Noynoy and Chiz

Two big events have occurred within the week.

First, as we all know, is the Mar-Korina wedding. The couple have finally tied the knot and exchange vows during their big wedding which was attended by politicians, showbiz personalities, and members of both families. Political personalities from the administration and the opposition arrived, clad in their designer ternos and barong tagalog.

photo courtesy of inquirer.net

Former Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and other personalities within and around politics expressed their hopes that Noynor and Mar will get their sweet victory in the 2010 elections. Oh well, as expected, Kris Aquino and Korina Sanchez will use their connections with different names and groups to campaign for Mar and Noynoy. These two chismosas and maarte girls in ABS-CBN will surely exert every effort to make sure the men will win.

The second big event this week is Chiz Escudero's announcement that he is leaving the Nationalist People's Coalition on the argument that a presidential aspirant should not have any political party in order to properly bring about change and good governance.

Chiz, however, said that he does note exclude from his options the possibility of abandoning his presidential bid. He has not made up his mind yet whether he would run or not. His fickle-mindedness or his lack of a long term plan is a sign that he is not yet prepared for the big role of the presidency.

Or could it be that Danding Cojuangco is not so willing to fund NPC's bet because he already expressed his support to Noynoy Aquino. Hmmm... Another interesting turnaround in Philippine politics.

On the Relief Goods @ the DSWD Warehouses

It has not been a week since a blogger sent shockwaves to the entire web community when an article about the relief goods stocked at the DSWD warehousese remained undelivered or unpacked. Due to the heavy traffic her site received, it crashed as it could no longer handle the visits. Too bad, she caught too much attention.

Well, the DSWD has already said it's piece through the honorable Secretary Cabral. Here is here response which I think we should all take time to read in order to understand instead of simply believing in malicious reports from various personalities or groups.

Statement of Dr. Esperanza Cabral on the issue of relief goods in the DSWD Warehouse

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) manages the National Relief Operations Center (NROC) which is the facility for processing and storage of relief goods that are purchased by the Department or donated to us by generous individuals both here and abroad. The relief goods are released to our Regional Offices or directly to evacuation centers or to the local government units as they are needed and requested by these entities. They are delivered in trucks, many of which were lent to us by private companies or by military vehicles. Some of the goods are shipped by air from nearby Villamor Airbase.

When typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng hit the country, we received and are continuing to receive donations. Our warehouses are indeed full, inspite of the fact that we have distributed 500,000 food packs and 200,000 clothing packs as well as thousands of sacks of rice, blankets, beddings, and items of personal hygiene in the past almost 4 weeks. That is the reason why when asked if we still have enough goods, my constant reply is yes, so far we do, thanks to the many kind-hearted individuals and organizations as well as countries who responded and are still responding to the plight of the typhoon victims.

There are no rotting relief goods in our warehouses as we do not keep perishables there and the relief goods that are there, save for the donated old clothes are quite new since they have been either recently purchased by us or have been just donated.

Our goods are repacked by volunteers who are there because they want to help. But they are volunteers and report when they have time to help us. Sometimes there are two hundred of them and sometimes there are only a dozen. However many or few they are, we appreciate their presence and their assistance. Weekdays are usually quiet but on Saturdays and Sundays, the students, along with others who work Monday to Friday, including our own employees, are there.

Our staff at the warehouse work round the clock even now, making sure that the requests for relief goods are met in a timely manner. They work hard, they work quietly and they work humbly and I feel bad that they have been subjected to public vilification that they do not deserve.

I do not recall having talked to an Editor of Philippine News. I do remember my secretary telling me that someone was on the phone asking why there were no volunteers working at the warehouse. My reply was we do not own the time of the volunteers. I wish that I could have prevented the deaths from typhoons but in fact, they have nothing to do with the relief goods that we are in charge of. Most of the deaths were from drowning or injuries sustained during the typhoon. Some died of illnesses. We are not in charge of rescue nor are we in charge of health and to the best of my knowledge, none of the deaths was due to absence of or delay in the delivery of relief goods.

We would like to assure all of you that the relief goods will reach the intended beneficiaries as they become necessary and will be used only to assist them. However, the relief goods don’t all go out at the same time and an empty warehouse is not proof that the goods were used properly just as a full warehouse is not evidence that the goods are being hoarded. If you visit our websitewww.dswd.gov.ph you will find updates on our activities related to typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. It includes an updated list of donations received and goods released from the DSWD warehouse.

There are many aspects of disaster response. They include recovery and rehabilitation and in both instances, goods and other resources are still needed. In the initial reaction to a calamity, people will want to help and as we saw recently, they came in droves, offering their time, their talent and their resources. We want them to know how much we appreciate them for what they have done and what they are still doing. But further down the road, when the initial flush of generosity gives way to donor fatigue, there will remain only a few hardy NGOs and volunteers and the workers of the DSWD and other government agencies to continue the job of helping the disaster victims back on their feet. Judicious use of resources at the outset is imperative lest we face the situation of even greater want after a period of relative plenty. We at the DSWD wish to assure you that your trust in us is not misplaced. Thank you.

Can he or can he not?

Section 4. The President and the Vice-President shall be elected by direct vote of the people for a term of six years which shall begin at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following the day of the election and shall end at noon of the same date, six years thereafter. The President shall not be eligible for any re-election. No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time.

-Sec. 4, Article VII, 1987 Philippine Constitution

This provision in our beloved Constitution is the most memorized provision at this time. We all know why. The debates were opened by Erap's decision to run for president in the 2010 elections. Jojo Binay is his running mate.

Actually there is no "actual" controversy yet, since there is yet no justiciable issue. In political law, a justiciable issue "implies a given right, legally demandable and enforceable, an act or omission violative of such right, and a remedy granted and sanctioned by law, for said breach of right."

Under the given facts of Erap's "announcing" his bid for president, there is only the need to wait until Erap files his candidacy. Anybody can now question the constitutionality of such act.

Now to the main talk of the town, can Erap really run in the 2010 elections?

IMHO, he cannot. The PRESIDENT cannot run for reelection. Clearly, what Erap is doing is reelection. Notwithstanding the fact that he did not finish his term, he has been duly elected in 2008 as president. That being the case, the constitutional bar applies. He was proclaimed president, he served as president, and he was president, thus he cannot run for reelection.

The point is very simple to make. The legal luminaries on Estrada's camp make the different twists to the one controversial sentence we all have memorized right now.

The unacceptable comeback

Erap and Binay have declared their respective bids for the presidency and the vice-presidency already. Well, this is what we have expected a long time ago. It's official, Erap was not able to unite the opposition he and obviously did not really want the opposition to have a lone candidate.

Binay, on the other hand, the kiss-ass that he is, has accepted the indorsement for VP. Whew! The chief executive of Makati who has his own graft and corruption cases is reaching for his star.

As usual Binay made nasty side comments against the current administration, like he always does. That's what he's good at.

It's time to be vigilant again. Not because they appear to be for the masa it already means they will indeed work for the masa. Look at the apparent contrast between the two. Erap who says he will serve the masses and Binay who usually sides with the big businessmen in Makati. How's that for a tandem?

Bantay Donasyon

Relief operations centers are still overflowing with donations from various donors, whether coming from within the Philippines or from our kababayans abroad.

Some TV networks brag about their collection to have reached millions and millions of pesos, not failing to mention the big names of the donors. I actually wonder why there is the need to publicize how much have been gathered by the networks.

If they indeed have these huge sums, why can't they just use it for building houses or classrooms, or for putting up livelihood training centers which can better help the victims of the calamities?

I'm beginning to believe my friend who said that foundations indeed make money out of the donations they collect. Tsk tsk.

Addendum to Survey Says

The September 18-21 survey of the SWS had a rider. A rider was defined as a privately-commissioned set of questions. This rider was attached to the SWS September 18-21 Survey, and it addressed the questions of who, specifically, voters would vote for, for the presidency and for the vice-presidency, and possible tandems of president and vice-president.

Below is a copy of the rider which I copied from this Inquirer blog.


It is interesting to note that the names in the list were all from the opposition. Not a single name allied to the present administration is included. The privately-commissioned set of questions seem to have deliberately omitted the likes of Teodoro or even Fernando. There is not a single name of any religious-affiliated aspirant.

What does that mean?

Indeed it is mind-conditioning.

Survey says

Today's editorial of the Daily Tribune (Tribune) is a very interesting read. It's so interesting that it told of the real intentions behind the release of the SWS surveys every quarter.




The most recent survey result showed LP's bet Noynoy Aquino getting 60% votes and Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party got 37%, followed by former President Joseph Estrada with 18% and Sen. Chiz Escudero with 15 %.

But the manner by which these results were obtained was quite unusual. Instead of asking the respondent who is their top pick (note that it's in the singular), the survey asked the respondents who are their top picks (that's in the plural) for the presidency, choosing three candidates each. Thus, the 60% vote that Noynoy got does not necessarily mean that he was indeed the top pick. With two other choices in the selection, then it would naturally mean he shared the rank with some other choices.

Clearly, this is indeed one of the many ways that surveys tend to condition the mind of the people. In 2007 SWS and Pulse Asia surveys began this conditioning of the minds of the electorate. And now, SWS is obviously doing it again.

This recent survey is like preparing an instant 3-in-1 coffee mix in order to put SWS clients Aquino and Villar in good positions. Well Mr. Mangahas is apparently taking good care of his clients.

We can't be fooled by these surveys which treat us like idiots who know nothing about simple mathematics and logic.

Relief Ops aka Advance Campaign ni Noynoy at Manny

Two strong typhoons hit the Philippines in just two weeks. The relief efforts during the aftermath were overwhelming and I can personally say that the Filipino spirit of Bayanihan is very much alive in each one of us.

But what disturbs me are the reports that there are some politicians who make use of the relief operations as an advance campaign mechanism.

For one, a photo was uploaded on the internet by a concerned citizen, which showed a food pack distributed by Manny Villar but which food pack bears the good Senator's name. Not only that. I also saw pictures of bottles of water and some clothings with photo's of the same Senator printed on it. He also personally indorses the show Wowowee and he even goes around distributing relief goods along with Mr. Willie Revillame.

Then there's Noynoy Aquino's own relief operations where volunteers are encouraged (daw) to wear yellow while on their shifts in packing goods. Of course, there are streamers of the also good Senator in some calamity stricken provinces.

Tsk tsk.

I will not upload their pictures in this blog because doing so would just provide them additional publicity. I don't want to contribute to the popularity of politicians like them.

Helping should be done wholeheartedly, not for purposes of getting the people's votes for the coming elections.

Angkas ng angkas

Funny text my friend got this morning.

"Si Erap may jeep ng masa. Si Villar may Bilyon. Si Chiz naman may NPC. Si Noynoy? Nakikiangkas lang. Sumakay sa pangalan ng ama at ina. Sa ads puro TY dahil may ABS-CBN at Inquirer naman. Pati sa donasyon at kampanya humihingi pa ng piso piso. Hanggang kailan ka aasa sa pera at kasikatan ng iba? Be ur own man."

These speaks so much about Noynoy Aquino capability to stand on his own once the real campaign begins. It's a challenge for him to move away from the popularity of his parents and his sister and do his own thing. If he can't this early, how much more when he becomes president?

We don't want someone who can't stand up on his own two feet, do we?

typhoons and politics

The week that was was indeed full of stories - heroic, sad, funny, incredible, and even political.

As typhoon Ondoy flooded the whole of Metro Manila and some of its neighboring provinces, politicians and celebrities alike came up like mushrooms in their various efforts to help in the relief operations. There were celebrities who bragged about their heroic deeds (Richard Guttierez) while some others remained quiet (Gerald Anderson and Jericho Rosales) and it was their neighbors who praised them for their courageous acts.

Of course politicians, especially the presidentiables, stealthily managed to publicly announce what they did for the victims of Ondoy: PNRC chair Gordon, the Noynoy-Mar tandem, Manny Villar and Willie Revillame's operations using the latter's choppers, etc. Gilbert Teodoro is technically not included because he has the official duty in manning the disaster response and relief operations on the part of the government as a whole. At least Gibo's acts were not politicially motivated as it was really his duty as DND head.

The preemptive evacuation in preparation for typhoon Pepeng was effective. It caused many of our kababayans in the north to be in safer ground as the storm passed through during the weekend.

***

News has it that the Senate is investigating what happened during the Ondoy onslaught that caused the massive floods all over. I doubt there would even be an inch of partiality in this investigation since most Senators would probably focus on self-righteous actions in preparation for their political bids.

Shelter for Ondoy's victims

Looks like the victims of Typhoon Ondoy are very lucky to be able to enjoy the comfort of the Malacañang halls as temporary shelter away from the crowded evacuation centers where they came from.

Residents of Brgy. Tatalon and Agno in Quezon City were accomodated by Palace officials and were fetched by the President herself on Tuesday night and were brought to Malacañang Palace. These families were treated with nice meals and comfy bed foams at the Mabini Hall as well as in the Ceremonial Hall of the presidential residence.

This gracious act of the President is noteworthy because it has been years since the residence of the chief-executive has accomodated ordinary citizens. It is worth emulating for other politicians from well-to-do families or who were born with silver spoons in their mouths. This act of kindness from GMA is a step towards bringing the people closer to the government.