Benigno Aquino III | Prepys' Homepage

For a more meaningful Independence Day

June 12, 2016June 12, 2016 Ellen

President Aquino at the June 12, 206 Independence Day celebration in Malacanang. Photo by Malacanang.

The nation observed the 118th Independence Day in a somewhat somber tone.

Maybe because in two weeks time, there will be changing of the guards. The presiding president, Benigno Aquino III, is bidding goodbye and last Sunday’s Independence Day Vin d’Honneur was the last that he was hosting.

Aside from leaving the seat of power, Aquino is turning over the reins of the government not to his annointed, Mar Roxas, but to Rodrigo Duterte, the candidate that he warned the voters to be a danger to democracy.

At the Vin d’honneur, a traditional reception for the diplomatic corps and government officials on New Year’s Day and Independence Day, Aquino once again talked about his family’s sacrifices for Philippine democracy under the Marcos dictatorship to underscore that our much-cherished freedom can be taken away.

“I emphasize that this has happened. Once, a fellow Filipino stole our freedom. This means that if we are not vigilant, it could happen again,” Aquino said.

He added: We have achieved everything we are enjoying today while respecting the process, the law, as well as the rights of each person. We did this without silencing anyone, and while valuing the freedom that those before us fought for. We firmly believe in this principle: That there can be no true progress if we surrender our dignity and our rights.”

Was Aquino referring to Duterte’s statements that suggest disregard of due process in his declared war against illegal drugs and other crimes? Was he thinking of Duterte’s warning to Congress not to stand in the way of the reforms he wants to introduce – a blatant disregard of the check-and-balance system in a democracy?

2016 Independence Day vin d’honneur

And speaking of Duterte, it was reported that he was a no-show in the Independence Day ceremonies in Davao City. He was represented by Davao City administrator Jesus Melchor Quitain, who offered no explanation for the incoming president’s absence despite the latter’s patriotic battle cry during the campaign with the Philippine flag as a constant prop in all his rallies.

ABS-CBN reported that as city mayor Duterte didn’t preside over independence day celebrations. Maybe because it was held in the morning and Duterte himself said his day begins at 1 p.m.

Quitain assured everybody that Duterte will institute reforms once he takes over the presidency on June 30. Maybe in the next Independence Day the traditional morning Vin d’honneur will be held in the afternoon or in the evening.

So many lives have been sacrificed, so much blood have been spilled for the independence and the freedom that we are now enjoying. Our forefathers fought foreign invaders: the Spaniards, the English, the Japanese, and the Americans.

But independence is not only freedom from foreign colonizers. We are not truly free if many of our people are still mired in poverty. We are not truly free if we continue to live in fear of our lives and we cannot feel safe in our homes and in our streets.

We are not truly free if we cannot say what we want for fear of reprisal from people in power who would be displeased with what we say or write.

We are not truly free if many of us live in ignorance. We have to be educated and informed to be empowered.

We are not truly free if we do not have the capacity to dream of a brighter future.

Last month, we chose a new set of leaders in an election. We were able to do that because our forefathers bequeathed to us a vibrant democracy.

It is now turn – our duty and responsibility- to protect that hard-earned democracy and strengthen it for the next generation.

For a more meaningful Independence Day

June 12, 2016June 12, 2016 Ellen

President Aquino at the June 12, 206 Independence Day celebration in Malacanang. Photo by Malacanang.

The nation observed the 118th Independence Day in a somewhat somber tone.

“I emphasize that this has happened. Once, a fellow Filipino stole our freedom. This means that if we are not vigilant, it could happen again,” Aquino said.

2016 Independence Day vin d’honneur

ABS-CBN reported that as city mayor Duterte didn’t preside over independence day celebrations. Maybe because it was held in the morning and Duterte himself said his day begins at 1 p.m.

We are not truly free if we cannot say what we want for fear of reprisal from people in power who would be displeased with what we say or write.

We are not truly free if many of us live in ignorance. We have to be educated and informed to be empowered.

We are not truly free if we do not have the capacity to dream of a brighter future.

Last month, we chose a new set of leaders in an election. We were able to do that because our forefathers bequeathed to us a vibrant democracy.

It is now turn – our duty and responsibility- to protect that hard-earned democracy and strengthen it for the next generation.

Has traffic jammed Mar Roxas’ brain?

August 19, 2015August 19, 2015 Ellen Leave a comment

Metro Manila traffic. Thanks to Canadian Inquirer.

No wonder there was no urgency for the Aquino government to find solution to the horrendous traffic that Metro Manilans have to survive daily: they continue to think it’s an affirmation of their “good work.”

Aquino always brags that under his term, the Philippines experienced economic boom.

And proof of that economic boom, he said, is the traffic gridlock. Last year, he told the Filipino community in Spain: “When you come home and you’re caught in traffic, just remember that people are running errands, not just loitering around. That is a sign of economic growth.”

Last week, his anointed, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas echoed that line at the annual national convention of the Philippine Sugar Technologists Association Inc. (Philsutech) in Cebu.

“This is a problem in a sense that arises from prosperity. Because there is money. Because there is economic activity,” Roxas said.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas

Roxas rattled off numbers: 260,000 vehicles were added on the road in 2014, a huge increase from the 60,000 vehicles a year 12 years ago when he was trade and industry secretary in the Gloria Arroyo administration.

This year, there will be 300,000 vehicles more on the road. The increase of the number of vehicles will continue in the coming years at the rate of 10 to 15 percent, he said.

The Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania, where Roxas got his business education should be proud of him. He can cite figures effortlessly.

Except implement a solution to the problem.

Does Roxas and for that matter Aquino and members of his cabinet have an idea of the agony of commuters who have to endure hours lining up for a seat in a shuttle bus or hours standing in an overcrowded bus that doesn’t move along EDSA?

Last Saturday, the day after the “Bad Friday” when a number of air passengers missed their flights stuck in traffic along EDSA for five to eight hours, I left the house in Las Piñas at 2:30 pm for a 4:30 p.m. meeting in Greenbelt Makati. Usually, it takes about an hour with the bus taking the Skyway.

I arrived in Greenbelt 5:30 pm. The person I was meeting had left.

Last month, I met my relatives at the airport and brought them to St. Paul University in Quezon City. We left NAIA3 a little past 2 p.m. We arrived at St. Paul past 6 p.m.

I left St. Paul almost about 8:30 p.m thinking that by that time, traffic gridlock had eased up. I could not stay much later because I had to catch up with the shuttle bus going to Las Piñas that had its last trip at about 10 p.m.

I got to the shuttle bus Makati terminal before 10 p.m. and the line of waiting passengers was about a kilometer long in a snake-like formation. Very few shuttle buses were arriving because of the traffic jam.
Tired and weary, I called TAI taxi and fortunately there was one available in Makati. We plodded through the traffic but at least I was inside the vehicle. Got home past midnight.

I’m wondering,except for one occasion that Malacañang made a big deal of it, haven’t I read or heard the President and members of his cabinet caught in the traffic for hours like you and me? Isn’t there supposedly “a no wang-wang” policy?

The “No wang-wang” is plain B.S. Prior coordination between the Presidential Security Group and MMDA allows the President to breeze through the traffic. No need for wang-wang.

Traffic jam in Metro Manila, which translates into losses of P2.4 billion daily according to a study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, is no progress at all. It’s a sign of incompetent governance.
To say that it’s a sign of “booming economy” is an insult to the suffering public.

Jeman Bunyi Villanueva commented in Facebook on Roxas’ justification of the traffic burden: “I- boom kaya mukha niya?”

Endorsing Mar, Aquino insults Grace and his mother

August 2, 2015August 2, 2015 Ellen Leave a comment

Pres. Aquino’s choice to succeed him: Interior Secretary Mar Roxas. Photo by Benhur Arcayan / Malacañang Photo Bureau)

Is President Aquino that desperate that just to boost the chances of his “Annointed”‘ he had to insult Sen. Grace Poe and his mother, former President Cory Aquino?

In his speech endorsing Interior Secretary Mar Roxas for president in the 2016 elections, Aquino said:

“Sa paghahanap nga po, kinausap natin ang mga taong maaaring magpatuloy sa Daang Matuwid at ang maraming mga sektor. Kinapanayam ko ang tatlong tao, na sa aking pananaw ay kabalikat sa Daang Matuwid. Maganda nga po sana, na ang mga kailangan pang magsanay ay talaga pong magkakaroon ng pagkakataong mahinog at maunawaan ang tunay na lalim ng pagkapinuno. Sa akin pong paniniwala, itong tatlo, kung magkakasama-sama ay talagang matinding tambalan. Doon po, sa ngayon, ay hindi pa tayo nagtatagumpay. Nagkaunawaan po kami; mukha namang iisa ang aming hangarin, pero hindi eksaktong paraan ang nasasaisip para maabot ito.”

(During my search, I spoke to those who I believe could pursue the Straight Path, as well as to many other sectors. I interviewed three people who, in my view, are allies in pursuing the Straight Path. The ideal situation is for those who still need experience to have the opportunity to have their skills and talents fully develop, and to understand all that is required of a leader. In my view, these three people could form a truly formidable team. At this point in time, success has eluded us in this endeavor. We reached an understanding; it seems like we have similar goals, but our means of achieving those goals are not exactly attuned to one another’s.)

He didn’t name Grace Poe but everybody knows how he tried to convince the lady senator in the three five to six hour meetings with Roxas and Sen. Chiz Escudero to be the running mate of the Liberal Party standard bearer.

He could not be referring to any other person but Poe with his “those who still need experience to have the opportunity to have their skills and talents fully develop, and to understand all that is required of a leader.”

Look who is talking!

Aquino himself is a shining evidence that the number of years in the House of Representatives and in the Senate does not translate to leadership competence.

It really depends on how a person carries out his or her job. In Poe’s two years in the Senate, she has shown competence and industry, which cannot be said of the person undermining her whose years as congressman and senator produced no notable legislation.

Sen. Grace Poe

Reacting to the Aquino’s statement, Poe said, “‘di maikakaila na mas mahaba sa gobyerno si Secretary Mar… Sabi nga nila hinog na raw, pero ako naman kahit yung nahihinog pa lamang minsan pinipili rin ng tindera at ng mamimili sapagka’t mas tumatagal.”

(It can’t be denied that Secretary Mar has a long experience in government service. They say he is fully ripe but as for me the vendor usually choose unripe fruits because they last longer.)

Aquino also insulted his mother, the housewife-widow turned president.

Teddyboy Locsin’s piece, “Idiot idea” on the suggestions that Poe should first gain experience and run for president in 2022 is a must read.

Locsin said: “This idea is: No. 1, stupid and No. 2, presumptuous.”

In fact, Poe not succumbing to the entreaties of the President showed firmness which is a leadership attribute.
Aquino feels he owes Roxas for what the latter did for him in 2010. But why should it be Poe who should shoulder the burden?

Aquino’s solution to his problem with Roxas’s presidential bid that refuses to take off baffles blogger Caliphman who remarked in my blog: “Someone please explain this to me. When Aquino decided to run for President, Roxas slid down to be his VP candidate because he was way behind in the presidential polls and Aquino was way ahead. Now the situation is like before with Roxas being way behind and Poe being way ahead. Can someone please explain to me why in this case, it should be Poe who should be sliding down instead of Mar?”

Aquino appealed to the people: “Mga Boss, idinudulog ko po sa inyo ngayon: Sa akin pong opinyon, ang nagpakita na ng gilas at ng integridad, ang hinog at handang-handang magpatuloy ng Daang Matuwid: walang iba kundi si Mar Roxas. “

(To my Bosses, I tell you today: In my opinion, the one who has shown exemplary work and true integrity, the one fully ready to continue the Straight Path, is none other than Mar Roxas.)

Good luck!

Aquino has learned lesson when to keep his mouth shut on China

July 31, 2015July 31, 2015 Ellen Leave a comment

Pres.Aquino delivering his sixth and last State-of-the-Nation address.

It can’t be said that President Aquino has not learned anything in the last five years of his presidency.

We would like to think that his not mentioning the issue with China over territorial claims in South China Sea in his 6th and last State of the Nation address is an indication that he has learned from his mistakes of making unnecessary insulting comments that do not help at all advance national interest.

Maybe his not feeling well last Monday did not give him the opportunity to adlib. Or he would have repeated his favorite historical story of Sudetenland and once again compared China to Nazi Germany. Just what he did in his interview with New York Times before and early this year in his press conference in Japan.

If he did that, the Philippine hosting of the 2015 Asia Pacific Economic Conference would have the distinction of being boycotted by the Chinese top leader.

Chinese President Xi Jiinping was reportedly offended by Aquino’s Sudeten remark in Japan which had the effect of comparing him to Hitler that he is considering not attenting the November APEC summit in Manila and send a lower- ranking official instead.

We imagine that the Chinese leadership noted his not having mentioned the conflict with China in his SONA. In 2013, when there was also no mention of Chiana in his SONA, the Chinese leadership sent their appreciation.

It was in his 2011 SONA that Aquino announced he was raising the ante in the territorial conflict with China bragging that the Philippines has the capability to repel China’s aggression.

“Speakiing of security, does enhanced security not also enhance our national prid? There was a time when we couldn’t appropriately respond to threats in our own backyard. Now, our message to the world is clear: What is ours is ours; setting foot on Recto Bank is no different from setting foot on Recto Avenue,” he declared.

It was in that SONA that he announced his government’s plan to do the unprecedented move of hauling the superpower to an international tribunal:

“We do not wish to increase tensions with anyone, but we must let the world know that we are ready to protect what is ours. We are also studying the possibility of elevating the case on the West Philippine Sea to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, to make certain that all involved nations approach the dispute with calm and forbearance,”

It took two more years before Aquino put into action those words.

And it was because the Philippines had lost to China Scarborough Shoal also known as Panatag Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc, only 124 nautical miles from the shores of Zambales.

In his 2012 SONA, Aquino said, “The situation in Bajo de Masinloc has been the source of much discussion. Chinese fishermen entered our territory. Our patrol boats intercepted some of their ships, which contain endangered species. As your leader, it is my duty to uphold the laws of our country. And as I did, tension ensued: on one hand, the Chinese had their Nine-Dash Line Theory laying claim to almost the entire West Philippine Sea; on the other, there was the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea, which recognized the rights of many countries, including that of China itself

“We demonstrated utmost forbearance in dealing with this issue. As a sign of our goodwill, we replaced our navy cutter with a civilian boat as soon as we could. We chose not to respond to their media’s harangues. I do not think it excessive to ask that our rights be respected, just as we respect their rights as a fellow nation in a world we need to share.

“There are those who say that we should let Bajo de Masinloc go; we should avoid the trouble. But if someone entered your yard and told you he owned it, would you agree? Would it be right to give away that which is rightfully ours?

“And so I ask for solidarity from our people regarding this issue. Let us speak with one voice. Help me relay to the other side the logic of our stand.

“This is not a simple situation, and there can be no simple solutions. Rest assured: We are consulting experts, every leader of our nation, our allies—even those on the other side—to find a resolution that is acceptable to all.”

Aquino was not being truthful with the people when he said that “patrol boats” intercepted the Chinese fishing vessels. It was BRP Gregorio del Pilar, at thst time the country’s lone warship.

He was also not telling the truth when he said, “As a sign of our goodwill, we replaced our navy cutter with a civilian boat as soon Aquino has learned lesson when to keep his mouth shut on Chinaas we could.”

The truth was: sending a warship to intercept a fishing vessel Chinese was a violation of the rules of engagement of “white-to-white, grey-to-grey.” Meaning, a civilian vessel (Coast Guard or Bureau of Fisheries) should intercept an offending civilian vessel, not a warship. Only when the offending vessel is military should you send also a military ship.

It was not a sign of goodwill that BRP Gregorio del Pilar was pulled out of Scarborough Shoals.

Philippine authorities realized their mistake. They had to do it or else China would also send its warships.

The Scarborough Shoal incident hastened the Philippine filing of the suit before the U.N Arbitral Tribunal. Hearing started early this month.

It is just proper that Aquino keeps his mouth shut.