MANILA, Philippines -- Campaign posters went up and jingles blared at election rallies Tuesday as the Philippines' richest politician and the son of its democracy icon began a tight race to succeed scandal-tainted President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Senators Manny Villar and Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III - son of the late Corazon Aquino - are promising a clean government and fresh start for the Philippines after nine years of Arroyo's tumultuous rule dotted with coup attempts and corruption allegations.
With at least a dozen people already gunned down in the run-up to the May 10 polls - and the country still reeling from an election-related massacre late last year that claimed 57 lives in southern Maguindanao province - political violence again emerged as a main concern. About 130 people were killed during the last elections in 2007.
Police have set up checkpoints in a nationwide crackdown on unlicensed guns, and spokesman Leonardo Espina said operations were continuing to disarm nearly 100 private armies on the payroll of political warlords.
A candidate for the city council in southern Cotabato was traveling with his two young children Monday when three gunmen flagged him down and shot him dead before fleeing, police reported.
Aquino had an early head start in popularity thanks to his family name, but recent opinion polls put the two major candidates in a statistical dead heat, with analysts suggesting Villar's lavish campaign spending has allowed him to catch up.
"I am spending my own money," said Villar, who rose from the poor to make his fortune in real estate before entering politics. Speaking at a presidential forum Monday, he said there was a danger when candidates are indebted to political donors.
In a jab at Aquino, he said, "I don't have a mother who was president. No sibling who's an actress. It is imperative that people like me, who were once poor, are given a chance to level the playing field."
Villar, 60, narrowly avoided censure by his colleagues in the Senate for his alleged role in the rerouting of a highway so that it passes close to his real estate developments. He said the charges are trumped up.
Aquino, 50, has anchored his campaign on fighting corruption and restoring the credibility of the judiciary and Congress, which he says have been seriously eroded by Arroyo.
But he is also struggling to step out from the shadow of his mother, Corazon Aquino, who fought dictator Ferdinand Marcos and was swept to power in the 1986 "people power" revolt. Her death from cancer in August led to a massive outpouring of grief.
"I speak my mind and I follow my own guides, my own leads," Aquino said Monday when asked how much influence his family has on his campaign. "I will have to be democratic and indulgent even with ideas opposite of mine. That is the essence of democracy."
Former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, the administration's candidate, is trailing behind Villar and Aquino but hopes to catch up in the next three months. He has defended his loyalty to Arroyo and said prosecuting her after she leaves office was not on his agenda.
Aquino supports filing anti-corruption cases against Arroyo, his former economics teacher.
source: washingtonpost
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Danding Cojuangco’s every move is being watched closely by the KMP
MANILA, Philippines—Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco a kingmaker no more?
“Who is Danding trying to fool? For all we know this is just a ploy so that neither of his nephews would suffer the stigma of being supported by Danding, the biggest landlord in the country and arguably the top crony of Ferdinand Marcos,” said Felix Paz, national council member of the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).
Former Negros Occidental Rep. Charlie Cojuangco has said that his controversial father will not support any presidential candidate in the May elections although his nephews, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, are in the race.
In a statement, Paz said that peasants were “closely watching (Danding’s) every move,” believing that the tycoon remains the kingmaker that he has always been touted to be in politics.
Aside from protecting his businesses, the elder Cojuangco has his sights set on the controversial P130-billion coconut levy fund, which he is seeking to control, Paz said. In this, the businessman needs the support of whoever sits in Malacañang, he said.
“It is definitely within his interest to support and invest on a candidate or even candidates to get this target. It is also within Philippine political dynamics that businessmen especially those as big as Danding to covertly support multiple candidates so that they also win whoever among them wins,” Paz said.
The peasant leader urged all presidential candidates to let the public know their stand on the return of the coco levy funds to the small coconut farmers, the implementation of a genuine agrarian reform, and the prosecution of companies, groups and individuals who had used money intended for farmers for their own interests.
“If they cannot categorically say that they are for these issues then it is more likely than not that Danding is supporting them,” Paz said.
The elder Cojuangco’s abstention from presidential politics, if true, could signal the end of an era of political kingmakers, Makati Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. said in a text message.
“The next president will ignore all would-be kingmakers. New politics is coming. Watch,” Locsin said.
But Speaker Prospero Nograles does not subscribe to the power of so-called political kingmakers.
“There are no kingmakers in Philippine politics. If they could be kingmakers, they would have long declared themselves king,” Nograles said.
source: inquirer
“Who is Danding trying to fool? For all we know this is just a ploy so that neither of his nephews would suffer the stigma of being supported by Danding, the biggest landlord in the country and arguably the top crony of Ferdinand Marcos,” said Felix Paz, national council member of the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).
Former Negros Occidental Rep. Charlie Cojuangco has said that his controversial father will not support any presidential candidate in the May elections although his nephews, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, are in the race.
In a statement, Paz said that peasants were “closely watching (Danding’s) every move,” believing that the tycoon remains the kingmaker that he has always been touted to be in politics.
Aside from protecting his businesses, the elder Cojuangco has his sights set on the controversial P130-billion coconut levy fund, which he is seeking to control, Paz said. In this, the businessman needs the support of whoever sits in Malacañang, he said.
“It is definitely within his interest to support and invest on a candidate or even candidates to get this target. It is also within Philippine political dynamics that businessmen especially those as big as Danding to covertly support multiple candidates so that they also win whoever among them wins,” Paz said.
The peasant leader urged all presidential candidates to let the public know their stand on the return of the coco levy funds to the small coconut farmers, the implementation of a genuine agrarian reform, and the prosecution of companies, groups and individuals who had used money intended for farmers for their own interests.
“If they cannot categorically say that they are for these issues then it is more likely than not that Danding is supporting them,” Paz said.
The elder Cojuangco’s abstention from presidential politics, if true, could signal the end of an era of political kingmakers, Makati Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. said in a text message.
“The next president will ignore all would-be kingmakers. New politics is coming. Watch,” Locsin said.
But Speaker Prospero Nograles does not subscribe to the power of so-called political kingmakers.
“There are no kingmakers in Philippine politics. If they could be kingmakers, they would have long declared themselves king,” Nograles said.
source: inquirer
Monday, February 1, 2010
77th Birthday of President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino
Just want to read it over and over again... this is from a reliable source... hehehe...
Despite this, from her early until adult life, she never aspired for political office. But circumstances brought her to submit to the will of the people and the Almighty, and she led the country through a difficult political transition and remained a steward of democratization until her death.
As a young girl, the future President Cory remembers handing out cigars and cigarettes to political leaders and their supporters who visited her father at election time. For the most part, however, her life revolved around school, church, and vacations in Antipolo in Rizal Province, the Sumulong bailiwick, and in Tarlac. Her passion for learning and service was ingrained on her by her forebears. President Cory recalled that her Grandfather Sumulong – whom she called Lolo Juan – encouraged her to read when she was young and also impressed upon her his own values, especially the belief that the elite should not dominate Philippine politics. A nationalist, Lolo Juan also taught all his grandchildren to speak in Tagalog and interact with ordinary folk, skills that the late President Cory practiced and valued.
While she had lived a life of relative comfort, the President Cory also knew what adversity brings and mustered the strength from within and from God to overcome such difficulties. Immediately after the assassination of her husband, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., President Cory was asked to rethink her political role. While she was apprehensive over taking on the leadership role at first, President Cory remembered what her late husband said when asked why he decided to go home despite the threat to his life: “I will never be able to forgive myself knowing that I could have done something and I did not do anything.” And so, she contested the presidency in 1986. With the massive support from her compatriots, she was catapulted to the presidency after the success of the popular uprising in EDSA in February 22, 1986.
When she assumed the presidency, the President Cory immediately buckled down to work, with her priorities clear – restore democracy and the fundamental rights of the people and improve the quality of life of Filipinos. In her years in the presidency, she confronted many challenges and had to deal with contending interests. She subsequently fulfilled her promise to transfer peacefully the power of the President to an elected successor.
After her term, President Cory continued her crusade for democracy and development. Through her foundation, the Benigno Aquino Jr. Foundation, she worked to provide financial and technical assistance to micro enterprises to alleviate poverty. In episodes when the country’s political order was in danger of regression, she lent her voice and her presence to protests and campaigns to restore order, protect the rights of the people, and secure the accountability of all leaders.
Her death rekindled the commitment of many Filipinos to continue her campaign to empower the ordinary Filipino to make each one of us to contribute, in our modest ways, towards the creation of a truly just, democratic, and humane Philippine society. This commitment is the most fitting tribute that we can give to the woman whose 77th Birth Anniversary we observe today.
Born in Manila on January 25, 1933, the sixth of eight children of Jose C. Cojuangco, a former congressman, and the former Demetria Sumulong, a pharmacist, Corazon Cojuangco Aquino was a member, by birth and marriage, of three political clans – the Cojuangco, Sumulong, and Aquino.
Despite this, from her early until adult life, she never aspired for political office. But circumstances brought her to submit to the will of the people and the Almighty, and she led the country through a difficult political transition and remained a steward of democratization until her death.
As a young girl, the future President Cory remembers handing out cigars and cigarettes to political leaders and their supporters who visited her father at election time. For the most part, however, her life revolved around school, church, and vacations in Antipolo in Rizal Province, the Sumulong bailiwick, and in Tarlac. Her passion for learning and service was ingrained on her by her forebears. President Cory recalled that her Grandfather Sumulong – whom she called Lolo Juan – encouraged her to read when she was young and also impressed upon her his own values, especially the belief that the elite should not dominate Philippine politics. A nationalist, Lolo Juan also taught all his grandchildren to speak in Tagalog and interact with ordinary folk, skills that the late President Cory practiced and valued.
While she had lived a life of relative comfort, the President Cory also knew what adversity brings and mustered the strength from within and from God to overcome such difficulties. Immediately after the assassination of her husband, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., President Cory was asked to rethink her political role. While she was apprehensive over taking on the leadership role at first, President Cory remembered what her late husband said when asked why he decided to go home despite the threat to his life: “I will never be able to forgive myself knowing that I could have done something and I did not do anything.” And so, she contested the presidency in 1986. With the massive support from her compatriots, she was catapulted to the presidency after the success of the popular uprising in EDSA in February 22, 1986.
When she assumed the presidency, the President Cory immediately buckled down to work, with her priorities clear – restore democracy and the fundamental rights of the people and improve the quality of life of Filipinos. In her years in the presidency, she confronted many challenges and had to deal with contending interests. She subsequently fulfilled her promise to transfer peacefully the power of the President to an elected successor.
After her term, President Cory continued her crusade for democracy and development. Through her foundation, the Benigno Aquino Jr. Foundation, she worked to provide financial and technical assistance to micro enterprises to alleviate poverty. In episodes when the country’s political order was in danger of regression, she lent her voice and her presence to protests and campaigns to restore order, protect the rights of the people, and secure the accountability of all leaders.
When she died last August 1, 2009, the outpouring of prayers, support, and sympathy was massive.
Her death rekindled the commitment of many Filipinos to continue her campaign to empower the ordinary Filipino to make each one of us to contribute, in our modest ways, towards the creation of a truly just, democratic, and humane Philippine society. This commitment is the most fitting tribute that we can give to the woman whose 77th Birth Anniversary we observe today.
source: mb.com