Not yet time to jump ship

“Honor is not the exclusive property of any political party."

--Herbert Hoover

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WHEN the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr. fell in February 1986, many Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) stalwarts jumped ship and were "rescued" by the late former Vice President Salvador “Doy” Laurel's United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO).

Some opted to stay behind the "defrocked" party particularly the "Marcos loyalists" hoping for the strongman's political resurrection that fizzled out with his death in 1989.

When Mrs. Corazon “Cory” Aquino took over and became estranged with Laurel, many of them abandoned UNIDO and embraced PDP-Laban, Tita Cory's official party until 2009.

When the late Fidel V. Ramos or FVR reigned supreme in 1992, these unprincipled minions hastily formed a beeline to the new ruling Lakas-NUCD party.

 

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Then came Joseph “Erap” Estrada. From KBL, UNIDO, and PDP-Laban, these political grutnols and druggles "fled" like refugees to Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).

Everyone knew what happened next when Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo or Ate Gloria took over: the balimbings, bereft of principle, were again in mad scramble to take oath this time as KAMPI members.

When the late Benigno Aquino III or P-Noy became president, the political pendulum abruptly tilted to the Liberal Party (LP)'s favor in a mass exodus that could dwarf the myth of Israel.

Under the new dispensation after P-Noy, some LP members did not only forsake the party that helped enrich many of them through "pork barrel", they also burned their bridges swearing allegiance not only to former President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte's PDP-Laban, but to many of the hard-hitting former mayor of Davao City's programs that didn't sit well with their previous political party.

The mass exodus from LP to PDP-Laban appeared to be "only the beginning."

Duterte's political party was expected to make a major sweep of the remnants of LP and other coalition parties when his pet program, federalism, took the center stage.

What did the changing of political bandwagon from one disintegrating political party to another ruling party indicate?

 

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It's neither a sign of renaissance nor headway. It's pure and simple opportunism.

Philippine politicians fight for survival and can't afford to stay away from the political party of those in power like Mr. Duterte.

Many of these politicians have pending graft and corruption cases in courts. Some of them were engaged in protection racket.

Illegal loggers, smugglers, gambling and drug lords financed some of these politicians during elections.

If the sitting president, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will lower the boom against them, they will find their way to the doldrums like tottering fools.

If they were "outside the kulambo", so to speak, when the new administration beckoned, there were strong chances their slumbering cases would be expedited; and they might end up snoring in the calaboose.

We will wait when Mr. Marcos Jr. or BBM makes an exit from the Malacanang in 2028 and another president will occupy the presidency.

We will surely see the same political merry-go-round similar to what we are seeing today.

That's the reality of politics--only in the Philippines.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines—Ed)

 

Ilonggo lawmakers expected to follow suit

 

“Under every stone lurks a politician.”

—Aristophanes

By Alex P. Vidal

 

ILONGGO lawmakers felt alluded as members of the “rotten” House of Representatives are also expected to jump ship and abandon the

Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party headed by former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP).

Like their colleagues from other regions nationwide, this is the right opportunity to justify the exodus, which is actually a normal proceeding in Philippine politics each time a new administration takes over.

This developed as 11 lawmakers, mostly belonging to PDP-Laban, have also joined the PFP in addition to several local government officials who had earlier moved to the new ruling party.

The Ilonggo lawmakers are expected to make their moves soon so as not to be caught in a “traffic” so to speak, where they could no longer be the “center of attraction” if they dillydallied or decided too late.

Politicians love to be noticed and mentioned in the mass media while doing a dramatic thing such as the transfer of allegiance from one political party to another.

This is not an earthshaking event in the Philippines. If nobody will do this, it’s news. If there’s an exodus, it’s not news.

To quote the line popularized by late Senate president Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez, “Politics is addition”, which is a rule still followed by most politicians nowadays.

Those who have the numbers always win in every political competition and this has remained unchanged from the time of Rodriguez, except that the contest before was between the Nacionalista Party (NP) and the Liberal Party (LP). 

The multiparty system today has made it even more crucial to get the greatest number of supporters to carry a party to victory. And all the lawmakers and LGU executives are aware of this fact.

 

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The congressmen who transferred to the PFP were Francisco Benitez (3rd District Negros Occidental), Richard Gomez (4th District Leyte), Ralph Wendel Tulfo (2nd District Quezon City), Maria Jamina Katherine Agarao (4th District Laguna), Glona Labadlabad (2nd District Zamboanga del Norte), Marlyn Primicias-Agabas (6th District Pangasinan), Florida Robes (San Jose del Monte City), Leody Tarriela (Occidental Mindoro), Rosanna Vergara (3rd District Nueva Ecija), and Linabelle Villarica (4th District Bulacan).

Also joining the PFP were Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr., Quirino Gov. Dakila Carlo Cua, Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres, Cabanatuan City Mayor Myca Vergara, Meycauayan City Mayor Henry Villarica, Cabanatuan City Vice Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara, and Surallah Vice Mayor Antonio Bendita.

No congresssman from Iloilo and Panay for that matter has transferred yet as of this writing.

A member of the Nacionalista Party, Agarao, who was from Lakas-CMD, and Tarriela and Cua who belonged to the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS), all the new PFP members were from the PDP-Laban, except for Tulfo.

South Cotabato 1st District Rep. Isidro Lumayag will also take his oath as a PFP member.

Abalos took his oath as a PFP member on Friday afternoon.

Presidential son and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander "Sandro" Marcos joined his father's party in August.

 

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STEAMY SUBMARINE CHAT LINE. Researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory have figured out how to focus laser beams to produce a controlled burst of underwater sound. Using a mix of lasers that emit slightly varying frequencies of light, the process superheats a small area of water, producing a small explosion of steam and a 220-decibel sound pulse.

AIR FORCE'S NUCLEAR RESET.  Sometimes a single bad day can reshape an entire military service. The U.S. Air Force was humiliated in late 2007 when aircrews unwittingly loaded six live nuclear warheads onto a B-52 bomber, believing them to be unarmed cruise missiles.

LARGE BREASTS. Some of the largest breasts ever recorded figure in the book "Human Oddities" by Martin Monestier. The weight of each breast of the woman he mentions in the book is 44 pounds (19.8 kg) while their circumference is 33" (83.82 cm).

ENHANCERS. Globally, the top three sexual enhancers are pornography, pleasure enhancing condoms, and lubricants. (Source: Human Sexuality Research Institute)

GERASCOPHOBIA is fear of growing old. But we will all go there whether we like it or not--unless we die young!

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

Why Sara won’t play a loaded dice in Iloilo

“I am a teacher. It's how I define myself. A good teacher isn't someone who gives the answers out to their kids but is understanding of needs and challenges and gives tools to help other people succeed. That's the way I see myself, so whatever it is that I will do eventually after politics, it'll have to do a lot with teaching.”
--Justin Trudeau

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- ALTHOUGH she has publicly raised the hand of Iloilo City mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III, presidential daughter Sara Duterte apparently is also “rooting” for Espinosa’s rival, Iloilo City lone district Rep. Geronimo “Jerry” Trenas, in the May local elections.
As a rumored presidential timber in 2022, the mayor of Davao City can’t afford to play a loaded dice in Iloilo City politics.
“Wooing” certain political characters or “showing moral support” to their candidacy is a political gambit that has been played up even by some of the famous politicians in antiquity.
Antagonizing one party and embracing another is tantamount to a political suicide for any candidate running for a national office in the future.
Thus Mayor Duterte only probably wanted to please not only both Espinosa and Trenas, but also their political supporters and sponsors, when she recently lent them her aroma.
Her gestures should not be interpreted with finality every time she is seen hobnobbing with local candidates anywhere in the Philippines.
Whoever wins between Espinosa and Trenas will definitely be an asset in her presidential campaign three years from now.
Hugpong ng Pagbabago, Mayor Duterte’s infant but fast-expanding political party, will surely invite or recruit more local chief executives -- governors and mayors -- after the May elections.
The party will go for the winners, not the losers.
Victory, after all, has many fathers; defeat is an orphan.

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Those who don’t believe that Mayor Duterte will not run for the Philippines’ highest office should start to wake up.
Mayor Duterte did not organize the Hugpong ng Pagbabago, which made many PDP-Laban stalwarts insecure and nervous, for nothing.
Her body language, as well as the body language of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, speaks louder these past months; her regular activities and nationwide trips were loaded with interpretations that tilt on a strong possibility she will be running for president.
She probably believes she and her father can do in the Philippines what they did in Davao City: becoming the first father and daughter to reign as city mayor; this time, they might shoot to become the second father and daughter in Philippine history to occupy Malacanang’s highest seat after Presidents Diosdado Macapagal and Gloria Arroyo, who is now the House speaker.
Although President Duterte has not admitted it-- and will most likely not admit it, no father will stand in the way if he thinks there is a big chance her daughter will succeed him as president.

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Many drug lords with links in the Filipino-Chinese community who were active in the previous elections in the Philippines either as financiers or candidates themselves are expected to either shy away or maintain a low profile role in the coming elections
They can’t afford to make a noise or display their fangs even if they claim to have solid ties with some powerful officials in government, police, and the military.
They are aware of President Duterte’s standing order for the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to “make life difficult” for these drug lords once they are spotted or arrested.
The threats of violence or even death hangs over their heads like a Sword of Damocles; and if they make one fatal false move, they will be decimated; and their cases will be buried in the statistics of those “killed for resisting police arrest.”
Haven’t we noticed that most of them have surreptitiously “disappeared” and nowhere to be found or heard these past years since President Duterte assumed power?
If they weren’t yet buried six feet below the ground or allowed to escape to China, they are just probably “on standby” for the bigger battle in 2022: the presidential derby.
Only fools can’t read between the lines.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Poison politics

"In politics stupidity is not a handicap."
--Napoleon Bonaparte

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The best season to lose friends and shatter a relationship with some relatives in the Philippines is during the election season.
During the elections, forget about kinship, fraternal affinity, pinagsamahan or past and present camaraderie; never mind the investment on utang na loob or debt of gratitude.
Don't look back at memorable events and circumstances that helped shape a good relationship and expect them to grow in the garden of politics.
Don't brag about kumare and kumpare ties shored up in the wedding and christening ceremonies as if they can be translated into a political commitment and loyalty.
What happens there will remain and even end there and should never be invoked when politics enters the picture.
Politics is a poison.
Politics will altogether eviscerate all that have been built fraternally by human virtues and goodwill.
In politics, as the old saying always reminds us, there is no permanent friends, only permanent self interests.

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Haven't we noticed that some of the protagonists in the race for governor, congressman, mayor, and other local government executive positions in the coming Philippine elections are not strangers to each other?
If they are not classmates in the elementary and high school, they are relatives in consanguinity and affinity; kumpare and kumare (fellow godfathers and godmothers) in the wedding and bunyag (christening) ceremonies.
Some are neighbors and playmates since childhood; others "brothers" and "sisters" in fraternity and church; former business partners, former political allies and party mates, former "colleagues" in ideological, spiritual, and ethnic comradeship, former mentors and proteges, etcetera.
All of these relationships will have no weight and bearing once politics takes the center stage.
It has been proven in the past and it is about to be proven once again as the official campaign for the national seats kicked off; the local candidates are, as well, hell-bent to square off and unravel the cannonballs.

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We also caution the Philippine National Police (PNP) not to allow the organization to be wittingly and unwittingly used as a tool in a political partisanship and persecution especially during the election season.
All the raids and arrests involving political personalities will always be greeted with utmost suspicion and skepticism especially if the involved parties are not known violators of law, or have no previous criminal records in the community.
If a political personality has been arrested because of the crime he had ostensibly committed even before he decided to run for a public office, throw all the books on him and haul him to jail.
But if he was arrested mainly because someone had tipped off the authorities that he may be concealing something that is unlawful in his possession, it may spark a red alarm in the area of politicking and may not be good for the image of authorities, especially if the arrest turns out to be a dud.
Ditto for the police raids involving allegations of illegal possession of firearms, illegal drugs, child pornography, investment scam, etcetera.
If they are legitimate raids, go get the bonkers and dregs of society.
If they are tainted with politics, abort, abandon, and stop it.

Chess is like Philippine politics

“Chess helps you to concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules and take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment.”
--Garry Kasparov

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The political combat in the Philippines can sometimes be compared to chess.
Both camps believe they will win and they will never entertain the possibility of losing.
They will lose only if they are “cheated”.
A defeat for most of them is a misnomer.
They run to win, not to lose.
In politics, however, there is no draw.
One must win and another must lose.
In chess, victory is achieved sometimes in a tie-break or after the full regular match like in the best-of-12-games format of the just-concluded FIDE World Championship in London.

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I made a mistake when I posted on social media that “I have the gut feeling that the world will have a new world chess champion tomorrow (Wednesday, November 28, 2018)” several hours before the start of the FIDE World Chess Championship tie-breakers between defending champion Magnus Carlsen and Italian-American challenger Fabiano Caruana in London, which finally ended with the Norwegian world No. 1 retaining his title.
My “gut feeling” erred, this time.
Caruana, who would have been the first American world champion since Bobby Fischer won in 1972, lost to Carlsen in three time-limited games.
Carlsen, who has won the championship three times before and was the favorite to win the game, took a two-match lead and needed only a draw in the third tie-breaker to seal his victory.

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My basis for picking Caruana in the tie-break was when Carlsen offered a draw in their last match prior to the tie-breakers which many experts, including former world champion Garry Kasparov, believed was a winning game.
They suspected that Carlsen was panicking and losing his nerves after the title match ended in deadlock at 6-all after 12 draws during the regular best-of-12 tussle.
It made Kasparov wondered in his Twit: “In light of this shocking draw offer from Magnus in a superior position with more time, I reconsider my evaluation of him being the favorite in rapids. Tiebreaks require tremendous nerves and he seems to be losing his.”
In the wild and oscillating Game 12, Carlsen, with the black pieces, and Caruana, with the white, began with the Sveshnikov Sicilian, just as they had in Game 8 and Game 10.

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“Carlsen was the first to deviate from the earlier contests, perhaps a stratagem to take Caruana out of his seemingly excellent preparation for the championship, and to angle for a decisive result at last,” reported The Guardian. “By the 12th move, the two were in uncharted territory, looking at a board that that no two people had created before at this level of chess.1”
After Carlsen’s victory, Kasparov Twitted anew, this time in a different tune: “Carlsen’s consistent level of play in rapid chess is phenomenal. We all play worse as we play faster and faster, but his ratio may be the smallest ever, perhaps only a 15% drop off. Huge advantage in this format.”

Speaker Alvarez is a bad influence to Ilonggos

“One of the most deadly causes of destruction of divine destinies is when a leader is failing, but he or she does not know it. Ignorance about your role is a death plot against people's successes.”
― Israelmore Ayivor

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- If I were a politician in the Philippines seeking reelection or higher elective position on May 14, 2019, I would avoid national leaders like House Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez.
The likes of Alvarez are morally unfit to lead the Filipinos; they are a bad influence and aren’t good role models for the youth.
Alvarez, 60, who is married to Emelita Apostol Alvarez, the current head of the Congressional Spouses Foundation, did not only defend his extramarital affair with one Jennifer Maliwanag Vicencio, he also “justified” it in public as if it’s a badge of honor.
Ilonggos and their leaders may not be perfect and immaculate, but they know the bounds of decency and indecency; they are cultured and educated in the best universities; and they venerate women as symbols of virtue and epitomes of chastity and courtesy.

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The representative from Davao del Norte, one of the big bosses of the ruling PDP-Laban party, also slut-shamed detained Sen. Leila de Lima for her romance with her driver during a House hearing in November 2017.
He is the same political leader being adored by traditional politicians in many parts of the Philippines who want to remain in power beyond 2019.
He is the same “Speaker Alvarez” being glorified by power-seekers and applicants for higher government positions owing to his closeness to President Rodrigo R. Duterte (although the president has been asserting he will never tolerate this) and for his lofty position in the PDP-Laban.
Every time he was in Iloilo or in Western Visayas, city and provincial incumbent and aspiring officials were in mad scramble to get his attention; they wanted to woo his blessings to anoint certain candidates for the next elections.

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In other words, these Ilonggo politicians are “worshiping” a false political god; they are barking--for “blessings” and campaign moola--at the poisonous and sinful tree.
Ilonggos, who are educated and decent, should reject politicians who glorify Alvarez, et al like they are demigods.
Alvarez and other hackneyed and dirty politicians are not the prototypical answers to the Filipino people’s most fundamental problems.
The Ilonggos, or the Filipinos for that matter, don’t need politicians as bond aides to solve their immediate needs, but leaders with economic and spiritual visions who can truly lead with dignity and inspiration.
We should eschew politicians who are vexatious to the nation’s soul and those with a convoluted sense of machismo and misplaced braggadocio.

Social media ‘friends’ don’t help win elections

“The more social media we have, the more we think we're connecting, yet we are really disconnecting from each other.” --JR

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- There was a joke that a popular politician in Iloilo in the Philippines lost in the 2016 local elections because he “campaigned” mostly in the social media instead of moving his butts to woo the votes personally in the barangays.
The politician, who maintained several Facebook accounts, miscalculated his “high” popularity rating.
He thought being popular in the social media was tantamount to instant victory in the election.
His Facebook account only had 5,000 “friends list” while the number of voters in his district was 313,112.
The former only massaged his ego, the latter were the ones who cast the actual votes that sealed his fate.
The politician, a smart aleck, ignored his partymates’ admonishment and allowed himself to be mesmerized by his admirers’ fallacy and dazzling Facebook comments foretelling his “landslide” victory for being a "good" and "deserving" candidate.

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It was too late when he realized he had been taken for a ride by the false prophets in his “friends list.”
After winding up second to the last in his district, he cursed his political party; he ended up a bitter and sore loser.
The next congressional elections in 2019 still won’t be about the number of “followers” or “friends” in the social media, it’s about the number of village chiefs or punong barangay that will support the candidates.
Local elections in the Philippines will continue to be decided by the degree of influence the candidates wield in the barangays or villages, considered as the smallest political units.
Those who have strong connections with the village chiefs usually wrap up the contest for mayor, congressman, and the the municipal, provincial, and city legislatures.
The village chiefs are the ones who have direct access to the voting populace.
Eighty percent of the candidates whose names are on the sample ballots being distributed in the villages are usually shoo-in in the winning column.

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We’ve noticed that some election wanna-bes at this early find it riveting to hammer away with the faults and imperfections of their prospective rivals in the next elections using the social media.
They believe that if they start to dig holes on their prospective rivals’ credibility and shatter their myth of invincibility earlier in the ballgame through the power and influence of the social media, it will be easier for them to deliver the knockout blow during the campaign period.
Those who usually initiate the aggressive offensive blitzkrieg are wanna-bes with low name-recall ratings, or those who belong to inferior or ragtag political parties.
But even if they succeed in portraying their prospective rivals as wicked men and women in the social media, this won’t give them any assurance of sure victory when they tangle during the official electoral contest.