Who the hell is Alex Lacson and how come he might ”make it”* as one of the magic twelve senators who will win in the 2010 elections? (*According to the Pulse Asia Survey of the public’s senatorial preferences, published last month.)
To find out, I attended the bloggers’ meeting he held at his home in Quezon City.
In Atty Lacson’s speech, he described his humble beginnings – something which seems to be the standard line of all candidates during elections. But I guess when you come from a family of eight kids in the province of Negros Occidental, when your mom’s a public school teacher and your dad didn’t go to college, and when you had to be a working student to finish law school, then you have to be the genuine article – galing talaga sa mahirap at binangon ang sarili (someone who rose from poverty).
And judging by his past and present actions, he seems to be determined to pave the way for more Filipinos to experience the same “luck” he had.
From the meeting, I found out three things about Atty Lacson that would serve our country well when he becomes a senator. I call it, Alex Lacson’s 3-Point Agenda to Optimize Opportunities:
| Agenda | Life Experiences | Personal Commitment to Action | Plan of Action in the Senate |
| 1. Educational Support | Born to a family of 8 kids, Mom was a public school teacher who instilled the value of education in him.
Atty Lacson was a working student when he was studying to become a lawyer. |
Board of Trustee/Director, World Vision Organization www.worldvision.org.ph/ | 1. Community Learning Centers in the barangays
2. Increase cooperation between private/nonprofit sector and government in providing education support (such as feeding programs, computers, etc) |
| 2. Scholarships | Atty Lacson was a scholar of PMA, UP, and Harvard | He has 38 personally-funded scholars in Negros | 1. Focus on the Committee on Education in the Senate and initiate policies that would increase the number of scholars nationwide
2. Bring TESDA to the rural areas and institutionalize study-and-work tie-ups with the business sector |
| 3. Faith in the Filipino | Offered to migrate to Canada but didn’t pursue it
Awarded Good Citizen Award, Best Filipino in Linguistics, Young Filipino Achievers Award |
Wrote the bestselling book, 12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country
Wrote the poem, I Am Filipino |
Push for more socio-civic education in schools to teach the next generation about responsible citizenship |
Check out his website, http://alexlacson.net/pinoyalexlacson/ to get to know more about him and why you should vote for him as one of your twelve senators in the coming May 2010 elections.
Popularity: 1% [?]
this is one candidate who deserves a long, hard look – a reprieve from the usual artista, trapo, snub aristocrat masquerading as “masa”, “moral” pretenders, extremist from the left or the right, militarist, and just plain opportunistic clown.
Hmmm are you referring to Villar?
I think he’s one of the opportunistic people. He jumped to the liberal party from the Kapatiran party when he knew Noynoy was running if I’m not mistaken. That’s a negative characteristic on my list.
Seems like a “Poor Boy” story. Like Villar. We had been deluded by
such stories of Politicians many times already. “Lumang tugtugin na
iyan.” “Masakit na sa tainga.” Find some better stories to make yourself
elected. People are not dumb as you think.
Curious. How many scholarships is Mr. Villar providing? How many books has he written?
Joe
Dear Equalizer,
Alex is an honest-to-goodness nice guy. He was a co-writer in Businessworld and we worked with Raul Roco before the latter died.
Bencard is right on target on this one. While I disagree with Alex’s campaign strategy, what do I know? I can’t even sell an umbrella in a rainstorm.
BTW, He’s not a poor boy. Alex’s wife is a vice-president at Citibank and he has a prolific legal practice.
Dean
Why is he using the “Poor Boy” story, to hook voters? I have
been deluded before by Politicians using this kind of tactic.
I will not swallow the same hook, line and sinker again dangled
by these kinds of Politicians.
He used it as an introduction to his personal life. When you see and hear him campaign, he hardly mentions it unlike Manny Villar. Please be careful with your words Mr. Equalizer. You obviously do not know anything about Atty. Alex Lacson.
I know him. He just introduced himself as a former Poor Boy. The same tactic con Politicians used. I was a former Poor Boy
like Villar. Or I am for the Poor, like Erap Estrada the
Plunderer. “Bato bato sa langit. Ang tamaan ay huwag magagalit”.
“Push”, “Focus”, “Bring”, “Increase cooperation”, “Initiate policies”
Mga buzzwords na walang kwenta na pinulot sa basurahan ng usual politico motherhood statements.
How does he intend to finance this? Where is the revenue stream? Does he propose to raise taxes…etc…
You’re right to be cynical and we should be, but at the same time we should be open enough to opportunities realized, and opportunities to vote the right person to office.
I was skeptical too at first. Didn’t want to vote for Lacson simply on account of his book which I thought was too naive and grade schoolish, but looking at his other credentials, I may change my mind.
If we get why people would honestly vote for Gibo (though I’m going for Noynoy), then maybe we can give Lacson a chance. And besides, a different Lacson is leaving the Senate (or last I heard, has left the building) so we should replace it with another one. Think of the stationeries and nameplates we will save by voting the same surname to office!
Lacson has a snowflake’s chance in hell of winning the senate at the moment. His poll numbers are too low.
Besides, his so-called “Poem” I am a Filipino spells religious NUTCASE. He should be running under Kapatiran.
nash.
Have we all lost the capacity to believe?
Should he all be cynical, dismissive and just leave our future to the trapos?
Take our pick on what basis:
http://atmidfield.com/2010/03/04/philippine-politics-viability-or-buyability/
I’m not cynical.
I’m not really am not fond of the extremist God brigade like Lacson….they tend to be cuckoo.
Dapat makilala mo yung tao before you write him off.
whats wrong with the poem? what makes him an extremist?
Dear Mr. Nashman,
There are some numbers that support your view.
De los Reyes was ranked lowest in credibility and trustworthiness following a forum he attended where the audience was composed of students and educators.
I’m sure there’s a lesson to be learned somewhere in that. The next ranked lowest was Eddie Villanueva who tended to pontificate also.
Dean
Mang Ding,
I don’t subscribe to the school of thought that I must “Know” the candidate “personally”
Since they are running for public office all I care about is what they do publicly and what’s on paper.
After all, history is replete with ‘charismatic’ madmen and madwomen. Ayaw ko namang ‘pagkakakilala’ will affect my decision.
Dear Mr. Nashman,
Alex was a former president of Kapatiran. He left when he and one of its founders disagreed on such minutae as “car tints” and “boxing” as a sport.
Dean
Ah, the nitty gritty of obscure canon law on car tints has caused a schism again.
We really need to get the messianic religious extremists out of government and have civil servants who do not put ‘god’ in public policy.
Palibhasa hindi ka naman nakatira sa Pilipinas ngayon nassh kaya ganyan ka na lang umasta.
Relevance?
I am a registered voter. Most of my pitiful non-income is still ploughed back to the Philippines.
And I keep my opinion regardless of where I am. I can say the same things about certain things whether I am in Timbuktu.
I am fortunate enough to travel and to see how certain places work. Alex Lacson does not cut it, by the standards I am used to. Here or there, that is my opinion.
Or another crook in the making?
NO.
No.
Dean
Since most of you seem to shot down every good politician out there, may I ask what have you done for the country to be so pompous about being right?
It is because of people like you who whine all day but do NOTHING that’s why this country is going to the dogs. I’ve had enough of people like you!
emotional?
Irony?
Ms. Soliz,
I think its unfair to first ask people who post here what they’ve each done for the country and then in the next sentence answer the rhetorical and declare that they’ve done nothing.
You can always point your curser and close the window as an option.
Dean
Hi Nashman,
Okey. So, you don’t like to elect people who fear God? What would then be your prescription to prevent say, graft and corruption? What would be your anti-thesis or counter proposal then?
I agree—we don’t need “religious extremists” in government, but as far as I know Alex, he’s not a Catholic extremist. He’s not going around town with an axe, you know. What he wants is change, that’s it.
I had the chance to be a room mate with the guy and I think that he has the skills and the character to be one of those “luminaries” in the Senate. Since we have a very shallow roster of Senatoriables, maybe time to give the benefit of the doubt to those who has the skills but none of the trapo-ism of most.
It’s not about fearing god.
It’s about loonies. Kapatiran is a loony party. I have read their manifesto.
History shows that those who ‘act in the name of God’ make for the worst leaders and are no different from trapos
To answer your question regarding graft and corruption:
Punishment works. Zero tolerance and a high conviction rate works.
Obviously, humans of above average integrity and courage are needed. (More than the sum of 10 FV pundits and tambays like me)
Is Alex Lacson one of them? His Kapatiran back-history and fatalistic god-poem is shifting my heart and brain towards the “Maybe a decent man, but not good enough” column.
I can also give him the benefit of the doubt but then again the surveys show he is not even in the top 18 so what pragmatic use is giving him the benefit of the doubt? We need to look at the top 18 and start shifting the worst 6 off the top 12.
whats wrong with the God poem?
surely u dont mean merely mentioning God makes u illfit for office?
so what’s the hubbub about voting a cuckoo to the senate? i can name a few who ALREADY ARE in the senate.
C’mon, there’s a dearth of good people we can vote to office; we’re not telling you NOT to vote for Lacson (A, not P), we’re just saying give him a fighting chance. And with the PMA, UP and Harvard behind him, maybe there’s something to him; let’s try to find out more.
Having said that, what do you mean by “Offered to migrate to Canada but didn’t pursue it”? Did Can offer him citizenship papers and he refused it, or did he apply but got tamad to have his medical checkup and let it lapse? Who refused what it was that was offered to whom? But it’s a little too late now don’t you think? Canada won hockey gold, and now it’s doubly hard to get in; just look at the lines at RCBC!
Religious cuckoos are the worst kind and do the most damage.
Bong Revilla, Lito Lapid may be cuckoos but the collateral damage is minimal.
And Miriam is not a cuckoo, she is just misunderstood.
Miriam is a nutcase. She has depression.
get your facts straight. Miriam has a doctorate in religious studies, and she’s just misunderstood? What’s that line again? That she’ll jump the bridge thing and said that she lied? Misunderstanding is such an understatement.
Effects of Revilla and Lapid are minimal? C’mon. The reason why Arroyo is still here, rampaging like a small hot-headed rat is simply the loss of two votes for impeachment. And Bong and Lapid were those two votes. They are wasting millions of pesos of our monies, Nashman. Don’t ever tell us that the effects are minimal. Every peso spent for cuckoos mean something especially to people like me who does not have enough to survive life’s expectations.
Obviously, I am making a joke. Did you expect something ’serious’ with Revilla and Lapid in the same train of thought?
Why so serious?
I do apologise and agree that Lapid and Revilla are dangerous deadweights.
@hidden
“Did Can offer him citizenship papers and he refused it, or did he apply but got tamad to have his medical checkup and let it lapse? ”
yeah, this is confusing too. does canada offer citizenships to people without them applying for it first?
perhaps via a family? a citzenship petition from a parent?
Hidden Dragon, i like the comment about the rcbc lines. seriously, who doesn’t want to move to a country where you’re paid half of your salary for a year if you were laid off. also, as far as i know, countries offer migration papers (and later on, citizenship) to individuals who apply and qualify. with regard to alex lacson, he qualified but decided not to go for it.
sabi mo nga, let’s find out more about each candidate and look at their qualifications. let’s give this guy a chance.
Obviously, I am making a joke. Did you expect something ‘serious’ with Revilla and Lapid in the same train of thought?
Why so serious?
I do apologise and agree that Lapid and Revilla are dangerous deadweights.
hehehe. apologies accepted my man. now, back to alex lacson.
i do agree on your points though. i thought the poem was rather too surreal for me, not even a reflection of what really is Pinoy. however, I want to give him points for trying to define what is really, Pinoy.
and your points about Ang Kapatiran is legitimate. However, needless to say, if we just remove the so-called “religious element” in the party, will you re-consider? I mean, Ang Kapatiran is, in my book, better than LP or NP.
Many people I know will not vote for the presidential election specifically for the presidential position. Why? They said they have no trust to any of the presidential candidates. What will happen now? Plus, we have lots of candidates for presidency. The aggregate votes will be divided into smaller numbers. Now, does the future president deserve to win?
“Who the hell is Alex Lacson…”
Hmmm, who knows?
I think Alex would get a number of votes arising from sympathy/loyalty with Senator Ping Lacson as well as people confusing him with the fugitive senator.
Dear Phil.
The two are not related. Ping is from Cavite. Alex, from the Visayas.
You are right though. They are being mixed. The psoters of Alex name him as “Pinoy” Lacson. To the myopic (literally and figuratively) Pinoy and Ping might look the same from a distance.
Dean
Heheh, Dean, I like that figuratively thing you’re implying.
I’m actually considering Alex Lacson too. When I have finalized my 12 Senatorial Candidates, I will definitely share here on FV.
I don’t think being religious should be a hindrance to his success. I myself am religious, but do not make it a point to mix my own views with what’s best for our country. Take for example the Catholic Church’s role with regards to Reproductive Health, where they blindly castigate even the most religious just so they can tow the Vatican Line, even when we know that Population Growth is a still growing problem.. it’s just plain wrong to dictate religious views with the State’s role in governing its people.
As long as Alex Lacson makes it a point to separate his own religious views from that of his duty to his people, then I will not discount his religious views as well.
On another note, I do like that he has been associated with World Vision.
As for now, my only sure candidates for Senator happen to be Guingona and Biazon (the younger ones)
But, it’s good that Lester has brought out the merits of this candidate, hopefully more writers will do the same as the election draws near…
@Lester, Welcome back! Long hiatus, glad to have you back in writing form..
Thanks Nick. This Alex Lacson guy made me want to share my views again. Last year, I wrote full-time on a “college romance” novel that I hope to publish this year. Sana maayos lahat. Anyway, are you still in the US?
Looking forward to your “magic 12″ post.
Not for anything else, but I think that Alex Lacson’s inclusion into the magic 12 rode on that LACSON psyche (inherent memory recall value).
In short, had the name been something else, nothing could add to it, much less a slot in the magic 12.
In any event, good for the guy although I most suspect the Plan of Action as having been thought out in haste.
His proposal of TESDA being brought in to the rural folks betrays any keen knowledge of what happens to graduates of TESDA after their skills training.
They are a misnomer and many are neither recruited locally or abroad. Ironically, there is much reported corruption in that institution.
(one more time)
Right. If it’s an Abalos, an Arroyo, or an Ampatuan, malabo.
Even if the memory recall is stronger.
well I can go with you here guys, I like what Im reading about him so I ll voting for Alex Lacson.
I think his chances is bossted by being a name sake of Ping Lacson
name recall baga .
So did anyone even notice the latest SWS survey results?
NoyNoy’s percent number dropped again by 1 percent.
But Villar’s dropped by 6 percent.
which means lumaki iyong porsiyentong lamang NoyNoy’s lead over Villar.
Alex was an apparently sane person when he ran for the UP student council way back in the early 90′s. But he fared poorly in debates and was in a party not known for ‘real’ alternative politics (like Kapatiran? and LP?).
He was well-mannered in campus, prim and proper, and spoke gently.
And thus, I might not vote for him. Never saw him stick his neck out for anything really. He only went against the “activists” back then by being part of an opportunistic, ambitious network, at the core of which was his fraternity, APB.
Oh, by the way, I’ve read his “booklet” 12 Little Things… wow. Hindi ganoon kasimple buhay. Maganda ang booklet na iyon para sa mga tulad niyang bahagi na nang elite –at lawyer pa. Sabi niya halimbawa sa mini-aklat na ‘yun — pay your taxes. We all do. Especially the poor and the regular, salaried employees (like me). Tell the lawyers to issue a receipt everytime they ask for appearance fees, Alex. That should really increase tax collections in the country. Shallow book. Fairy tale. But then again, we live in a fairy tale land led by a Nuno sa Punso and her Ogres, don’t we?
But then again… up close, Alex was really a good person. Always willing to help and talk with people.
If only for this, I might vote for him.
Tignan na lang natin…:)
Alex Lacson deserves a chance to be heard. His tagline, BAGONG ISTORYA, presents an exciting ‘new’ story for the Philippines. I believe he will bring about change not only in how a Senator conducts himself in office but also in how he will lead the change we need in our thinking.
His book, 12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country, became a bestseller because our countrymen are looking for practical solutions to our country’s challenges. Let’s give the man a chance to serve. There are too many trapos already in gov’t, we need some fresh faces. Someone who can help us write our NEW STORY.
Don’t you think Alex Lacson deserves more understanding from us than ‘trapo’ senators like Bong Revilla, Jinggoy Estrada, Lito Lapid and even Tito Sotto III?
Before Alex Lacson ever thought about politics, he already made a strong impression on the late Max Soliven:
*A FILIPINO OF FAITH*
> BY THE WAY By Max V. Soliven
> The Philippine Star 12/19/2005
>
> We keep on paying lip service to the catchword, “Faith in the Filipino.” In this Christmas season of hope – and also sadness – this faith and confidence in ourselves too often falls short of being justified.
>
> However, here’s one story which must tell. This incident took place last Thursday in the late afternoon. I was rushing home in my car, an X-5, from my last meeting in Makati – already far behind schedule, since my next appointment, after a change of clothes, was in Malacañang. My vehicle broke down in the mounting rush-hour traffic on the Paseo de Roxas, not far from the corner of Buendia.
There I was, frantically trying to hail a cab in vain while the avenue was crawling alongside, almost gridlocked. My desperation must have been all over my face. I had fruitlessly attempted calling my Stargate office on Ayala Avenue, then my associates and friends nearby. I needed a car badly to rescue me from
the corner where I had been stranded. But nobody could be contacted.
>
> Then a white Chevrolet Ventura pulled up to the curb. The young man at the wheel leaned over, his window rolled down, and asked: “Can I help you, sir?”
>
> I blurted out, “Yes – my car over there broke down. I must get
home in a hurry! Can you bring me somewhere where I can find a taxicab?”
The fellow smiled and said: “Hop in, Sir I will drive you home.”
>
> I scrambled aboard, thankful to the kind stranger, and God – and for my good fortune. In retrospect, I wonder why it had never occurred to me he might be an armed hold-up man. I guess it was the disarming nature of his smile, his earnest approach. Yet now could anyone be so generous as to stop in the middle of traffic, then offer a total stranger a ride all the way to his home? He hadn’t even asked how far away I lived; he’d made the offer without hesitation.
>
> When we were underway, I asked to shake his hand and asked forhis name, “My name is Alex,” he simply said. ‘I’m Max,” I replied, then fished in my pocket and offered him my card. He peered at it, then exclaimed: “Wow. It’s an honor! I read you
every day!”
>
> “Now. Alex, you owe me your card in return.” I said. Stopped at a light, he took out his wallet, got one and politely handed it to me. It read: Alexander L. Lacson, above which was his firm’s title: “Malcolm Law”, underneath that, “A Professional Partnership. “By golly, I had been rescued by a lawyer.
>
> There you are. Somehow, when faith in the Filipino wavers, a Filipino comes along to restore your faith. Restore it? So surprise you with his kindness and generosity. This is an experience – and a shining gesture – I’ll never forget.
>
I finally told Alex I was headed for Greenhills. He grinned. “By coincidence, since I’m taking you there, my destination happens to lie not far away – I’m headed for Wack-Wack subdivision to give a talk at a Christmas party.”
>
> “Why?” I exclaimed. “In addition to being a lawyer, are you also
a preacher?”
>
> He smiled even more merrily and explained that he had written a little book. It was on the car seat beside him, and I picked it up. It was entitled: “12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country.”
>
> Alex had his little volume (108 pages) published earlier this year by the Alay Pinoy Publishing House in Quezon City, and it had sold out in its first printing within three weeks. The second and third printings were about to sell out, too.
>
> No, he wasn’t selling it through any bookshop, the biggest book shop (unnamed here) wanted too big a portion of its possible earnings, but I told them I wanted the proceeds to go to a scholarship foundation for the needy.”
>
> So, Lacson has been selling his book out of his office and out of his home. The dedication of the slim tome reveals his sincerity. It says:”To my Creator, who has blessed me with so much, and to my Country, which yearns for love from its people.”
>
> As we drove up EDSA, Alex said: “I read your mother’s book, “A
Woman So Valiant”, too – and I loved it!” Can you beat that? My mama had written that book of hers in longhand, on yellow pad paper not long before she died at the age of 81 on October 16, 1990 – and belatedly, we had published it last year. Astoundingly, it had been a runaway bestseller, without publicity, and had sold out in the National Bookstores.
>
> My sister, Mrs. Mercy S. David messaged me when she arrived from New York that the Japanese were now planning to transcribe theautobiography into Japanese and publish it in Tokyo, as a chronicle of what happened to a Filipino family in the war years (and during Japanese military occupation). The proposed Japanese title, “A Valiant Mother and Her Nine Children”.
>
> But that’s another story, far removed from today’s inspiring tale about Alex Lacson’s Christian spirit and generosity. One thing Alex said demonstrated he had really read Mom’s book. He remarked that the thing he vividly remembered in Mama’s memoirs was that, in spite of our poverty, she had determined: “I don’t want my children to feel poor.” Thus, one of us or two of us in turn had been taken by her, on her meager earnings as a seamstress, to eat at a good restaurant. The “classy” restaurant of the time, Alex recalled from its mention in mama’s book, was The Aristocrat. How lives intersect in this spinning world.
>
> To get to the end of the “rescue” saga, Alex Lacson drove me to my home in Greenhills, and I noticed he never broke a traffic rule. I was tempted, in my selfish agitation to get home and get my tuxedo for the State dinner in the Palace, then dash over to Malacañang, to cut corners, such as push into the opposite lane when stuck not far from the Buchanan Gate, in order to sneak into the Gate. But Lacson calmly awaited his turn in traffic . Obey the law and obey the rules were obviously the bedrock of his “12 Things” credo.
>
> In any event, getting to Malacañang in the end was only the bonus. Meeting someone like Alex Lacson was the real miracle .
>
Alexander Ledesma Lacson, it turned out, modest as he was in bearing, was a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Law, 1996, and took up graduate studies at the Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass. (Good old Harvard Yard, by gosh). His wife, Pia Peña – it turned out even more amazingly – is the daughter of an old friend, Teddy Peña from Palawan! She, too, is a lawyer – U.P. 1993 – a legal counsel for Citibank. They established a foundation together to help underprivileged children through school, and are now subsidizing 27 young scholars in different public schools in Alex’s native Negros Occidental.
>
The reason Alex had been headed for Wack-Wack was the fact that the officers and employees of a company named Resins Inc., after buying 1,000 copies of his book had invited him to give the “homily” at their Christmas party. This was not a small group– the company had 600 employees, waiting for his “word” that night.
>
> Alex, it struck me from our conversation, is an eloquent and devout Catholic. He believes God must have destined our people for some great role – why, in all history, he reasoned, were we Filipinos the “only Christian nation in Asia?” One thing is certain: He and his wife Pia practice their Christianity – and live it.
>
> Four years ago, he and his wife had a serious discussion about migrating to the US or Canada because the Philippines, as a country appeared hopeless since things only got worse year after year. They wanted to know if their children (they have three, one boy and two girls) would be better off staying in our country or abroad in the next 20 years.
>
> Pia and Alex had asked themselves the question:”Is there hope for the Philippines to progress in the next 20 years?”
>
> They reasoned: If the answer is “Yes,” then they would stay. If it was “No,” they were still young and energetic. There were long discussions. One day, the realization, Alex recalls, struck them: the answer to that question was in themselves. /The country would improve, Pia and Alex finally understood, if they and every other Filipino did something about it. Leaving the Philippines was not the solution. As Lacson put it in his book: “The answer is in us as a people; that hope is in us as a people.”
When I read the book afterwards, I discovered that many important people had endorsed it.
>
> But these encomiums are not needed. Alex laughed when I quipped that he must be one of the wealthy Lacsons from Negros Occidental, like my classmates and schoolmates in the Ateneo. He cheerfully, and proudly, said that he was “a poor Lacson.” His mother, he pointed out, had been a public school teacher in Cabangcalan.
>
> No, he’s not poor – his richness are in his friends, and in the heart.
>
> Here are, in outline, his 12 commandments:
>
> 1) Follow traffic rules. Follow the law.
>
> 2) Whenever you buy or pay for anything, always ask for an official receipt.
>
> 3) Don’t buy smuggled goods. Buy local. Buy Filipino. (Or, if you read the book, he suggests: 50-50).
>
> 4) When you talk to others, especially foreigners speak positively about us and our country.
>
> 5) Respect your traffic officer, policeman and soldier.
>
> 6) Do not litter. Dispose your garbage properly. Segregate. Recycle. Conserve.
>
> 7) Support your church.
>
> 8) During elections, do your solemn duty.
>
> 9) Pay your employees well.
>
> 10) Pay your taxes.
>
> 11) Adopt a scholar or a poor child.
12) Be a good parent. Teach your kids to follow the law and love our country.
>
> These are the 12 things every Filipino can do to help our country. At first blush, they seem simple. When you study them more closely, they are difficult to do. But all of us, together can do them.
I don’t get it? Why not vote for someone who lives what he preaches? He donates proceeds of his book to charity, he sponsors children, etc. Why give a person the third degree, and yet be willing to vote for the same people over and over again- people who sleep through their terms and pass zero bills. He isn’t saying he’s poor, he’s saying he used to be poor. What I like about him is he doesn’t say that he can bring one person out of poverty, but that person can lift himself out of poverty with help. I don’t think he is a saint but he is certainly better than most of the other people running for senate. The other newcomers are scions of political clans, with their relatives advising them at every turn. They can either be better than their fathers or be a new face for old politics. Yes, he is passionate about his faith, but I don’t think he is irrational about it. I won’t hold his image branding against him…I’m sure the PR people manufactured one for him and he went along with it thinking they’re the experts. And yes, he is very distantly related to Ping Lacson…which I won’t hold against him also.