PING LACSON had absolutely no chance to win in 2004. But as everybody knows he made a lot of money playing the spoiler role, thus allowing Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to ride into Malacanang Palace on the back of that ass, Virgilio Garcillano. Ping’s expose of a “double entry” item in the Budget, aimed squarely at the presidential bid of Senate President Manuel Villar, appears to be the opening shot of the 2010 presidential and vice presidential races (which we must never forget are two distinct and very different races that vastly complicates any analysis of the political calculus).
Since Manny Villar is the leading contender for the Presidency from the Senate, he would be the natural point of attack for his rivals to try and destroy. Indeed, during yesterday’s tussle over parliamentary procedures, in which Senate Protem Jinggoy Estrada displayed his sheer incompetence at presiding over a Senate session, we saw his main rivals in the Senate in massed crustacean formation to try and pull the King Crab down. In the vote over whether Senator Alan Peter Cayetano was to be allowed to deliver a privileged speech or whether Jamby Madrigal would be allowed to interpellate her good buddy Ping (so as to amplify each others credentials as graft and corruption busters), 9 voted for and 6 against. Those six were Ping, Jamby, Mar Roxas, Nene Pimentel, Ed Angara and Loren Legarda.
Since Ping, Mar and Loren are bent on running for President, and Jamby, Nene and Angara could easily be Vice Presidential candidates, it’s pretty clear there will be continuous efforts by these three camps to unite under the principle of “the enemy of your enemy is your friend”–at least until success is achieved and they fall to squabbling among themselves.
But the immediate goal seems to be to seize control of the Senate Presidency and those crucial committee chairmanships that have such vast porcine resources, next only to the President herself, since unlike Manny Villar, nobody has five billion pesos safetied for the campaign. Though the NPC’s Loren Legarda and Chiz Escudero could conceivably get Danding Cojuanco to bankroll their bids in a possible team-up, it seems that Gilbert Teodoro may have an inside track on that pot o’ gold. Ping could pair up with Jamby (who seems to be wearing a girdle nowadays, thus giving two pairs of unsightly bulges on both front and back of her lumbering frame), but the Madrigal clan could balk at such incongruity and peril.
Mar Roxas would seem to be the biggest winner however, if Villar were to fall from his perch, which is why he was the one pressing the attack on a befuddled Jinggoy about “rules” versus “word of honor” in his “point of clarification” on the ruling that Cayetano could give his speech. Pimentel objected and the house was divided, resulting in 9-6 victory for the Villar supporters, which included the administration senators, Cayetano, Chiz and the Senate Majority Leader, Kiko Pangilinan. The latter was the only bright spot in the whole sorry scene.
At this rate, we could end up with Gloria for the rest of our natural lives. If the Senators are busy fighting each other tooth and claw, the threat of the House to test the Constitutional provision on Congress passing amendments could easily come to pass, and easier yet pass muster in the Supreme Court as a “political question.”
Popularity: 1% [?]
*sigh*
In my humble opinion, djb, there really should be real political parties, where real people would vote for their choice. where real people get to be part of the political processes, other than on election day itself. It solves the problem we’re having in the senate right now where each of ‘em are fighting for the top position.Our government and politics is one huge politburo and the senate is where you go to as a stepping stone for the chairmanship.
cocoy,
that might require a consitutional amendment, such as runoff elections when no one gets a definite majority, and not just a plurality of the votes.
btw, i might’ve gotten the vote wrong: possible that Noynoy Aquino cast that 6th opposition vote, not Angara.
BTW, the whole opposition bloc did not attend today’s kindergar, err, Senate session.
re jamby madrigal’s apparent girdle, now i’m convinced you really are a girl watcher, djb.
it looks like you were not turned on, huh (lol).
seriously, i believe people will realize the real worth of gma’s presidency when she’s no longer the president. her successor will surely be a paperweight, judging from the qualities of the wannabees.
bencard, hehe, if i were a hippopotamus jamby’d look pretty good. but I’ll donate the webcam so we can admire GMA 24/7…in jail where she truly belongs.
hehe, that’s good old DJB talking.your insights are truly wonderful. as for the true worth of gloria after 2010, yeah, maybe bencard is right. we will definitely see the true worth of gloria after 2010 because the next one would be hard-pressed deconstructing the damage her gang wrought in all of our political institutions. salvaging the damaged economy alone would make gloria better than her successor.
Bencard,
I won’t debate on Gloria’s weight in a politico-historic sense as I maintain she stole the presidency and will probably put on physical weight in shackles when she leaves office.
As to her successor, be assured her act, crass as it is, albeit packaged in superlatives by those who are blind to her sins, will be easy to follow so long at the 2010 elections are not stolen,
Right you are Ding. As long as the normal processes of Democracy, which PGMA has wantonly and mischievously and selfishly destroyed are restored by the supernal power of an honest, regular election, not even Bencard would object to her investigation, prosecution, and if found guilty, incarceration with the rats and fleas in Muntinglupa–her moral compatriots.
So djb,
Is Lacson the King Crab and Cayetano the Spider Crab?
I would say Lito Lapid is a Hermit Crab.
Bencard will always sing praises for GMA because he is a man of low standards.
Hermit crab, hehe. very good philman. what a do nothing knucklehead, he.
nash, bencard, to his credit always does a good job defending his opinions. But I learn the most from those who disagree with me, and over the years that he and I have crossed paths in various places in the blogosphere, I am thankful for the education. We are each other’s whetstones, even if I often disagree with him.
true. i must say i do enjoy bencard’s eloquent drivel. it’s like ee escultura’s writing. you read it and are impressed with the proper sentence construction and then it hits you.
but eventually the whetstone has become so worn out you can’t sharpen the knife anymore…and that happened a looooooooooong time ago.
anyways, i do apologise for this rather mean-natured comment. but then again, GMA is indefensible and everytime bencard comes to her defense he should be prepared to get some too.
As writers, we bloggers have solved the problem of the high cost of publishing. But not the eternal problem of how to write and express our ideas so that they become viral and infectious. Our science is memetics. The luxury of blogging is that we get to concentrate on excellence: both of form and content. We are of course nobodies. We cannot impress our readers with anything but the pure art of our literature. This is a brave endeavour in a world of trivialities and inanities, when you have only the force of raw reason, and not authority or reputation or monopoly over the medium.
Be proud! Work hard! Always give it your best! Love the right and detest the wrong. Believe in the power of persuasion that comes with good writing. That’s what makes us human. That’s what will make you immortal.
Look at Jose Rizal. He is the model. He is the standard we must exceed.
it never fails. i can whip up a firestorm, at least in this blog and mlq3′s, in a jiffy just for saying anything pro-gma. i feel like a mccain supporter on “the view”. it’s a good thing, i have a built-in firewall. i.e., the real facts on record such as (a) gma is still the sitting president despite the never-ending onslaught, subterfuge, intrigues, unsubstantiated scandals, failed coups, impeachments, electoral tribunal challenges, and imitation “people power” by a few thousands; (b) sound economic fundamentals, including much improved national infrastructure, triumph of the rule of law (where a former president, dishonest members of congress, justices of court of appeals, crooked “journalists”, corrupt military generals, and untouchable bureaucrats, unjust justices of the court of appeals and judges of lower courts, are brought to justice); (c) a generally free press that can ridicule the president in her face almost with impunity; (d) a creditable foreign policy and foreign relations; and (e) a respectable record in combatting terrorism and criminality, among other things.
djb, i feel the same way discussing things with you even if we don’t always agree. it’s not easy having someone on the other side who is, at least, close to my generation as you and abe margallo are. i likewise value the things i learn from you, abe, cvj, benigno and all the others here.
nash, thanks for the back-handed compliment. i do appreciate it. as to my “low standard”, if my standard requires credible substantiation and proof of facts, how would you call a standard based on conjecture, speculation, prejudgment and political bias? in your quantification, is there anything lower than “low”?
I should state my general philosophy regarding Presidents and Democracy.
First, I believe that the greatest strength of Democracy is corrigibility–the ability to correct its mistakes. As such what is of paramount importance are the mechanisms for CHANGE.
Second, although I am a conservative, I steadfastly oppose those leaders who do not understand that no single individual is so great or wise or competent that they would place their personal interests above all else and obstruct those mechanisms.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo shares with Ferdinand Marcos that infernal hubris that is truly the mark of the Devil in politics.
History will judge her harshly. It is the OFWs that have saved the country economically. Not her! She was the hope of our generation, Bencard but she has shown herself to be utterly unequal to the aspirations we have had for unifying leader. Not one who is divisive because her character lacks the power to inspire anything but indolence of the Filipinos who would do nothing but accept the status quo.
When she said in December of 2002 that she would not run in 2004 because it would be divisive, I was relieved. After it turned out to be a lie, she revealed her true and enduring nature: a moral dwarf with a huge and swollen head that gets in the way of the progress we all desire.
Let her be anathema!
djb, how many times do i have to point out to you that gma’s change of mind about running in 2004 was not a lie? can’t a politician change his/her mind? how many intentions have you not carried out in all your life because things have changed such that you have to rethink what you intended to do? why the bitterness? a moral dwarf? who else can call anyone that except one who think of himself as a moral “giant”? did gma “get in the way of of the progress we all desire” or did she frustrate your personal progress in some way?
bencard, “my” personal progress? come, come. that is non sequitur. it is just my judgment as a blogger, nothing more, nothing less. With the lowest approval and trust ratings from the Filipino people, ever in history, I think I am keeping pretty good company in that opinion. Most of her support among filipinos really comes from those in America whose “personal progress” is not dependent on her policies and lack of leadership, unlike the vast majority of the filipino people in the archipelago.
I suppose I could go through a long litany of her miserable failures, but the most recent debacle, the MOA-AD goes beyond the pale of the merely political into the realms of the humanitarian. Her addiction to paying ransom (which began with her rescue of Reghis Romero in the Dos Palmas incident, and going through to Angelo de la Cruz) is the most despicable and hypocritical of her faults.
She is costing us blood and treasure, which forever will be on her hands, and which I for one, will never let History forget!
Neither will i.
Devil’s advocate…
There are persons or groups who are really advocating the bad deeds done by evil at the palace…
These are liar’s ohhh sorry its lawyers… men in uniform at camp agui or in camp crime… hoodlums in robes and ac/dc on the air… or bloogers/commenter in the net…
They are the defender of evil things… pretending to be smart and intelligent by derailing and hiding the real thing… factual events or genuine situation…
They disguised as good leaders, public servants, religious persona, intelligent personalities or even brilliant professionals…
These people are accessories to every corruption committed by their queen in castle… simply called as crime conspirator…
They are willing to depend their master… especially when the price is right… or when the commission is worth dying for…
Buboy,
Hahaha! Nice defense, well conceived, well delivered. gotta respect that. but I for one have never portrayed the situation at the Palace as if she were merely being used by others smarter and more devious than her.
But your portrayal has some merit, as long as we understand that all credit for the possibility of such a depiction belongs entirely to her. No one has mastered the art of illusion and manipulation as well as Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has. She is smarter than everybody (including me!). She knows the government bureaucracy in and out–what makes every single piece tick. She is a student of the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of everyone she deals with. She has prepared for the role all her life, better than Erap ever did for any movie of his. I knew her as teenager in the days of Cong Dadong, when it was a son, named Buboy, who was the apple of his eye to succeed him. But Buboy Macapagal has always had some deep dark secret about him I’ve never fathomed that made him unable or unwilling to mount the throne. Whereas, it was always envy for the withheld primacy of love and admiration from her father that has motivated her, honed the genius of her deviousness. It is not wealth that motivates her, for she was born to it. No it is the lust for power of the Second Child, the ambition to prove herself worthy that has brought her to the opposite end of the moral universe. In trying to become a giant in the eyes of her father, she has achieved only an abyssmal pygmie-hood to which she must sacrifice everything.
Her tragic flaw is Pride, the malignant mole on her pretty face, which matches an old and recycled soul.
It is those people you portray as defending her that will be the first to turn on her, once the spell is broken. And they won’t do it so prettily as she has.
I can only say these things, because I am devotee of Shakespeare and Jose Rizal.
DJB, thank you for the compliment, seems that you had been from a long way… crisscrossing the biography of this ate guy look alike… who disgracely damaged the lives of Filipino people… with out any delicadeza and word of honor…
even moronic rants get accolades from vitriolic gma-haters in this blog regardless of their redeeming value. judge not the messenger but the message. at least 5 senators have already been elected because of their insane dislike for gma, or outward appearances of it.
djb,
Well, it could be Pride and Power initially but Greed and Graft can soon follow. Especially if you’re Smart and Shrewd.
Many well-meaning leaders fall into the Temptation. They start with a vision to do Good for Others but end up doing well for Family and Friends.
I am no politicians nor associated with any political parties or interested to defend any greedy trapos in the land, in anyway…
I am always for the right thing… and I was just articulating what I have observed or whatever is in my mind concerning some important issues or events that are ruining our environment, our society and our life as well…
bencard,
we must not hate gma. she wants that. for hate blinds her enemies and plays into her hands. yet we must stand for justice. and anyway, no one loves her, not even you. Not, even, you!
here’s a thought: what would it take for ordinary folks to finally trust guvmint?
djb, no one should hate her. good! it’s useless and it damns the hater.
btw, i don’t need to love her. that’s irrelevant. i just don’t want to hate her for its own sake.
jester,
that’s easy. a leader that doesn’t “change her mind” as an excuse for speaking with a triply forked tongue, that gets Filipinos killed in fratricidal wars, devastates institutions, makes a mockery of the Law, and divides people like Bencard and me. We need a leader that needs and wants and works hard to win the love and trust and cooperation of a demoralized and disillusioned people, by a steadfast devotion to the truth, no matter how inconvenient. GMA cares about no one. Certainly not the Moros, nor the brave soldiers and civilians whom she has thrown into bloody carnage and strife. In the end, no one will care about her either.
if i may say so, you need a messiah, not a leader. dream on.
bencard,
that’s one unique thing about human beings: they dream. i’m not ashamed to be human. You?
Words sometimes are more dangerous than actions… more effective than disobedience protest…or it is more nontoxic than human barricades in mendiola…
Inadvertently, words could hurt somebody’s feeling, directly or indirectly… Smart guys interpret things optimistically… but brilliant pretenders will retaliate instantly… as they assumed as an attack on their intelligence…
If someone reacted with obnoxious or rude words… that’s was precisely bogus and arrogant brilliancy… misplaced mind in a misplaced environment… with incorrect ideas on incorrect agenda…
Now, somebody is accepting as an advocates of devil…
“(b) sound economic fundamentals, including much improved national infrastructure, triumph of the rule of law ”
wow!
sound economic fundamentals = appoint cretins into government
triumph of the rule of law = appoint cretins and criminals into government
no wonder you are are a joke of a lawyer.
you are a joke of whatever you are, punk. name one convicted criminal in the government right now. you don’t belong here. you go back to tordesilas’ blog where you belong.
you know bencard, if GMA, given what she has and has not done, were president of say Germany, Norway, the Swiss Federation, or Denmark, she would have been asked to step down ages ago.
i refuse to believe that the standards required for Pinoy leaders should be any lower than these countries.
the last 2 or 3 japanese pm’s resigned for the simple reason that the mp’s did not like him and the pm was humble enough to admit that his effectivity was severely compromised.
now for all gma’s sound economic fundamentals, how is it sound to appoint underqualified people to make economic decisions on our behalf. (singson, defensor, reyes, etc…pasado rin ba sila sa standards mo)
and please do not flatter yourself on ‘stirring up a firestorm’…some of us simply cannot believe your logic and continued praise for unethical practices. the standards were definitely lower than low when you were admitted to the bar.
aw c’mon bencard. don’t be pikon. ang pikon talo! there really is no room for name calling here or anywhere else. be the dybbuk’s advocate if you want, but do it nicely, man. we can all disagree without being disagreeable. name one convicted criminal in govt. that’s such a transparently silly argument, since you know darn well there are laws against that. and heck luis “chavit” singson may not be a convicted criminal, but surely, you don’t think that smuggler jueteng lord murderer deserves to be deputy national security adviser do you? besides the lawyers of this country have a million case backlog, which doesn’t speak well of the profession at all. most of them are still in govt. hehe.
djb, this punk is the reason why i’m visiting mlq’s blog less than i used to. he’s trying to be a blogbuster without contributing anything to the discourse. i don’t know what kind of a human virus this guy is but he sure exemplifies the worst in pinoy vacuity.
you are a good guy bencard and have contributed a lot to the growth of the Philippine blogosphere. Let’s lead by example.
She is costing us blood and treasure, which forever will be on her hands, and which I for one, will never let History forget! – DJB
Neither will i.-cvj
Neither will i, too.
As I have mentioned in the previous thread the sprakenheit 2464.
Kung ang bicam conference ay open to the public, o open kahit sa represenative ng civil society o press,e di wala itong drama na ito.
It is clear na elction related naman ito kahit ano pang sabihin nila. Nagkakaungkatan na sabihin ni Remulla na kuryente to nowhere ito ,babanatan naman sya na kahit ano sasabihin ni Remulla para ke Villar.
Tapos uungkatin ni Cayetano na na madaming gustoong magpabaligtad ke remulla nung hello garci,blahblah.
I don’t care if someone notices this entry and will censor my blog comments by asking my dad to stop me. Hey man,life is short don’t worry.
Timing lang yan eh,matagal na ito alam,di lang pinalalabas me mas matindi pa nga yung ginawa ni Villar sa Muntinlupa sa mga Brittany Projects nya dun,madaming squatter ang brinaso ni Villar,bakit hindi yun ang piniyuk nila, bakit mas me media mileage lang kasi itong C5.Di naman nila masasabit si villar dyan san andun na lang sa Muntinlupa,right of way din madami pang napaalis na mga squatter, kung totoong para sa taong bayan ang concern nila. Dun Kumita ng malaki si Villar.
Me nadinig na ba tayo sa radyo,nabasa sa dyaryo,sa blog tungkol dito, wala.
Ang malaking problema ngayon na nakikita ko regarding sa issue sa senate ay and natitira na lamang na solid na Branch ng governement ay yung Executive Branch na pinamumunuan ni Madame Pres.
As we all know, yung judiciary ay nagkawatak watak na dahil sa gulo sa Court of Appeals. Tapos ngayomn yung mga senador naman ang nagpapatayan para maka-porma lang sa susunod na eleksyon.
Tahimik lang na nanonood ang Administration, ang nakakatakot doon ay ‘pag tumahimik ang tropa ni Madame Pres. ay malamang sa malamang na may surprise na naman siya sa atin na hindi natin magugustuhan.
The divisions in the senate is an advantage to PGMA.