 2010 magkakaroon na rin tayo sa wakas ng mas malinis at mas mabilis na eleksyon.

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.

 

Solving Metro Manila traffic problems: Pedal power anyone?

Better Philippines poses this one question:

If I will be given a chance I will ask our candidates one simple question to test their creative thinking and to see if they really have what it takes to solve our country’s problems. My question will be: How do you plan to solve Metro Manila’s traffic problem?

Before we can even do away with the bane of most private motorists, which are jeeps and buses, we have to find alternative means of transportation for our people.

When fuel prices went beyond $100 per barrel last year and pump prices in the Philippines breached the P50.00 per liter level, Senator Richard Gordon began proposing a number of solutions that would not only reduce traffic but also help curb our country's demand for fossil fuels.

One solution, much to the staff's private consternation, was to get more people to use bicycles.

The kernel of the idea is, perhaps, if there are lesser vehicles on the road there will be lesser traffic.  Our streets will also be used more efficiently since more people can occupy the same space if they are on bicycles than if they are inside cars, jeeps, or buses.

I almost laughed because I suddenly remembered the story of Ariel Ureta (which he has already debunked) being made to bike around the CCP after he quipped, "Para sa pag-unlad ng bayan, bisikleta ang kailangan!" which spoofed one of Marcos' slogans.

Well, the idea ain't new but maybe it gained some currency again because of all the talk about global warming and climate change -- apart from the high price of gas and diesel.  More people using bicycles would reduce carbon emissions while slackening the demand for gas and diesel.

A bill was circulating in the US Congress for some time and it proposed incentives for people who ride bicycles to work.  In October last year, former President George Bush signed the Bicycle Commuter Benefits Act and the law provides:

The benefit -- up to $20 per month -- begins with the new year in 2009. Employers may reimburse employees, tax free, for "reasonable" expenses related to their bike commute, including equipment purchases, bike purchases, repairs, and storage if the bicycle is used as a "substantial part" of the commuter's trip to work for the month.

If the Philippine government would grant the same incentive, I am pretty sure a lot of Filipinos would risk the perils of riding a bike to work everyday for roughly a thousand pesos (the equivalent of $20) a month.  This, of course, is not to mention the amount of money they'll save from not having to pay fare.

Even without such an incentive, I think riding a bicycle to work already has a lot of benefits.

One benefit would perhaps be a healthier population because of the exercise this entails and also because less people will be using jeeps or Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs) that spew a lot of black smoke.  We'll all have a better chance of having healthier hearts and cleaner lungs.

If a lot of people who normally ride jeeps or buses to work begin using bicycles, there will also be a good reason to reduce the number PUVs on the road and this will lead to an improvement in traffic conditions because PUVs are often the cause of severe traffic congestion.

Then again, I tried imagining myself riding a bicycle to work and to tell you the truth, I couldn't.

Granting that bicycle lanes are created throughout the city and other safety measures are installed, riding a bicycle to work for me would entail a gruelling 20 kilometer round trip five days a week.  

And at this point, I haven't yet considered the amount of muscle I'd have to develop in order to push the pedal for two people.  This is because my wife will certainly insist on riding with me on the same bicycle because the place where she works is just 2 kilometers near my office.  And, add to this, I'd have to ride the bike up either the Quiapo Bridge, Ayala Bridge, or the Nagtahan Bridge -- all of which are kinda steep.

Apart from bicycle lanes, offices will have to install shower rooms and lockers.  Riding a bicycle to work in a tropical country will certainly entail a lot of sweating and who'd want to stay inside an airconditioned office where all the people smell of sour sweat?

(Next up, Hoofing it!)

Is there a Vision for a Better Philippines? (Part Two)

(Revised)

What is better?  Do we really know what is better or are we just priming ourselves up for an endless game of trumps-manship?

In the previous post I picked on Better Philippines for ribbing me for saying that it is important to present a vision of a better Philippines.  My contention being that it is as important to have an idea of a bigger picture as it is to paint the details.  His contention being that all so-called visions are basically the same and therefore, unimportant relative to the specific courses of action that candidates should put forward.

I think his point is much better expressed in "Reject those Motherhood Vision Statements" 

"Wouldn’t it be better if we, the voting public, judge our candidates for the specific solutions they plan to pursue to address our country’s problems? Wouldn’t it be wiser for us to hang our hopes on their clear-cut ideas rather than their general and sweeping statements? Wouldn’t we have a better chance of seeing real change in the near future by demanding real, doable courses of action from our candidates now?"

Just to illustrate the contrast in our opinions, let's take the Quezon City police shootout/summary execution last week.

Better Philippines came up suggestions which he believes are radical steps that may help improve the Philippine National Police..

1. Keep all police officers over the age of 40 away from field duty. Ask them to retire, dismiss them or assign them to office duties instead. Just keep them off the streets.
2. Replace the guns of police officers over the age of 40 with nightsticks or any other non-lethal weapon
   
3. Impose a higher educational requirement for would-be policemen
   
4. Require all police officers to undergo behavior modification.
   
5. Dismiss all discourteous and arrogant police officers.
   
6. Dismiss all police officers that have vices. Make having vices grounds for automatic dismissal
   
7. Require all police personnel to attend daily mass or any other equivalent religious ceremony
   

What does it all add up to?

You'd have a young police force on the streets with their older counterparts manning desks or pursuing alternative careers as personal security.  The younger police officers would have a higher level of education (and I would just assume that Better Philippines meant college educated or academy educated), have absolutely no vices, be courteous and respectful, regularly attend to religious rites, have regular visits to psychologists if needed, and carry a non-lethal weapons (which seems like an oxymoron, how can something non-lethal be considered a weapon?).

If reporters had cared to ask if this was being done, you would have heard the PNP Chief saying that these steps or actions are already in place.  Well, with the exceptions of:

• carrying non-lethal weapons

• policemen who are above 40 years old being taken out of field duty

Problem solved?  Do we then have a better Philippine National Police?  You tell me.

On the other hand, perhaps the Quezon City shootout is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg and is just among the many inter-related problems we have with law enforcement in this country.

Here is where Better Philippines and I differ:  Before looking at specific solutions, I'd want to look for a big picture or over-all idea for a better police organization.

What would a better Philippine National Police be like?

Perhaps, because we've had bad service from our police for as long as we can remember, we can no longer conceive of a better police organization.  Or can we?

Should we have more police patrolling our neighborhoods as well as busy areas in the city?  Should we demand that our police be able to arrive within 5 or 10 minutes when we call them on the phone for help? (I don't care too much about the old joke that says that as soon as a crime is committed in the Philippines, the police are there -- the punchline being that it is the police had actually committed the crime.)

Should we demand that our police be better trained in the proper way of apprehending criminals and also be more adept in gathering/preserving evidence?

Should they be better equipped?  Should they have non-lethal weapons as well as surveillance equipment, vehicles, computer systems, and what not?

Should we demand that the police in our area be subjected to rigorous performance evaluations?  Not only to test their knowledge and skills about their job but also to see their psychological fitness?

I'm sure there are other things we ought to look into, but the bottomline I guess is that it should all add up to this:

There ought to be a real reduction in crimes perpetrated and for the crimes that do get committed, there should be a certainty that the perpetrators will be caught.

That's the vision and that is the commitment we ought to demand from the PNP.  Of course, we'll need to ask them what they will need to do this and after that, we ought to pressure congress to enact a budget that will enable them to achieve their goals.

But supposing that we already gave the police everything that they said they needed to reduced crime and still nothing happens, what do we do next?

Perhaps, what we would need at this point is an effective way to make the Philippine National Police more accountable for not delivering on its commitment.

There is such a way and it is called the Peoples' Law Enforcement Board.

In the late 1980s, Dick Gordon (who was then still Mayor of Olongapo City) and Kate Gordon (who was then Congresswoman) sought and succeeded in incorporating the concept of a People's Law Enforcement Board (PLEB) in the PNP Law of 1991.  The PLEB's main function is to act  on civilian complaints against erring policemen and the establishment of PLEBs nationwide gives victims of police abuse and brutality a venue to seek redress.

The family and relatives of those slain in the Quezon City shootout/summar execution may make use of People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB) in Quezon City.

They can find it on the Ground Floor Legislative Wing of the Quezon City Hall.  They can look for Ms. Susan S. de Guzman, Executive Officer II or call 925-6045 local 257.  Other people that can be reached in Quezon City's PLEB are Mr. Jaime C. Bautista, Executive Officer I, whom you can call on 925-6045 local 257 or Mr. Renato DM. Recoco, Records Custodian for pending cases, 925-6045 local 257.

The Quezon City PLEB, as all PLEBs all over the country does, receives complaints; conducts investigations and hearings; decides on citizens’ complaints against erring PNP officers and members; and issues clearances to PNP officers and members.

 

Just how effective the Quezon City PLEB will be at addressing complaints against corrupt and abusive police will depend on how well citizens will use it or if they use it at all.  If the Quezon City PLEB is unresponsive or ineffective, complaints should be made to Mayor Sonny Belmonte.

Although the PLEB acts on complaints it receives, perhaps because of the QC shootout/summary execution, they can go out of their way and seek out the victims to ask if they have any intention of filing a complaint.

On another note, one wonders if anyone will use PLEBs to demand better performance from the Philippine National Police.