We so happened to see yesterday a small group of people supporting this presidentiable on the Jones-Colon roads. We were heading home, trying to be as comfortable as possible in our seats inside the jeepney when all of a sudden we heard various voices shouting the name of this candidate while carrying lit torches above their heads. Most who were there were not in the voting age, and we were not surprised to have more of them at the tail of that certain group. They were all wearing ORANGE.
One of the passengers in our jeepney stuck his face out of the wide window and shouted, "Giboooo!"
The rest of us laughed like idiots. Haha!

STANDARD BEARER OF PARTIDO NG MASANG PILIPINO

Joseph "ERAP" Estrada

>became mayor of San Juan for 17 years

>Senator for one term

>Vice-President under Pres. Fidel Ramos

Estrada was elected President in 1998 with a wide margin of votes separating him from the other challengers, and was sworn into the presidency on June 30, 1998. In 2000 he declared an "all-out-war" against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and captured it's headquarters and other camps^[1][2]. However, allegations of corruption spawned an impeachment trial in the Senate, and in 2001 Estrada was ousted from a power grab after former Chief Justice Hilario Davide allowed the prosecution to walked out of the impeachment court when the Senator Judges voted no in the opening of the second envelope which is not part of the impeachment complaint.

In 2007, like Benigno Aquino, he was sentenced by a "special court" to reclusion perpetua for plunder, but was later granted pardon by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Vision:
A democracy that is truly pro-poor.
A country with peace and order.
A government of transparency and accountability.

Platform:

Economic Agenda
Steady economic growth that is felt by the masses
This will be achieved by strengthening the country’s domestic economy, specifically in the field of agriculture, instead of relying on overseas remittances to increase GNP; and by ensuring that the bulk of the budget goes to services that trickle down to the poor, such as social services and education.

National Security Agenda
Ending criminal, insurgent and secessionist movements
His top priority is to bring down crime rates in Metro Manila, especially drug-related activities; end insurgency in the Visayas and other provinces infested with rebels; and end the secessionist movement in Mindanao.

Social Agenda

Alleviating poverty and hunger by achieving food security and ensuring that government’s economic gains are directed to truly benefit the poor

1. Correct budget prioritization.

2. Strengthening the agricultural industry

Governance Policy
ENDING GRAFT AND CORRUPTION
Achieving transparency and accountability in government

Fiscal Policy
BALANCING THE BUDGET
Gaining investor confidence through peace and order and good governance

>increase private sector participation in government procurement by the creation of an Economic Coordinating Council that will review all bids for government projects

> Other measures to increase revenues will include an overhaul of the tax system in order to increase tax collection, as well as increasing the collection of trade taxes by ending smuggling

Agricultural Agenda

Achieving food security and economic stability by strengthening the agricultural sector

1. Agrikulturang Makamasa.

2. Implementation of the Agri-Agra Law through ERAP Bonds

3. Implementation of the Irrigation Law.

Educational Agenda

Investing in our children’s future

1. Prioritize education in the budget, as mandated in the Constitution

2. Invest in zero-to-five early childhood education.

An Estrada-Binay Administration will invest in early childhood education by mandating and supporting day care centers into incorporating kindergarten and pre-school education in their programs

3. Achieve Universal Primary Education by 2015

This means all children will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling or basic elementary education by 2015. This will be achieved by increasing the budget for basic education and fulfilling the mandate of the Constitution to prioritize education in the national budget. Indigent parents will also be given incentives to send their children to school at least from Grades 1 to 4 through a conditional cash transfer program.

4. Assist Out-of-School Youth

5. Make college affordable for everyone
An Estrada Administration will streamline the onerous financial aid application process that discourages students from getting aid for college. An Estrada-Binay Administration will increase the number of government scholarships.

6. Improve the quality of elementary, high school and college education

7. Encourage teachers to stay in the Philippines instead of work abroad
An Estrada Administration will give teachers incentives to stay in the Philippines instead of moving abroad for better paying jobs by (1) increasing teachers’ salaries and (2) increasing teachers’ benefits.

Labor Agenda

Preventing the Mass Exodus of Workers

Increasing Wages and Workers’ Benefits

Protecting and Promoting OFWs

1. Ensuring that they get the best benefits and proper protection against abuse abroad

2. Minimizing the social cost borne by separation from their families.

3. Encouraging their return. All efforts will be made to encourage OFWs to return, including:
(1) Giving them incentives to invest their money here.
(2) Creating a commission to study how best to achieve OFWs when they return home

Transportation Agenda

INFRASTRUCTURE: CONNECTING THE COUNTRY BY LAND

Energy Regulation

Addressing the Power Crisis within the First 100 Days

He will take all measures and harness all possible sources of power to meet the necessary megawatt requirements, including power barges and the expansion of the capacity of existing generating plants, in order to end the power crisis within the first year of his administration. As a long-term solution, an Estrada Administration will develop both nuclear (within the bounds allowed by the Constitution) and geothermal energy

Becoming the Leader in Geothermal Power in Asia

Foreign Policy

>strengthen the role of the Philippines as an advocate for democracy and human rights in Asia

>negotiate carefully with other international claimants to various land and water territories of the Republic of the Philippines in the South China Sea while fighting for Philippine territorial integrity

>strengthen ties, such as China

>strengthen relations with receiver countries of the Philippines’ millions of overseas foreign workers

>maintain the Philippines strong relations with international giants such as the United States but will not compromise on matters that involve the nation’s territorial integrity

>join the effort of the global community to fight climate change and promote bioenergy and agriculture

Human Rights Agenda

An Estrada Administration will dismantle all private armies

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Estrada
http://erap.ph/409/platform/
joseph-estrada.politicalarena.com/


First question:
Does it sound right if we have an ex-convict president?
Second question:
Has he really proven his worth after all those mess he did in the past?
Third question:
Is he really going to address corruption? Why didn't he do that before?
Fourth question:
Is he really fit to run for presidency?
Fifth question:
IS HE even sure of his and his colleagues' credibility if they'll be called for Office?
Sixth question:
Just How is he going to do all those things? Is he a man of action, or a man of empty words?

Answer me these. And if you can...

Nah. My mind's set.
teehee...

STANDARD BEARER OF ANG KAPATIRAN

Councilor John Carlos "JC" de los Reyes

-the presidential candidate of the Ang Kapatiran Party for the 2010 Philippine presidential election

Spiritual Dimension

Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Moral Dimension

1. Build a nation of character and promote the integral development and total well-being of all Filipinos through values formation
2. Discourage the glorification of sex and violence, pornography, dishonesty, vice, materialism and hedonism, and replace them with structures of virtue, peace,
3. responsibility and achievement.
4. Abolish all forms of gambling.
5. Abolish the death penalty.
6. End the use of torture.
7. End violence in school fraternities and other institutions, and regulate sports whose main aim is to inflict physical harm or violence on the opponent.
8. Actively promote responsible parenthood and natural family planning.
9. Encourage media to foster values that contribute to the formation of a national commitment that is maka-Diyos, maka-buhay, maka-bayan, at maka-tao .

Social Dimension

1. Consistently promote the culture of life, peace, active nonviolence and progressive disarmament.
2. Declare as contrary to public policy, public morals, public interest, good customs and the common good: the glorification of the culture of death and violence in movies, television, videograms, radio, print media, billboards, posters, and the exhibition and sale of guns and the posting of pro-gun stickers in public places.

Multidimensional Approach to Peace and Order

1. Make it a criminal offense for anyone except police officers or soldiers and licensed private security guards in uniform and on duty, to carry firearms or any other weapons in public places.
2. Increase the penalty for illegal possession of firearms or violation of any firearms law to reclusion temporal (12 to 20 years without parole or pardon). Impose perpetual disqualification to hold public office on violators who are public officials.
3. Disallow the obscuring of the windows of motor vehicles. (This makes sense in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling that vehicles should not be searched nor occupants subjected to bodily search.)
4. Ban the exhibit and/or sale of firearms and ammunition in malls and other public places.
5. Ban the manufacture, importation or sale of toy guns, air guns or replicas of guns.
6. Ban the export of firearms.
7. Ban the import of guns except high-powered guns for use by the police and the military.
8. Legalize and place under tight government control the local production and sale of firearms for use by the police and military as well as the civilians for sports and home protection. Manufacture and sale of firearms without authorization of the government shall be punishable with the same penalty for illegal possession of firearms as provided in No. 13 above.
9. Require applicants for firearm permits to show to the authorities that he/she has a gun safety deposit box at home approved by the police.
10. Mandate the periodic inventory, decommissioning and melting down of all confiscated guns for conversion into man-hole covers and other useful instruments.
11. Give financial rewards to those who take advantage of the general amnesty whereby individuals may voluntarily surrender unlicensed firearms with no questions asked and without incurring any criminal or civil liability. No other form of amnesty shall be allowed.
12. Impose the same penalty for illegal possession of firearms on anyone found guilty of “planting evidence” to incriminate others.
13. Formulate and implement a no-nonsense national strategy to eliminate the manufacture, distribution, trafficking, transshipment, sale and use of all illegal drugs.

Source: wikipedia.com
http://www.eleksyon.co.cc/jc-de-los-reyes-platform/
http://www.angkapatiranparty.com/



I can see clearly that most of his measures are his responses towards the horrendous and abhorrent Maguindanao massacre last November. It's a relief that somehow someone's addressing that amidst the uproar of the Filipinos when the Supreme Court chose to close down the case. Where's justice now? Is this what they call Filipino justice? Is this the way our country defines justice?
But in his plans one could see flaws there... just HOW is he going to do these things?
That's the most definitive question of all.
I hope he'll be able to answer that once he's in the Office.

After days of having our computer blasted out of its hinges (just kidding. I meant busted), I finally had a chance of blogging through another computer...! Yes!
But I can't stay long now, coz I'll have things figured out first.
My next blog will be about our second presidential candidate JC De Los Reyes of Ang Kapatiran party.
Just hang on... I'll be doing my assignment in the coming days. :)

I discovered quite a lot from Blogger. I'll be doing experiments in my site in the coming days... for the BETTER, yeah.
I'm excited to make changes myself.
Yep, METAMORPHOSIS isn't over yet. :)

Now that the election day is looming, I'll take the, erm, pleasure in examining each presidential candidate and share them with you. This is not an easy task. This takes a lot of research, a lot of time, and a lot of effort to talk about people who cannot buy my vote. ahahahah!
But may these little summaries help you in your decision for such a highly position in the government; may these not wander you to a confusing realm, but into a world of critical clarity not just for this coming May 10, but also for the future of our beloved country, Philippines. :)

PS: I'm having these summaries in alphabetical order, not in a manner of personal choice.

STANDARD BEARER OF THE LIBERAL PARTY
NOYNOY AQUINO

Yellow Man

Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino III was born on February 8, 1960 . Aquino studied in Ateneo de Manila University for his elementary, high school, and college education, graduating in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. After college, he joined his family in Boston in exile.
From 1986 to 1993, Aquino was vice president and treasurer for Best Security Agency Corporation, a firm owned by his uncle Anolin Oreta. He went to work for the Central Azucarera de Tarlac in 1993, the sugar refinery owned by the Cojuangco clan. He started out as an executive assistant for administration, before becoming field services manager in 1996. Aquino was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998, representing the 2nd District of Tarlac.
Aquino was elected to the Senate in the May 14, 2007 midterm elections under the banner of the Genuine Opposition (GO), a coalition comprising a number of parties, including his own Liberal Party, seeking curb attempts by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to amend the Constitution. He assumed his new office on June 30, 2007.

And yeah, now he's running for presidency.

I've been searching for songs to be downloaded. I guess I'm trying to cram songs into my head to make up for those months of less music. *laugh*

MUSIC MAKES ME FEEL ALIVE...
CONNECTING ME TO THE WORLD...
WITH A VOICE OF WONDER AND LIFE.
:)

Oh it's a cacophony of musical notes if I don't sort these in my head.
Let's get down to business, since a garrulous blog won't do it in.
Ha.

I like this song:

Oklahoma
by Billy Gilman

Suitcase packed with all his things
Car pulls up, the doorbell rings
He don't want to go
He thought he'd found his home
But with circumstances he can't change
Waves goodbye as they pull away
From the life he's known
For the last seven months or so

She said we found the man who looks like you
Who cried and said he never knew
About the boy in pictures that we showed him
A rambler in his younger days
He knew he made a few mistakes
But he swore he would have been there
Had he known it
Son we think we found your dad in Oklahoma

A million thoughts raced through his mind
What's his name, what's he like and will he be
Anything like the man in his dreams
She could see the questions in his eyes
Whispered "don't be scared my child
I'll let you know, what we know

About the man we found, he looks like you
And cried and said he never knew
About the boy in pictures that we showed him
A rambler in his younger days He knew he'd made a few mistakes
But he swore he would've been there Had he known it
You always said that this was something that you wanted
Son it's time to meet your Dad in Oklahoma

One last turn he held his breath
'Til they reached the fifth house on the left
And all at once the tears came rolling in
And as they pulled into the drive
A man was waiting there outside
Who wiped the worry from his eyes Smiled and took his hand

And he said I'm the man who looks like you
Who cried because I never knew
About that boy in pictures that they showed me
A rambler in my younger days I knew I made a few mistakes
But I swear I would have been there had I known it
Never again will you ever be alone
Son welcome to your home in Oklahoma

Just listen to it. You'll love his voice. :)
Well, his song has meat, has meaning.
It's a story in itself.
I've been looking for songs like this, songs that have stories..
not songs of noisy and loud nature.
well, i guess it goes with the likes of a personality.
:)

i just watched the Presidential Forum that took place in La Salle University. Ted Failon was the host of the said event. For the first part of the forum, each candidate was given two minutes to answer and defend themselves from the scorching questions that were thrown to them.
Shucks, I'd like to say so much about the forum... it was so interesting. Why? It's a battle of BRAINS, of GUTS, of VISION.

oh yeah.

They'll be representing our country. We have to know who they are.

It's high time we know what these candidates stand for.


I'd talk about them in the coming days. Piece by piece. One by one.


YOUTH, we are wiser and better.
We should vote for the one who's best for the position, the one with a S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound) VISION and a DETERMINED MISSION for our nation.

VOTE WISELY!

THIS IS the OFFICIAL LIST OF PRESIDENTIABLES:

1. Benigno Aquino (Liberal Party)
2. JC De Los Reyes (Ang Kapatiran)
3. Joseph Estrada (UNO-PMP)
4. Richard Gordon (Bagumbayan)
5. Jamby Madrigal (Independent)
6. Gilbert Teodoro (Lakas-Kampi-CMD)
7. Manny Villar (Nacionalista Party)
8. Bro. Eddie Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas)