More Bark Than Bite

I’ve been watching the drama unfold in the Senate regarding Manny Villar’s ethics case and it got me wandering that all these people do is blab about the issue without taking any action at all. Not only that, these people often try to discredit each other by relieving their pasts and getting side tracked from the actual issue.

Take for example Sen. Pres. Enrile and Sen. Pimentel, both were at each other’s throats that they often reminisce each other’s past during Martial Law that they forgot the reason why they were there in the first place. It has already been months since Jamby Madrigal complained about the C5 road extension project and until now they were just starting with the preliminary investigation. These senate investigations are taking more time because these people often try to be the lead characters of a teleserye that after a while, it gets irritating.

If I was one of those in the spotlight of the investigation, I would’ve been able to fabricate my defense and get away with it because these people do is talk and talk nonsense.

Looking at their past investigations, I don’t think that any of these people are really sincere with their work. We often see them conduct their investigation on major issues like the NBN-ZTE Deal and the Fertilizer Fund Scam, the media arrests in the Mania Peninsula siege, and many more investigations that we often see on TV and talk about----- but out of all their hearings and investigations on the issues, how many people do you think have been prosecuted?

Without focusing on one issue, they often jump to the next issue without closing the first one, and all you get is these partial revelations that you would doubt if it were true or not.

As we have often seen on TV lately, the famous Hayden Kho sex scandal has been the center of attention this past week. Instead of continuing with the debate on Villar, they will open another investigation on this case. Then if another issue pops up, they will conduct another hearing with that issue. What happens to the other cases currently being investigated? Are they stored back in the archives until a new “evidence” pops up?

While we’re on the Hayden Kho issue, I would like to make a point about the sex scandal. Why is it that the congress are more concerned with this issue than more important once like the CARP extension?

I’ve been hearing a lot about the plights of these farmers and how they were treated with water cannons yesterday. I sympathize with these farmers because they only want to benefit from the land they’ve toiled in for years. But to be treated like that because the congress does not mind them is rather harsh.

I know that the senators were saying about these women being scandalized by the sex videos, but we know better that they were only there para makisakay and not really to protect women’s rights. If they really care about the issue then they should’ve done that a long, long time ago when it first became known to people.

I remember the debate a few weeks ago in Ateneo where only a few presidentiables attended the debate, the others who did not attend were interviewed by the media and said that that debate was a good thing and that it should be repeated again to let the public know who they were voting for. These people who were interviewed were the very same people who nakisakay with the Hayden Kho Scandal! They did not really cared about the issue; they just said that to gain publicity.

It feels like they are all bark and no bite. I only wish that there are people who would be serious enough to investigate and to prosecute these corrupt people in order to clean the government of its century old sickness.

Youth Voters Rising

Only a few months left before the 2010 national elections and the youth are getting more active than ever in standing up for their rights as a citizen of the country.

According to the recent COMELEC’s survey, they said that the total number of young voters had been steadily increasing these past few months, mainly because of the various information campaigns and media companies, and the youth’s desire for change. Most of these young voters comprise of about 5 million Filipinos, which they said can easily affect the turnouts of the elections.

Indeed, the youth are becoming more aware of their right to vote and the conscience to choose wisely. No longer are they passive when troubles rise from the dagdag bawas of the ballots. No longer are they ignorant of the countless frauds and vote buying in the precincts. The youth today is now stronger than ever in seeing the truth prevail.

Perhaps the youth did learn from what had happened in the past few years when corruption and misguided information spread in the campaign polls.

Remember the various controversies surrounding GMA and his family, especially the Hello Garci Scandal which questioned the legitimacy of the incumbent president. Other than that, there were many armed attacks on various poll precincts which injured many civilians and killed a teacher last 2007 elections.

With all these dirtiness during our voting system, no wonder the youth are stepping up to the challenge.

Just last Sunday, youth groups and various organizations sponsored events and concerts to help the younger generations to be informed and join the stand for a clean and free elections. This was to promote the youth’s participation in the next election.

Some even posted blogs for disseminating information regarding the presidentiables and asking their opinions on various subjects. Others sponsored forums and debates to let the younger generations know who they are voting next year.

Presidentiables like Sen. Chiz Escudero advocated the youth, and being part with them in saying that the youth is no longer the “pag asa ng bayan,” but they are now taking the country in their own hands.

The youth today is now more concerned than ever. With so many corruptions in the past, they have started to awaken their sense of nationalism. Instead of just sitting back, the youth are now putting up the effort to clean up the acts of these corrupt people and see to it that the next person being elected is the rightful leader of our country. The only question is, who will they vote for?

Response in Ateneo Debate (opinion)

After the intense, yet entertaining, debate held by ANC regarding the 2010 presidentiables inside Ateneo de Manila last week, there have been many talks about the episode. While a lot of those generated positive comments on those politicians who attended the debate, there were still those who were unsatisfied with how these politicians conducted themselves in the forum.

One of those who were attacked by the harsh comments of students, bloggers, and columnists was Sen. Chiz Escudero, who was mainly criticized for his blatant attacks on the president without giving any real substance in his speech.

Most people who have watched Chiz in this debate were astounded by his witty comment on the current administration and on how he blamed the current situation on the president. Escudero exposed many faults of GMA, which was why some critics have labeled Chiz’s platform as “anti-Arroyo.” Remember when he said that the only thing GMA was good for was to unite the people to vote wisely and not to repeat the same mistakes again.

But if one looks at deeply on how Escudero played his cards in the forum, he was not really attacking GMA as a person, but is actually attacking the problems and mis-governance of the country. This was what Escudero was talking about when he pointed out the flaws of GMA. Instead of “Anti-Arroyo”, Escudero wants a government which is corruption free and responsible in protecting the interest of its people.

Perhap’s it may also be Escudero’s fault that he was branded as “anti-Arroyo” when he was not able to say anything good on the present government. According to the many research of economists around the country, GMA’s advocacy of bolstering the economy was indeed higher than the rest of the presidents before her. And some of her development projects have been effective in making the lives of some people easier (though only a small portion benefit from this). But many do agree that one of the most controversial administrations in the history of the country was also hers. I think what Escudero may have thought was that we should be informed of the anomalies of the government because the government has already been doing their PR campaign without the need of others to support it. And as an opposition candidate, he’s primarily responsible in exposing the problems in the bureaucracy to protect its citizens.

We‘ve always been hearing the same banters by the administration allies and the opposition regarding the economy of the country. One side says that it is going well, while the other side says otherwise. Think of it as yin and yang of government. One cannot exist without the other. The opposition works as a check and balance on the administration to see to it that the best interest of the country is brought out to its fullest. What Escudero wanted was to right the wrong of what was happening in the country. To remove the world’s conception that the Philippines is one of the most corrupt countries in Asia. In order to do that, then he had to clean the government starting from the top.

One action he did was to file a bill seeking to amend the Government Procurement Reform Act to eliminate opportunities for corruption in public procurement. According to Senate Bill 1963, which Escudero filed in response to the NBN ZTE Deal controversy, this seeks to put treaties, bilateral arrangements, and executive agreements under the coverage of the procurement law. This means that there will no longer be secret agreements between two parties to remove the suspicion and possibility of corruption in the agreements.

People might have misunderstood him as someone who is just one of those who just blabs about the mistakes of the government without doing anything to help it, but as we have seen, he has the will to protect the country from those who wants to steal it from the people.

ERAP Again?

Many people say that Filipinos are a happy bunch. They forgive and forget everything. They give everything a second chance; hoping that the chance they give will change the outcome of any situation. But is it possible to forgive and forget the issues and scandals of someone who once ruled the country?

I saw the news last night regarding the new “jeep ni Erap” which Former Pres. Joseph Estrada will be using for the upcoming elections this 2010. In a press statement, he said that he was 90% sure that he will be running for the presidency next year. The “Jeep ni Erap”, which he used for his campaign in the 1998 elections, are being brought back and refurbished to help his upcoming campaign if he ever decides to run again.

Many political analysts said that the “jeep ni Erap” was Estrada’s first step to run for the elections, and his “visits” to other provinces are a sure sign of his pre-campaigning, but the question is, will the people vote for him as president again?

I guess many people still believed that Erap should be given a second chance because they think that Era[p is the only one that can bring sanctions on GMA. It’s just like a telenovela where they side with the oppressed hero and cheer him on to win against the Villain. Because they think that Erap was the one most oppressed, then they look up at him as the hero and Arroyo as the Villain. It is ironic that what is happening now is the same as what was happening before.

Personally, I don’t want Erap to be the next president because he has already destroyed the people’s trust in leading the Republic of the Philippines. Remember that he was charged with plunder and corruption, for allegedly stealing the government’s funds and massive illegal gambling, which was the reason why he was deposed by the EDSA 2 in the first place. I don’t believe that he should be given a second chance as being the next president because messing up is not forgivable for someone who is in the seat of power. When that person messes up, then the country falls with him.

Another reason would be the ongoing cycle of revenge in politics. I think that when Erap wins, ten he will be up for revenge on Arroyo (Which I think that the people would want in the first place). Then after that, Arroyo’s allies would mound up on Erap, and once again the cycle begins. This is one reason why they are “trapos.”

I believe that choosing the right candidates someone who is not the foe of the administration. It should be someone who can live up to the expectations of the Filipinos and have the integrity and capability to do so. It should not be someone who has a grudge on somebody, but someone who has an eye of the future; someone who is not into revenge or political bickering, nor someone who is into trash talking.

Also, what happened to the agreement Estrada made prior to his release? I thought he was banned for running in any position again?

Ateneo Presidential Debate (opinion)

I was surfing the TV the other night and I stumbled on a debate about the presidential candidates running for 2010 at Studio 23. The debate was held on Ateneo last Monday in hopes of getting to know the candidates by 2010. Among those who attended were Sen. Francis Escudero, Sen. Richard Gordon, Sen. Mar Roxas, Gov. Ed Panlilio, and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.

I got a chance to watch half of the program as it was showed late last night and it was just by chance. Anyway, the moderator, ANC’s Tina Monzon Palma, gave three questions for them.

The First question was if the candidates would support an investigation of the Arroyo family’s corruption. The five who answered were I think a bit cliché since the Admin supporters said that if Arroyo’s guilty, then they should be punished; the opposition candidates on the other hand, said that judgment should be cast on GMA.

By this time, I was thinking that it was going to be one of those boring debates where candidates would talk and talk about the same problems and making the same promises all over again. I was really planning to switch channels by that time until the second question was asked.

The second question was about the positive contributions that GMA made for the country. I was astounded by Sen. Chiz Escudero’s answer that it made me clap my hands! He said that the only contribution that GMA made was to unite the country in choosing the right candidate, and not to repeat the same mistakes again. Dahil sa pag abuso sa batas, minulat at ginising ang mga tao para seriosohin ang eleksyon. Out of all who answered, Chiz’s reply was the best! It was true and hits the point without any palabok in his words!

Dick Gordon, on the other hand, said that GMA’s strong points were her work ethics, while Ed Panlilio saluted GMA on her projects in the environment (though he questioned if the projects were actually being implemented).

Whn it was Mar Roxas’ turn, I personally did not like his answer. He said that one positive point that GMA did was appoint him as DTI Secretary. Roxas then rambled on about his accomplishments, which deviates from the question. I thought to myself, ayan ka nanaman, pati bas a debate, nangangampanya ka nanaman? Though after a while, Mar linked his accomplishments to the support of GMA.

The last of the five, Sec. Gilbert Teodoro….hmm, just like any Admin allies, he said that Gloria Arroyo made a lot of contributions in the economy and in keeping peace and order in the country. I need not comment on his answer because there are many critics out there who can easily debunk his statements. One texter during the commercial break said that Teodoro was not for the defense of the country, but the “defense” of the Arroyo family. That text made me laugh since it may be true.

The third question was about the historical person most admired. Again, I sided with Escudero’s reply that there is no single person that is kapuri puri because all have their shortcomings. What we need to do is to learn from their mistakes to make ourselves better in the future. Chiz’s comment may sound a bit cliché but I agree with him.

Dick Gordon’s answer was his late father who died protecting his country. You can easily see his love of his father when he talked about his dad’s accomplishments. Teodoro, on the other hand, made a Miss Universe reply that he admired the everyday people since they are doing their best they can in their daily life. Ed Panlilio won’t be left behind with the Miss Universe answer when he said that his most admired persons were Andres Bonifacio and Jose Abad Santos. (And the winner is….. joke!)

I may be a bit skeptical on Mar today, as he said that his most admired persons were Cory Aquino and his dad. Way to get the Cory supporters Mar! (hehe sorry about my bias!).

Out of all the candidates being interviewed last Monday, and after hearing their answers on TV, the best candidate who answered the questions was, for me, Chiz Escudero and Dick Gordon. These two had something to say which not the standard chitchat of presidential candidates. Chiz was really witty with his answers and carried the reality of the situation, while Dick was very logical and impartial with his decisions.

There are actually many more questions and answers that happened that day, and some of those were said to be hilarious and entertaining. Too bad I was not able to watch the entire program, but I was satisfied with what I saw that day.

Childishness

We’ve been hearing about the ethics case filed by Sen. Jamby Madrigal against Sen. Manny Villar these past few weeks and we all know that this was a ploy to discredit Villar in the upcoming elections this 2010. Other candidates all try to do this trash talking and mudslinging on TV that it makes them look childish in getting the better of their competitors.

I was watching the news last night about the quarrels of Sen. Jamby Madrigal and former congressman Gilbert Remulla regarding the ethics case of Sen. Manny Villar. The scene was actually surprising and funny because you can see the anger and contempt of Sen. Madrigal against this congressman. I remember she called him a “manok ni Villar” and that the congressman was working with the “king of corruption.” It was funny.

Yet, this comedy reflects the childishness of these politicians as they can’t handle their cool when situation like these comes. Jamby’s interview with the media and telling them about the alleged corruption case of Villar, not to mention calling him as the “king of corruption,” without any evidence to support her claim is unbecoming of a senator; though I don’t blame her for thinking about that when Villar has been through many issues surrounding his riches.

If Villar is actually guilty of the issue, then he must be sentenced accordingly, but Jamby already painted a biased opinion on Villar bad by calling him as the “king of corruption.”

I can’t blame Jamby for her anger against Villar because it was Villar who does not want to be investigated in the first place. Villar’s failure to attend the ethics hearing can be a sign that he is hiding something, which Sen. Madrigal hopes to uncover. But as a senator, I think that Jamby went overboard by letting the heat of the argument impair her judgment and start trash talking Remulla and Villar. We also don’t know Jamby’s motive in filing the complaint against Villar, if there was one, since the issue only came recently and it is already nearing the 2010 elections.

I sometimes get sick of these trash talks and underhanded tactics that it gives a dark image when one is into politics. I remember during my Political Science class that our professor said about Philippine politics. He said that “Politics is dirty. The only way to win is to fight dirty.” These plotting and scheming is an “art” in Philippine bureaucracy that it sickens me to think that these people would be sitting again if they’re elected next year. I sometimes believe that what my professor said was true.

I know that there is no politician who is a saint in the country because if there are, then they will easily be eaten by the “sharks” in this bureaucracy. But I’m not closing my mind on the subject by labeling them all as “sharks.” There are still others who can use their “art” by cleaning and hooking these corrupt politicians so that the country may be free from its long sickness. In the upcoming elections this 2010, we must choose our leaders wisely and seek a change from these “trapo” politicians.

Is the Government Serious?

While walking inside the mall with my friends last labor day, we saw a long line of people vying for a chance to have a job in a company sponsored job fair. This made me realize how severe the unemployment is on the country.

According to Labor Secretary Mariano Roque, more than 25, 000 participated on the government’s job fair last labor day, this does not include the thousands more who participated in other job fairs across the country. With thousand of Filipinos unemployed, what has the government been doing?

For the past months, unemployment has had risen compared to the other years in the country. It may be because of the global financial crisis we’ve been hearing about for the past year. This crisis had affected millions of workers around the world, hitting the US and other economic superpowers the most.

In the Philippines, the government says that we are not much affected because of the strict countermeasures they have been doing these past few months. But is this really true?

I remembered a lecture by our Economics professor, Solita Monsod, who told us that the real reason why we are not much affected by the global economic crunch is because we have a very slow economic performance in terms of the other countries. You can look at it in a positive and a negative way. Positive because the slowness in our economic growth had saved us from the large impact of the financial crisis; Negative because of all the developing countries in the world, we are ranked as one of the slowest to develop.

Regarding the unemployment situation in the country, I don’t think the government is serious about saving our jobless Filipinos. One thing is that the government keeps exporting our labor force instead of giving them proper employment that they deserve. In fact, most unemployed workers due to the financial crisis are the foreign workers around the world, and with the Philippines as having one of the most outsourcing workers, we are most likely to be hit hard.

It is not a solution to find jobs outside the country because if crises like the one we’ve been through worsens, then we will be in for the worst since the government’s main income generating mechanism is the outsourcing of the labor force. I believe that the government should think about focusing on local investments and employment generating prospects instead of relying on the remittance of the OFWs.

Another thing to note about in this economic crisis is how the government mitigates the financial sector and save its local businesses. We’ve been hearing lately that local businesses and pre need companies are shutting down, which contributes to the uneasiness of the Filipinos to spend their money. One solution they did was to provide stimulus package just like the countries around the world. This act may seem commendable as it would help increase the financial spending in the country, but how many will be saved if the stimulus package is less than 1% of our GDP? According to Prof. Monsod, compared to the billions of dollars being spent on other countries stimulus package, we only allocate a trickle compared to them. Not to mention the slowness in the passage of the resolution when we need it most last January when the economic slowdown started. (Can’t remember when it was passed, I think it was March)

This posts a question: is the government really serious in saving the country and its people from the torrents of the global financial crisis or will it turn a blind eye to what is really happening ?

Cheating? (opinion)

As I was watching my favorite show on TV, I saw another political advertisement by a certain defense secretary, and said to myself, WTF! Dumadami nanaman yang mga mandaraya!

I’m really disappointed with these politicians. They never even try to have a fair game in terms of publicity in the media. They always try to get a hand on each other. Always trash talking, always bantering, always CHEATING!

These politicians who had paid advertisements say that it was an “advocacy commercial” or an “infomercial” to increase public awareness on the situation in the country. I say what public awareness? Is it really public awareness about the country or is it about them? The Filipinos are not as stupid as these politicians think they are. We know that it is pre-campaigning. We are not stupid.

Whenever I see these commercial on TV (especially the tagline “sama sama tayo, lalaban tayo” with the pedicab thing) it infuriates me because they do not even have the courtesy to play fair. Some even blatantly sell their names without even trying to be courteous about it. (again, the pedicab commercial!)

The COMELEC cannot even ban them because the Omnibus Election Code doesn’t penalize these politicians if they have not registered yet as a candidate.

I have written an article before about the findings of the UP Communication Research students regarding pre-campaigning as detrimental to the public image. These politicians should know that pre-campaigning would definitely give them a negative reaction to the public. (see my article at www.peterangelo.blogspot .com)

Now I ask a question, who would want to elect these politicians if they are already cheating before the campaign period? Can we expect that they won’t cheat once thy are in office when they already cheated beforehand?

I sincerely support the revision of the Omnibus Election Code banning the use of these paid advertisements as it downplays the ethics of fair play in Philippine elections. But question is, who would want to revise the Code if these politicians benefit from it?

Looking Inside the Politicians

Only a year left before the 2010 elections and the mudslinging against political candidates are happening again.

Take example on Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero, even though he has not yet decided to campaign for the upcoming elections, he has now been a target of mudslinging by presidentiables due to his high ratings in the recent Pulse Asia Survey.

These attacks are common tactics in Philippine politics as it is a way to remove the people’s trust in the person by framing them into a “trapo” politician like the rest. People are easily swayed by the rumors and misguided facts that finding the right candidate for the upcoming elections make it difficult for the voters.

One issue against Sen. Escudero, for example, is that he is lacking the accomplishments needed to lead the country. This might be because of the lack of media coverage on Escudero compared to the overly publicized politicians on TV. Maybe the reason why people think of Escudero as “incompetent” because they do not know the senator’s accomplishments due to the lack of information being relayed by the media. If we relied on rumors or what we see on TV alone, we would be thinking that the issue against Escudero is indeed true, but if we look closely, we see otherwise.

One way we can see how the accomplishments and the credibility of politicians is through the internet. Try visiting the site of Sen. Escudero (www.chizescudero.com), and one can see the many bills he passed and the advocacies he had made through the years. An example would be the passage of Republict Act 9504 which exempts minimum wage earners from paying income tax, increasing tax exemption for all earners and additional exemptions for individuals with dependents/children. This Act would help the marginalized sector through the time of crisis we have experienced.

He also sponsored Republic Act 8980 which implemented an integrated early childhood care program and institutionalize a comprehensive and sustainable system for ECCD. This paved way for Project Bright Child, established in 2004, which focuses on child health care and development.

There are many other accomplishments that Sen. Escudero did in his position that his “incompetence” is just plain nonsense. This fact teaches us that we must not rely on rumors and TV alone; we should be proactive and look at each politician deeply on not through their exposure on TV.

Another reason why we can’t see Escudero much on TV is that most of the media’s coverage are centered on problems and scandals relating to politicians. We often see Manny Villar today because of the C-5 Road Extension Controversy the he was in or Vice President DeCastro’s over expensive North Rail Project. In short, the reason why we can’t see Escudero much on TV is because he is not included in any controversies that these “trapo” politicians are included in.

I believe that the Filipinos should not be guillible enough to listen to the banterings of one politician to the other and should focus on finding the truth for themselves. Just like my example on Sen. Escudero, we must look at each politician deeply and see them if they are really worth it to be elected in the upcoming elections. I know that as the months go by, we will be hearing more of the mudslinging of these aspiring politicians and it is our job to see if what they are throwing is indeed a fact or not.

Labor Day Marked With Job Fairs

Thousands of jobseekers participated on the various job fairs held over the country last Saturday.

According to a report by Labor Secretary Mariano Roque, more than 25, 000 jobseekers attended the government's "joba-palooza" where the aspiring job aplicants vie for varous positions in the participating companies.

Besides the government's job offers, the SM Corporation also held their job fairs last Saturday, hoping to help the unemployed land a job.