Posted in part from the Philippine Star
March 8 2010
Sara Soliven de Guzman
Noynoy Aquino went to the Philippine Star on February 22. I arrived ten minutes after the interview began. I did not get to see how he came in to greet the staff and how he prepared himself before the interview. He was generally kind, courteous, soft-spoken and tranquil.
I noticed however, that the chair he was sitting on was not comfortable but he made no fuss about it.
He was talking at a maximum speed, non-stop, no flickering whatsoever. Oblivious to all that was going on and the people around him, he answered all the questions thrown at him.
Contrary to the perceptions of many, Noynoy exuded a spirit of confidence especially when it came to affairs of the state (not of the heart, hehe). He knew exactly what to say and this is why I am quite puzzled when many people say that Noynoy “does not have a clue” of what he is saying. Let me tell you, he surely knows what he is saying and may catch you off guard with his amazing statements and actions at the most unpredictable time. He is not naïve!
Noynoy is the “pure statesman” in this presidential race. He knows the country inside out. He is like a walking encyclopedia, a nerd if you want to call it. He knows the law, the Constitution and even Republic Acts promulgated long, long time ago. It is as if he has studied and analyzed all possible issues and topics with careful scrutiny and examined them piece by piece.
Amongst all the presidentiables, he seems to have mastered governance to a tee and knows that indeed, a revolutionary change is just what the world and the people need (although he did not say this directly).
His outlook is so broad. People can easily be drawn to his aspirations, dreams and plans without force. He is open-minded but at the same time shows firmness. His liberalism has its boundaries as well. His vision has clearly put him way ahead of the rest.
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Which congressman doesn’t want his voting record exposed to the public? You’d be surprised!
Despite popular clamor led by the Opposition, Tarlac Representative Deputy Speaker for the Administration Noynoy Aquino protected President Gloria Arroyo by voting not to listen to the controversial “Hello Garci” tapes that revealed massive cheating during the 2004 presidential elections.
WHY DID NOYNOY PROTECT GMA?
Around the same time, the Aquino and Cojuangco families were deep in negotiations with the Arroyo administration for one of the biggest anomalous deals in Philippine history.
Noynoy Aquino’s vote to protect GMA merely completed the political transaction that is now the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) – an overpriced, anomalous arrangement that not only cheated taxpayers but the already oppressed, poor farmers of Hacienda Luisita.
Some points to ponder:
1. Noynoy Aquino’s family received P83 million from the government by selling 83 hectares of Hacienda Luisita land at 12 TIMES the actual zonal value.
2. At 94 kilometers, the P32 billion SCTEX, bloated from the original estimate of P18.7 billion in 1999, is the longest continuous highway in the Philippines andpasses directly through Hacienda Luisita, the largest hacienda in the countryand owned by Noynoy Aquino’s family.
3. The Philippine government was made to shoulder the P170-million PRIVATE San Miguel Interchange of the Aquinos into Hacienda Luisita. This is the ONLY exit of the 11 exits that leads to a private property.
4. Hacienda Luisita farmers own 33 percent of the estate, and yet received only THREE PERCENT of the total package amount of P83 million, or only P450 per family
5. These same famers, who receive a measly P9.50 a day in wages compared to the legal minimum NCR wage of P345.00, have been denied for more than 20 years their right to land ownership under the agrarian reform law, which was enacted to transfer ownership of large haciendas to their tenant farmers, the same farmers who were called “spoiled” by Noynoy Aquino’s sister Ballsy.
In 2004, government troops were sent in by the Administration to help Noynoy Aquino’s family break up a strike by the farmers. The combined government and private security forces of Hacienda Luisita unleashed bursts of automatic fire into the ranks of the farmers, killing 7 – including two children and an Aglipayan priest – and wounding 121in a bloody tragedy known as the Hacienda Luisita Massacre.
Noynoy Aquino defended the “dispersal” in Congress, calling it an “illegal strike”.
But don’t take our word for it. Know the whole truth NOW as reported by the GMA7 investigative team. Please click on the link below.
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/183662/after-luisita-massacre-more-killings-linked-to-protest
Hi Guys,
Allow me to write this again.
I keep wondering why nobody is making good use of the cover story of the March 2010 issue of the Reader’s Digest Asian Edition. The title is, Philippines Who Do You Trust? The survey is done by an independent group. The result? For those running in May 10:
#5. Noynoy Aquino
#17 Vilma Santos
#24. Mar Roxas
#41 Alfredo Lim
#47 Rodrigo Duterte
#48 Dick Gordon
#50 Chiz Escudero (bowed out)
#52 Joker Arroyo
#60 Manny Villar
#65 Gibo Teodoro
#73 Bongbong Marcos
#74 Imee Marcos
#77 Imelda Marcos
#78 Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
#79 Erap Estrada
#80 Hayden Kho (just to to rub in the idea of the company they keep)
Please grab a copy. Use this potent tool. Never mind the dismal position of some personalities (e.g. # 42!)
Good luck God bless
Napapaisip din ako, sino ba ang iboboto ko: isang taong mahirap na naging ubod ng yaman dahil nagtrabaho, o isang taong anak ng mga bayani? sa totoo lang mas nakakarelate ako sa taong yumaman. Para kasing binibigyan niya ng pag-asa (totoo man o hindi) at sinasabing posibleng makaahon sa hirap at yumaman tulad niya. Sa kapag nagsikap ako makakamit ko rin ang mga pangarap ko. Na ang aking kapalaran ay nasa aking mga kamay.
Sa kabilang banda, hindi ako makarelate sa anak ng bayani. hindi na naman ako pwedeng ipanganak muli. HIndi ko naman naranasan na mabuhay at palakihin ng mga bayaning magulang. Para din kasing sinasabi na wala akong magagawa sa sarili ko at dapat na lang akong umasa sa kanya dahil siya ang anak ng mga bayani.
Mas magtitiwala na siguro ako sa taong ineencourage akong mangarap, magsikap at abutin ang mga pangarap kaysa sa taong ineencourage akong magtiwala at iaasa ang lahat sa dugo ng kanyang mga magulang.
medyo nadisturb ako sa sinabi ni Noynoy sa Unang Hirit. Sabi niya wala siyang balak tumakbo bilang presidente dahil wala siyang balak manahin ang problema ng current administration dahil tinutulan niya yon. Im really like noynoy kaso napaisip ako, bakit sila villar, villanueva, gordon, perlas, atbp ay balak tumakbong presidente at manahin ang problema ng bansa?
Gusto ko sanang malaman ni noynoy na ang problema ng administrasyong arroyo ay problema ng bawat pilipino. at kinakailangan ang isang malakas ng presidente para masolusyunan ang mga ito. Kung wala siyang balak manahin ang mga problemang ito, ibig sabihin ay wala rin siyang balak solusyunan ang mga problemang ito. Di tulad ng ibang kandidato na sa simula pa lang gusto nang solusyunang ang problema ng bansa.
Nakakadisturb din na parang napilit lang siya na tumakbo. Maaring sabihin na gusto ng tao na tumakbo siya pero sa palagay ko na ang main force na kumumbinsi sa kanya na tumakbo ay ang mga kapartido niya. Hindi ko tuloy maiwasan na wala siyang initiative to lead. di tulad ng ibang presidentiables.
tanong ko kay noynoy: bakit kita iboboto kung ayaw mong solusyunan ang problema ng bansa? bakit hindi galing sa iyo ang initiative na maging lider ng ating bansa?
TO: JUAN SAWA, YOU ARE VERY CYNICAL ABOUT ALL POLITICIANS BUT SENATOR NOY AQUINO III IS AN EXCEPTION !!
PLEASE READ SENATOR NOYNOY’S SPECIFIC PLATFORM OF GOVERNMENT & VISION OF THE PHILIPPINES STATED BELOW IN RESPONSE TO YOUR UNFAIR CRITICISMS AGAINST SENATOR NOY NOY AQUINO !!!
The Vision for the Philippines:
A country with…
1. A re-awakened sense of right and wrong, through the living examples of our highest leaders;
2. An organized and widely-shared rapid expansion of our economy through a government dedicated to honing and mobilizing our people’s skills and energies as well as the responsible harnessing of our natural resources;
3. A collective belief that doing the right thing does not only make sense morally, but translates into economic value as well;
4. Public institutions rebuilt on the strong solidarity of our society and its communities.
Our Mission:
We will start to make these changes first in ourselves—by doing the right things, by giving value to excellence and integrity and rejecting mediocrity and dishonesty, and by giving priority to others over ourselves.
We will make these changes across many aspects of our national life.
A Commitment to Transformational Leadership:
1. From a President who tolerates corruption to a President who is the nation’s first and most determined fighter of corruption.
2. From a government that merely conjures economic growth statistics that our people know to be unreal to a government that prioritizes jobs that empower the people and provide them with opportunities to rise above poverty.
3. From relegating education to just one of many concerns to making education the central strategy for investing in our people, reducing poverty and building national competitiveness.
4. From treating health as just another area for political patronage to recognizing the advancement and protection of public health, which includes responsible parenthood, as key measures of good governance.
5. From justice that money and connections can buy to a truly impartial system of institutions that deliver equal justice to rich or poor.
Economy
6. From government policies influenced by well-connected private interests to a leadership that executes all the laws of the land with impartiality and decisiveness.
7. From treating the rural economy as just a source of problems, to recognizing farms and rural enterprises as vital to achieving food security and more equitable economic growth, worthy of re-investment for sustained productivity.
8. From government anti-poverty programs that instill a dole-out mentality to well-considered programs that build capacity and create opportunity among the poor and the marginalized in the country.
9. From a government that dampens private initiative and enterprise to a government that creates conditions conducive to the growth and competitiveness of private businesses, big, medium and small.
10. From a government that treats its people as an export commodity and a means to earn foreign exchange, disregarding the social cost to Filipino families to a government that creates jobs at home, so that working abroad will be a choice rather than a necessity; and when its citizens do choose to become OFWs, their welfare and protection will still be the government’s priority.
Government Service
11. From Presidential appointees chosen mainly out of political accommodation to discerning selection based on integrity, competence and performance in serving the public good.
12. From demoralized but dedicated civil servants, military and police personnel destined for failure and frustration due to inadequate operational support to professional, motivated and energized bureaucracies with adequate means to perform their public service missions.
Gender Equality
13. From a lack of concern for gender disparities and shortfalls, to the promotion of equal gender opportunity in all spheres of public policies and programs.
Peace & Order
14. From a disjointed, short-sighted Mindanao policy that merely reacts to events and incidents to one that seeks a broadly supported just peace and will redress decades of neglect of the Moro and other peoples of Mindanao.
Environment
15. From allowing environmental blight to spoil our cities, where both the rich and the poor bear with congestion and urban decay to planning alternative, inclusive urban developments where people of varying income levels are integrated in productive, healthy and safe communities.
16. From a government obsessed with exploiting the country for immediate gains to the detriment of its environment to a government that will encourage sustainable use of resources to benefit the present and future generations.
This platform is a commitment to change that Filipinos can depend on. With trust in their leaders, everyone can work and build a greater future together.
Ang tanong ko sayo Juan Sawa ano ang ginawa mo para makatulong sa Pilipinas???Nagbabayad kaba ng buwis, sumusunod sa batas trapiko?hindi nanunuhol sa mga pulis pag nahuli sa traffic violation? nagbibigay kaba ng pera sa mga mahihirap? Yan kasi ang mali sa ating pinoy palagi na lang iba ang nakikita natin pero tayo ba eh sumusunod sa tama? Isa akong dating OFW at sumusunod ako sa batas ng ibang bansa. Nandito na ako sa Pinas at ganun pa rin masunurin sa batas. Para sa akin ang kailangan ng ating bansa yong lider na walang self interest. Sa mga kandidato sino sa tingin mo ang walang self interest? Si villar ba na nagpayaman using government resources? si Gibo matalino nga kaso kakampi ng corrupt na gobyerno? Si Gordon ok yun at si bro. Eddie kaso sa tingin mo ba mananalo sila? Dalawa lang ang selection ko si Noynoy, Gordon kaso si Gordon malabong manalo yun. So kay Noynoy nako. Sa tingin ko wala syang self interest na kahit nasa malakanyang na hindi masisilaw sa kapangyarihan kasi naging presidential son na sya at never gumamit ng impluwensya gaya ng mga anak GMA at ni Marcos.
taken mr appollobonifacio
you can call me anything. i am a private individual citezin. tsaka wala akong paki-alam kay villar or sino man presidential candidate…
kasi kahit anong pogi points gawin sa bossing mo or sino man sila ..trapo parin sila …
you guys used the masses para makakuha ng BOTO…
Viilar says’ TAPUSIN KO ng kahirapan!!!..kalokohan!!!!
noynoy says TApusin ko ang corruption!!! kalokohan!!
erap says “sa aking administrasyon walang anomaliya!!! kalokohan jeuting lord!!..
tsaka tanong ko sana masagut mo..si mang dodong ba balot vendor aasenso if uupo ang manok mo?????..
bossing mo ang nagsabi maraming edsa nagdaan ganito pa rin tayo!!! ano ba magagawa nya if cya uupo???mawawala ang corruption at kahirapan?…paano???
6 years in terms, i dont think he can eradicate corruption and poverty..so please be advised to tell your manok….SAY REAL THING WAG YONG FANTASY ANG MGA SINASABI…DAHIL SAWA NA KAMI SA BULOK NA POLITIKO PURO PANGAKO!
MOTHER NGA NYA CANT ERADICATE CORRUPTION AND POVERRTY, INFACT LUMALA PA NUNG NANUNGKULAN ANG MOTHER NYA!…MAY KUDETA!!!..
HAY NAKU SANA WAG NA KAYONG MANGLINLANG NG TAONG BAYAN!!!!…
I URGE TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE, WE ARE TIRED OF THIS GAME, WE ARE SICK OF THIS POLITICAL BOLLLSHEETT.
SENATOR BENIGNO “NOYNOY” AQUINO III-RECORD OF LEGISLATIVE ACHIEVEMENT & GOVERNMENT SERVICE IN RESPONSE TO MALICIOUS, LIBELOUS, ENVIOUS, JEALOUS, FALSE & INANE CLAIMS BY THE MISGUIDED SUPPORTERS OF CORRUPT BILLIONAIRE ” MR. MANIC VILLARROYO” THAT NOYNOY HAS NOT DONE NOR ACHIEVED ANYTHING AS A LEGISLATOR & PUBLIC SERVANT
Title: BENIGNO “NOYNOY” AQUINO III – Legislative Record of Achievement & Service
Description: Summary of bills and resolutions filed by Senator Benigno S. Aquino III (via Manuel L. Quezon III) Please CLICK THE GREEN COLOURED LINK: http://www.scribd.com/doc/21327451/BSAIII-Legislative-Record)
******************************************************************************************************
Senator Benigno S. Aquino III
Resume
GOVERNMENT SERVICE
Senator Senate of the Philippines
14th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines
Member House of Representatives
(1998-2001; 2001-2004; 2004-2007)
Deputy Speaker House of Representatives
13th Congress of the Philippines
(November 8, 2004-February 21, 2006)
Vice Chairman Liberal Party of the Philippines
(March 17, 2006 to present)
Secretary General Liberal Party of the Philippines
(2004 to March 16, 2006)
Vice-Pres. for Luzon Liberal Party of the Philippines
(2002-2004)
Secretary General Liberal Party of the Philippines
(1999-2002)
Chairman of the Board Central Luzon Congressional Caucus
HOUSE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
13th Congress
•Banks & Financial Intermediaries
•Energy
•Export Promotion
•Public Order & Safety
12th Congress
•Civil
•Political & Human Rights
•Good Government
•Public Order & Security
•Inter-Parliamentary Relations & Diplomacy
11th Congress
•Civil
•Political & Human Rights (Vice-Chairman)
•Public Order & Security
•Transportation & Communications
•Agriculture
•Banks & Financial Intermediaries
•Peoples’ Participation
•Suffrage and Electoral Reforms
•Appropriations
•Natural Resources
•Trade & Industry
SELECTED HOUSE BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS
•House Bill No. 4251 – granting annual productivity incentives to all workers in the private sector
•House Bill No. 4397 – strengthening the regulatory power of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to effectively enforce consumer laws
•House Bill No. 4252 – increasing the penalties for non-compliance of the prescribed increases and adjustments in the wage rates of workers
•House Bill No. 3616 – extending the reglementary period for the educational qualification for PNP members
•House Bill No. 1842 – providing for the codification of criminal laws
•House Resolution No. 65 – inquiry in aid of legislation into the policies and processes of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in granting rate increases to electric utilities
•House Resolution No. 788 – creating a select Congressional Oversight Committee on intelligence funds to check and study the use of intelligence funds by government agencies to ensure that funds allocated therefor are utilized for the purpose they are intended
LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE
Made the procurement of the petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL) requirements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines transparent by requiring public bidding.
EDUCATION
AB Economics Ateneo de Manila University
(1977-1981)
Secondary Education Ateneo de Manila University
(1973-1977)
Primary Education Ateneo de Manila University
(1965-1973)
Noynoy Aquino has good grasp of issues
By Boo Chanco (The Philippine Star)
February 24 2010
Noynoy was a very pleasant surprise last Saturday during the interview session with staff and columnists of The Philippine Star. I had given him up as a policy lightweight after I read the text of his Makati Business Club speech. In his first important policy speech on the economy, Noynoy sounded like any ordinary politician eager to say what his audience wanted to hear but saying nothing of substance. In fairness to him, I understand he did well in the Q and A portion.
I was not expecting the Noynoy who faced us last weekend. His responses to our questions would warm any policy wonk’s heart. His answers were crisp and to the point but even then, he displayed knowledge of the important nuances that must not be left unsaid. In some cases he made no commitment but gave the signal that he understood the complexity of the issue.
It was interesting that Noynoy described himself as an economist even if his training in the discipline was just like ours in the undergraduate level compared to the PhD of Ate Glue. But I will take his honesty to Ate Glue’s betrayal of her discipline for political exigencies. I am sure most of the folks at the UP School of Economics where Ate Glue got her PhD are just as frustrated with her.
There are those who might say that perhaps Noynoy was just better briefed after his MBC exposure revealed obvious gaps. But even if this is true, it would show a brain that is able to absorb a lot of data and policy options in a short period of time. This definitely debunks the evil suggestion of Ernie Maceda that he may be autistic. Maybe Maceda, in this late stage of his life when the mind isn’t what it used to be, confused genius with autism.
Being basically shy and reserved isn’t autism.
In fact, I am now sure Noynoy is ready for a one-on-one with Manny Villar on a variety of issues including economic. Come to think of it, Villar was pretty evasive on many economic issues during our interview with him about a week ago. We unconsciously gave him an easy pass simply because we assumed that he had a good grasp of the issues due to his academic training and his many successful years in business. With Noynoy, we were a little more critical.
In agriculture, Noynoy captured the problem of the sector in the first sentence of his response to our question. He said the problem has to do with farmers’ income. Food security is a concern but it can only be attained if we are able to assure farmers they can make a living planting and growing our food crops. “The focus should be first, maximizing means of the farmers to keep them in agriculture and second, ensuring a steady supply of rice.”
On the question of saving our manufacturing sector, he wondered softly but audibly if there was anything left to save. He doesn’t think we are ready for free trade but he also thinks that economic favoritism of past administrations created manufacturers who are unable to compete in a free global market. To him, the key to making our manufacturers competitive is to level the playing field. No more crony capitalism.
Global competitiveness, Noynoy also said, cannot be attained for as long as power rates are as high as they have been. He says there has to be a way of bringing power rates down. He doesn’t think bringing down power rates is as simple as addressing the royalty issue. He promises to have an open mind on what to do next in making sure power rates go down enough to make our industries competitive. High power rates, he said, is a deterrent to more job-creating investments.
He likes the idea of renewable energy but he realizes it is not that simple. Price competitiveness is key. Our problem now, he pointed out, is also complicated by misguided investments in unproven technology like jathropa.
“It has to be a good mix. There is a lot of money being spent on renewable energy, biofuels, and jatropha. That is misguided. There is no jatropha industry in the world.” This was precisely what I had been saying in this column. Ate Glue even created a new PNOC subsidiary to invest in jatropha. We should have spent money on modernizing our coconut industry instead, since coconut is a proven alternative energy source, among others.
Investing in coconut will also lift a large number of our countrymen out of poverty.
On attracting foreign and local investments, he shares the view of Villar that the present dispensation’s horrible image is the biggest deterrent. He cited basics we must provide in order to increase FDI and local investments. Level playing field. Rule of law and predictable policies. Provide infrastructure, upgrade communications, secure reliable and reasonably priced power.
On his economic priorities, he said creating jobs will be at the top of his mind. “Our backbone is job generation and our biggest prospect is the IT field and tourism, and agriculture especially the post-agriculture aspect. There will be an infrastructure program. I also want to revive our manufacturing.”
He sees the deployment of OFWs as a stop gap measure while we grow our economy to the point when no Filipino need to go abroad to get a good job. “(OFW) deployment is both a boon and bane,” he said. “We have the cash but there is also a social cost.” It is the social cost of OFW deployment, the children growing up without their parents, marriages broken up by separation… these are the things that worry Noynoy as all these will impact on all our futures because he recognizes the family as the foundation of our society.
He sees the provision of a good education as the key to the creation of a wider middle class. He wants not just tuition fee subsidies for poor but deserving students, he wants government to be more proactive in protecting parents and students from diploma mills. He thinks CHED should have been more vigilant in weeding out the nursing schools that are unable to provide the education promised. He doesn’t like the current situation of nursing schools producing a bumper crop of ill-trained nursing graduates who cannot get employed here or abroad.
On smuggling, he said the government knows who are the smugglers and can eradicate the malaise in a jiffy if it really wants to. He said he has been given a list of habitual smugglers and among the first things he will do when he assumes office is to take a direct hand in stopping them, even if it means opening all the containers identified with the known smugglers in his list.
He is for making the Bank Secrecy and Anti Money Laundering Laws more effective in weeding out crime and corruption but he also thinks the present Council is simply not doing what it should. His running mate, Mar Roxas is proposing to require public officials to waive their rights under the bank secrecy law as a means to cut down corruption in government.
On the additional two years in our education curriculum, he is for providing early education at the preschool level, something his fellow Tarlaqueno Education Secretary Jesli Lapus advocates. That levels the playing field at the start and may help reduce the number of drop outs in the higher grades.
Overall, I found Noynoy responsive to our questions, on and off camera, in a very refreshing way. What strikes you is a lack of a personal agenda other than the national good. You can feel his honesty and I got the feeling he regards the presidency as a mission rather than as the pinnacle of a lifetime ambition. To many people, those qualities are enough. I was looking for a good brain that can grasp nuances of policy issues and I am convinced he has one.
If as seem to be what is turning out that the contest is between Noynoy and Manny Villar, I think it could be the best presidential contest we have had in years. For one, it brings back the two party system. The earlier they do a one-on-one encounter so we can compare them more clearly, the better it will be for the country