Category: elections

last-minute blues

there must be another way of handling the comelec registration process.   alam naman natin na may last-minute mentality ang pinoy.   comelec should have expected, and prepared for, the swarm instead of saying, kayo kasi…   lalo na’t merong concessions made to the rich and famous, like satellite ek-eks in kris aquino‘s case, and good old palakasan as in manuel buencamino‘s.   these, while masses of ordinary pinoys without connections had to line up for hours to register, if they were able to at all.    paano ka naman matutuwa sa ganyang palakad.

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i can’t believe people are raving about the noynoy video hindi ka nag-iisa.   what’s so powerful about that torch-lit parade led by noynoy that went nowhere.   i’m like, they love this?   c’mon people, taas-taasan naman ang standards natin.   we already know na hindi siya nag-iisa.   tell us something new, let’s hear him talking platform.   hindi porke anak siya nina Ninoy at Cory ay okay na, siguradong he won’t lie, cheat, or steal.   that’s just too low a bar for a presidential candidate.   i need to hear how he’s going to address the problems of poverty, land reform, environment, education, foreign debt, chacha, atbp.   i will not take him, or anyone, on sheer faith.    i leave that to the pink sisters.

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ayon kay senador nene pimentel tuloy tuloy ang pag-benta ng gma administration ng government assets, tipong ‘midnight sale,’    mostly to raise money pampuno sa napakalaking budget  ng 2009 or puwede ring pangkampanya sa 2010.    whatever, hindi lang pala ang food terminal inc. sa taguig at ang government shares in san miguel corp. at pnoc energy exploration corp. ang ibinebenta.  pati pala the sprawling properties ng national center for mental health at ng welfareville sa mandaluyong, gayon din ng national penitentiary sa muntinlupa city at ng home for the aged sa quezon city, “in complete disregard of their importance in providing vital social government services.”   ano ba yan.   ubos ubos biyaya.   and then what.   pag naubos, nakatunganga.   there must be a smarter way of handling our resources.    let’s demand that presidentiables be honest, yes, but also creative and wise.

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.

noli, loren, manny & the RH bill

congress reconvening today.   sana matuloy ang promised testimony of scam & escape artist jocjoc bolante sa senado.  lalo pa, lalo na, sana matuloy ang long-delayed showdown on the reproductive health bill sa konggreso.

kung magkasabay, which one kaya will ANC air: bolante or RH?   sana pareho, one on ANC, the other on channel 2.  and if, by chance or circumstance, isa lang ang puwede i-cover, then let it be RH, parang awa niyo na.   i want to see, we need to see, the world needs to see, which congressmen and congresswomen dare defy the wishes of 7 of 10 filipinos who want, need, deserve, a reproductive health law like the rest of the civilized world.

dr. quasi romualdez, once doh secretary, counts heads in his malaya column:

In the House of Representatives, 114 members have signed up as sponsors of HB 5043 which mandates a government-supported reproductive health program that includes making available to the poor all the possible legal methods of family planning.

Given these numbers, opponents of the measure will likely resort to dilatory tactics that substitute parliamentary tricks for rational discussion.

Working in favor of these tactics is the fact that there are a number of legislative issues that will be competing for congressional attention during the six weeks that remain before the Christmas break.

Among these are agrarian reform extension and the impeachment complaint filed recently. Proponents of HB 5043 are confident however that when it comes to a vote, the RH bill will finally pass.

If the House approves the measure, the situation in the Senate appears to be similar in the sense that the minority members who oppose RH legislation will use all sorts of parliamentary tricks.

By their past statements and recent actuations, advocates of the bill count 14 senators: Angara, Biazon, Pia Cayetano, Enrile, Escudero, Estrada, Gordon, Honasan, Lacson, Madrigal, Pangilinan, Revilla, Santiago, and Zubiri.

Senators Aquino, Arroyo, Alan Cayetano, Legarda, Roxas, and Trillanes are listed as undecided. It is noteworthy that of these six senators, two (Legarda and Roxas) are among those invariably included in surveys for presidentiables, indicating the possibility that Church power may be a consideration in some senators’ decision. The neutral position of Senator Arroyo is noteworthy only becausehe is the only one among the six identified with the administration.

Listed as opposed to reproductive health legislation are Senators Lapid, Pimentel, and Villar. Senator Lapid’s position is clear – he opposes the measure because he perceives Malacañang to be against it. Senator Pimentel’s opposition to any population management or family planning proposals has been consistent for many years – he has always supported the position of the Roman Catholic Church on this issue.

Senate President Villar’s position that is somewhat of a mystery.

As a presidentiable who seems to be sympathetic to the plight of the poor Filipino majority, Senator Villar, more than the other aspirants for higher office, might have been expected to support what is clearly pro-poor legislation. After all, the proposed law is designed to help those who cannot now afford them to use the family planning methods of their choice in order to fulfill their responsible parenthood obligations.

Here again, the factor of Church power in national politics may again be a decisive influence. There are unconfirmed reports that the Senate President has promised a Catholic bishop that he would block reproductive health proposals. Advocates hope that this is just a rumor and that Mr. Villar, just like his political rivals, will in the end decide on the basis the people’s interest rather than political expediency.”

how dismaying that loren legarda, no. 2 presidentiable in the latest SWS survey, is undecided.  and manny villar, no. 3, is unequivocally committedly anti-RH pala.  alam kaya ito ng 7 out of 10 pinoys who want an RH law?   iboto kaya nilang pangulo sa 2010 ang isang indecisive, ehe, undecided?   iboto kaya nilang pangulo sa 2010 ang isang anti-RH/anti-women?  eh si no.1 presidentiable noli de castro kaya — malamang whatever gloria wants, noli wants, ‘no?

suddenly i’m not sure the RH bill is coming to a vote soon.  maybe not until there’s a public outcry for an end to the debates and other delaying tactics.   i hope i’m wrong.

hallelujah america

gave me goose pimples, brought tears to my eyes, the sight and sound and substance of black and beautiful barack’s first speech as president-elect of the united states of america.  what a man.  what a feat.  what a winner.  i am so awed by his audacity and so excited by the change he promises — hopefully, somehow, at the very least, deep-seated change that would narrow the gap between the rich and the poor of america, and which could become the template for monkey-see-monkey-do “democracies” like ours.