How to cure (political) constipation (UPDATED)

I LOVE Edu Manzano. There I said it. "Love" not in a thumpity-thump heart-beat kind of way, but "love" as in I really admire his talents.

He was an excellent actor, even better than most Pinoys' favorite, Boyet de Leon, who I think tends to be OA. Edu's terrific sense of humor, intelligence, and articulacy in both the English and Filipino languages (not to mention the Ilonggo dialect) make him a natural host whether it be for a game show, a talk show, or a variety show. And apparently, he's even a good dancer! with his Papaya Dance capturing even the imagination of Good Morning America anchors in the U.S. You name it, he has the chops. Edu is one of best entertainers in the country and gives some amount of class to an industry peppered with the likes of Wowowillie.

But will he make a good vice president for the Philippines?

Edu was vice mayor of Makati in 1998 and almost didn't get to assume the position because his opponents claimed he was not a Filipino citizen. For those who don't know, Edu was born in San Francisco in Sept. 1955. But the Comelec ruled on Sept. 1998, that he was indeed Filipino by virtue of having registered as a Filipino voter. The case was elevated to the Supreme Court but the justices likewise ruled in Edu's favor.

His term of office was largely unremarkable I don't remember any earthshaking accomplishments. But I suppose he was largely sidelined from doing much more than he could bec. it was really Jojo Binay who was running the show, being the mayor.

Edu took a shot at the mayoralty position in 2001, fighting the massive machinery and experience of Binay and lost. He ran on an anti-corruption platform backed by the Forbes Park crowd, but it's been alleged that he knew he was not going to emerge victorious in that race. But as everyone joked then, at least he ended up fiscally fit. Hmmph! Bad talaga kayo.

After losing that election, Edu went back to showbusiness until he was appointed as the very first chairman of the Optical Media Board in 2004, after the Optical Media Act was signed into law in 2003. The OMB, whose forerunner was the Videogram Regulatory Board, is supposed to spearhead the fight against film piracy.

I don't know about you guys, but it seems to me there are more pirated discs flooding the market even before this particular law was enacted. Sure there have been few high-profile raids vs small retailers of pirated discs w/c we see reported intermittently on TV and the newspapers, but the problem continues. And it's been what? five years since the OMB has been operating? Tsk, tsk. Again there are many rumors floating around why film piracy continues and why Edu has largely been unsuccessful in eliminating it, some of w/c are not fit to publish here. Interestingly enough, Edu blames the rampant film piracy on Muslim extremists in the South.

Then between hosting jobs and his OMB stint, he founded the Ako Mismo organization w/c was eyed w/ much suspicion, for not immediately identifying the proponents behind it and what the movement was all about. The movement was foisted on the public via TV ad w/c featured a number of celebrities and thought to be the vehicle to push the presidential candidacy of businessman Manny Pangilinan. Edu finally went on ANC explaining that the organization was advocating for change by encouraging Filipinos to stand up for themselves and not depend on anyone else but themselves to institute reforms.

While he has said that the movement is non-political, w/ his run for VP, I doubt if it will remain as such. In fact, as I wrote then, I thought the Ako Mismo campaign seemed suspiciously like a pro-administration movement bec. after all, Edu is a GMA appointee. Well, well, well...I told you so.



The many loves of Edu: (clockwise from top left) Vilma Santos, Maricel Soriano, Rina Samson and Pinky Webb. Photos from PEP, Photobucket, and Facebook.

On the personal side, Edu's lovelife has always been super interesting! He was once married to Gov. Ate Vi (who has sensibly decided to continue taking care of Batangas) and they have a son Luis (aka Lucky), also an actor. He then moved on to Maricel Soriano who I hear has just broken up w/ her most recent significant other. Then made the bed w/ Rina Samson - a former ground stewardess w/ Cathay Pacific - and w/ whom he has two children, Amanda Danielle and Lorenzo. Now he is said to be engaged to ANC news anchor Pinky Webb. Ang colorful di ba?!?! (Hmm...I wonder if ABS-CBN will ask Pinky to go on leave as well, the way management did w/ Ate Koring. And naku! are we in for another 'wedding of the year' ala MAR-Koring?)

(UPDATE 11/19/09: Accdg to the news today, Edu has confirmed that he and Pinky have split up. Not surprising. He was kinda uneasy when he answered Tina Monzon-Palma's question two days ago on whether Pinky knew about his VP plan. He said, she was surprised, and added, "We haven't spoken for a while." Ay grabeh. So no wedding of the year in 2010. Oh well.)

To answer my own question, while I respect Edu and his talents, he has yet to prove himself in the area of public service. It's pretty obvious why he was chosen by the ruling PaLaKa party to be Sec. Gilbert Teodoro's running mate in the 2010 elections. They are running scared and are desperate to shore up Gibo's popularity w/c has been lingering in the single-digit percentages. And after turning on their asses for weeks who could do the job, they finally "force out Edu, the Papaya King, to cure the party's political constipation!" as a Facebook friend puts it. Haha.

Does the PaLaKa stand a better chance now that it has Edu as its VP? No. I think Pinoy voters will decidedly remain anti-Gloria and will always associate the Gibo-Edu tandem w/ her. Both will still represent the corrupt practices that this administration continues to engage in and the blatant dishonesty that has marked her presidency. The party will not be able detach their team from what she represents, yes, even if she steps down from its chairmanship. That's how much damage the presidentita has done to the country, to the bureaucracy, and to her party.

I conclude w/ a quote from Edu himself from this noon's press briefing: (To Gibo, after the latter introduces Edu's background and advocacies in rather glowing terms): "Not even my mother has spoken highly of me!" Ayus.

GMA visits Tita Cory's wake

AS to be expected, it was a bit awkward in the beginning. Sen. Noynoy Aquino was seated about a feet away from the visiting presidentita and you could see that they were waiting for each other to say something. But eventually, I suppose they both found some safe unpolitical items to discuss, and gradually, they warmed up to each other. We'll find out later in the day for sure, what they spoke about.

I had a feeling the presidentita would go straight to the wake upon landing in Manila. It was actually the best time to go. There were not too many people outside who could possibly jeer her. But even if there were crowds, I doubt if they would've disrespected the presidentita. It's just not in our nature to be impolite.

But at least, the ordeal is over and done with, both for the Aquino and Arroyo families. Everyone appeared civil and polite. And so now...exhale...

Meantime, here's the raw footage from ABS-CBN:



(UPDATE 2:29 pm) SORRY guys, the link to ABS-CBN seems to be loopy. I'll try to get a better video for you later. Or try clicking here. Thanks!

Really tasteless, ABS-CBN

(Gabby Lopez, chairman of ABS-CBN Corp. really knows how to thank Tita Cory for returning the network and Meralco to their family. Photo from Top 100 Pinoys.)

FILIPINOS abroad were enraged this afternoon after finding out they had to whip out their credit cards to pay for The Filipino Channel's (TFC) livestreaming of the necrological services for former President Corazon C. Aquino.

So, many of them had to switch to GMA TV's livestreaming instead, that in fairness, was so overwhelmed at some points that many had to constantly refresh their connections. Thankfully, the connection held up and improved later on, w/c was very much appreciated by our kababayan abroad.

Earlier, some people already called our attention to the text game raffle by Umagang Kay Ganda, requiring the audience to give answers based on Tita Cory's wake/funeral arrangements. (Kuya Kim: Sang simbahan dinala ang labi ni Presidente Corazon Aquino?) In exchange, those who get the correct answer will get P300 worth of cellphone load.

In previous days, there were numerous complaints about Wowowee and how it's host has been conducting the show while a live feed of the wake was being shown. Honestly, I've never expected exemplary behavior from someone like Willie Revillame. And frankly, many of us know why Revillame hasn't been kicked out of the network yet, his services to Mr. Gabby Lopez being above and beyond the call of duty.



But turning Tita Cory's wake into a "text game" and making people pay for a live stream of her necro services is truly tasteless, ABS-CBN. This is how the Lopez family thanks Tita Cory and her administration for returning the network and Meralco to their family? Tsk, tsk. Barya-barya lang talaga, Gabby ano?

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PUBLIC ADVISORY (c/o GMA TV News): Updated schedule for Cory Aquino services Mla Cathedral: public viewing resumes 9pm Tues to 4am Wed, closed 4-7am Wed. Funeral Mass: 9am.

Beware of 'Ako Mismo'

THE ad looked intriguing enough. It was cleverly placed amid all the ads w/c polluted the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight last Sunday aired over GMA 7. Different faces, celebrities, talking about problems in the country and how it's inherent upon each one of us all ("ako mismo") to solve it instead of waiting for others to move for us.



Interesting concept, creative ad, with just one message. And so far, I've only seen it on GMA 7. But it looked, sounded, felt suspicious. Some people thought it was a Manny Pangilinan presidential campaign advocacy because Smart was one of the ad's sponsors. He has denied he's running for political office. ( I never thought he'd run, and give up his cushy job w/ the Salims and all his ahm, perks. Why ruin a good thing by running for public office?)

I went to the website Ako Mismo which asks you to pledge what you will do. So i filled it up with some nonsense just to get into the site, and already, a multitude of questions were asked, without telling you who or what the organization is all about. What's more, if you click the "about us", it there are no details. And you won't be able to contact the organizers, unless you sign up. The alarm bells went off in my head.

So I asked the friend of one of the celebrities featured in the ad campaign who's the brainchild behind it. She came back w/ one name: Edu. You mean Edu Manzano, Papaya king and my old Vice Mayor of Makati? Yup. So maybe Edu's running for higher office again. Senator Edu? But after his unsuccessful push for Mayor of Makati and the many rumors which swirled after that election period, many of them probably unfounded, would anyone trust Edu for higher office again? Hmm...

When I last saw Edu, it was in my favorite Okame Japanese restaurant sometime last year. He was still running the Optical Media Board. I told him I needed to contact him for a story I was doing. I never got to make that call as I got sidetracked by a bigger story. But he seemed happy enough with what he was doing for ABS-CBN and for the presidentita's anti-piracy campaign.

The presidentita. Now that's a thought. Hmmm...maybe she or her minions are using Edu for some elaborate scheme in preparation for 2010? Is this a support Cha-Cha movement? Is this another gimmick to let everyone know how we will benefit with the presidentita continued stay in office? The alarm bells in my head are clanging loudly now. I can't help it. And unless Ako Mismo's real organizers come out in the open, their motives will continue to be under a cloud of suspicion.

Btw, artist Jaime Garchitorena has started questioning those exact motives. Read this. I wonder why ABS-CBN didn't just ask Kapamilya Edu for a comment? Hmm...maybe I'll drop by Okame one of these days and ask Edu myself.

Ratatouille

AFTER Chef Anthony Bourdain's feature on Philippine cuisine, here's another Pinoy food story for you. Goat's head I can take, rat parts, I don't think so! People w/ delicate tummies should not read. Ick!

The Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) is now investigating a complaint filed by an employee of the network giant ABS-CBN who claimed that the tomato sauce that his wife used in cooking contained what appeared to be a “heart of a small mammal” suspected to be that of a rat.

The complaint filed by Mario Bautista of Bacoor, Cavite, and an employee of the ABS-CBN Bayan Foundation, is now being heard by the Bfad in Quezon City.

Bautista said the entire family was traumatized after discovering that the tomato sauce they used to cook spaghetti last year was contaminated with rat parts. (Click here for the rest.)

No idea why this story was only published now when this happened last year. Imagine how many people may have gotten ill from consuming contaminated tomato sauce from this well-known food brand. Yikes!

Tingin ko lang, OA sila

ABS-CBN suspends Drilon for 3 months

First Posted 19:59:00 07/05/2008

MANILA, Philippines – Broadcast giant ABS-CBN has suspended news anchor Ces Drilon for disobeying orders not to go to Indanan, Sulu, where she and her cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama were kidnapped by an armed group.

In a statement posted on its website, ABS-CBN on Saturday said Drilon is suspended for three months as news anchor of late night newscast Bandila and as Senior Correspondent.

Citing its Standards & Ethics Manual, the ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs said: “While all reporting of conflict and other hazardous environments involves an element of risk, you must avoid obvious danger and not take unreasonable risks…You may move into a dangerous environment only with the authorization of your supervisor." (The rest at PDI.)

HAVING been an editor of few major dailies in the past, I am all for disciplining reporters. I just think three months for Ces is a bit too much. As in, OA na 'yan, just to prove a point. And especially when we all know the network is going to make a killing selling ads for the special report Ces is expected to produce about her team's ordeal.

Kudos to mader Ces for accepting her punishment like a good soldier that she has always been (well, except for that recent oversight). She would not have reached this stage in her career if she never took risks. I think being kidnapped is punishment enough for what she did, and well okay, maybe a month's suspension without pay.

(Shelby Monroe, a reporter embedded with 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division in Iraq, learns to fire an AK-47 assault rifle.Photo by Shelby Monroe in newsblaze.com)

But it is all about the news story really, no matter how you think about it. And if I were still an editor, I would rather have a masipag and thorough reporter like Ces, one who takes risks to get an enterprising story, or a scoop, than a reporter who is content on re-writing "praise" releases, and sa totoo lang, ang dami nila ganito ngayon, tamad! They are so lazy in fact, some reporters don't even bother to re-write the PRs handed to them! Just read the papers, the headlines and the stories all look the same.

ABS-CBN should know they have more value in Ces than any of their stupid talking heads who get all riled up making inane comments on radio and TV like they were the most knowledgable persons in the world, but who have never once, spent time in the trenches like the rest of us real journalists ever did. (Bato-bato sa langit...)

Are news stories worth risking one's life? If you talk to dedicated journalists here and around the world, yes, sometimes they are. 'Yun lang pow.

(Disclosure: Ces Drilon was our columnist in the old Manila Standard, and a dear colleague who has helped out in some of my environmental advocacies, by pushing a debate on our issues on air.)

Ces and companions freed

MANILA, Philippines--Kidnapped television reporter Ces Drilon, cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion and Mindanao State University professor Octavio Dinampo were freed Tuesday night, nine days after they were abducted in Sulu province.

Drilon and her companions are on their way to the Sulu provincial hospital for a medical check-up, dzMM radio reported.

Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, police director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), confirmed the release of Drilon and her two companions but would not provide additional details.

"Ces, Jimmy, and Angelo are finally all free," ABS-CBN said in a statement. "We are thankful our prayers have been answered and our efforts rewarded." (Read the rest at Ces freed.)

THANK YOU LORD!

I WAS waiting all day for news about Ces and her companions. It was scary that her Abu Sayyaf captors had given a noon deadline for ransom to be paid in exchange for their release. At the back of my mind, I thought these bandits would not be so stupid to execute their hostages because they need the publicity for their losing fight. But then again, killing innocent civilians is something they are used to.

The 12 noon deadline came and went, and by the late afternoon, the industry was abuzz with rumors that Ces and her companions would be freed. No one exactly knew when and how, but as we all know now, Sen. Loren Legarda had something to do with it. (Josh, and she makes sure everyone knows it!)

Still, I am glad Loren did what she could to get Ces and her companions released (although we will not hear the end of it 'til 2010). After all, she is some kind of honorary Muslim princess isn't she? Anyhoo, I know Ces is going to have one hell of a story to tell on TV. And I can't wait to watch it.

Welcome back, mader!

(And to all those idiots who were too early in texting the ransom-Meralco joke – your callousness truly astounds me – ngayon pwede 'nyo na pakalat ulit. Nakakatawa na sya.)

The news embargo

WTF?!?! What is all this fuss about whether or not newspapers or news organizations should have respected the request of ABS-CBN News management for an embargo on the kidnapping of its broadcaster Ces Drilon and her crew?

Look, the issue was pretty simple and straightforward. ABS-CBN's Maria Ressa requested her colleagues not to print or broadcast the kidnapping story until 6 AM Tuesday because the network was trying to ensure the safety of its missing staff and to hopefully, secure their release.

I don't think ABS-CBN was stage-handling or "managing" the news, as some pseudo-journalists and talking heads are claiming, because there was really a clear and present danger that harm could have fallen on Ces and her crew. These talking heads claim the "public interest" was not served by withholding the news of the crew's abduction. What public interest? If I were an ordinary citizen, what could I have gained by knowing a day earlier, that the ABS-CBN news team was kidnapped? That Sulu isn't a safe place to travel to? Duh.

If I were still back in mainstream journalism and still an editor, I would've also acceded to Ressa's request, not just because Ces is a friend, but because it was the right thing to do. No doubt, the story was a big scoop for anyone who published it first. But at what cost? A scoop shouldn't mean endangering the safety of the news subject/s.

So I applaud those news organizations who respected the embargo, because of your decency and humanity.

* * * *
BTW, I would like to point out that in the business media, we routinely receive embargo requests from international donor agencies or multilateral banks regarding their reports which are released a day earlier than their press briefings. Granted that these reports aren't as big a story as a kidnapping of broadcaster, to us publishing them just the same could mean a front page or banner story (which does wonders to our ego, but very little on our salary might I add).

I don't remember a time that my colleagues and I have not granted such embargo requests. Although there have been cases in the past when wire reporters broke the embargo much to the disappointment of the requesting agency and our other colleagues. (The misbehavior of a handful of these wire reporters have been dealt with severely as stories are withheld from them, or they are treated virtually as pariahs by their colleagues.)

My point being, if we in the business media can respect embargo requests on stories like these, why can't our other colleagues do the same when lives are at stake? The choice is very clear, friends. And I'm glad that many in our industry made the right one.

Pls. pray for Ces Drilon's safety

COLLEAGUE and friend Ces Oreña Drilon is currently missing in Sulu along with her TV crew. May I ask for your prayers so they will come home safely.

Ces has always been one brave gal who is willing to face the risks to get a good scoop. This case is no exception. She knows being threatened or kidnapped are just som of the hazards of the profession. But I know her boys are missing her right now. While I know Ces to be a very dedicated journalist, she is also very devoted to her children.

To her captors, pls. release Ces and her crew now.

Gov't takeover na naman?!

SO it's back to '70s are we when private companies were nationalized by President Marcos and taken over by the government? One of these companies were ABS-CBN, the broadcasting arm of the Lopez Group.

When Corazon Aquino came into power and became President of the country in 1986, her government immediately took itself out of business and returned most private companies back to their owners, ABS-CBN to the Lopezes included. As many academic studies have shown, government in business is simply, bad business. Most of these government companies are non-performing and inefficiently run. To this day, there are many government assets that are being privatized albeit ever so slowly, but because of the way most of these companies have been operating, they have become virtually unpalatable to investors.

Now comes 2008 an it must be deja vu all over for the Lopezes as President Arroyo and her minions try to take over Meralco, the largest power distributor in the country. Coincidentally (or coaccidentally?) just when news of the planned government takeover spread, a two-hour power outage hit several parts of Quezon City last night, including my village. While the cause was traced to "line trouble", as usual the conspiracy theorist in me can't help but think some sinister motive behind the blackout. Okay lang sana kung ginawa sa Malacañang noh?

Seriously, we all hate our high electric bills that's for sure. And especially this summer, my own power bill has gone up by P2,000 primarily due to the regular use of our aircons. I'm not blaming Meralco though. I'm blaming the presidentita because of her government's inability to really implement reforms in the power sector.

Like, for years, the public can have access to lower electricity costs if only we are able to tap the power generated by the Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo gas plants in Batangas. But that plant's output, which is sourced from the Malampaya gas field in Palawan, is not being utilized properly. Why can't Napocor buy more of these gas plants' power output? Because they are owned by the Lopezes as well?

Not only that, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 has yet to be fully implemented. Napocor has yet to privatize many of its power plants and assets which account for about 70 percent of the electric generating capacity.

Also, the costs of crude is going about in the world market hitting over $100 per barrel. This pushes up local power costs as well. So why doesn't the government temporarily remove the tax on imported crude, as well as the sales tax on systems energy loss? I say temporarily because of course, I am aware that the goverment needs to boost its revenues (bec. it cannot stem the tide of corruption in revenue-collecting agencies), but while the economy and the public are struggling from the high costs of power, it is the government's responsibility to give us temporary relief.

Taking over Meralco is another greedy "hare"-brained (utak kuneho) scheme of the presidentita to get back at her detractors, most especially the Lopez Group whose ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. is not too sweet on her.

But just look at what happened when she forced her way into the NAIA terminal 3? Government took over the terminal which wasn't built by taxpayers' monies btw, and yet it continues to be closed...a virtual white elephant for the country. Ang galing mo talaga, GMA! Isa kang henyo!