Credits

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Buking Ka Na Naman

Villar's in the hot seat again. Documents have come out disproving his claim to poverty. As usual, Villar came out saying that he's being a target of a smear campaign. Smear campaign? Documents do not lie. May I remind you that there are documents(unlike the ones you have) that refute your claims. I don't think the likes of Solita Monsod, Conrado de Quiros and William Esposo would throw their credibilities out the window just to spread lies about you. May I remind you that it was your campaign ads that brought attention to you.

Here lies the problem with too much dramatics to gain sympathy. The use or should I say the exploitation of the poor and the departed had come back to haunt you. Karma sure comes swiftly to those who use deception to further their personal ambitions. Now you challenge your critics to see for themselves your old house. Haven't you learned your lesson yet? Remember what happened when you challenged Ted Failon to visit Daang-hari? Not only did he see for himself how many of your subdivisions line this road, but saw how the road snaked instead of taking a direct route.

Your mouthpiece also claimed that your party will go on an offensive against those who criticize you. Esposo has replied, "bring it on!". There, someone has answered your challenge. You might end up getting you butt kicked again. Unless you can finally tell us something that is totally true, don't bother saying anything. Less talk, less mistakes. But I guess you really would like to push your luck. Tell us more lies, make more false claims. I am sure that someone out there will present another document to refute you. I am sure that even the poor you love to exploit will soon abandon you.

You have no one to blame but yourself. We did not open the Pandora's Box, you did. The ball is in your court now. Give us more reason not to vote for you and even convince others to abandon you. Money cannot buy everything. You may have your billions but you surely lack integrity and credibility. You and your cabal are certainly making it easier for us to decide on who to vote for come May 10. We'll be waiting for the next round of claims you will make. Give us more bullets to criticize you. Give us more of your lies so that we may expose the real Manny Villar.

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Thursday, March 25, 2010

Bayad Muna: Leftist By Convenience

You can hear members of Bayan Muna repeatedly hit Sen. Noynoy Aquino with the SDO of Hacienda Luisita, yet they are mum on the various injustices done by their patron to informal settlers, farmers and indigenous people. I have yet to hear Ocampo, Maza or Mariano hit Villar about the Dumagats of Bulacan, the residents of Paradise Park or the farmers of Iloilo. Have they forgotten who they are fighting for? How can they justify their alliance with someone who have caused harm to the very people they say they fight for?

I thought the Reds were fighting for social justice? Is it because Sen. Aquino cannot give the same benefits Villar gives them? They say that HLI's SDO is an injustice to the farmers of Luisita. How many beneficiaries of land reform have sold their lands because they cannot finance its cultivation? In the end, they end up selling their lands to the likes of Villar who convert these lands to subdivisions.

Have these so-called protectors of the little people done anything about the plight of the Dumagats whose land was foreclosed by the Bangko Sentral? How about the doffee farmers of Amadeo in Cavite whose coffee fields are now a subdivision? What about the farmers in Iloilo whose rice fields is now a High class subdivision? Have these Lestist by convenience asked their conscience why they chose to support a candidate who have in his quest for wealth has driven many informal settlers out of their homes? Have they asked the former residents of Barangay Hollywood in Las Piñas how they lost their land?

I call it pure hypocrisy to accuse one of social injustice when someone who sits in their presence is himself doing the same. It all boils down to money. It really changes everything. It changes even those who vowed to fight for the rights of the poor. Money takes away the very soul of a person. If you say that you stand for cause, show us that you are for real. Don't bullshit us with statements that there are no proofs in the issues hurled against your financier. Do your homework, where's there's smoke, there's fire. Unless of course that you have sold your principles in the name of elections. Mga trapo din pala kayo!

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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

PUP and GMA's Extravagance

The Polytechnic University of the Philippines is in turmoil. A 2000% increase is set to be imposed on science and engineering courses on incoming freshmen. University officials attribute the increase to augment the university's funding problems. At present, government funding is at P570 million a year. More than half of this goes to salaries while the rest to operational expenses. Some of you may say that paying P12/unit is almost nothing, many of the poor who desire to get a good college education enroll here. A P6000 per semester may sound cheap, but to a family who loves hand-to-mouth, this is a big dent on their family's small budget.

The schools would have had adequate funding if only GMA would have been less extravagant in her trips or if only she put to good use her pork barrel. Instead of spending billions on useless trips and ads that try to make her administration look good, the PUP could do away with its tuition fee increases. Student leaders lament that they had to endure lack of facilities for their classes. Imagine attending a computer class with a ratio of 5:1 for a computer. Makati is better off as there is 1:1 ratio.

I must admit that the school officials' hands are tied. They have to make do with the meager funding the government gives them. The problem lies in the allocation of government funds. How can the country churn out competitive graduates when the president would rather spend hundreds of millions on her district in Pampanga for her congressional bid? How many tables and chairs or even computers could have been bought with the presidential fund? How can this administration claim that they are addressing the problems of the education sector?

Chartered flights, multi-million peso dinners, midnight flights to China to witness a signing of a botched scandalous project, these are just some of unnecessary expenditures this government has undertaken. Government agencies also have PR and intelligence funds that could given additional funding to our state universities and public schools. Education was never this administration's priority, making money for their caprices is. I no longer wonder why we have a skyrocketing dropout rate. Our children are being deprived of education. I suppose Gloria thinks that an uneducated people can be easier duped and controlled.

It's a classic practice of dictators to keep the populace uneducated and demoralized. The PUP case is not isolated. It's a microcosm of the what's happening around the country. Education is no longer a right but a privilege. How can a nation progress if we have leaders that totally disregard our youth? I suppose the government thinks there's always the private sector that would step up to the plate. The reality is that private support is dwindling due mainly to the fact that they have become milking cowa of the government. Gloria issued an EO that orders all government agencies to conserve. Where did these savings go? It went to bonuses and advertising of officials in preparation for their political plans.

Gloria's legacy is one of despair. Our people are left with nothing. She and corrupt politicians have drained our coffers dry. Our social services would not be left wanting if only our leaders honestly served our people. We are not asking for a slice of paradise. The Filipino people just want to have a little dignity and a decent life.

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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Is The Threat Real?

I'm banking on the automated polls to be a success. Not only is it our last chance for redemption, it could immensely affect the future of our young democracy. Many scenarios have been hurled around. Things like failure of elections, partial failure and even a military takeover. Although I take these scenarios seriously, I still hope that come May 10, true democracy shall be the outcome.

I'm keenly observing the events that people point to that could show that something big is in the offing. There's the SC ruling on the next CJ, or Bangit's appointment as AFP's CS. But still I am not convinced that the automated polls will fail. I'd like to think that there are still some good left in the people who''ll oversee the process. There is also the issue of GMA running for congress. Why is she running? Is there something we should be wary of? Is she up to something again? So many questions that only the May polls could answer.

I've heard reports of a particular political party's total disregard for its national candidates. In fact, some personalities have even come forward to make their sentiments known. But that's their problem, I thought to myself. You wanted to run, that's your problem. What got my attention is the report this party is concentrating its funding on its congressional candidates. Some of them are even running unopposed. This party is even heavily investing on party-list groups. In fact, an official of this party even told one of its senatorial candidates, "Matuwa ka at nakasama ka sa senatorial slate, ngayon gusto mo pang manalo?" And this poor soul had been a loyal supporter of their party. He even endured ridicule from the public for his die-hard loyalty to someone we all despise.

I began to ask myself, why concentrate on the local arena? The threat of the failure of elections then entered my mind. Should no president, VP or senators be proclaimed, the next in line of succession is the speaker of the house. Could it be that Gloria is indeed planning something? Could she be targeting the speakership? Could this be the ultimate plan? Shit! I did not see this coming until the funding issues of Lakas was brought out. Congress is the key to all these. This could spell disaster and ruin our country's democracy forever.

When I pieced all these information together, indeed, the threat is real. The success of the elections is in our hands. Vigilance is our only weapon. If I were you, I'd start thinking of what we can do to ensure that the true voice of the people be heard. Let's all triple, even quadruple our vigilance. We must guard our freedom from those who want to take it away again.

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Monday, March 22, 2010

Cry, cry, cry....Political Butterfly

I stayed up late last night to watch the vice presidential forum, Harapan. One candidate stood out like a sore thumb because try as she might, no one believed her. Loren Legarda, the senate's crying lady tried her best to be credible. After the audience graded her performance, a wry smile is the best that she can do. That's what happens when political butterflies run for public office. Like a moth that flew too close to the fire, Loren burned.

Her eloquence was not enough to carry her through the forum. I'm sure that every time her scores came up, she would have cried. I can see how irritated she was. This is Villar's running mate, I don't think she has any chance of catching up with Sen. Mar Roxas. Loren's record of changing sides has come back to haunt her. She tried to discredit Mar but instead ended up eating her words. She is the epitome of a political opportunist.

The Filipino voter has come a long way. They now know how to see through lies peddled by insincere politicians. How many issues has she ridden on to be popular? How many times has she made 180 turns to reach her ambitions? This is what happens when you claim something you are not. Poor Loren, she has no one to blame but her herself. You can fool some people some time but not all the time. It's time to hang up your gloves and retire from politics. You have used to many people for your political gains. Now the people do not believe you. You have used the last of your aces and you've gone bust.

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Friday, March 19, 2010

The Difference Between Mudslinging and Telling The Truth

While the campaign season reaches its peak, the issue of mudslinging is being raised. There's a world of difference between mudslinging and telling the truth. Villar claims to be a victim or even an underdog as issue after issue is now coming out of the woodwork. Victims of his "deeds" are coming out into the open. The small folks, the poor to be more specific, are coming out one by one to share with the Philippine electorate how Manny Villar and his companies managed to legally(?) grab their lands.

Can you call this mudslinging, negative propaganda or Villar's motherhood claim of pamumulitika? I call this the TRUTH. Anyone who can do basic math will tell you that "Sipag at Tiyaga" will not make you a billionaire in such a short span of time. Unless you are wield power, say like a speaker of the house or a senate president, legally increasing one's wealth cannot be achieved overnight.

Are all these issues hounding Manny Villar part of a grand design to besmirch his immaculate image? Of course not. The people he oppressed are now emboldened to come forward and expose his crimes. Take the case of the poor farmers of Bulacan. Villar's only answer to their accusation is that we check with the Bangko Sentral because all the land titles are there. How convenient it was for the Registry of Deeds to fall prey to a fire completely burning all the records that could prove that lands were indeed stolen from these poor farmers.

The MO is the same with the other issues. Local officials, regional officials and even government agencies all conspired to make it appear that all land transactions and projects were above board. It's high illogical for beneficiaries of the CARP would readily give up the lands they so long fought hard to get. It's also utter stupidity to simply convert prime agricultural lands to upscale subdivisions because these lacked irrigation. Isn't it government priority to make available irrigiation to farmlands?

A person who is haunted by injustices he committed to enrich himself will have to sooner or later face his accusers. What a lame excuse Villar hides behind because his past has now caught up with him. This is the reason why he is massively spending on his presidential bid. Like Gloria Arroyo, only the presidency can save his neck. With his billions, he can do a GMA and buy off the lower house to shield him from impeachment.

So what then do we call all these issues going around accusing Manny Villar of this and that? We call it the truth. It's the truth because victims are now coming out. It's the truth because there are documents that show he actually did the things he is accused of. Is it plain mudslinging then? Are these mere insinuations and allegations? Nah, it's the truth! And it has come out to bite Manny Villar's ass.

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Finally Up Again

BloggingFor several days now, I've been unable to post anything because of some technical glitches which I attribute to some malicious individual who somehow was able to "fool around" with my blog. I've disabled my comments for the meantime and would be using a more secure one.

Please bear with me and I'll surely fix my blog problems in the soonest possible time. Thank you for your continuing patronage.

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Friday, March 05, 2010

Useless Spending and Empty Promises

Manny Villar is the campaign's biggest spender. He claims he's using his own money to fund his expensive campign. In an interview, he promised to bring home all the OFW's stranded in the Middle East should he become the next president. He also promised he'll do it even if he has to use his own money. Eh, ganun naman pala, why wait to be elected? Why not do it now? With such a noble cause, I'm sure even his opponents wouldn't even bother to call it vote-buying. Just imagine the impact it would have on his muddied image?

But of course being the shrewd politician that he is, Villar is using this to bait the OFWs to vote for him. Ano sila hilo? He had spend so much just to see his ratings drop in the surveys. He will promise you heaven and earth just to get your vote. See how he used his dearly departed brother to gain your sympathy? Villar's statement that he would simply return to being a businessman if he wants to get rich is also a big lie. He never ceased being a businessman and he used his position to further enrich himself. Villar never divested his business interests. He and his wife still own their companies.

Just imagine how much he could get out of being the president of the country? As speaker and senate president, he had already shown what he is capable of, what more as president? He'll have a bigger pork to spend on his projects. He can easily convert more agricultural lands for his subdivisions. Of course all these issues against him would seem to be unfounded. After all, he has local and agency officials in his pocket to make all his transgressions legal(?). I could just see him now smiling at the effects of El Niño on our agricultural lands. For sure his thinking of how many more subdivision he can develop because of the phenomenon's disastrous effects. No irrigations to destroy, no officials to bribe, all he has to do is feast on the despair of the farmers who would readily sell their lands so their families could survive.

Villar has made so many promises. Tatapusin daw niya ang kahirapan. With the kind of campaign spending he's been doing, I wonder how many poor families could have benefited from the billions he had wasted? So he's back to playing catchup. But this time, he cannot simply steamroll his rivals with his obscene spending. Now he has to abide by the rules of the game. He cannot go over the spending limit set by the law. Poor Mr. Villaroyo, you peaked too early. See what happens when you rely too much on your money? Serves you right, you thought we can all be bought just like the people you are used to dealing with.

Better watch your back because Erap is hot on your tail. He seems to be more credible than you. Want us to believe in the purity of your intentions? Don't promise us anything anymore. Sabi nga ni Sen. Flavier, "Just do it!".

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From The Mouths of Babes

My son is so irritated with Villar's ads that he seldom opens his Facebook account. Even the net did not escape Villar's ads. He's also sick and tired of hearing Villar's campaign jingle that he decided to rewrite the lyrics of the song. He just entered his teens, not a voter yet and sure knows what Villar's true color is. So now I share with you his song. With so many issues hurled against Villar, he would like to get some answers.

Totoo ba na nan-land grab ka?
Totoo ba, sa C-5 ay kumita?
Yan ang tanung namin,
Bakit ayaw mong sagutin?

Nalaman namin ang land covernsion mo.
Mga mag-sasaka, nawalan ng trabaho.
At ang iyong plano.
Ay lokohin mga tao.

Si Villar ang tunay na pahirap.
Si Villar ang tunay na pasakit.
Si Villar ang may kakayahang,
Gumawa ng katiwalian.

Si Manny Villar,
Ang magdidiin sa atin,
Sa kahirapan.

My son and his friends intend to make a video of this. That's how disgusted they are with being bombarded with what is obviously a ton of lies. See what happens when you have a catchy campaign jingle? It gets obliterated by irritated viewers and listeners. Maybe Cayetano and Remulla can learn a thing or two from the mouths of babes.

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