Congratulations to Charles Santiago for winning a parliamentary seat in the recent elections in Malaysia. He represents Klang in the state of Selangor.
Charles is an economist-activist and expert on trade and development issues.
I met him at an Asia-Pacific Conference on Debt and Development in Bangkok in 2005.
I am certain that he can contribute much to the changes sweeping our ASEAN partner.
(5:02 a.m.)
If Lakas is weak in its line up for the 2010 elections, the other side has too many.
Here is a partial list of opposition “senatoriables” tipped off by veteran kingmaker Manong Ernie Maceda:
Muslim lawyer Adel Tamano, former Cavite Congressman Gilbert Remulla, Bukidnon Congressman Teofisto Guingona III, incumbent Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Jamby Madrigal.
As much as 40 names have been mentioned in one report.
Count in returning senators like Frank Drilon, Serge Osmeña and Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., and almost senator Koko Pimentel.
If we were to have fresh and young leaders, the Liberal Party has the likes of Congressmen Erin Tañada of Quezon, Ruffy Biazon of Metro Manila, and Jun Abaya of Cavite, and the NPC has Darlene Antonino-Custodio, who knocked out Manny Pacquiao in GenSan.
A number of those mentioned as “presidentiables” might also slide down to the senate slate.
(7:35 a.m.)
US-educated former military man turned politician Rep. Roilo Golez has called for the “democractization” of the selection process for the 2010 elections.
He says we should not limit the choice to the 8 or 10 high profile personalities prominently mentioned as “presidentiables” and leave the decision to “political bosses.”
He believes the long period between now and 2010 should serve as a “winnowing process” to level the playing field.
He ticked off a list of more presidentiables longer than my New Year’s Resolutions. It includes outstanding local officials like Mayor Rody Duterte, moral crusader priest turned politician Governor Ed Panlilio, members of the Lower House and even militant leaders like Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel of Akbayan.
I agree with him that with almost 90 million Filipinos, the nation has a truly deep bench of dedicated leaders to take a crack at Malacañang Palace.
I say lets count him in too.
(5:42 a.m.)
Presidential wannabes have become a dime a dozen with the on-going Pinoy style primaries.
At last count, here are the “presidentiables” - Vice President Noli de Castro, Senators Chiz Escudero, Dick Gordon, Ping Lacson, Loren Legarda, Mar Roxas, Manny Villar, Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Mayors Jojo Binay and Sonny Belmonte, Governor Gwen Garcia, MMDA chair Bayani Fernando, ex-President Erap Estrada, and with the latter’s dare, also ex-President Fidel Ramos.
These names were also mentioned - Senators Jingoy Estrada, Jamby Madrigal and even FG Mike Arroyo.
Impressive list? Hohum, our mayor sees no one among them winning his vote. He says he might declare Davao an “open city” in 2010.
In the US, they trim down the wannabes by the state caucuses and primaries. Here, veteran kingmaker Manong Ernie sees money as the ultimate eliminator.
With a required war chest of about P3-5 billion, he estimates only four have the financial capacity to wage a decent, and might not not even be a winnable, campaign.
Elections are clearly a money game.
2010 is almost in everyone’s lips these days but the Palace occupant is as usual the denial queen.
She warns that early talk of elections can cause instability. Hohum.
On the contrary, not talking about a peaceful transition in 2010 is what I would call a serious threat to democracy.
After the assumption of Senator Mar Roxas of the leadership in the Liberal Party last Monday and the centennial bash of the Nacionalista Party last night led by Senate President Manny Villar, now comes the Nationalist People’s Coalition’s annual Christmas party on December 18.
Boss Danding Cojuangco is expected to be more generous this Yuletide with his victory over the ownership of 20 percent of San Miguel Corp.
What about the administration Lakas and Kampi parties? Well, they are busy backstabbing each other. If not, they are wasting people’s money with a junket to Spain and England next week in spite of the pressing matters at home. No less than 40 administration congress members are joining GMA to Europe. Hohum!
I say oras na (it’s high time) to discuss 2010!
(6:43 a.m.)
It is now certain that the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections would push through on October 29.
Congress is now on break and cannot pass a new law to postpone it, and here is the best proof - Malacanang has started to give out campaign funds to its loyalists, members of congress and local officials alike.
So, if you are running in the polls, better hurry to get your share of the campaign kitty from your favorite politico, never mind if the laws says the barangay elections are non-partisan.
This government, after all, does not respect our election laws.
The ruling party has finally started its search for its standard bearer in 2010.
Two Metro Manila mayors, Sonny Belmonte of Quezon City and Bayani Fernando of Marikina, now the head of the Metro Manila Development Authority, are currently shortlisted.
The Lakas-NUCD is searching for one who has the following criteria:
Popularity, charisma, track record, integrity, leadership, competence and vision.
Looks to me that the seven requirements fit Liberal Senator Mar Roxas.
(5:28 a.m.)
I have not read Jarius Bondoc’s column yesterday until this morning.
He wrote “[Secretary Romy Neri] told me on that morning of Apr. 20 and several other times that not only a Comelec official but an influential businessman too was inordinately lobbying for ZTE Corp. The businessman allegedly was responsible for the sudden rise of the ZTE tag price to $330 million days before the signing, when its original offer in Dec. to Feb. was $262 million. What was the $68-million difference for, I asked in subsequent talks. Romy said the businessman was assigned to raise campaign funds for an administration party during the last election.”
Proves my suspicion correct that dirty money from China funded the administration in the last election. I am curious how much of this went to administration candidates in Davao City.
I ran under the opposition Liberal Party and aligned with the local Hugpong-PDP-Laban group of Mayor Rody Duterte. We did not receive campaign funds from the administration party. But some of my colleagues ran under Lakas headed in the city by then Majority Leader Prospero Nograles.
I hope some Senators would raise this issue when Neri appears at the Senate on Wednesday.
(7:14 a.m.)
The suspension of the national broadband network deal with ZTE proves that something is terribly wrong with it. Suspending it, however, will not actually solve the problem.
Congress and the Supreme Court should all the more probe the anomalous deal.
The bribe money for the transaction was quoted as high as $180 million. I suspect part of this went to the administration’s election kitty last May.
Hence, I propose that legislators pursue the investigation including this angle that foreign money were spent in the last poll campaign contrary to our election laws.
Pro-Malacanang senators elected last May - Ed Angara, Joker Arroyo and Miggy Zubiri - should be concerned that the money “donated” to them by the administration could be dirty and may have come from China.
(6:48 a.m)
Guilty or not, I believe Erap has long been acquitted by the people.
In the first election after his ouster, his wife and son won Senate seats in 2001.
In 2004, his close friend FPJ won as President except that “The King” was cheated of his rightful place at the Palace.
In 2007, the Filipino voters again went with Erap’s opposition group which clobbered the administration slate.
This voter behavior is backed up by the recent SWS September 3 Report on perception on Erap’s “involvement in corrupt practices” with 66 percent “Not believing” and 27 percent opining that he is “Definitely not corrupt.”
(7:32 a.m.)
The arrest of communist leader Joma Sison in the Netherlands has revived interests in the Plaza Miranda bombing in 1971 which led to martial law in the country for the next 15 years.
Sison, taken into custody for the murders of his former comrades, is also being tagged as the brains of the infamous bombing.
One of the surviving victims of the bombing of the Liberal Party rally - former Senate President Jovito Salonga - “could have been the greatest president we never had.“
Citizen Etta Rosales, three-term representative of Akbayan, and a tireless human rights advocate has written her analysis of the recent May 2007 election.
She batted anew for electoral reforms in the light of “unsettled and unsettling issues.”
One of this is the scandal “Hello Garci” regarding the massive cheating that denied Fernando Poe, Jr. the presidency in 2004.
The ink on Etta’s paper has hardly dried out when the Senate called for the re-opening of the Garci tapes investigation after a witness has finally spilled the rotten beans.
Etta’s write up will be featured in the September issue of the Human Rights Forum and should be a good reference material for this Senate probe. (5:29 a.m.)
Manny Pacquiao should be charged for election overspending.
If we were to believe the “good friend” of his wife, Jinky, and Manong Ernie Maceda, the boxer spent P200 million in the last elections.
That certainly is over the limit for a congressional bet in Gensan.
In barely a week, I have made 14 posts in this new blog
This only proves that there are plenty of stories to write about the Liberals and the 2010 elections. (6:23 a.m.)
The next presidential elections is still way off, three years away, but things are heating up this early.
I planted the seeds for a possible Liberal president by then in a new blog. I am happy it is getting positive feedbacks.
I took the liberty of listing down presidential wannabes from Billy Esposo’s most recent on-line column.
As expected, the list is long. Thus, the reason we should be discriminating in choosing whom to back in 2010.
I have made my choice this early. How about you?
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