I am so relieved that the highly-respected economist, professor, TV broadcaster and political commentator Winnie Monsod has categorically denied writing that "Why I Will Vote for Noynoy" campaign article that have been circulating in emails. I received that particular email yesterday and I just couldn't bring myself to believe that Winnie herself wrote it.

It was totally out of character (not to mention that the poor command of the language was so uncharacteristic of Winnie) and the outright attack on certain personalities to drive the point that voters should vote for Noynoy Aquino was so brazen and sweeping that I found myself extremely in shock and in denial. So much so that in the first instance, I didn't even finish reading through the whole thing.

Whoever wrote that article must own up to it and be held responsible for the damage it caused and may still be causing to unwitting people who may be trustingly forwarding the email to family and friends.

I am attaching the full text of that said "article" here to alert anyone who may receive it in the future.

If you receive the same email, please do not forward it. Instead, I urge you to act like the responsible citizen that you are by replying to the sender and informing him/her that that email is a hoax.

Whether or not the feisty Winnie Monsod supports Noynoy Aquino or not is out of the question. As someone technically associated with the government as a professor in the University of the Philippines and being a prominent public figure, she is barred from campaigning.

Also, whether the accusations against certain personalities mentioned (together with related details presented) are accurate or not is a different matter altogether -- which I'm in position to confirm nor deny.

The main issue here which bothers me and should bother you as well is the use of someone's name to render credibility to the article. Anyone is allowed to voice his or her opinion in this country -- a luxury many of our forebears died for. But let's be decent and responsible enough to own up to what we say or write. Very few in this country have an untarnished credibility like that of Winnie Monsod's, and don't we all wish we commanded the same respect in our writings?

But I still believe nothing beats being yourself. I'd rather suck at being myself than appear magnificent pretending to be someone else. I'd rather have no one believe me by being me than have people flock to me by riding someone else's reputation.

Insist on decency in this coming elections. Expect a deluge of black propaganda and its variations in the coming days. Be very careful of what you believe and forward. Don't allow yourself to partake of such irresponsible acts.

Regardless of the intention, whether to besmirch the reputation of Winnie Monsod or to use her credibility to deceive voters, this act consists of the highest treason against God and country.

Again, DO NOT FORWARD THE EMAIL AND PASS IT OFF AS TRUTH, WARN OTHERS AND COUNTER ALL ATTEMPTS TO DELUDE VOTERS.

What follows is the exact FALSE ARTICLE email. Font formatting (bold/italics emphasis), mine. I also took the liberty of chopping the paragraphs for easy reading. Everything else remained in tact.

"Why I will vote for Noynoy - Winnie Monsod

Monsod's Musings (Winnie Monsod)

Villar still refuses to attend the Senate to face questions, and it only reminds me of how GMA used the privilege of her office to avoid questioning. What will happen if Villar wins and more corruption scandals surface? With Villar catching up to Noynoy in the polls, I am honestly quite terrified of the prospect of him winning. There is a clear case of graft in this instance, and instead of delving into the issues, his allies in the legislative are simply brushing off the allegations as "politically motivated". As a citizen, we should not accept this. If there is smoke, we must see if there is a fire that needs to be put out. Yes, the timing of the allegations seem a bit off. ( Joker Arroyo was pushing these issues as early as 1998).

A known crook and political opportunist, Juan Ponce Enrile, is the person leading the censure. However, when the facts are presented, it is clear as day that something is amiss. It just further builds on my strong suspicions that Villar is a businessman simply looking to control the political arena to make a boat load of money. I have never trusted Villar since day one. I never trust businessmen who enter politics, because in the end, their core value is and always will be profit maximization. It is well documented that Villar's real estate empire ran into some serious financial problems when his overexposure to the real estate market and the Asian Financial Crisis made him unable to pay debts he took out to expand his real estate business in the early 1990s.

After the Asian Crisis hit, Capitol Bank, owned by Villar and heavily exposed to his real estate investments was essentially ran to the ground and needed to be bailed out. In 2005, Villar tried to solve his debt problems by hiring a group of investment banks to advise him on how he can consolidate all his assets into one company ( Vista Land ). With the local and foreign investment bankers, Villar came up with a growth story for investors: "Invest in my company because we need it to fund all these wonderful project!" However, what was downplayed during the IPO roadshow was that instead of financing growth, resources from the offering would be used to finance his debt. To appease creditors, Villar even had his investment bankers pitch some form of a debt-to-equity conversion that raised skeptical eyebrows of many. In 2007, the IPO of Vista Land did not do as well as planned, in part because many investors and brokers were the same people who were burned by Villar's inability to pay back his loans.

Now, as part of a corporate growth (or should I say corporate restructuring) plan, Villar is lusting for the highest position in the land. This scares me because Villar already has a track record of using his political position to gain the upper hand for his businesses. To save his empire and increase shareholder value of his business, Villar used his influence as Senate Finance Chair to shrewdly derail a Cavite road project that was supposed to be BUILD, OPERATE, and TRANSFER. Villar built a longer and more expensive road, the C-5 extension, adjacent to it; subsequently forcing the private investor in the initial project to pull out.

The fishy thing is that this new road, longer and more expensive than the previously planned project, passed through all of Villar's land in Cavite . It is a clear case of graft, pointing to Villar use of influence and government funds to substantially improve the values of his real estate properties. To add insult to injury the right of way the government would have to pay in order to complete the project was substantially higher for the land that Villar owned. These funds could have easily been used to build needed schools.

This scandal should be a red flag for all voters. However, the scary part is that Villar is spending billions to keep this out of the picture as he continues his attempt to brainwash our masses that he is their saviour. He convinces the masses that he is one of them. A poor boy from the slums of Tondo. In actuality, he is more like the 5-6 and syndicates, slum dwellers themselves who make a profit out of their poor brethren.

Villar's ad agencies are doing an excellent job of maintaining this image as well as doing damage control. TV and radio continues to churn out Parokya Ni Edgaresque jingles that compete with "Nobody, Nobody." Dolphy is Villar's new spokesperson and Wowowee is one giant ad for him. In this process of brainwashing, the masses are not cognizant of how Villar conducts business as a politician.

What they do not see is a man hell bent on turning our archipelago into his own personal piece of real estate. It is sad that the efforts of Juan Ponce Enrile, who is leading the censure for Villar, is actually giving Villar more sympathy votes. People do no trust Enrile, and when Enrile pounces on someone, it is usually met with a high degree of skepticism. I do not blame people for feeling this way.

I also think Enrile is a crook who should be jailed for conspiring to implement Martial Law, for coup attempts, and for the human rights abuses during the Marcos regime. If someone with a more respectable reputation were to level these charges on Villar, I am sure the surveys would tell a different story.

I also fear from some credible reports that Malacanang has actually made a deal with Villar (under the table). Essentially, GMA's goons said, "We will help you, in return, leave us alone when you win". Villar's behaviour in recent forums further adds credence to these reports as Villar has been very tame and quiet when it comes to how he will treat GMA after the elections.

Appealing to common sense, it makes ALL THE SENSE for GMA to support someone who has a chance of winning, not a person rating at 4% in the surveys. GMA tried to reach out to Noynoy after Tita Cory died. All she got was rejection.

Who can stop Villar in his quest for the presidency? I am known to be a Noynoy supporter, but to those skeptics and to those who are still undecided, I do concede that he is not perfect. His record as a politician is average and unspectacular at best. He does not have the charisma of his father.

Before the death of his mother, he did not get much mileage. But I am going all out in support for Noynoy in 2010 because he stands for clean governance and appear willing to accomplish this. In addition, he has the best chance of preventing a opportunistic businessman, the assured next President of our country before Cory died, from using the Office of the President as a personal growth asset to his business empire.

Noynoy's clean record is a big plus for me. It is a trait that I think should be the most important quality that we should look for in our next president. His appeal is that his track record is not tarnished by corruption scandals and his political debts are minimal. I know that many critics are trying to make an issue over his involvement in Hacienda Luisita, but Noynoy is not even heavily involved in the company.

As a shareholder, Noynoy only owns .04% of Hacienda Luisita, a drop in the ocean and hardly in any position to do something about it. The case of the Hacienda does not have the substance that the C-5 extension controversy has a lot of. In addition, Nonoy also has an incredible legacy to live up to. All the pressure is on him to be clean and stay clean. He can't afford to tarnish the Aquino name and the immense legacy that his parents left behind. Cory and Ninoy practically sacrificed their family for their dream of a better Philippines .

For Noynoy, to know that your father and mother went through so much hardship to improve our country is a heavy burden to think about if you do decide to become a crook and destroy everything that they fought for. We all have to make a choice. In my opinion, it has to go to the presidentiable who has an independent mind, stands up for what he believes in, is clean, and has the legacy his parents to live up to and maintain.

For me, Nonoy, with all his flaws, is that candidate. For what this country needs is a clean president who can set an example top-down for the entire state; it needs a president with the will to change things and stamp out corruption; it needs a President who can set an example and is willing to perfect our dysfunctional democracy.

I want someone who stands for being clean. He does not need a degree from Harvard. He does not need to have a multi-million peso business to show me he can make us all rich. He does not have to speak well. He just has to be clean. Nothing else should matter.

He has to prioritize a platform of clean and effective governance and make sure that it delivers on that promise. Policies on the economy, education, energy, environment and health can all follow after the fundamentals are taken cared of.

So far, the only candidate who promotes my vision with a clean record to back it up is Noynoy. Our urban landscape is replete with political slogans that attempt to convince people of certain candidate's ability to lead our nation Galing at Talino?

Sorry Gibo, those were the supposed qualities of GMA, rubber stamped with a Phd in Economics. And what happened? She only worsened our economy. To GMA's credit she did balance our budget at one point, but it has again ballooned to the level where the next president will have to deal with the same economic issues she faced in 2005.

During GMA's watch investment in infrastructure was insufficient, poverty incidence worsened, public education deteriorated, our nautical highway is still incomplete, goons like the Ampatuan's flourished in the south, and a culture of corruption flourished in our institutions. Instead of creating jobs, GMA focused on a policy of exporting labor without measuring the social costs of such a policy- thousands of broken OFW families and children of OFW's who do not have the proper parental supervision to teach them the differences between right and wrong.

In effect, our next generation is left on their own to figure out how to become empowered patriots who love their country and will fight to defend it. In effect, whatever statistics in GDP growth GMA and her allies love to advertise, non of it trickled down and benefitted the poor..and none of it accounts for the social costs to her policies. Good speaker? Sorry Gibo, Marcos had that quality and he did nothing good for our contry. In fact, Marcos squandered the opportunity to be our Lee Kuan Yew and Dr. Mahatir.

If I want a good, charismatic, and eloquent speaker, let's just run down the list of effective public speakers and vote them in. Para sa mahirap? Sorry Erap, you had your chance and failed miserably. Your only accomplishment is in convincing our masses that movie roles do not carry over into the political area.

My only concern with Noynoy is how deep he might be in the Liberal Party and whether he has accumulate political debts to Liberal trapos. The Liberal PArty, like any party, has its own share of crooks (including those bandwagon trapos who jumped off GMA"s boat to ride on Aquino's popularity). How much will Nonoy have to give back to the Liberal trapos (and bandwagon Liberals who jumped GMA's ship) if elected? We will never know. However, I am willing to live with that unanswered question if it means preventing someone like Villar from turning the Philippines into Vista Land 's next subdivision development. I am also reassured by the fact that he has that "Aquino" name and the ghosts of his parents to answer to if does decide to go down the immoral path. Nonoy will not solve all our problems. One person can't. But we need a start somewhere and it should be with someone who pushes honesty, reform, and good governance. It will be a tough battle, but I want to give Noynoy the chance to build on what his mother tried to accomplish.

And I hope that if Noynoy wins, he will have the courage to make tough decisions and go after crooks, even if it means hurting a lot of friends and colleagues in government. To give you a better sense on how Villar conducts business, here is also a link to Joker Arroyo's 1998 privilege speech: http://www.malayanghalalan.com/2010/01/26/joker-arroyo-raises-issue-of-accountability-of-public-officers-against-manny-villar/ Actual notes scanned: http://www.scribd.com/doc/22789941/Joker-Arroyo-Privilege-Speech I guess "if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck.."

Well, as the saying goes...... Vote wisely Philippines . And continue to work towards uplifting the masses and freeing them from their state of hopelessness. Defend them from opportunists. DEVELOP THEM (FIRST) SPIRITUALLY AND BEHAVIORALLY; THEN ECONOMICALLY! When we lift up the poor and ween them off the mentality of hopelessness, our country will become first world. Only then will we have the powerful middle class that our young democracy is screaming for.

Winnie Monsod"

You have been warned. What you do with that information is totally up to you. But I trust that you will do what's right. If you are swift to forward emails, be swift to inform others that you have made a mistake. It's the least we can do for ourselves and our country.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Last updated: March 4, 2010 @ 2100H

First there was Erap Estrada (although he didn't blurt out a name, he dropped very obvious hints). Now there's Senator Dick Gordon. Them and a few more less publicized tidbits of "political bribery" stories fuel today's hot election headlines. And we thought El Niño is hot, no?

Is there any truth to this? Well there's no sure way to tell right now. We are left to choose between taking the accuser's word at face value or dismissing it altogether as another attempted black propaganda.

Sen. Manny Villar is eternally rain-drenched in his elections summer parade.

Sen. Gordon has an untainted reputation and is yet to disappoint us. With that in mind, his claim that an 'emissary' of Sen. Manny Villar attempted to 'buy' him out and talk him into withdrawing from his presidential bid for the coming May 20'10 elections by offering to 'reimburse' him of his previous expenses and projected expenses is not an accusation that Villar should take lightly.

So far, we've only been treated to a bland response via an interview where Villar denies such an 'indecent proposal' to Sen. Gordon, adding that he no longer has money to spend for such things because whatever campaign money he has left is allocated to campaign-related expenses. Is 'buying out opponents to withdraw' part of that 'campaign-related' expenses? Villar doesn't say.

Although not really improbable, it's a no-brainer that such a move would only backfire at Villar. Given all the propaganda and mudslinging going around against him, trying to 'reimburse' opponents and buy out their dreams of becoming president would be like fanning dying embers to a flame. That's plain stupid, I think. But as always, this is the Philippines. This is Philippine politics. No move is so stupid for politicians. However, I'd like to give Villar the benefit of the doubt -- in the same way I'd like to give Sen. Gordon the chance to prove his accusation for all the world to see.

The trouble with sifting truth from a heap of lies is that there's so much 'hybrids' going around. There's black prop, there's counter prop, there's counter-counter prop and there's modified version of all those. So unless someone can come up with irrefutable evidence that could hold water in court, all these can be ruled out as 'modified truths', 'half truths' or 'true lies'. Confused already? You should be.

Besides, anyone can claim to be someone's emissary. So I'd echo Villar's challenge to Gordon: name that emissary. (Update as of March 4, 2010 @ 2100H: Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile wrote in his Facebook fan page note entitled "JPE to Villar: GORDON IS NOT FOR SALE" named the so-called Villar emissary as none other than his friend and colleague Senator Edgardo Angara, Gordon however denied this and said the emissary was a businessman who used to work for the government.)

This is elections period. Everything is meant to shock and deceive the bewildered electorate. So hit us with your best, you guys.

It's bound to get hotter leading up to May. Let's see who can stand the heat that is to come. Let's wait for more scalding accusations and knee-jerk reactions. Sit back. Relax. Enjoy the show.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Last updated: January 5, 2010

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports in today's Sunday paper of the existence and proliferation of a so-called "Maguindanao (Massacre) 11/23/2009" video footage done in the semblance of a documentary which sells from around 70 to 120 pesos each. The video, it was said, is about four hours (2 days) worth of taped footage of the retrieval operations (at the crime scene where the back hoe was found beside the shallow grave hurriedly dug up by the perpetrators to bury the victims, some of them still alive).

There is no script, no background music, no sound but that of the back hoe as it digs for victims. There were vendors of these dvds claiming the ones they're selling are clear copies since they were taken by
Photo by chefrandenSOCO (scene of the crime operatives) themselves.

I don't know about you but I think it is very insensitive to sell, buy and watch these DVDs.  Considering that the people being unearthed in all their stripped glory and humanity are real victims and not actors -- the red stains on their violated bodies are of real blood -- whoever sold these taped videos to be reproduced and peddled in the very streets and public markets of Maguindanao spits on the memory of these poor souls whose lives were taken mercilessly on that fateful Monday.

If it weren't even considered okay to publish gory still photos online or offline, why would anyone think that it's okay to watch the retrieval operations over and over again at home?

The mourning families of these victims have suffered enough. The memory of that gruesome event is hard enough to erase. Let us be sensitive enough to spare them of the endless grief of reliving the Maguindanao massacre over and over again.

Please do not buy, sell or watch these "Maguindanao 11/23/09" DVDs.

Update:

I've recently read this heartening report that as of Monday, January 4,2010 some 600 "Maguindanao 11/23/09" DVDs have been 'surrendered' by Quiapo vendors to Optical Media Board Chair Ronnie Ricketts. This is a wonderful development. Let's hope more vendors follow suit.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Much is to be said about the reluctant Judge Cortez who declined the job of handling the now celebrated Ampatuan, Maguindanao massacre that cost the lives of 57 people, mostly journalists and women.

The chilling account of one man's cold-bloodedness was supposed to be relived in this year's most anticipated and most-watched murder case in the sala of another man.

But as it turns out, having too little courage is as dangerous as having too much of it -- for the sin of omission bears about the same weight as the sin of commission.

That means, doing nothing when "you could have done something" is not a lesser offense. Continue reading →

Popularity: 1% [?]

From now on, it's not just name, fame and "rags to riches" story they have in common. If we are to believe that the essence of party politics is alive and relevant in this country, then boxing living legend Manny Pacquiao's decision to join Senator Manny Villar's Nacionalista Party shows that they now share the same core political beliefs as well -- not that Pacquiao has anything to show for in terms of politics at this time of course. That is another matter. Although this didn't come entirely as a surprise as there were talks circulating regarding Manny Pacquiao's possible endorsement of Senator Manny Villar as his bet for the 2010 presidential elections, it makes you wonder why the pride of GenSan (running as congressman in the lone district of Saranggani provice, his wife's home province) chose to ally himself with the Nacionalista Party instead of his "madam president's" Lakas-Kampi-CMD where he would've been treated to another hero's welcome. Sorry Gibo, Manny prefers "sipag at tiyaga" over "galing at talino" -- at least, as a slogan for the elections -- possibly because he knows by heart and by experience that skill comes from diligence. Continue reading →

Popularity: 3% [?]

Hooray for image-building. Ruling party Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro is going places, saying wonderful things, looking good and promising. This photo of him cuddling a needy child in Maguindanao is good for his image.

Boo for doublespeak. How convenient it is for him to suddenly "urge his former colleagues" to "make public their report of the investigation as to why government-issued weapons ended up in private armies," when he would have done better by spring-cleaning his former office before he left to campaign for his presidential bid in 2010. He had a chance to do it himself. That would have served his purpose and prevented the now infamous Maguindanao massacre. Continue reading →

Popularity: 2% [?]