Gilas & puso; Napoles & pork

IT was all heart that got Gilas Pilipinas to beat South Korea in a game that truly mattered for basketball pride and honor of the nation. We were united for a moment, shouting our lungs out to egg our team to gain back their composure with the injury of naturalized center Marcus Douthit. With Douthit riding the bench, it was an all-Filipino five that engineered the return to center stage for a team created, molded and nurtured by a man called MVP and a bench tactician named Chot. It was championship caliber play Saturday night with an 86-79 victory. More than anything, it was personal for every Filipino in the SMX Arena for we have not beaten South Korea for that long. Defeating South Korea ensured our ticket to Spain for the FIBA World Championships.

Anyare?

Anyare is a Filipino, street term loosely translated as “what happened?” It is a shortened word of the phrase anong nangyari. The usual answer would have been nganga, Filipino street term to mean none. And really, from 22 July when BSA3 delivered his 3rd SONA, it was all down the hill, err, slippery slope.

Calculated risks

No State of the Nation Address (SONA) will make someone proud to be a Filipino. It has always been said: “masarap maging Filipino sa sariling bayan.” That has been uttered by OFWs, balikbayans and even the poorest of the poor. Those who have stuck it out in the Philippines rather than migrate to some other countries for greener pastures would often say, “kahit mahirap dito sa Pinas, basta sama sama tayo, masaya pa rin.”

Wanted: Congressional reform

18-years ago, at the start of the 10th Congress, I wrote an article for one of the broadsheets on the same topic. At that time, I was assisting in setting up the office of then Sen. Marcelo B. Fernan. Interestingly, my article came out during the organizational meeting of the Ethics Committee, which he was chairing. I was asked to resign because of that article because Sen. Fernan didn’t want to “insult” his colleagues because of what I wrote. I stood by what I wrote and left his office by lunch promising to push for the reforms.

Invisible people

Is it apathy or indifference or we have just given up on them? Invisible people are all around the metropolis and more in urban areas. NEDA estimates that 25 million Filipinos currently live in poverty.

Years ago, we refer to shanties and colonies as their domiciles. Today, they live under bridges, in pushcarts and sleep on cold cements of sheds and pathways. If you happen to be traveling around midnight, you can see them around the metropolis and it seems government does not care.

Of renaming and UP tradition

THE first and only local bill renaming a street that was enacted by the post Martial Law Congress that went into a bicameral proceeding in the 8th Congress was that of renaming Vito Cruz. The House of Representatives passed the local bill renaming the whole stretch of Vito Cruz St. to Pablo Ocampo St. When it was discussed in the Senate, then Sen. Rene Saguisag asked for a research on the historical role of Vito Cruz, a street map which showed Vito Cruz traversing two political subdivisions: Manila and Makati; and a copy of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 1059, An Act Prohibiting The Naming Of Sitios, Barrios, Municipalities, Cities, Provinces, Streets, Highways, Avenues, Bridges, And Other Public Thoroughfares, Parks, Plazas, Public Schools, Public Buildings, Piers, Government – Crafts And Vessels, And Other Public Institutions After Living Persons. R.A. 1059 is vintage 1954 and is still in our statutes book.

Dissent & bashers

In recent weeks, I have been engaged in a conversation on the economy and flooding. I would like to think it was a conversation and not a monologue of criticisms. I am active in Social Media and I post when I like to post, if I like to post. A good guide for anyone interested in social engagement, but for some they think a criticism makes one a certified basher against this Administration. To the young trolls, dissent is certainly not bashing, check your dictionary, for if someone tells you it is, you are being fooled. And as Soren Kirkegaard once said, “there are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”

Where art thou Opposition?

Elections are all about choices and when these choices are predetermined by coalition politics, there is no excitement in the air. When there is no excitement in the air, turn out is low than the average at midterm. This election is for the books because turn out is atypical that of mid term trends.

In Quaerre

In quaerere is Latin phrase for in search. I was in search of the right title for my column that would reflect the kind of writing I would do on a weekly basis. It was not easy. From “look beyond the fluff” to “connecting the dots” to “ring a bell” to “cut to the chase” and what my staff suggested, such as “outlier,”“vantage point” and “soapbox.” I used to write a column under the title Dream Catcher, but that was more like my other hat where I write on positive things. But the dream went pfft and so I decided to stick to Zilch.

Am back!

Its been four (4) years and I have been out of the blog world for some reasons.  I hope to be back regularly.  I hope to link my Manila Times column, entitled ZILCH (same column as with The Lobbyist [www.thelobbyist.biz]) and this blog.

There are polls and there are some

POLLS were predominantly used and became more public in the country in the 90s. Previous to that, only a handful would use surveys for politics since these were viewed as strategic moves, secrets that only a few should know and can afford. Today, polls are a dime a dozen. From national and local candidates, survey firms are sprouting like mushrooms on rainy days. Nothing’s wrong with that. For so long as there are clients, there will always be room for a new outfit. Then again, the new outfit will have to compare itself with the two dominant commercial players: Social Weather Stations (SWS), a non-government organization (allegedly non-profit), and Pulse Asia, a private corporation (for profit).

Asean integration, ready or not!

THE Aquino III has been in its 3rd year in office and, interestingly, we have not made much inroads in foreign policy, save the predictable US-centric bias and the alarm bells mode on China. Our foreign policy should be dictated by the saving grace of the PH economy: OFW, but it seems we are too bipolar in approach. We are pro US and if anyone is against the US, we side with the US. The US foreign policy has shifted and pivoted back to Asia while ours remain in a time warp.

A legacy agenda

A sitting president is accorded two Congresses to put together the policies needed to propel one’ s administration and to sustain it beyond one’s term. In those two terms, the president can have divided houses or a consolidation of powers after midterm.

In search of a President

Its been a while since my last blog and what got me to blog again is the recently concluded ANC Leadership Forum last May 11, 2009.

There were only 5 leaders who showed up. Initially, the mayor of Makati, Jojo Binay and Senator Ping Lacson were supposed to have been present but both canceled the last minute. Senators Loren Legarda and Manny Villar were invited but sent their respective regrets. The same goes with Vice President Noli de Castro. Former president Joseph Estrada was not invited and no reason was offered by the organizers. It was supposed to be a leadership forum which to me meant a discussion of issues, policies and to a certain degree platforms. It turned out to be just an opening salvo to maybe a series of fora in the future.

Interestingly, it was held at Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola campus. It wasnt really the venue where you can get your typical Filipino voter (Classes DE). Even the organizers introduced the leaders as two were alumni, 2 taught in Ateneo and one was a product of Dela Salle but was a law classmate of the Dean of ADMU School of Government.

In my book who came out good copy was Secretary Gibo Teodoro NOT for what he said but because of the freshness and novelty of what he said and how he said it. He was presidential, he was cool, he was articulate in both english and tagalog. Clearly he painted himself as the protector of his president. But when he started to recite the "positive contributions" of his president, my stomach started to churn. Its good his audience was so polite that even while he was already spinning, no one in the crowd wanted to voice their objections to what he was saying. As i termed it after the forum, Teodoro was "amusingly surprising." But then again, no talk was made about his record as Secretary of National Defense and almost all critics were saying by virtue of being Secretary of Defense, he had experience. Media should start putting the so-called record into scrutiny in just the same way they viciously questioned Mar Roxas and Chiz Escudero.

Roxas, despite of his so-called Wharton degree ( a Bachelor's degree) and his investment banker experience (look what happened to his tribe in Wall Street) was to my book a downhill run. The only thing I can remember is about Korina, padyak, him being the positive contribution of PGMA and his closing of "di ko kayo iiwan, tuloy ang laban" mantra. When 10 minutes was wasted on Korina and padyak, who can say Roxas had what it takes to be President? I don't know who placed him in that light but whoever thought of padyak and his "di ko kayo iiwan, tuloy ang laban" is highlighting an obvious character flaw in the guy. Let me leave it at that for now.

Dick Gordon was his typical self. Surely this man could have been president. He had the track record, the command, and he can get his people to rally for any cause. "Vision, values, volunteerism=victory". He was in his usual self: the national cheerleader of Team Philippines and yet despite all of what he has done, he just fails to connect with Generation X and more so with Generation Y and the Millennials. Gordon will be an exciting player in formal debates because even in this forum, he was zeroing in on all the gimmicks of another. And one thing I noticed about the guy is that he has mellowed. He smiles more often and in fact quite emotional in several events already. His EQ is a lot better now and he addresses his audience. But he has to check his kilometric answers. As my neighbor said, "nalulunod sa haba ng sasabihin, nawawalan ng gana tuloy ang nakikinig."

Among Ed was like being in church when he spoke and answered questions. The audience was generally quiet (probably the Jesuit training was literally showing). "Wala tayong pera" was taken as gospel truth unlike when Chiz Escudero said "ang weakness ko Tina, hindi ako pinanganak na mayaman, hindi ako pinanganak na may pera at hindi ako pinanganak na may kapabilidad na gawin yung nagagawa ng iba." Critics of Escudero were one in saying that the answer was just a charade. That because he was an Escudero, he is rich. Media should check his claim. That's public record. Escudero is middle class. So they judge Among Ed differently from Escudero. When Escudero said he had donors, they took it to mean as being glib. Why? Didn't Among Ed had donors too?

Among Ed's engagement at the national level will definitely frame the debate. These lines are lines that the youth will rally on: "gusto kong tumulong sa aking bansa", "leaders should not compromise principles in serving the people", "we are in a point in time when our country has been so shamed."

So what about Chiz? Well I may not be the neutral pundit on this matter but I will try to be impartial. 1) Chiz was not a "bad communicator". If he was, then the audience would not have connected with what he was saying or the other leaders would have stuck to English throughout the night. When Chiz answered in tagalog (he was first speaker in the Forum), those who followed after him talked in tagalog save for Gordon. 2) His demeanor was not what one would expect for a polished candidate and yet he remained true to his age which appears to be his strength because the younger ones can connect. If critics were in the hall, they would have seen young faces nodding and old and weary faces grudgingly agreeing. Sans the image consultant work, Escudero was as original as he can be. 3) Chiz is not "sincere"? Really, can one show determine sincerity? Just because he talks in a rapid fire fashion, one can readily say Escudero is not sincere and because he was not sincere, he was not respecting the listeners??? That's a lot of BS. So what do you make of a leader who was born with a gold spoon in his mouth and drives padyak to prove he is one of the masses? Or another who describes his peace and order expertise as "balansiado"? Surely there are so much more criticisms against a young guy offering his future for a country in disarray and yet a critic said Escudero was like Senator Palpatine... and in another Escudero was only "capable of criticisms and not critical thinking." C'mon, the guy is not just hot air like how old fogeys paint him to be. Escudero is a product of UP from elementary, high school, college. He completed law from UP and got his Masters from Georgetown. He has 11 years tacked under his belt from Congress and previous to that was in media rendering legal advice and practicing law.

Record? Everything is public and media should be able to put those things together or would you rather he copies the style of old politicos and come out with paid releases just to plaster around town his accomplishments? Well, the search of a President is really hard to do especially when being the youngest is looked down upon. If it is insulting to question the motives of lurkers afraid to reveal their names but consistently snipe at Escudero, it is also insulting to tell young voters that they do not know how to vote.

For me, I would just let history be the judge, keeping in mind that our very foundation has been tested by young minds and fought for by young hearts.#

Don't Do Ads Now

I once met an ad guy who laughed at political campaigners who do everything by the numbers. He said that it is not the way to win an election. It was like a red flag to me because here was an ad guy saying there is another way of winning, when all along winning political campaigns is all about having 50.1 percent of the votes. Again, I repeat, elections are all about having the numbers to win and the ads are mere tools to increase awareness. They do not win elections.read more

Political Marketing: Battle of products and not advertisements

Selling Candidates is a title of the book launched on 13 May 2008 during the First Campaigners-Media Interface at the Hyatt Hotel and Casino in Manila. The Ateneo School of Government, Newsbreak, and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) should be congratulated for their effort to bring together the heavyweights in the political consulting, campaigns, and political party establishment. KAS even brought in, straight from Germany, Dr. Helmut Jung, GMS Managing Director.read more

Ads Do Not Win Political Campaigns

In 2004, I was part of an effort where political advertisements played a vital role in the senatorial campaign of then candidate Mar Roxas. That campaign heavily relied on surveys, focus group discussions, and frequency maps that combined air and ground wars. It also relied heavily on organization. Many questions have been asked about that campaign. Many stories remained untold, more particularly the behind-the-scenes ones and backroom maneuverings. But I guess that would be told in fondness when campaigners try to recollect the shared experience we’ve had in making our then candidate be number one. read more

Linking with The LOBBYiST

I have been gone for quite sometime not because I do not want to continue this blog but because I have been busy with another product of my company, PUBLiCUS (www.publicusltd.com). We have launched three successive products last quarter of 2007 up to this June 2008. These are our Vox Opinion Research, our online magazine known as The LOBBYiST and our political risk assessment service known as PRISA to be launched by end of June 2008.

I hope you enjoy reading the various issues we have considered and please do leave your comments here or at The LOBBYiST. Cheers!

Comandante en Jefe

Fidel Castro, 81, has announced his retirement as president of Cuba after serving 49 years in the aftermath of an armed revolution against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. His announcement is five days short of his current mandate set to expire on February 24.

In 1965 he became First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and led the transformation of Cuba into a one-party socialist republic. In 1976 he became president of the Council of State as well as of the Council of Ministers. He also held the supreme military rank of Comandante en Jefe ("Commander in Chief") of the Cuban armed forces. On July 31, 2006, after undergoing intestinal surgery for diverticulitis, he transferred his responsibilities to the First Vice-President, his younger brother Raúl Castro. Castro is both admired and feared. Admired by leaders of the Third World for standing up to the United States but feared by some for suppressing freedom in Cuba.

As his political sunset mixes with the dark clouds, the man who loves to deliver long speeches in his green military fatigues said:
``I neither will aspire to nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander-in-chief,'' Castro wrote, according to Granma in its online edition. ``My only desire is to fight as a soldier for my ideas.''

When a so-called tyrant knows when to step down, somehow we in the Philippines hope to see a new dawn where leaders will owe up to their responsibilities and finally say, I am wrong and I am truly sorry for breaking your trust. I am resigning as President... ah someday probably.

The Building Storm

A flurry of texts came my way starting February 9, all enjoining friends to join the march at various points wearing various colors all meeting at the Ninoy Aquino statue by Paseo de Roxas. As the day nears, I kept praying there will be many who will join and this will not be the same faces or the same hakots seen in almsot all post-Erap rallies. I also prayed for sun so that it will be a warm day of again creating history.

On Friday, 15 February I decided not to join the various groups marching to the Paseo. I decided to walk on my own trying to remember when was the last time I joined a march, asking myself why I am here and what's the point of joining this effort. It was a cloudy afternoon with threats of rain pouring any minute. I decided to pass by a huddle where a security guard was telling everyone "ang daming tao, ito na siguro". I was wondering what he meant by that statement but along the way, you can hear people saying, "sana ito na..." Yes the crowd was big but its not the typical crowd you would see in the early days of people power.

What makes the rally unique were each of the streets leading to the statute were headed by different groups; there were no politicians going up the stage (they were all down observing and feeling their way), its a cross section of the society who listened and quietly left. The crowd was thick then some left by 5 pm and a different set of people, mostly young law students came by early evening, increasing the number to almost 10,000.

Indeed, these are again the small steps we have to take for our country. As a people, it seems we never learn.