Went to the Bastusang Pambansa to see the action but most of it took place not on the floor, where Romulo Neri was sitting in a panel defending the CHED budget as members of congressmen took turns asking pointed questions to beef up the budgets for their districts. It was a very nerve-wracking three hours for all concerned.
Had a chance to prowl the galleries and the floor and get scuttlebutt from members of the House.
One account of this morning’s meeting at the Palace was that the main bone of contention was the upcoming baranggay elections. Congressmen were very anxious that the polls not be postponed, as it was an opportunity for them to spread goodies around. Demands were supposed to be 50,000 per kagawad or a total of 5 million for each congressman to dole out. The President had given assurances but had even been pursued with calls while she was in China, to assure that the written assurances that the polls would push through, were genuine. The badgering continued this morning, with congressmen supposedly in a foul mood and threatening mischief if the President didn’t do the doling out right there and then.
Another account was simpler, which was a Palace guarantee of 45 35 million per congressman, 25 million in “soft” pork and 10 milion in “hard” pork, whatever that means in congressional terms. In exchange, the congressmen pledged cooperation with the President in terms of pursuing her agenda.
But the figures discussed are impossible to verify (and every congressman could have been lying). The main topic of interest was, what was the Speaker going to do, and what were his options? Opinions among members of the House varied. They ranged from the Speaker had the numbers, to the President had the numbers, to the problem that Friday, it turns out, is a holiday which is why the President wanted matters settled by tonight.
The problem was that the Speaker was not inclined to refer the impeachment complaint prior to the recess. The question then was whether this would precipitate a showdown in the House, and who, exactly, had the numbers; also, there was the very real problem that if the complaint wasn’t referred prior to the break, the October 25 Senate hearing would take place, and if anything ended up revealed in that hearing, the revelations could lead to the complaint being amended and possibly fortified.
The Speaker’s options, as discussed by various sources, ranged from his having pulled a fast one last night by checking himself into the hospital for whatever reason (gastritis, LBM, etc.) and told the House to go on recess early, to his suddenly fainting in his office this afternoon and being rushed from the House in an ambulance, thus causing pandemonium, to the Mace either disappearing or being grabbed by his loyalists, thereby disrupting the session, to someone questioning the quorum, suddenly ending the session. But then the entire budget would have been imperiled.
Or the Speaker could publicly state he would not refer the complaint until the maximum period allowed, November 11.
Or the Speaker could decide that he faced an ethical dilemma, and announce he was inhibiting himself from the whole matter. This was the solution, apparently, put forward by the Palace as a face-saving gesture but involved its own risks. The Speaker’s lawyer, Raul Lambino of Sigaw ng Bayan fame, gave the Speaker similar advice, couched in terms of his right not to participate in forwarding a document obviously aimed more at the Speaker and his son than the President. The Speaker, by taking himself out of the game, would then pass the ball to Deputy Speaker Raul del Mar.
Del Mar could then easily say that it being his call, he would hold the ball until after the recess. Or, del Mar could then send the complaint immediately to the Committee on Rules, which could then sit on it; or the Committee on Rules could instantly send it to the Committee on Justice…
For an hour, from around 3:30 to 4:30 talk centered on whether the Speaker would take himself out of the game or force a showdown. Then at around that time came word there would be a press conference at the Speaker’s office. Up to that time there were still members of the House proposing that the Speaker should pass the ball to del Mar but that del Mar shouldn’t do the Palace any favors.
Like war, members of the press spend a lot of time just waiting then suddenly heaving into action. By 5 pm the media was huddled outside the door of the Speaker’s office as various congressmen trickled out and basically refused to say anything. Finally the doors opened. Mad stampede as everyone rushed in.
The Speaker looked remarkably calm and relaxed. Arrayed around him were various House members and the Speaker’s people, including Atty. Lambino.
At one point, the Speaker got up and disappeared; call of nature, I asked a reporter? Probably a phone call from the Palace, someone else said.
The Speaker reemerged, the press conference formally began. It played out pretty much as everyone had expected:
De Venecia inhibits self from Arroyo impeach rap; Arroyo impeach case referred to panel; JDV inhibits himself; JDV inhibits self from impeach rap.
I asked a couple of questions, because the Speaker said he was withdrawing from participating in the process, even though he had misgivings because of bribery allegations, etc., etc., but he urged del Mar to attend to his ministerial duty. Del Mar smoothly said he would transmit the complaint to the Committee on Rules. Art Defensor chimed in and said as chairman he was going to calendar the referral before the plenary that very night, for referral, in turn, to the Committee on Justice.
The sending of the paper from Deputy Speaker to Rules Chairman to Justice Committee of course constituting the start of the one-year countdown of the ban on further impeachment complaints.
So my questions focused on asking del Mar why he was rushing to refer the complaint, his answer was, it’s ministerial, and then I asked Defensor if he, as Chairman, could act on behalf of a committee he only chaired but which had more than himself as members; Defensor was offended and said the whole procedure is normally concluded as he said it would be, that he was confident in speaking for the committee, etc.
Questions from the reporters present concentrated on this rush to start the Constitutional countdown while others focused on relations between the Speaker and the President.
But I had to keep asking myself, why is the Speaker, who, depending on whom you asked earlier that afternoon, had been browbeaten by the President, or threatened with being deposed, or otherwise facing a momentous event in his political life, so relaxed, so calm -and what did he have to gain from surrendering to the Palace?
Fine, he actually did the ethical thing, but I have to wonder if his inhibiting himself was the best legal advice. Fine, he gets to keep the Speakership, if the President did have the numbers. He may even think he did the country a favor by heading off the possibility of an impeachment, and the President maybe, owes him another favor.
But what does he have to gain, politically, from caving in like this?
He has to have something up his sleeve, I kept telling myself as I left the press conference.
But I have to figure out what that could be.
Update 7:58 pm and 9:08 pm Got a report that on radio it was pointed out that there’s a problem with what the Speaker did. The Constitution, according to some lawyers (and Rep. Rufus Rodriguez is apparently already raising hell about it on the floor of the House as I write this), does not give the Speaker any discretion.
The Speaker, and only the Speaker, must do the referral. He cannot delegate it, he cannot inhibit himself, it can only be the Speaker and no one else. So goes the argument.
I asked some lawyers and they concur: when the Constitution is clear and specific, and cites no exceptions, then it must be done in the manner and by whom the Constitution says. One lawyer gave a Solomonic answer: is the Speaker the only person who can refer the complaint, and if the Speaker didn’t, is there a justiciable case?
Here are their various answers:
Yes, based on the constitution [article XI. section 3.[2] and the rules of the house on impeachment [section 3. Rule 3.]. But note section 14 [h.] of the Rules of the House. authorizing the speaker to designate a member as tempo presiding officer. after informing the deputy speakers in case he/she temporarily unable to do so.
Yes the supreme court can resolve it. Note Francisco vs. House of Rep case in 2003, supreme court ruled that the power of judicial review includes power of review over justiciable issues in impeachment proceedings.
Yes. Its really a subject of justiciable review, based on Francisco decision. In this case any person may initiate it as a taxpayer suit or have a congressman question it in SC…
I think it is a jusiticable controversy but i doubt referral can be described as defective [cuz] SC will look at the House Rules in addition to the constitution. SC will try to harmonize house rules and charter and i think if they do so, they will rule this referral valid.
Because the constitution does not envision situations where speaker is unable to perform and so SC will take a look at house rules and see if speaker did the right thing. if under house rules, speaker did the right procedure, then SC will rule referral valid.Nature abhors a vacuum, the house rules filled up that vacuum.
Better question is: Can a constitutional duty be delegated? Its like the prez asking somebody to deliver SONA.
But you know justice committee can also order amendment of complaint but that’s a stretch.
So those are the contending views. But if it’s true that a legal wrinkle exists….
It’s a possibility too delicious for words.
JDV: “But Madam President, I did what you told me…”
del Mar: “But Madam, I did what you and the Speaker told me…”
Defensor: “But Madam, I did what you and the Speaker and del Mar told me….”
Everyone’s ass is covered except the one who was supposed to benefit from the inoculation!
More from Uniffors and from Ellen Tordesillas.
Technorati Tags: constitution, House of Representatives, impeachment, philippines, politics, president
“unless she is given absolute powers, she should not be put to the “command responsibility†standard, i think.”
Bencard, I don’t know much about policies regarding government employees, maybe its a lot different from where I come from. From experience, in my fromer company, our President resigned because the EVP/GM, who happened to be his protege, was embroiled in bribery, malversation of funds, and several money related issues. Several other key executives close to the EVP also resigned. This president was even a good one and I believe had nothing to do with all these issues. There was not even a need for a legal process. The way I see it, if you occupy a position of critical responsibility, any hint of impropriety is not tolerated. You may fight it out with high paying lawyers to legally show that you’re innocent but in the end its a matter of again, honor or “delicadeza” in our context. You ask your stakeholders point blank if they still have confidence in you and if the answer is “no” by all means SCRAM.
The “gullible electorate” that you were referring to includes ME and if you voted, you too, and if ever there was such a thing as REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLING, you’d see that the electorate is a fairly accurate representation of the Filipino people so “voila!” if you insult this group you are insulting the whole.
Ramrod, command responsibility like delicadeza (as mentioned by Manolo above) is an informal code. In healthier organizations (like your company), these codes are what allows the system to continue working. In healthier political systems (like in democratic Japan), we have seen the recent resignation of their Prime Minister on the same principle of command responsibility. Over here, lawyers and GMA supporters like Bencard would have us believe that the only valid code is the legal code (or that the legal code trumps all other codes). Given the complexity of modern societies, that’s no longer the case. Of course, in a society where the law serves those who have power, this is a convenient arrangement.
BTW, i don’t think ‘Karah’ and ‘Bibeth’ ever left.
“all these ideas would require a government restructuring that would necessitate a major revision to our existing constitution. it’s an uphill battle.”
Who would you think will be the first people we will need to remove in this restructuring as it will most definitely come to that – organizational restructuring? Let me guess, all the opposition, retain GMA and company, this way we will have an unhampered STRONG REPUBLIC.
cvj,
I knew there was something strange about those two new names, very much related to each other, very cohesive, with a consistently singular position (consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds). Witty and cute in a BIPOLAR kind of way…
cvj,
Manolo posted a very interesting topic “The Strangest Dictator” check it out. I believe this is very relevant in the search for leaders and I had this weird impression that Quezon has several similarities with Lee Kuan Yew. You would know better how to frame it.
“a gullible and pushover “let’s move on crowd†to thank for it.dark pitt”
There are always people on the wrong side of history or always on the “winning side” .lol
Example:”Ronaldo Puno is arguably one of the most successful campaign managers in Philippine politics. He supported the presidential bids of eventual winners:Ferdinand Marcos, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.”
Example:â€ÂRonaldo Puno is arguably one of the most successful campaign managers in Philippine politics. He supported the presidential bids of eventual winners:Ferdinand Marcos, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.â€Â
MAV, this Ronaldo Puno guy is my new idol, I’m a born again christian and you know what we do with idols.
Ramrod, i think Quezon was similar to Lee Kuan Yew in his belief in a one-party government (which he terms as ‘no-party’ goverment. As per Marquardt:
He was different from LKY in that he believed in democratic deliberation:
In Singapore, they have ‘Out of Bounds’ (OB) markers that cover political expression. Also, if Quezon were anything like LKY, then Manolo would now be President (or President-in-waiting)instead of earning a living by being a journalist/teacher/historian and blogger. If anything, maybe Quezon was more like Mahathir (although Osmena had it better than Anwar).
Ni hao ma cvj
No sign yet of our bipolar friends
“this Ronaldo Puno guy is my new idol, I’m a born again christian and you know what we do with idols.ramrod”
He knows something we don’t know about winning elections.Nest time we should join his election seminars in sulo hotel”How to surely win elections in the Philippines at any cost!”
I believe the problems of our country will continue beyond GMA and it started before GMA’s presidency. To be fair, we cannot blame GMA for all the problems we have today but we can criticize her for some of the problems mainly because she is on the “driver’s seat”.If she is not involved in any malfeasance or misfeasance then she should do everything possible within the ambit of her constitutional powers to stop it. I think this is where the bulk of the criticisms and flak against GMA should be focused, her nonfeasance to say the least.
On the other hand, we should always be circumspect, objective and fair about our criticisms against GMA or any president for that matter. A lot of our problems will outlive GMA’s presidency and who knows how many presidents more. I hope we will not metamorphosed into a “hate all presidents” (as eng mentioned).
I think GMA knows that criticisms comes with the territory ( though it is excessively abused by a lot of people). I hope she had not forgotten that she is “on the driver’s seat”.
President Harry S. Truman kept a sign on his desk that read, “The buck stops here.â€Â
Ramrod, ni hao ma. They must be exhausted defending the indefensible. Regarding ‘dictators’, i have no issue against ‘strong’ leaders, but i believe that allowing deliberation and opposition is a sign of strength. The problem is, many seem to believe that fear of opposition is a sign of strength rather than insecurity.
ramrod:Enjoy what’s left of the weekend!
ps:what’s your blog site all about?lol
cvj:. Ni hao ! Frankly we don’t have a political opposition in this country(i.e,no principled opposition).It’s not like Republicans versus Democrats or Labour versus Conservatives.
What we have is always the “INs versus the OUTs”!
What’s the difference of GMA/Enrile/Defensor Santiago/Puno
versus Villar/Cayetano/Madrigal/Lacson?
Answer:Nada!
WE ,the people, are the opposition!
MAV,
I don’t have a blog site, thats my company’s website in the meantime. I’m what you call technology impaired, I’ve been trying to make my own blogsite and so far I haven’t been successful. But you know, like many gullible Filipinos, I keep trying…
MAV, very true.
This could very well be our song now!
Les Miserables
Do You Hear The People Sing
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!!
All
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of France!
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes
bencard, justice in waiting,
:”annual automatic appropriation for each province for local projects that have economic impact, in amounts in proportion to its POPULATION REGARDLESS of its aggregate income”
1)”to eliminate the pork barrel system”
2)”to equitably distribute government funds”
Your proposed allotment scheme complements suggestions to abolish the lower house of congress or to devolve its functions to lgu’s where representatives of city and provincial councils who shall take over the district representatives’ legislative functions shall hold offices in the lgu’s and shall be called to congress (batasan) only as needed. The pork barrel system thereby is also rendered not applicable. In place of that is a more equitable scheme as you proposed that also supplements the Internal Revenue Allotment that is revenue based.
Thanks
“WE ,the people, are the opposition!”
The way I see it, the senatorial elections was our way of showing distrust for the current administration. It appears that GMA’s endorsement has become a “kiss of death.”
Come to think of it, how many people exactly voted for the opposition candidates? This same number could trump any move for this administration to hold on to power via the ballot if ever.
Mav, what do we have about Villar? So far I heard he came from the masa, a self-made man, doesn’t look like a trapo.
cvj, actually Quezon achieved more than what was mentioned in the essay, in the book “Closer than Brothers” Al Mcoy mentioned that he prevented the landed Oligarchs from playing a role in the establishment of the Philippine military a big difference from the time of Aguinaldo (a major step in the right direction even at the time).
In terms of freedom of speech, “he allowed his critics to attack his personal honesty, private morals, and government record with absolute impunity.”
As for independence of the judiciary “the SC always had the power to declare any of his “pet laws” unconstitutional.”
If things will work according to plan, I think GMA will not have a problem regarding the “betrayal of public trust” contained in the recently initiated impeachment complaint at least for one year. I think her problem is the “erosion of public trust” .
qwert,
Petite GMA has so many big problems “erosion of public trust” had been one of them since 2001. It’s not eroded it had collpased at -11%, that’s 11 below 0. so what’s there to erode?
ramrod:
Right after the elections,Villar,Cayetano,Escudero and Jinggoy aligned with administration senators to form the “majority bloc”.As a result,Enrile,Santiago,Gordon and Angara retained their key committee chairmanships.
Villar and company virtually ignored the will of the people to have an opposition-controlled Senate.
“To be fair, we cannot blame GMA for all the problems we have today but we can criticize her for some of the problems mainly because she is on the “driver’s seat qwert
qwert, being in the driver seat is a Big Responsibility. you will be responsible bringing your passengers to their destination safely and without untoward incidents along the way. Of course having more than 80 millions passengers is kind of hard and some others will complain even the way a driver moves her hands, but also she can not play favourites among her passengers like someone extorting from others, stealing other passengers baggages and some even disappearing along the journey (the political killings and the disappearance).
And since it is usually a long journey, with the driver on the wheels for at least 6 years, the food should also be preserved and fairly shared among the passengers. But in this case our President is obviously giving more of the provisions to her Generals, to her Cronies, and the very people who made her the driver, like that SC chief who is now on diplomatic mission even over the age and if you are also aware, there are a lot of her relatives, like his brother in law iggy,(was he the jose pidal?) who is now a very wealthy man while hopping along in a matter of few years. And God knows how many more, like Abalos who was alleged to have made a lot in all the deals he had brokered and up to this day, she won’t not even dare kick them out of her “Bus”.
And as Taxpayers and as passengers in the Journey we can not only critisize the driver, but also make sure that she does her job “constitutionally” (even though there are doubts if she has the job constitutionally in the first place) and if not to ask her to hand it to her assitant, and if refused, then go to the process of removing her, and that could have been impeachment, but now we know how she loves her job that again she is going to use all the money collected from her passengers and the power of the men and women who befitted on the ‘Trip”…and the power of the men and women who befitted on the ‘Trip”…to buy her way of staying on the job even maybe beyond her contract of up to 2010.
motivational song for the hate gma club:
(woman from la palacio)
To unseat the impeachable girl
To fight the unbeatable gal
To collude with the desperate reddies
To run where the rats dare not go
To allege the unfounded hearsays
To chat like the dogs that you are
To try yet you falter like each time
To reach the unreachable quest
That is your quest
To unseat GMA
No matter how hopeless
No matter how nil
To fight for yourselves
Without question or pause
To be willing to march to hell
Then off you go
And you know if you’ll only be true
To this futile quest
That you all got it wrong this time
When you’re laid to rest
And the world would better for this
That you first, find basis and grounds
Still strove with your dead-end assumptions
To unseat the unseatable gallllllllllllllll
mav,
We were on this track about search for national leaders a couple of threads back, I was leading towards a formula that could provide a refreshing change in the way of national leadership.
ramrod, Villar so far ok,
got to go, be back soon
tillilling:nice song !
Hija,the problem is that angry people don’t sing that kind of song.
“We were on this track about search for national leaders a couple of threads back, I was leading towards a formula that could provide a refreshing change in the way of national leadership.
ramrod, Villar so far ok,
got to go, be back soon” pete
any news if villar already paid some billion pesoses he loaned from the gsis at the behest of then pres. erap?
Ramrod:I think Roxas is the most promising for 2010(provided he has “spine”).
“Hija,the problem is that angry people don’t sing that kind of song.” mav
a mellow motivational song.
engeng is also composing a new version for the itaktak mo song. you just wait.
Hija: try singing “Do you hear the people sing?from Les Miserables.
Heard that GMA had a wry face when she heard that song in Broadway.
That’s the the song of angry people who are sick and tired of the lies,the bribes,the scandals!
justice in waiting,
To use our metaphor,I hope we will have the courage and resolve of a Rosa Parks.
Bayan Ko
(updated version)
Ang bayan kong Pilipinas
Lupain ng ginto’t bulaklak
Pag-ibig ang sa kanyang palad
Nag-alay ng ganda’t dilag.
At sa kanyang yumi at ganda
SI GLORIA ay nahalina
Bayan ko, binihag NIYA
nasadlak sa dusa.
Ibon mang may layang lumipad
Kulungin mo at umiiyak
Bayan pa kayang sakdal dilag
Ang di magnasang makaalpas!
Pilipinas kong minumutya
Pugad ng luha ko’t dalita
Aking adhika,
Makita kang sakdal laya
“Hija: try singing “Do you hear the people sing?from Les Miserables.
Heard that GMA had a wry face when she heard that song in Broadway.
That’s the the song of angry people who are sick and tired of the lies,the bribes,the scandals!” mav
i won’t count on the i heard thing because that’s tsismis. not unless a person who was there saw the face then maybe i’d believe that.
out of the 85million people, how many do you think are angry?
qwert:I think Trillanes has that kind of courage,resolve and the intelligence.His stay in prison will help shape his leadership character.
Nelson Mandela spent 28 years at Robben Island Prison,before becoming the first black president of South Africa. Ironically he was first viewed as a ‘terrorist” by the “apartheid”government.
“out of the 85million people, how many do you think are angry?”
I can tell you who are NOT angry:
1)the Pidal couple
2)Daddy Chair
3)Mr.Esperon
4)Ronnie Puno
5)Miriam Defensor Santiago
6)Juan Ponce Enrile
7)Ed Angara
8)Joker Arroyo
9)Dick Gordon
10)Lolo Gonzales
Hija:in you heart of hearts,do you believe people are happy with GMA?
“I can tell you who are NOT angry:
1)the Pidal couple
2)Daddy Chair
3)Mr.Esperon
4)Ronnie Puno
5)Miriam Defensor Santiago
6)Juan Ponce Enrile
7)Ed Angara
8)Joker Arroyo
9)Dick Gordon
10)Lolo Gonzales
Hija:in you heart of hearts,do you believe people are happy with GMA?” mav
i can only speak for myself. i can’t speak for other people because they have their own take on things. what i know is that gma has her own flaws and has her own achievements.
the question is, can you speak for people other than yourself on the gma issue?
hija:what do you think of the SWS approval ratings on GMA?
Tililing, i recommend you check out Randy David’s column in the Inquirer. When it comes to the matter of Gloria Arroyo, the Filipino people have achieved political, moral and social closure. What’s left is the question of legal closure which explains your line of defense.
“hija:what do you think of the SWS approval ratings on GMA?” mav
how many respondents from this sws ratings (how many percent of the just the voting population)? how’s the demographics? whole Philippines or manila?
HIJA”Sumadsad ang satisfaction rating ni Pangulong Gloria Macapagal Arroyo sa minus 11, ang sinasabing pinakamababang natamo niya sa taong ito.
Ayon sa Social Weather Station, bumalik sa “negative rating” ang Pangulo sa isinagawa nilang survey mula Setyembre 2 hanggang 5.GMA news TV”
HIJA: are people happy with GMA (minus 11 approval rating)?
Don’t question know the SWS coz the last time she got a positive rating from SWS(way back in 2001) ,she said “Of course,I’m human,I enjoy the approval of the people!”
Titillating,
Snap out of your bipolar condition for a while. At the far end of your condition is a researcher, please take the number of all who voted for the opposition (total) and compute if it constitutes a representative sample of the population, which is 88.05M already by the way. GMA’s career in the Philippine civil service is as kaput as a hooker’s hymen. She should have done something to vindicate herself after the first impeachment attempt, that time she still had the support of key figures in business, military, and gullible people like me. I still believed in her after that even if my mentor JB Santos who was part of the cabinet left her. JB is the only Filipino to become CEO of Nestle Philippines, he is not known to make foolish decisions.
Whats left for us now is damage control (stop this financial hemorrhage) and start looking for new leaders whether in the current set-up or elsewhere.
This mindless, childish, behaviour is counter productive.
“Tililing, i recommend you check out Randy David’s column in the Inquirer. When it comes to the matter of Gloria Arroyo, the Filipino people have achieved political, moral and social closure. What’s left is the question of legal closure which explains your line of defense.” cvj
that’s who you see things. the way i see it, until now, the anti-gma forces cannot gather the necessary warm bodies to oust her may it be in the extra-constitutional way. why?
there’s no political closure yet because no impeachment has prospered and that would address the political way of disabling a president.
when it comes to the moral closure, it’s a personal thing and a case to case basis. again, i can only speak for myself and i can’t speak for others.
on the social closure, i don’t know how is this gauged.
please give me the link on randy david’s article
Tililing, as requested:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=94176
“HIJA: are people happy with GMA (minus 11 approval rating)?
Don’t question know the SWS coz the last time she got a positive rating from SWS(way back in 2001) ,she said “Of course,I’m human,I enjoy the approval of the people!—
i have doubts in surveys because they earn when some personality or some company hire them for survey purposes that would be favorable to the patron. it’s my opinion and i can’t be convinced otherwise.
the way i see it is that, the philippines has 7,107 islands. the challenge is how to really gauge the pulse of the people. manila is not the philippines. ncr is not the philippines. and surveys always are conducted in manila. i don’t question surveys per se, i question how these surveys who have 5000 respondents reflect the sentiments of 40 million or so voters.
Tililing, sent. You’ll see it once Manolo approves.
“that’s who you see things. the way i see it, until now, the anti-gma forces cannot gather the necessary warm bodies to oust her may it be in the extra-constitutional way. why?”
Hija:I was one of the naive people who joined EDSA 2 and helped install a GMA.Mea Culpa.I am paying for my sins.
This is the main reason why I absolutely detest now a “people power”type of change!
So stop making a body count of warm bodies who will oust her in an extra constitutional way.
But you better believe that I am very angry!
“Snap out of your bipolar condition for a while. At the far end of your condition is a researcher, please take the number of all who voted for the opposition (total) and compute if it constitutes a representative sample of the population, which is 88.05M already by the way. GMA’s career in the Philippine civil service is as kaput as a hooker’s hymen. She should have done something to vindicate herself after the first impeachment attempt, that time she still had the support of key figures in business, military, and gullible people like me. I still believed in her after that even if my mentor JB Santos who was part of the cabinet left her. JB is the only Filipino to become CEO of Nestle Philippines, he is not known to make foolish decisions.
Whats left for us now is damage control (stop this financial hemorrhage) and start looking for new leaders whether in the current set-up or elsewhere.
This mindless, childish, behaviour is counter productive.” ramrod
if your line of reasoning that those who voted for the senators (which the opposition won by a big margin against the administration) would reflect support for gma is red herring. it might have an effect but you cannot equate support for different personalities to the support the president enjoys on the whole.
juan santos is his own man. whatever his reasons to leave the cabinet is his decision alone. sorry but i am not a person who would easily believe people whoever he is. we are all equal and i assess things on their own merits not because this argument or that argument comes from who knows who in what sector. why, do you think that juan santos is better than gary teves and his performance as a public servant (especially during his stint in lbp?)
let me give you an example. if you know where balamban, cebu is, gma recently went there to visit the shipyards of tsuneishi and aboitiz (those who make fast crafts). tsuneishi would be expanding their shipyard 60 hectares more and would employ around 2,000 people (translated into 2,000 family beneficiaries). since you come from the business sector, why don’t we gauge foreign investment that translates into jobs (food for people in the table) since the time of aquino until the time of gma, on a yearly basis. up to the challenge?
“Hija:I was one of the naive people who joined EDSA 2 and helped install a GMA.Mea Culpa.I am paying for my sins.
This is the main reason why I absolutely detest now a “people powerâ€Âtype of change!
So stop making a body count of warm bodies who will oust her in an extra constitutional way.
But you better believe that I am very angry!” mav
so how do you want it done this time? impeachment? resign? revolution? democracy is all about the rule of the majority so why can’t i include the numbers game. even you can only vote once. i can only vote once. so? you can only speak for yourself as i can speak for myself as well. don’t count out those other 39,999,998 votes (or so) who have their own take on things.
it’s your right to be angry. who’s stopping you to be angry? btw, what can you do to unseat gma? are you already irritated? that’s more like it.