Antonio Trillanes garnered all of 11,138,067 votes when he won as Senator in the 2004 elections.
But today midway through his term Trillanes has been unable to attend a single session and his colleagues are still debating whether the magic of streaming video technology will allow Trillanes participate in the proceedings.
Is this fair?
Your reply is as good as anyone else’s.
I posed the question given the conventional analysis that the votes Mr. Trillanes got actually constituted the protest vote of Many a Filipino against the Arroyo regime.
Looking ahead to 2010, what if Rodolfo ‘Jun’ Lozada a.k.a. J-Lo runs for the Senate while remaining under the protective mantle of La Sallian brothers?
His logical battle cry would be ‘Moderate Your Greed’ and ‘Labanan Ang Tongpats’ with the continued failure of the search for truth in that blasted ZTE-NBN bribery scandal which underlines the country’s unsavory title of Most Corrupt Country in Asia.
Indeed the entire political opposition expects to ride high on the crest of anti-Arroyo sentiment with the ever-growing list of issues against it, the latest being the scandalous display of thuggery by the Pangandamans.
By his own admission Jun Lozada is no saint, but his kidnapping upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport become his moment of epiphany: giving him the courage to turn his back on corruption and tell all about the ‘tongpats’ that regularly attend government deals.
Will Rodolfo ‘Jun’ Lozada become the ‘anti-corruption poster boy’ in 2010?
Popularity: 1% [?]
he can be the poster boy all he wants, just stick to posters, and not legislation..
At all possible levels of analysis, Trillanes and J. Lozada cannot be compared the way Ding Gagelonia simplistically placed them at the same ‘value’.
It is absurd. It is like comparing apples and oranges.
Come 2010 if ever J-Lo runs for the Senate, it does not at all reflect the protest vote against the GMA regime as Ding wants us believe. That is even far away so-called conventional analysis.
I don’t know where Ding is coming from when he puts forth that kind of worldview.
an epiphany??? jun lozada had an epiphany? hah, another born-again snake-oil vendor, and depend on Ding to buy the package.
Happy New Year Everyone!!!
Happy New Year!
Ironically, the alleged overgreed ($120 million)of Abalos made the headlines and forced GMA to cancel the ZTE Broadband Project. The moderate greed acceptable to Lozada so he can facilitate the “commisions” (hindi bubukol) is $64 million.
People would have paid the loan to the Chinese Bank that will front-end the project including the $64 million moderate greed had not Abalos demanded for $120 million.
Abalos greed avoided the project from being pushed through while under Lozada’s moderation, could have sealed the project and people would not have even noticed the $64 million moderated greed.
Under the criteria above, I will consider Mr. Abalos more helpful to the people than Mr. Lozada.
Heroes and villains, anyone?
Trillanes and Lozada are not actually oranges and apples.
Both are Bicolanos who had loved the limelight. Lozada can become a senator also by capitalizing on the fame/infame brought about by his expose, just like what Senator Trillanes and Senator Honasan,(another Bicolano)did, staged military misadventures as a calculated effort to grab the headlines.
Senator Honasan is a Marcos/Enrile protegee who staged various coups against Cory because he was sidelined from power and privileged under Cory.
Senator Trillanes is a part of a corrupt military outfit. Though he has not been known as a protegee of anyone, and quite frankly a little bit moralist than Senator HOnasan, his misadventure was a copycat of the Honasan capers. As a military man he knows that his misadventure is not capable of catapulting him to power and implement whatever ideals he has for the country, thus the tactical objective was to hugh the headlines and provide an easy-name recall during election time.
Lozada sees the Chavit Singson (jueteng payola vs. Erap) model but look at the peripheral effect of the expose along the lines of Trillanes-Honasan models, hug the headlines and create a media frenzy over his persona and capitalize on this media hype as a powerful tool to clinch a seat in Congress.
Look at Lozada as a “probinsyanong intsik” , he claims to be, shrewd and calculating”.
To me the question is what good does that “protest vote” has done to the country. Did the country gained something from it that we want Lozada to be elected to thorugh the same process. What cant we just simply vote for the good of the country and what these personalities can do to achive that goal?
Happy new year
bagay siya sa senado..o kahit sa congreso…pare-pareho naman sila ng gawain eh…ang mangotong ng pera…
kaya ok lang..sa senado o congreso…walang magbabago…walang unusual kung maglagay tayo ng isa pang magnanakaw at sinungaling sa kamara ng magnanakaw at sinungaling…
iboto si j-lo…
jcc,
No one said Trillanes is an orange and Lozada an apple, or either way. That pedantic logic is set to deceive if a reader will not read antecedent comments. But anyway, that is the easiest way to argue wrongly.
So you are saying that Bicolanos love to hug the headlines or the limelight for the much-needed guarantee for a seat in Congress? That ought to leave a bad taste to the mouth. Now I know why Chiz was doing what he did.
If Trillanes did run for the Senate, it was made at the 11th hour. This being so, it is of uncertain validity whether he did in fact foresee that he will win in the election of 2004. Such view is reached only after the fact – and no way before the fact.
Thus, jcc’s analysis is a misplaced one.
karlopper,
Trillanes, Lozada, Honasan and Singson are the same old currency. They are for themselves and not for the Filipino people. That is what I meant when I said there are no oranges or apples to compare. They are all either apples or either oranges.
Trillanes and Honasan were appaled by the corruption of the government and they wanted much to reform the bureaucracy by staging a coup or series of coup only to be co-opted by the very system that they hated so much. Honosan has found a new cubicle of influence and power, and one doubts very much if he still has a fire in his belly for another armed adventure to disturb the equilibrium of the system of government of which he is one of beneficiaries.
The same analysis could be said of Senator Trillanes. Once the new administration allows him to occupy the seat he was lawfully elected for by the people and enjoy the power and influence of the office, all those hatred against the system will suddenly disappear and he will lay down his arms and armor of his belligerence.
Singson was used by the anti-Erap to depose him from power and the Anti-GMA had their own Lozada doing a Singson-repeat only that they failed in the partisan endeavor to oust GMA.
Singson became an important caricature in the GMA administration and Lozada might be one after GMA is gone and Lozada is credited somehow for bringing her down from power.
If you take the Trillanes-Honasan-Lozada aventures as a microcosm of Bicolano character, yes, I think they loved to hug the headlines, but the same could be said of the entire Filipino genre with certain exceptions. :)
jcc,
I just hope that this theory of predeterminism as a worldview is not universal nor carries the virus of social contagion. For if so, misadventures, exposes, coups – shall all soon be a thing of the past.
True enough, we no longer see principled individuals once they are ‘consumed’ by the system they advocate to reject. When appointed by the president or elected by the people, otherwise conscientious people lose their conscience in exchange of the spoils of office, pork, and their cloak of authority.
Still, there is no reason to despair.
Let there be rebels – leftist or rightist extremists – to serve at least as antidote to the excesses of the powers that be.
Personally, I still love apples and oranges, either way.
I would have to agree with Ding on this post.
Its not because I trust J-Lo but I really dont like GMA so ANYONE who speaks against her will do.
Kahit sino talaga pwede. Erap ulit? Sige pwede na rin. Kahit si Ding, kung magsawa siya sa kaka-blog at tinopak siyang tumakbo, sige iboto!
Kahit si Nasser Pangandaman Jr. iboboto ko basta contra siya kay GMA. Ingat na lang kayo sa golf course, hehehe.
See you at Starbucks :)
jcc:”The same analysis could be said of Senator Trillanes. Once the new administration allows him to occupy the seat he was lawfully elected for by the people and enjoy the power and influence of the office, all those hatred against the system will suddenly disappear and he will lay down his arms and armor of his belligerence.”
You can now read people’s minds and the future, eh, jcc?
Not for the Filipino people but just for himself, you also say. Do you know that Trillanes has rejected the offer by Senators to take him under their custody, probably a more comfortable “Senate arrest” if there’s such a thing, just because he doesn’t want to leave his group behind, and partly because two lower class officers refused to apologize as the others did and instead chose to stay and fight in the court martial proceedings?
Definitely not like your usual “old currency” ako-muna politicians, right? Karkpopper is right, Trillanes didn’t foresee victory, even through hugging the limelight.
In response to rego, the protest vote successfully prevented the likes of Singson, Sotto, Defensor, et al from diluting the fiscalizers in the Senate. Thank God.
tongue,
joining in a process which only strengthens the establishment he despises is not my kind of contempt of the very establishment that he now seeks to be a part of.
refusal to be placed in the custody of his colleagues so he can perform the function of which he was elected by the people is again from my perspective an infatuation to limelight he dearly seeks.
I don’t blame you if you think that way. The facts many people know are those they got from sensationalist media and therefore limited by the same sensationalism. I believe Trillanes sincerely wants to serve, whether he participates in the plenary and committee hearings personally or not, he has enough priority bills that he should be defending, again whether personally or via proxy. The baseline bill for example, is urgent as it is needed to be passed before May and Enrile is now supportive of letting him defend his bill.
Btw, his joining the process the way he did was unprecedented. Would you have preferred him going guerilla a la NPA? And lose the chance of making real relevant change?
The refusal of custody is still part of the agreement between the core Magdalo group and Gen. Abu in Oakwood – that only the five leaders must be detained. He is determined keep his part of the deal while the sissy General has dishonored himself.
I also don’t understand how one can abuse the limelight by refusing custody in the senate – where he can be freely interviewed then shown on tv by media, something the present camp jailers have forbidden.
I dunno.
I’m not sure Mr. Lozada will be an effective Senator of the realm. Sure, he dished out some pretty strong revelations which were dangerous to the health of the present dispensation. But beyond being a ‘victim,’ does he have the forebearance and political maturity?
For crying out loud, we already have Revilla and Lapid as non-performing assets as well as Cayetano and Lacson as investigative solons.
We don’t need another hero; we need the best and the brightest legislators.
Just the same, Happy New year to everybody. May 2009 bring good tidings to all bloggers and commenters.
Whoa. Did I say Lozada should be Senator?
Let’s settle back and look at how Filipinos vote.
Alan Peyer Cayetano for example.
He rode on his tirades against the FG as his ticket to the Senate didn’t he?
tounge,
If Trillanes is loyal to the Magdalo I cannot quite comprehend why he did run for the Senate. I think the ideals of Magdalo is to reform the system through arms which explains why the members would stage a mutiny/coup in the hope that the entire military would go with them and establish a military junta to replace the civil government.
If there is an offer from Senator Enrile to allow Senator Trillanes to sponsor/defend his bill in Congress, that could be interpreted as a ploy to defang Senator Trillanes and bring him back to the mainstream of political process and ends up his recalcitrance.
His refusal of the offer underscores his loyalty to the Magdalo ideals as against the discharge of his duties as Senator of which he purpousely sought by running for the office.
If you cannot see the inconsistency of his position, please be toleant on others who did.
Happy New Year. :)
tounge,
there is more mystic in refusing to sit as a Senator because he does not want to dishonor his previous deal with the Magdalo core. his priority is the corps and his words with his comrades. he thinks there something admirable in this position than being able to discharge the office of which he has sought by running for election. apparently, the people whom he claims he wants to serve is already deprived of his representation.
The Truth Teller could have done this country more good if he had followed Ninoy Aquino.
Then we could have the pavement in front of LSGH renamed as the Jun Lozada Avenue.
bakit nga pag galit ki gma sikat. kahit nun pahanon ni makoy kahit masAMA SI MAKOY NUN ANG TUMITIRA SA KANYA DI SIKAT. SOBRANG DEMOKRASYA KASI TAYO NGAUN. KAHIT ANO PEDE MO GAWIN. YON SI TULFO MGMUMURA DI TAYO KUMIKIBO.HAY NAKO TONG BAYAN NI HUWAN MASYADO MALIBOG. HE HE
Such rubbish! A weasel for senator? One who was a participant to massive corruption, who tried to get away from getting grilled about his own red-handedness – a senator? Geezus!
Oh, wait. Since this is the Philippines, he does qualify for the senate!
Such genius, Ding.
2010 will be year of the bozos. And I don’t mean the candidates.