Binay who? Zamboangueno dinedma ang kandidatura ng Makati Mayor

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 12, 2008) – Dedma ang mga Zamboanguenos sa balak ni Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay na tumakbo sa Presidential elections sa 2010.

Ito’y matapos na lumabas ang balitang malaki ang suporta ni Binay sa Zamboanga City na kung saan ay inilunsad dito kamakailan ang grupong “Binay na!” na siyang magdadala sa pangangampanya nito sa bansa. Nagkaroon umano ng launching ng Binay Na! sa Zamboanga kamakalawa at hindi pa umabot sa 40 ang mga nasa likod nito, ayon sa ulat ng ABS-CBN.

Kamakalawa ay inanunsyo ni Binay sa Makati ang kanyang kandidatura sa pagka-Pangulo at inihalintulad pa nito ang sarili kay US President-elect Barack Obama.

“Hindi naman kilala dito sa Zamboanga City si Binay, eh sa Mindanao pa? Tignan natin kung sinong mga iba ang sasabak sa 2010 Presidential elections, malayo pa kasi iyan eh at dapat unahin muna nila ang trabaho bago ang ambisyon. Pati si Barack Obama ay ginamit na sa propaganda niya,” ani naman ng pribadong si Antonio Saavedra.

Si Binay ay ang presidente ng United Opposition na kanyang binuo nuong 2005, ngunit marami rin sa ibang mga oposisyon ang dedma sa anunsyo nitong pagsabak sa Presidential polls.

May basbas diumano ni dating Pangulong Joseph Estrada ang kandidatura ni Binay, ngunit sa tagal pa ng elekson ay posibleng may suportahang itong iba.

Bukod kay Binay ay malakas ang ugong na tatakbo rin sa pagka-Pangulo si Vice President Noli de Castro, Senate President Manuel Villar, Senator Loren Legarda, Senator Francis Pangilinan, Senator Panfilo Lacson, Senator Mar Roxas, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro at Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Secretary Bayani Fernando.

Ilang ulit naman sinabi ni Estrada na sasabak itong muli sa pagka-Pangulo kung hindi magkakasundo ang mga oposisyon sa kanilang common candidate. (Mindanao Examiner)

Oppositions Hit Arroyo Anew Over Poverty, Human Rights Issues

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 11, 2008) – Politicians opposed to President Gloria Arroyo’s rule on Wednesday criticized her allegedly covering up for the true state of human rights situation in the Philippines.

They said Arroyo’s efforts to swath the capital in larger-than life posters to desperately convince the public that they are living in the lap of economy luxury ring hollow in the face of continued unresolved political killings and disappearances.

“GMA's posters proclaim ‘Ramdam ang Kaunlaran’. Certainly for the hundreds of victims of extrajudicial killings and their families, no amount of economic progress—which is a lie anyway—will assuage their loss,”" United Opposition spokesman lawyer Adel Tamano said.

Randam ang Kaularan is Arroyo’s anti-poverty campaign. Tamano said that nothing has changed since the Human Rights Watch, a respected international human-rights organization last year criticized the Philippine government, particularly the military, for what it called as a "dirty war" against left-leaning activists and journalists throughout the country.

A son of former Filipino leader Joseph Estrada and mayor of San Juan City, JV Ejercito said the issue of Arroyo’s controversial presidency is still a big issue in the country.

“People cannot expect political stability along with economic stability to return as long as the issue of the president's illegitimacy persists along with the scandals plaguing the Arroyo regime.”

“She is the problem. Unless she steps down earlier we can never see an improvement until at least 2010 since GMA's main concern is survival. Her priority is not to do well for the country but to push for her own self interest,” Ejercito said.

The Human Rights Watch report entitled "Scared Silent: Impunity for Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines,” detailed the killings of members of leftist political parties and nongovernmental organizations, journalists, outspoken clergy, anti-mining activists, and agricultural reform activists.

Since 2001, a local rights group Karapatan has recorded 882 extra-judicial killings and 185 enforced disappearances, but the military has disputed the figures. Last year political killings left 33, compared to at least 96 in 2006.

No military personnel have been convicted and families of the disappeared have been given no help in finding their kin. (With reports from Marlene Salgado)

Government Pro-Poor Projects, Criticized

MAKATI CITY, Philippines - The United Opposition (UNO) dismissed the Arroyo government's much-ballyhooed P5-billion aid program for poor families as "another publicity gimmick," echoing the position of the Catholic Church and civic groups that the fight against poverty would require "an honest to goodness campaign against graft and corruption in government and not mere politically-motivated dole out."

Instead of giving dole out to the poor, UNO President and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said, the Arroyo government should provide jobs and efficient social services to poor Filipinos and take strong steps to prevent further increases in the prices of basic commodities such as rice and other food items.

"It is unfortunate that no amount of publicity gimmicks will improve the approval ratings of President Arroyo," Binay said in a statement. "What she must do is provide good governance that will give better social services to the poor and job opportunities to the unemployed. This can only be achieved by eradicating graft and corruption in this government."

"The P5B government aid program is good primary as a public relations tool," said UNO spokesperson Adel Tamano, adding that "Malacañang failed to acknowledge is that the poverty and food crisis were caused by official corruption and misgovernance."

"The first step that must be done in an authentic poverty alleviation program is to rid the Arroyo administration of corrupt and inept officials who got us into this mess on the first place," Tamano added.

Tamano explained that the so-called Ahon Pamilyang Pilipino was designed by palace publicists to improve the plunging approval ratings of President Arroyo among the poor, noting that a provision in the program requiring that Malacañang should identify the beneficiaries of the aid.

"The entire scheme was obviously politically motivated," Tamano said. "What are alarming are reports that Malacañang's qualification and identification of poorest of the poor would target only 300,000 families. This is much too low and implies that only a minuscule number of poor families deserve attention."

For his part, San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito, UNO National Capital Region chairman, deplored the apparent lack of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the P5B aid program.

Ejercito warned that "the poor track record of the Arroyo administration in resisting graft and corruption tells us that this would only be another huge waste of government resources." "We in the united Opposition wish that this P5B aid program would actually benefit the poor.

But that would be wishful thinking under the Arroyo administration," the San Juan mayor said. Earlier, Caritas Manila Executive Director Fr. Anton Pascual criticized the aid program, saying it would only make the poor dependent on government doleout and would encourage them to be lazy.

"It is anti-poor, gives the poor no dignity, and only breeds dependency," Pascual. He explained that teaching the poor to be dependent was not part of the long-term solution to the soaring cost of basic necessities, especially food.

Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said Malacañang had allocated P5 billion this year to fund a P500 monthly stipend for each of the country's poorest families to help them cope with the escalating prices of basic necessities.

Under the Ahon Pamilyang Pilipino (APP) program, a family will get an additional P300 for every child who logs at least 85 percent class attendance in a month. At most, three children per family could avail themselves of the stipend.

But due to budget constraints, the five-year APP program could cover only 300,000 families in the 20 poorest provinces, or 7 percent of the 4.7 million poor households in the country. (Marlene Salgado)

Smuggling In The Philippines Still Rampant

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 24, 2008) – Philippine opposition leaders accused the government of failing to eradicate smuggling activities in the country which is now facing a huge rice shortage and soaring prices of basic commodities.

The United Opposition (UNO) said the rampant smuggling aggravated the current economic situation and has greatly affected millions of poor Filipinos and the agricultural sector.

"The biggest problem caused by rampant smuggling is that it killed the agricultural sector which is why we are experiencing the rice crisis," said opposition leader Joseph Victor Ejercito, who is also the mayor of San Juan.

The mayor, son of deposed Philippine leader Joseph Estrada, said the Arroyo government failed to uplift the poor living standards of the Filipinos.

Ejercito made the comment following the disclosure by the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Task Force Group (PASG) that the government is losing P65 billion annually from smuggling activities. But independent figures estimate the government could lose as much as P100 billion. Most of the contraband, PASG said, come from Singapore, Malaysia, and China.

Surveys Doubt If Ex-President Will Get Fair Verdict

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 04 Sept) - Will former President Joseph Estrada get a "fair decision" from the Sandiganbayan when it hands down a verdict on his plunder and perjury cases possibly next week?

A survey in the Mega Manila area conducted by the Social Weather Station (SWS) showed that a "significant plurality" of Filipinos or 65 percent of the respondents were either "doubtful" or "undecided" when asked about their perception of the impartiality of the Sandiganbayan to render "a fair decision" on the Estrada case.

According to the survey that was conducted in Metro Manila and four nearby provinces last July, 34 percent of the respondents said they had "much trust" in the Sandiganbayan to make a fair decision.

However, 26 percent said they had "little trust" while a significant 39 percent of the respondents refused to give an answer, indicating they were undecided, when asked about the impartiality of the anti-graft court.

In the event the Sandiganbayan hands down a guilty verdict, Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said his father would appeal his case before the Supreme Court, adding that they were confident he would get a fair trial from the high tribunal as it has proven its independence from Malacañang in the past.

The survey was commissioned by the United Opposition (UNO) as part of its continuing program to gauge public opinion and was conducted on 600 respondents in the Mega Manila area covering the National Capital Region and the four provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna. The poll was conducted on July 18-20 and has a plus or minus four percent margin of error.

The Sandiganbayan is expected to issue a decision on the case before Sept. 14. The court heard the final arguments of the defense and the prosecution lawyers last June 15.

Sources said one of the reasons why UNO leaders decided to conduct the survey was to determine the public impact of claims from Estrada allies that Malacañang was allegedly "pulling strings" to ensure a guilty verdict.

Critics alleged that the Malacañang can not afford an Estrada acquittal as it would revisit legitimacy questions about the Arroyo government and trigger more political instability. Malacañang and allies of President Arroyo have repeatedly denied the allegations.

When asked whether they agreed with criticisms that "pinaglalaruan ni Pangulong Arroyo si dating Pangulong Estrada," 58 percent of the respondents said they agreed with the statement while 24 percent said they disagreed.

Among those who believed President Arroyo was "toying" with Estrada, 39 percent said they "strongly agreed" while 19 percent said they "somewhat agreed." Among those who answered in the negative, 10 percent said they "strongly disagreed" while 13 percent said they "somewhat disagreed." One percent of those surveyed refused to comment.

The survey also revealed that in the event the Sandiganbayan hands down a guilty verdict, an overwhelming 82 percent of the respondents said Estrada should remain in his Tanay estate while his case will be reviewed by the Supreme Court. Sixteen percent said he should be transferred to the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa.

In the same survey, a total of 86 percent said President Gloria Macapacal Arroyo should pardon Estrada in the event the Sandiganbayan hands down a guilty verdict on Estrada.

Forty-eight percent opined Estrada should be pardoned "immediately" while 38 percent said he should be pardoned "after some time." A low 13 percent said the former president should not be pardoned.

What observers found significant was that 79 percent who said Estrada should be pardoned came from the Classes A, B, and C and not from the lower classes, known to be Estrada's strong support base.

In the southern Philippines, Estrada still enjoys a huge support, especially in Jolo and Basilan islands and other Muslim areas, where much of development projects had been prioritized during his term. Estrada's foundation also helped a lot of Muslims in the region. (Marlene Salgado)