10 biggest losers in the 2010 national elections

 

10. Rebel soldiers

Trillanes won it big when he got a Senate seat in 2007. But after one of his court sessions, he suddenly thought of checking into Hotel Intercontinental Makati even without reservation… once a rebel soldier, always a rebel even if elected as senator. Sorry Gen. Danny Lim and Col. Ariel Querubin… we already have too many fugitive senators (where is Ping, anyway?)

 

9. Lakas Kampi CMD

The first sign was already alarming, Lakas Kampi took outsiders (non party members) as candidates for president and vice president and they were not even very popular (Gibo’s relative popularity only came after people heard him talk… if he started talking three years ago he might have won). 

 

Hit with defections, Lakas Kampi disintegrated in the last few stages of the campaign. It might also disappear into oblivion in the future. Political parties in the Philippines are personality based, usually one prominent individual or family bank-rolling the candidacies of local politicians (remember Gibo is no longer an official of the party).  I am not sure if GMA is willing to share their ill-gotten wealth to ensure her political control for the next few years. The size of their amassed wealth will allow them to do it but I am not sure by the size of greed.

 

8. Partylist system

Other than being used by traditional politicians to enter congress if they cannot be elected in their own districts, the much abused partylist system took another hit in 2010. They allowed national candidates to use their air time for their ads. It will not be surprising if hundreds (or thousands) of partylist groups will register in the future only to sell their airtime to other national candidates. And soon we will have a ballot longer than the voting queue (poor PCOS machine). 

 

7. Bayan Muna, Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza

A lot of people scratched their heads when they learned that street parliamentarians and left-leaning partylist congressmen Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza were included in the senatorial line up of one of the country’s biggest capitalists. Their problems started to mount, first they have to share the stage and dance with Bongbong Marcos. Then, Liza Maza, a feminist and women’s rights activist had to endure watching Willie Revillame’s Kendeng Girls during their campaign. When the issues of lying, stealing and possible cheating were raised against Manny Villar, they were muted. For a “rallyist” and a “street protester” to be muted is like a butterfly without wings (with 89% of votes tallied, Maza and Ocampo were in rank 25 and 26, respectively with over 3 million votes).

 

6. Loren Legarda

In 2004, Loren got more than 14 million votes. In 2010, she’ll probably end up with a little less than 4 million votes. What is wrong with Loren? She was a Lakas stalwart until it was clear that GMA will not pick her as VP in 2004, so she jumped ship and ran with FPJ. In 2010, she was hoping to run as president under the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) but it seems the NPC has other plans. She slid to VP but her party’s presidential candidate (Chiz) backed out. Will she return to Lakas and run with Gibo or run with Erap (whom she helped oust by crying on national TV) or with Villar (whom she accused of corruption in connection with the C5 controversy)? She ran with Villar and the rest was history. Nevertheless, she will probably be reelected senator in 2013.

 

5. Villar Campaign team

There is a thin line between stretching the truth and lying. To say “Manny Villar was born an ordinary citizen” is true; to say “he was dirt poor and he swam in garbage” is stretching the truth. To say that his “brother died because they do not have money to buy medicines” when in fact he died because there was no cure for leukemia at that time is a lie. The campaign team also failed when they instructed Villar to issue blanket denials instead of answering issues point by point. If you are the frontrunner, you have the luxury to say “all these are black propaganda” and “all the accusations are politically motivated.” But if you are the runner up, you have to do more and prove your innocence way beyond reasonable doubt (but then again it is difficult to defend yourself if you are truly guilty and you might end up digging a deeper hole the more you speak).

 

Finally, in the advent of the internet and social networking sites (this is the first election in the Facebook and Twitter era), you can no longer rely on paid columnists and experts to defend/ promote you. Before, a professor (of public administration, perhaps) can come on TV and pretend to be unbiased and make statements saying that this candidate is good or bad. With the internet, it is very easy to search and retrieve articles in the past. Extremely biased views from paid consultants of certain candidates can be easily checked and cross referenced. A campaign is effective when ordinary netizens started copying and pasting them on their facebook and twitter accounts even if they were not paid to do so.

 

4. Mike Velarde

He was once a king-maker (he successfully endorsed GMA and Erap). He played with the idea of becoming king (president)… but with very low ratings he decided to remain a king maker. But then again, his seemingly anointed king (and business partner) was quickly losing ground in the surveys … and at the last minute, he decided not to play king maker anymore. Neither king nor king maker, Velarde will probably retain some political clout but he can quickly become a court jester unless he does something dramatic (or miraculous).

 

3. Dick Gordon

You were running in a marathon. While you are miles behind the frontrunners you badmouth everyone, the spectators, frontrunners, officials, media people and even the PA system. In elections, there are losers but some choose to lose in style, even managing to stage comebacks. Alfredo Lim, Raul Roco, Miriam Santiago and Ping Lacson all managed to win a senate seat after their failed presidential bids. I am not sure about Dick (I already saw a “like-page” for “Gibo for Senator in 2013”)… but then again, Filipinos are forgetful and forgiving. Three years from now I will not be surprised when people say “ah, tumakbo pala syang presidente nun, sayang si Roco binoto ko.”

 

2. Manny Villar

A lot of things will be written about him and his failure and I choose not to add except for one note: Hiding from the media a few days before the election makes you look like a loser.

 

1. Mar Roxas

Even if he finally wins by a “hairline”, Roxas will still be the biggest loser in this election. The thin margin makes him (and Binay) out of the running for 2016, unless they really work wonders for the next six year. He can probably win a Senate seat in 2013 and remain president of the Liberal Party but he should recognize that his opportunity has passed and must give way to other party members. He should also strive hard to make the Liberal Party more mature and less personality based. And similar to Villar, hiding from the media a few days after the election makes you look like a “such a loser, yaya!”.

Nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng ... pera

(found on the web)

Nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng pera?
Kumita ka na ba sa paggawa ng kalsada?
Yan ang tanong namin,
Trapo ka bang tunay na sakim?

Nalaman mo na bang mabibili ka nya?
Babayaran tayong mga ka-partido?
At kanyang plano’y mangurakot tayo?

Si Villar ang trapong magpapahirap.
si Villar ang trapo na mananakit.
Si Villar ang may kayamanan
At gumawa ng sariling kalsada.

Si Manny Villar ang magtatapos
ng ating kabuhayan.

09-12-22 Gerbs Christmas Party

Host: Ses
Location: Avida New Manila Clubhouse

I stumbled upon this link today. I never knew that I am one of the 25th most "powerful property persons" in the world I (http://www.globaledge.co.uk/news/the-world-s-most-powerful-property-peopl-28080). hehehe!

5 disgusting things in Philippine politics (no. 2: House politics)

When I first thought about this entry, I was outraged by the way our politicians bastardized the party-list system.

On how a novel idea of marginal representation was abused with the entry of the sons of Mike Velarde and Eddie Villanueva as partylist representatives. Partylist representation should enable groups and sectors marginalized by our society can be represented in Congress. It turned out that the system was used by people unpopular enough to be elected as usual Congressmen in their districts to sneak into Congress.

But it only gets worse, armed with a Supreme Court decision the number of Congressmen was expanded. Hence, partylist representatives including a child of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago were joined by Pres. GMA's sister and her favorite general.

Not to be outdone, the regular members of the House of Representatives did something more reprehensible. They passed a resolution to convene a Constituent-Assembly (Con Ass) for Charter Change (Cha Cha). 

While I do agree that certain provisions of the constitution must be revised, this is not the right process for one simple reason: I DO NOT TRUST OUR CURRENT CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS!!!

I DO NOT TRUST Prospero Nograles!
I DO NOT TRUST the Arroyos (there are now 4 Arroyo congresspeople)!
I DO NOT TRUST the members of political clans in Congress (that would account for about 80% to 90% of all Congressmen and Senators)!
I DO NOT TRUST pork-barrel loving politicians!
I DO NOT TRUST our district's congressman Pedro Pancho! (who is always with the administration and is related to C.M. Pancho Construction, one of the firms banned due to the World Bank Road Mess)

I DO NOT TRUST politicians in general!

5 disgusting things in Philippine politics (no. 3: Senate politics)

I just need to get this off my chest... I am really disgusted by the Philippine Senate. But I am not sure which one disgusts me the most:

1. That people like Haydee Yorac, Winnie Monsod, Perfecto Yasay and Bobby de Ocampo were denied membership to this exclusive club called the Philippine Senate.

2. That people like Jawo, Freddie Webb, Lito Lapid, Gringo, Ramon Revilla Sr., Ramon Revilla Jr. were granted membership.

   2.a. That Jamby Madrigal was granted membership after recruiting Judy Anne Santos (during the campaign, she constantly reminded people to vote for Jamby and not Juday).

3. That the Senate is willing to remove one of its members just to minimize his chances of becoming President of the Philippines even if the accusations were absurd (as Joker said, they all approved the Appropriations Bill, then they are all liable. It means that they sign laws even without reading it.).

4. That the former Senate President, who is under threat to become expelled-Senator, launched a 5minute- radio campaign ad featuring Boy Abunda to denounce the charges (what a statesman).

5. That Senator Sipag at Tiyaga dragged his daughter to a press conference to attest to his innocence in the Sentae mess (and then they ask for privacy when their children are questioned???) (what a family man)

6. That presidentiable-senators seem to be happy that the country will enter recession because it will be a good campaign piece against the administration.

7. That the Senate is spending more time doing investigations-in-aid-of-reelection instead of passing laws while we are about to enter recession.

8. That the Senate has Juan Ponce Enrile as Senate President.

9. That the Senate has Jinggoy Estrada as Senate President Pro-Tempore.

10. That the Senate has Juan Miguel Zubiri as Majority Leader.

5 disgusting things in Philippine politics (no. 4: Rape)

Coming in no. 4 for my list of 5 disgusting things in Philippine politics is the case of "Filipina "Nicole",  American US Soldier Daniel Smith and whatever happened before and after that incident in Subic.

Rape is typically defined as forced, unwanted sexual intercourse or sex without mutual consent. We may never really know what really happened that fateful day. According to a Makati judge, it was rape. But according to our Court of Appeals, it was not rape, it was a romantic encounter.

But more than just sex, rape is about power. The act involves the desire of individuals to dominate over others. Hence, rape is found in almost all societies, regardless of economic or income class and regardless of political or social structure. It is used a weapon in wars and conflicts. We also see rape used against vulnerable members of the society, like children and women. Because rape is more about power, it should not be a mystery why most rape cases were perpetrated by people whom the victims knew.

Looking at the Subic incident at a bigger context, both Nicole and Smith can be seen as victims. They may have been used as pawns in an international chess game played by the US and the Philippines. You may look at it this way, Bush felt betrayed by GMA's decision to pull out of Iraq. But GMA found a bargaining chip, a US soldier that can be jailed in a Philippine prison. This is a huge embarrassment for Bush's global war on terror. A bargain was struck, Smith is convicted but jailed inside the US Embassy.

Then, here comes the Obama Administration with less focus on war but more on the economy. Nobody really knows what GMA and Obama talked about when he called, but a lot of things happened after that phone call. Smith's conviction was reversed and he was immediately whisked back to the US.

Obama could have say any of the two
1. "okay, jail Smith, we don't care" 
2. "okay... I don't know what is the deal between you and Bush, but please free him now and we will include Filipino veterans in our recovery package"

Whatever really happened, what we know is that Nicole is in the US right now with her American groom-to-be who is also a soldier. Smith is also in the US with no military career and a dishonorable discharge.

While in the Philippines, we are at odds on how to deal with this issue. When economic, political and social realities clash with the quest for truth, justice and the rule of law, where do we draw the line? In other countries, debate ensues regarding principles, laws and direction the country will go to. Here, we focus on the drama of the individuals involved. (too much telenovela is bad for our country's future)

There is a very thin line dividing "blaming the victim" and "asking people to take precautions, so that they will not be a victim." It is true that nobody wakes up in the morning hoping to be raped. But you cannot also blame people when they say that "if she were not in that bar, drinking and dancing as if there is no tomorrow, she would not end up in that situation." This thin line, our Justice Secretary always carelessly crosses.

But what can we do, as long as his remarks can add up to the drama, then we can comfortably watch our evening news and our primetime telenovelas even if there are no clear distinctions between them.