05.10

Yay! First time voter! I went at the polling precinct at around 8 in the morning, it was chaos at the San Antonio Vill Poling Precincts and I couldn't find my name on the list of my supposedly precinct. I decided to go home and call COMELEC to confirm my precinct number. I went back at lunch time and as I've thought the line was shorter..but not short enough.

After standing in line for three hours--with the heat, sweat and all--everything was history when I saw "Congratulations! Your vote has been registered." I had She & Him's music to keep my zen. It helped that I have my headset on 'coz I don't have to hear the complaints of the people around me.

I'm trying to be positive but I know my candidate, Richard Gordon, has a slim chance of winning. I really believe in him, and I know he will make a good President. Too bad. But who knows, a miracle might happen. Lol

The worst is yet to come when they start to "count" the votes tonight. Praying for peace and order all over the country. And whoever wins, I pray to God that he (or she, in case its Jamby. Lol) hits the ground running. No time to dilly dally in saving this country's economy! :)

I feel like I'm cheating....

...on Gordon. Lol.

I just feel guilty 'coz I've been saying recently that I might vote for Noynoy just for the fact that he is the lesser of two evil. Between Villar and Noynoy, that is. These two have the winnabilty factor. The election would seem like a Villar vs Aquino game. Gordon has a slim chance of winning albeit being the most competent (I believe) leader. Gibo is also competent, but I'm not quite sure he is ready. And of course, I'm dicey on the PGMA connection. If you know what I mean.

Now, should I base my choice on who has the bigger chance of winning? I've said before that I was skeptic with Noynoy because it seems like he was served with a plate he really didn't order. He seems lost and so not ready for the part. But he seems sincere in creating a clean government. He seems sincere in serving the people. But it also seems like he is at the beck and call of his relatives and advisers. It seems that just like late Cory Aquino's, he will be a puppet president.

Is it really a waste of vote if I opt for Gordon even if he is not as popular as the other candidates? He has the most tangible achievements. And I believe he could really change the government. Hmmm. I'm still torn. But I feel like I'm cheating on my vote if I vote solely on winnability.

I know a lot of people who also wants Gordon for president but just like me, they also think that their vote will be wasted because he will not win. But if everyone who has this kind of thinking would just vote for Gordon, maybe he would win. Now, that's something. :)

How about you, who will you vote for?

On Villar, PGMA, etc

If I had my way, Gordon and Gibo would be the top two presidentiables. I think these two are the most apt for the position to lead and at the same serve. Almost everyone I talk to thinks the same.

But this is the Philippine politics the "apt" doesn't win, but the rich does. I think I am now more than convinced that I will not, I repeat I will NOT vote for Villar. I'm pretty sure you've heard of the rumor that Villar is the secret candidate of Gloria Arroyo. Yes, that corrupt midget is still not over with stealing our money. I don't want to be cynical, but she will get what she wants. She will be a congresswoman and she will do whatever it takes to have her cha-cha. She's just so scheming! The rumor of her siding with Villar surfaced late last year. And just two weekends ago, I received a text from someone I believe to be a reliable source. This is what it says:

From Fr. Catalino Arevalo:

Now the cat's out of the bag..Manny Villar is the secret candidate of President GMA. Mike Arroyo himself met with Manny Villar at the house of Mike Defensor last January 7. Villar secretly agreed to make GMA speaker of the House and protect her should Villar win the presidency...Villar agreed to GMA's offer of massive logistical support in GMA's commissioner's in the COMELEC who will assure Villar's victory..

I don't how true this is. But this "rumor" has been going on for quite a while..and I've heard this story from three different people. You don't have to believe me, but be vigilant. And think before you vote for him. Just like what he said, do a checklist. C-5 controversy guilty--check! Ad spent costing billions which he would most likely retrieve back from our taxes once he's seated--check! Greedy for power enough to trade what's dignity left of him--check!

On a better light..let's do a blind item on a presidentiable! There's a presidentiable who is sometimes perceived as weak (well, maybe just by me) who turned down an offer of 2 friggin' BILLION pesos from a known business tycoon who owns a brewery, a bank, among other businesses. The presidentiable supposedly doesn't want to compromise. See, there's still someone who has his integrity intact, no matter how lousy his ads are! Lol.

On Erap

Its an unwritten rule to avoid political issues in social occasions. Well, that's very hard to do especially during the campaign season, ayt?

We were out having dinner the other night with some tsinoy clients when the topic of presidential candidate came up. We asked them who their bet was and they said Erap. You could expect the surprise on our faces. They followed with the explanation that during the time of Erap no one was hungry. Furthermore, they claimed that there were a lot of investors, mostly Chinese, in the Philippines during his presidency. A lot of Chinese were able to open up businesses. We had to change the topic to avoid an argument because if they went on further, we might have negate their justifications. They were our client, regardless of different views we cannot do anything that might piss them off.

I assume you see what's wrong with their rationalization right? Yes, a lot of Chinese were able to open businesses. On the other hand, a lot of Filipino became mere employer. The foreigners in this country became richer while the real owners became slaves for them. I don't know about you but that picture doesn't exactly illustrate what I have in mind for Filipinos. I don't want to be a second rate citizen in my own country. And need I remind everyone that he was accused of plunder and was ousted, Tsk!

The circus is in town again. I hope that this time we would take extra effort to evaluate every act, every face we see on the stage.

Who to vote for?

I like to share something I've read from Bianca Gonzales' blog.

question of ben cabigas:
"In principle, is it OK to abstain for the position of President? Pa'no pag hindi buo ang loob mo sa boto mo?"

reply of st anthony enriquez tiu:
"Ben, para sa akin, wala naman talagang perpektong binoboto e. Meron lang perpektong boto - yung botong pinag-aralan, pinag-isipan, at handang panindigan sa loob ng 6 na taon. Kung hindi pa buo ang loob mo, ibig sabihin kulang pa ang ginugugol mong panahon upang pagtibayin ang iyong kaalaman at paninindigan. Sa loob ng 5 buwan, imposibleng maging perpekto ang isang kandidato. Pero sa loob din ng 5 buwan, kaya mong kumbinsihin ang sarili mo kung sino ang mas karapat-dapat na iluklok sa pwesto. Sino ba ang dapat?"

It's like something my friends and I always say when we talk about presidentiables. Of course, we have complaints with each presidentiables, and boy, don't we have a lot of them. But we usually end the conversation, crossing to debate at times, with: Choose the lesser evil. Choose who has the bigger heart to serve the Filipinos.

Campaign period OFFICIALLY starts on Monday. Let's be active in researching and choosing who to vote for.

Make your imprint!

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that the 2010 election is the catalyst that will bring about the change that this country needs? I think that Filipinos have had enough of the past (present included) administrations crappy-ness and everyone is closely watching the candidates for next year's election.

If you haven't registered yet, you have three weeks to do so. Before opening your mouth to pinpoint the wrong doings of the government, make sure that you do your part as well. The first step to that is to register. It doesn't matter if you don't know who to vote yet, because trust me, (almost) everyone haven't really decided yet. And don't give me BS bout your vote being useless because people with power who will eventually find a way to cheat the results. Listen, apathy is this nation's worst enemy.

Check the Comelec website if you don't know where to register. I registred last month, and it only took me less than an hour. So, get your butt moving and practice your right! Make thatimprint because YOU can make that change!