A collection of travel stories and food reviews, my published pieces on politics and relationships, the stories behind the stories, gossip, and hearty opinions on just about any topic. Lots of stream of consciousness musings too...
“There are four that we would like to focus on: job generation is first. This is best explained by a father that I talked with before who said, ‘Bigyan niyo kami ng trabaho at kami na ang bahala sa kalusugan [Give us jobs and we will take care of health]’; education is second which is an essential tool for job creation, to start the reform of the justice system and even to advocate concern for the environment; third is health and fourth is judicial reform,” said Aquino. (Click here for the rest.)
Liberal Party standard-bearers Senators Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III and MAR Roxas flash the Laban sign as they hold their certificates of candidacy filed before the Commisssion on Elections this morning. Aquino and Roxas pledged to continue to heed the collective thirst and hunger of people for change, and to fight the crooked and corrupt. "Sa harap po ninyong lahat, sa harap po ng sambayanang Pilipino, hinding-hindi po namin bibiguin ang tiwala na ipinagkaloob po ninyo sa amin. Sama-sama tayo, lalaban po tayo. Una kayo, bago ako. Una ang bayan, bago ang sarili," Roxas said. (Photos by Gil Nartea, courtesy of the office of Sen, MAR Roxas.)
Aquino and Roxas, together with senatorial candidates under the "People's Reform" coalition, bow their heads in a minute of silence to remember the victims of the Maguindanao massacre before filing their COCs before the Comelec. Aquino, Roxas and the LP slate condemn the murders in the strongest possible terms, and pledges to work for the redemption of democracy and lasting peace in the Philippines, especially in Mindanao. From left: Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto, Ryan Christian Recto, former Sen. Ralph Recto, Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon and former Senate President Frank Drilon; Aquino and Roxas; Manila Mayor Fred Lim; senatorial candidates Akbayan! Rep. Riza Hontiveros and Bukidnon Rep. TG Guingona; Aika Lim (daughter of senatorial candidate Brig. Gen. Danny Lim) and Pia Lacson (wife of senatorial candidate Alex Lacson).
Aquino and Roxas, together with LP senatorial candidates pledge to supporters to continue the the communal fight of all for what is right ("laban na tapat, laban ng lahat").
LIBERAL Party presidential candidate Sen. Noynoy Aquino is quite a stranger to the ways of the Internet. Prior to his run for president, I don't think he even had his own web site aside from his page attached on the Senate's own web site. He has only started tweeting, and my guess is it's his new media group tweeting for him and not himself. I have yet to check which of the Noynoy Aquino/Benigno Aquino III Facebook profiles is his real one, although there is an official fan page whose membership just recently cracked the 100,000-mark.
(Sen. Aquino's official Facebook fan page, although I counted two other fan pages, plus three profiles w/c includes the one w/c lists him as a female and w/ his mother's bday.)
With Campaigns and Grey's Yoly Ong now on his side, the Senator's presence on the Net has further expanded with the airing of his 60-second video blogs (VLogs) w/c started today. In a press briefing w/c I attended this morning along w/ other select members of the media, Ong and Melissa Limcaoco, Sen. Aquino's deputy director for new media, said the purpose of these VLogs is to let the public get a taste of the issues the presidentiable is fighting for (or against). A videographer has been going around covering each campaign sortie of Sen. Aquino, capturing his speeches and his interaction w/ the public. In his first VLog, for instance, he is shown speaking w/ a retired public school teacher who complained of not being able to receive her monthly pension from the GSIS because the agency had no money.
The VLogs (dubbed "60 secs. w/ Noy") are definitely a step in the right direction for the Aquino campaign after reaping a whirlwind of criticism mainly from the intelligentsia, who detested the MTV featuring Sen. Aquino and his band of artistas. (Of course, they probably don't like Pinoy celebrities to begin with, and the empty-headedness they are thought to represent.) Lighten up people! He needs to attract the masa vote, obvious ba? Although I do agree w/ the critics that we need to see/read/hear more of Sen. Aquino and his platform of govt. instead of just seeing w/c artista endorsed him. So I suppose these VLogs will help the campaign achieve the purpose.
The VLogs are unscripted and meant to show the real Noynoy Aquino "in the raw." At the end of each day, the videographer's footages will be tightly edited and strung together to form a theme for each VLog, before being aired. (OK, so technically, the VLogs won't really be quote-unquote, raw.) The footages will be punched up w/ his official campaign jingle, Sya na Nga, w/c I must admit is a really catchy tune, I still hear it playing in my head. LSS much?
The VLogs will run daily until Nov. 27, or the day before Sen. Aquino files his official certificate of candidacy at the Comelec. Under the Omnibus Election Code, the campaign period starts on Feb. 9, 2010 for national candidates (or 90 days before May 8 elections), and March 26, 2010 for local candidates (or 45 days before May 8), so the candidates are not supposed to air any TV or radio ads about themselves from the time they file their COCs until the beginning of their respective campaign periods. It isn't clear though if this covers the new Internet platforms, after all, this medium was hardly tapped in previous elections. Like last year's U.S. presidential elections, this will be the first time in Philippine electoral history that new media will be used by the presidential candidates (via their web sites, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Friendster, cellphones, etc.). Ong says the Aquino campaign is erring on the side of caution and until further ruling by the Comelec, will cease airing the VLogs once Sen. Aquino files his COC.
(Sen. Aquino's official web site.)
Of course the inevitable question is, will campaigning through the Internet/new media make a difference for any of the candidates? By and large, Internet penetration in the Philippines is still low; accdg to Internet World Stats, it is 24 million as of the 2nd qtr of 2009, or roughly 25% of the country's estimated population of 97.98 million. About 18.2 million of Internet users are potential voters (meaning 18 y.o. and up). So while the Aquino campaign will be tapping this new media for its campaign, Ong says, it is really an experiment for them to see how much power the Internet has in moving next year's elections. And TV is still the medium w/ the largest impact w/ 90% usage for voters' info as compared to only 22% for the Internet. Ong does point out though that Sen. Loren Legarda won in the last senatorial election w/ an 18-million vote, so that just means they are hoping the Internet will boost Sen. Aquino's chances to win in 2010. (Btw, did you know that 60% of Internet users in the Phils. are in Internet cafés?)
As of press time, however, Ong has yet to answer my question if there are any plans for Sen. Aquino's team mate and VP candidate Sen. MAR Roxas to be included in the Internet campaigns. (After previewing the first three VLogs, it looks like Sen. Aquino's running mate is actually former Bukidnon Rep. Neric Acosta, and not Roxas. Acosta is just all over the place!) For casual political observers like me, Sen. Aquino seems to be conducting his own separate campaign, pretty much disengaged from what should really be a team effort. Are Sen. Aquino's handlers trying to get him elected at all cost, w/o a care who wins the VP slot? Hmmm...again,nagtatanong lang po.
(A slide from today's presentation by Campaigns and Grey. Looks like Sen. Aquino has trumped some of his rivals in terms of Internet presence/followers. What will this mean for the 2010 elections?)
(UPDATE 1:05 a.m.) Accdg. to Campaigns PR Inc. Managing Director Richard Arboleda, Sen. MAR Roxas will definitely figure in the Sen. Aquino's future VLogs. Thanks!
According to Liberal Party stalwart, and former senator Frank Drilon, these are the people being eyed for the party's senatorial lineup in the 2010 elections:
Isabela Governor Grace Padaca, Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo, former education secretary and Batanes Rep. Florencio “Butch” Abad Jr., Muntinlupa Rep. Rufino Biazon, Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tanada III, former congressman Nereus Acosta, beauty and fitness expert Cory Quirino, and Drilon.
To this, my friends raised on a steady diet of Sesame Street would sing: "One of these things is not like the other, which one is different, do you know?"
ONCE a year, I usually try to get other people to do my job by asking them to contribute their thoughts for my Christmas column...hahaha. This time I’ve asked a number of friends here and abroad to tell me what they wish for this holiday season. Not that I’m in any position to grant any of them.
A few of them are new friends and familiar names you read in our “very interesting, award-winning paper” almost every day. Others, meanwhile, are friends from way back whom I’ve been able to reconnect with via Facebook. (Okay, here I go again, but as Pangs would say, “If you’re not on Facebook, you don’t exist!” And no, Connie, I am not spending too much time on it that you should look for a boyfriend for me. Then again, sige, look for a boyfriend for me, or at least a part-time lover, preferably 30 years young and below, nyahaha!)
So I asked if they had any wish, and barring any thought to the cost of the gift, what would they want to receive this Christmas? I told my friends it didn’t matter if it was something as simple as the new Apple iPhone 3G or as fantastic as a ride on the space shuttle, or perhaps an audience with the Pope or the Dalai Lama and, while we’re at it, how about a house in Alaska so you can see Russia from your backyard?! The thing was to just take the question and give me answers off the top of their heads.
I also strictly instructed them that they not give me any “let there be peace on Earth” answers, or any response that would be worthy of a contestant in the Miss Universe pageant (or worse, the Bb. Pilipinas...oops!). Of course, there are still those who persisted in gunning for the Miss Congeniality award, but most let it rip and thought out of the box.
(Chef Sau del Rosario)
So Merry Christmas everybody! Read on and find out what’s on everyone else’s wish list this Yuletide season.
• Sen. MAR Roxas II, Liberal Party presidential candidate for the 2010 elections
A few days rest in Baguio, a good book, a fireplace to read by and Korina beside me.
• Chef Sau del Rosario, culinary consultant and owner, Kingdom, a Thai restaurant in Angeles, Pampanga
Can I ask for a driver as a Christmas wish? Okay, somebody give me an iPhone since I cannot afford it anymore after paying all my staff and chefs their 13th-month pay and bonuses. I still own this old Sony Ericsson P910i which I lost in Cebu and was returned to me—maybe because it is too old to keep. Hahaha. Seriously, can I get a driver, Santa?
• Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Government Service, media darling
Get a job abroad with a good retirement plan; get off the fast track in my public career; my only grandkid will be driven by less demons than I have; my second grandkid coming next year will not suffer hang-ups over me; and that I shall die ahead of everybody else I love.
• Rowena “Weng” Orejana, ex-reporter of ABS-CBN News and recently landed migrant in Auckland, New Zealand, with husband Gene Orejana and their four children.
I wish for a job this Christmas. Hahaha. But seriously, I need one so I can get my permanent residency here. It would give us the stability we need.
• Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr., head of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
My Christmas wish is to be able to wake up and watch the sunrise with my wife, Elma, on Christmas Island in Kiribati, the first inhabited island where the rays of a new year strike, because I would always want to begin the day with her.
(Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. and wife Elma)
• Neric Acosta, former congressman of the First District of Bukidnon, now professor at the Asian Institute of Management and environment advocate
I’d wish for WATER, WATER, WATER...fresh, clean, gurgling, abundant, life-giving water...so concretely, I’d ask for a thousand indigenous tree seedlings for every village to plant in a watershed area. I saw this flourishing in the Greenbelt Movement of Kenya when I visited with Prof. Wagari Maathai in 2005, the year she won the Nobel Peace Prize. If each village planted hundreds of trees every Christmas, we’d be healing a battered Earth and reaping the bounties of a greener, cleaner country for years to come. Oh, and one more Christmas gift: a ticket to witness the Obama presidential inauguration.
More star-studded Christmas wish-lists next week...
(My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror. Photos, except for Chef Sau's, are courtesy of the profiled interviewees.)
Liberal Party standard-bearers Senators Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III and MAR Roxas flash the Laban sign as they hold their certificates of candidacy filed before the Commisssion on Elections this morning. Aquino and Roxas pledged to continue to heed the collective thirst and hunger of people for change, and to fight the crooked and corrupt. "Sa harap po ninyong lahat, sa harap po ng sambayanang Pilipino, hinding-hindi po namin bibiguin ang tiwala na ipinagkaloob po ninyo sa amin. Sama-sama tayo, lalaban po tayo. Una kayo, bago ako. Una ang bayan, bago ang sarili," Roxas said. (Photos by Gil Nartea, courtesy of the office of Sen, MAR Roxas.)
Aquino and Roxas, together with senatorial candidates under the "People's Reform" coalition, bow their heads in a minute of silence to remember the victims of the Maguindanao massacre before filing their COCs before the Comelec. Aquino, Roxas and the LP slate condemn the murders in the strongest possible terms, and pledges to work for the redemption of democracy and lasting peace in the Philippines, especially in Mindanao. From left: Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto, Ryan Christian Recto, former Sen. Ralph Recto, Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon and former Senate President Frank Drilon; Aquino and Roxas; Manila Mayor Fred Lim; senatorial candidates Akbayan! Rep. Riza Hontiveros and Bukidnon Rep. TG Guingona; Aika Lim (daughter of senatorial candidate Brig. Gen. Danny Lim) and Pia Lacson (wife of senatorial candidate Alex Lacson).
Aquino and Roxas, together with LP senatorial candidates pledge to supporters to continue the the communal fight of all for what is right ("laban na tapat, laban ng lahat").
