Seeking vindication after his ouster from the presidency and conviction for plunder, Joseph Estrada asked Filipinos yesterday to give him a second chance.
“This is the last performance of my life and I will not fail you,” the former president told a cheering crowd in Tondo, Manila, where he announced his plan to run in the 2010 elections, with Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay as his running mate.
Expecting legal challenges to his bid, Estrada said the voice of the people is the voice of God, and voters should be the final judge.
He also announced his tentative senatorial slate: his son Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Ilocos Norte Gov. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Makati Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr., ZTE scandal whistle-blower Joey de Venecia, detained rebel leader Danny Lim, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Ompong Plaza. Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago is a guest candidate.
At his presidential inaugural in 1998, Estrada, a former movie star, had promised to deliver “the greatest performance of my life.” He was ousted less than halfway into his term and replaced by his vice president and constitutional successor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
With Binay, Estrada said, he could rest assured that his vice president would not be plotting behind his back to bring him down.
Estrada said Binay could help turn the country into another Makati, a city where the masses receive heavy social protection protection including free education, health care and even free admission in moviehouses for senior citizens.
In his speech, Estrada decried that he had been unjustly detained for six years and isolated from his family and supporters.
“I have followed the law and I have already forgotten all the lies and charges leveled against me. But you did not leave me,” he said referring to his supporters.
He said it’s his mission to deliver the country from poverty and culture of corruption under the Arroyo administration.
“This administration forgot about education. The budget for education did not even reach half of the country’s debt. We have P2 trillion debts at present and this will rise to P4 trillion by 2010,” he said.
“I took care of Mindanao to make it a food basket, but this administration, through the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain almost gave it up,” Estrada said.
He also vowed to be tougher in dealing with secessionists and terrorists in Mindanao.
“Mindanao will not progress if we will not finish all these kinds of terrorism. Corruption in government is rampant,” he said.
He said that under his administration, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF lost its camps in Mindanao.
He also took a swipe at the “elitists” whom he accused of having conspired to have him removed.
“Vox populi, vox dei. The voice of the people is the voice of God. But the elitists are not listening to voice of the people that is why we are here now,” he said. “Are we better off today than in 2001?”
Rivals are expected to challenge his candidacy before the Supreme Court and invoke a constitutional ban on a second term for any president.
source: Philstar.com
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An ex-president booted out through People Power due to various allegations of corruption and issues on morality will be running again for presidency .....only in the Philippines. Are there legal limitations on Erap's move?
JonQBX
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Escudero has decided but defers announcement
Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero has come to a decision about the 2010 presidential elections but deferred his announcement this Monday in deference to the victims of typhoon “Pepeng.”
Escudero, who turned 40 last Saturday, was supposed to announce his intention at noon at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan.
As early as Saturday night, however, Escudero’s office issued an advisory that he would hold a press conference at the Senate at 1:00 p.m. Monday to clarify the matter.
Escudero said he would not make any political announcement because this was not the right time to talk politics while many were suffering from the disaster brought about by tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.”.
"No, because this isn’t the right time to talk about politics, politick, and talk about personal ambition or dreams for the country,” he said in an interview over ABS-CBN's morning show "Umagang Kay Ganda."
But asked whether or not he would run for president in 2010, the senator said in jest, "Sa kanto muna pansamantala [It’s in the corner in the meantime]."
"May desisyon at pasya na kami, ako. Pero hindi ito ang tamang panahon para pag- usapan yan [We have decided, I. But this isn’t the right time to talk about it]. Eyes on the ball muna siguro tayo, doon sa kalamidad, doon sa pagtulong na dapat gawin [Perhaps, it should be eyes on the ball first, on the calamity, on the kind of help that we should give]," he said.
He refused to say if that decision included a complete senatorial slate, saying he will leave that issue to his group, the Nationalist People's Coalition.
"Hindi ako magsasalita para sa NPC. Bitbit ko ang sarili kong katawan kaugnay sa pagdesisyon matapos akong pumalo ng 40. Ang pagdesisyon ng partido susunod matapos yan [I will not speak for the NPC. I have decided only for myself after I reached 40. The decision of the party comes next]," he pointed out.
Escudero was sure of one thing though and that was the party's full support to whoever it would decide to endorse as its standard-bearer in 2010.
The senator called on other presidential aspirants to defer any political announcement at this point and instead focus on the problem at hand.
source: Inquirer.net
Escudero, who turned 40 last Saturday, was supposed to announce his intention at noon at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan.
As early as Saturday night, however, Escudero’s office issued an advisory that he would hold a press conference at the Senate at 1:00 p.m. Monday to clarify the matter.
Escudero said he would not make any political announcement because this was not the right time to talk politics while many were suffering from the disaster brought about by tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.”.
"No, because this isn’t the right time to talk about politics, politick, and talk about personal ambition or dreams for the country,” he said in an interview over ABS-CBN's morning show "Umagang Kay Ganda."
But asked whether or not he would run for president in 2010, the senator said in jest, "Sa kanto muna pansamantala [It’s in the corner in the meantime]."
"May desisyon at pasya na kami, ako. Pero hindi ito ang tamang panahon para pag- usapan yan [We have decided, I. But this isn’t the right time to talk about it]. Eyes on the ball muna siguro tayo, doon sa kalamidad, doon sa pagtulong na dapat gawin [Perhaps, it should be eyes on the ball first, on the calamity, on the kind of help that we should give]," he said.
He refused to say if that decision included a complete senatorial slate, saying he will leave that issue to his group, the Nationalist People's Coalition.
"Hindi ako magsasalita para sa NPC. Bitbit ko ang sarili kong katawan kaugnay sa pagdesisyon matapos akong pumalo ng 40. Ang pagdesisyon ng partido susunod matapos yan [I will not speak for the NPC. I have decided only for myself after I reached 40. The decision of the party comes next]," he pointed out.
Escudero was sure of one thing though and that was the party's full support to whoever it would decide to endorse as its standard-bearer in 2010.
The senator called on other presidential aspirants to defer any political announcement at this point and instead focus on the problem at hand.
source: Inquirer.net
Friday, October 2, 2009
New tips for high-tech polls
Keeping it simple for voters is one of the big challenges of poll automation for the May 2010 election.
Tips include classic advice like “bring a codigo” of the names of your favorite candidates.
Then there are new reminders that many worry will confuse or unnerve first-time users of a computer, especially those in remote, rural communities:
“Fully shade the oval in the ballot.”
“Don't over-vote. This may invalidate the contest.”
This and other challenges were highlighted yesterday in a live demonstration of an electronic vote counting machine by managers of Smartmatic-TIM held in Cebu City.
Voting is “quick and simple”, with “100% accuracy” said Miguel Avila, presentation and demonstration manager Smartmatic-TIM,the multi-national service provider hired by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to supply hardware, software and to set up an automated election process from balloting to canvassing in all 80,000 precincts in the country on May 10, 2010.
But if people are unfamiliar with the new steps or give in to external forces of vote-buying, fraud or bullying, the high-tech process , will be frustrated.
“Voters must be prepared,” said Avila.
“We need the the vigilance, cooperation, coordination and support of the citizens to guarantee the success of this project.”
He and Smartmatic-TEC regions manager Bonifacio Belen spoke in the forum “The Big Change: How to Count and Protect Votes with Poll Automation” at the Marcelo B. Fernan Cebu Press Center, one of the activities of 2009 Cebu Press Freedom Week.
With legal problems out of the way, the Comelec and implementors of poll automation are realizing that the race to prepare for the first automated Philippine elections will need a lot of public briefings and voter's education in their already tight schedule of less than eight months.
source : Inquirer.Net
Tips include classic advice like “bring a codigo” of the names of your favorite candidates.
Then there are new reminders that many worry will confuse or unnerve first-time users of a computer, especially those in remote, rural communities:
“Fully shade the oval in the ballot.”
“Don't over-vote. This may invalidate the contest.”
This and other challenges were highlighted yesterday in a live demonstration of an electronic vote counting machine by managers of Smartmatic-TIM held in Cebu City.
Voting is “quick and simple”, with “100% accuracy” said Miguel Avila, presentation and demonstration manager Smartmatic-TIM,the multi-national service provider hired by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to supply hardware, software and to set up an automated election process from balloting to canvassing in all 80,000 precincts in the country on May 10, 2010.
But if people are unfamiliar with the new steps or give in to external forces of vote-buying, fraud or bullying, the high-tech process , will be frustrated.
“Voters must be prepared,” said Avila.
“We need the the vigilance, cooperation, coordination and support of the citizens to guarantee the success of this project.”
He and Smartmatic-TEC regions manager Bonifacio Belen spoke in the forum “The Big Change: How to Count and Protect Votes with Poll Automation” at the Marcelo B. Fernan Cebu Press Center, one of the activities of 2009 Cebu Press Freedom Week.
With legal problems out of the way, the Comelec and implementors of poll automation are realizing that the race to prepare for the first automated Philippine elections will need a lot of public briefings and voter's education in their already tight schedule of less than eight months.
source : Inquirer.Net
Name Recall, The Folly in Philippine Elections
posted by Benjie Oliveros for bulatlat.com
What’s in a name? A lot, if we are talking about Philippine politics and elections. That is why candidates do commercials, ‘infomercials’, post their faces in billboards, posters and streamers, sing, dance, and do just about anything just to make the public remember their name.
It has always been an advantage if one is from a political family. Sen. Noynoy Aquino is hoping to ride on the goodwill of his parents, Cory and Ninoy, to get himself elected to Malacañang, so is his running mate Sen. Mar Roxas who also comes from a political family. Others like Sen. Manny Villar is spending on commercials to make his name stick to the public’s consciousness. Insidious are the candidates from the administration party like Defense Sec. Gilbert Teodoro and Local Government Sec. Ronaldo Puno, and also MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, who have been making use of their positions in government, as well as the national coffers, to make themselves visible.
This contest for name recall has been underpinning the personality politics that prevail in national elections, supported, of course, by guns, goons, and gold of political warlords, and massive fraud in the canvassing of votes. The sad thing is that the contest for name recall is not based on solid platforms and accomplishments but by sheer popularity, thus the engagement of showbiz personalities in politics. Indeed, the divide between politics and showbiz is very thin.
read more in bulatlat.com
----------------
The Filipino voters has to be educated. Media should take the bigger role in providing objective to the public the credentials of these candidates to guide them in choosing their future leaders. The 2010 Presidential election is, once again, a big test to the Filipino electorate.
JonQBX
What’s in a name? A lot, if we are talking about Philippine politics and elections. That is why candidates do commercials, ‘infomercials’, post their faces in billboards, posters and streamers, sing, dance, and do just about anything just to make the public remember their name.
It has always been an advantage if one is from a political family. Sen. Noynoy Aquino is hoping to ride on the goodwill of his parents, Cory and Ninoy, to get himself elected to Malacañang, so is his running mate Sen. Mar Roxas who also comes from a political family. Others like Sen. Manny Villar is spending on commercials to make his name stick to the public’s consciousness. Insidious are the candidates from the administration party like Defense Sec. Gilbert Teodoro and Local Government Sec. Ronaldo Puno, and also MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, who have been making use of their positions in government, as well as the national coffers, to make themselves visible.
This contest for name recall has been underpinning the personality politics that prevail in national elections, supported, of course, by guns, goons, and gold of political warlords, and massive fraud in the canvassing of votes. The sad thing is that the contest for name recall is not based on solid platforms and accomplishments but by sheer popularity, thus the engagement of showbiz personalities in politics. Indeed, the divide between politics and showbiz is very thin.
read more in bulatlat.com
----------------
The Filipino voters has to be educated. Media should take the bigger role in providing objective to the public the credentials of these candidates to guide them in choosing their future leaders. The 2010 Presidential election is, once again, a big test to the Filipino electorate.
JonQBX
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