July 19, 2010

NoyPi AKO!
charliesweeper@gmail.com

Dear Sir:

Greetings! In the recent victory of President Noynoy Aquino, Big K Imaging, a division of Kameraworld Group of Companies published the Yellow Ribbon Photo Book; A 44-page commemorative coffee table book that is dedicated to the Yellow Army of volunteers of the presidential campaign. Through it, we would like to thank the supporters for their unwaivering support as well as to promote volunteerism as a medium for change.

On June 30, 2010, the Yellow Ribbon Photo Book had its soft launch at the President’s Inaugural event. Following this was a special photo exhibit held at the Malacañang Palace. The exhibit displayed 100 remarkable photos which captured the bitter sweet moments that transpired during the campaign period. Most of which were contributed by the official presidential head photographer, Mr. Jay Morales.

On July 30 – Aug 1, 2010, we will mark the official launch of Yellow Ribbon People’s campaign for change. The event hopes to extend the previously mentioned Malacañang Photo exhibit to the general public’s view. We are inviting several important personalities who have greatly contributed, supported and helped in the Aquino campaign, to talk about volunteerism and effective photo journalism. Some of which include Ms. Mikee Conjuanco Jaworski, Mr. Bam Aquino, Ms. Maria Montelibano and Mr. Jay Morales just to name a few. Several independent groups who have volunteered to support President Noynoy’s campaign will be present as well. This will be a relevant and timely event to remember the late President Cory Aquino as her time of passing has come to its first year on August 1, 2010.

In this light, we would like to formally invite you to join us in this event. Your presence will greatly be appreciated.

Once again, our many thanks and gratitude for your support. Should you have further questions regarding this matter, feel free to give us a call at (+632) 636 6000 or email us at yrpborders@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Madeline Hagape
Division Head
Big K Imaging
(+63922) 824 9428

Dante R. Soliven
Editor-in-chief
Yellow Ribbon Photo Book
(+63917) 326 7127

John R. Castro
President
Kameraworld Group of Companies

The elimination of corruption is the primary promise of President Benigno C. Aquino III and I would like to think that that is the main reason Filipinos made him President with the biggest mandate in recent history. “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap,” was his campaign slogan. Indeed, tens of billions of pesos are lost to corruption every year. And that is one reason why so many Filipinos are dirt-poor. Money that should have been spent for services to the people is lost to corruption.

One of the principal causes of corruption is the congressional pork barrel, that part of the people’s money that members of Congress surreptitiously set aside for their projects, half of which they steal. A good part of last Saturday’s Kapihan sa Sulo forum, where defeated LP senatorial candidates Nereus Acosta and Martin Bautista were guests, was spent discussing the pork barrel. Former members of the House defended the pork barrel system. Understandable, because they benefited from it when they were in the House.

“Congress has ‘the power of the purse’” is the common refrain, meaning Congress has the power to pass the budget. The pork is spent for various projects of legislators, such as waiting sheds, basketball courts, barangay halls, substandard roads and sometimes bridges over dry land. The trouble is only half of the allocation goes to the project; the rest goes to private pockets. That is why most infrastructure projects are overpriced but are substandard. The contractor is forced to make do with what is left of the budget after he forks over to legislators and other public officials about half of it, sometimes even before he gets the first release of funds for the project.

Constructing government projects is the job of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), not of members of Congress. The job of the latter is to enact laws, not to be a duplicate DPWH. Search the Constitution with a fine-toothed comb and you will not find any provision that authorizes Congress to be a de facto DPWH. But year in and year out, legislators act as miniature DPWHs. That is usurpation of public authority. And because they shamelessly pocket some of the money, that is corruption which P-Noy promised to fight.

Everybody partakes of the illicit money: senators and congressmen, engineers, local government officials, treasurers and cashiers, the lowly clerks, and even private contractors, so you can see how the rot of the pork barrel system is contaminating the whole Philippine society.

Legislators claim that without the pork barrel the projects that they promised to their constituents would not be implemented. False.

There are regional development councils, provincial development councils, city and municipal development councils that discuss and approve projects within their respective territories. The purpose is to avoid duplication and wastage of taxpayers’ money, identify priority projects and plan a rational approach to development. Congressmen are members of these councils. They can push for their projects in these councils.

Congressmen claim that without the pork, LGU officials, who are usually their main rivals in their territories, will claim the credit for the projects. But that is not the responsibility of legislators, to usurp the functions of the DPWH. The Constitution says their responsibility is to enact laws, not to be ersatz project engineers. If they enact good laws, their constituents will give them credit and gratitude for that—and reelect them. But if they usurp the functions of the DPWH, and pocket some of the project’s budget, not only their constituents but the whole Filipino nation will demonize them for it. They may even go to jail.

Maybe that is the reason it takes a very long time for bills to be passed by Congress, and bloats the expenditure for each law passed. Legislators spend more time pushing their pet projects, and collecting half of the project’s budget, than attending to their responsibility of crafting good laws.

And in the first place, legislators should not make promises to do things that the Constitution does not give them authority to do, like usurping the functions of the DPWH and the development councils. The main reason why they sponsor projects is to be able to get a sizable portion of the project’s budget. And that is why so many people, including nominees by party-list groups, want to be congressmen. They want to share in the bonanza.

Each senator gets P150 million in pork every year; there are 24 senators. Each congressman gets P70 million a year; there are 250 of them. Chairmen and members of the Senate and House committees on Finance and Appropriations get much, much more. So go do the arithmetic and you will have an idea of how many billions of pesos of the people’s taxes are lost to the pork barrel system alone, money that should have been spent instead for services to the people and alleviate poverty, money that should have been funneled back in services to the people who slaved for and paid them.

It is so easy to end the pork barrel system. It is the Executive Department that prepares the annual budget and sends it to Congress. The legislature cannot appropriate funds for projects not in the President’s original budget proposal. So all the President has to do is not include in his budget proposal funds for pork. But year in and year out, Malacañang includes lump sums for such innocent-sounding appropriations as Priority Development Assistance Fund and Countrywide Development Fund. That is only the principal pork barrel fund. There are still congressional insertions in the budgets of most departments. The insertions provide that hundreds of millions of pesos of the budget are set aside for the projects of certain legislators.

The pork barrel is the President’s way of bribing legislators to do what he wants.

Schedule of Events, June 30, 2010:

• 9:00 AM Dignitaries and Guests Begin Arriving at Quirino Grandstand.
• 09:45 AM Departure of President-elect Benigno S. Aquino III from his residence at Times Street, Quezon City, for Malacañan Palace.
• 10:00 AM Expected arrival of the Vice President-elect at the Quirino Grandstand
• 10:35 AM Arrival of the President-elect at Malacañan Palace.
• 10:40 AM Departure of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and President-elect Benigno S. Aquino III from Malacañan Palace.
• 10:45 AM Arrival of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and President-elect Benigno S. Aquino III at the Quirino Grandstand.
• 10:50 AM Honors for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
• 10:55 AM Departure of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. President-elect Aquino and Vice President Elect Binay to be accompanied to the ceremonial platform by the Inaugural Committee.
• 11:00 AM Start of the Inaugural Ceremonies Proper:

National Anthem, to be sung by Charice Pempengco and the Madrigal Singers, music by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ecumenical Invocation.

Inaugural Song, “Bagong Pilipinas,” music and lyrics by Ogie Alcasid and Noel Cabangon. To be performed by Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez, Jim Paredes, Gary Valenciano, Jed Madela, Mae Paner, Noel Cabangon, Christian Bautista, Kundirana and the Madrigal Singers, music by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.

• 11:35 AM Reading by the President of the Senate of the Proclamation by the Congress of the Philippines announcing the results of the elections in the Philippines.
• 11:45 AM Administration of the Oath of Office to the Honorable Jejomar C. Binay, Vice President-elect of the Philippines, by Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales.
• 12:00 Noon Administration of the Oath of Office to the Honorable Benigno S. Aquino III, President-elect of the Philippines, by Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales.

Inaugural Address by His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III, President of the Philippines.

Panata sa Pagbabago. This is the innovation in the 2010 inaugural ceremonies. It is meant to respond to the President’s inaugural address by volunteers and the public at large pledging their support and participation in the democratic governance of the nation.

Conclusion of the Inaugural Ceremonies: Recessional and departure of the President of the Philippines for Malacañan Palace.

• 01:15 PM Working Lunch in Kalayaan Hall. Ritual of the climbing of the stairs, Malacañan Palace.
• 02:30 PM Induction into office of the Cabinet and various officials by the President of the Philippines, Rizal Hall, Malacañan Palace.
• 03:30 PM First Cabinet Meeting of the President of the Philippines, Aguinaldo State Dining Room, Malacañan Palace.
• 04:00 PM Street Program, Quezon Memorial Circle begins.
• 06:00 PM Inaugural Reception, Reception and Rizal Halls, Malacañan Palace.
• 07:30 PM Toast to the Foreign Delegations and the Diplmatic Corps by the President of the Philippines, brief remarks.
• 08:00 PM Personal time for the President.
• 09:00 PM Departure of the President of the Philippines from Malacañan Palace to attend the Inaugural Concert.
• 09:20 PM Inaugural Concert, Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City.

For more information, visit Manolo Quezon’s blog.

I’d like to thank GMA News TV. Great job Howie (Severino) talaga! What a wonderful Live Streaming service this news agency gave us Overseas Filipinos. Imagine not seeing this historic event. GMA News TV is truly a beacon of light in the wee hours here in the East Coast, halfway around the globe from Manila.

I purposely did not sleep tonight. Isang drum nang kape ang tinira ko. It is now 5:24am in the East Coast as I write this blog entry. I waited for the proclamation. I wanted to make sure that the man, I chose to lead the nation will be proclaimed. Who knows baka atakehin na naman nang midnight madness ang isa dyan, biglang mag-appoint nang ibang presidente.

Anyway, at the start of the ceremonies, I noticed that “Benigno Aquino III” was #9 on Yahoo Trends. By the time the press conference started, the trend jumped to #4. Take note, #4, as in the BP oil tragedy is big news here but is way far from the trend. That’s just to show you that the world is taking notice. Take a look at my capture:

Now, let me share you my thoughts about what I saw at the Senate floor:

1.) Important, historic and formal events deserve formal attire from attendees. It’s called respect. But as the camera panned across the floor, I was disappointed to see a number of spectators and well-wishers still wearing the yellow uniforms. Di ba dapat unity na tayo? Some came in their “wala lang” attire. Gusto kong kurutin ang mga singit nang mga to! Shouldn’t we Filipinos start minding the way we dress for the occasion? I’m not asking that we all wear the latest Armani creation but at least wear something appropriate for the occasion. Tse! And wearing campaign colors in the proclamation is not right. This should have been one reconciliation moment. Sorry, Yellow Folks! Drop it! Hahaha!

2.) This was also my 1st time to listen to some of the Senators and Congressmen speak. I don’t know some of them. I cringe listening to them speak in English. I would have preferred that they spoke in Tagalog na lang. They should learn how to speak English from our Call Center Trainors.

3.) While the Senators and the Congressmen were delivering their privilege speeches, no one seemed to be interested in listening to them. Not even Enrile. Not even Nograles, who they would constantly refer to as “Mr. Speaker and/or Mr. President” many, many times. Not even the crowd. But they should not blame the crowd too. Jinggoy is boring. The next speaker was also boring and so is Neptali Gonzales. Most of them talked about stuff that is so five minutes ago. No Kennedy moments. Not even a Martin Luther King. Thanks to Nene Pimentel who provided some much needed antics. PCOS, President Cory’s Only Son brought down the house.

4.) Prior to the start and even during the ceremonies, the GMA cameraman has been focusing the camera on to Vice President Binay’s daughter, who has been walking back and forth on the floor. I did not know who she was. I just found out when she went up to the rostrum to join her father. I was going dizzy with the camera following her every move. Nothing against President Binay’s daughter, but why can’t she sit and have peace and harmony with the chair? I felt like smacking that cameraman for punishing us viewers.

5.) Obviously, my brothers and sisters in the Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity came in droves. The shout of “Binay! Binay!” is deafening. What a moment. Finally, we have a first black Vice President. The Binay Family picture is great! What a proud moment that was! I soooo love it! But I can’t help noticing the GMA News Chat Room, there were a number of comments that said “Binay will be President soon!” What the hell does that mean?

6.) These journalists need some heavy scolding and then spanking. And more scolding. They were a group of lousy listeners. It was not a good show of journalistic talent when the world is tuned in. It is obvious that they came to the press conference armed with their canned questions like obedient pupils. All they did was ask their prepared questions and did not bother to listen to the question and answer that was going on. President Aquino must have responded to the same questions over and over.

7.) There were questions from the journalists that belong to the “duh” column. As I have said, part of the problem was that, these journalists were not listening very well. For example, there was this journalist who asked the question when he will be able to solve the problems. If he had only listened, President Noynoy explained his priority very methodically and that is, to understand what the problem is before they can offer any fixes. Go figure.

Let’s talk about President Noynoy Aquino.

1.) He was candid. He’s the President of the Philippines. He’s allowed to be arrogant but instead he referred to this one journalist as “boss”. Wasn’t that nice?

2.) He seems to demand privacy from the journalists on personal matters. When asked about the possibility of wedding bells, he responded: “We have to ask Madame Auring”.

3.) He was very magalang with his consistent use of “po” sometimes punctuated with “naman” as “naman po”. Touch of Cory’s strict upbringing?

4.) He was accommodating. When one security personnel and/or presidential assistant said that the President still has to attend to other things, the President stopped him and said that he will still take questions. And did you notice how he would respond in English if the question was in English and respond in Tagalog if the question was in Tagalog? He’s a people person! Marunong maki-bagay!!!

5.) He was very straight-forward with his response. I did not hear any paligoy-ligoy moments. When asked about Bangit, he responded: “Bangit will not be Chief of Staff”. When asked about the Ombudsman, he responded: “I am not happy with the Ombudsman’s performance”. Where he is staying: “I’m not staying in Malacanang.” Oath of office? “With an Associate Justice”. Even his response on the 1st 100-day question was a step by step, methodical response.

6.) Methodical was his approach to problem resolution, not quick fixes and I like it. In auditing, the auditor must be able to understand the problem completely before he can propose any adjustments and solution.

7.) Interestingly, the journalist from NHK would ask a similar question that was raised earlier and responded to many times. When President Noynoy Aquino said: “I have already responded to that question. Can we just ask them to provide you a copy of my response?” The NHK journalist responded: “No, I want to hear it from your, Sir” or something like that. Bastos! Hahaha! President Noynoy was obviously irked with the unapologetic response that he said: “I’m sorry, I’m not a jukebox”. Bee! Buti nga! That should serve as warning to all the journalists. Be a good listener. The President is not joking. You missed it once, he will repeat it. You missed it the 2nd time, he might still repeat it for slow learners. Do it the 3rd time and you won’t know what will hit you. So, do your assignments before you face the President. He was not the abnoy or the psycho that some people tried to picture him out.

8.) He has a trait important to a leader. It’s decisiveness. That’s what I want from a leader. Put your foot down when needed. He sure needs it for the next 6 years for I’m sure he will soon be surrounded by a new breed of suckers.

But these are just words, phrases, sentences.

We will have to wait for the corresponding actions to validate those words.

But it’s a good start. And I’m very happy with our President. I’m very impressed. It’s worth all I suffered during the campaign.

And President Noynoy should be happy since he was officially proclaimed at exactly 3:41pm in Manila, 3:41am in Philadelphia. Now that an easy number 8, and this number augurs well. Madam Auring told me.

So Mr. President, for a job well-done,

Go have a smoke.

Australian PM congratulates Aquino

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero – President of Spain

Ambassador Liu Jianchao – Embassy of China

Ambassador Luis Arias Romero – Embassy of Spain

Governor Shintaro Ishihara – Tokyo

Ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr. – Embassy of the United States of America

Hyungtae Kim – President, Hannam University, Republic of Korea

Mindanao Peaceweavers

Kinastigo naman ng Malacañang ang nangungunang presidential candidate na si Noynoy Aquino sa patuloy niyang pagtanggi na manumpa kay Chief Justice Renato Corona. Pinayuhan ng Malacañang si Aquino na magpaka-presidente at itigil na ang pagiging kandidato. Nagpa-Patrol, Willard Cheng. TV Patrol World, Mayo 17, 2010

I am one of millions of Filipinos who voted for your as President during the recent election in the hope that you can institute an honest and urgently needed reforms in our government. Considering the multifarious problems that you are expected to confront as a new leader of our country, you certainly need the assistance and cooperation of everybody in order to succeed in this task. In this regard, let may offer you my unsolicited suggestions as follows:

1. Reconciliation – now that the election is over, it’s time to extend your hands of reconciliation to your rivals and their supporters. It’s time to cooperate and help others and look forward to a better future for our country. It’s time to forget and forgive.

2. Cabinet – The members of your Cabinet should not be based on their level of support and loyalty to you during the election because to do so will be tantamount to political patronage – the usual practice of the so-called “Trapo” politicians. Prospective members of your Cabinet should be chosen on the basis of their indisputable integrity, competence and morality regardless of their political affiliation.

Example: the Hyat 10, Gibo Teodoro, Eddie Villanueva, Perlas & Mar Roxas (if he could not make it to the VP). Those who could not be appointed because of the one-year restrictive period, they can be designated for the meantime as presidential advisers on a voluntary basis. Before assuming their positions, all members of the Cabinet must be required to sign on a voluntary basis a waiver to the effect that in case of future investigation affecting them, their bank accounts can be accessed by any authorized investigating body.

All unnecessary positions in the government which were obviously created by the previous administration to accommodate political protégées – like assistant secretaries, deputies, etc. should be totally abolished. All retired military officers presently occupying cabinet and other important positions should be immediately replaced by qualified and civilian appointees. Enough of militarization in government posts. There are so many qualified people who can readily replace these military retirees in government who were appointed primarily to reward them for their loyalty to GMA.

3. Mindanao problem – government panel tasked to negotiate with the MILF/MNLF should be reorganized and must include as new members some respected leaders from the Muslim communities and the concerned cultural minority group as well as constitutionalists. The newly reorganized panel should be transparent in all its dealing with its counterpart and also should not offer any term of agreement which is not in accordance with the constitution and existing laws and regulations.

In this regard, it must be recalled that the government panel under the present administration secretly negotiated with the MILF which lead to the MOA that was eventually ruled by the Supreme Court as illegal, thus, resulting to the failure of the negotiation revival of heavy fighting in Mindanao between the government military forces and the MILF rebels. Qualified Muslims should be appointed as ambassadors to some Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Libya, Somalia, etc.;

Funding for the development of Mindanao should be closely monitored to insure that fund allocated for a particular project is properly spent and not just stolen by people entrusted to implements the projects. So much money have been spent already in Mindanao under the previous governments, yet the Mindanaoans are still disappointed to see that their areas are not well developed as they expected, despite the huge expenditures thereat by the government

4. Independent Investigating Body – An independent body should be formed and specially assigned to look into any corruption in all government offices. This should be composed of people from the private sectors, religious groups, professionals (CPAs and Lawyers), etc. who will volunteer their services and should be under the Office of the President. Such body should also re-investigate and put closure to the ZTE scam, Fertilizer scam, C5 scam and all wrong doings or irregularities under GMA administration.

5. Whistle Blowers – People who report any anomaly in government at the risks of their lives should be given incentive and ample protection instead of being charged in court. This will encourage people to report to the proper authorities any irregularity that they may know in any government office. The case of Jun Lozada and other people who were charged in court after acting as witnesses to different anomalies in the present government should be reviewed for possible assistance to ensure that their respective cases are resolved at the earliest possible time.

The Senate should be authorized to protect potential witnesses of any irregularity and enough funding for such purpose should be provided. This should be separate from the Witness Protection Program by the Department of Justice.

6. Executive Order No. 464 – the executive order restricting cabinet members, senior official and certain military officers from attending to investigating body should be immediately revoked. There should be standing order to all government personnel and officials to attend to any investigation conducted by authorized body. This will promote transparency in government transactions because people with malicious intent to commit anomaly in the future will be afraid to do so as he or she might be compelled later to attend to such investigation.

7. Importation – Instead of importing rice and some agricultural products, we should support our farmers by giving them maximum financial support and providing them with the necessary facilities and equipment to maximize their production. The government should spend for the construction of farm to market roads, irrigation systems including the repairs of those already old and existing and enough warehouses for storage of their production. Importation of rice and other agricultural products is just a source of anomaly by some unscrupulous government officials.

8. Corruption – Since your main platform during your campaign is to eradicate corruption, it is strongly suggested that you give priority to the investigation of all employees and officials who are suspected of doing something illegal that deprive the government of the badly needed revenues – like the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revenue, DPWH, Department of Agricultures, DENR, LTO, etc. I can still recall that you promised during your campaign that you will able to imprison some of these people within the two or three weeks after you assume office.

Well, I believe you, and I am confident you can do it. It’s now time to prove to your critics that you are serious in eradicating corruption in your government. This will serve as a strong signal to these corrupt employees and officials that they better mend their ways if they want to continue serving in your government.

9. Fair Election Act – appropriate remedies should be undertaken to avoid the recurrence of various problems which we encountered during the recent election. The number of voters in each PCOS should be limited to 500 or less and the system of giving ballot to each voter should be simplified. This will require the increase in the numbers of PCOS that will be needed for the election. Separate and exclusive lane for senior citizens and voters with physical disability should be set up in every polling place and should be strictly implemented.

While there was an instruction by the COMELEC that said express lane must be set in polling places, this was not carried out during the recent election. COMELEC or PPRCV representatives with laptop computers that can readily provide the specific precinct number of particular registered voters should be made available at every polling place in order to supplement the voters’ lists that will be published in each polling place before the election. Under this reform, the long line of voters during voting can be avoided. Likewise, it’s imperative that the security features in the ballots which were previously eliminated during past election should be restored.

Something must be done to level the playing field of different candidates – those without enough funds vs those with fund; There should be enough time for preparation – filing of certificate of candidacy, evaluating candidates, protests for disqualification & decision, printing of ballots, testing of machines, etc.

10. Oil Deregulation Law (ODL) – Despite the passage and implementation of this law, the oil monopoly by oil companies still exists and people are helpless whenever prices of oil and petroleum products increase. The Department of Energy (DOE) which is supposed to oversee the proper implementation of this law is not doing its job. In fact, the public perception is that the DOE is lawyering for the oil companies instead of protecting the people interest. Under the ODL, the oil companies can increase or decrease their prices whenever they want depending on the international market for such products.

There are supposed to be safeguards to prevent any abuse on the part of the oil companies, but it seems that DOE is not performing its mandated tasks under the law. It is, therefore, suggested that the present head of the DOE should be replaced by honest and competent person who can perform his or job well by balancing the interest of the public and the oil companies instead of lawyering or protecting only the interest of the latter.

Moreover, the Oil Deregulation Law should be amended to restore the previous set up where the government just maintains an Oil Stabilization or Subsidy Fund to take care of the effect of the changes in oil prices. At least under this system, the government has the over-all control of any price increase instead of the oil companies and, before any price increase is carried out by the oil companies, proper processes can be conducted by the DOE.

11. Electricity –Because of high cost of power, foreign companies considered the Philippines as not attractive for foreign investments in comparison with its neighbors. Ordinary citizens who are not earning much are the ones seriously affected by high cost of electricity. It was even reported that body formed to encourage competition among the power suppliers/distributors and reduce the cost of electricity is found to be ineffective due to alleged irregularities. Such irregularities should be investigated and those found guilty should be prosecuted.

Further efforts to increase the number of alternative sources of energy should be undertaken such as Hydro electricity, Wind energy, etc. To promote energy conservation, the following remedial actions should be undertaken: Luxury vehicles at various departments should be sold out and replaced by vehicles which are more economical in terms of gas consumption and maintenance.

All government offices should limit their energy consumption by regulating the use of their air-conditioning units. Companies in the private sectors which are using neon lights for their advertisement should be required to put off their neon light ads at a certain time (say 10:00pm) during night. With these proposed reforms, we can conserve energy and at the same time economize expenses.

12. Private Armies – There should be a political well to really dismantle existing private armies. The executive order legalizing formation of certain group to assist the government in fighting the rebels should be immediately revoked. Political allies should not be tolerated in building their owed private armies as a reward for their supports during the election. Instead of the CAFGU, the government should gradually increase the number of military personnel (PNP and AFP) and provide them with enough and modern military equipment and arsenals. The case of the Ampatuan clans and other politicians with existing private armies should serve as lesson for the new government.

13. Education – Budget for education should be increased to build more classrooms, increase salaries of teachers and provide more modern equipment and facilities to our public schools. Likewise, the subsidy to our public schools should be increased so that tuition fees could be reduced into more affordable level. School curriculum should be changed and geared toward those required by prospective employers.

So many job vacancies are available but these could not be filled up because the educational qualifications of job applicants don’t much those required for the vacancies. More schools to serve the need of Special children should be established. Because of the inadequacy in the number of school for special children (children with mental disability, etc.), parents who have special children but have no sufficient fund are compelled to send their children to private schools for special children which are charging exorbitant fees.

It is imperative that the government should address this problem because the number of children which need special education is increasing every year and the available public schools for these children are only few. It’s also suggested that purchases of books for public schools should be thoroughly studied because there are more books being used in public schools which contain numerous errors which need to be corrected. I also understand that there are anomalies in the transactions involving purchases of books and supplies.

Appropriate remedial actions should be instituted to prevent such anomalies and, if possible, those who are employed with the government who are suspected of being involved in those alleged anomalies should be investigated and prosecuted to serve as warning to those people with malicious intent.

14. Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) – It could not denied that due to the substantial amount of remittances by our OFW, our government survived the global financial crises. But it’s regrettable that the government efforts to help the OFW who encounter problems abroad are not enough. It is strongly recommended that further efforts should be exerted by the government to look into the problem of our countrymen abroad. Also, the government should create more job and business opportunities locally so that our citizens need not work abroad and sacrifice being separated from their families.

The social costs of working abroad should be seriously considered by the government. Frankly, I am not aware of any government in the world which succeeds by relying mainly on their citizens working abroad, yet the present government’s effort to develop its economy domestically to create job opportunities to our people is not enough which is the primary reason why they are constrained to work abroad.

15. Marcos Wealth – So much time and money has been spent already to maintain PCGG which was assigned to recover the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses, yet it seems that the PCGG failed to perform its assigned task. Almost all the legal cases for the recovery of such unexplained wealth against the Marcoses were dismissed by the courts. Obviously, people from the PCGG are either incompetent or in cahoots with the Marcoses which must be the reasons for such failure.

Recently, a certain commissioner of the PCGG has suggested for a compromise with the Marcoses, but such an idea should never be entertained by the new administration. Instead, the PCGG should by totally abolished and replaced by more competent body or commission, or all PCGG officials and personnel should be replaced by people who are not only honest and competent but also they must be seriously concerned in the recovery of ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses.

Preferably, the new members of the PCGG should come from the victims or people they trust to represent their interest. Moreover, present PCGG personnel & officials should be investigated for any anomaly and, if found guilty, they should be prosecuted.

16. Commission of Appointment – Presidential appointees requiring confirmation by the CA who are by-passed twice should not be re-appointment in order to give opportunity to other qualified applicants. It must be recalled that there were several appointees of GMA in most important positions who were by-passed several times but were re-appointed by GMA inspire of the public clamor that the same by-passed appointees were not performing well in his assigned positions and, therefore, did not deserve re-appointments.

17. Appointments for AFP & PNP – The duration of appointment of military officers such as in the AFP and PNP should be for at least continuous period of 3 years to insure the continuity of programs of the appointees. The practice of appointing an official to the AFP and PNP for even short period should be completely stopped. While it is acceptable to appoint official to higher positions on the basis of seniority, still it is important that the length of service of those to be appointed should be enough to enable them to implement their programs on uninterrupted period.

18. Biased investigation – It has been noted that whenever there is a need to investigate erring government personnel or official, the department or agency where such personnel or official belongs always takes part in the investigation. This system of investigation seems to be biased because there is always a tendency on the part of the investigating department or agency to cover up the suspects to protect the reputation of such department or agency.

Example: When a PNP personnel commits irregularity, the PNP or Police Commission is designated as lead agency to conduct the investigation of such erring personnel. How can you expect that the result of such investigation will be transparent or unbiased? To avoid this situation and to be more transparent, a separate investigating body not connected with such department or agency should be designated to conduct the investigation.

19. Voluntarism – I firmly believe that the millions of your volunteers have helped a lot for your victory during the recent election. Like myself, most of these volunteers supported you and the ticket of the Liberal Party for various reasons particularly your platforms to effect honest reforms in government by eradicating corruption in departments and agencies, increasing collection of revenues, etc.

I strongly recommend that you continue tapping the assistance of your volunteers in your government. After all, many of us voluntarily supported and voted for you, spent our personal funds and resources without any expectation for any return from your end except to have a good governance under your administration. There are many ways in which you can utilize your volunteers to help you in your administration, and I am sure that may of us are more than willing to continue helping you in all your undertakings that will redound to the general welfare of the people.

Thank you very much for accepting the challenge to be our leader for a genuine reforms in our government. By extending to you our maximum support during the recent election without any reservation, it only means that we have full trust and confidence in your ability to lead our country for progress. It’s now time to prove to your critics that they are wrong in accusing you that you are not qualified for the Presidency because of your inadequate executive experience and alleged unimpressive legislative performance during your tenure as a Congressman and later as a Senator as well as.

We earnestly hope and pray that you will not disappoint us. Rest assures that your millions of volunteers are always with you in your fight for good governance. As Governor-elect Vilma Santos Recto said, “ kung sabi mo kami ang iyong lakas, ang sabi sagot namin ay ikaw ang aming pag-asa.” “ Hindi ka nag-iisa”. We are always praying for your success. God bless you!

MIKE H. ISMAEL
Ismaelpa2007@yahoo.com
May 16, 2010
Member, People Power Volunteers Center

ON A BRIGHT MORNING IN JUNE 1992, right after Fidel Ramos was sworn in as President at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, erstwhile First Son Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III was grinning from ear to ear as he walked away from the crowd.

He could now breathe easy, he would tell us after the inaugural rites, because he didn’t have to be as fearful for the safety of his mother, he could lead an ordinary life, say goodbye to Malacañang, and perhaps have a normal love life at last, away from the prying media.

He could not have known then that 18 years later he would be preparing for his own swearing-in, and a potentially controversial one at that.

Noynoy’s likely ascendancy to the presidency, in what is shaping up to be an overwhelming mandate from the people, comes as a total surprise not just to the holders of power in this country, but even more so to himself.

“But I can’t wear my torn T-shirt there, or my threadbare pants … I really need only two rooms,” Noynoy was telling friends over dinner last Saturday, the eve of the election, on why he wanted to continue to live in his family’s Times Street residence, and not in Malacañang, if he should win.

A close friend then suggested, not entirely kidding: “So how about if we do an exact copy of your bedroom, so you’ll feel at home?”

Embracing destiny

“Hay, normalcy …,” Aquino muttered under his breath. He obviously didn’t care to pursue the topic, knowing that he was in for more ribbing.

The senator seemed at peace with himself that night, less than 48 hours before the polling was to open. He was calm, not seeming to be afraid or worried.

“A man who has totally embraced his destiny, not just his parents’ legacy,” is how one volunteer, who was with the campaign since it started, puts it.

“I believe I’ve done everything I can,” he said, gulping down his nth soft drink of the day.

“Now, leave some to God. I think it was Cardinal Sin who said that once,” he said.

He had just finished a motorcade and rally in Tarlac’s second district and Tarlac City. By now, an eight-hour motorcade no longer left him tired or fatigued.

And now, with the campaign at an end, he just wanted to have a good Chinese dinner with his staff, a few volunteers and friends. He was looking forward to a dish of sweet-sour pork.

A bonus from God

Although no one at the table said it, everyone knew how special this moment was. Aquino was at a crossroads. He had just ended a grueling campaign. The last of the presidential candidates to get started on his campaign, he worked at least three provinces a day, losing perhaps 15 pounds in the process, and with hands bruised from pressing the flesh.

(Amid the misgivings of his security people who were apprehensive of the dark, Aquino broke away from the motorcade in Tarlac City at 7 p.m. and went onstage to address the huge crowd that had been waiting for him for hours.)

And now he stands at the threshold of being proclaimed the 15th President of the Philippines.

For now, however, he’d rather joke and banter, recalling the miracle that was his campaign.

Does he think he’ll win, we asked. “It’s done,” he said.

“That’s not to sound mayabang (smug) … what I mean is, if our purpose was to bring our people together to express the need for change, we’ve done it. If I win the presidency, that’s just a bonus from God, that I’m given the chance to still do more, to deliver on a promise,” he said.

Not about himself

He wasn’t just trying to be philosophical or spiritual, he was just being his true self, a guy who’s not preoccupied with himself at all.

The guy who didn’t fanatically seek power for himself will be the President of the Philippines any day now. Don’t you see the irony of your life? we pressed on. We felt we had to ask him because not only have we known him for 26 years—“since 1984, to be exact,” Noynoy calculated—we’ve also tracked that life during those decades.

He merely looked at us, half-shrugged and proceeded to talk about other things. Obviously, to him, even his date with destiny was still not about himself.

No wonder he seemed calm. He wasn’t thinking of himself, not even about what could be his last weekend as a private person, no matter that the muckraking campaign didn’t spare anything of his person, certainly not his always shiny pate.

On that Saturday in Tarlac, the last day of the campaign, children could be seen racing alongside the motorcade as it negotiated the narrow road in Victoria. People young and old, men and women, half-run on both sides of the truck that he was riding as it inched along. They were crying out his name: “Noynoy! Noynoy!”

Eye contact with crowd

Amazingly, Noynoy exchanged banter with the crowd as his motorcade moved, from his perch on the truck about 2 feet from the ground. From time to time, he would shout at the children, warning them to stay away from the moving truck lest they hurt themselves. Or he would tell more aggressive ones to stop snatching the baller IDs from the elderly who were not fast enough at catching the wristbands being thrown at the crowds. He actually kept eye contact with the people even as his truck was in motion.

At one point, he pointed at a frisky hardheaded boy tailing the motorcade, singled him out, and shouted: “Hindi tayo naglalaro! … H’wag … baka masaktan ka!” (This is not a game. Don’t, you might hurt yourself!)

The boy froze on his tracks, his jaw dropped, and he stared at Aquino. He obviously couldn’t believe that, Aquino, the object of the crowd’s frenzy, had spotted him.

Amused by the sight of the stunned boy, senatorial candidate Dr. Martin Bautista said to the senator: “I think that boy will grow up a good boy, because he has just been admonished by the President (to-be) of the Philippines. He’ll always remember this day.”

Indeed, on this last day of the campaign, the crowd was no longer shouting “Cory!” or “Kris!”—the two authentic celebrities in the family who are believed to be propelling his campaign. They were now shouting, “Noynoy!” or “Noy!”

No faking it

His candidacy was triggered by the people’s clamor following the death of his mother, the icon of democracy and revered former President Corazon Aquino. Yet city slickers have hardly caught a glimpse of how this “people power” candidate is truly at home with the people, and they with him. He doesn’t have to fake it.

From where we stood behind him on the truck, we could look down at the faces of the people, a moving mosaic of raw emotion, their eyes misting up with hope. For it was hope that we saw, not the cheering or adulation, but hope that their lives would somehow be better.

“This raw emotion is far better than what numbers could show,” said Chris Tio, a volunteer who left his family and thriving retail business in Cebu to join the campaign, referring to candidate preference surveys, as he looked at the crowd backdropped by ramshackle homes. (When Aquino first ran for a House seat in the 1990s, he visited every one of these houses.)

Believe in people power

Whenever he talked about the campaign at the end of what seemed an endless day, Aquino was always at a loss for words trying to describe the response that he got from the crowds.

He recalled how at the start of the campaign, he found himself wondering what he would do for funds or resources.

“But when I went to Masbate and saw the people who stayed with us throughout, then I began to believe,” he said.

“They said people power is long gone, but what I had seen was actually people power every day, wherever I went … it was dark, the streets were not lit. But people beamed their flashlights at the motorcade so they could see us. Or they’d stay for hours under the pouring rain.”

Nor did he always have the show biz celebrities with him on these sorties. According to one volunteer, he realized who the crowds were really coming to see when, in Cagayan, they swarmed and banged on the car that Aquino was riding, shouting: “Pakita niyo si Noynoy!” (Show us Noynoy.) Aquino and his companions had to roll down the tinted windows.

After such days, Noynoy always says that it is the people who keeps him going. “Now you know how exhilarating [it can be], the people recharge you,” he said.

“It’s like a runner’s high … the adrenalin … then you stop, you feel it. When I ran for the Senate, when the campaign ended, I felt the sudden dip in adrenalin and mood. I was watching a comedy yet found myself sad, even crying,” he said.

(Curiously, in that Tarlac motorcade, the chain-smoking candidate perhaps smoked less than six sticks the whole day, at least until after dinner.)

People campaign

While he didn’t plan it, Aquino was on his way to becoming a People’s President. Volunteerism and donations made up his people campaign. (The array of merchandise—T-shirts, baller IDs, caps—that came from every kind of donor was bewildering. And because all of it was volunteered, there was no uniform design, except that they all stuck to the yellow color theme.)

“This wasn’t man alone … everything, the confluence of events, we couldn’t have done it alone. Diyos yon (It was God),” he would say over and over.

Indeed, on his path to the presidency, people everywhere came to define Noynoy as the People’s President. It was a campaign that drew mobs, with or without the presence of show biz celebs, unlike those of his opponents.

“At the start of the campaign, people were really looking for Kris. But midway into the campaign, people were already clamoring for Noynoy and would stand there, listening to him speak,” said another volunteer.

It was at this point that he decided to take charge of his campaign, deciding which sorties to make and issues to tackle.

“He has come into his own. The people, the crowds meeting us everywhere have buoyed his confidence so much,” said one volunteer.

He also plunged into a diligent study of the issues and the demands of governance. Right after announcing his candidacy, Aquino set out to study the budget deficit and other pressing problems.

Speed reading

Not many know that Aquino can speed-read. He was on the plane when the Supreme Court handed down the decision that the incumbent President has the power to appoint the next Chief Justice, and he knew the media would be asking for his comment as soon as the plane landed.

According to an aide, he had the Supreme Court decision downloaded and proceeded to read the entire manuscript, go over it with his lawyers and mentally mark the salient points.

“It was then we realized how he could speed-read and that he has a photographic memory,” the aide said.

His is a People’s Presidency in an era where the masses of Filipinos have been used by demagogues as props in a circus or as a sucker-of-an audience to a game show.

Transform, not just reform

His governance will have to transform, not just reform.

Will Aquino be able to lead a new generation of leaders that will finally deliver the country from the morass of corruption and decay that has condemned it to also-ran status in a region of ascendant powers?

This he must do with enemy fire, even friendly fire, directed at him in the days and years to come.

“If he stems corruption and brings back a sense of decency in government, that is good enough,” said a matron who voted for Aquino.

(To be concluded)

These pictures will tell you how Louie Locsin has become a victim of election fraud!!

This is an Audit Log of a PCOS Machine in the first district of Makati.

Note log at May 10/2010 21:55:22, which is 9:55pm.

Earlier that evening of election day, we were already celebrating the victory of Louie Locsin because initial returns were showing a landslide victory. Strangely, despite polling precincts being closed at 8pm, a good number of precincts only transmitted the results after 2am, some even “waiting” until 7am. By 7am when
the last results came in, Louie was defeated by the Binay candidate by 242 votes.

The Audit Log also showed that votes were cast from 10pm to 3:30am.

Look at the time it took from one vote cast to another. 15 to 20 seconds each.

Clearly ballots being force fed to the PCOS Machine.