2016 elections

2016’s Big Show

The spotlight is on the stage. The crowd is divided in colors. They chant, they cheer, and they jeer as their champion puts on a show. They’ve seen this before, but it doesn’t dull the excitement. Catchy lines, below the belt jabs, and the much anticipated signature moves still evoke enthusiastic applause from fans who have already chosen a side.

I happen to be one of the biggest wrestling fans that I know. Even when wrestling companies no longer hid the fact that their shows were choreographed and scripted, we fans still enjoyed the mix of athleticism, conflict, and storylines. We applauded the entire spectacle.

But the scene I described wasn’t of a wrestling match; they were acts that unfolded during our PiliPinas 2016 debates.

Propose a good policy measure and the venue remains silent, probably unimpressed. But throw a personal jab or ask a question that makes a candidate squirm and the audience erupts.

In that sense, what stood out at our debates weren’t the contents of what was said but the manner in which they were said. The delivery and the showmanship won the crowd, just like in wrestling.

I’m not the only one who has said this. A lot of people who watched the debates commented that it had a wrestling vibe, given the decorum of the crowd and the booing candidates had to speak over to say their piece.

It’s fun cheering for your champion and the debates were definitely high on entertainment value.

But it fell short on being a medium to get to know more about the candidates – their motivations, their reasons for running, what they offer to us, the Filipino people.

Much less so, the candidates had a difficult time sharing their plans in solving longstanding and complicated issues that have plagued our country for decades. 

It was a struggle for candidates to express what they stand for, what they believe in, what they’re fighting for, and what they want to do for the country within the allotted time limits.

Candidates were challenged to cram an ocean into a jar, fitting solutions to complicated problems, like the Internet, agriculture, education, and the West Philippine Sea dispute into 60-second bits.

If you notice, most were only able to get to a very superficial layer and a lot of the answers would sound similar because it’s in the second and third levels of detail that usually reveal their knowledge and true stance on the issue.

As a voter, I wanted to get to that kernel of truth in each candidate and see if I could resonate with that person.  I wanted to find out whether our candidates share the same hopes and dreams I have for my country.

But I have yet to find a debate format in these elections that enables this, rather than hinders it.  

As campaigns came to a close, Filipinos were left to their own devices in sifting through the smoke and mirrors and getting to the core of each candidate, their platforms, and their policies before casting their one significant ballot.

Still, I am hopeful that smarts, ability, selfless intentions, and genuine love for the country has shone through, if only in glimpses, throughout the campaign season and that Filipino voters elected the leaders our country needs.

First Published on Manila Bulletin

Bida Ka!: Umiinit na ang laban sa 2016

Mga Bida, noong nakaraang Biyernes, saksi tayo sa isa na namang makasaysayan at emosyonal na pangyayari sa Club Filipino nang pormal nang ideklara ni Pangulong Noynoy Aquino si Interior Secretary Mar Roxas bilang pambato ng Liberal Party sa 2016 elections.

Sa pangyayaring ito, tinuldukan na ni PNoy ang anumang usapan at binura ang mga pagdududa sa kung sino nga ba ang isasabak ng admi­nistrasyon sa darating na eleksyon.

Muli na namang nabuhay ang alaala ng pagdedeklara ni yumaong Pangulong Cory Aquino ng kandidatura bilang pangulo ng Pilipinas noong 1986. Dito rin nagdeklara si PNoy ng kanyang kandidatura bilang presidente noong 2009.

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Mga Bida, muling iginiit ni PNoy ang kahalagahan ng pagpapatuloy ng tuwid na daan sa mga susunod na taon, lalo na’t malayo na ang narating ng Pilipinas pagdating sa ekonomiya at giyera kontra katiwalian.

Isa raw sa kanyang mga obligasyon na dapat gawin bago matapos ang kanyang termino ay siguruhin na hindi masasa­yang ang kanyang sinimulan na malinis at tapat na pamahalaan.

Giit pa niya, “Lahat ng mahahalagang bagay, kapag hindi mo ipinaglaban, kapag hindi mo inalagaan, maaaring mawala.”
Kaya nauunawaan natin ang kanyang sinabing, “napakalaki ng nakataya para ipaubaya sa “baka sakali”.

Mga Bida, ang paborito kong bahagi ng talumpati ni PNoy ay kung saan sinabi niya na “iisa lang naman ang boto ko, gaya ng bawat Pilipino. Baka po mas tamang sabihin: Lahat tayo, may obligasyon dito.”

Hindi lang sa iilan kundi sa buong bayan nakasalalay ang pagpapatuloy ng “tuwid na daan”. Nasa ating responsibilidad kung muling babalik ang Pilipinas sa bulok na sistema kung saan talo ang sambayanan.

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Puno naman ng emosyon ang talumpati ni Sec. Mar, na ilang beses napaiyak habang inilalahad ang kanyang pinagdaanan sa mundo ng pulitika.

Sa bulwagang ito nagpaubaya siya para sa pagtakbo ni PNoy bilang pangulo noong 2009. Binitawan niya noon ang mga salitang “bayan muna, bago ang sarili” na prinsipyong ipinamana ng kanyang lolo na si Pangulong Manuel Roxas at amang si Sen. Gerry Roxas.

Nabanggit din niya ang kanyang pinag-ugatan sa pulitika. Nang mamatay ang kanyang kapatid na si Dinggoy noong 1993, naipasa sa kanya ang obligasyon na magsilbi sa taumbayan.

Sa kanyang pangwakas na salita, ipinangako niya na hindi niya dudumihan ang pangalan nina Tito Ninoy at Tita Cory at pati na rin ang pangalan ni PNoy.

Sa kanyang lawak ng karanasan at malinis na record, tiwala akong taglay niya ang kakayahan na ituloy ang pagtahak ng Pilipinas sa tuwid na daan.

Siyempre mga bida, lahat ng ito’y nakasalalay pa rin sa kamay ng taumbayan. Ang maganda rito, exciting ang 2016 elections dahil mas maraming mapagpipilian ang mga botante.

Kaya, mga Bida, ang panawagan natin sa taumbayan ay timbangin ang kakayahan at karanasan ng bawat kandidato sa darating na halalan. Maging matalino sa pagpili dahil kinabukasan ng bansa ang nakasalalay sa ating mga boto!

 

First Published on Abante Online

 

 

No split in Liberal Party ranks over Mar, Poe, says Bam Aquino

Senator Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV yesterday denied the Liberal Party (LP) is divided due to the possible entry of Sen. Grace Poe Llamanzares as the party’s standard-bearer in the May, 2016, elections, with party members split between her and Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

“Hindi naman (Not really). We’re part of a democracy. Siyempre po, may gusto tayo at ayaw  (Of course, we have some people we like, some we don’t),” Aquino told reporters in an interview. “Ganoon din po ang Liberal Party  (It’s the same with the Liberal Party),” he said.

“May proseso pong pinagdadaanan. Palagay ko naman kapag tapos na ang prosesong iyan ay muling magsasama-sama ang partidong kinalalagyan ko. (We go through the process. I think after we finish that process, the party will come together again),” he said.

Drilon had earlier said he hopes Roxas declares his intention to join the presidential race amid speculations of a possible tandem with Poe.

“Let me say we have an official process in the party but I would take the position that Mar Roxas should now declare his intention,” Drilon said. “If he is indeed interested — and I think he is – he should declare now his intention that he would want to present himself as a candidate for the presidency in 2016.”

Drilon said he believes Roxas is the person who can continue the reforms and programs initiated by the Aquino administration.

Senator Aquino said the party cannot afford to choose the next leader on the basis alone of personality. “Dapat tanungin natin, ano ba talaga ang plano nila. Sino ba ang may kakayahan na dalhin tayo sa kinabukasan? (We should ask them what are their plans? Who has the capability to bring about a future for our country),” he said.

“Five years from now, dapat ang Pilipinas yumayaman na. Dapat ang mga kababayan natin di na kailangang mangibang bansa para makakuha ng magtrabaho. Dapat iyong mahihirap mayroon  ng pagkain, trabaho, at may negosyo na (The Philippines should already be rich, our countrymen should no longer be going abroad just to find work. The poor should have food, jobs and their own businesses),” he said.

The question is who will help the country achieve that? I think those who aspire to run for office should be able to answer those questions, Senator  Aquino said.


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