The Construct

That probably happened to you. You fancied trying out a restaurant for the first time. You plunk down on your seat. You flip through the menu from end to end. Then you flip through it again. There’s not one thing that you’d like to eat. Then you think whether you’d get up and leave or just settle for what you think is their most palatable dish even if it’s named “Binarurot na Tambakol” or something.

That’s exactly the feeling I have looking at the choices among the candidates for president in the 2010 elections. Here are my current takes on the presidential candidates.

• Noynoy Aquino – The guy thinks that the presidency is a birthright. Not to mention that he doesn’t have any accomplishments to boot. If this guy wins, Kris will be the most powerful woman in the country.
• JC de los Reyes – Uh. Yeah. This guy.
• Jamby Madridal – Not really aware of her agenda so pretty hard to tell. Has a bit of a leftist leaning.
• Erap Estrada – ~@_@~ (Not a big fan of emoticons, but come on…)
• Dick Gordon – Good administrator from what you can see from SBMA track record so he just might be a good chief executive. He seemed to have slacked off for the past years though. And he’s running with Bayani.
• Gibo Teodoro – On paper, one of the better candidates. But he’s running as the administration’s The Chosen One so he’s like steak with shit as gravy.
• Eddie Villanueva – I don’t seem to be comfortable with voting a guy who straddles that line between Church and State as Head of State?
• Manny Villar - The “I wuz poor” thing has gotten old. He’s been rich for so long.

The thing is, with a dish, you really won’t know if it’s any good unless you’ve tried it.

For those who watched professional wrestling, there’s a term they use for positive cheers – “pop.” The easiest way to get a pop is to mention the town in which they hold an event or refer to something of patriotic in nature. Americans (at least wrestling fans) just love chances to do a “USA! USA!” chant. That’s what they call a “cheap pop.”

Noynoy Aquino announced that he will be running for president in 2010. There he was, flashing the old “L” (Laban) sign. A cheap pop if I ever saw one. A cheap pop indeed.

All this whole Noynoy running for president was simply triggered by the death of his mother. Some consider it a resurrection of the whole People Power sentiment but it’s simply a play on people’s nostalgia as far as I am concerned. Perhaps even an opportunity for some other personalities to get some babyface brownie points while at it.

(more…)

When Barack Obama ran and won as president, I was among those wishing that someone in our political landscape would rise up and emerge as a similar personality. One with strong conviction and one who doesn’t believe in the control of the elite.

With election looming, the same sentiment seems to echo – a hope for a Pinoy version of Obama. Obama’s election as president of the free world seems to have every politician’s gunning for a “statesman” image. Everyone wants to project that young, learned, and charismatic image. But is that even possible for politicians here in the Philippines?

Given today’s slate of “presidentiables,” no one even comes close to Obama. Why? Name a politician who has cut abs? Okay. So that’s mundane but that sure makes a lot of difference. But how about this profile – young, humble roots, community organizer, non-trapo, and liberal? Makes you think really hard, doesn’t it?

(more…)

It’s been a long while since I watched TV (local or otherwise). And I’ve been practically living as a hermit being a home-based worker. So those two practically are the reasons why I don’t feel the campaign vibe.

But it’s weird. I remember that at least we used to have flyers and leaflets stuck in between our home’s gate grills. The only paper stuck there that I weed out practically every morning is from Pizza Hut, no fancy flyers with Chiz’s smug face, or whoever’s running for positions here in QC. Oh yeah, and no jeeps with loudspeakers doing its rounds too.

So where are the campaign materials now? TV spots? YouTube? Heck even the walls seem to a lot cleaner now. Is that the case everywhere else?

Did the COMELEC ban those methods of campaigning? And how about vote buying? That’s an easy way to get some money. Hehehe…

And Raul Roco’s widow boldly declares her advocacy. What she’s calling for is a no brainer and has really been the consensus of educators across the country. The problem is that even private institutions are finding it difficult to get funding for infrastructure. And it’s almost useless to teach ICT without computer labs.

But Sonia Roco recognizes this and suggests community participation. Does that mean reliance on private entities? I’m one who is always reluctant to always involve private entities in government business. I believe that Chiz aims to address these education woes better – allot larger state subsidies to education.

(more…)