Another thing: you referred in an earlier blog entry to a Mac apology, in connection to his daughter’s mea culpa more than 40 years later. I haven’t been able to find other references to this first Macapagal public apology. What was this apology all about?

you bring up the question of how presidents prior to marcos made money. ‘id suggest reading this, which is by an american politician in the days of tammany hall, which was the model for american political behavior at the time we learned politics, american-style, from the americans:

Let’s start with an old Today column titled Notes on Corruption. Then read George Washington Plunkitt’s explanation of how politicians find opportunities and take them. Finally, refer to the fact, which I also pointed out in a column, that presidential salaries were actually decent.

My point is, that Macapagal besides being a practicing lawyer at a time when the prohibitions against practicing law while in office (prior to the presidency) weren’t as strict, and that wealth for officials in the past was built on the acquisition of land (which being in office allowed you to do, quite cheaply, and legally, but very profitably), and you can see why wealth was quite possible -more so if you married into money or had a wife who was good at business (Marcos was exceptional in being more entrepreneurially-oriented than his predecessors, who simply spent whatever could be earned).

The presential pension is something no one has taken seriously, and it’s only existed since Edsa. You can go through the assets of all our presidents prior to Marcos, and see it was based on land acquired over the years.

What was interesting as well though was that Stonehill had donated money to the elder Mac, who later had him deported in the famous case investigated by Pepe Diokno, then justice sec.

Everyone remembers Mac as the “incorruptible”, but was this just a case of effective propaganda? After all, that was the title of his commissioned campaign bio.

There was also the banner headlined election fraud case in Jan 62 brought against Mac by his predecessor Carlos Garcia, charges that have long been forgotten.

I bring this up bec we still don’t know how GMA will be remembered in history. Will she be as lucky as her father?

As for the “poor boy of Lubao,” he eventually lived much of his retirement in Forbes Park. Was this covered by his presidential pension?

hi! i think i saw this yesterday but–not realizing that you’d mention my blog in a roundup at the end of a very political post–didn’t read to the end. thanks! =)

Kahit siguro Latin, basta sigurado lang na manatili sa pwesto.

If I were going to bet, she’ll take a cue from her last SONA, and use more regional languages: sections in Cebuano, even Ilonggo, Ilocano, Capangpangan, to further play the Federalism card. Remember she got lots of applause for one liners in regional languages last time.

A foreign correspondent once observed that our presidents speak in english when they need to explain something complex like foreign or economic policy; and Filipino when they crack a joke or want to just sound folksy. It’s like our presidents think the vast majority of people would have no interest in the economy or foreign affairs, or the president doesn’t see it as part of her role to educate them about what should concern all of us.