Why No Bandwagon for Noynoy Altho He is Winning by a Landslide

This Lady Governor is for Gibo. The Governor's father and brother who are congressmen also claim to support Gibo. But two other siblings who also very influential - one is head of a very vital and controversial GFI - are supporting Villar.

It is a common practice for business families and aspiring political clans to divide their loyalties among whoever is in power, whether in Malacañang, the provincial capitol or the city and municipal hall, and a possible winner in the opposition. There was Roberto Ongpin for Marcos and his brother Jimmy for Cory among businessmen. The political families are even more adept at this game. Whoever is in power the family is protected.

During election time loyalties are divided among the front runners. So the division should have been between Noynoy and Villar. So why did this governor and her family choose to be either with Gibo or Villar?

For them it is a matter of palabra de honor to support Gibo whose "winnability" has been in doubt right from day one of the current election campaign. Most probably they are hoping against hope that the administration machinery can still work miracles for Gibo. But just in case the miracles will not come, they better make a side bet for Villar whose vast campaign kitty is being marshaled effectively. Hence the alliance of the other siblings with the Villar camp.

But why not assign other family members to support Noynoy? I think the only reason is that if Noynoy wins there is nothing to fear. Noynoy is such a decent man that he bears no grudge against anyone. So those congressmen or governors or mayors who are campaigning on the other camps have nothing to worry about. They know that their development funds will not be cut off even under a Noynoy presidency.

That is why a Cebu congressman urged the students of his family-owned university to vote and to ask their parents to vote for Noynoy. He was telling them about how Noynoy is an honorable and likable fellow. He said that you could ask even the security guards of the Senate who they would vote for and they would say Noynoy. Yet he is campaigning for Villar. If Villar wins, good for him. If Noynoy wins, no problem for him. He can always claim he campaigned for Noynoy.

Even Arroyo is assured that any viable projects in her district will be funded accordingly. No matter that in the presidency of Macapagal, Noynoy's father, Ninoy, while governor of Tarlac  complained bitterly that projects for his province were not given the funds by Malacañang. Noynoy has enough noblesse oblige  not to stoop to that level.

Gotcha ye rating agencies!

Those sanctimonious, preachifying rating agencies are a bunch of hypocrites. Glad to know I am on the same side with Prof. Krugman on this issue.

My office colleagues do not have a clue

It seems my colleagues at the office are clueless about the pedophilia and sexual abuse controversies recently hounding their clergy. Do they skip pages on their papers which report these incidents? Like this one or this from the Sunstar.

And I am always amazed at their bishops who believe that they are on higher moral grounds than everyone else as in this news item.

Perhaps they get their news about the issue from the Onion like this one or this.

Now Quezon is in the election equation

Sometime back I said that some candidates who are not descendants of Osmeña, Roxas or Aquino are in fact using those names in their election campaign.

Now a presidential candidate who is not a Quezon is being assailed in the news for using Quezon in furthering his bid. And another candidate sees no problem in using the name.

What will Manolo say about this? :-)

Where have all the coins gone?

As far as I can remember there have always been complaints about coin shortage. Usually the basic story, a kind of an urban legend, of a coin shortage begins with a complaint by a buyer that at supermarkets or groceries  candies instead of coins are used as change. Or as some are alleging, the cashier at the counter would simply tell you if it's ok if the change is short by 25 centavos. On the other hand, some cashiers are ready to give you 1-piso change instead of 75 centavos if you insist.

Bank officials too have been heard to complain that their clients, meaning businesses, are badgering them for coins.

How about some hard data on coin circulation in Cebu? From records available at the Cebu Regional Office of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas   one can glean the amount and number of pieces of the various denomination of coins that were shipped from Manila since 2003. Records for earlier years only show the total amount of coins. Still the amount and number of pieces from 2003 to 2009 is staggering.

Leaving aside the figures for the smaller denominations, the data from 2003 to 2009 are as follows:

      Denomination        Amount               No. of Pieces
     10-piso                  P279,600,000       27,960,000
       5-piso                    165,750,000       33,150,000
       1-piso                      65,800,000       65,800,000
     25 centavo                 22,987,500       91,950,000
      Total                     P534,137,500     218,860,800

So where have all the coins gone?

There are several reasons for coin shortages in the Philippines. See here and here for  a definitive two-part article.

On a personal note, I think banks should be at the forefront in ensuring an efficient circulation of the coins already in private hands. I am hearing, too, that banks are not keen on receiving deposits in form of coins especially from their small depositors. It would mean additional investment in coin counting machines or  manpower which would affect their bottomline, right? This could very well explain a big part of the problem.

Or if banks are willing to receive coin deposits but are not seeing the coins come, perhaps they can try more creative ways of attracting coin depositors.

Candidates who bank on their family names

Much of the criticisms leveled at Noynoy revolves around his family name. It is being argued, I am inclined to believe that it is due to lack of better arguments, that he has nothing to show but his being a descendant of Ninoy and Cory. But is it wrong to elect someone on the basis of his descent?

Going by the adage that the acorn does not fall far from the tree, I think it is a safe bet to vote for a candidate with a name like Osmeña, Roxas, or Aquino. These are honorable names whose legacies are worth preserving by their heirs. Oh, yes, there are some issues that you can throw at those names. But definitely not about corruption or incompetence.

Compare these with the names like, er, well, never mind. I don't want to get into trouble.

The other candidates who do not bear these pedigreed names are in fact using the names of Osmeña, Roxas and Aquino in their quest for electoral victory. Look at the faces on the P50, P100 and P500 bills which they hand out like calling cards or with which they buy campaign ads.

There is a candidate who, judging by the amount he spends on his campaign ads, may be related to Jose Abad Santos, Vicente Lim and Josefa Llanes Escoda.

Politician's promises - A First Hand Experience

Everyone knows of the promise of GMA not to run as President in 2004 only to go back on her words and got us all to where we are now. Of course, where we are now is either good or bad depending on which side your bread is buttered.

When Erap was interviewed by Randy David while he was a presidentiable in 1998 he vowed to spend at least 3 months every year in Mindanao to directly oversee the development of the region. He conveniently forgot it during his short tenure.

I also remember Lito Osmeña saying he would not stay more than one term as Governor of Cebu claiming that any governor who could not deliver on his promises for the province in three years would not deliver at all; and he vowed he could do it in one term.  He went on to a second term and tried to leave the governorship to his wife when he ran for Vice-President. He and his wife lost.

My first hand experience with politician reneging on their words happened when I was in my grade school days. I lived with my grandparents in a northern town of Cebu. (I have to make this story as generic as possible because some  persons involved are my close friends.) My grandpa was the Vice-Mayor for several terms  back when each term lasted four years.

One day nearing election time Grandpa brought home blank forms for certificate of candidacy. He told me to fill up the forms manually because we did not have a typewriter. He was running for Mayor finally. The Mayor, it seemed, decided to give Grandpa a shot at the post. Grandpa always polled higher than the Mayor during the previous elections. Naturally I thought it was great and about time.

But a few days afterwards he brought back another sheet of certificates of candidacy and told me he was running once more as Vice-Mayor. The incumbent Mayor, who was his partymate and compadre, decided after all that he still wanted to be Mayor. But he promised he'd step down after two years to give way to Grandpa.

I know there was something fishy somewhere in the promise. At any rate, I filled up the forms but deep inside I knew Grandpa was in for a big disappointment.

As expected Grandpa still polled higher than the Mayor. Two years came but the Mayor held on. Grandpa was still Vice-Mayor until the end of the term. A few more terms later when Grandpa was already old, they even had the temerity to ask him to slide down to a Councilor's post. Which he did despite my appeal to go for broke, run for Mayor even at the risk of losing.

So what else is new about trapos?