Nicanor Perlas, the Presidentiable

Just recently, at the recently concluded second wave of “HER TIME IS UP: 2010 Election Forum” held at the UP College of Law by KAISA and several student councils in UP Diliman, I had the chance to interview and listen to what Mr. Nicanor Perlas has to say on the Maguindanao Massacre. Here's his video interview c/o Noemi Dado and Blogwatch.ph:



In choosing someone to succeed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2010, one must take into serious consideration what the candidate has planned, his vision, and how he or she will run the country.

In the forum, he laid out his vision and 6 pillars to spell out his platform (which you can browse at the link provided below).

• Erradicate Poverty and Enhance Quality of Life
• Advance Moral and Effective Governance
• Uphold the Integrity of Creation
• Build Partnerships for Social Justice
• Promote Creative Education and Inner Change
• Mainstream Visionary Initiatives

It is good to note that Mr. Nick Perlas is the first to have released a concrete platform of government for his bid for the Presidency of the land.


To be honest, I like his ideas, his vision, his will and courage to take the road less traveled by. Certainly, he says, it would be hard for him to win. He has too little following compared to seasoned politicians, and those who are already in the limelight. He has much less financial support as compared to others. So what are the chances he'll win?

In our elite democracy, where money, power and fame dictate societal norms, one could dare but only imagine how he'd penetrate the system. Let's see if Mr. Nicanor Perlas can do it. I like what he wrote in his site, "The Trap of Traditional Notions of Winnability," and he says, "The good news is that there is a tremendous burst of initiatives in the Philippines trying to reclaim authentic democracy in the national elections of 2010. The bad news is that the would-be bearers of change politics are still stuck with the thinking of the old politics. Nowhere is this more evident than in their concept of “winnability”. To win in 2010 means, for them, to have, from the beginning, name recognition, political machinery, financial and other resources, and endorsements."


He continues in "Winning An Election the Non-Traditional Way", and this is the point, "One of the tasks of new innovative politics is to reframe old notions of winnability and not to remain trapped into letting old winnability concepts dictate the future of new politics." In a truly democratic country, everyone has the chance to be President. But with the unequal field politics is being played in, I doubt if that's the case.

Senator Chiz Escudero in HER TIME IS UP: 2010 Election Forum Series

KAISA - Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan

in cooperation with the

College of Science Student Council (CS-SC),
College of Home Economics Student Council (CHE-SC),
National College of Public Administration and Governance Student Council (NCPAG-SC),
Asian Institute of Tourism Student Council (AIT-SC),
College of Human Kinetics Student Council (CHK-SC),
College of Architecture Student Council (ASC),
Alliance of Concerned Dormitories (ACD),
Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity, and the
University Student Council-Mass Media Committee

presents

HER TIME IS UP
2010 Election Forum Series

1st Guest Presidentiable is Sen. Francis "Chiz" G. Escudero

November 12, 2009, 1:00-4:00 P.M.
Malcolm Hall Theater (College of Law), UP Diliman

This election forum series is for the benefit of UP students, who wants to be an audience with the future public officials of our country. The one-on-one will focus on the education sector, touching on his/her plans for UP as the premier state university, and overall plans for the youth as a whole. They are also expected to tackle on their governance and economic plans.

Arroyo's Interview with Maria Bartiromo of CNBC New York

We all heard about the "historical" trip of PGMA, as the first South-East Asian leader to meet US President Obama. That meeting, I shall leave out of this post. Instead, a day after that meeting, we all know also that an international icon of democracy, President Corazon C. Aquino, passed away.

While this was all happening, people can't help but ask what steps would Arroyo take in all of these? Through a video, she sent her condolences, and issued 10 days of mourning. Later on she declared Aug 5 as a special non-working holiday for Aquino's burial. But in spite of that, people are asking "So, what's keeping her from taking the next plane trip back to the Philippines?"

They say that a Presidential adviser who's close to the Aquino family is advising the President to honor all her commitments instead of taking the next flight back. Is it because of the fear of an unpopular president being gobbled by a very popular Filipino citizen? You decide.

Apparently, she took that advise, but made a spin in the media that she's coming home immediately, this Aug 5, and is scheduled to attemd the last day of President Aquino's burial at the Manila Cathedral. Now, the question is that how will the Aquino's and the people receive GMA? Will she even push through? We'll see.

In that period when Aquino died to now, she did this interview with CNBC about the Philippines, and issues in and around our country; so without further ado, here it is (you judge).

P.S. BPO and Tourism aren't really sustainable means to drive our economy, so why, Mrs. President, are you so proud and boast them internationally. Isip-isip ko, baka pinagtatawanan tayo ng buong mundo, sadly. :( IMHO, we should shift to national industrialization.

Huling KaSONAngalingan

This coming Monday, we will again be subjected to fiction of such magnitude as to leave us incredulous— not because the lies are unbelievable in themselves, but because we cannot understand how anyone has the sheer audacity to take us for utter fools.

And yet for the past eight years, the Gloria Arroyo administration has done nothing but to fabricate lies and illusions of development and change to the Filipino people, despite the stark realities of increasing poverty, unemployment, the fiscal crisis, lack of adequate social services, political persecution, and human rights violations, to name a few.

As a final tribute to GMA’s talent for deception, we offer a compilation of her finest tall stories as a eulogy in what would hopefully be the last SONA of her final days as the President.

Lie #1: GMA does not have political ambitions beyond 2004/2010

Even before Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stole the presidency in 2004, she had already begun to spin her web of lies. Back in 2002, GMA had announced that she will not run for President in the next elections. Little did the Filipino people know that she was already in cahoots with Garci to rig the elections in her favor. And now, GMA’s frequent visits to her home province of Pampanga stirs speculations that she has plans to run for Congresswoman, and eventually Prime Minister. We shall be guarded against the possibility that GMA has secret political ambitions to remain in power beyond 2010, for we refuse to be hoodwinked again.

Lie #2: GMA will reduce corruption in her government

GMA knows that if she steps down, she will have to face the criminal and administrative charges that she has been hiding from under the cloak of presidential immunity. She will have to answer for the corruption scams, kickbacks, and scandals that she and the First Gentleman have used to bleed our national treasury dry. The Jose Pidal Scandal, the overpricing of the Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, the Fertilizer Fund Scam, and the ZTE-NBN deal, among others, sums up to a staggering P20.9 Billion in ill-gotten wealth. We shall hold her accountable for her insatiable greed, in juxtaposition with our country’s underdevelopment and poverty, as the latest government survey shows that the number of poor Filipinos had increased by 3.8 million to reach 27.6 million in 2006.

Lie #3: GMA upholds human rights

As the Commander-in-Chief, she will also have to answer for human rights violations, in what has been tagged as the bloodiest regime post-Marcos era. The number of politically-motivated killings and enforced disappearances has breached unbelievable levels in today’s modern democracy; and yet political harassment and quasi-dictatorial measures are still a reality among us Filipinos. We shall remember the unconstitutional PP1017, the Calibrated Preemptive Response, and the persecution of the Batasan Five, for we refuse to regress into the Dark Ages of authoritarian rule and terror.

Lie #4: GMA sees Cha-Cha as venue for social and political change

GMA thinks that she is insulated from the critiques on her administration by surrounding herself with opportunists and hypocrites, who are all too eager to fork over their accountability to their constituencies for additional pork barrel, and perhaps a travel junket or two. Her accomplices, such as favorite toady Rep. Nograles, have only recently demonstrated how deeply entrenched they are in traditional dirty politics by railroading the Con-Ass House Resolution, despite the staunch opposition from the masses. The manner and ill-timing in which GMA’s administration is fast-tracking Charter Change stink of desperation, self interest, and self-perpetuation. We shall remain steadfast in our principled stand against GMA’s Cha-Cha, for any constitutional change must be for the people and by the people.

This Monday, the stage is set for yet another show— her enthusiastic audience will be over-eager to applaud, her fascist police are freshly-trained to pounce on innocent civilian protesters, and Gloria Arroyo herself has prepared a new speech containing the same old lies.

And we, too, shall be there— the proud, defiant and tireless Iskolar ng Bayan—to say once and for all, the curtain on GMA’s regime shall fall.

UP Diliman University Student Council

Join the pre-SONA Vigil and Cultural Night on July 27 at 6pm.
Join the July 27 SONA mobilization! Assembly at Quezon Hall at 10 am.

HR 1109 passed in Congress, Constituent Assembly by July

House of Representatives passed HR 1109 at 11:40pm. If no one stops them, Constituent Assembly may be called by July. People call this a day where congress made its own scandal.

House Resolution No. 1109

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Technorati Tags: Congress, ConAss, HOR, Congress of the Philippines, HB 1109, Constituent Assembly

Philippine Airforce Planes over Fairview this Monday morning

These planes, hovering over our house this morning, broke the serenity of the neighborhood and went back in circles around 8 times. I asked the Plurk-world about it, and finally Arbet said that it was because of the "flyby" presentation of the Philippine Air Force for the AFP Anniversary celebration, where President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the commander-in-chief, was the guest of honor.










Technorati Tags: bong, superbong, brian ong, philippine air force, miele guide, armed forces of the philippines, flyby exercises, president gloria macapagal arroyo, pgma, quezon city, philippines, fairview, philippines best, philippines and beyond

Stop. Look. and Listen.

This Ad from the Concerned Artists of the Philippines says it all. :)

Tiff: "Bong bong tanggalin mo damit mo."
CSA people: "Tiff ah!"
Me: "WHAT?!........."
Tiff: "Hindi hindi I mean 'yung jacket mo!"

B. C. P.
Stoplight.

I call for PGMA do to the right thing.
Resign!