Thread For Our Next National Administration

[hubag bohol]

But Escudero? He stood by Joseph Estrada throughout the revelations of the latter’s corruption and perfidy as president. True, he railed against the venality of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but his selective campaign proves that when it comes to basic good governance, he can overlook the monumental faults of a patron and ally and take up the anticorruption mantle only when it’s convenient to do so.

The man is a politician’s politician, apparently cold-blooded and ruthless in pursuit of his interests. After Estrada’s ouster, he was among a cabal of young congressmen who engineered the near-impeachment of then Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. on the feeblest of grounds. In the 2010 presidential election, he initially declared support for the Aquino-Roxas tandem but eventually campaigned for Binay as VP. He has been credited for Binay’s upset win. Now he and Binay are no longer on good terms, because he has once again jumped fences and latched on to someone who has made a dent in the public consciousness.

Clearly, Escudero has no rivals...










Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[hubag bohol]

...and he is well on the way to a lifelong romance.







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[islander]

Mar-Leni tandem to be announced Monday—LP stalwarts

By: Aries Joseph Hegina
INQUIRER.net
October 4th, 2015


Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo and Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas. MARK ALVIC ESPLANA/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON FILE PHOTO

Liberal Party (LP) solons have confirmed that Camarines Sur Representative Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo is the administration party’s vice presidential bet in the 2016 elections.

In separate text messages, LP Vice Chair and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Laguna Representative Dan Fernandez said that the announcement of Robredo’s vice presidential bid will take place on Monday at Club Filipino in San Juan City.

“I think that is our agenda–to proclaim her (Robredo) as our vice presidential candidate,” Belmonte said.

Fernandez said that the announcement of Robredo’s vice presidential bid is “a sure thing.”

“Tomorrow, the LP will introduce Congresswoman Robredo as the administration vice presidential candidate. That is a sure thing to happen,” Fernandez said.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Along with the announcement for Robredo’s VP bid, LP is also expected to reveal its senatorial lineup on Monday.

LP was supposed to announce its vice presidential candidate and senatorial lineup last Sept. 30 but moved the announcement to Monday.

In the LP’s National Directorate and National Executive Council (NECO) convention which was presided by party chair President Benigno Aquino III last Sept. 30, it was officially announced that former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II will be its presidential candidate.

Robredo has remained mum on her plans for the 2016 elections, asking the ruling party for some time to accept or decline its offer. She even sought guidance and prayers from Archdiocese of Nueva Caceres Archbishop Most Rev. Rolando Tirona, the Missionaries of Charity and supporters last week.

Roxas asked Robredo to be his running mate after Senator Grace Poe, who was eyed as Roxas’ partner, announced her presidential bid last September 16. JE

newsinfo.inquirer.net/

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

great.  civil society had endorsed her since august.  so did solita monsod earlier.  i trust these two institutions.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

the other vp candidates--escudero, cayetano, trillanes, and possibly marcos junior--are plain ambitious, thus unfortunately giving the impression as moral lightweights.  by all indications, they may just be despite efforts at putting on a show to the contrary.

too bad they also give the impression that they are 'volunteering' themselves as runningmates instead of being 'asked'.   

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Leni Robredo makes bid for VP

By: Julliane Love De Jesus
INQUIRER.net
11:30 AM October 5th, 2015


PHOTO by JULLIANE DE JESUS/INQUIRER.net

Now it can be finally said–it’s going to be a “Mar-Leni” tandem in 2016.


Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/727962/leni-robredo-announces-vice-presidential-bid-in-2016-elections-under-liberal-party#ixzz3nfF4UAy8

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

looks like we now have the most trustworthy and untainted veep runner.  forward, philippines!

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

and without a tinge of the imperial arrogance of the other vice presidential candidates who talk and strut like they have a sense of entitlement.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[hubag bohol]

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

decent.  credible.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[hubag bohol]

Kini diay?







Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

lisod saligan, morpa.  so far, my pedestrian predictions have hit right, kanyahay ra medyo bilib si banana republic.  years ago, i voted for salonga in keeping with the banana republic's 'philosophy' of voting for candidates we believe in but are not necessarily on a winning streak.  (we voted differently because we believed differently, thus.) but i said then that ramos will make it and he will be the right man for the moment.  i don't think i was wrong there.

just now, a marcos on top or nearest the top just might be an insult to the post-war to martial law babies generation (aka baby boomers, those born from 1942-1964 or thereabouts).

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

we are a great enough country for being very forgiving---some countries may call it idiotic (well, the marcoses are very much around, being voted into public office again and again for good measure while those of similar family histories in other countries have been executed, e.g., romania, libya, iraq, among others)---but to put them back on either of the top 2 posts of the land is tantamount to an insult to the martial law generation who happens to be parents now of generation x-ers and millenials.  who can say if some would take it like denying that we have no parents and grandparents who fought and died in world war 2.

it would be well to just let them enjoy their stolen wealth (as if we have a choice here; marcos is ranked #2 in world kleptocracy, but he's credited for being the reason behind the appearance and popularization of this word in global lingo).  just don't let them dance on the graves of those who have directly suffered the dark years of marcos dictatorship.   

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

which could be the reason why binay chose not to take bongbong as his runningmate, who knows?  binay was one of those leading lights in the fight against dictatorship.  too bad he himself has taken on the ability to amass unexplained wealth. anyhow, a partnership of convenience with bongbong may prove too toxic for him, and he's no fool.

yet in one news item bongbong had said that he refused binay's offer to take him as a runningmate. strange bedfellows?

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

yet a BI-HON (binay-honasan) tandem now is quite a joke.  guisado, anyone?

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

In a preview of his approach toward China if elected president, Vice President Jejomar Binay stressed China's economic might as he pushed for bilateral talks between Manila and Beijing over the disputed South China Sea.

"May pera po ang China, kailangan po natin ng kapital (China has money, we need capital)," Binay said in an interview on Saturday, April 12, over the radio station DZYM in Catarman, Northern Samar. (excerpt from Rappler, more at http://www.rappler.com/nation/89880-binay-china-philippines-south-china-sea)

aaargh! bilateral? doesn't he know why it's impossible for the philippines to hold bilateral talks with china over this issue because CHINA DEMANDS THAT THE PRE-CONDITION FOR BILATERAL TALKS IS FOR THE PHILIPPINES TO ACCEPT FIRST THAT IT IS CHINA THAT OWNS THE WHOLE SEA as shown by its controversial nine-dash line?

his statement sounds like he's courting china. it is cause for fear.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

EDITORIAL

Not Jesse

Philippine Daily Inquirer
October 7th, 2015

Rep. Leni Robredo—the subject of the longest political courtship in Philippine history, according to an irrepressible Sen. Ralph Recto—needed to meet four objectives in her acceptance speech, as the vice presidential candidate of the Mar-Roxas-led Liberal Party coalition.

Speaking on Monday in the same storied members’ club where Corazon Aquino took her oath of office as president in 1986, Robredo needed to bring to the occasion the right, becoming, sense of history.

Speaking in the same hall where Benigno Aquino III announced his presidential candidacy as standard-bearer of the rejuvenated Liberals in 2009, she needed to make a compelling case for party and program continuity.



Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Speaking in the same venue where Roxas made a political sacrifice and gave way to Aquino’s candidacy in 2009, she needed to explain, simply and convincingly, why she was reluctant to accept the summons to run for higher office, and why, despite that, she was nevertheless accepting the challenge to serve as Roxas’ running mate.

And speaking in the same Club Filipino which had served as stage or backdrop to historical personalities, she needed to introduce herself to the country, not simply as the valiant widow of Jesse Robredo, but as a person, a political leader, in her own right.

Judging from public reaction, she met all four objectives with great success.



Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

The first she did simply by being herself: A woman unused to the national spotlight, an obvious bundle of nerves. She knew she could not take the decision to run for higher office lightly, and showed it in her demeanor: Calm but tense, her handkerchief in constant use. But how refreshing it was to see a politician not swaggering with unearned confidence but entirely self-aware about her limitations. (There was also a neat touch later in the speech, when she pointed out that she had decided to run for Congress exactly three years to the day.)

She met the second objective by talking often and plainly about President Aquino’s brand of governance (at one point, she spoke of a “Golden Age”—something that critics of the Aquino administration will have a field day with, but also something that many reform-minded members of the administration must have thought among themselves but had not yet articulated). She also spoke about Roxas’ friendship with her husband, the popular mayor of Naga City and Aquino’s first interior secretary, who perished in a plane crash. She tied the two strands together with a simple declaration: “Malinaw po sa akin na si Secretary Mar Roxas ang magpapatuloy sa daang matuwid na sinimulan ng administrasyon ng ating mahal na Pangulo” (It is clear to me that Secretary Mar Roxas is the one to continue the straight path started by the administration of our beloved President).

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

She met the third objective by acknowledging her reservations from her first sentence. “Dumating na po ang araw na sinusubukan naming mag-iina na harapin nang buong tapang” (The day I and my daughters have tried to face with full courage—that day has come). She spoke about her initial response to the news that she was being considered for the position: “Bakit ako? Sa dinami-dami ng puwedeng pagpilian, bakit ako pa?” (Why me? Of the many possible choices, why me of all people?) She addressed her daughters, whose lives will be, as Roxas said in his introduction, “put on hold,” with words of gratitude and assurance.


Leni Robredo Caught Using Backdoor Entrance to Escape SONA Red Carpet - RachFeed

And then she introduced herself: She was not merely Jesse’s devoted wife and firm supporter. With his help, she had achieved her childhood dream, of becoming a lawyer like her father, by studying at night while working during the day. And when she passed the bar, she chose the more difficult path: “Noon pong nakamit ko ang matagal ko nang minimithi, ipinangako ko po sa aking sarili na gagamitin ko sa tama ang ipinagkaloob sa akin” (When I reached my lifelong goal, I promised myself that I would use what was given to me the right way). To this end, she said, she served first in the Public Attorney’s Office, providing legal counsel to those who could not afford it. And then she joined an alternative lawyers’ group, in which capacity she was able to work with “farmers, fishermen, workers, the urban poor, women, youth, indigenous people.”

It was an introduction that made people, even those looking cynically at campaign politics, sit up and take notice. “Hindi po ako si Jesse,” she said at one point. I am not Jesse. She must have meant it as a disclaimer, but it came across as a simple, subtle affirmation: I am my own person.

opinion.inquirer.net/

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

She met the third objective by acknowledging her reservations from her first sentence. “Dumating na po ang araw na sinusubukan naming mag-iina na harapin nang buong tapang” (The day I and my daughters have tried to face with full courage—that day has come). She spoke about her initial response to the news that she was being considered for the position: “Bakit ako? Sa dinami-dami ng puwedeng pagpilian, bakit ako pa?” (Why me? Of the many possible choices, why me of all people?) She addressed her daughters, whose lives will be, as Roxas said in his introduction, “put on hold,” with words of gratitude and assurance.


Leni Robredo Caught Using Backdoor Entrance to Escape SONA Red Carpet - RachFeed

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

And then she introduced herself: She was not merely Jesse’s devoted wife and firm supporter. With his help, she had achieved her childhood dream, of becoming a lawyer like her father, by studying at night while working during the day. And when she passed the bar, she chose the more difficult path: “Noon pong nakamit ko ang matagal ko nang minimithi, ipinangako ko po sa aking sarili na gagamitin ko sa tama ang ipinagkaloob sa akin” (When I reached my lifelong goal, I promised myself that I would use what was given to me the right way). To this end, she said, she served first in the Public Attorney’s Office, providing legal counsel to those who could not afford it. And then she joined an alternative lawyers’ group, in which capacity she was able to work with “farmers, fishermen, workers, the urban poor, women, youth, indigenous people.”

It was an introduction that made people, even those looking cynically at campaign politics, sit up and take notice. “Hindi po ako si Jesse,” she said at one point. I am not Jesse. She must have meant it as a disclaimer, but it came across as a simple, subtle affirmation: I am my own person.

opinion.inquirer.net/

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[hubag bohol]

yet a BI-HON (binay-honasan) tandem now is quite a joke.  guisado, anyone?

Binay-Honasan tandem a big disappointment
Oct 5
by quierosaber
 




After so many rejections suffered by Vice President Jejomar Binay in his desperate attempt wooing politicians to become his running mate, he finally was able to convince Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan to accept the offer.

It took a second pass though because on the first proposal Honasan described the tandem of Bi-Hon or Bin-Go (for Binay-Gringo) as a painful joke, which is another phrase for a sick joke, saying, that it won’t fly.

According to Honasan, it was the pressure coming from the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) more than Binay’s jawboning that made him succumbed to run as the party’s vice presidential candidate.

Needless to say that, like Binay, UNA itself was desperate in finding an able supporter outside the realm of the party who could help excite and improve the sagging image of Binay, that it had no other recourse but to nominate an insider, Honasan.

What can Honasan really crow about his performance and accomplishments as a politician, and even as a soldier, that would make people agog and hopeful of the Bi-Hon tandem?

We are all aware that Honasan was a former renegade soldier who led a number of aborted coups against the presidency of Cory Aquino. His reasons then for launching the rebellion was that under Cory, graft and corruption had increased, political family dynasties have gained power, the communist insurgents have been allowed to expand their activities through legal front groups and the president “adopted measures that tended or were intended to widen the rift between the military and civil government.”

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[hubag bohol]

If only an older Honasan had held on to the ideals the younger Honasan had when he was in the military, it would have made an impact and a big difference in his decision now to run as Binay’s vice presidential candidate.

But look what has happened.

While the administration of Cory’s son, President Benigno Aquino (PNoy), is doing everything to run the country the way Honasan sees fit, what does the latter do?

Honasan has not only agreed to run in tandem with Binay, but he is also supporting a presidential candidate who has been accused of corrupt practices and who, to this day, has not proven himself clean and beyond doubt. What is even worse is that Honasan is embracing the despicable family dynasty of the Binays.

Now if this is not Honasan’s highest point of hypocrisy, I don’t know what is.

During the turbulent years of the Cory presidency, Honasan, sporting a long hair, was more known for his Rambo-style notoriety, after John Rambo, a troubled Vietnam War veteran and former US Army Special Forces soldier skilled in many aspects of survival, weaponry, hand-to-hand combat and guerilla warfare.

Ironically, during those same tumultuous years, the diminutive Binay, then an avid supporter of Cory, was seen clad in Army fatigues and lugging an Uzi submachine pistol ready to defend and die for PNoy’s mother from coup plotters. This attire and gallantry earned Binay the sobriquet “Rambotito” or Little Rambo.

Rambo and Rambotito on different sides during those days was a big joke.

Together today, they are a big disappointment.


https://quierosaber.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/binay-honasan-tandem-a-big-disappointment/

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

rambo:





rambotito:





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[islander]

binay family then:



binay dynasty now:





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[Brownman]

I don't want to elect a corrupt officials, sobra na sila, baga kaayo ang mga nawung...

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

throwback 2012; wish there are more of them.


Oddball election candidates

(excerpts from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/)

‘Why not try us?’

Brillantes and Commissioners Rene Sarmiento, Grace Padaca, Lucenito Tagle and Armando Velasco patiently posed questions to the hopefuls during the marathon hearing.

Seventeen aspirants out of a total of 43 that were scheduled to appear Thursday failed to show up. Brillantes said the aspirants would be considered nuisance candidates—and, therefore, eliminated—unless they could convincingly explain their absence.

Brillantes repeatedly asked the aspirants if they were happy with the performance of the Senate.

“Aren’t you happy with Senator (Lito) Lapid?” Brillantes asked aspirant Elizabeth Capular, a nurse.

Capular said she was satisfied with Lapid but added: “Let new ones participate. Why not try us?”

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Apology to Portugal

Among those who showed up was Orlando Suerte, who said he was an employee of the Land Transportation Office conducting seminars for future drivers.

“We should write a letter of apology to the people of Portugal for the death of Magellan,” Suerte said—referring to the 16th-century Portuguese explorer—when asked about his platform.

He also wanted to change the date of Philippine Independence Day and change the Spanish-sounding surnames of Filipinos, which have “negative meanings.”

“Surnames like Estupido or Microbio. Generations of Filipinos shouldn’t suffer under those surnames,” said Suerte, whose name means “lucky” in Spanish.

Brillantes joked: “Maybe you also want to ban ‘Malas (unlucky)’ or change these surnames to Filipino, like Puno (tree) … or Sanga (branch), Ugat (root), or Dahon (leaf).”

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

White House link

Retiree Eduardo Fernandez all but went down on his knees to beg the Comelec to allow him to run for the Senate.

“I have an online (connection) to the White House. I’ve e-mailed President Obama to ask that we become a US state, like Hawaii or (the US territory) Puerto Rico,” Fernandez said.

Brillantes replied: “I’d pity President Obama if we become a state. We’re too many.”

But Fernandez said he wanted his grandchildren to have a better life, adding the Philippines was going nowhere because of graft and corruption.

“If I have to kneel, I would, just so I can push for our US statehood … Thank you, Your Excellency,” he said.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Going back home

Brillantes corrected him and said Comelec commissioners preferred to be addressed “Your Honor” rather than “Your Excellency” because “the number of Presidents here might suddenly increase.”

“But that’s just right for you because your hair is so white,” Fernandez said and, eliciting laughter, added unexplainably: “Kami papunta pa lang, kayo pauwi na (We are just moving on while you are on your way back home).”

Brillantes replied in jest that he didn’t want to be going home yet.

Each candidate spoke for six minutes on average with the commissioners questioning them on their political views, background and capability to wage a senatorial campaign across the country.


white-haired comelec chairman sixto brillantes jr. ain't goin' home yet

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[islander]

‘Enrile overstaying’

While the aspirants presented different platforms, they were united in saying that the Senate badly needed new blood.

“Why have elections if we’re going to see the same old faces?” asked Daniel Magtira, the self-proclaimed husband of Kris Aquino, eliciting applause from those present.

He wore a bow tie with a pin that read: “Sen. Magtira.”



Arsenio Dimaya, a native of Cagayan who promised to supply Filipinos with vegetables if elected, said he wouldn’t mind winning the Senate presidency.

“You’re also from Cagayan, like the Senate President (Juan Ponce Enrile) … Aren’t you afraid about replacing him?” Brillantes asked.

“There has been so little change in the Senate. (Enrile) is already overstaying,” Dimaya replied.

Someone from the gallery shouted: “Give others a chance!”


Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/291646/comelec-hears-out-kris-hubby-25-other-oddballs#ixzz3oLRNiBhU
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

EDITORIAL

Instructive picture

Philippine Daily Inquirer
October 13th, 2015

THAT THE Philippines is the land of the strange and the surreal—of women who give birth to fish and lawmakers who propose laws to ban typhoons—is once again reaffirmed with that truly remarkable picture of Sen. Bongbong Marcos joined onstage by former president and now Manila Mayor Erap Estrada, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, and his mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos, as they endorse his bid for the vice presidency in the 2016 polls.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

The truly discerning would have heard some odd cosmic noises rising to the surface when that picture first began making the rounds of social media—first, the snickering of the rest of the world at the incredulous spectacle of the family that, not too long ago, ran the Philippines to the ground being allowed to make a comeback of any sort on the political stage, and apparently without having to bat a single remorseful eyelash; and, second, the mass disruption that must have occurred underground as Ninoy Aquino, Jose Diokno, Edgar Jopson and some 30,000 other victims of the Marcoses’ martial law collectively turned in their grave and gnashed their teeth at the sight.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

The sheer breadth of the plunder, corruption and official wrongdoing represented on that stage by the assembled foursome would appear to have no equal in the world’s annals. There, first of all, are the Marcos mother and son, heirs to an estimated $10 billion of illegal wealth looted from the treasury of the Philippines, which they have continued to flaunt with their high living and repeated runs for office, but for which they have, time and again, refused to apologize. Imelda herself has claimed that a raft of local business institutions from Meralco to PLDT to virtually whole industries of the economy are hers and her family’s; but she has yet to stay a day in prison for such willful, on-record admissions of unexplained wealth.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

The Marcos son, meanwhile, has invariably feigned ignorance about the excesses of his father’s rule, denying not only the documented deaths and/or disappearances of tens of thousands of people who were cut down by Marcos’ military machine—in 1999, he even called them greedy and only after the money (“Basta’t  may  pag-asang  magkapera,  nagaaway-away  na  sila,” as he put it)—but also the billions stashed in Swiss bank accounts in his parents’ names. But, as Raissa Robles had reported in the South China Morning Post in 2011, Bongbong “had a direct hand in trying to withdraw $200 million from a secret family bank account with Credit Suisse in Switzerland.”

Which means the son’s protestations of cluelessness are hogwash. He remains committed not only to perpetuating the whitewash of the dark, violent chapter his father had visited on the country, but, more sleazily, he has no compunction wallowing in the money his family had robbed from the Filipino people, whom he now thinks are dense and bovine enough to forget—so soon—the crimes associated with his surname, and thereby make him their VP.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

There’s Erap, too, raising Bongbong’s right hand—the first president impeached from office and convicted of plunder, who should have been expiating in prison for his crookedness while in Malacañang but for the Machiavellian pardon granted him by another widely perceived corrupt president.

And there was, wonder of wonders, Juan Ponce Enrile by Bongbong’s left side, the man who had instigated the rebellion leading to the People Power Revolt that would drive the Marcos family, his former bosses, out of the country. But that’s getting ahead of the story. Enrile was also the defense minister reported to have faked his own ambush to give Marcos another pretext for declaring martial law. Enrile was among the Marcos cronies seen to have amassed extensive hidden wealth, but, unlike them, he could switch sides at opportune moments to ensure that he survived.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

And so he has—even now, just recently getting eight Supreme Court justices to release him from incarceration on plunder charges because he is supposedly too old and too sick to be in prison. A joke, of course—he marched back to the Senate upon release, and is now back not only on the campaign hustings, but also in the bosom of the Marcoses.

Everything you need to know about our greatest fault as a people is in that picture—principally, our inability to be angry for long at wrongdoing and wrongdoers, and to levy justice on them so that others of the same stripe would know that crime does not pay. That picture is an indictment of Marcos et al.’s sense of impunity—and of our own hand in enabling them.

opinion.inquirer.net/

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

The sheer breadth of the plunder, corruption and official wrongdoing represented on that stage by the assembled foursome would appear to have no equal in the world’s annals.

doing the math; alleged amount of plunder:

Ferdinand Marcos - at least $10 billion by 1986, equivalent to about $21.6 billion in 2014 dollars*

Joseph Estrada - $78 million to $80 million**

Juan Ponce Enrile - P172.8 million


*ranked world's no. 2 in order of amount stolen
**ranked world's no. 10
- 2004, the German anti-corruption NGO Transparency International, 2004
wikipedia

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[islander]

Young Bongbong... out of touch?

more at RETURN THE ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH FIRST, BONGBONG (#SAANGALINGANGPERAMO)
Posted by Joe America on October 10, 2015
http://joeam.com/2015/10/10/return-the-ill-gotten-wealth-first-bongbong-saangalingangperamo/

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[islander]

Duterte and Cayetano


by Jojo Robles
October 16, 2015

The question is important: Now that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is not running for President, who will step up and make Senator Alan Peter Cayetano a foundling by adopting him?

But before that, let’s talk about Duterte, the little engine from Davao that couldn’t make it all the way to Malacañang. And yes, I know I predicted that the mayor would run, an idea that appealed to so many people who wanted to see Duterte take his brand of hands-on, no-nonsense governance to the biggest stage of all—the presidential palace.

But as people close to the mayor have repeatedly told me (and the rest of the country, really), no one can force Duterte to do something he doesn’t want to do. And when Duterte declared yesterday that he would run for reelection instead of the presidency, he proved that he was not going to be stampeded into going for the highest office in the land, if he didn’t really want to do that.

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[islander]

I’m sure Duterte truly agonized about running, never mind if he sounded like he never seriously entertained the idea when he filed his certificate for reelection to the mayorship. And I’m convinced that whatever made him finally decide not to run (whether it was his family, his age, his health, his lack of funding or whatever else) is something that only Duterte will really know for certain.

As for me, all I know for sure is that the Davao City mayor could have been a real contender and—if he had won—a true agent of change. Anyone with Duterte’s track record of effective, law-and-order governance and with his promise of refocusing economic growth to the neglected provinces will appeal to people who feel helpless against corruption and crime and left behind by the administrators of Imperial Manila.

I know that some people are still holding out the hope that Duterte will change his mind today, the last day of filing of certificates of candidacy, and declare for the presidency. But at this point, that would probably do him more harm than good, making him appear wishy-washy, something that, I’m told by his closest friends, is farthest from the truth.

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[islander]

In the end, we will never know what the non-candidate Duterte, who stirred up the sort of enthusiasm that I have never seen before (and probably never will again) for someone so reluctant to run, could have accomplished if he had become President. And maybe that’s all for the best.

* * *

But what about Cayetano, the man who would be Duterte’s running mate? What’s the senator to do, now that the star he wanted so desperately to hitch his wagon to didn’t even come close to hitching distance?

Cayetano’s quest for the vice presidency is all but dead in the murky water of the Laguna Bay in his hometown of Taguig. And Cayetano’s naked attempts to convince Duterte to run, so that the mayor may be pressed into service as the senator’s stepping stone to higher office, has exposed him as the worst kind of political opportunist—a class of politician that we certainly don’t need any more representatives of.

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[islander]

If the 2016 elections were a game of musical chairs, Cayetano has been eliminated, since everyone seeking the second-highest office in the land has already found a seat when the music stopped. After all, Senator Bongbong Marcos has found Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and Senator Antonio Trillanes has latched onto Senator Grace Poe—never mind if Poe already hooked up a long time ago with Senator Chiz Escudero.

(I remain convinced that Trillanes is only running because he needs to be able to attack Vice President Jejomar Binay during the campaign period, and not because he seriously wants to be Vice President. Trillanes’ reason for being in the past year or so has been only to attack Binay, whatever his real motivation is for doing so.)

Cayetano has not filed a certificate seeking to become Vice President, of course. But perhaps Cayetano should, even now that Duterte has withdrawn from the race, just so he doesn’t embarrass himself.

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[islander]

But then, I’ve always believed that Cayetano doesn’t really care if he looks like a turncoat, as long as he is able to pursue his personal political ambitions. This is a man, after all, who demanded that then-candidate Noynoy Aquino present proof that he is not, in fact, mentally incapable of seeking the presidency in 2010; and then, after Aquino won, Cayetano became one of the staunchest allies of the administration.

Early this year, after the Mamasapano massacre happened, Cayetano again became a critic of the government, as if he could find nothing good that Aquino and his people had done to save the SAF 44. And when the administration Liberal Party began looking for a running mate for Secretary Mar Roxas, Cayetano offered his services, eliciting knowing smiles from those involved in the search.

Cayetano, it should be clear by now, is only for Cayetano. And if no one will adopt him, given his record of opportunism, perhaps he should just adopt himself.

thestandard.com.ph/

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[islander]

The luck of Bongbong Marcos

By: Edilberto C. de Jesus
Philippine Daily Inquirer
October 17th, 2015

“I am the luckiest person that I know and being a Marcos is part of that and I am very happy that I was born into the Marcos family,” said Bongbong Marcos.

Obvious ba? Did Bongbong really have to rub this in?

When he was born in 1957, his father, Ferdinand Marcos, was already completing a third term in Congress. Two years later, Ferdinand won a seat in the Senate, from where he launched two successful presidential campaigns. Faced with term limits, he then imposed a martial law regime that enabled him to retain supreme power for another 14 years. There were few disadvantages for the only son of the Philippines’ most powerful politician.

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[islander]

It was not Bongbong’s fault to be born to wealth and power, and it is an act of virtue to express gratitude for the benefits received from parents. But his filial piety becomes suspect when he suggests that the blessings he enjoyed also spread to the rest of the population. It becomes delusional when he asserts that Ferdinand was the best leader the country has ever had.

Bongbong is aware of the issues raised in the past against the “conjugal dictatorship” of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. He argues that “history should be left to analysts,” but believes that the Marcos “legacy” would boost his bid in the 2016 vice-presidential race. Bongbong and his family refuse to recognize that the “analysts” have already rendered a verdict on the Marcos legacy.

Take the myth of Maharlika, the guerrilla unit that Ferdinand supposedly organized and led from 1942 to 1944 in operations all over Luzon, whose exploits earned for him 32 medals for heroism. There is adequate documentation for three medals, which we should commend. But the other awards, from Alfred W. McCoy’s archival research, were figments of Ferdinand’s imagination, invented to support a scam. Investigations conducted by the Pentagon concluded that his Maharlika unit roster was a fabrication to support claims for American back-pay benefits. Its proclaimed achievements were “fraudulent,” “preposterous,” and advancing them is a “malicious, criminal act.”

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[islander]

On human rights violations during the Marcos regime, McCoy recorded a figure of 3,257 extrajudicial killings—compared to 2,115 under Pinochet in Chile and 266 under the military junta in Brazil—and over 2,500 “salvaged” victims. In September 1992, the US District Court in Honolulu found Ferdinand Marcos guilty of systematic torture and held his estate liable for damages to all 9,541 victims, later awarding nearly $2 billion in damages—the biggest personal injury verdict then in legal history.

Regarding plundered wealth, the 2004 Global Transparency Report listed Marcos second (behind Suharto of Indonesia) in its list of the World’s Most Corrupt Leaders. Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, often cited as a model authoritarian ruler that Marcos could have emulated, distanced himself from Ferdinand: “Only in the Philippines could a leader like Ferdinand Marcos, who pillaged his country for over 20 years, still be considered for a national burial. Insignificant amounts of the loot have been recovered, yet his wife and children were allowed to return and engage in politics.”

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[islander]

Bongbong would prefer to leave the past behind and to address today’s problems. He asks: “Why is the distribution of wealth not happening?” He should ask his mother. Speaking to the Inquirer in 1998, Imelda Marcos said: “We practically own everything in the Philippines—from electricity, telecommunications, airline, banking, beer and tobacco, newspaper publishing, television stations, shipping, oil and mining, hotels and beach resorts, down to coconut milling, small farms, real estate and insurance.” She was then planning to sue the cronies holding the family’s properties.

The Supreme Court estimated the total legal income of the Marcoses earned from 1965 to 1986 at over $304,000. The Presidential Commission on Good Government tasked to recover the Marcos plunder pegged what had been looted from the country at $10 billion, less than half of which has been recovered. Might kleptocracy help explain the inequitable wealth distribution that so concerns Bongbong?

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[islander]

“Why is our education sector miserable?” Bongbong asks. Recent research has shown that from the Magsaysay administration (1954-57) to the two presidential terms of Ferdinand Marcos (1965-81), education received the biggest share of the national budget, maintaining close to 28 percent. During the rest of the Marcos regime (1972-1985), education’s share dropped to an average of 11.6 percent of the budget, even while basic education enrollment was growing at about 2.4 percent a year.

During the period when Marcos could determine budget allocations, he chose to cut down support for education. An educated population, of course, poses a threat to dictators.

The judgment on the Marcos record is clear, but we have not fully plumbed the depths of the damage inflicted by the Marcos regime on the country. How do we quantify the cost of leaders killed or suppressed during martial law? Bongbong’s gratuitous celebration of the Marcos legacy challenges us to pursue the research effort.

Edilberto C. de Jesus ([email protected]) is professor emeritus at the Asian Institute of Management.


opinion.inquirer.net/

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[hubag bohol]

Enter the dragon...






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[hubag bohol]

Young Bongbong... out of touch?

more at RETURN THE ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH FIRST, BONGBONG (#SAANGALINGANGPERAMO)
Posted by Joe America on October 10, 2015
http://joeam.com/2015/10/10/return-the-ill-gotten-wealth-first-bongbong-saangalingangperamo/

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

They must think we're stupid

'Our professional politicians think we don't keep track of their mistakes. Or even if we do, it's not our opinions that matter'


Shakira Sison
October 22, 2015

So they think we're stupid, those people in red, raising each other's arms like they have fresh faces, having the audacity to call for a "revolution" in a country they themselves raped.

So they think we're so forgetful that we'll just admire their smiles and their outfits and not think of their offenses in both the distant and immediate past. That we'll gloss over the fact that those arms are being raised by plunderers, convicted and ejected only years before, but back in power just to show that even the justice system is in the palm of their hands.

They think we don't notice the rehearsed speeches, the practiced Tagalog, the pro-poor messages. They think it covers up the fancy foreign schooling that resulted in crafted diplomas, or how they have maintained their circle of powerful friends who are only too keen to benefit from their secret bank accounts.

They think nobody is watching this theatrical performance from afar, that we don't notice that those sweaty armpits are a result of those lies, that those oily and weary faces are aware that this is all a tired old story that they repackage time after time.

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[islander]

A tradition of theft

They think we're oblivious to that surname that is supposedly the reason the central business district thrives. That we'll overlook the fact that this political dynasty is comprised of a father, mother, sister, and brother who have made corruption cases the tradition of their name. If that's not a family legacy then I don't know what it is. It must make one so proud to follow that tarnished path.

And what about the urong-sulong (back and forth) cha-cha a hopeful dictator tried to pull with his reluctant presidential candidacy? Even the lawyers among my smarter acquaintances have grown so tired of their fellow Filipinos' complacency and lack of discipline that they now believe this man who promotes summary execution has the answers. I understand that it's inspiring to listen to a man who says he'll clean up the streets and eliminate unwanted elements. Sure, until it's a relative of yours who is killed without due process. All of a sudden, we'll regret putting a lawless verdugo in Malacañang. Don't forget that we've seen that iron fist one too many times.

We sighed with relief when a big-haired longtime politician and current catchphrase and meme star decided she's in the game. Until of course she chose an unapologetic murderer's son to be her right-hand man. That was enough admission from the lifelong scholar of laws that she is not bothered by her running mate's family's offenses, but she even took it as far as explicitly stating that an apology is not needed for the deaths and debts that family has incurred with pride.

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[islander]

They think we're not watching

Those troublesome prospects, the sleepy "safe" bets, the usual administration's pets, as well as the 130 other presidential candidates that filed their certificates the other day make up this political circus that just can’t wait to begin. As if we're not already laughable. As if this party needs another clown. As if we aren't battered and weary enough from these cycles of distractions, manufactured victories, and lies.

They think we’re not watching this predictable novella, when those we elect pilfer from the nation's coffers, land themselves in jail, feign medical issues, get released, and then run again for office. It's as if impeachment, conviction, and imprisonment are prerequisites to be elected to the highest posts in the land.

Exhausted, we wait for these crooks to die off and be replaced by younger, more conscientious ones. But it seems they raise new models like their families are factories that replace old thieves with younger and more energetic ones. Where their offspring are taught that their parents are sinless and God-fearing, that they did what was right and necessary during their time.



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[islander]

Just like in the past, there is no doubt that the election will be won by the masa (lower classes), those whose opinions we won't see in our Facebook feeds, and whose voices we often don't even care to know.

It only takes a few seconds of listening to a campaign speech to know that those who seek power are aware that only the votes of the lower classes matter, that all they need are celebrities to come up on stage to endorse them and they will win. That a sob story about being the dark and short Robin Hood of the Philippines is somehow believable.

If it's the D and E classes that put our leaders in power, does that mean that those who have access to education and employment can't do anything about who is elected?

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[islander]

Can't do anything?

There's an air of resignation that it's the same old faces and the same old tricks that will comprise the game in 2016, but the truth is that we're comfortable in these performances. We're fine with a select few being able to lead the masses like a brainless flock. We have accepted the pleasure of having employees and servants who follow our orders instead of questioning the social structures that keep them bound.

We who say we are tired of political dynasties and corruption are also the ones who make money off mindless shows that keep people busy and make them settle for a happiness of seeing their love team. We write the scripts, we produce the story plots. We edit the political commentary out of story lines. We sell the ads that run in between segments and we follow advertiser's requests to keep things light - devoid of seriousness and real world issues. We don't want trouble, we just want to coast. We are complicit in keeping those who don't have the same resources from scratching the surface of what is handed to them.

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[islander]

We run the cinemas that stop showing independent films that make people think. We put up the billboards that turn our focus on physical beauty, so that money is spent on visual self-interest instead of focusing on the benefits of educating our women over keeping their skin light. We brag when we visit a public official's extravagant home. We don't have a problem when the daughter of a corrupt leader calls us her friend and asks us aboard her yacht.

Majority of middle and upper class Filipinos have employees - both household and business workers, if not workplace subordinates. Knowing that the face of the future president lies on their shoulders, have we ever asked our employees who they're voting for and why? Have we checked if they remember or have even heard of the horrors of Martial Law? Have we reminded them about the current candidates' corruption scandals? How about their past performance and policy track record? Have we reminded our employees what their president needs to do to better their lives?

Have we asked the people we might be able to influence how they feel about the political landscape? If, in the end, they are the ones who vote in numbers and decide, can we take the time to remind them that the appearance of their favorite celebrity at their campaign rally is not going to ensure that these candidates will actually ease their plight?

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[islander]

Complex lives designed to forget

But we are too busy dealing with traffic, pollution, flooding, the latest weather disturbance, and our ridiculous income tax rates. We are too busy figuring out how to get customs to not charge us for our balikbayan box. It's as if the country's problems are designed to keep us busy and distract us enough so we don't have time to complain beyond what immediately bothers us. When it is life-threatening to get to and from work each day, it is ridiculous to expect anyone else to look past themselves, much less to see what their fellow citizen is doing or what opinions they have.

Our professional politicians think we don't keep track of their mistakes. Or even if we do, it's not our opinions that matter. They believe that the people whose favor they care about are those who are swayed by a sexy dance, and that those who fill our social media feeds with their complaints cannot influence what the voters they care about will decide come election time.

We all know our politicians think we're all stupid, but have we actually asked ourselves if we actually thrive in this flawed system where those on the lowest rung never advance? Are our leaders correct in thinking we are stupid because we keep each other dumb? – Rappler.com

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[islander]

Duterte, his 6 contradictions and planned dictatorship

The reluctant presidential bet says he will make his final decision on December 10, 2015. But he warns that once he wins, 'Putang ina, sumunod kayong lahat.'



Maria A. Ressa
October 26, 2015

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – If 70-year-old Rodrigo Duterte became President of the Philippines, he would work to make 3 things happen. He counted them on the fingers of one hand: “I would stop corruption, stop criminality, and fix government,” he said forcefully.

Here’s what makes him different: he’s willing to kill to make that happen.

“When I said I’ll stop criminality, I’ll stop criminality,” said one of the Philippines’ longest serving mayors. “If I have to kill you, I’ll kill you. Personally.”

I held his gaze to see if he meant what he said. He did. His track record proves it.

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[islander]

In public office since the people power revolt in 1986, he ran and won as mayor of Davao City in 1988 until he hit his 3-term limit in 1998. He then ran for the House of Representatives and represented the 1st District of Davao City. He was elected to his 4th term as mayor in Davao in 2001 and reelected again in 2004 and 2007. Hitting his term limit a second time, he ran as vice mayor to his daughter until he received a new mandate as mayor in 2013.

In terms of land mass, Davao is the world’s largest city, and Duterte’s leadership helped transform it from the chaos of the 1980’s – a safe haven for criminals and rebels – to what residents now proclaim as an oasis of peace today. IBM proudly announces that Davao is the first "smart city" in the Philippines, integrating technology and big data from public services for a real-time dashboard to better deal with crime prevention, emergency response, threat prevention & response and traffic management.

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[islander]

City officials boast that it’s one of only 3 areas in the world to have an Integrated Emergency Response System 911 (with Canada and parts of the US) that works and brings help within minutes.

There is tremendous respect and admiration for Duterte in Davao, where a movement that gathered millions of signatures – far more than its one-a-half million people - is pushing him to run for president in the 2016 elections.

Although he missed the deadline to file his candidacy, a technicality could allow him to still run. He says he has until December 10, 2015 to decide.

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[islander]

Contradiction 1: Breaking the law

Brusque but charming and confident, Duterte is a man of contradictions, starting with his insistence on maintaining the rule of law while at the same time being equally adamant about breaking the law to bring order.

Refreshingly and brutally frank, Duterte spelled everything out in our interview on October 22, 2015: “I had to act decisively. Let me just say there were things which I had to do because I had to do them. Nobody was going to do it for Davao City.”

“Like what,” I asked.

“Like the ones that people are crying about until now.”

“You’re talking human rights?” I asked. Duterte’s been implicated in extrajudicial killings and linked to what’s been called the Davao Death Squad, a vigilante group that many believe was responsible for the presumed deaths of more than 700 people who disappeared between 2005 and 2008.

“Yes, of course,” he answered. “It’s a public record that cases have been filed against me, and they say that my name was even in the High Commission of the Human Rights Commission of the United States. Well, that’s part of a day’s work, I would say.”

“Any regrets?” I followed up.

“None. None. If I will return to the original day then I would still do it because that’s the only way that I could keep the peace in Davao and how it could develop into what you see now.”

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[islander]

Contradiction 2: Are all killers equal?

Not all killers are equal and motives matter, giving some insight into why he has at the very least supported extrajudicial killings. Duterte makes a distinction between criminals and rebels, proudly saying that he “belongs to the Left.”

“They’re two different things,” he said. “One is for pocket, and the other one is ideology. Here is a rebel, and they’re fighting as a matter of principle. And here are idiots – the criminals. Because they line their pockets for gain. Personal gain. There’s no redeeming factor in killing people, robbing them, raping them.”

He reiterated he has no qualms about killing these killers and goes a step further.

“I must admit I have killed,” said Davao’s mayor, who said he is willing to do it to protect his people.

To understand Duterte’s appeal to Filipino voters, understand the context: that institutions are weak at best and law and order is patchy in many parts of the country. Violence is part of the political landscape, and it gets worse during elections.

The worst election-related violence in the world happened in the Philippines in November, 2009, when 58 people were killed, including the largest number of journalists killed in one instance.

For the 2010 presidential elections, the police say 155 people died, including 22 assassinated candidates.

Duterte said the way to stop the violence is to use violence, establish a rule of law, and change the overall political system.

He says it’s time to turn an oligarchic system run by the political elite upside down and act on the gap between the rich and the poor.

“Ayan, yang cliché na iyan: the poor is getting poorer; the rich is getting richer. They utter it every election. Every candidate. Why don’t you just do it? Just shut up, and just do it.

“Would you be able to do it?” I asked.

“I will,” he answered.

His supporters believe him because of what he did in Davao. They say his words mirror his actions. They point to his humble lifestyle and home, signs they add, that he is not corrupt.

Critics respond that there is a huge difference between running a city and running a country.

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[islander]

Contradiction 3: Leftist and dictator

The self-confessed leftist admits he is a dictator. It’s clear he has a vision for the country and that he built it on his lessons learned as Davao’s leader.

The Philippines under Duterte’s leadership would be a dictatorship because “if you become the president, you do not only change leaders, you have to change the Filipino himself.”

“Kasi ang Filipino ngayon, hindi mo masabihan na obey the law.” Duterte changes his tone (Today, you can't even tell the Filipino to obey the law). “Sabihin mo sa kanya, THIS is the law. Putang ina, pag hindi mo sinunod ang batas, putang ina ka sa akin.” (You ought to tell him: This is the law. You'd be damned if you did not follow the law, you'd be damned.)

Curses and expletives peppered his answers. Duterte is nothing but authentic. His years in power made him aware of what he wanted to say on the record and what he told us off the record – with a caveat that when the proper time came, we could release his insights. His honesty was refreshing.

He said that one of his first steps to eliminating corruption would to be to drop discretionary funds like the Priority Development Assistance Fund, known as the pork barrel. As president, he would only take his salary and would expect Congress to do the same. If lawmakers try to impeach him, he said he would not hesitate to shut it down.

“It’s going to be a dictatorship,” he added. “It’s the police and the military who will be the backbone. If they agree with you – if the right-thinking policemen and military men agree with you – then after 6 years, there will be a new set-up: maybe a federal type, less corruption, and a fresh air for the next generation.”

Could any of the presidential candidates – Vice President Jejomar Binay, former Secretary Mar Roxas, Senator Grace Poe and Senator Miriam Santiago – change the political structures in the Philippines?

“Anybody of them, you will still suffer,” he quickly answered before qualifying his statement. “I’m not saying they cannot hack it. What I’m saying is … I don’t know whether they can do what I said I could do.”

There are other interesting contradictions.

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[islander]

Contradiction 4: Womanizer and women's rights advocate

A known womanizer, Duterte has also funded and supports women’s rights. A lead activist for gender equality, Irene Santiago, says he has done much to empower women in Davao. Santiago gained global prominence as a key organizer of the Beijing Women's Conference in 1995, personally thanked by Hillary Clinton on the main stage.

Duterte supported the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill through the years it languished in Congress, pushing family planning and population control in his area of influence. In 2012, while Congress and the Church debated RH, Davao City was already giving out free contraceptives.

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[islander]

Contradiction 5: Sexist and gay rights supporter

Although he openly admits he’s a male chauvinist often shown in his sometimes sexist remarks, he put in place progressive policies, supporting and funding LGBT activists. He also supports gay marriage.

These positions remain controversial in Asia's largest Catholic nation - roughly 85% Christian, most Roman Catholic. In the early years, it took courage to stand up to the Church, which lobbied hard against reproductive health and sex education. Outside the Vatican, the Philippines is the only other place where divorce is illegal.

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[islander]

Contradiction 6: Decisive and indecisive about the presidency

Perhaps the biggest contradiction of the moment is how such a decisive man could be so indecisive about running for the Philippines’ top job.

He gave the reasons of family, health, funding and machinery – each of which he explained and then debunked as standing in his way. Sources close to Duterte say he’s still grappling with campaign funds, which he denied. Critics say #duterteserye, what many have called his back and forth, is a carefully planned tactic. While there may be some truth to that, the time we spent with him showed the reason may be more personal.

For someone concerned about legacy, what would happen if he tried and failed? For someone whose pride borders on arrogance, what if his lifelong lessons on leadership aren’t enough?

What seems clear is that he isn’t willing to settle, even if it means he is assassinated, which if he succeeds, he added, is a distinct possibility.

“I’m telling the Filipino people, huwag ako. It’s going to be bloody,” he said. “Because I will not sit there as President and just like any other regime, sabihin ko, iyan lang ang kaya ko … pero pag nilagay ninyo ako, do not f*** with me.”

https://youtu.be/cSSsafAMTpI

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[islander]

The fact that there is a real clamor for Duterte shows more about the Philippines today than it does about the man.

There is a zeitgeist for change, a real yearning to stop corruption (which helped get Aquino elected in 2010), and a sizeable youth vote. At latest estimates, Comelec puts that to about 39 million potential voters.

For the Philippines' 100 million people with a median age of 22 years old, 2016 may herald the first social media elections. Up to 46 million Filipinos are on Facebook alone. With such a crowded field of presidential candidates, it's expected to take less than 20 million votes to win.

For Filipinos looking for an alternative to the status quo, someone with a track record of governance, someone who has courage and vision, Duterte seems to offer a possibility of real change.

Two questions remain: will he risk it and run? And will Comelec allow him to?

He says December 10 is his new deadline.

“If I’m there, wala ng indecisive, indecisive,” he said. “Putang ina, sumunod kayong lahat. When I say that you have to stop f***** the people’s money, stop it!” – Rappler.com

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[islander]

BINAY AND MARCOS: DUMBING DOWN THE PHILIPPINES

Posted by Joe America on October 22, 2015 · 249 Comments
stupid hollywood-elsewhere dot com


[Photo credit: hollywood-elsewhere.com]
____________

Let us start with an understanding of terms.

The term “dumbing down” originated in 1933 as movie-business slang, used by motion picture screenplay writers, meaning: “[to] revise so as to appeal to those of little education or intelligence”. [Wiki]

We have two national candidates who are engaged in dumbing down the Philippines. It is the only way they can get elected. Distinguished Senator Miriam Santiago has chosen one of them as her running mate, certifying that she is ever the jokester, always willing to tread the path less traveled.
The problem is, it is just not funny.

It is the choice between backward and forward.

The Binay and Marcos families want certain information taken out of the public record and new information placed in that record. By recasting the look of things, they seek to persuade a broad swath of the Philippine voting population to vote them into prominence in the 2016 election.

This, of course, is the exact opposite of what we commonly hold as virtues: honesty and transparency and raising the nation up, both economically and in terms of being an honorable and purposeful place. It is akin to propaganda of ill motive, or brainwashing. The two families seek to remove factual records from view and replace them with fictitious records.

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[islander]

ooops...

***

Anecdotal evidence suggests that huge sums of money are being invested in this election by the two families to purchase the loyalty of community opinion-makers. In my home town, the Marcos family is said to have distributed bags of money to key families. Goods have been generously supplied to poor residents . . . tin and lumber and food.

(underscoring mine)

more at http://joeam.com/2015/10/22/binay-and-marcos-dumbing-down-the-philippines/

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[islander]

Duterte: I have 2 wives and 2 girlfriends

By: Maricar B. Brizuela
@inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 1st, 2015

HE MUST be a romantic at heart. And maybe a comedian, too.

In a no-holds-barred speech before 10,000 supporters on Sunday night in Taguig City, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte opened up about his personal life, speaking not only of having two wives but of two girlfriends, as well.

When he was younger, the 70-year-old presidential aspirant said, he would spend the whole night with his girlfriends, but since he had grown older, he could spend only “short time” with them.

The crowd apparently enjoyed his speech, cheering, applauding, laughing and at times shouting with glee.

Duterte spoke at the end of a “MAD (Musicians and Artists for Duterte) for Change” concert around 10 p.m., hours later than originally planned because he said his flight was delayed.

He said the public needed to know everything about him, including his love life and interest in women, if they want to make him President.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/743793/duterte-i-have-2-wives-and-2-girlfriends#ixzz3t0YFeiRJ

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

would the country dare again to have the likes of erap who needed extra security personnel from the military for the families of the other women?

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

duterte's kind of political showmanship is bound to grow stale.

hey, let's let decency lead the nation.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

WITH DUE RESPECT

Contrasting the Comelec and SET decisions

By: Artemio V. Panganiban
Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 6th, 2015

The three-member Second Division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) cancelled the certificate of candidacy for president of Sen. Grace Poe on the ground that her “material representations” about her natural-born citizenship and 10-year Philippine residency were “false.” In contrast, the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) earlier upheld her natural-born citizenship but did not rule on her residency. Here are some questions raised by readers:

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Question 1: What will happen to these contrasting rulings?

Answer: Senator Poe will file Monday with the seven-member Comelec en banc a motion for reconsideration. On the other hand, with the denial of his motion for reconsideration by the SET, Rizalino David is poised to go to the Supreme Court. Ultimately, these two cases (and the three others still pending in the Comelec’s First Division) will be elevated to the high court for a final consolidated decision. Meanwhile, Poe’s name will be printed in the automated ballots, as was done in Joseph Estrada’s case in the 2010 presidential election.

Question 2: Once the SET decision reaches the Supreme Court, will the three justice-members still participate and vote there?

Answer: No, having judged below, they can no longer judge above.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Question 3: The SET voted 5-4. Isn’t this unreliable?

Answer: Many landmark cases, here and abroad, have been decided by one vote. Thus, our Supreme Court, voting 8-7 in Lambino vs Comelec (Oct. 26, 2006), trashed the people’s initiative to institute the parliamentary system here. The US Supreme Court, voting 5-4 in Bush vs Gore (Dec. 12, 2000), rejected the recount of the contested ballots in Florida and ushered in the election of George W. Bush as the new US president.

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[islander]

Question 4: Isn’t it unfair for Sen. Loren Legarda to ask our electorate to decide legal issues?

Answer: No, she did not so ask. Rather, she first quoted from Frivaldo vs Comelec (June 26, 1996) the two main ways of legal interpretation, thus: “At balance, the question really boils down to a choice of … how to interpret and apply laws relating to elections: literal or liberal, the letter or the spirit, the naked provision or the ultimate purpose, legal syllogism or substantial justice, in isolation of or in the context of social conditions, harshly against or gently in favor of the voters’ choice. In applying election laws, it would be far better to err in favor of popular sovereignty than to be right in complex but little understood legalisms.”

Then, choosing the liberal way of interpretation, she opined: “In case of doubt in the interpretation of constitutional and legal provisions involving popular sovereignty, it is best to interpret such provisions in a manner that enables our electorate to elect freely their chosen leader.”

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Question 5: Under the same Frivaldo doctrine, should Rodrigo Duterte be allowed to run?

Answer: I do not have the complete facts on Duterte’s case but if, as reported in the media, the only reason for his alleged disqualification is a typographical error, I believe he should be allowed to run for president. Substantial justice, not literal interpretation, should be applied. This does not mean I approve of his human rights shortcuts or habitual cussing. Legal eligibility is different from electoral acceptability.

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[islander]

Question 6: Senator Poe is not poor. Why should the social justice principle of giving more law to those who have less in life favor her?

Answer: Social justice does not favor only the impoverished. It equally favors the disabled, the sick, the abandoned (like foundlings), the infirm, the mentally-retarded, the disaster-stricken and everyone economically, socially, politically, racially and medically disadvantaged.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Question 7: Why should the abandoned, like foundlings, be given more law? Dura lex sed lex. The law may be harsh; nevertheless, it must strictly be followed and applied equally to everyone, isn’t it?

Answer: Dura lex sed lex is a favorite expression of lawyers educated under the Analytical School of legal philosophy. They interpret law verba legis, that is, according to the literal meaning of the words used. However, I believe the better way of interpretation is to look at the spirit, the intent and the substance of the law. I think that lawyers should not be mere automatons or legal technicians who apply laws strictly and automatically without considering their effects on society. Rather, they should be social engineers who help build just societies with law as their tool.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Question 8: Apart from the presidency, vice presidency, Senate and House memberships, are there other positions that require natural-born citizenship?

Answer: Yes, thousands of others, like commissioners of elections, audit, civil service, human rights; ombudsman; most judicial and prosecutorial posts; directorships in several bureaus and commissions; memberships in boards of examiners of various professions; grantees of scholarships; and others too numerous to fit in this space. The point is: Foundlings should not be denied entry to these offices or grants.

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[islander]

Question 9: Should we simply forget Poe’s abandonment of our country when she became an American and accept her now as our president?

Answer: That is a political, not legal, question that is better answered by our people via their ballots. Not every question can and should be decided by our tribunals. Let Poe explain to our people, and if the majority accepts her explanation and votes her to office, so be it. This is the essence of democracy. As the axiom goes, Vox populi vox Dei.

opinion.inquirer.net/
(note: the format of this question-answer as it appears on the column was changed by the poster here for easier reading)

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[islander]

throwback; excerpts from 'Is Chiz Escudero to blame for Grace Poe’s fate?', September 24, 2015, by Francisco S. Tatad 

The one big unanswered question is, what kind of political and legal advice did Mrs. Llamanzares get, or was getting, from Sen. Chiz Escudero, her announced running mate? Did he not assure her that because she is the adopted daughter of ‘Panday,” the other popular name of Fernando Poe Jr., and she has been rating high in the propaganda surveys manufactured by the usual fraudsters, not even her declared opponents would try to make life hard for her, that foreign and local financial donors would come rushing into her chamber with suitcases bulging with P1,000 bills, and everything would be a walk in the park for her? What happened to this syrupy promise?

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[islander]

Did Escudero’s lawyers not prepare all the documentary evidence to show that David’s petition was a pure nuisance complaint? Why did the basic documents turn out to be spurious and incompetent, and instead of supporting the respondent, support the petitioner instead? The documents were so incriminatory in character that the petitioner simply adopted them, to the respondent’s patent grief.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Among these documents were:

1) A copy of a certificate of live birth of a “foundling,” named May Grace Natividad Contreras Militar, born on Sept. 3, 1968 and found in the parish church of Jaro, on Sept. 3, 1968, at about 9:30 am, by Mr. Edgardo Militar, who turned over the child into the custody of Mr. and Mrs. Emiliano Militar at Sta. Isabel Street, Jaro. The certificate is originally typewritten, but it contains certain erasures and intercalations. For instance, the name “Natividad” is inserted by hand between “Grace” and “Contreras”, and the name “Contreras Militar” is bracketed, and above it is written “Sonora Poe.” The certificate is dated Nov. 27, 1968, but on the right hand side is a handwritten note saying: “Note: Adopted child by the spouses Ronald Allan Poe and Jesusa Sonora Poe as per Court Order, Municipal Court, San Juan Rizal, by the (ineligible) Judge Alfredo Gorgonio, dated May 13, 1974, under Sp. Proc. No. 138.” This is proof positive that the document was not made on Nov. 27, 1968, as claimed, and is therefore at best a spurious document. It cannot stand as evidence in favor of the defense.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

2) A copy of a decision under the signature of Judge Alfredo Gorgonio of the municipal court of San Juan, Rizal, dated May 13, 1974, purporting to show that after due hearing, the Court decided to grant the petition for adoption of the minor Mary Grace Natividad Contreras Militar by the spouses Ronald Allan Poe and Jesusa Sonora Poe. The veracity of the order deserves full investigation because the municipal court had no jurisdiction over adoption cases. This is known to most lawyers.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

3) A copy of a certificate of live birth in favor of Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe, executed by Jesusa Sonora Poe on May 4, 2006, claiming that Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe was born on Sept. 3, 1968 in Jaro, Iloilo City, to Jesusa Sonora Poe and to Ronald Allan Poe. This is a revision of the circumstance of Mary Grace’s birth, from having no known parents to being the daughter of the Poe couple, whose marriage happened to be childless.

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[islander]

4) A copy of a petition for retention and/or reacquisition of Philippine citizenship under Republic Act No. 9225 by Mrs. Llamanzares, dated July 7, 2006, where she declares under oath that she is a natural-born Filipino born to the Poe couple in Iloilo City on Sept. 3, 1968.This is a false claim which cannot be the source or basis of the reacquisition of her citizenship.

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[islander]

5) A copy of a Bureau of Immigration order dated July 18, 2006, signed “for” Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez Jr. by an unknown hand, granting Mrs. Llamanzares petition for reacquistion of Philippine citizenship. Being based on a false claim under oath, and signed by an unknown hand other than the duly authorized signing officer, this order is patently invalid.

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[islander]

6) A copy of Mrs. Llamanzares’ certificate of candidacy for the Senate, dated Sept. 27, 2012 in Quezon City, saying she is a natural-born Filipino citizen, without any information about her parentage.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

These are all flawed documents. In all these, Mrs. Llamansares (and her surrogate mother Jesusa Sonora Poe, in the case of the 2006 certificate of live birth) lied under oath. Why did this hotshot lawyer Francis Escudero allow his political partner to submit these falsified documents to be used as evidence against her? Are people simply daydreaming when they suggest that Chiz Escudero may not be unprepared to make his next move if and when Grace Poe Llamanzares falls off her self-created pedestal?

http://www.manilatimes.net/is-chiz-escudero-to-blame-for-grace-poes-fate/220539/

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[islander]

Chiz sinisi sa DQ ni Poe

Ni Malou Escudero (Pilipino Star Ngayon)
December 6, 2015


Se­nator Chiz Escudero

MANILA, Philippines – Malaki umano ang pananagutan ni Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero kung bakit diniskuwalipika ng Commission on Elections si Sen. Grace Poe sa pagkandidatong pa­ngulo sa halalan sa 2016.

Ito ang tinuran kahapon ni Polytechnic University of the Philippines Professor at political analyst Joey Sindayen Pinalas na nagtuturo ng socio-political thought at philosophy of politics sa PUP.

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[islander]

“Huwag na magturo at manisi ng ibang tao si Se­nator Chiz Escudero. Bukod sa pagiging campaign strategist ni Grace,  si Chiz ay abogado at meron siyang sariling law firm, at siguradong marami siyang kaalyadong abogadong tumutulong. Hindi dapat niya ipinasok si Senator Poe sa alanganing sitwasyon na maaaring madiskwalipika ang senadora”, pahayag ni Pinalas.

“Dahil sa nangyaring disqualification kay Grace, hindi natin maiaalis na mayroong tamang duda at ispekulasyon sa mga galaw ni Escudero. Sad­yang ma­raming katanu­ngan at kuro-kuro. Obvious na pinilit ni Chiz ang Poe-Escudero tandem kahit nung una pa ay lumitaw na ang usaping citizenship at residency.  Pero kapag susuriin mo ang mga galaw ni Chiz, pabor sa kanya ang nangyayari. Kung manalo silang dalawa at sa malaon napatunayan sa Korte Suprema na hindi natural born si Grace at kulang sa residency requirements, eh di magiging presidente si Chiz.”

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Hindi rin anya nagtataka si Pinalas kung bakit nagkaroon ng “lunch meeting” si Escudero at si Vice-President Jejomar Binay.  “Si Chiz ang isa sa mga arkitekto ng NoyBi o Aquino-Binay coalition nung 2010 na kung saan tinalo ni VP Binay si Mar Roxas. Ilang linggo bago lumabas ang desisyon sa kasong disqualificatiojn laban kay Poe, nagkita at nananghalian umano sina Escudero at Binay. “Eto ba ay di sinasadya o mayroon talagang namuong usapan sakaling madiskwalipika si Grace?

Kung manalo naman si VP Binay at si Chiz, si Chiz ang papalit na pangulo kung sakaling matanggal sa pwesto si VP dahil sa issue ng katiwalian,” sambit pa ng propesor. Sinabi din ni Pinalas na tila “Trojan Horse Politics” ang uri ng pulitika ni Chiz dahil tila malikot at patago ang kanyang mga galaw sa pulitika.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Ayon naman kay Senator Miriam Santiago na eksperto sa batas at isa ding presidential aspirant, malaki ang problema ni Poe dahil malinaw ang saligang batas sa requirements sa pagka-pangulo.

Sa kasalukuyan, patong patong ang disqualification cases laban kay Poe at ito ay may kaugnayan sa kanyang citizenship at residency sa Pilipinas.

philstar.com

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[islander]

WHO AMONG THE VP CANDIDATES ARE ACTUALLY RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, AND WHO IS RUNNING FOR VP?

Posted by Joe America on November 8, 2015



Did you parse that headline for grammar? Did you notice the plural and the singular expressions of the verb “to be”?

That’s highly important. It’s what this blog is about, actually.

As you know, this blog is now famous, attracting Chinese trolls like flies on a karabao’s back and notable readers like politicians to donations. Where donations come in the form of ideas.

With the help of this fame, I have developed networks of information spread across the Philippines like so many spider-webs glistening in the morning dew, each node a listening post. If a nameless sultan blinks in Mindanao, we know about it on Biliran Island. The network is now active and producing. Indeed, one of my high-value assets recently sent in a little whisper of striking insight, then slipped quietly back into the dim and smoke-filled rooms where she plays her ploys, and where the future of the Philippines is defined.

I’ll share what she sent in, verbatim, decoded, in her words...

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

I may be mistaken, but I don’t recall this many people running for VP without a president in previous elections. Why so many now?

Unless they’re banking on Poe winning, and maybe they know she’ll be disqualified . . . making them president!

That’s undoubtedly the plan of Escudero. But it may also now be the plan of his NPC partymates: Trillanes, Cayetano, and Marcos.

So, really, only Robredo is running for VP. Everyone else is actually running for president. (Honasan doesn’t count, being just a Binay prop.)

And since Trillanes, Cayetano, Robredo, and Honasan are apparently from Bicol, they can kiss the regional vote goodbye... this gives Marcos a clear advantage with the so-called Solid North votes, and the rest of the country will be divided among them all.

Oh, my!... If Poe and Marcos win, Poe will be disqualified, making Marcos president.

And there was Imelda Marcos expressing disappointment that her son is only aiming for the VP post. In truth, he isn’t.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80729.0

[islander]

Well, it does not take Jack Ryan to cut through that message and get to the truth of the matter. Marcos has the lead position and is likely going to elbow the others aside. His true aim is not the Vice Presidency, but the Presidency.

Furthermore, there is only one candidate who is running for Vice President to serve the people. Leni Robredo. For the rest, it is a political play, an exercise in opportunism.


Photo credit: http://pinoythaiyo.com

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