Whatever...

I was talking to a friend last night and he asked me why I have not blogged for quite some time. It’s either he’s really a fan of my blog or it was his state of inebriation that he thought he actually liked reading my blogs. Anyway, the question got me thinking myself.

My last blog entry was about the recent Philippine presidential election. I was really passionate about this subject matter specially the criteria by which we Filipinos choose our government officials---pitiful to say the least in my opinion. But that’s water under the bridge. I pray that those who voted for Noynoy actually have the balls to stand by him in all his presidential initiatives. Me? Well, I’m thankful Noynoy won otherwise we would have found the plunderer sitting in office AGAIN!

Passion. I guess that’s the reason for my blogs. I write about things and events I’m passionate about. Actually, I have been in the process of finishing a blog about a recent happening at work. Unfortunately, after writing, deleting, writing, and more deleting---I’m unable to control the emotion in my composition. So I just decided to cork it. There goes my catharsis!

Maybe I’m in the denial stage. Whatever it’s called there’s no use fussing about the situation. Everything happens for a reason. Now is the time for me to understand and hopefully make sense of what’s going to happen.

Wait and see.

At least there’s Plans A, B, and C to look forward to. Not!!

Election Aftermath

With 89% of the election returns in, Noynoy Aquino is leading the second placer with an insurmountable 5 million votes. That basically assures us who will be the 15th president of the republic.

Well, I'm not particularly happy since my bet, Richard Gordon, can only place 6th on the race BUT I'm definitely thankful that Noynoy did run for the position, otherwise, ERAP would have been president again! God does work in mysterious ways!

We Have a Choice

My family was on our way to the office to rendezvous with the bus plying the company employees to its annual summer outing at Enchanted Kingdom. We took a taxi going there since we were running late. Well, you know cab drivers, they’re quite the chatty type---eager to strike a conversation. I guess their job is too monotonous that talking is a form of catharsis. Anyway, he was listening to Love Radio and the topic of the hour was the recent catastrophes happening around the world.

Question: “Is it still safe to live on Earth?”

“Ano ba yan? E saan pa ba tayo titira kung hindi sa Earth, wala naman tayong choice di ba?” was my answer to the radio. Sangayon naman si Manong Driver kasi nga naman, “Hindi naman tayong pwede tumira sa Pluto (masyado daw malayo) o di kaya’y sa Mars (kasi masyado daw mainit).”

“Kung meron mang safe na lugar sa Earth e sa alapaap yun,” ang dagdag kong sabi.

I began to think that a Sky Hotel would be nice; or, a space station like what they have in the Star Trek series!

“Naku, di uubra yun! Pano kung mabangga ka ng eroplano? E di patay ka! O di kaya ay anurin ka ng hangin at di ka na makalipad?” ang kontrang sagot ni Manong Driver. Wettaminit, parang mas imaginative pa sa akin itong si Manong Driver a! May kakayanan na ba tayong lumipad na parang ibon? Ano bang kinarga mo manong?

Since this discussion will only lead both of us to the inevitable conclusion we don’t want to ponder on, I decided to shift to another topic whose result is entirely on our hands---the 2010 presidential elections.

“Sino po ba ang iboboto nyong presidente manong?” ang tanong ko may Manong Driver.

“Si Noynoy po sir,” ang sagot ni Manong Driver.

“E bakit naman po si Noynoy? Ano po ba ang ginawa nya nung sya ay nagging kongresista at senador para makuha ang boto nyo?” ang follow up question ko.

“I kasi siya na ang pinakamalinis na kandidato na di mangungurakot…parang nanay at tatay nya.” ang sagot ni Manong Driver.

I’m voting for Richard Gordon. Why? Because being righteous is not enough to run a country. I do not believe that Noynoy can eradicate corruption. Those are empty promises. Why? Because he doesn’t possess the same BRASS BALLS as his father, Ninoy. I also do not believe that Noynoy has a clear cut plan of government since unlike the other presidential candidates, who announced their intent since last year, Noynoy announced his candidacy as if just to capitalize on the overwhelming support shown during the burial of his mother Cory early this year.
I’m inclined to believe that Noynoy will be relying heavily on the advice of those who convinced him to run for president. That, my friends, is a very frightening scenario!
This is the very same scenario when Cory was brought into power. However, those were desperate times that needed desperate measures. This is not true today. We have a choice. A choice to make a difference.
Manong Driver hinted that he is inclined to vote for Mr. Gordon but he is reluctant to sway this way since it might as well be a wasted vote given his survey standings. This is another problem in our voting population’s mind set. HINDI PO TAYO TUMATAYA NG PUSTAHAN KUNG SINO ANG MANANALO. TAYO PO AY BOBOTO KASI NANINIWALA TAYO SA KAKAYANAN NG ISANG KANDIDATO NA MATUPAD ANG MINIMITHI NATING PAGBABAGO.
Mr. Gordon may not look good in the surveys but I believe in what he can do to our country if he will become president. I will vote for Mr. Gordon on May 10 and if he loses on his bid then it’s our country’s loss. God help us!

The Sorry State of Philippine Politics

I don't know Mar Roxas personally but based on what media has presented him to me, he seems to be a good person. I had the chance to meet him 3 years ago during Jollibee's annual convention when no other than our company president stood by him from table to table. Even then he was down to earth. Accomodating questions and shaking hands. If he had pursued his presidential bid, would I have voted for him? I don't think so (my apologies Errol).

Being president of a country not only entail good intentions but most importantly---doing what needs to be done. Mr. Roxas may have good intentions but I don't think he is capable of steering the country towards economic reform and stability. Again, my view is colored by my perception. I say, blame it to his lame ad campaign (Errol, if you're any part of that---my apologies!). For me it was too much drama bordering on the absurd! Question is: Why does it have to be this way? Whatever happened to simply telling the voting population what he did or accomplished as a public servant? And so I did my research and found out that Mr. Roxas actually has a stellar carreer as a public servant---authoring bills that benefit education and consumer protection.

The other day, Mar relinquished his bid for the presidency in lieu of Noynoy Aquino. What prompted him to step down? Is Noynoy a better candidate? In terms of track record, I don't think so(try researching on Noynoy's political accomplishments and tell me if you'll vote for him). I tend to agree with Dick Gordon when he said that "leadership is earned and not inherited". Unfortunately, Philippine politics is a game of perception. He who has the most POGI points wins! Plain and simple popularity contest!

Now why does this kind of political climate prevail in our country? It's not that we're easily cajoled but given the majority of the voting population belongs to the C-D-E class media plays a big role in molding a candidate's "attractiveness".

My former perception of Mar Roxas was biased by his commercial. If I had not validated by doing research, that perception would have stuck! Many of the Filipinos from the lower rung of society don't have access to the internet and rely heavily on media for information. Hence, come election time, media mileage is critical. Half of the battle is won there. How else do you think Erap won the 1998 elections? Definitely NOT with his brains! Poging-pogi kasi sya sa media e!

In my opinion, we can negate this situation by holding mandatory debates among candidates---broadcasted in both tv and radio. Do away with on-site campaigning---para wala ng bayaran! Let the candidates joust on existing socio-economic issues and how they plan to address them. This way, the people will know who's talking bullshit!

For me, a president should be righteous, has a genuine love for servitude, knows how is it to be poor, has a clear vision on how to steer the country towards economic recovery and has the cajones to stand up for the betterment of the nation.

How I wish Ramon Magsaysay was still alive!