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One thing’s for certain. Susan Roces, wife of Fernando Poe, Jr., displayed one qualification of a First Lady: she can shed tears before TV cameras at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, I can’t help believe that that’s just one ploy of the smoke and mirrors campaign launched by FPJ’s handlers.

So far there’s nothing real about FPJ except for his last name. The Fernando and Junior are fictitious. Even wife Susan carries a fictitious last name. Sure, these are screen names it can be argued, but they’re still fictitious.

Popular? Not a chance! Surveys continue to show FPJ a far fourth in ranking even with the question, “If elections were held today and these were the candidates running (including “Da King”), who would you elect?” Survey respondents represented all walks of life.

FPJ’s reasons for running may be true: “I’m sincere, dedicated and I love my country.” But a majority of Filipinos can themselves lay claim to these. To make these seem as belonging only to FPJ and reasons enough to make a good president is akin to a magician using smoke and mirrors. Or the Wachowski brothers employing special effects to make Keanu Reeves look invincible.

Indeed, when you have a candidate who has no qualifications and who has been pressured to run, a lot of special effects are needed. So it’s not only an actor who is being brought into politics, it’s a whole movie outfit led by producers Tito Sotto and Ed Angara. Even their claim that FPJ can unify the nation is unreal; it can’t even begin to belie their obvious thirst for power. They tasted it with Joseph Estrada. Then they lost it. Now they want it back with “Da King.”

The thing is, I doubt very much FPJ really knows what he’s getting into. It’s almost as if he was told, “Just announce your candidacy and we’ll go on from there.”

I can only wonder how, if FPJ gets elected, he’s going to fare in an APEC meeting where he’ll be all alone to face other world leaders. His handlers won’t be able to bring special effects there. He won’t be able to hide behind dark sunglasses either.

The presidency is not just about alleviating poverty as the masses are made to believe or focus on. It’s also about me. It’s about every Filipino rich and poor. It’s about the Philippines as Filipinos look at themselves and as the world looks at the Filipino. It’s about effective, inspiring, KNOWLEDGEABLE and gutsy leadership that can move every Filipino to do and be the best he can be.

The fact that Ronald Allen Poe aka FPJ can succumb to the likes of Sotto and Angara already tells me he can’t be that leader.

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It’s official. Action movie king Fernando Poe, Jr. has publicly announced his candidacy for President of the Republic of the Philippines.

Don’t count him out yet as an ineffective leader just because he’s a high school drop-out. Let’s take a look at his qualifications:

1. Aaaahhhh…
2. Hmmmmm…
3. Unghhhhhh…
4. Duuuhhhhh…

Okay, let’s not tak a look at his qualifications just yet. His image builders will come up with them soon.

Who are FPJ’s top supporters? Senators Tito Sotto and Ed Angara. The former’s a joke, the latter’s a has-been. Both were staunch supporters of that other actor, Joseph Estrada. Both are lusting after power. They don’t have presidentiable drawing power, so they’ll use someone who has and it doesn’t matter if he’s unqualified. In fact, the more unqualified, the easier to manipulate.

FPJ will go down in history as not only the Action King, but the Puppet King.

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Politicking. As usual.

She made public that she was allowing former President Joseph Estrada to seek medical treatment in the US. It is no secret she’s been trying to woo Estrada’s mass-based supporters. So it’s extremely difficult to believe her latest sound byte was motivated by compassion.

Yet, in signifying her permission to allow Estrada to leave, she’s implying two things:

1. She can control the Sandiganbayan, a supposedly independent branch of the judiciary solely authorized to grant travels to those with pending court cases.
2. She doesn’t care about justice but only winning the election.

At present, Mrs. Arroyo can’t even curb the rising cases of kidnapping. It’s either her top cops are incompetent or in cahoots with the criminals. Along with bank robberies, kidnapping is a lucrative fund raiser for electionists. Perhaps she shouldn’t look too far in weeding out the perpetrators.

Nor should she turn a blind eye to possible suspects in her own party, just as she turns a blind eye to justice by allowing Estrada to leave.

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Recently, President Gloria Arroyo publicly suggested complete reconciliation with and among her political foes. It would have sounded grand and magnanimous if it weren’t for two indisputable points.

One, it’s too near the elections for it to sound sincere. GMA has a propensity for shifting all too quickly to wherever the political winds blow. She projected a hands-off attitude when Congress, her party holding majority seats, impeached the much respected Chief Justice Hilario Davide. Then she made a high-profile visit to a Mass for him after much of the nation protested against the impeachment.

A sound-off on reconciliation from her comes out like a whimpering election pitch.

Two, reconciliation is puny without the strength of justice. It isn’t surprising that the Marcoses were all gung-ho about the reconciliation offer. A forgive-and-forget will let them keep the millions they stole without fear (actually for them more of a nuisance) of prosecution.

Incidentally, Imelda (of a Thousand Shoes) was all theatrically maudlin after being threatened with arrest on her return to the Philippines. The Justice Department had given her a month’s travel permit (she has pending criminal cases) to Europe for medical reasons, which she extended by two more weeks.

Before TV cameras and in between sobs that could put Kris Aquino to shame, she intoned, “How cruel can this government be!”

Egzkyuze me, Meldy! But weren’t you one-half of a conjugal dictatorship that was responsible for thousands tortured, maimed, missing and killed? Legally prosecuting you for an over-extension is eating cotton candy in Rizal park compared to your Martial Law persecutions.

If GMA wants to reconcile with the Marcoses, it has to be done after trying them in court, along with Danding Cojuangco, Ping Lacson and Joseph Estrada. For reconciliation with these scalawags without justice for the Filipino will be tantamount to treason.

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I caught a glimpse of TV network ABS-CBN’s televised anniversary concert last week. I tuned in just as they were honoring venerable comedian, Dolphy. And who did the honoring?

The very funny trio: Tito, Vic and Joey. They were brought together again for this particular occasion. They’re no longer a trio now because one of them, Tito Sotto, left to pursue a comic role in a much funnier medium: The Philippine Senate.

As senator, Sotto tried desperately to look like a hotshot lawyer in the impeachment trial of then President Joseph Estrada. Alas, he managed instead to look even funnier than his alter-ego in Tito, Vic and Joey.

Now, it’s Sotto who’s falling all over himself to get another actor, Fernando Poe, Jr., who didn’t even finish high school, to run for President. Asked by a journalist if this isn’t confusing the opposition on who their standard bearer should be, Sotto’s answer: “We’re not confused. We’re the ones determined.”

Of course this means that those in the opposition batting for a more qualified candidate are the ones confused.

Who needs Joey and Vic when Tito can be hilarious all on his own?

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Let’s for one moment presume Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. is guilty of misusing the Judiciary Development Fund. Who should have blown the whistle on him?

According to law, the Commission of Audit should have been the one. Yet, the COA has already released a report that it saw no anomaly. Furthermore, the disbursement of the JDF was created by law to be under the sole discretion of the Chief Justice. Technically, Congress has no business whatsoever with it.

In spite of the sweeping powers of the Chief Justice over the JDF, Davide never exercised this power and always sought an en banc decision of its use.

Secondly, if Davide is guilty of corruption, Congress simply cannot impeach him for the second time in less than a year according to the law. They cannot impeach him and then try to interpret the law later. Besides, the only body that can interpret the law is the Supreme Court. Several justices and lawyer groups have already made it clear Congress violated the law in impeaching Davide for the second time in less than a year.

Thus, a number of lawyer groups have filed petitions before the SC for a Temporary Restraining Order on Congress. Rather than be seen too callous, the SC carefully worded its TRO to Congress as “maintain the status quo.” Unfortunately, the instigators of the impeachment threw temper tantrums and accused the SC of meddling in the affairs of Congress.

This puzzled the general public as the order to maintain the status quo gave a reprieve to this broiling crisis. Yet, looking at the impeachment instigators closely, we’ll understand why they threw temper tantrums.

Putting it simply, they’re rich kids who became representatives (what an irony!) through their money and influence. Used to getting what they want, they won’t listen to reason and instead try to get the impeachment to the Senate by all means possible. Backed up by the biggest crook in the land with all the Martial Law-acquired moolah to spare, they’ll ram the impeachment down all of our throats!

It’s no wonder then the media calls them the Brat Pack. One of the leaders is William Fuentebella, who’s proud to be called by his nickname, “Wimpy.” And, because, the rest of the gang are Danding Cojuangco lackeys, we can also call them, “Wimpy and the Dandingalings!”

Copyright 2003 Philiblogs.com

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Diosdado Macapagal, late President and father of the incumbent, lost his re-election bid to Ferdinand Marcos. He lost by landslide.

His daughter, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is bent on not duplicating that debacle.

First, she allies herself and her party with that of Marcos crony Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco. She’ll be needing his party machinery and dollar moolahs. Danding, who failed in his presidential bid in the last elections, is contented to be king- (or should I say, queen-) maker and will back up Gloria because the opposition has no viable contender.

Secondly, she’s engineering future massive cheating through the Commission on Elections (Comelec). The latest news is that the Comelec has disallowed the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) from conducting its own unofficial count.

When asked by ABS-CBN why Namfrel was being banned, Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos had stated, “Suppose we have different tallies, who will the people believe?” Of course, we all know the answer to that. For years Filipinos have looked to Namfrel for unbiased counting. In coming elections, the all-important one being next May, it will be just the Comelec to tell us who’s winning.

Thirdly, Gloria would need a Supreme Court favorable to her and her party in case of complaints about election irregularities. The independent-minded Hilario Davide would not be of the best interest. Thus, a collusion with Danding, Speaker of the House Jose De Venecia and Congress lap dogs to oust the Chief Justice.

Yet, she did not foresee the public outrage at the impeachment of the Hon. Davide (politicians, in fact, never feel the pulse of the nation). So she tries to save face by publicly supporting the embattled Chief Justice. So does the wheeling-dealing de Venecia. And a number of Congressmen who first signed to impeach, but now have withdrawn their signatures.

At present, talks are underway in Congress on its next move. The Supreme Court, after receiving several petitions from various groups for a temporary restraining order on Congress, has requested the Lower House not to forward the impeachment just yet to the Senate. Congress has reluctantly complied.

My guess is Congress will stand down, withdraw the impeachment and, as much as possible, come out rosy. I wait with bated breath at how they’re going to word their restraint of abusive power.

The good news is, whatever the outcome, Filipinos already know whom not to vote for in the coming elections. It looks like Gloria will follow in her father’s footsteps after all.

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Someone once said that “politics makes strange bedfellows.” For Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco it’s, “I’ll screw you, you screw me and together let’s screw the nation.” There’s a better word than “screw,” but I wouldn’t want to offend the sensibilities of the growing readership of this humble blog.

Gloria and Danding don’t only make strange bedfellows, they make it sleazy as well. Like pornography, this one has its victims and they happen to be the whole Philippine justice system!

It is alleged, and it’s difficult not to believe it, that Gloria and Danding conspired to have Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. impeached. The President dangled court cases against Danding to have him and his party ally with hers. The exchange deal was Justice Davide, with whom Danding has an axe to grind.

Davide is the sacrificial lamb. After risking life and reputation to legitimize Gloria’s assumption to the presidency, he’s no longer needed as Gloria has been virtually endorsed as supreme leader by the visit of George W. Bush and the Philippines’ inclusion into the UN Security Council.

“Santa Barbara!,” as my uncle would exclaim in moments of incredulity. The thing is, it’s again the ugly traditional politician mentality that Filipinos are stupid and can be fooled.

Not anymore. That’s exactly the reason why Joseph Estrada was ousted and Gloria entrusted with leadership. Now she’s out to screw the nation by shoving it up the Supreme Court, the last bastion of democracy in this topsy-turvy nation we call the Philippines. And against Davide, a soft-spoken man even when he’s angry.

In a televised interview he called the impeachment plotters in Congress “evil.” That’s an understatement. They’re an orgy of nation wreckers under the direction of the power-lusting duo of Gloria and Danding. They should be booted out of Congress next election … that is if we would still have a Congress.

The Philippines just might drown in their sleaze.

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This is how the opposition politicians think: They seek to impeach Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr., one of the most trusted personalities in the public eye, and then want to nominate for the Presidency Fernando Poe, Jr., a popular actor but without any experience or intellect to merit his holding the highest office in the land.

To describe that as stupid would be an understatement. It’s not even political savvy. It’s pure, unadulterated lust for power, the country be damned!

The man behind the impeachment is Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, who has a lot to gain by the ouster of Davide, having a couple of cases under review by the Supreme Court. Yet, more than this, the impeachment is another ploy to embarrass the incumbent President. Cojuangco is a king-maker, a staunch supporter of Joseph Estrada, not because he believes in the unbelievable ex-actor, but because he’s also a puppet master.

He also has a lot of undeclared moolah, which is probably why 88 congressmen suddenly found cause to affix their signatures to impeach the Chief Justice. Some congressmen, however, signified their intent to withdraw their signatures. Perhaps the bidding hasn’t ended yet.

Cojuangco is also behind the move to nominate Poe as standard bearer of the United Opposition. His bedmate in this is Johnny Ponce-Enrile. Both Cojuangco and Enrile benefitted much from their association with the late Ferdinand Marcos. It was rumored that Cojuangco urged Marcos to use violent force to dispel the uprising that was building up on EDSA. Thank heavens Marcos had a conscience.

Enrile, on the other hand, became a hero of that uprising because he defiantly holed up in police headquarters along with Fidel Ramos, which sparked the world-famous “People Power.” In reality, Enrile had no choice because his own grab for power through his lackey, one Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, was discovered.

Watch these two in the coming months and you’ll understand politics Philippine-style. Yet, they are not the problem plaguing the country, neither is it corruption, that favorite scapegoat (now, by the way, the battle cry of another distrustful politico, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson).

The problem lies within the Filipino. On average he’s one smart individual, but yet unable to tame his emotions. They get the better of him. And when you allow cunning snake-charmers such as Cojuangco and Enrile to get into the Filipino’s psyche, that spells disaster.

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George W. Bush was the first US President since Dwight Eisenhower to address a joint session of the Philippine Congress. In 1960, when Eisenhower paid a state visit, he sat in an open sedan while Filipinos lined the streets enthusiastically waving at him with small flags.

George W. Bush, on the other hand, sat in a covered $3 million armored limousine while no one was allowed to line the streets. Instead, police and security forces lined the streets.

——

Congreesmen balked at the suggestion they be frisked first by US Secret Service before they entered Congress. They threatened not to attend at all the session. The secret service reps relented.

The congressmen should have suggested that, if they be frisked, then Congress security should in turn frisk Bush and his entourage.

——

Sen Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, instigator of several failed coups against President Corazon Aquino and now linked with the failed mutiny last July, was wearing a peace pin. Quick, someone come up with an award for sheer hypocrisy!

He criticized the speech of Bush before the joint Congress as a pep talk and suggested the Filipinos wait for the substance. He should know; all he’s been giving Filipinos himself is hot air.

——

Admittedly, however, Honasan’s right. Bush was full of praises for the Filipinos for our “courageous and principled stand” in “supporting and enforcing the serious consequences” brought on Iraq. He then promised aid to the Philippines. As someone wisely said, “Pledges are not money in the bank.”

A commentator was quoted as saying the Americans are always dubious with their promises. I agree. So I and many Filipinos will wait and see if the American President’s deeds are as good as his words.

Otherwise, his speech at the Philippine Congress can be described as one snake talking to a pit-full of other snakes.

——

From the Air Force base where Air Force One landed, President Bush made an unscheduled stop at the US Embassy. Everyone and his dog speculated at the mysterious side trip. My guess? The President wanted to take a leak.

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