The Long View
Scorched earth to the bitter end
By Manuel L. Quezon III
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:09:00 01/17/2010
BY all accounts, former Chief Justice Enrique Fernando was a nice and decent man, but an entire generation mocked him mercilessly after he gallantly held an umbrella to shield Mrs. Marcos from the sun. The conjugal dictatorship had emasculated all our institutions and Justice Fernando came to personify the neutering of law and justice – and those who, out of a misplaced notion of style trumping substance, came to symbolize how even decent people can foster wrongdoing.
Dictators know that even if they can rig the court of law in their favor, they also have to cultivate the impression they can win in the court of public opinion. What is legal, as the saying goes, isn’t necessarily what’s right. Governments of whatever kind normally try to demonstrate that their decisions are both legal and right. The present dispensation, deprived of ever being able to convince the people it is right, has chosen to hammer away on what Marcos himself (and he knew a thing or two about the law) contemptuously called “technical legalism,” on the assumption that its brinkmanship and scorched-earth policy would lead to its critics and opponents faltering in seriously calling the President’s bluff.
Benigno Aquino III has been called irresponsible – and worse, as exhibiting arrogance – for issuing a warning concerning the consequences of the President appointing a new chief justice when the current chief, Reynato Puno, retires on May 17. These charges are to be expected coming from the President’s allies, but more puzzling coming from otherwise independent-minded people who don’t dispute the President is wrong in wanting to appoint the next chief justice but who are uncomfortable with Aquino throwing down the gauntlet.
In this light, throwing down the gauntlet is wrong only if you value form over substance. At the heart of the condemnation of Aquino’s blunt statement of the probable outcome of a dubious appointment is the belief that it is more important to preserve a veneer of tidiness and normality than to challenge a proposal without legal merit and which aims to revive bad habits of previous presidents.
Consider the consequences of meekly submitting to the Palace proposition that the President should do as she pleases, and that it’s better for our institutions to meekly submit to her whims, and sort it out politely later on.
If the President were to appoint the next chief justice, under a cloud of doubt due to the dubious legality of the appointment, she would immediately saddle her successor, if he has any spine, with a dilemma. Should he allow his oath of office to be administered by an official the president-elect knows may be removed from office? Should he risk having the administration of that oath viewed with dubious legality not only by himself, but the public?
Arguing, as the Palace currently loves to argue every time it does something dubious, that until proven otherwise all its acts enjoy the presumption of regularity, will be cold comfort for the president-elect and a public that wants to get on with rebuilding the country after the current gang’s term is up.
For the president-elect would have tacitly hobbled the case against a bogus chief justice by allowing him to administer the oath and extending to him all the official courtesies of the office.
And should a candidate collaborate with the current administration by allowing it to do what it wants, on the excuse that things can be sorted out later? Consider the signal this would extend to the current composition of the Supreme Court, which surely doesn’t want to be saddled with what would be the earliest tangible sign of the shambles in which our institutions have been reduced by the current dispensation. The Supreme Court would have to wrestle with the question of the legality of the man designated its chief, quite possibly one of their own. This is a dilemma no one would want visited on the institution to which they belong and yet it can only be a non-member who can raise the troubling nature of the looming dilemma the justices face.
Only a mentality that puts appearances ahead of substance would confuse pointing out the lunacy of the President’s scheme with an assault on the integrity and independence of the Supreme Court. The court’s own decisions (Castillo v. Aytona, Jan. 19, 1962, concerning midnight appointments within the executive department, and A.M. No. 98-5-01-SC, Nov. 9, 1998 regarding midnight appointments to the judiciary) are clear and unambiguous, while proponents of the President’s scheme inhabit the alternative universe in which schemes like a Senate-less Cha-Cha were hatched and worse, taken seriously. They have mastered creating artificial debates on questions long settled and for which a broad consensus already exists.
The example of former Chief Justice Manuel Moran was cited by his successors in the Supreme Court because a president’s pet schemes ultimately depend for success or failure on people willing to be an accomplice. Moran believed it improper to accept a midnight appointment, and gained the eternal gratitude of his fellow jurists for proving himself a man of principle.
Justice Concepcion, who concurred and dissented in part with the majority decision in Castillo v. Aytona, pointed out that “[m]ost, if not all appointments made by the President have two aspects, namely, the legal and the political.” The case, he believed, was primarily a political one best left to the Commission on Appointments. Yet as chief justice, in the face of Marcos’ moves to railroad approval of a new Constitution, a broken-hearted Concepcion went into early retirement rather than continue to preside over a discredited court. Anyone considering accepting an Arroyo appointment as chief justice has to wrestle with the political question of whether his robes could ever cover up the disreputable circumstances of his appointment.
Much depends on whether or not the automated elections are full or partial only. A fully automated election would have the new President know publicly BEFORE Reynato Puno resigns on May 17. That means that politically speaking GMA will effectively be reduced to Rep. GMA (Xth District of Pampanga) in the eyes of the people and either President BA3 or MV will be at the zenith of their popularity.
I JUST LOVE* IT HOW OUR POLITICIANS AND PUNDITS (INCLUDING YOU MANOLO) IN OUR LITTLE BACKWATER REPUBLIC PLAY HIGH LEVEL POLITICAL GAME** LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A JOHN GRISHAM NOVEL WHILE IGNORING LOW LEVEL PROBLEMS LIKE PROVIDING DECENT SEWERAGE AND PROPER GARBAGE DISPOSAL***
*for the dumb idiots out there (probably Jr) who have no sense of irony, when I say ‘love’ I mean ‘hate’
**an advance “fuck you you dumb idiots!” to all who think we need to resolve high level questions to sort out low level ones
***i’m shouting and fuming with anger, thus the caps lock bitches!
DJB has a point. Although the narrow time frame will cause the more faint-hearted to get squeamish.
Meanhwile, Manolo wonders: “. . .should a candidate collaborate with the current administration by allowing it to do what it wants, on the excuse that things can be sorted out later?”
I do not know about the ethics or morality of that, but there have been various cases wherein the appointee surprised the appointing powers with their independence of mind.
The present Chief Justice seemed to play along, if not collaborate, with the current administration. He has shown to be very independent-minded. Certainly no flunky. There are other justices who played along too, and later revealed an impartial, if not maverick, attitude. Justice Antonio T. Carpio comes to mind. And, mind you, he is the most senior in line to succeed CJ Puno!
On the other hand, Hilario Davide, Jr. was appointed Chief Justice by Erap. And boy! Did he show Erap his gratitude big time! 🙂
You can bring a horse to water, but you can’t force the horse to drink.
“On the other hand, Hilario Davide, Jr. was appointed Chief Justice by Erap. And boy! Did he show Erap his gratitude big time!”-Erineo
We have to remember that GMA is not Erap. She has her own effective ways of forcing her horses to drink.:)
**an advance “fuck you you dumb idiots!†to all who think we need to resolve high level questions to sort out low level ones
***i’m shouting and fuming with anger, thus the caps lock bitches!
————————————–
I second the motion! Before we even attempt to change the form of government (Parliamentary)!
Does it look like Chief Justice Puno and Justice Carpio are being forced to drink the Kool-Aid from GMA’s fountain?
The fact is, one can never be certain about loyalties, most especially after one is no longer in power.
What if Gloria Arroyo really has what it takes to stay in power until she dies of old age or gets sick? There is not much the people can do nowadays except make a lot of noise and endless exposes that never see closure.
What if Gloria through Villar or Gibo indeed manages to perpetuate power directly or indirectly? …and what if in doing so manages to keep the economy afloat, increase employment, build more infrastructure that support progress, and even alleviate poverty? Their group seems to have all the aces up their sleeves, if they are really that powerful, that united, and can move fast, decide fast, they may be in the best position to bring us to the promised land…(?)
…will Gloria et al really drive the country to the ground plundering and looting with impunity, will they really kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?
Here’s the Judicial Bar Council’s position in this issue:
“THE long nomination process makes it unlikely that President Arroyo will be able to name the next chief justice before she leaves office, despite a decision by the Judicial and Bar Council Monday to begin short-listing nominees.
The Palace wants to name a replacement for Chief Justice Reynato Puno, even before he retires on May 17, to avoid an election-period ban on new appointments.
The eight-member council on Monday agreed there was nothing wrong in opening the nomination four months before the vacancy, as suggested by Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor, but a Supreme Court spokesman said the process itself could take several months.
J. Conrado Castro, a regular member of the council representing the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, said the nominating body considered the previous appointments of chief justices in reaching its decision to begin choosing nominees.
“There were occasions in the past when the JBC started the process even before the vacancy,†he said. But the council has not yet decided when the shortlist will be submitted to the Palace.
‘We will tackle that in the future. The nomination process is part of the appointment process, but we want to qualify that what we decided is just to start the process and not as to when we would submit the shortlist,†Castro said.
He said the council did not discuss whether President Arroyo should be allowed to appoint a new chief justice before Puno retires, or if she could do so during the election period.
Defensor, an ex-officio member of the council representing the House of Representatives, said they would first consult with legal and constitutional experts before deciding when to submit the list.”
It would help if everyone tries to keep calm instead of being so antsy. Despite the hyperbole, GMA is a mere mortal. She couldn’t prevent Ondoy from happening, she couldn’t control the Ampatuans from murdering and, just today, she couldn’t prevent Manolo’s favorite bogeyman, his hated Le Cerge Remonde, from passing away.
As each day draws closer to the end of her term, GMA becomes more and more vulnerable and more and more the lame duck. And she won’t be able to stop the inevitable – turning over the presidency to a successor by the middle of this year.
Well finally, Ramroad, you’re making some sense here:
“What if Gloria Arroyo really has what it takes to stay in power until she dies of old age or gets sick? There is not much the people can do nowadays except make a lot of noise and endless exposes that never see closure.
What if Gloria through Villar or Gibo indeed manages to perpetuate power directly or indirectly? …and what if in doing so manages to keep the economy afloat, increase employment, build more infrastructure that support progress, and even alleviate poverty? Their group seems to have all the aces up their sleeves, if they are really that powerful, that united, and can move fast, decide fast, they may be in the best position to bring us to the promised land…(?)
…will Gloria et al really drive the country to the ground plundering and looting with impunity, will they really kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?”
* *
Well done. That’s being RESULTS-ORIENTED instead of fixated on personalities.
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideOpinion.htm?f=2010/january/20/alvincapino.isx&d=2010/january/20
Senator Noynoy’s Dilemma
Alvin Capino
It seems that presidential candidate Senator Benigno Aquino III has serious difficulties making a distinction between personal matters and legitimate political issues.
This appears to be the case because of the reason he has cited for his decision not to appear in any more public forums and debates—that issues being raised there have become personal.
Aquino snubbed the presidential forum at the Asian Institute of Management organized by the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation and he was also a no-show in the presidential candidates’ forum organized by Cebu business groups last week.
There are more than 20 forums and debates scheduled in the next few weeks and Aquino seems bent on skipping them all.
Perhaps one of the scores of brilliant advisers of Aquino should explain to him what matters are personal and what are political issues that he should respond to, whether it is asked by a survey tail ender, by a reporter, or by an ordinary citizen.
He wants to be president of the Philippines and it is his responsibility and his obligation to explain what his stand is on matters that are relevant to his political aspirations.
A question on autism and any innuendo that he or any of his relatives are suffering from this and other personal mental deficiency is personal and irrelevant and he is right to get angry when questions about this is asked.
He has the right not to answer such questions and we can understand his reaction when he threatened not to answer any and all questions from a reporter in the future if he asks any more personal questions like that.
However, a question on what he did with the Countryside Development Fund is a legitimate one. The people deserve to know how he handled the pork barrel that he got when he, as head of the Liberal Party in the House Rainbow coalition and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, must have gotten more than what is allocated for the ordinary congressman.
He should not get piqued when he is asked the question on what he did for Tarlac unless of course he has nothing to show during his three terms as Tarlac congressman and more than two years as senator.
Aquino should emulate his cousin, Lakas-Kampi-NUCD presidential bet Gilbert “Gibo†Teodoro. In a radio interview we had with him last week, we asked Teodoro what he did with his fund when he was congressman.
Without hesitation and without asking the rating of our “Karambola†radio program, Teodoro give a detailed accounting of what he did with his CDF. Teodoro said a big part of his fund went to cementing barangay roads beginning with the farthest barangays. He said another priority was the electrification of all barangays in his district and at the end of his three terms as congressman all barangays in his district was electrified except a remote barangay up in the mountains which is a resettlement area for Aetas. He said part of his CDF went to the improvement of existing public markets in his district. He said he also used his CDF to improve on existing classrooms where provisions were made, among others, to the construction of toilets for each classroom.
Aquino could also make a detailed explanation of what he did with his CDF even if what sources told us is true that a big chunk of his CDF went to the purchase of vehicles.
Questions on his love life, both past and present, are also personal questions and Aquino is not compelled to respond to them.
However questions on what role his sister, the controversial Kris Aquino-Yap will play in a putative Aquino administration II are legitimate concerns and he should respond to them. For that matter, a question on what the role the so-called Hyatt 10 will play in his Administration is relevant and the public also deserves to know whether there will be a Peace Bond part two considering that the people behind the controversial P10 billion bond offering which will be paid P30 billion or so this year are prominent in his campaign.
Of course we can understand the reluctance of Aquino to appear in public forums and debates. The ones he has attended have been disasters for him and have lost him support from those who have seen his dismal performance.
However, he would probably also lose support and votes if he snubs all forums and debates and his critics will go to town and pound him for his refusal to explain his programs and his track record in a non-controlled environment.
This is Aquino’s dilemma.
When every major decision made by the President gets questioned and subjected to judicial review, it helps to have justices on your side. I do not know however if loyalties presumably owed by nominees are transferable to a patron’s successor though.
It would seem that despite bragging of executive capacity and managerial competence, the next leader would have to be someone whose intentions merit the benefit of the doubt.
I am beginning to question the capacity of those who claim superior experience and capacity but who have clouds of doubt hanging over their integrity. Cloudiness that does not bode well for their ability to deliver and govern given the high level of mistrust they have engendered.
Dr JR,
I don’t like Noynoy more than you but then again do we have a choice? Its come down to choosing who’s the lesser evil, unknown to most, Gibo is a disaster (just look at what he did as defense secretary). Villar already showed his true colors, he’s not yet president but he’s mastered self enrichment via his position already…and the 3Billion invested in his campaign must be recovered (its only logical).
If everything was as easy as wiping the slate clean, taking out everyone who crossed the line and replacing them with new blood that is not contaminated, with private organizations its easy, you can fire the whole team and hire new ones, public officials you have to groom.
“I am beginning to question the capacity of those who claim superior experience and capacity but who have clouds of doubt hanging over their integrity. Cloudiness that does not bode well for their ability to deliver and govern given the high level of mistrust they have engendered.”
———————————————–
I am results-oriented, yes, but there is also such a thing as SUSTAINABILITY, that can only come with adhering to a strict code of conduct in doing business. Integrity, though often misused is still what drives a sustainable effort. In sports we are taught that its not all in winning but in “how we play the game.”
In this light, Noynoy’s inexperience is a blessing, compared to the damage all the others have incurred to our institutions and they have the gall to claim executive achievements?
Your parliamentary option is actually viable, and given the cultural and regional nuances of the country migh even be the answer to age-old problems but not before we remove every trace of Gloria’s ilk…
….also, when entering someone’s house (or blog), ask nicely, be courteous to the owner, as some people here have been residents for years already…everybody doesn’t have to agree with Manolo, but believe it or not, we like the guy and the way he stands for what he believes in.
Noynoy’s non attendance to forums is excusable, reporters should focus on Villar’s non attendance to hearings…or its just some paid hack’s way of diverting the focus on the REAL issues…
I guess Barack Obama’s promise of Hope and Change are now dead in the water. With over 60% of Massachusetts returns in, the Republican candidate for the Senate seat Ted Kennedy once held leads over the Democrat, by 53%-46%. Almost a lock on winning that Senate seat. Bye-bye filibuster-proof majority! Bye-bye reforms and change! Hello instant gratification and more of the same!
Caveat to Noynoy’s handlers, who have been attempting to copy and to pattern Noynoy’s campaign after Obama’s: winning the campaign battle is far from winning the war.
And to think that Obama was a much more formidable candidate and intellect than Noynoy will ever be!
Caveat to Noynoy’s handlers, who have been attempting to copy and to pattern Noynoy’s campaign after Obama’s: winning the campaign battle is far from winning the war.
—————————————————
Thats why I believe that HOPE alone is never a good objective, its not specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound…the Noynoy handlers should just concentrate on “getting rid of Arroyo and her tentacles” asap!
The median voter in the US is basically right of center. Having put up with 8 years of Bush, they wanted a change, but not a drastic one. The moderate Republican columnist, David Brooks wrote an op-ed piece in the NY Times which was prescient of today’s outcome. He said, “They (the American people) seem to want a government that is helpful but not imperious, strong but subordinate.”
The only parallel we can make with the Filipino is that they want a change, but they are basically still tradition bound and patronage dependent (largely). After EDSA2, GMA made the same mistake in promising but underdelivering “new politics”. She realized very soon that she had very limited leeway to work with.
In promising “good governance” and “rule of law” in his administration, Noynoy runs the same risk of overpromising and under-delivering. He must specify which forms of corruption are most damaging and target those. Otherwise people might come to expect a Norwegian standard of cleanliness in his government which simply is not going to happen.
Yes, cusp, I agree. Overpromising will result in under-delivering and in disappointment.
In promising “good governance†and “rule of law†in his administration, Noynoy runs the same risk of overpromising and under-delivering. He must specify which forms of corruption are most damaging and target those. Otherwise people might come to expect a Norwegian standard of cleanliness in his government which simply is not going to happen.
———————————
Agree…Which brings us all back to Benigno’s hard-on for proper platforms…
“In promising “good governance†and “rule of law†in his administration, Noynoy runs the same risk of overpromising and under-delivering. He must specify which forms of corruption are most damaging and target those. Otherwise people might come to expect a Norwegian standard of cleanliness in his government which simply is not going to happen.”
So what. Noynoy should deliver on his promises. Nobody can say he can or cannot until he do it or don’t. The people expect everything good from a president, but the Filipino people is a wise and intelligent practical people, never would expect utopia. If Noynoy can’t deliver on his promises the people knows what to do. But as long as there are no impunities and too much abuses, ‘scorched earth’ as mlq3 said it, well, the people really knows what to do.
Meh. I can’t remember an election where presidential candidates didn’t promise good governance and rule of law and all this bullshit. I’m fucking too old to fall for that crap, which is why I don’t vote. Come election day I’ll some place nice with a cold beer and hopefully some female company and some good weed, while you idiots stand in line like sheeple falling for over the same valley of democratic exercise doom over and over.
This was taken from Pinoyexchange which was posted from a forwarded message:
* * * *
In every election, the easiest choice to make is, who you would not vote for. This year, it is profoundly difficult because for me the easiest identifiable candidate whom I would not vote for, (aside from Erap of course, for who would vote for a convicted plunderer) is a leading candidate, with the widest of margin in the survey, Noynoy. He probably will be the next president and so, in my heart, I tried my best to consider and reconsider my decision, yet I became more convinced that he is my best choice on whom not to vote for. These are in my thoughts:
He is clean and honest
He really is unblemished, squeaky clean and immaculate.. His record for nine years speaks for himself. I am reminded of a friend of mine, a cocky but very articulate and bright Solicitor General. At a certain time before he started winning his cases, his critics had a heyday criticizing the way he handled his job. They said, he had a perfect record of losing all cases. Thus, his record was clean and unblemished of victory. Like this solicitor general, Noynoy has also no record of dishonesty simply because he has no record of accomplishment at all. He was one of the prominent members of the committee of silence. I goggled his name to find out if, except for his name, there was anything he did that he should be proud of. I am sorry that I found nothing. It is time he reveals what he had done in congress for nine years, plus two years in the senate, to deserve the presidency. When he ran for Senate, he simply relied on his family name and the endorsement of his mother. Being in the Senate with no accomplishment will not hurt the nation except the wasted money paid to him as a public servant. But to be president and not knowing what to do is probably as disastrous as a corrupt president.
He comes from a good stock
A prominent columnist of the Inquirer believes that since hero’s blood runs in his veins, he is a natural hero and would do nothing to shame the good name. The prominent columnist also said that what we need is a good heart and correct values and Noynoy fits to the T. Of course heritage is a plus factor but unfortunately, this is no assurance that he too will be as upright as his parents.
We do not have to look far. Look at his sister. She even gloated and flaunted her sexual indiscretions and gave press interviews of her indecent acts, in spite of the fact that at that time, her dear mother was very much alive. She fueled salacious gossip about her sexual escapades that she grabbed the headlines for days of the local papers. Not only that. She proudly proclaimed that she will have to do a wash over of sorts, on the personality of Noynoy. To be fair, since Noynoy is not the sister’s keeper, he should publicly open how he spent his several hundred million, probably billions of pesos, if cumulatively taken together, of pork barrel.
Joker and Lacson did not spend a single centavo on their pork barrel allocations. Moreover, Noynoy has not been battle tested; we do not know how he will react to temptation, simply because he has not been where the action is. He can not honestly and truthfully say that he is goodness personified and all others are evil just because he is the son of Cory. It is sheer arrogance and hypocrisy to make such claim.
He comes unprepared
Before the death of former Pres Cory, nobody considered him of presidential caliber, not even for vice president. His party mates knew of his capabilities and did not even look at his direction when they then considered their standard bearer. Noynoy himself, conscious of his own limitations, did not even dream of being one. When his mother died and there was public mourning, all of a sudden, his party mates in spite of knowing his limited capabilities, and taking advantage of public sentiments, pushed him to be a candidate to the noble office of the presidency. This factual milieu clearly shows that his popularity is solely and purely for sentimental reasons, the death of Pres Cory.
His supporters are praying to high heavens that the public sentiments on his parents would not wane and that the public would not see through the real Noynoy. Stripped of all sentimentality, there is nothing in his bio data that shows he is capable of the challenges of the highest office of the land. His biodata is uninspiring, to say the least. Aside from his public office due to his lineage, he was a sales person of Mondragon Industries, and a member of the board of directors of a security agency which the family owns. How in heavens name will he run the country?
Pres Cory’s landmark of achievement in her administration was her Land Reform program. Our own 24 hectares of irrigated rice land in Kinamayan, Davao del Norte was subjected to land reform and my Dad wanted to fight it out but I counseled him to surrender the land as I explained to him that ultimately the entire country will benefit from this pestering problem of unjust distribution of wealth. He understood the situation that each of us had to make sacrifices for the common good. This is not a unique scenario in Mindanao, then known as the Land of Promise .
Little did we know that Pres Cory distributed all other people’s landholdings except her own Hacienda Luisita. She asked all of us to make sacrifices, except her own family. Her tenants protested and in the ensuing protest several tenants were mowed down. The tenants were unarmed and no casualties were suffered on the side of the soldiers trying to disperse the tenants. Of course, Noynoy is not her mother’s keeper, nor do I intend to diminish her mother’s role as our leader who toppled the dictatorship.
But when Noynoy declared his candidacy, he was asked point blank, what he planned to do with Hacienda Luisita. He had no ready answer but promised to give a stand soon. Three months passed and still no answer. Is he really prepared?
Trust
The argument goes, that since the people lost trust in the present leadership, Noynoy comes as a white knight, enjoying the trust and confidence of the people. But why should we trust Noynoy? Has he done something to deserve our trust?†Trust is earned, deserved and not bestowed nor inherited. We are now bombarded with propaganda about the goodness of Pres Cory, to the extent that Noynoy propagandists even go to the limit of declaring her a saint, in the hope that people will also view Noynoy as saint- like. The Liberal Party had even formulated its battle cry: “this (the election) is a fight between good and evilâ€. My goodness, don’t you agree that a man who pontificates that he represents goodness is really suspect of some loose screws somewhere.
Noynoy’s handlers forgot the basic need of a responsible candidate-the need to have an advocacy. It should be pointed out that Noynoy has no advocacy at all in his public life. He won his senate seat solely upon his family name, like Loi Ejercito, Pia Cayetano, Bong Revilla and the like. This is very important to those who are very discerning. We do not know to what directions we will be going, with him as a leader. It is fearsome to have a president who is not only unprepared and unqualified, but also to be under the control of unknown advisers and heaven forbid, under the tutelage of his movie star sister. It becomes more dreadful because his popularity is seemingly sustained, thanks to the biased and twisted reporting of our media and most especially of a very large TV network who all have their interests to protect.
The above mentioned points are correct.
I am simply saying that Noynoy is “Not Worth to Vote for Him†because:
1. He has no capability to govern
2. He relies solely on the name of his parents
3. He has no advocacy
4. He has no achievement on his own
5. He is pure creation of media
Sadly, only Noynoy has all these attributes among all presidential candidates.
MARIO VALENCIA
* * * * *
I believe Manolo is aware of all those concerns that Mario Valencia’s message enumerated. The real question is:
WHY DOES MANOLO QUEZON CONTINUE TO BE A MAJOR DRUMBEATER FOR NOYNOY’s CAMPAIGN despite Noynoy being a major ZERO????
Found this blog:
http://plainhonest.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/an-open-letter-to-senator-benigno-simeon-aquino-iii/
“Noynoy should deliver on his promises. Nobody can say he can or cannot until he do it or don’t…If Noynoy can’t deliver on his promises the people knows what to do.- nick
*************
And what exactly is that, nick? Head for the streets? the hills? You are basically setting Aquino up for failure if you want him to deliver something which has taken other societies hundreds of years to evolve. You are underestimating the sheer scale of the task.
Along with the problem of overpromising is the one of overcommitting resources to fight corruption and bring rule of law, which will eat into the budget and at the end of the day not deliver the kind of results you are expecting within the time frame the public wants.
I would rather he state that he will focus resources on eradicating the most damaging forms of corruption. The ones which take from the poor and finish them off such as diverting funds for farmers and poor school children, etc. That at least is doable in the short term and his friends in civil society could be put to good use there to ensure that funds reach their intended recipients.