The man with the best job in the country is the vice-president. All he has to do is get up every morning and ask, “How is the president?” – Will Rogers
In between the World Cup matches, the conversation drifted to the issue of vice president-elect Binay getting a job in the Aquino administration.
“Why the intense lobby to appoint Binay to a cabinet position?” I asked my pro-Binay friend.
“Because he got 14 plus million votes,” he replied.
“Why, did they vote him vice president so he could become Aquino’s secretary of the interior?”
“No, they voted for him because he promised to make the rest of the Philippines like Makati.”
“Oh, I thought it was because they liked him more than they did Roxas and Legarda,” I quipped.
“That too,” he replied.
“Kidding aside,” I said, “a vice president has no function under our Constitution except to wait for a vacancy at the top.”
“But surely there’s something the vice president can do,” he said.
“You mean besides wait for the president to die, resign, become permanently disabled, or impeached?”
“Yes.”
“Look, this is not America where the Constitution says the vice president also presides over the Senate and votes as a tie-breaker when necessary. This is the Philippines, our vice president is a spare tire, well that is unless he becomes like Dick Cheney. Then, as Bill Maher puts it, he can start wars, enrich his friends, subvert the Constitution, and shoot people in the face. But that won’t happen here. Our Constitution made sure of that.”
“You’re wrong buddy,” he said. “Our Constitution did not prevent a vice president from grabbing power, subverting the Constitution, and enriching herself.”
“Touche,” I replied. He grinned.
“But seriously, if Binay wanted a role in Aquino’s administration then he should have supported him from the get go,” I said.
“What do you have against Binay?” he asked.
“I have nothing against him. I’m not against Aquino giving him a cabinet position and I’m not against him lobbying for one despite the fact that he ran with someone else. As far as I’m concerned, if Aquino and Binay can work together then that’s okay and if they can’t then that’s okay too because they each have their own thing to do or not do. There is no co-dependency, no relationship between a president and a vice president other than what the Constitution says.”
“Aquino should find something for Binay to do,” he said. “Every president since Cory gave the vice president a job.”
“Yes, but not all vice presidents were given cabinet posts,” I replied.
“You’re beginning to sound like you are pro-Mar Roxas,” he said.
“Roxas is not an issue even though you are trying to make him one. You are using him as a means to corner Aquino into putting Binay in DILG (Department of Interior and Local Governments) and that’s not fair to him, Binay, or Aquino.”
“But if Aquino does not appoint Binay to his cabinet he will be turning his back on the 14 million people who voted for Binay.”
“Why does not appointing Binay to a cabinet post mean that Aquino is turning his back on Binay’s followers? How did you reach that conclusion?”
“Well, anyway I hope Aquino finds something for Binay. He could be a big asset to the administration,” he replied.
“I agree and if I were Aquino I would appoint him peace negotiator. He’s tough and he’s got a big constituency in Mindanao.”
“Hmmm…”
“Or he could appoint him to head the investigation into the shenanigans of the Arroyo regime. They won’t be able to scare him off or bribe him to mess that up.”
“But Binay has bigger plans for the country,” he replied.
“Well, if he has big plans for the country he should have run for president.”
“So what are you doing on June 30?” he asked, changing the topic.
“I haven’t decided yet. I don’t know if I’ll go to the exorcism at the Palace or join the citizen’s posse to arrest Gloria.”
“Call me when you decide, maybe we can car pool,” he said on his way out of the bar.
Popularity: 1% [?]
if the constitution does not require a Veep to get a government post, then all those promises during the campaign is all a waste of time and money.
many people voted for the vice presidential candidates because they believed in their platforms, and yet, and dapat lang palang platform eh maging mahusay na tagapag-abang kung sakaling maging inutil o matanggal, o mamatay ang pangulo.
dapat pala, ang karakter ng isang VP eh= PASENSIYOSO sa ORAS
A President must know how to work with his Vice President, Senators, etc…even those who oppose him. If he cannot work with these people. Surely, he cannot get things done. Noynoy Aquino has no Managerial Ability, except managing his tenants and workers at Hacienda Luisita. Managing a nation like ours, with many problems of every kind; will take a Superhuman effort to get results. Management is an Art. You either have it; or not. This is what I’ve learned in my work experiences. So, we have good leaders, and bad leaders. Good leaders: like U.S Pres. Franklin Roosevelt; who who won the World War II in Europe and Asia. Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain; who succeeded in rallying his people to defend their Island from NAZI German invasion. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who saved the Union. I don’t hope that Noynoy Aquino will match these people. But, if can solve the rice problem. And we become self sufficient in rice. A good portion of the country’s food problems will be solved. Marcos solved the rice problem. He has to match the accomplishments of the late Pres. Marcos. If he is more than his EDSA gimmick.
Let me add more. Let’s not get out of the frigging executive office. His VP is Binay and not Mar Roxas. How could you forge an executive tandem with someone from a different political party who you are not supposed to trust ?
Leadership is trust. If you don’t trust your Vice President. Then, you will never be able to work with him. The ability to persuade people to work with you, for a common goal; is one of the hallmark of a good leader. He must deal, with his Vice President Binay.
However, Noynoy Aquino is afraid. Politics in the Philippines is a lot of back stabbing. Gloria Arroyo stabbed Erap Estrada at the back. Then, she took his Presidency. That may have frighten Noynoy Aquino. Watch for the next political episode. It’s a good soap opera melodrama; with interesting plots and endings.
Dubious characters are in the play. So, we elected a lot of Movie Actors. We are in love with our political drama. It’s our circus.
looks to me that past presidents seem to have VP’s from different political stripes and that’s probably why our presidents haven’t achieved much hehe :)
It’s just me but if I am president and have a VP from a different political party, he can scratch his balls the whole day and I couldn’t care less. I’ll give him some diddly squat portfolio so he can’t reveal my plans to the opposition party. The point I am making is it is time for Pinas to change the voting system and make the Pres and VP a single vote.
mario, last time i checked, the elections was over by May 11.
you say leadership is an art and cannot be acquired. then you raise the good names of roosevelt, churchill and lincoln. then you say noynoy need not match these people.
then you say all noy has to do is to solve the rice problem, like marcos did. the filipino problem is more than rice.
lastly, i didn’t know noy had an edsa gimmick. the last one i know of was gma’s and look where that got us.
Noynoy’s whole campaign was built upon his “EDSA” gimmick…
Noynoy Aquino can start solving the rice problem; that is, self sufficiency in rice, as a start. We have many problems. Food self sufficiency is just one of thwe problems. To prove his effectivity, as a leader. This is just one of the problems, to tackel with.
Have you gone out of your bonker? Solve one problem only. Then, leave the rest? To prove your competence as a leader?
Marcos solved the rice problem in his administration’s years. This proves, he has competent leadership. Although, I never agreed with his Dictatorship. Presidents who succeeded had good leaderships. That is what I’m talking about.
Talk sense, Dude…
I rest my case.
This non-issue is a way to divert attention away from the real problems. Filipinos should really stop wasting each other’s time.
Ah yes, the much touted ‘ganito kami sa Makati’
Makati’s wealth is due to it being a big office building for the big mining, oil, and mineral companies…and the stock exchange.
Mining companies from Benguet, for example, pay most of its taxes in Makati rather than in Benguet….and so on.
Binay is like Phil Jackson…we can’t know how good they really are until you throw them off the deep end and see how they fare.
Slick closing line of the century award to MB. . .
“. . . he said on his way out of the bar.”
Slick basketball analogy of the century award to Nash . . .
“Binay is like Phil Jackson . . .”
Now I rather think one should not lay down rules for people but give them the latitude to lay down their own rules, so Mr. Aquino can delegate or not, as he sees fit. Now as for Phil Jackson, the final series against the Celtics was classic labor-basketball, the grunt and groan of defense over offense, and, in the end, a bit of grunt from the Laker’s home-town advantage, the result of having ground it out well all season long. I mainly watched to see if Wallace would do a final temperamental flame-out, and to catch all the stars in the crowd. Guess I’m becoming a real Filipino . . .
But that reminds me . . . I once was an executive of considerable style and would watch the Laker games from an executive suite owned by the bank and some accounting firm that did its own flame-out, where the food and beer flowed freely and the great event was the dessert tray with its stacks of chocolate man-made edible structures. Now I wander my island watching the bamboo grow, which is rather exciting consider they do that about a foot per day. I’ve named the new-born shoots . . . we have Kobe, Pau, Ron, Phil, Derrick, Lamar, Sasha . . .
I feel sorry for the Phoenix Suns…because I want Grant Hill to have a ring.
ie Celeb Watching:
The USA has more showbiz and celeb spotting magazines and showbiz oriented TV shows per capita than anyone else…and Pinoys are too ‘shy’ to have a professional paparazzi pack.
Catching stars is a universal obsession…even in fiercely egalitarian Sweden.
To be a true Filipino, in the ‘celeb spotting’ stakes, is very difficult to explain but yes, there is something to it and I hope one day you will attain Pinoy nirvana.
yUN l4n6 p0Wh.
The Vice President IS the one with the onus to learn to work with the President.
Why does Binay through his loquacious spokesman project his boss as having entitled to be given a Cabinet postfolio?
Swerte?
Pun unintended ‘Portfolio’. Sorry.
it’s the party of LP that alienates Binay and not the elect-president because his dream of a whole new Makati nation is unviable to our businessmen.
A classic:
Binay when asked by Karen Davila about the revelation that he had an adulterous relationship:
“I did not lie. I just kept it a secret.”
lie of omission…a career politician is wont to commit.
14 million pinoy voted Binay. 14 million made a mistake! So obvioous, hindi kapakanan ng bansa ang una kay Binay…power mga abay..DILG is a political power base. Can’t trust the guy!
Politicians are very happy throwing side-issues at the electorate.
The reason is because it is difficult to be critical of the accomplishments (or lack of it) of the administration when one is busy about the side-issues.
Binay is a side-issue. A more appropriate issue will be the composition of Noynoy’s Cabinet. One of the questions about the cabinet(asked by Amando Doronilla many weeks ago) is “Hah? Sila na naman? Wala bang iba?”. An ancillary issue is — “teka muna, hindi ba nasabit siya sa iskandalo?” As an example, the code-NGO Peace Bond should be revisited. This is the one about over a billion pesos, Dinky Soliman and her husband and their circle of “friends”.
And people should wish Noynoy Aquino well in his search for the Elliot Ness of the Philippines” as Justice Secretary.
Aquino had earlier told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the justice portfolio was very crucial in his fight against corruption. He said his justice secretary would serve as his attack dog in pushing corruption cases against the First Family and its allies, crime syndicates, drug lords and smugglers.
He singled out rice smugglers to the Inquirer.
He had also said his idea of a justice secretary was the legendary American crime fighter Elliot Ness, who went after mob boss Al Capone.
“We will file cases against people who are not small fry.
“[The justice secretary] will be the face of the prosecution. So…
November 2010, coming up. I wish Noynoy administration all the best so November2010, there are smugglers and tax-evaders jailed.
Iyong mga bigatin, hindi mga pipitsugin.
MikeH, lourdes,
Anak ng impakto naman mga t’yong, the guy has not even yet sworn into office and you were already talking about non-accomplishments?
Why don’t we talk about the non-accomplishments of a nine-year usurper?
GMA’s non-accomplishments are many; all one has to is walk the streets of Pilipinas to meet the many Pinoys-of-Pilipinas living on less than a dollar a day.
GMA non-accomplishment? Just read today’s papers, and those of a few days ago. Abu Sayyaf hacking a 10-year old, Abu Sayyaf firing into a passenger jeepney with civilians; Abu Sayyaf beheadings just a week ago.
GMA Talsik Diyan!
GMA non-acccommplishment? Failure to put an end to CPP/NPA.
GMA non-accomplishment? Thousands of school buildings that did not get built; thousands of Pilipinas elementary- and public-school teachrs that did not get hired; lousy books.
GMA Talsik diyan!
Then, there is MV Princiess of the Stars.
“Je accuse!” — Noynoy charges GMA — allowing corruption/smuggling/tax-evasion. Kung walang korap, walang mahirap.
GMA non-accomplishment– “You should have plugged the revenue leaks.” is what Noynoy charges GMA. “Plugging the revenue leaks..” is a GMA-non-accomplishment.
Mike H, your enumerating PGMA’s non-accomplishments are just side-issues, the more appriopriate issues which you ought to have enumerated are her major accomplishments the last nine years such as a government with most violations of human rights, most corrupt in Asia, most hated president in history, distributing bagful of money to congressmen and governors in Malacanang as bribe, ancillary issues like saying, ‘I am sorry’ when accused of cheating in the election, and making midnight appointments that shamed her Chief of Staff and her Chief Justice, among others.
Forget Noynoy’s appriopriate issues and side-issues, and ancillary issues. There is no issue yet…PGMA is still president…she is still the issue, if you might have forgotten.
Good memory MikeH, now get going…the list are rather kilometric.
And please remind us, btw, where were you during all those years of usurpation and non-accomplishments.
hey, tranquil… Namkaputcha naman, oo. Tanong ka lang ng tanong, aba eh magsulat ka din at i-blog mo ang mga non-accomplishments ni GMA. Takot ka ba? Huwag kang masyadong matakot kay GMA, hindi ka naman i-la-libel suit, eh. Hintay ka lang ng hintay, ano ka ba naman?
You should put effort into this; you can’t be a dependent. Tranquil: go paddle your own canoe and write down and share with the group the list of GMA non-accomplishments that are important to you. Gayahin mo si Bert… walang takot na ibulgar ang mga nakita niyang kawalanghiyaan ng administration ni GMA. GMA Talsik Diyan!
NBN/ZTE… kailangang harapin ni GMA ang NBN/broadband dahil kulang pa rin ang Pilipinas — non-accomplishment — electronic highway infrastructure kulang pa sa Pilipinas.
GMA talsik diyan!!!!
GMA talsik dyan?
Too late the hero.
Still, the question stands. Where were you during those years of usurpation and non-accomplishments?
Wasn’t your brand of apathy, tolerance and apologetics what emboldened GMA to display more of her kapalmuks?
But now you have the quickest draw in the west at the non-accomplishment of President Aquino?
Bah, humbug!
MB,
Carpool for the posse? I would think a caravan or a convoy would not be enough. Ubos and bus sa EDSA kung ganoon.
Dean
Sali ako…
ditto.
The latest on this ‘side issue’ :
http://atmidfield.com/2010/06/23/vp-binay-says-hell-support-pnoy-but-letter-shows-dismay/
the weird thing is that, binay’s been offered positions, but he rejected them. WHY? ang labo…
‘di daw kc pumantay sa level ni v-nay ung posisyon na inalok ni p-noy.
im thinking what position offered to binay. manicurist or hardener..?
GabbyD, di ba obvious? may plano si Binay, di una si pinoy sa plano…Binay is a career politician and not a clean one!
The onus IS on Binay. Now the offer is for him to lead the probe into GMA’s alleged wrong doings.
In Ramos’ time he though by giving Erap the PACC he’d be ridof him.
While Erap dropped the ball when he became President, the PACC became his own springboard.
What Binay keep up his scornful tampo or step up to the plate?
Erratum:
Whill Binay keep up his scornful tampo or step up to the plate?
Ngek…
Will Binay keep up his scornful tampo or step up to the plate?
Pardon my inserting this note: you are invited to visit my new site showing old Philippine photographs during the period 1896-1906.
Sorry, forgot the address, here it is: http://images1896-1906.blogspot.com/
I found another documentation.
Case Studies of Pacification in the Philippines : 1900-1902
It shows American pacification strategy taking advantage of cultural/regional animosities, e.g. antagonism between Igorots and insurrectos.
Also of tactics now being done by Taliban in Afghanistan, namely
Terror — insurrectos’ burning down the houses and assasinating Filipinos who were collaborating with Americans or other collaborators.
And that American pacification was expedited by Filipinos who, after swearing allegiance to America, proved very diligent and aggressive in hunting down Malvar and others.
http://www.cgsc.edu/carl/download/csipubs/ramsey_24.pdf
Yes, the federal party, former generals Mariano Trias, Licerio Geronimo and Juan Cailles. Thanks for the reference.
wow, treasure trove. wonderful!
Wonderful, thanks for the reference.
Joe, thanks.
We will not survive if we make all the cities like Makati, simply because we are agricultural country.
Are we not dim-witted or uneducated electorate? Bakit nanalo sina bong, jinggoy, at lapid? Bakit binoto ng mga kapampangan si Arroyo? Bakit nanalo mga marcoses? Ano ba ang basis ng karamihan sa pagpili ng leader? Tunog ba ng pangalan?