What’s it like today? Rain fell hard on Manila flooding streets. It makes life cold and hard and difficult. It is so easy to succumb to darkness. I certainly don’t need to tell you that our society is so disillusioned, so fractured, so hurt that the phrase, “pinagloloko lang tayo ng mga politiko (these politicians are just fooling us all)” isn’t so easy to dismiss. We stand in a country where there is great dichotomy between the rich and powerful and the poor and hopeless. There is cynicism, and skepticism in spades, it is like a hard and strong wind during a monsoon threatening to blow off our candle in the night. And yet, Noynoy Aquino who stood before a crowd at Club Filipino was a different Noynoy from the one that stood before the same, just a week before. This one had steel, the other uncertain. So there is great trepidation as well as great hope as Noynoy Aquino stood on the ground where his mother took her oath of Office and announced he was running for President of the Philippines.
If you believe in the afterlife, you could almost imagine his parents, Ninoy and Cory looking down at their son, faces soaked in tears, proud at what their son’s choice was and perhaps a little sad at the world of hurt Noynoy just allowed himself to get into.
Noynoy Aquino is running without machine nor money. His party— the ancient Liberal Party is a shadow of its former self. It has long since been gutted and left to rot. Its network doesn’t even come close to the administration’s Lakas Party’s mammoth machinery, whose tentacles extend to local government. Noynoy’s money fall sort of business leader turned politician, Manny Villar’s extensive war chest. Aquino is running in a race where his political rivals are all ahead. They all have political advertising on television, even before the real campaign has begun. Noynoy’s competence has been questioned: what’s he done? The only thing going for him is nostalgia for a time much more simple and clean and people know, his moral compass is certain. is that enough? Is being a scion of heroes enough to propel him to the Palace and inherit a failed presidency?
Many will undoubtedly cast themselves as superheroes and fail to realize that there is no distinction between superheroes and normal people. Many will undoubtedly see Politicians as messiahs, cast for the role to save us all and we’ll crucify them when we realize they too are just human.
Elliot St. Maggin wrote an essay called, “The New Bards”, and it was about a book called Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. In that essay Maggin wrote:
The theme of “Must There Be a Superman?,” that icon of another life, is the theme that the new bards of Kingdom Come continue. Maybe complete. It is about the time in the lives of Superman, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, Batman and the others, when they learn that they are not gods. And it is about the time in their lives when finally they learn that despite their limitations they must be potent and responsible anyway. Now is the time in the life of the human race when all of us need to learn these same things. That is why this story, despite its garish primary-colored clothing, is an important one.
The heroes of fable and fact to whose virtue we all aspire, are not only colorful people leading vivid lives; they traditionally understand the value of human life in all it’s places and conditions. But real-life heroes, unlike many of the icons we have created, also understand human dignity and human immortality, and these are concepts that are lacking in, for example, Superman’s education. Heroes especially need to understand the value of the things of a life: its artifacts, its ideas, its loves. It is the markers you leave along that road that define you. It is the trees a man plants, the children he raises and the stories he tells that signify his life. It is the palaces a people build, the heritage they inspire, the art they create that makes their civilization. I’ve been trying to tell Superman for years that he mustn’t just save lives, has has to spit-polish the real estate too. He’s never understood that. He never got it until Mark and Alex told him, finally, and for that I’m proud of them.
In Kingdom Come, Mark and Alex draw a dichotomy between the human race and what we call the metahuman race. It is the source of conflict throughout the story. And the story’s synthesis is the realization that this distinction is false. As clearly as another hero, Mahatma Gandhi, asserted that he is a Hindu as well as a Muslim - as well as a Christian, a Jew or a Buddhist if that becomes appropriate - so do we learn here that the most ordinary among us are heroes, and the most colorful and vivid among us are quite ordinary and flawed. It is a conclusion to which our new bards lead us as elegantly and precisely as Socrates led us through an argument or Pythagoras led us through a geometric proof.
Even super-heroes need to grow. We know that now. When you read Kingdom Come, you will too.
Filipinos need to grow up to. We know that now. We can not let our failure with Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo define us. We must not let our past failure in governance, in everything define us. We must use them to teach us.
What makes Noynoy Aquino different from the other aspirants for the throne? What sets him apart from Manny Villar, for example? Senator Villar is a career politician with myriad laws in the senate. On the matter of character, I’d give Aquino points. On the matter of success story, no one can doubt Villar has built himself up, but I ask you: at what cost and does that cost justify Villar’s bid for the presidency? What makes Noynoy Aquino apart from Noli de Castro? the latter is a broadcast journalist, a senator, and Macapagal-Arroyo housing Czar. Is de Castro any more fit to run the country than Aquino? How about Teodoro whose name came up because he runs a government agency? How about Chiz Escudero who “was misquoted” in his privilege speech saying the heavy sciences and math are useless?
There is a startling dichotomy between rich and poor, the haves and the have nots; the intelligent and those who get by. The gulf between worlds grow everyday just as the cancer rotting the core, the soul of our nation grows everyday, just as the challenges of the 21st century is upon us. One thing that we’re all the same in is our uncanny ability to twist and pervert the law and bend it to our will. We must find a way to end the quarrel of our past and our present. We can no longer wait passively. We must take a step towards the future, letting our past and our present teach us, not define us.
Noynoy stood before the Philippines a different man than the one who went on retreat. He had steel in his voice and he stood certain and answered questions as honestly as he could. He is ready to run for president. One telltale sign I am looking for is if Noynoy becomes the sole candidate of the opposition. If he can unite people in the short time between now and election day, then as sure as day, he is ready to lead. Another sign is if he can prepare an agenda that is about inclusion rather than the exclusion politics of Gloria Arroyo is a good barometer whether or not he is fit to be president. After all, what use is his moral compass if he can’t steer this ship of state? To put it simply, Noynoy Aquino must banish our trepidation.
We must not see Noynoy Aquino as a Messiah, a Hero sent to slaughter all our problems. We can not expect his presidency to suddenly catapult our country out of the darkness of 19th century ideas and into the 21st century. We can not expect him to accomplish anything at all, if we do not stand with him, and work with him. He is running for President of the Philippines, not Chairman of the Justice League nor leader of all the saints in heaven. If Noynoy Aquino is “our guy”, we got to work with him. People shouldn’t be afraid to engage Senator Aquino constructively. If he gives us bullshit, we have to say so. Now. This is long before he can be president. If he does a great job, we must applaud. We must be part of that campaign to bring Civility into our national lives life.
Noynoy Aquino is a human leader, not a messiah and all leaders are but human. The great trepidation of this day is whether or not Noynoy Aquino is ready to lead. We forget that this trepidation also means: are we ready to follow and work hand in hand? The great hope of this day is that maybe we are ready to step up too. In the end, this is what I hope an Aquino presidency will bring: a binding of our nation’s wounds; of douching our anger and quenching our thirst for that elusive dream that our Public Trust was not given in vain.
Popularity: 2% [?]
At the very least, I expect cocoy to have also read the perorations of one Tony Abaya who writes a column in a broadsheet just as well. It is most intriguing in particular with regard to the issue of Noynoy gunning for the presidency.
If we only focus on the more important theme of his very amusing and entertaining ‘acceptance speech’, we have these worth reflecting on:
1. What is it he is trying to figure out or say in those words “itutuloy natin ang laban”, reason enough why he is running for president than could have already been achieved when her beloved mom Cory served for a good 6 year term?
2. What proof, if any, in survey or other historical document would tell a researcher, scholar or historian that would indeed confirm Noynoy’s claim in this – “Tinatanggap ko ang hiling ng sambayanan”?
3. Again, he said this – “Tinatanggap ko din ang hiling, bilin at tagubilin ng aking mga magulang” – as if indeed, many, many years earlier, Noynoy may have already been groomed toward the presidency? But no one knew at any point in the country’s history that one day, a Noynoy will run except that on the occasion of Cory’s 40th day of death, all of a sudden and from out of the blues, someone must have thought of a window of opportunity that could disturb the political game and will have everyone pointing to the proverbial Cross. What a psyche all this is?
4. Why do the Aquinos carry strong mass-hypnotic effect?
Lead what and lead where?
All I need right now is a president who will keep himself clean. The rest will be up to me.
Even the best well-laid plans may cause more harm than good, so wag na tayong mag-hangad nang masyadong magaling. Magaling, matalino… palagi nating sinasabi pero sino talaga ang may alam kung sino ang magaling at matalino. Para sa karamihan, matalino ka na pag magaling ka sa Ingles. Magaling ka pag mayaman ka. Eh, naks naman, ito basehan natin?
We jave to know what we really want first. Salita tayo ng salita. Ganito, ganyan, economy ito, economy ganyan, education, infrastructure… hindi naman tayo seryoso. Ano ba talaga gusto natin?
Put some of that steel into articulating a WAY to real change.
Joe
Joe, we should just focus on what we have (Noynoy), and make the best of it, instead of dream of the impossible… Jose Rizal, Ninoy, JFK (:)), etc.
BrianB,
I’m afraid I disagree. My professional background is planning and I understand the power of clear-eyed goals, set to measurable benchmarks. It may be that the Philippine way is to just go wing it, but there is a better way. Mr. Perlas grasps this. Noynoy can’t retreat to the closet to pray whenever he makes a decision. He should be proactive, not reactive.
Joe
Joe:
Am with you on planning, goal setting, implementation plans, benchmarks/KPIs, and continuous improvement/kaizen.
Where JCC said the benchmarks and frameworks look like a high school thesis. That’s the same thing I said when I first looked at the Strategic Planning of the USAID-Funded “Invest in Davao Project” that led Davao to outperform all the LGUs in the Philippines.
That high school looking thesis – generated $1B in a 3 year period – roughly $330M per year in a three year period. Prior to the program – FDIs in Davao averaged $3M per annum.
Now, compare that to the other parties who can’t even come up with a high school thesis. a bunch of bollocks who can’t even make it past kindergarten!
Noynoy’s way better though today than last week! I won’t disagree with you on the point that he needs to put some of that steel into articulating it for real change, Joe.
With all due respect to Perlas, this isn’t a country that reacts well with bullet points. Bullet points are not synonymous to clarity, especially when they totally miss the mark.
Nicanor is deluded in thinking that he gets the people. He gets the ANC-watching class but how many people are these?
If he’s serious about the mindset of Filipino voters he should’ve started years ago. If the Couples for Christ could grow into millions in a few years so could the Kapatiran. Same sort of professional-type people with good ideas. But Ang Kapatiran never really proved to be more than limelight moths.
I mean serious about “changing the mindset”
BrianB,
Maybe it ought to be a country that reacts well with bullet points. Sure, some miss the mark. But it is better to shoot at something, to move forward, than to sit stuck in time, drifting backward as other Asian countries use their plans to move forward.
Re Perlas, I accept that you know him better than I do, and will consider your skepticism as I weigh his campaign going forward.
Joe
Noynoy as reported by the PDI “will go after the Marcos wealth” to bring closure to the Marcos years.. It is extremely unfortunate that his mother failed to do so.
In order to bring real closure, he should find out who ordered his father’s murder. This is the real closure for the fate of the Marcoses hinged on that August 21 day. This is necessary for us to know if EDSA 1 was indeed worth it.
Also if your going after the Marcos wealth then go for the Gloria-Mike-Mikey-Dato wealth also.
That would be like swatting two flies with one stroke! And we want to see the guilty in jail this time.
if that’s the only criteria for Noynoy – to go after Marcos wealth – I nominate him to become head of PCGG.
Yes, I’d be interested to know what he’ll do for Gloria too.
This post is a keeper, coy. I doff my hat to you…
thanks ding! i appreciate the compliment!
To continue with the trepidation-part, here is a cut-and-paste from an under-35 blogger who writes that Noynoy ” is a dynast who activates, quite easily, the sleeping serf in all of us.” :
———
http://smoke.ph/?p=1646
UP n grad,
yep, saw smoke’s post earlier.
” is a dynast who activates, quite easily, the sleeping serf in all of us.”
That is a line for the ages. who is this blogger dude? you and cocoy know him, I’d like to read more . . .
Joe
Joe, blogger girl Smoke blogs at http://smoke.ph
cocoy,
Thanks. I appreciate the link.
Joe
Managing the country can be as easy like 123. When one is stuck with very difficult issue, one can always utilize a consulting company for guidance and other strategies especially when the senate and the lower house remains ” bolok” . Noynoy can be truly sincere and honest. People can demand from him and people can relate to him.
The current candidates may not be able to transform themselves in providing honest and transparent service. What’s Noynoy’s track record of performance? is he corrupt? Did he create overinflated project to make profit from? Did he buy the people’s vote? Is he engaged in illegal activity such as owning a corporation within his own jurisdiction that licensing of goods is under his control?
We need a money saver for this country. When we have no savings, we have no future. Is it not honesty is the best policy. Is he honest?
Yes, we need a balanced budget. we need better revenue collection. (oh if you haven’t you should go checkout the awesome discussion over at dean dela paz’s post on evat).
There is no need for noynoy to buy votes or perform. All he needs to do is stay in the shadow of his parents to win elections.
“We need someone with a vision for the country and a clear idea of what needs to be done to achieve that vision. Someone with a set of goals, an understanding of where we are right now in terms of achieving those goals; an understanding of what needs to be done, and the determination to get things done. Will that be Noynoy Aquino? From the looks of things, hardly.” smoke..
OK… sounds good but this country also needs a leader that can gather a set of political actors who can drive together for that vision to become a reality. Noynoy can be flexible when people demand good governance. The problem with our system is there’s too many bunch of corrupt actors who has no guts to tackle the real issues. Together we can make a big difference.
Questions:
Is Noynoy the type of man who will spend $20,000 of dinner in New York City? Is he the type of man who will disclose insiders information such as big government projects to his family and friends who are in the business of contracting? Is Noynoy the type of man who does not listen to the people? Is he capable of stealing billions of dollars and transfer the money like a monkey business- increasing his own personal asset? Is he the type of man who will sit down with investors and accept kickbacks? Is he the type of man who can easily be influenced by the elites and other private entities that may affect his policymaking? Is he the type of man who can say ” prosecute and follow the rule of law?
If not… then no one in our current candidates are capable either. they hardly qualify according to my own assessment. Human resource management is quite poor in our country.
I need some fresh air and a new glass of margarita…cheers and good luck mga pinoys..
Hopefully, there will be enough of the electorate to vote for such a candidate – who has integrity; who has the vision; who has concrete proposed programs that are: Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Relevant and Time-bound; who has the solid experience of getting things done in a most cost-effective manner.
to answer your question, yes I think he’s exactly that kind of person. Noynoy and his family are decent and that’s his appeal.
Wasn’t Kamaganak Inc a failure of Cory?
UP n Grad, if i’m not mistaken the cory’s family– kids were ok but their relatives where not.
leytenian,
okay, you are in paris drinking a mexican drink on the way to prague commenting about philippine politics.
Now that is an international bloggist if ever there was one.
I’m buying land on Biliran. My place on Mindanao got intruded upon by rebels and is up for sale.
Joe
Oh Joe, I can’t sleep well on unfamiliar bed. Oh buy in southern Leyte and raise
cattle and cows for the best filet mignon in our country. You need political connection in southern Leyte? Hahaha…. I may have an advantage… Lol
proost!!!!
Yeah tired of cider and crepes and free red wine on meal… And the hard bread that hurts my gum. Will share my pics when I get home…
More questions:
Is any of the candidates capable of designing a policy to strengthen our borders? Can he create more employment in this area for security especially drugs and human trafficking?
Philippines is the Pearl of the Orient. Can any of them return that brand to the people and make Philippines the number one tourist destination in South East Asia? hmmnnn with ferry sinking almost every other 6 months, that would drive tourist away… not to mention the basura floating on our seas..
good luck again mga pinoys…
You’re right. that’s one of the things we ought to fix. But the way I see it, six years is just damn too short to fix everything. I’d be happy if Noynoy chooses the battles he will fight in. Which ones will he “fix”.
I’m waiting for what he’s planning to do. the concrete plan.
Let us please rewind what has been earlier recorded on how Noynoy responded to that call for him to consider running for the presidency or words to this effect:
“why, do people reposed upon the Aquinos the whole job of cleaning the mess”?
Now, someone has yet to really revisit what it was that happened within the Liberal Party that day Mar has to announce withdrawal from his personal ambition to bat for the mad presidential derby.
Where signs indicate, since Noynoy will not give way to Mar, Mar instead gave way to Noynoy. In the end, this might have been a ‘lapse in judgment’ somewhere in so far as ‘conflicting interests’ are concerned.
Somebody just pulled the rug from under the feet of the party membership and no one would be honest enough to say.
Primer, imho it is none of our business what happened to the Liberal Party. Well unless you are a member of the Liberal party. In which case you should take it up with your party. I take it the presence of Roxas, Drillon, Pangilinan and others at the event is a sign that this was a sanctioned move by the LP. They will be idiots not to support Noynoy for his bid.
Does Noynoy understand that his role in governing means that he will try to temper the natural economic wickedness amongst the different sectors within society and be able to guide that natural economic wickedness towards a sustained direction towards building an egalitarian society?
He comes from a background of families practicing a most primitive form of wealth accumulation to the detriment to the vast majority of the members of society.
When can we move from the narrow confines of the economic competition between familial interest in this country disguised under mere talking points masquerading as platforms.
The country has not been able to move forward due to an ever increasing savings gap that has led to life or death dependence on foreign savings that has consistently led to a budget gap that has made the country simply continue to spin its wheels. The net effect is the export of indentured labor as the country is pretty much in a debtors prison.
The country cannot hold together under the business model of Hacienda Ayala de Makati, Hacienda Luisita de Tarlac, Hacienda Araneta de Cubao and the new haciendas sprouting all over the country under the SM, Robinsons and now Eton brands.
The competition for political power is simply based on maintaining the system and insuring that we have an equal distribution of opportunities to use government to further private interest.
Governments role as it is also run by humans with natural wickedness mandates that it comports itself with openness as it has an awesome power to create assets out of nothing and so far this power has been used for private gain almost exclusively. It is only through a governance of openness that will minimize the natural tendency to be wicked.
The youth of today have the Marcos, Aquino, Ramos years to thank for that. So far the person who is treading in the right direction is Perlas but his vision is too ‘kumbaya’ to be effective.
Subsistence existence gives human wickedness a moral imperative.
Now we are back on the treadmill trying to recreate the conditions of 1986.
Hear, hear.
Excellent observations.
cocoy,
If you as much as traced Noynoy as the scion of “heroes”, you can conveniently do the same, this time as a member of a political party. In both cases, they bear upon how viable Noynoy would be tot he presidency.
Therefore, it can be a rather flawed argument to say it is not our business whatever happened within the party dynamics as this is found fundamentally relevant to the future capacity of any of its members to lead. Point is, we are just taking a broader point of view how indeed, such an announcement has all been well timed with the 40th day of his beloved mother.
I have very low regard for the kind of “political theater’ that has just been pulled by Noynoy. Call it the Pied Piper as one commenter here has so analyzed.
Primer,
Noynoy belongs to the LP. they have their rules. None of us have a say about their candidate or how they choose their candidate is all i’m saying. Did the LP break their rules? That’s none of my business. That’s not our business. To be honest, I don’t particularly care. I do care that the LP is at least trying to be a party. IF you’re a member of LP, then I guess that’s your business. The Members of LP can take it up amongst themselves.
So to bring up the “political theater” well i guess that’s your beef with the LP’s media team. I’m sure everyone here is pretty much aware that how it was timed. How the story is being told is done to maximize his exposure, maximize the story and the ratings. His competitors have done far worst. Heck, how many commercials have there been from Villar? From Escudero? From Teodoro? They fall short of breaking the law and I don’t know why. I don’t work for Noynoy’s campaign. I don’t work for his media team. As an observer of events, to me, what they did was fair game. All is fair in war and all these candidates are at war.
We urge Mr. Aquino to be a Patriotic Filipino, like her Mother,
the late Pres. Cory Aquino. Greatness or Noteriety is a choice.
YOU CAN BE GREAT or YOU CAN BE NOTORIOUS, LIKE GLORIA ARROYO.
History and future Filipinos not yet born will judge you. You
will be judged “as is”. No sanitized Press Releaes.
I agree… we already experienced a lot early this deceda we don’t want a dumb president. We oust him out. Next we have a very intelligent president, we faced a lot of controvesies and wondreing how she can sleeps at night.
No we need an inspiration… if we have that inspiration, we, the Filipino People, should do our part. Our part on religiously follow the simple rules and policies in our society. no exploitation of the law. Please ;)
Wow! i admire the brilliance and articulateness of the messages and arguments here. It just goes to show that pinas is indeed teeming with intelligent and very capable citizens. I just wonder why pinas has not moved forward all these years. Vietnam may well soon overtake us, if not already. Could it be partly because of our penchant for ballroom dancing? Cha-cha, one step forward and double steps backward. lol! i’m amused at some people’s stressful analyses of the recent political atmosphere in pinas. why belabor too much in identifying the ideal qualifications of a presidential candidate? a president has a batallion of human resources and logistics to do the legwork for him. all he has to do is read through the recommendations or go through an array of choices to make an informed and the best decision for the country. This is assuming he has already put the right people in his cabinet, those that are one with him in his goals and objectives. all a pinas president needs is a political will to resist all forms of temptations and distractions and just do what he feels is the right thing for the country. In these times of utter helplessness, all i care is a pure heart in the next president of pinas.
I agree with Cocoy. Noynoy, when he becomes the next president, hopefully fixes some of the problems. He most probably will not be able to solve all the problems, but if he can eliminate some, that would be great for the next generation.
And yes, i confirm BongV’s statement. If i’m not mistaken of his identity, he was at the forefront of the “Invest in Davao Project”. Pero Bong, naa pa bay PCGG!!! ahahahaha dili ba murag na abolish na man to kay walay nahitabo? ahahahaha. Are you still in Florida? I’m in Lousiana for some audit works on our properties. hope you are fine.
May God bless us all and the Philippines.
i believe rom’s (“smoke” blog) working for a politico. did she disclose who the politician is?
just curious…
i don’t know who she works for. i’ve never asked.
Manolo Quezon’s column in today’s Inquirer frames the man and the issue correctly.
He wrote:
“My personal view is that until our institutions can be nursed back to health after the sustained browbeating and abuse they’ve sustained under the present dispensation—until, once more, an impersonal law can draw the line which no official should dare to cross—we have to have a president whose private conscience will draw that line. We’ve seen how, if that privately-drawn line does not hold, all other lines can be easily moved. Over and over again.”
“A candidate marked by personal integrity, who embraces transparency and flees neither debate nor investigation, and yes, one with concrete ideas as to what constitutes good governance not only on the future chief executive’s part, but for those who want to be on his ticket is a formidable one to start with. But it is not enough to start off that way, one has to finish the race that way.”
And what is he up against? Quezon hits the mark.
”… the only real antidote to the Aquino campaign is cynicism. It was cynicism that melted away when Cory Aquino died, it is cynicism that must be brought back if the crafty calculations that have been in play are to remain relevant. It is cynicism that can validate all the compromises that have excused the goings-on that have brought the country to the point it’s at now: with every institution tarnished, and with deep divisions in society.
And that, at the heart of it, is the real referendum this election will be about: to care so mightily about the country one can still dare to hope, or to surrender to the past while cloaking it in appeals to pragmatism.”
i agree with that. 2010 isn’t about good versus evil. it is about cynicism versus optimism. i’ve heard a lot of chatter about they’ll rather vote for Villar for example. But in my humble opinion, Villar seem to be the same traditional politician we all love to dislike. I’m not saying that Noynoy is the bastion of optimism since, we’ve yet to hear/read about his concrete plans, but so far– his is about hope. whether or not that hope translates to something better for Filipinos, we’d just have to see.
this unfair, generalized demonization of “traditional politician” has got to stop. not all politicians that rose through the ranks, through progression of political experiences, is despicable. manny villar, who originated from an average middle class family, made himself a successful student, businessman, family man and leading legislator of both houses. he is who he is now through his own effort, not because someone in his family paved the road for him. he is a “foster boy” for self-reliance and independence, a filipino horatio alger who is a great role model for filipino youth. the country needs achievers like him, not someone accustomed to receiving wealth, power and prestige served to him on the proverbial silver platter.
bencard:
i have the same observations. and if i may add,
manny villar appears to be a steady hand, deliberate, introspective, decisive, not-prone to rhetoric and pragmatic.
that’s right, bongv. maybe i’m missing something but i have yet to hear manny villar unfairly badmouth, malign, or personally attack another politician, whether as an adversary or estranged ally. as i see it, villar is not a practitioner of “politics of destruction” which in itself sets him apart from many of his competitors. to me, any politician who employs contemptuous language to personally assail an opponent doesn’t deserve my vote, whatever party he/she belongs.
Bencard, BongV,
Yes he is a family and he has made himself successful. I have no doubt about those things. But I know politicians too. Over the years this was the guy who delivered the impeachment of Mr. Estrada. This is also the guy who while senator remains owner of a lot of businesses. talk about conflict of interest. It doesn’t take much imagination for a government official to look the other way when dealing with a Villar owned company. He is under attack in the senate in the ethics committee— whether or not people will admit that isn’t politically motivated, is beside the point too. Villar doesn’t even say what platform he has or what plans he has for the future. I don’t think the NP exist other than in paper. He has motherhood statements too— like everybody else. How is he any different from Noynoy, whom everyone says, is walang alam? So in my book— they’re EQUAL in that.
Manny Villar has also been showing political advertising for months now. Like a lot of politicians. It is borderline violation of the law. Campaign is suppose to start sometime december, isn’t it?
While he has admirable characteristics— rags to riches story. I am sorry to say, I do not trust the guy. He reeks of the same brand of politics that has been reigning in this country. Where is his plan? where is his imagination? So i’m sorry to say, he is prone to rhetoric.
Like Noynoy, he has a lot to prove to me. So forgive me to say— this is just an observation and i’d like to be proven wrong: Villar is who you vote for when you are cynical about the Philippines and Noynoy is who you vote for when you’re optimistic. I know— it is an unfair characterization. It is just an observation. I’d like to be proven wrong.
cocoy:
speaking of conflict of interest – how about a landlord oligarch and the CARP. we already ate the pudding. do we wanna eat it again? suit yourselves – ain’t for me.
BongV,
CARP is a broken law, imho. It offers no real chance for a farmer to get out of poverty because the support structure is weak or just isn’t there. Our agriculture industry has fallen because we put too much emphasis on giving farmers land, but not in helping them grow it as a business. How long has there been CARP? Not only do we still have poor farmers but our agriculture industry is so whacked, we buy rice from Thailand. talk about progress.
Aquino is well-off but isn’t rich. Villar is. Didn’t Villar make a fortune out of real estate? Is there a finding somewhere that these agriculture lands were converted to residential zones to escape CARP? I don’t know. It would be interesting to find out, you know? Has the real estate mogul Villar authored or co-authored a bill that would improve agrarian reform?
Cocoy:
I have no idea what Villar’s position is on land reform. But since you asked, so I googled and I’ll post what I found to be the most relevant answer to his position on land reform.
The position is articulated here
What I want to know is whether he voted for or against the extension of CARP. And what he will do to promote more successful land redistribution to prevent Hacienda Luisitas from thriving.
BongV, this is what Manny Villar’s Website says of his senate record. CARP is not listed.
edit: ARE despicable…
cocoy, so you don’t like villar because he was instrumental in impeaching estrada? now i think i know where your values are. you contend that owning legitimate businesses while occupying elective office constitutes “conflict of interest”. what would you rather have? politicians making money the “old-fashioned way”, i.e., plundering the government coffers?
if the only fact-based criticism you can make against villar is having his innocuous picture on some billboards, then i rest my case: villar is the best presidential prospect among all the wannabees.
Loyalty to the party ENDS where Loyalty to country begins.
Villar’s handling of the Estrada impeachment showed, Villar placed loyalty to country above loyalty to party.
Bencard,
actually, no. what i said was:
. He betrayed his master when he saw the wind changing. I think he did it to win a senate seat.
Anyway, you said:
I see what your values are. That is the kind of values we must change: this disregard we have for a sense of propriety. I forget where I read it but doesn’t every president of the united states put his business interest on a blind trust? He does not run his company. He does nothing for it. He does nothing for his investments.
I’ve nothing against making money. I’m pro free market. But do it right.
In this country, Manny Villar doesn’t even have to be crooked for any other government official to turn a blind eye on his business interest. He doesn’t even /have/ to say anything, but knowing this country’s culture, people will look the other way, just because he owns a particular company. Do you see where I’m getting at?
I ask you: Has Manny Villar, his wife or immediate family placed their business into a blind trust or has left the management of his company in the hands other than his immediate family?
If you want to earn money, don’t go into government. I once wrote in this blog that maybe we should legalize commissions for government officials. I am all for whatever solution we the people can come up with to solve the problem of corruption. Let me tell you, corruption has its roots from the smallest official up until the biggest. It is the bloody norm, not the exception.
To be honest Bencard, I have not made up my mind whom to vote for President. But I’ve not read anything about Manny Villar that makes me think, he’s the better candidate or that he’s any different from the trapos and oligarchs running the country.
I’m pro-capitalist, if you’ve read my blog entries. A businessman running for the highest office of the land should make me want to vote for him, but oddly enough: i see him just like the rest of them. All out for their own, no thought as to what tomorrow could be. I see him doing nothing different. The status quo continues. I want efficiency in government. I hope but rarely expect honesty in government officials. I hope Manny Villar convinces me otherwise. The road to 2010 is a few months, still.
cocoy,
Nicely stated. It is interesting, I have moved Mr. Villar back onto my list of candidate prospects because Mr. Aquino has character but no clear record of being a hard-nosed achiever. If Mr. Villar WERE to put his business interests into trust, he would likely to earn backing. But why do I suspect he would not do that?
(Because there is no sense of separation . . . of working for the public vs. working for self in Philippine politics, as there is in the US. Here, you get into politics so you can benefit WHILE IN OFFICE.)
Joe
cocoy, so you contend that by helping impeach estrada, villar “betrayed his master”. following your logic, did not fidel ramos (not to mention enrile) betray marcos by joining edsa 1? and did not cory aquino betray gma by actively advocating for the latter’s ouster even up to her death, after “helping” gma to succeed to the presidency? don’t be selective, cocoy. if you find your position untenable, just drop it. there’s no shame in getting enlightenment.
again, did cory ever put her interests in the hacienda luisita in “blind trust” before or shortly after becoming president in 1986. do you know of any president, let alone a candidate for president, who did, or whose relatives in business ceased or suspended their business activities during the candidacy/incumbency of said president? in any event, i’m inclined to believe that a president manny villar would have no problem putting all his business interests in a blind trust during his incumbency.
as i said, manny villar is a self-made man who made his fortune the old-fashioned way – by earning it – starting as a fish vendor in divisoria while attending u.p. where he earned a business degree and an mba. he has an illustrious political career, the only politician in philippine history who became both speaker of the lower house and senate president. he is mild-mannered, soft spoken, always humble and never known to use foul language against an adversary or people he disagrees with. he has presidential personality and a likeable demeanor that could be a great asset in international relations.
Bencard,
didn’t she give an order that her relatives not engage in business during her term of office?
I’d still like to know when exactly did his businesses started to grow. is there a correlation between his rise in the political spectrum and the rise of his businesses.
cocoy, not to have the last word but whether or not cory gave an order, my question was: did all of her relative cease or suspend their businesses while she was president?
if you want to know the timing of villar’s business successes and whether they have anything to do with his successes in politics, do the research yourself and post your findings here at FV. i’ll be interested to know. but, please, no unfair presumption or prejudgment.
Bencard,
Our discussion hasn’t brought me closer to understanding whether or not Manny Villar is the better choice than Noynoy Aquino. I don’t know Manny Villar and you seem to know him far better, but when I asked how he grew his fortune, I’m told to do the research myself. So it seems, you too don’t understand who the guy is, after all. You choose to look at the romantic story: he was a fish vendor, and rags to riches story is a great story. How can that be different from people who say, a son of a heroes is a good story? I believe the burden of proof to let me know why Villar is better than Aquino lies in his supporters, of which you clearly are.
I’ve my expectation of Senator Aquino and I know what he lacks and I know what to look for in the coming months. As I’ve stated in my post, I’ve no blinders as to what Aquino is and what I hope he will become. Whether or not he meets or exceeds those expectations, well that’s a discussion for another time and judgement day comes in May 2010. Like I’ve mentioned, I’ve no trouble calling Aquino’s bullshit, if it comes to that. And I will applaud, if he does good. Expect from me to do the same whoever runs for president and who will eventually win.
On the question of Luicita, without more data on what exactly has been happening there, I will not comment. The knee jerk reaction of Filipnios is that the Farmer is the victim and the landlord is the guilty party. Sorry, my bullshit meter on the matter says, “caution”. I suspect there is more to the story.
In my measure of the political spectrum, without Aquino, VIllar is the more likely winner of next year’s contest. All bets are off and all the candidates, when examined are on the same footing. You might also want to read Smoke, posting about Manny Villar. She sums up what I’ve read and heard of Villar and my own measure of the man: “But the way he has chosen to approach his quest for the Presidency leaves me nauseated; and despite the inspirational tenor of his life, I find Manny Villar uninspiring.”
i don’t think manny villar will lose the election just because you and “smoke” find him “uninspiring”. he doesn’t have to get ALL the votes, period.
A marcos-made-worse situation
should best be treated with
an Aquino-made-better one.
Aquino-made-better is highly debatable – I wouldn’t benchmark Aquino with Marcos.
I’ll benchmark Aquino with Ramos. That’s where you can see the dichotomy between an intellectual giant and an intellectual pygmy.
CAR was a threat to the Cojuangcos which Cory Aquino inherited 6000 hectares. I believe the purpose of CAR was noble (albeit Communistic), to make use of stagnant land and make the one who sweated over it the owner. And judging from the events over Hacienda Luisita, the more recent is the memorandum given by the Cojuangcos to the tenants to burn their crops and vacate the land by October 2009 which is less than a month away.
How Noynoy will handle that will decide if he is rightful or not.
To those who portray Noynoy as Kennedy-esque – Hacienda Luisita and CARP will be Noynoy’s Chappaquidick.
kuya cocoy,
ahm, im a graduating highschool student. and next yir, our batch will be having our prelude. i chose to have a speech. and my teacher would like it if my speech is about politics. soooo anyway, can this be a good speech? can i use this ??