Category: 2010

mar roxas, way to go!

why was i surprised when mar called a press conference to make his important announcement?   certainly not because i wasn’t expecting him to give way if noynoy decided to run.   i guess what i wasn’t expecting was that mar would make the first move, now na!   and that noynoy would quickly follow, bukas na!   aba, biglang nagmamadali, bakit kaya.

not that it’s a bad idea, kung tatakbo din lang.   i won’t bore you with the heavenly signs (as above, so below), but any astrologer would tell you that it is infinitely better to start anything new this week rather than in the next three weeks.   so mar’s timing, wittingly or un-, is perfect, actually, and the decisiveness, as president of the liberalparty, is quite impressive.   kapanipaniwala na inuuna niya ang partido, sige na nga, ang bayan, kaysa sarili.   not bad atall.   he’s suddenly smelling real good.

i still think noynoy would do better if he finished his senate term first and then prepared to run in 2016 but yeah who knows, rising to the challenge now while the clamor is high could be right too, politically and historically.   at least it makes the campaign for 2010 interesting, even exciting.   no doubt we will be reminded of cory’s people-powered campaign in 1986 — no money, no media.    no doubt noynoy’s people will do even better, given access to media and the example of obama’s 2008 campaign.

but first let’s hope that other opposition presidentiables take the cue from mar and drop out too in favor of noynoy.   actually the only one i can’t see giving up, giving way, is manny villar of the nacionalista party.   so maybe at best it’s going to be a three-way race.   noynoy vs. villar vs. gma’s candidate.   puwede na rin.

unless of course villar and gma start running scared and decide to join forces.   that would be fun, and awesome.

not yet, noynoy

huwag ka sanang magpadala kay conrado de quiros o kay alex magno o kay bongbong marcos (strange bedfellows, eh?) na hinahamon kang tumakbo for president sa 2010, na para bang if you dont seize the day ay tipong you will miss the bus altogether.

i so disagree.   while it is true that you could win because of the ninoy-cory-kris connection, are you really ready?   the nation would expect great things of you.   the nation would expect you to be a president extraordinaire who would at the very least bring about a palpable improvement in the lives of millions of filipinos looking for jobs here at home and food on the table three times a day.   that won’t happen just because you aren’t a liar, a cheat, or a thief.

i agree with tony abaya, what we need is a forward-looking president, a truly revolutionary president, someone with the attributes and visions of lee kwan yew, mahathir mohamad and gen. park chung hee.

… it is someone who has the qualities of these three foreign leaders that the Philippines badly needs in order to overcome decades of consistently poor governance, restore our badly battered self esteem, and draw for us a credible vision of what we want our country to be.

We need someone like Lee Kwan Yew who was/is personally incorruptible and at the same time was/is so conversant with economics and international relations that he could speak ex-tempore and defend his policies before an assembly of multinational CEOs and diplomats and made/make solid sense, whether they agreed/agree with him or not.

In addition we need the strong sense of nationalism of Mahathir Mohamad who in the 1980s drew a vision – Malaysia Vision 2020, that sought and seeks to transform Malaysia into a fully industrialized country by the year 2020 – that he was able to convince the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-religious people of Malaysia to embrace as worthy of their national loyalty, beyond the narrow appeals of their tribes and ethnic groups. No mean feat, considering the catastrophic demise of equally multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious federal Yugoslavia in the 1990s that cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

Mahathir’s nationalism also expressed itself in his readiness to fearlessly fire back at other countries, other world leaders, as well as international agencies whenever he felt they were trampling on the national self-interests of Malaysia.

We also need the single-minded determination of Gen. Park Chung Hee to transform his impoverished, resource-poor and inconsequential Republic of Korea from 1961 to 1979 (when he was assassinated) into a fully industrialized country that is now one of the ten biggest economies in the world.

… this is what the Philippines needs, a leader who can start and lead a revolution, a peaceful one, as much as possible; a violent one, if necessary.

you could be that leader, noynoy.   given your parents, the history, the genes, the values, you, more than any other filipino, can do it, can be it.    but not without serious preparation for the role, which would mean learning not just from your mother’s successes but also from her mistakes — e.g., land reform, foreign debts, atbp. — and, most importantly, by being truly your father’s son not just in terms of his sacrifice but also of his political ideology.

when your father came home in ‘83 he had a program of action that he drafted while in exile in boston.   surely that program of action is worth looking into — other  than the dismantling of military rule, things haven’t changed much, except gotten worse, since the  80s — and hopefully, you will be up to the revolutionary challenges it poses.

forget de quiros and other hopeless romantics who urge you to run in 2010.   to do so, and to fail at non-violent revolution because you are not ready, would be the end of you.    in effect, you’d be neutralized, which would be a shame.

cheap meds – gma vs. mar

ano ba talaga?   kahapon ito ang balita:  Arroyo to sign cheap meds EO

MANILA, Philippines-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will finally sign next week the executive order placing a price ceiling on 22 essential drugs sold in the country.

Malacañang made the announcement Tuesday amid allegations that Pfizer Phil. had tried to bribe the President with some P100 million worth of discount cards for distribution to indigent patients around the country.

pero today iba na:  Palace backtracks on issuing cheap meds EO!

Malacañang on Wednesday said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would first take into account keeping foreign investors and ensuring public access to cheaper drugs before ordering a price ceiling for essential medicines.

“Theimplications for economic health go beyond just the issue of cheaper medicines at hand,” Gary Olivar, deputy presidential spokesperson, told reporters Wednesday.

The Palace was apparently backtracking on its tough position on Tuesday that Ms Arroyo was set to sign the executive order imposing maximum retail prices (MRP) by next week.

ano ba ‘yan?   what implications for “economic health”???    it won’t be healthy for the economy if the president signs the e.o. because it might drive away foreign investors, such as multinational drug companies who are making a killing, selling us meds at three times the price in other countries???    come on!   does she really think these drug companies will stop selling us their drugs if she signs the e.o.?    in the end, they will settle for a small cut in profits dahil hefty pa rin surely, than no profits at all.

so why really is gloria making urong-sulong when signing the e.o. would be very good if not for the books then for her public image and approval rating, lalo na’t swak ang timing for the SONA?   aha.   kung si ellen tordesillas ang tatanungin, it’s pure and simple inggit.   inggit si gloria kay senator mar roxas because roxas, who steered the law through congress, will get the credit for it and might even get elected president in 2010 because of it.

Ang ugat ng kontrobersya sa executive order na magpapatupad ng Maximum Retail Price (MRP) na nakasaad sa 2008 Cheaper Medicines Act ay inggit. Inggit ni Gloria Arroyo na makalamang si Senador Mar Roxas sa isyung ito.

Sabi ng isang source namin sa Malacañang inis raw si Arroyo na ang pipirmahan niyang executive order ay magagamit ni Roxas sa kanyang kampanya para presidente sa 2010. Kaya pinulong niya ang mga hepe ng pharmaceuticals nuong Hulyo 8 at sinabing ibaba nila ang presyon ng 50 na gamot para siya ang sikat at masasabi niya na mas magaling siya kasi 22 lang ang gamot na nasa listahan ng MRP.

Ang kapalit siyempre ng kooperasyon ng mga pharmaceutical firms ay hindi pipirmahan ang MRP.

hm, naisip ko rin yan, but not in terms of inggit, rather of just not doing the presidentiable senator any favors. i’m still hoping that gma would could be big enough to allow credit where credit is due, never mind the politics of it.   after all cheaper meds would mean more money to spend, more money going around, for other essential goods and services, which would be very good for the economy’s ever failing health di ba?

as for the criticism laid at mar roxas’ door that the power to implement the cheaper meds law should have been given not to the president but to a price regulatory board, hmm, i tend to agree with mar:

(mar) said it is difficult to pinpoint responsibility in a board that he predicted to be the dumping ground of “election losers and relatives of powerful politicians…”

sa totoo lang, i like it that the cheaper meds law puts the president on a spot.   it’s time she showed some real statesmanship.   something we can remember her fondly for, unlike the “hello garci” tapes, and the infamous if unfortunate boob job (ang dagdag ang dagdag)!

showdown 2010

grabe.   sa halip na mapaghandaan natin nang maayos ang 2010 elections, lalo tayong nagaaway-away over issues that could have been put off naman, sa totoo lang, until after we would have elected na a new president with a clear mandate.    manolo quezon is right, gma is Outflanking her enemies.

… we are seeing a dizzying number of possibilities raised, knocked down, revived, shelved, or what have you; the essentials, however, have been identified -primarily, an election in 2010- while everyone is still kept guessing, so that the resources of the enemy are dissipated while that of the administration is more cohesive; the military and police have been kept fat and well-groomed, the hierarchy remains divided, and everything is geared for resolution in the Supreme Court.

I know many people, both among her admirers and her critics, strongly believe the President’s bottom line is simple: she does not want to be disgraced by going to jail, and she wants to complete her term. I do believe that her stay in office has also convinced her that God put her in power to kick the country into shape. Therefore to be convinced of failure when it comes to the former, will only inspire her to pursue staying in power, as her self-preservation, to her mind, becomes a case of national survival, too.

So all options must remain on the table for the duration, if only to keep everyone guessing. It helps distract her leading opponents, but also, helps keep her supporters tractable.

and even if, in the end, gma gives  it up, and by some stroke of luck the opposition unites behind one presidential candidate, things can still go wrong in 2010.

JPE warns of chaos in 2010
Next president to find govt coffers empty
By Rhaydz B. Barcia, Manila Times Correspondent

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay: Failure of the computerized elections in 2010 would cause “chaos” but, if the polls succeeded, the winner would find the government coffers “empty,” Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said over the weekend.

“I would like to urge the people through the [people of Legazpi City] to be very, very careful in this coming election of the leaders who will handle the Philippines in 2010 and beyond,” he said.

“I would like to tell you that we’re facing a critical period in our history. The elections in 2010 are very critical because, for the first time in our political history, we are going to change the manner of [conducting the] elections,” Enrile added, referring to the fully automated polls next year. He spoke during a program here marking the 50th anniversary of the city.

Enrile expressed fears that the electronic voting could go haywire.

“We’re going to use machines to record and count the votes, [when in the past] we were using human beings or teachers,” he said. “What will happen if the machines break down? What do you think will happen to our country? This country will be in a total chaos, there will be no government or leaders, no soldiers, no policemen, no Supreme Court. What will happen to our country? It will be the rule of the strongest among us. I hope that will not happen.”

Empty coffers

Enrile added that the successor of President Gloria Arroyo would discover that the government was broke.

“If President Arroyo, an economist, a very intelligent woman and a very determined person [has been able to] run the government despite the opposition and the obstacles that have been placed before her [but still] could not manage the nation as we want it to be, how much more the next President [who] will be confronted with so many problems and [who will be expected to] unify a fragmented force? How could he or she do it when the country’s coffers are empty?” he said.

and he goes on:

“So, if we want clean governance, it should begin at the kitchen of Malacañang because one of the [problems] in the country is corruption and if you clean up your backyard, the rest [stamping out of the other problems] will follow,” Enrile added.

what does enrile mean?   that there is time to oust gma and her corrupt ways before 2010?   is he advocating extra-constitutional action a la EDSA?    is ping lacson’s call for civil disobedience, for a tax revolt, vs charter change a meaningless coincidence?   because in february ’86 it was cory’s civil disobedience campaign and economic boycott which coryistas took up that paved the way for EDSA.   is it possible that enrile and lacson are on the same page these days?   can honasan and lacson, former classmates, batchmates, pma ’71, finally be on the same page too?   nakakaintriga.

or is enrile just saying that we need to elect a president in 2010 who is without a taint of corruption?   but wait, here’s more from him, about drawing inspiration from the china experience.

According to him, China used to be the doormat of the world but later became an emerging superpower through the will of the government and the people.

Enrile said that the Chinese had told him that their determination and that of their leaders brought about a modern China free from domination of other countries. The same resolve, he added, could see China outshining the United States.

“I will tell you, in this decade [China] will overtake America. China will become the superpower of the world, because [it has] prepared [itself for that role],” Enrile said.

He allowed, though, that China’s ascendancy entailed economic and political costs. Still, Enrile said, the price the Chinese people paid went to “freedom.”

“True enough, [the Chinese] government is a little bit rigid compared to our government, and I’m not trying to say [that we] adapt the [Chinese] system but, nonetheless, we must work together as a people in order to bring progress and to make our country really free,” he added.

Enrile’s visit to Legazpi City coincided with celebrations there commemorating the 111th anniversary of the proclamation of independence.

He said that his wish for the occasion was to see the country attain economic freedom and freedom from poverty.

hmm.   will of the government and the people.   determination.   resolve.   progress.   freedom from poverty.   freedom from domination of other countries.   but with economic and political costs.   paying the price for “freedom” . . . . sounds like a political platform.   who’s the candidate kaya.   siya mismo?    sana hindi.

erap is right, there’s no hope of beating gma’s annointed in 2010 unless the opposition gets behind a single ticket.   maybe enrile can be a uniting force.    maybe the presidentiables will listen to him.   sana he can inspire them to rise above self-interests for the sake of the country.   sana together they can arrive at a consensus, agree on a platform and a ticket that would have a fighting chance against gma’s money and machinery.   then 2010 might be worth dying for.