They lied to us

In Max Soliven's show, GMA finally admitted that the Jose Pidal accounts had campaign contributions for vice presidential campaign in 1998. That it's all private contributions not government funds, and that it was all right to use aliases when the accounts were opened, and that they closed them when she came to power, these are not the issues. All she's saying now does not hide the fact that they lied to us before.

Then Ping was right all along. Will GMA now admit Vicky Toh, the US homes and accounts, etc?

The pattern of deceit

I'm afraid the new round of jeepney fare adjustments (they prefer to call it that, instead of fare increase) will bring in more confusion than necessary. First, they say the base is shortened from 5 to 4 kilometers. I don't remember who made it 5 km again. Marcos (or Cory) brought the base down to 4 km years ago. So it's a trick. Then the LTFRB chief says the fare is only 63 centavos but won't mind if drivers round it up to 75 centavos as long as the passengers agree. Whaaat? That's allowing the jeepney operators to raise fare if we agree. If we don't then 'bahala kayo mag-away!' The new fare adjustment means that the minimum is still P4.00 for the first 4 kms. Pero dati na yun. Inuuto lang nila ang drivers. Pag-aawayin lang nila ang mga driver at pasajero

The government is buying time before it really acts on the fare issue. It does not want to allow any fare increase before the elections, but at the same time it does not want to antagonize the whole jeepney sector, knowing that it can only pay off some leaders but not the whole force. Again we see the pattern of deceit in its dealings.

Ping should give way

I am sure Ping Lacson would be a nice Philippine president. He's tough. And appears to have that single-minded, purposeful attitude. Among all the candidates, he offers doable, sensible, practical solutions. He even has a timetable to effect his programs. GMA cannot claim to be our best, last hope. She doesn't seem to realize that she got us into this. But poor Ping! He cannot win. Not yet at this time, anyway. He still has too much baggage dragging him down. His ratings indicate that his base has not increased over the past months.

Why Ping still clings to the hope that he'll pole-vault over Roco, GMA, and FPJ to win in May reflects again his single-minded, purposeful attitude. But will somebody knock some sense into the guy. He can use that spirit come 2010. Meanwhile, all efforts should be directed to unseating GMA. Perhaps Ping can be a very good DILG secretary in an FPJ presidency. That should be a good vehicle for his own presidency later.

In his dogged effort to win, Ping is torpedoing FPJ's campaign. He has stopped his attacks against Jose Pidal and instead renewed his war against FPJ's group. GMA should be smiling these days, maybe she and Ping know something that we don't.

Are the Ayalas better than the Lopezes?

This morning people from Manila Water (the Ayala-controlled water service company) came to my door offering free septic tank excavation. Sayang, I just had ours done last month by Malabanan to the tune of PhP5,000. This must be what's Bayani Fernando's been saying last year, that the water utility companies will do it for free as what the old NAWASA should have been doing. But I didn't believe BF on that until this morning.

This reinforced my thought the the Ayalas are better at business than the Lopezes. Or at least they provide better service. The Ayala utility companies that come to mind do well and provide good service. They have Globe telecoms and the Manila Water, both of which I am a fortunate client. I hear that both BayanTel and Maynilad have unsatisfactory service. And both incur heavy losses, too, along with Meralco. Maybe ABS-CBN earns, but many say that Channel 7 has better programming. The Lopezes should not be in the public utility business. In many instances they resort to the government to fix their quandary. And whoever wins the presidency this year, they will have a truly Lopez-controlled president by 2010 in either Loren or Kabayan. Kawawa na talaga tayo.

Why I am not voting for GMA part III.

I've been away for a while to help Vito review for his finals. Like I said in a previous post, FPJ should explain what he meant by his debt restructuring posturings. GMA pounced on this, but her plans are not any better. Which brings me to my earlier message - that we should not allow GMA to stay beyond May. We must remember that GMA did us in. She had the chance to turn things around but instead she brought us Jose Pidal, worsening conditions, and uneven governance. So, whom am I voting for? My premise is that Filipinos should elect anybody else but her. And the more candidates against her, the lesser the opposition's chances. That is why I am voting for the opposition candidate with the best chance of winning. FPJ is not necessarily the best candidate, but he has the best chance of beating GMA. So I am for FPJ.

Why we should not vote for GMA, part II

What she's been doing? GMA appointed to the Comelec 2 unknown/dubious characters. She put her law firm/lawyers to important offices. She reenacted the 2003 budget so she can freely use funds for the elections. She uses public officials (Manapat, Corpus, etc. come to mind) for political demolition and the government machinery for her campaign. The FPJ party may be composed Marcos-Erap cronies, but GMA is also wooing Marcos-Erap-Danding buddies. She's married to Jose Pidal and consorts with Nani Perez.

It's time to look for her replacement

GMA promises 6 more years of the 3 years that she already imposed upon us. Kaya pa ba ng Pilipinas yon? It's time to look for her replacement. Let's look at the other candidates one by one.

With GMA supposedly gaining on his early lead, FPJ now turns to some populist campaign lines like anti-globalization and debt restructuring. Maybe his handlers realize that they can't solely rely on his popularity, and that they must bare a semblance of a platform. But what's this? With his new campaign tack, FPJ will further distance himself with the lending powers and their campaign contributions. But this is really the right track for us. The debt burden is almost 3/4 of the budget. To get the international lending institutions' support, FPJ must impress upon them that he is not at all repudiating the onerous loans GMA incurred (1/4 of our total debt is because of GMA). He should ask for a relief (1-2 years) until we are better off.

to be continued.

This is Fire Prevention Month

A fire (because this is Fire Prevention Month) razed 20 houses in my neighborhood yesterday. Again a disaster brings out a good trait of Filipinos, pagtutulungan. Neighbors immediately poured out to help their fellows in need. People unmindful of their own safety assisted in the spirit of the barangay. Unfortunately, it is not long before in same disaster that the Pinoy's bad traits surface. Some people pretending to help turn out to be looters. Firemen wanted grease money before they hose down the fire. A former barangay official wanted firemen to water his house first.

This morning, people started to blame each other for the tragedy. The barangay captain, long perceived to be inept if not corrupt, got the brunt of it when he was punched by an irate man who lost his house. Definitely no one wanted the fire. It was pure accident when a candle used during prayers over a comatose man tipped and burned the curtains. The people in the house first carried the patient outside the house before they put out the flame. When they got back inside, the fire was uncontrollable.

I am now waiting for that other good Filipino trait to manifest itself. That is hope. A hope that among the ashes shall rise a better neighborhood, still ready to help itself and each other, without the bickering and the sisihan.

Let's not fall for it

I cringe everytime I see GMA say she's still our best, last hope. Has our talent pool sunk this deep?, that she and her gang are still the best for us. Well, we can expect more of Jose Pidal, more of flip-flop management, broken promises, etc. Now she promises more jobs, more foreign investment, etc. Let's not fall for it. Remember, she's the one who promised lower power rates. She promised not to run in 2004. She promised to eradicate jueteng. To get rid of the Abu terror in 90 days, etc. Now, look at what happened to those promises. Maniniwala pa ba tayo sa kanya?

Politics to my 7-yr old son

The highly political atmosphere has rubbed on to my 7 year old son, Vito. He is grade 2 in a catholic run school. Lately when he sees FPJ in the news, he blurts out - "Hindi naman Pilipino yan e, wala pang pinag-aralan." When he sees Ping Lacson, he comments "lagot tayo pag binoto yan, e lason yan e." Then I asked him, "e sino dapat ang iboboto natin". He replied "Si Roco". "Bakit yun", I prodded. "Kasi Roco-roco rin yun!". Then he sped off laughing.

Why I am not voting for GMA

Why I am not voting for GMA, or why I urge you to vote for anybody but her:
1) She is supposedly with a PhD from where I, too, studied Economics, but the peso is at its lowest while our Asean neighbors are now recovering; 2) We have the highest power rates because of her EPIRA law; 3) Fuel prices zoomed to their highest; 4) She did not stop Jueteng, it even expanded operations; 5) We have well-dressed GNP (?accuracy, hmm), but at what cost to the budget deficit; 6) We are constantly downgraded by international rating firms, we are the 4th most corrupt in Asia; 7) Hypocrisy prevails in this kapalmuks government, uneven application of standards in all aspects of governance.