TEAM CHIZ!

Noynoy: I've got more Facebook friends than Chiz

2009-11-11T04:25:00.000-08:00

MANILA - How popular is Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III in the online community?

According to online portal Yehey.com, Aquino has double the number of online friends in his Facebook and Friendster accounts compared to presidential candidates Francis "Chiz" Escudero and Manny Villar.

Aquino has a combined total of 155,950 friends on the two popular sites followed by Escudero with 81,114 friends and Villar with 56,945.

On Twitter, Aquino also leads with 17,970 followers as of November 9, followed by Escudero with 14,679 and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro at 3,609.

To sustain the momentum, Aquino on Tuesday launched his video blog—the only one among candidates to mount such an initiative. Dubbed as “60 Seconds with Noy,” the video blog will be a series of 18 episodes to be posted online in the run-up to the November 30 deadline for the filing of candidacies.

The video blog, according to Aquino’s director for communications, Yoly Ong, will offer an “unscripted and raw look” of Noynoy to allow voters to better know the presidential candidate, his advocacies and his planned platform of governance.

“The Internet is a very important medium for voter education. It allows us to reach the growing Internet-savvy, Filipino population relying on the Internet as an important source of information. It also allows us to reach Filipinos overseas who have very limited access to Philippine tri-media and who we are unlikely to reach through our sorties,” Aquino told a group of online media and bloggers in a video satellite conference from his Times Street residence.

WiT and GeoMedia donated the use of the satellite technology for Noynoy’s campaign.

The video blog is just the latest in Aquino’s foray in cyberspace. His website Noynoy.ph has already generated 75,000 page views since its launch.

An ongoing contest to upload and select the avatar for Aquino has also been staged to encourage interaction with the site’s visitors.

Source: abs-cbnNEWS.com

Chiz told to forego presidential bid rather than lose

2009-11-11T04:20:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines - A former colleague of Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero in the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) said yesterday he should abandon his presidential plans or risk losing the race and prematurely ending his political career.

The veteran lawmaker, who requested anonymity, warned that it is useless for Escudero to join the presidential race without any political party to back him up.

“If I were Chiz, I will not run for president anymore. Instead, I will seek re-election in the Senate. With no political machinery to work for him, his chances are slim even as Vice President. He has no field commanders like congressmen, governors, and mayors to campaign for him in the barrios,” he said.

Escudero resigned from NPC last month, shattering earlier expectations that he would be its the standard-bearer.

Meantime, the administration party Lakas-Kampi-CMD (Lakas) has closed its doors on Escudero as the running mate of its standard bearer Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro.

“We don’t know where he is going. we can’t adopt him; solo flight siya. Even his former party mates are puzzled about his decision (to bolt the NPC). He’s treading a different path,” Lakas deputy secretary general Reggie Velasco said.

Escudero and Teodoro, aside from being close friends, were former colleagues in the House of Representatives and NPC members. Conjuangco, Teodoro’s uncle, favored Escudero over his nephew to be groomed as the party’s standard-bearer. – With Dino Balabo

Source: The Philippine Star

Chiz: Clear trash on Marikina riverside

2009-11-11T04:16:00.000-08:00

Opposition Senator Chiz Escudero is supporting the call of environmental groups to urge the Marikina City government to clean up the Nangka riverside of debris left by tropical storm Ondoy.

"It is the duty of the city to get rid of the garbage in the river. This could have more tragic consequences if the river is still clogged with waste when a new storm arrives," Escudero said.

Earlier, EcoWaste Coalition said the city violated environmental laws when it decided to place the mud and debris on the side of the river to clear roads that were blocked due to the typhoon.

The 40-year-old lawmaker cited the report from the group which quoted information from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that a 50 – meter portion of the Nangka River has been reduced to three meters because of the seemingly "authorized" disposal of garbage.

"I fear that with the simultaneous storms that have been hitting the country in recent months, this would further cause more floods not only in Marikina, but neighboring cities as well. It is imperative that the city government must find an alternative way to get rid of its waste without endangering the river," he said.

Source: Tempo.com.ph

Legarda to bare 2010 alliance within the week

2009-11-09T19:53:00.000-08:00

By Charlie Señase
Inquirer Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Senator Loren Legarda on Tuesday said she would announce within this week whether to run for vice president with presidential aspirant Gilbert Teodoro Jr. under the Lakas-Kampi coalition or with Senator Manuel Villar of the Nacionalista Party.

"Whether orange (campaign color of Villar) or green (color of Teodoro), I will have to formally announce it within this week," she said during a brief talk before officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao here.

Legarda was guest during the State of the Region Address (Sora) of ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan.

Pressed to divulge the political bandwagon that she would join in an interview with reporters, Legarda declined to give an answer.

"Let's talk about what we can do to resolve the problem of climate change and other issues concerning social problems and the economy," she said.

"One thing sure, I am running for the vice presidency and I am pro-people and good governance but whether it’s orange or green will be known in a few days from now," she maintained.

"I don't want to break the news here," she said, adding that it might obscure Governor Ampatuan's Sora.

Lacson confirms VP offer from Escudero

2009-11-09T17:23:00.001-08:00

MANILA, Philippines--Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson revealed on Monday that he was offered to become the running mate of fellow senator and presidential aspirant Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero in next year’s elections.

Lacson said the offer was made two months ago or before Escudero announced he was leaving the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

“Yes, but that was before he bolted from the NPC,” the senator told reporters.

He said Escudero “expressed” the possibility of them running together in case the latter’s tandem with Senator Loren Legarda does not push through. “At that time, I said, “Why not?”,” he added.

But in a press conference last October 28, Escudero pulled a surprise when he announced that he left the party so he could decide on his own about his plans in the 2010 elections.

Lacson’s name was one of those immediately mentioned as Escudero’s possible running mate should he decide to run for president next year.

But Lacson denied this, saying the offer has not been repeated to him since his colleague had left the NPC.

“Mahirap mag comment. (It’s difficult to comment.) I may sound too presumptuous,” Lacson said, when asked if he would now accept the offer to become Escudero’s running mate.

Source: Inquirer.Net

What do you think of Chiz Escudero's decision to bolt the Nationalist People's Coalition?

2009-11-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

Source: Philstar.com

Armando Tavera, Las Piñas City: So, what else is new? It’s the name of the game in politics. There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.

Bax Cadiogan, La Union: Finally, a new brand of politics has emerged. What he did is commendable and should put all trapos to shame.

Good decision, Chiz!

Richard Decena, Quezon City: Sen. Escudero did the right thing. Loyalty to the people should come first. Ang mga political parties po ngayon ay ginagamit lang ang mga politician.

Lucas Banzon Madamba II, Laguna: I do believe that Chiz Escudero’s decision to bolt the NPC was made out of his goal to be independent in planning his political career.

Ed Alawi, Davao City: Chiz made the right decision. Why would he be subservient to a group with vested interests which are not for the country and for us poor Pinoys?

Tom Valdez, Cebu City: Chiz bolting the NPC caught the ire of some, but earned the admiration of millions. Count me in.

Chiz is saving face

Rey Onate, Palayan City: I totally agree with the analysis of Alex Magno in his column that Escudero’s quitting from the NPC is a herald of change from party politics to opportunist populism. A good trapo move, it appeared as a principled decision but kwidaw. Drama lang.

Ruel Bautista, Laguna: Chiz is a wise kid. The prevailing situation gives him no chance of winning. That’s why he improvised. Just wait and see.

Durbin Rantael, Quezon City: Escudero’s decision to bolt the NPC deserves to be respected, even if it only shows that there are no true allies in all Philippine political parties.

Elizabeth Oximer, Negros Occidental: No choice; save face na lang siya. It’s Noynoy come 2010.

Felix Ramento, Manila: Chiz Escudero’s bolting the NPC proved to be a naive decision to cover up his misadventures as a fledgling trapo.

It could usher in a new era in politics

Dennis Acop, Benguet: Chiz Escudero’s decision to bolt the NPC appears to speak well of his character, if what I read about his motivations for doing so is to be believed. The article I read said that Chiz didn’t want to be beholden to some powerful individuals bankrolling and controlling his candidacy. As an independent, Chiz would be able to better pursue his agenda to help alter the course of Philippine politics, which as it currently stands is nothing but a road to perdition. If this is true, even I am impressed. You see, Chiz did not impress me despite his youth, brilliance, and some tinge of idealism. I therefore support Chiz in his decision to bolt the NPC. And if he keeps going down the road he is on now, I may just campaign for him when the time is right. Old-school politicians who wish to treat their party candidates like puppets just don’t get it. This brings a little bit of hope in a land already consumed by cynicism and hopelessness.

Loi Castillo, Davao City: His loyalty to the party ends where his loyalty to the Republic begins. Chiz might just be the answer to the age-old Philippine practice of political patronage, where the old political godfathers always put influence on all young, risk-taking, and aggressive politicos. Hopefully, he will usher in a new era in RP politics.

Jose Parco, Aklan: Politicians are never to be trusted. However, who knows where this will lead? It could be the beginning of the end of an abomination, which is political patronage. If he is true to his word, then he’s back on my list of people to admire most!

It’s political suicide

Leonard Villa, Batac City: Party intramurals and Escudero’s misplaced principles caused him to bolt NPC, turning off many of his supporters. He has committed political suicide.

Norberto Robles, Taguig: In leaving NPC, Chiz blew a fighting chance for a crack at the presidency in 2010 and further beclouded his political career. Ego got the better of him, wanting too much, too soon.

Jim Veneracion, Naga City: My hunch is he’s being courted by Lakas to be Gibo’s VP candidate, but what he did was more of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Maling diskarte.

His true colors are showing

G. de Gregorio, Metro Manila: Chiz showed his true colors when he quit the NPC. Why would he suddenly find his party of 11 years so objectionable? This is nothing more than a spoiled brat’s temper tantrums after not getting what he wants. We should not vote for him because he has just shown that he cannot be trusted.

G.M. Caguioa, Dagupan City: Chiz wants to shed off his Danding and Marcos stink, forgetting that his father is a Marcos crony.

Elpidio Que, Vigan: Escudero’s jumping ship from the NPC disclosed him to be of the trapo breed. When a presidential wannabe is banking on contributions from businessmen, be they good or evil, it reveals himself to be not truly for the country, but for his mercenary money and/or the vanity, protection, and perpetuation of evil businessmen. In the “Bayan at Dios” program of Brother Eddie Villanueva on Q Channel on February 24, during which Gen. Jose Almonte was a guest, the general inferred that President Erap admitted having accepted P1.5 billion for his campaign kitty when he ran for president in 1998, which he regretted so much later when he was ousted. With or without financial help, Chiz should pursue bringing about change in the country, if he is truly for the country.

L.C. Fiel, Quezon City: After 11 years with the NPC, he bolted the party to deliver a political statement about a brand-new people’s politics that would contradict party politics, blah, blah, blah.

We should respect his decision

Fe Lintag, Pampanga: Everybody is entitled to his own opinion and perhaps Senator Chiz feels that quitting the NPC is good for him. We should respect his decision.

Lydia Reyes, Bataan: Everyone should respect his decision. Perhaps he has another plan in mind. He knows what is best for him.

Pat Cuilan, Benguet: That’s democracy in action.

Pedro Alagano Sr., Vigan City: Whatever his reasons, it is better to let go of his presidential ambition for now as he’s still young anyway. Otherwise, he’ll self-destruct.

Ella Arenas, Pangasinan: Well, it’s Sen. Chiz decision, so we should respect it. A little birdie is probably whispering in his ears, may panalo ka. He should be careful because if he fails in his first attempt, chances are, he will experience the same fate as Sen. Loren Legarda na hirap makaahon. My unsolicited advice to Sen. Chiz, relax muna, malalakas ang kalaban, bata ka pa, marami pa’ng pagkakataon.

Bad news for women

Daniel Escurel Occeno, Sorsogon: Somebody else is helping Chiz Escudero find Excalibur. The Metro Manila ladies could not do that. I was hoping the Millennium Development Goals Leaders Forum would inspire the understanding of the difference between a special interest president and a king of the people. The UN explained its theory to end poverty with the goals set to be achieved by 2015. Unless Chiz dislikes Loren Legarda, as comments on TV and the Internet say, he has just sent a clear message that he will not represent the majority of the voters, women that is, by leaving the NPC. Even though the Philippines has had two women presidents, gender inequality still exists in the Philippines and according to the UN, it is the cause of poverty. My father says that Gilberto Teodoro wanting a woman running mate might just benefit from this. Loren Legarda did not want to leave her political party, but because she lacks a strong presidential candidate, NPC can merge with Lakas, making the teamup of Gibo and Loren possible. Sounds like a movie script.

He’s testing the waters

Leandro Tolentino, Batangas: As one of the first young advocates of change, that might be the Senator’s program of change in this country: Changing parties or changing minds!

Jose Fabello Jr., Cagayan de Oro: Political realities are hard to swallow, but must be taken fast to avoid the bitter taste. Hitching a free ride to Malacañang is very difficult, especially if you start from Bicol. Walking is good, but you will not get there anytime soon.

Eduardo de Jesus, Metro Manila: Is Escudero testing the waters? Well, you’ll never know what you can get away with, unless you try!

Bolting the party was a treacherous act

Durbin Rantael, Metro Manila: Escudero won the senatorial slate with the NPC. Bolting was a selfish and treacherous act. It manifested his being a traitor to his own political party.

Danding is not supporting him

Robert Young Jr., San Juan: “Being attached to vested groups that might weigh down (his) commitment to public service” was the reason Escudero gave for bolting the NPC. Sen. Chiz has been in politics for almost two decades; he should know that it’s part of the game. I still believe he bolted the NPC because Danding Cojuangco won’t give his full support and is planning to back up Noynoy. Danding is a businessman; he will bet his money on the winning horse.

Mandy Rillon, Cabanatuan City: According to Chiz, the party head Danding Cojuangco did not support him or give him any financial support, so it could either be nagtatampo siya, he doesn’t want the NPC or Danding Cojuangco to benefit from his possible victory, or he has a radical mind and does not want to be dictated upon, or bata pa talaga si Chiz and he did not mind talking to his supposed VP (Legarda) before announcing his decision. This is the kind of leader he is. Mapusok. Ingat tayo.

C.K. Yeo, Iloilo City: Chiz won’t admit it, but it must be because Danding won’t support him with P2 billion for his campaign kitty. It’s even rumored that Danding hasn’t been taking his calls for quite some time now. Better to quit now.

Manuel Abejero, Pangasinan: Escudero is not rating well in any survey and Danding Cojuangco is a shrewd businessman who knows that investing in Chiz Escudero is not a good idea.

Eufrocino Linsangan, Isabela: Blood is thicker than water. I believe Danding Cojuangco will eventually support either Ninoy or Gibo. Chiz saw this; thus, his decision to bolt the NPC.

Benjamin Nillo, Las Piñas City: He bolted the NPC because he sensed that party founder and chairman, Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. is out to support his presidentiable nephews.

Romeo Caubat, Masbate: Escudero bolted the NPC because he knows that “blood is thicker than water”, so much so that Danding would surely support either Gibo or Noynoy.

Osmundo Lim, Caloocan City: Escudero must have realized that he could not get the funds he needs from the NPC to finance his presidential bid. He should just concentrate on his job as senator. By the way, during the live interview on TV Patrol, I noticed that the senator was drunk.

Joe Nacilla, Las Piñas City: Running for the highest position in the government requires substantial campaign funds. Candidates with liquidity problems have to sell their soul to political investors. However, the situation has changed. Sources of campaign financing are scarce, not only because of the economic chaos, but because political investors are more realistic now. I cannot believe, however, that the scarcity of campaign funds is the reason Escudero changed his plans, because if it were, he would not resign from his party. Escudero’s backer probably told him the real truth, which made his heart bleed and hurt his ego.

He couldn’t take traditional politics anymore

Germi Sison, Cabanatuan City: Being a young idealist, Chiz Escudero must have been disappointed by the practice of traditional politics, where powerful political leaders manipulate the decisions of elective public servants. May other politicians learn from him that every elective public servant must be his own man and not a robot of those in power.

Elsa Mendoza, Quezon City: This young blood just couldn’t take it anymore from the trapos in the NPC. Siguro, ‘yun lang. In hindsight, after Noynoy Aquino threw his hat into the presidential bid ring, Chiz knew his goose was cooked.

Let’s wait and see

Johann Lucas, Quezon City: I was quite surprised with his announcement. With that, it would be very difficult to continue aiming for the presidency, unless another political party adopts him. Anyway, he should first review his proposals on programs and governance before trying to picture himself as the next president.

David Velasco, Marinduque: It may be the result of discernment or a gimmick for Escudero, but let’s wait until he pronounces his political vision for the country before we opine.

Who would take him in?

Josh Pacatang, Dipolog City: Escudero bolting the NPC was pitiful, not praiseworthy. He was alone, wasn’t he? Who would take him in? Escudero’s political gambit to raise funds didn’t work. He can either run for governor of Sorsogon and lose or campaign for his friend Adel Tamano to become senator so that by next presidential elections, we can elect Tamano as the first president from Mindanao.

No independent bet has ever won

Randolph Hallasgo, Misamis Oriental: He will not win even if he bolted the NPC. FPJ ran as an independent candidate, but what happened?

Ernesto Oliquiano, Las Piñas City: We really don’t know the reason why Sen. Escudero bolted his party. While other candidates try to get the endorsement and support of a political party, he did the opposite. I’m sure he knows that no presidential candidate running independently has ever won an election in this country, except perhaps FVR, who formed his own party after losing to Mitra in the LDP convention. But that was under a very different situation. The then sitting president Cory Aquino was with him and the euphoria of Cory dislodging the Marcos dictatorship was still very much in the air. Only time will tell whether he made the right decision or not.

Chiz is showing emotional immaturity

Ricardo Tolentino, Laoag City: The decision is a tantrum act on the part of Escudero. He is like a spoiled brat who was denied what he wanted.

C.B. Manalstas, Manila: Swell-headed Escudero acted like a baby who couldn’t get his candy from moneyman Danding Cojuangco. Now he is sarcastically fighting back.

Gerii Calupitan, Muntinlupa City: When the going gets tough, the tough gets going, my wife would always say. Obviously, spoiled brat Chiz abandoned the NPC when they didn’t give him what he wanted. Good; now we all know how immature he really is. Behind the fighting Chiz facade is cheesy Chiz Whiz. Loren is smiling. Now, her dream of becoming the third woman president or VP is getting much clearer than ever.

Rene Poder, Manila: He is a brat throwing a tantrum because of the measly P200-million allowance for his desired Malacañang toy.

Why did he have to wait so long?

Edwin Castillo, Tanauan City: The NPC is pro-GMA. He should have resigned from it during the height of the “Hello, Garci” scandal. Di ako boboto sa isang bungangerong pulitiko.

M. Sunico, Caloocan City: Escudero should have known earlier that his party affiliation meant they have the same political ideologies. His feeling of being shackled by his party means he has never shared their common political ideals in the first place and must have only joined the NPC for his personal ends.

It’s all about the money

Rodolfo Talledo, Angeles City: The guy is just sulking after failing to enlist all-out financial backing from Danding. However, the billionaire is a shrewd businessman and won’t just throw away billions only to feed the ego and caprices of a self-rated politician. Being throaty in radio and TV interviews is insufficient for claiming a birthright to the presidency. His vaunted IQ should be translated into exceptional legislations, which the public won’t fail to appreciate.

Vir Lauzon, General Santos City: Escudero came to realize that the NPC could not fund fully his presidential ambition after the NPC found his chances of winning slim.

Col. Ben Paguirigan Jr., Ret., Zamboanga City: The youthful Sen. Chiz Escudero must have sensed that the lights in the tunnel are so dim, he can hardly analyze the faces of his financial supporters.

He can make the VP debates exciting

Dennis Montealto, Mandaluyong City: Here’s another case of enlightenment, coming from the blabbermouth himself. If he settles on running for VP, it would be exciting to watch him slugging it out with erstwhile party mate Loren and Senate colleague Mar.

He’s being too idealistic

Fortunato Aguirre, Bulacan: No political machinery, limited funds, and no party to back him, it will be an uphill run for Chiz. But the reason is noble and idealistic run. I wish him the best of luck.

That’s political power play

Cris Rivera, Rizal: Nothing can shackle Escudero and his political ideals, for fawning servility is not his brand of public service. He is a blue-chip oppositionist.

Dandy Lacuesta, Las Piñas City: Whether it was Chiz’s or the NPC’s fault, Escudero’s bolting doesn’t speak well of the party, of Sen. Legarda, and how it takes care of its people.

Rey Ibalan, Antipolo City: That is political power play because, as they say, in politics it’s always personal interest that matters.

Let’s go back to the two-party system

Jimmy Donton, Puerto Princesa City: Business interests and personal gains do not promote loyalty and good governance for the Filipino people. The two-party system is the best solution to choosing likeable presidential candidates in a democratic country like the Philippines.

Views expressed in this section do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The STAR. The STAR does not knowingly publish false information and may not be held liable for the views of readers exercising their right to free expression. The publication also reserves the right to edit contributions to this section as it sees fit.

A President without any strings attached

2009-11-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

By Neal Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer

I had a long talk with Sen. Chiz Escudero at a Quezon City restaurant last week, during which Chiz revealed why he left his party, the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), which was about to anoint him as its presidential standard-bearer, and other perplexing things most of which were, however, off the record.

Is he still running for President?

Chiz said he will make his decision, and announce it at a press conference, on November 15.

If he does run, it would be as an independent. Basically, what he wanted was a President without any strings attached.

Every President we had, he said, was backed by financiers, business groups and vested interests. So that when he becomes President, he has a lot of baggage weighing him down. The pressures from all sides prevent him from making wise decisions sometimes.

Is it not possible to have a President without any strings attached? he asked.

I answered his question with another question: Is it not possible for a President to forget everything in the past, financiers and all, and think only of what is best for the people?

Gratitude, “utang na loob,” is an ingrained virtue of the Filipino, he replied. Filipinos who are not grateful are described with epithets like “walang utang na loob!” which is a very strong insult indeed. Donors to campaign funds expect the winner to observe this gratitude virtue. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t donate at all. The strings can be so many and so tight as to hobble the person in Malacañang. I don’t want that.

Indeed, the belief that Chiz would be but a surrogate of Danding Conjuangco in Malacañang was already out in the open before Chiz declared his independence.

Chiz does not have his own wealth like Manny Villar or Gibo Teodoro or Erap Estrada. All he has is his party, the NPC. And what is the NPC without Danding Cojuangco’s billions?

“If Chiz wins, it would not be him who would be President,” goes one comment. “Danding would be the de facto President.”

There you have the dilemma. It would be difficult for a presidential candidate not to have a party. But having a party, especially the NPC of Danding, is a double-edged sword. It is good but it is also bad.

So what road should he take? Like Robert Frost, Chiz chose the road less taken. The road where a presidential candidate is not weighed down by extra baggage.

And like Martin Luther King, Chiz has a dream. He said what follows in Filipino but I have translated it into English:

“There are those who say it is madness to leave one’s party when running for President. Nobody has ever done this before. For me there is nothing wrong with dreams and dreaming. That’s free. And doesn’t everything start from dreams? Man dreamed of flying, dreamed of flying to the moon, dreamed of talking to one’s loved one wherever he or she is, etc. All of that [is] possible now.

“Is it wrong to dream to go to the presidency by a different and better way? Is it wrong to do what should be done to our nation without any strings attached?

“Is it wrong to believe that it is in the hands of every Filipino, rich or poor, the power to choose the next leader of the nation because we all have only one vote each anyway?

“In truth, if there is one thing that I want to do, it is to prove that, no matter how difficult life is, we should not stop dreaming for a better nation. If not now, I believe that we will achieve that in the near future. No matter what others say now, we should not stop dreaming.”

Well said. I know now what Chiz’s favorite song is. It is Don Quixote’s song, “The Impossible Dream.”

It it true that Danding refused to bankroll your campaign? I asked.

That’s not true at all, he replied. We did not talk about money matters.

Was your parting difficult?

No, we are still friends. In fact, many party members will still support my presidential run.

As an independent?

Why not? he replied. When Ramos and Miriam finished one-two in the presidential elections that left party candidates way behind, they were basically independent. Erap was basically an independent when he won a landslide victory against the administration party candidate.

Yes, but look what they did to him.

His fault, on hindsight.

What will make you decide to run or not to run?

Difficult to say. Chiz said his dilemma is to run now without a party or wait six years and try again. What do you think?

Better the latter, I replied.

He seemed to agree. In Philippine politics, if you lose once for the presidency, it’s very, very difficult to reverse that. You better win the first time, or else ...

Richard Nixon won after losing to John F. Kennedy, I said.

That’s in the US. But it has never been done here.

There’s always a first time, I said.

Chiz was cheered up by that. In fact, he carries in his cellphone interesting facts about a perennial loser who eventually won. He showed it to me:

“At 31 this man failed in business. At 32 he was defeated in a legislative race. At 34, he failed again in business. At 35, his girl friend died. At 35, he had a nervous breakdown. At 38, he lost another election. At 43, 46,and 48, he lost congressional races. At 55, he lost a senatorial race. At 56, he failed in a bid to become vice president of the United States. At 58, he lost in another senatorial race. But at 60, he was elected President of the US.

“He is Abraham Lincoln.”

Lincoln became not only President, but one of the most famous and best loved of American Presidents. But he did not finish his term. He was shot and killed by an actor, John Wilkes Booth. Neither did Richard Nixon finish his second term. He had to resign because of Watergate.

Anyway, Chiz is only 40 years old. He has many more years ahead of him.

Chiz statement gets bishops fired up

2009-11-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

by Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com)

MANILA, Philippines - Opposition Sen. Francis Escudero has earned the ire of Church officials over his recent statement that "there are no angels and saints in politics."

"Does he admit the corruptibility of all politicians like him? The Church stands for politics of common good and social transformation, to leave behind patronage politics and elite politics. Hopefully we cand find politicians who will embody and pursue these ideals this coming election," Catarman bishop Emmanuel Trance told Church-run Radyo Veritas.

For his part, Sorsogon bishop Arturo Bastes said in these days, people should breed "saintly politicians."

"Thomas Moore was a politician and a saint. We must have saintly politicians nowadays. We need holy people to lead our nation," Bastes said.

Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez meanwhile said to have so-called "politician saints" people must pray for the conversion of corrupt politicans.

"So like King David, they would accept their guilt and penance," the bishop said.

The audacity of Chiz

2009-11-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

—AMADO F. CABAERO, amacabsenior1@yahoo.com
10 Espina Village, B. Rodriguez St., Cebu City

daring of Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero to pursue his presidential ambition without the entangling support of a political party marks the first time in our political history that a young man without a political party is seeking to overthrow a corrupt government through the ballot—a task comparable in its immensity to a black man’s aspiring to be president of the United States.

It may appear quixotic but with the present public distrust of and anger at the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Chiz might just pull it off, just as Barack Obama did against the unpopular President George Bush.

And with a spectacular difference, too: Chiz, if he keeps it up, will not be bound or hamstrung by “utang na loob” [or debt of gratitude] to any political party, politician or businessman, big or small, and thus be more free than any other presidential candidate to do all that needs to be done for a better government.

Not to mention that as a person, this presidential candidate is not known to be involved in any racket or any immoral, illegal or dishonest activity; on the other hand, he is an experienced lawmaker, a lawyer, and as glib and knowledgeable as one could wish of a presidential candidate.

And best of all, he is young. Thus, he is the personification of Rizal’s dream of the youth being the “hope of the fatherland.”

Thus, the presidential election of 2010 will be remarkable in the size of the youth vote for Chiz. Feel in your veins the surge of enthusiasm among the youth, from the big number of young people lining up for hours to register to vote in 2010. Already the Commission on Elections has run out of forms and the deadline for registration has passed, but still they are there in line, clamoring for extension.

Talk of a coming storm. Talk of a coming flood. It is coming in 2010, presaged by storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.” It will be an act of God!

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

Don't count Chiz out in 2010 presidential race, Enrile says

2009-11-05T10:09:00.000-08:00

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Wednesday said Senator Francis “Chiz" Escudero should not be counted out of the presidential race despite his decision to quit the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

Enrile said that even as an independent candidate, Escudero, who is yet to announce his plans for next year’s elections, can still win the presidency.

“I will not count him out, but I will not say his edge over other candidates. That is unfair to other candidates," said Enrile, who is seeking re-election under the ticket of former President Joseph Estrada.

The Senate leader is the chairman emeritus of Partido ng Masang Pilipino, which was founded by Estrada.

Escudero, in a surprise move, left NPC last week despite reports that he is being groomed by the party to be its standard-bearer in the 2010 elections.

The neophyte senator said he left the party so that he could have a free hand in deciding on his political plans.

Chiz to push through

Enrile believes Escudero will push through with his presidential bid even without the backing of any political group.

“I think Chiz at this point is a personality unto himself, meaning that he will do it alone," he said.

Asked if Escudero can win if he will wage an independent campaign given the fact that no independent candidate has won a presidential race before, Enrile said, “There is always a first time."

He also said there were no talks between Estrada and Escudero in case the former is disqualified from the race.

“The possible substitutions are people who have Estrada surnames," he said, referring to Estrada’s wife former Senator Luisa Estrada, and sons Senate Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy" Estrada and San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito Estrada.

Estrada was convicted of plunder in September 2007 but was pardoned a month later by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was dethroned in 2001 after less than three years in office amid charges of corruption.

Estrada’s intention to seek re-election has fueled legal debates, as the 1987 Constitution does not allow the president to run for the same post again.

Enrile said they are confident Estrada will not be disqualified. - GMANews.TV

Escudero plans to do a Lacson, go it alone

2009-11-05T03:11:00.001-08:00

IF Senator Francis Escudero runs for president in 2010, he will do so without a running mate, a senatorial slate or local officials following Senator Panfilo Lacson’s footsteps in 2004.

“I don’t intend to find a running mate, but I might have guest senatorial candidates,” said Escudero, who has yet to announce if he is still running next year.

Escudero, who resigned from the Nationalist People’s Coalition last month, has inherited not only Lacson’s campaign style but also his campaign manager and a platform calling for the abolition of pork barrel, which has isolated him from his peers and party mates.

Escudero’s supporters scoffed at reports that his former running mate, Senator Loren Legarda, might run with Senator Manuel Villar of the Nacionalista Party as coalition talks got under way.

“Chiz [Escudero] is no longer with the NPC, so the NPC has lost Chiz, so the NPC has become another NP,” one Escudero supporter said.

But Escudero was more conciliatory to his party of 11 years, saying he still hoped to count on its support.

“I did not desert and turn my back on my party. I hope they will still be with me should I go ahead [with the presidential campaign],” he told a radio interview.

Escudero said he saw a people’s movement and multi-sectoral groups carrying him to the presidency.

He said these groups included militant leftist organizations and the Magdalo, which launched a botched mutiny in July 2003.

The Magdalo, led by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who is still detained on rebellion charges, has endorsed Escudero’s presidential bid. Escudero called the mutineers and rebel soldiers “patriots.”

Escudero also inherited from Lacson the latter’s campaign manager and chief of staff, former postmaster general Angelito Banayo.

It is unclear if the Chinese community that bankrolled Lacson’s presidential campaign would also back Escudero in 2010.

And like Lacson, Escudero refused to slide down to number two when he was courted by Villar to be a running mate so that the fragmented opposition would unite against administration candidate and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, who won the nomination as standard-bearer of the Lakas-Kampi CMD.

Teodoro’s nomination will be made official during the Lakas-Kampi CMD national convention on Nov. 19.

Lacson’s fellow opposition and presidential rival, the late action king Fernando Poe Jr., had tried to convince him to run as his vice president.

The negotiations fell through because Lacson reportedly demanded that he be reimbursed P100 million for his campaign expenses and be given five major Cabinet portfolios, including the departments of budget, finance, and interior and local governments.

Both ended up losing to President Gloria Arroyo, who beat Poe by a million votes and Lacson who placed a far third with only three million votes.

Escudero is hoping his popularity in the past polls will help him avoid the same fate.

In the 2007 mid-term elections, Escudero ranked second behind Legarda in the senatorial race, with Lacson coming in third, Villar in fourth, Senator Francis Pangilinan in fifth, and Senator Benigno Aquino III in sixth.

But the militant Bayan Muna and Gabriela did not seem too keen on Escudero’s solo flight.

Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo said that even with Escudero gone from the NPC, Bayan continued to negotiate with Legarda and Villar.

Before Escudero left the NPC, he negotiated an alliance with Bayan Muna that gave the party-list group two slots in the NPC senatorial slate.

In separate negotiations with the NP, party spokesman Gilbert Remulla said the party could allot one seat to Bayan Muna.

If Villar and Legarda join forces, that would give Bayan Muna three senatorial slots in next year’s elections.

But Ocampo said Bayan Muna could settle for two seats in the Senate—one for himself and the other for Gabriela Rep. Liza Largoza-Maza.

“We factor the option that [Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro] Teddy [Casiño] will head the Bayan Muna nominees and take over my role in the House of Representatives,” Ocampo told Standard Today.

Casiño has one term left in the House.

Among the issues that Escudero had with the NPC was its support for wage boards as a means to set the minimum wage. Like his leftist allies, Escudero supported legislated wage increases.

But NPC insiders said the most contentious issue that “marginalized and isolated” Escudero from the NPC was his position to carry in his campaign platform a call to abolish the pork barrel, which Lacson also supported in 2004.

Lacson carried the same platform and made good his promise when he was reelected to the Senate in 2007. Since then, he has not identified any projects and has not drawn from his annual allocation of P130 million in pork barrel.

“Of course, no one wanted to give up his or her pork barrel allocations,” said Valenzuela Rep. Rex Gatchalian. “I, for one, am not agreeable because the annual P70-million pork barrel allocation for congressmen helps my district in a big way, particularly in infrastructure projects.”

Gatchalian confirmed that the pork barrel issue was among the serious differences in ideology and platform that made Escudero part ways with the NPC.

Escudero, who denied reports that he left the party over differences in campaign funding, said he resigned because he did not want to be beholden to any political party. With Fel V. Maragay

Chiz still undecided on 2010 plan

2009-11-04T17:39:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines - A week after bolting the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Sen. Francis Escudero remains undecided on his political plans for next year.

“There is no formal decision yet. But my appeal is to give me more time to weigh my options because it’s only been a few days since I became free from being a member of a (political) party,” Escudero said.

Escudero told the weekly Kapihan sa Senado yesterday that he would still seek the presidency “but not at the cost of being eaten up by the system.”

“The question now is if this is timely and if this is the right time, that’s what I am weighing at this time. There is nothing wrong if we can have a leader whose hands are not tied, not indebted and someone who has freedom to do what he needs to do,” he said.

Escudero said he remains unperturbed by the increasing preparation by other candidates.

He said the preparations by political rivals would not affect his plans even as the deadline for the filing of certificate of candidacy is at the end of the month.

Escudero added nothing is final until the filing of candidacy on Nov. 30, 2009.

“I am thinking deeply to be able to decide 100 percent. Not 99 percent,” he said.

Escudero, who quit the NPC last Oct. 28, noted that no presidential candidate ever won without party support.

He conceded running and winning without party machinery would remain a farfetched dream.

“As of now, that remains a dream. That’s the truth. What is wrong with a dream if this (choice) is a better one, more proper and right? Everything starts with a dream,” he said.

Escudero drew parallelism between his political dream and the invention of an airplane or the mission to reach the moon, both of which were then considered impossible goals.

Escudero also clarified that he is not applying to be the running mate of any presidential candidate, virtually discounting any possible team up with Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr.

Neither were there any talks with administration standard-bearer Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr., he said.

“These are all reports, all rumors because there are no direct talks,” Escudero said.

Escudero added that it would be unfair to Villar if he would confirm any talks because there was actually none.

Escudero reiterated his decision to withhold any announcement of his political plans since it has been barely a week since he resigned from NPC.

When Escudero made the surprise announcement, his reason was to break free from any political pressure and party politics.

Escudero’s move left the NPC without a standard-bearer and only Sen. Loren Legarda as the vice-presidential candidate.

Asked on the possibility of pairing up with Villar, Escudero said the former Senate president should first clear up the issues against him.

He said Villar must explain his role on the C5 road controversy.

“This (issue) should be clarified before any talks are made,” Escudero said.

Escudero also belied reports that he might choose Sen. Panfilo Lacson as a running mate.

Escudero noted the reports of a possible “Chiz-Ping” tandem came through after Lacson’s political strategist Lito Banayo joined Escudero’s camp as senior political adviser.

Source: PhilStar

Villar’s NP talking to Escudero, Legarda, De Castro for VP slot

2009-11-04T03:07:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines—Who still wants Chiz?

Despite Senator Francis Escudero's rejection of a team up with Senator Manuel Villar, the Nacionalista Party is still talking to the young lawmaker about the possibility of him becoming its vice presidential bet, according to the party's spokesperson.

NP spokesperson Adel Tamano listed Escudero, Senator Loren Legarda and Vice President Noli de Castro as the top options for the party’s vice presidential slot.

“Let's put it this way. I wish I can say it directly. What I know is there are negotiations. We're talking with everyone... and Chiz is one of those people we're talking to,” Tamano said in a forum.

Tamano, who said anything could happen in politics, counted Escudero's youth, strength in terms of name recall and intelligence as plus points.

Asked about Escudero's earlier statement that he stood for good governance and could not run with Villar, who has been accused of irregularities in the C-5 road project, Tamano said nothing was final yet.

“In politics anything is possible, let's not make it something personal,” he said.

But getting Legarda as Villar's running mate would also be “wonderful” and would pave the way for a reunion between the NP and the NPC, which had stemmed from one party, he added.

On the other hand, a Lakas Kampi official shot down the possibility of Escudero teaming up with the administration's bet, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, since the former had been vocal in rejecting political parties.

“It seems he's going down a different path. Chiz would be a good candidate but even his former party mates are puzzled. Where is he going? He has rejected party affiliations and party alliances so we cannot adopt him because he seems to be going on a solo flight,” said Reginald Velasco, the party's deputy secretary general.

Escudero is now without a party after resigning from the Nationalist People's Coalition, which was expected to field him as its candidate for President. He had said that he still intended to run for President.

The NPC is still deciding on the party to ally itself with after Escudero's departure left it without a standard bearer. It is choosing among the NP and the Lakas-Kampi administration's party.

Velasco believes members of the NPC would likely choose Teodoro if asked who they wanted to work with. Teodoro used to be a member of the NPC, which was founded by his uncle, business tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco.

Velasco pointed out that Teodoro has retained good ties with his former party mates since he had shown good leadership when he was still with the NPC. He added that the alliance between Lakas Kampi and the NPC in the House of Representatives continued to work for both parties.

In choosing an ally, the NPC is taking into account the members' comfort level with the team up and the party's platform, according to its spokesperson Valenzuela Rep. Rex Gatchalian.

Gatchalian said the welfare of its local candidates would bd another big concern.

An NPC supporter, Camarines Sur Representative Luis Villafuerte, earlier told the Inquirer that the NPC and its new adherents would be a crucial factor in the May 2010 elections since their members included politicians who would be involved in field operations and could provide the swing vote.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

Escudero not shutting doors on Villar but...

2009-11-04T02:59:00.000-08:00

Senator Francis Escudero is not shutting his doors on the possible partnership with Senator Manny Villar in next year’s elections provided that the latter will explain his alleged involvement in the C-5 road anomaly.

“Sana ipaliwanang niya hindi sa akin kundi sa Senado at sa sambayanan ang mga isyu na ibinato sa kanya kaugnay ng kontrobersiyang binanggit ni Senator Madrigal para mabigyang linaw ang mga ito bago ang anumang pag-uusap o pakikipag-usap para sa akin," Escudero said Wednesday during a weekly news forum at the Senate.

(He should explain not to me but to the Senate and the public the issues mentioned by Senator Madrigal against him before talking about a team-up with me.)

Escudero was referring to Senator Ma. Ana Consuelo “Jamby" Madrigal’s accusation that Villar profited in the C-5 road extension project last year.

Villar, the Nacionalista Party’s most likely presidential bet in the 2010 elections, has repeatedly denied the allegation but refused to appear before the Senate committee of the whole's hearings on the ethics complaint filed against him by Madrigal.

The committee is now preparing its report on Villar’s case.

Villar had earlier said that he is open to the idea of having Escudero, currently independent after leaving the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) late last month, as his running mate. This is despite the fact that Escudero has yet to announce his political plans for next year.

Escudero said he is taking his time on deciding on his political plans, adding that he is not worried that his coyness may result to an exodus of his supporters.

“Kung talagang sa ‘yo sila, talagang hihintayin nila ang tamang panahon hanggang ika’y magpasya (Real supporters are willing to wait)," he said.

He said he had already talked with his supporters and they understand the situation.

Among Escudero’s supporters who are willing to wait for his announcement are the Filipino for Peace, Justice and Progress Movement (FPJPM), one of the groups that supported the presidential candidacy of the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. in 2007; and the Samahang Magdalo.

“We’re still anticipating Senator Escudero’s announcement," said Francisco Ashley Acedillo of Samahang Magdalo. - GMANews.TV

'NPC can deliver swing vote in 2010'

2009-11-03T03:12:00.000-08:00

MANILA - The country’s second biggest political party, the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), can play an influential role in the May 2010 polls despite the resignation of its supposed standard-bearer Senator Francis 'Chiz' Escudero, party officials and an analyst said.

If the party can unify to support another presidential candidate, the NPC can spell that candidate’s victory, said political analyst Ramon Casiple of the Institute for Political and Economic Reform (IPER).

“They can lend weight to any presidential candidate as a major ally. If it's Senator Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino III, it will cement his victory. If it's Senator Manuel Villar, it will give him a real crack at winning,” Casiple said.

The NPC is backed by its founder and chair emeritus, businessman Eduardo 'Danding' Cojuangco, Jr., who is also chairman and CEO of San Miguel Corp. (SMC).

Reports are rife that NPC vice-presidential candidate Sen. Loren Legarda will be the running mate of Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar.

NPC secretary-general Rizal Rep. Michael John “Jack” Duavit told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak party members have yet to come up with a consensus on what to do as far the presidential election is concerned.

Loren’s consultations

NPC spokesperson Valenzuela Rep. Rex Gatchalian said Senator Legarda and party members are separately holding consultations.

“She, being the presumptive vice presidential candidate, she is doing her own consultations. We will all sit down later together to decide,” Gatchalian said.

In an emergency meeting following Escudero’s announcement last October 28 that he was leaving the party, the NPC agreed to keep “all options open” in 2010. They also reiterated support for Legarda's vice-presidential bid.

Swing vote?

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte, chairman of the NPC's political task force, is in favor of coalescing with other parties.

“We believe very strongly, if we take a consolidated position from the NPC originals, the new adherents, and other prospective allies, we can deliver the swing vote that will bring victory to whoever we will endorse. We have enough numbers and voting support,” he told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak in a phone interview.

If the electoral race will be a close one, the NPC can deliver a swing vote. Villafuerte estimates that the NPC can influence 20% to 30% of the voting population.

However, Casiple downplayed Villafuerte’s projections. “Not as a swing vote. They can become a major block if still unified,” he said.

Villafuerte was formerly president of President Arroyo's party, Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi). He opted not to join the merged Lakas-Kampi-CMD and planned to support the presidential bid of Escudero.

As head of NPC’s political task force, Villafuerte will be in charge of political mapping nationwide.

Free for all

But Duavit said the party may also repeat their strategy in the 2004 presidential elections, when their local politicians were given a free hand in choosing the presidential aspirant to support.

The party was split between supporting President Arroyo and the leading opposition candidate, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr..

“We’re all out for Senator Loren. There is no question about that. But as far as going for a bigger coalition, we will have to hear the sentiments of our members,” Duavit said.

Escudero’s pending decision on whether to pursue his presidential ambition in 2010 may affect the party stand, too.

Villafuerte said several members may opt to support Escudero in their individual capacities.

2009-11-02T03:05:00.000-08:00

A rumored possible running mate of now independent Senator Francis “Chiz" Escudero on Monday expressed his support for the latter’s decision to bolt the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

Senator Panfilo Lacson said Escudero’s decision to leave the NPC should be respected and emulated.

“Ako mismo ay sang-ayon at handang itaguyod ang adhikain tungo sa bagong pamamalakad sa pulitika – ang ‘people politics’ (I myself am in favor and ready to support his aspiration for new politics – for people politics)," Lacson said in a text message.

He added that Escudero’s move should not be seen as a political suicide.

“It could work both ways. Hindi political suicide na maituturing kung ang ginawa niya ay magmumulat ng kaisipan ng mga mamamayan na talikuran na ang dumi ng takbo ng pulitika sa bansa (It cannot be considered as a political suicide if his action will open the mind of the people to turn their back on dirty politicking)," the senator added.

Lacson said he himself had been a victim of dirty politics in the country, referring to his failed presidential bid in 2004 when he ran as an independent after his party, Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), chose to support the candidacy of Fernando Poe Jr. over him.

Both Lacson and Poe lost to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Lacson also welcomed Escudero’s statement against receiving his Priority Development Fund (PDF) allotment, more commonly known as pork barrel.

He believed the pork barrel is the main cause of corruption in the Congress and the reason some senators and congressmen refused to be on Malacanang’s bad side.

“Sana ay magsama kami ni Chiz (Escudero’s nickname) sa tuwirang hindi pagtanggap sa P200 million pork barrel para sa susunod na budget year nang sa ganun ay P400 million na ang mababawas sa budget deficit natin na pambawas din sa uutangin ng ating pamahalaan (I hope Chiz and I are on the same side each time we refuse to receive the P200 million pork barrel for the next budget year, so that the budget deficit is reduced by P400 million, which also means a reduction in our government’s debts)," Lacson said.

For his part, Escudero thanked his colleague’s “kind words and expression of support for the decision I made."

“I look forward to working with him in our common fight to rid the government of corruption and in enlightening our people that they can dream and they have a choice," he said in a text message to GMANews.TV.

He said he had not been receiving his pork barrel since he filed the impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2005.

Asked if he is considering Lacson as his possible running mate in 2010 polls, Escudero said: “(I) haven’t even decided to run yet. It’s premature to discuss it."

Talks were rife that Lacson could be Escudero’s partner in next year’s polls as Lacson’s former campaign manager, Lito Banayo, is now handling the Escudero’s campaign.

In an earlier interview with GMANews.TV, Banayo said that Escudero "will definitely run" for presidency. Escudero was being groomed as the NPC's standard bearer before he resigned from the party. - Amita O. Legaspi, GMANews.TV

No way: Legarda slams door on Escudero

2009-10-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines--He had not bothered to call her.

Sen. Loren Legarda, asked if there was a chance the team-up between her and Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero in 2010 might still push through, indicated the possibility was practically nil.

“Will it be logical for me to continue to run with him when he left me and the NPC (Nationalist People’s Coalition) without informing us and has not communicated with me up to this time,” Legarda said.

Legarda said she last talked to Escudero about two weeks ago, and up until the last minute before he announced his decision to abandon the party on Wednesday, he had not bothered to call her.

On Oct. 23, Legarda had gone ahead and announced her bid for the vice presidency without Escudero’s presence at her Luneta rally. She hinted openly about being courted by other presidential candidates.

On Oct. 28, Escudero abruptly announced he was bolting the NPC. “It’s the presidency but not at all costs,” Escudero had said, adding: “If on your way there you will be eaten up by the system, then what for? You can’t do what needs to be done anyway.”

Legarda said Escudero, a gifted public speaker and lawyer, should know by now the implications of his actions.

The NPC is led by business tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, once a crony of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and one of the richest men in the country.

“I expect him to know the ramifications of his actions,” said Legarda, echoing reports reaching the NPC that Escudero would be teaming up with Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former military officer.

“I have not heard from Senator Chiz from the time that he left the party, so I don’t know about his official plans. As I’ve said, I respect his decision and I wish him well,” Legarda said.

As for speculation the NPC would still support Escudero’s presidential run, Legarda said party leaders were “still in the process of consultation.”

“At the proper time our political alliances that would be based on my platform will be revealed,” she said.

She refused to say if she had given her nod to Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., the standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party, who has not announced a running mate.

Until Wednesday, Legarda said she had no inkling whatsoever that Escudero, then the presumptive standard-bearer of the NPC, would bolt the party, leaving her without a presidential running mate.

In a phone interview yesterday, NPC spokesperson Rep. Rex Gatchalian denied he had said the NPC would support Escudero even after he left the party.

Gatchalian said that “to set things straight” he did not utter “verbatim” the words attributed to him.

He was quoted as saying: “His departure, while shocking, does not mean an end to his ties with our members … Anything is possible including the NPC eventually supporting him as president.”

“How can I say that when right now, we’re still consulting our members? I do not wish to preempt the consultation process,” he said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

Workers welcome Escudero’s pro-labor stands

2009-10-31T19:35:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s break from big business and his avowed pro-labor and pro-people stands on specific issues makes him a viable presidential candidate, the militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno said in a statement.

“In the context of the rotten and elitist party system in the Philippines, Chiz is saying the right thing. He has consistently taken pro-people stands during Arroyo’s reign, but we have always had this reservation that he is being controlled by Mr. Cojuangco,” said KMU chairman Elmer Labog of Escudero’s resignation from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), which was founded by business tycoon and former Marcos crony Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco.

KMU praised Escudero for his stand against labor contractualization and the Oil Deregulation Law.

Labor contractualization is a chief form by which “capitalists exploit workers,” and while the Oil Deregulation Law allows the oil cartel “to suck the Filipinos dry,” Labog said.

“His record in actively opposing Gloria’s lying, stealing, and cheating regime already sets a standard by which other candidates should be measured. His recent statements raise the bar even higher. Slogans of ‘change’ should be anchored on a concrete record of opposing this anti-people regime and on concrete stands on issues,” he said, referring to the President by her given name.

While the labor center has still not cast its lot with any specific presidential candidate, Labog said the KMU and other progressive organizations are still holding dialogues with candidates and deliberating among themselves about the possibility of endorsing a candidate in the coming 2010 elections.

“Pro-people and pro-worker stands and a willingness to cooperate with progressive organizations are our main considerations. With his statements, Chiz is back on the agenda,” Labog said.

On analyses that Escudero may have committed political suicide with his departure from the NPC, the KMU chief said he believes otherwise.

“We believe that he has just revived his presidential campaign with his stands,” Labog said noting that other presidential aspirants should follow suit in clarifying their stands on issues “close to the heart of the people.”

Source: INQUIRER.net

Erap to stick with Binay

2009-10-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

Former president Joseph “Erap” Estrada, standard-bearer of the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP)-Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP)-Laban coalition, will not drop Makati Mayor Jejomar C. Binay as his running mate to give way to Senator Loren Legarda in the vice presidential race in the May, 2010 elections.

“It would be difficult for me to take Senator Loren because I and my party have already committed ourselves to Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay to be my running mate,” Estrada said.

Estrada issued the statement in the wake of speculations that Legarda, a known opposition figure in the Senate, will team up with the former president after her party mate – Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero – left the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) last October 26 to do away with party decisions and let himself decide on his future political plans.

Political observers noted that Legarda, a staunch campaigner of environmental protection programs, is far better off than Binay in terms of survey results among vice presidential bets.

“And besides, we have already established a coalition between my party, PMP, and the PDP-Laban and there is no good reason to break this alliance,” the 72-year-old Estrada emphasized.

Shortly after Escudero, 40, decided to bolt the NPC, Legarda announced that she will pursue her vice presidential bid under the same political organization “with or without a presidential tandem.”

Faustino Dy Jr., NPC chairman, and party mate Rep. Mark Cojuangco of Tarlac expressed their full support to Legarda’s vice presidential aspiration.

Both Dy and Cojuangco, son of NPC chairman emeritus and influential businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., also declared that they will push through with their line up for the May, 2010 polls even if they fail to choose a formidable standard-bearer.

Escudero, who first joined the NPC in 1998 when he ran for a seat in Congress, forged an alliance with Estrada’s group in supporting the candidacy of the late movie king Fernando Poe Jr. when he ran in the May, 2004 presidential derby.

When asked about his reaction on Chiz’s resignation from the NPC, Erap said: “It is something internal between his party and himself. We have to respect his decision.”

Meanwhile, medical experts gave Estrada, considered the most senior among the presidential hopefuls in next year’s election, a clean bill of health to be able to survive the rigors of the campaign trail in the May, 2010 polls.

Estrada, now 72 years old, said his doctors from the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in Greenhills, San Juan, have given him the “go signal” to engage in political activities after he was subjected to an extensive check-up less than a month ago.

Comelec: No listup extension save for those in line

2009-10-31T16:37:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines--The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it would not extend the deadline for the registration of new voters, but would process next week the applications of those who were in line but could not be accommodated due to the blackouts that hit Luzon Saturday.

Comelec Chair Jose Melo said he had received reports that local election offices in “Metro Manila and southern Luzon” were unable to process the registration applications of eligible voters because of the power outages caused by Typhoon “Santi.”

In consideration of the applicants who had lined up to register despite the typhoon, Melo said the Comelec en banc had directed local election officers to collect the registrants’ forms and list down their names.

The applicants can then come back on Tuesday to have their biometric data recorded on the data capturing machine.

But Melo ruled out any extension of the Oct. 31 deadline.

Several groups have been seeking an extension of the voter registration deadline.

“Those who were listed are the ones who can apply on Tuesday. If they don’t appear, then they won’t be able to register,” Melo said.

“No more special registration,” he added.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said applicants should make sure their forms have the stamp of the election officer, a sign that they were in line on Saturday.

Otherwise, they would not be entertained on Tuesday, he said.

In other regions not affected by Santi, the registration ended on Saturday at midnight, Melo said.

The last week of registration saw local election offices swamped with last-minute registrants who want to participate in the May 2010 national elections.

To accommodate more applicants, the Comelec extended the office hours of local election offices and ordered them to work on weekends.

As of July, the Comelec said it had removed about five million dead voters and multiple registrants and added nearly 3 million voters to the list.

The Comelec said it expected 48 million registered voters at the end of the registration period.

In Baguio City, exhausted employees of the Comelec reported an increase of people lining up to register Saturday, the last day of registration for new voters.

A few of the people told the Inquirer that they were sent there by their barangay captains.

But the Comelec employees just smiled, apologized to the crowd of villagers and then turned them away.

“We’re looking forward to sleeping on All Saints’ Day,” said lawyer Modesto Bahul, Baguio election officer.

The seven employees manning the makeshift registration area at the Baguio Convention Center had been struggling through the days with only five hours of sleep, Bahul said. With a report from Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon

'Santi' forces 'extension' of voters' registration

2009-10-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

No thanks to Typhoon Santi, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) was forced to extend its registration for the 2010 elections by a day, at least for areas affected by power outages.

Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said power outages caused by Santi rendered useless their registration centers, which rely on electricity-powered data capture machines.

“Nakapagbigay tayo ng order sa affected areas lalo sa walang kuryente yung mga taong nariyan bibigyan sila ng form, lista nila. These people can come back sa Martes, ang kanilang registration bibigyan ng bisa (I ordered registration centers in affected areas)," Melo said in an interview on dzRH radio.

The Comelec had initially set to midnight Saturday the deadline for voters’ registration for the 2010 polls. The early deadline is in preparation for the country’s first automated polls.

Melo said registrants will then return to the registration centers on Tuesday to complete the process, which includes taking their biometric data such as digital photos.

Comelec registration centers affected by the power outages will be open until midnight Tuesday to accommodate the "late" registrants, he said.

But Melo stressed those who are given the forms will have to return on Tuesday, as the forms they will get on Saturday do not automatically make them registered voters.

“Kailangan nila magbalik pero kung di sila bumalik 'di sila makapa-register (They have to return on Tuesday, else they will not be able to register)," he said.

Meanwhile, he said he also instructed Comelec registration center personnel not to leave their posts, and to accommodate registrants once power is restored within the day.

“Kung ma-restore ang power natin at anytime today ang Comelec people tatanggapin ang gusto mag-register (Once power is restored, Comelec personnel should accommodate those who want to register)," he said.

Meanwhile, Melo said downplayed a petition lodged before the Supreme Court to have the Comelec extend the registration to January 1.

While he said the Comelec will respect the Supreme Court’s decision, he warned there will be no time to prepare the voters’ lists for automation.

“We will respect the Supreme Court’s decision but if we extend this to January our Board of Election Inspectors will have no lists to work with, and voters will not know their assignments," he said. - GMANews.TV

2016 NOT AN OPTION Chiz: Presidency or nothing

2009-10-30T22:35:00.001-07:00

MANILA, Philippines – It’s the presidency or nothing for Sen. Francis Escudero.

Escudero, who made the improbable decision to bolt the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), said he was running for the highest post, ending speculations that he would be willing to run as the No. 2 to one of the presidential aspirants.

“It’s the presidency but not at all cost,” Escudero said in a phone interview Friday.

“If on your way there you will be eaten up by the system then what for? You can’t do what needs to be done anyway,” he said, by way of explaining his sudden decision to quit the second largest political party in the country and run for president as an independent.

Dismissing doubts about his chances without a political party vehicle, he dared his rivals to do the same.

“They should ask themselves that same question. For example, can they take a position vs pork barrel, can they openly fight contractualization?” he said.

Escudero shocked his party mates when he resigned last Wednesday from the NPC, which had been grooming him for months to be its standard-bearer for 2010, in order to ponder whether he should run for the presidency without a party.

Window of opportunity

A Waray party-list member Florencio Noel, a friend of Escudero, said his friend has not given a thought to running for vice president and that waiting for 2016 was an unlikely option.

“Another Chiz could emerge in the next six years and his window of opportunity would have passed him by,” said Noel.

If anyone could run an independent campaign, Noel said Escudero was the best man to do it based on his resilient popularity, especially among the youth.

Noel said Escudero has gained more followers in resigning from the NPC.

“There is no bad blood between him and his former party-mates. He gained a lot of elbow room to pursue his dream of being the president of this country,” said Noel.

Indeed, NPC spokesperson Rep. Rex Gatchalian said the NPC could still support Escudero should he decide to run for president.

“His departure, while shocking, does not mean an end to his ties with our members whom he worked with fondly all these years. Anything is possible including NPC eventually supporting him as president,” he said.

Gatchalian said the NPC would field a complete team, from the vice president (Sen. Loren Legarda) down to city and town councilors in 2010.

Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, the son of Eduardo Cojuangco, the founder and chair emeritus of the NPC, remains an avid supporter of Escudero despite his abrupt departure from the party.

“Speaking purely for myself, Chiz has not changed because he left us. He is still the same person, who stands for the same set of principles, who has the same aspirations for the people, that he had one week ago. I thought that he would make a great president then. Why would he not make a great president now?,” Cojuangco said in a text message.

Biding its time

With its mind-set on snagging Legarda for its own vice presidential candidate, the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD is giving the NPC all the time to regroup but not forget that a possible coalition is on the table.

The NPC is still licking its wounds after losing presumptive presidential candidate, and the ruling party isn’t rushing it to go to the table, said Prospero Pichay, Lakas-Kampi-CMD vice president for accreditation and membership.

“He [Escudero] has just announced that he was bolting the party. They’re still trying to assess their position,” he said.

According to Pichay, informal talks among House legislators for a national coalition between the ruling party and the NPC were going on but have not progressed to the next level.

“There are informal talks, but we’ve not sat down for the formal talks. The congressmen are still talking,” he said.

But once the NPC gives the go-signal for formal talks, Lakas-Kampi-CMD is ready to draw up “concrete talking points” for a coalition, which for now is merely confined to the House of Representatives, he said.

Not an option

But Cojuangco said that while the NPC was still studying its options post-Escudero, merging with another political party was not being considered.

“In any and all cases, we will retain our identity. Merger is not an option,” he said.

Cojuangco also denied that the NPC was now open to poaching by other political parties.

“There is no indication of such. Again, it is speculation. All parties will have some realignments because of preference, but we have a solid core that is thoroughly NPC,” he said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

If you run, quit, UP prof dares GMA

2009-10-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines – Resign if you’re running for public office.

To level the playing field, President Macapagal-Arroyo should resign from the presidency and hand over power once she files her certificate of candidacy (CoC) to run for a seat in Congress, University of the Philippines Professor Randy David said Friday.

If Ms Arroyo opts to stay in Malacañang after filing her CoC, David said he would rather forgo his planned run, and mount a national crusade to expose Ms Arroyo’s “scheme’’ at self-perpetuation and campaign against local and national candidates allied with her.

“She has to be prepared, out of a sense of propriety and decency, to give up power and allow the vice president to be acting president after she files her certificate of candidacy,’’ he told the Inquirer by phone.

Under Comelec Resolution No. 8678 issued this week, Ms Arroyo can participate in next year’s congressional election in her hometown in Pampanga without first having to resign the presidency.

David, a professor at the UP College of Social Science and Philosophy, had declared he would challenge Ms Arroyo if she seeks a congressional seat in Pampanga’s second district to keep her grip on power.

Ms Arroyo has been making nearly weekly visits to her hometown of Lubao and other parts of the second district, fueling speculations she was barnstorming for her candidacy.

On Friday afternoon, she motored to Guagua for a climate change briefing, the so-called Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Day of the Common Tao and the inspection of the barangay road improvement projects, shrugging off the speculations.

“That’s speculative,’’ Press Secretary Cerge Remonde curtly said when asked about the challenge posed by David.

Ms Arroyo’s ally, Prospero Pichay of the Local Water Utilities Administration argued that the President has the mandate to serve until June 30, 2010.

David said that if ever he decides to file his CoC, he would quit from his work in UP and give up his column at the Inquirer.

Undue advantage

“I expect her to step down from the presidency, and give up her powers and control over resources that she has been using in the last five months to control the political field in Pampanga,’’ he said.

Unless she does that, Ms Arroyo will have an undue advantage over David, who said that once he files his CoC, he’s prohibited from campaigning and is virtually “gagged’’ until the campaign period starts in late March.

A militant group yesterday said it wasn’t true that Pampanga folk were clamoring for President Arroyo to run for Congress, as claimed by Malacañang spokespersons.

“That’s a bit of a stretch. It’s as if the Palace spokesmen are from another planet... People would rather clamor for another typhoon than clamor for Mrs. Arroyo to run for office again,” said Renato M. Reyes Jr., secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan).

Bayan said this was probably “a crude way of conditioning people to accept” Ms Arroyo’s reported bid to stay in public office.

“It [also] shows that Mrs. Arroyo is going to do everything to buy herself some immunity or protection from suit once she is no longer President,” Reyes said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

Poll exclusion of young voters

2009-10-30T04:50:00.000-07:00

By Amando Doronila
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Up to a million voters face exclusion from the May 2010 election unless the registration of new voters speeds up to catch the registration deadline on Saturday.

Ten days before the deadline, Comelec Chair Jose Melo admitted that only 2.8 million of the 4 million new voters had registered, raising fears that new entrants to the electoral roll, composed mainly of young voters who have reached the voting age of 18, would be disfranchised. The Catholic Church-sponsored Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting said last week that it would be able to have 3 million voters registered, on top of the 2.8 million, but Comelec resources are stretched, and thousands who have trooped to its field offices to sign up have been turned back and told to try because, according to Comelec officials, the Comelec has run out of registration documents and their data capturing machines (DCM) often broke down.

The DCM, which records the voter’s fingerprints, photograph and pertinent information, can only process 300 applications a day. This shortage has caused longer queues that started to build up since the voter registration started on Dec. 2 last year. The Comelec has started blaming voters for enrolling at the last hour. “The problem with some of us is that we wait until the last minute,” Melo said.

Non-governmental groups have been campaigning for a larger registration of young voters to give them a more influential voice in the country’s next generation of leaders.

Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Richard Gordon and Francis Pangilinan have expressed concern over the possible exclusion of a huge chunk of voters, pointing out that only about 200,000 people could register now at the rate the Comelec is processing the applications.

The large turnout, albeit at the last hour, is one indication of the high level of interest among the young in politics as the country moves toward electing a new generation of leaders. As of last July, the Comelec reported 45 million registered voters, and it expects 48 million registered voters in the May 2010 election. The demographic breakdown of the national population in 2000, according to age, reveals a young electoral base. Of the total population of 76,504,077, there were 7 million in the 20-24 age group; 6 million in the 25-29 age group; 5.5 million in the 30-34 age group; 5 million in the 35-39 group; 4.1 million in the 40-44 age group; and 3.3 million in the 45-49 age group.

The exclusion of a large segment of young voters from electoral participation could spark frustration and cynicism among the youth over the electoral process as a medium for political renewal at a time when there is an apparent clamor for a leadership change spearheaded by young and idealistic people.

While the Comelec does not appear to be up to the task of opening up the electoral list to young entrants, it has struck a blow to a devious attempt of young rebellious military officers to enter the political stream through the electoral route. In a recent resolution, the Comelec rejected an application of Magdalo, a group of soldiers who staged a coup in July 2003 against the government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to launch a political party and seek legislative and local positions in the May election.

The coup, led by Navy Lt. Antonio Trillanes IV, was crushed after the dissident soldiers seized the Oakwood Hotel in the heart of the Makati business center. The coup makers have been imprisoned, but its ring leader, Trillanes, ran for senator in 2007, and won, but the Supreme Court barred him from taking his Senate seat. In its resolution, the Comelec pointed out that the Magdalo group undermined civilian supremacy over the military. The resolution said there was no assurance that its leaders would not engage in another mutiny.

“All the foregoing show that the principal founders of the Magdalo Para sa Pagbabago Party remain unrepentant and that they still harbor the propensity to engage in another illegal adventure similar to the failed 2003 Oakwood (mutiny) should they fail again to achieve their goal,” the decision said.

Nicodemo Ferrer, presiding commissioner of the Comelec’s Second Division, said the poll body was concerned about the fact that majority of the group’s members were former military officers, and feared the group could use a “political party status to recruit and indoctrinate disciplined followers who may become their blind followers.”

Magdalo is fielding two jailed senior officers, an Army general and a Marine colonel who figured in another coup attempt against the Arroyo government in February 2005, and four junior officers for congressional and local government posts. This is the first time that dissident soldiers have formed a political party to enter the parliamentary stream, although a number of officers engaged in coup attempts against the government of President Corazon Aquino had been elected individually to government positions, notably former Col. Gregorio Honasan, who was elected to the Senate. Honasan, a leader of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), led several coup attempts against the Aquino government from 1986 to 1989. His election to the Senate did not seem to have dampened his ardor for plotting coups, and did not stop him from acting as adviser to the Magdalo group during its coup attempts.

This record was not lost on the Comelec when it decided not to take any risks by giving legitimacy to the Magdalo Party to enter the parliamentary stream.

Villar hints on possible running mate

2009-10-30T03:39:00.000-07:00

With barely a month before the deadline for the filing of certificate of candidacy, Nationalista Party President Senator Manny Villar said his party is still in the stage of searching for his possible running mate in the May 2010 polls but reiterated his willingness to accept any potential vice presidential candidate including Senators Loren Legarda and Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

“There is a committee in our party (NP) that will study, finalize and select my possible running mate,” Villar said in response to a question about his running mate during an open forum at the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) Presidential Series last Thursday night at the Intercon Hotel where he was the guest speaker.

Nevertheless, the Senator from Las Piñas emphasized that choosing his running mate is not a matter of great concern to him adding that the NP selection committee hopes to come up with his tandem by November 15. He added that choosing his senatorial line up will also be available in two weeks time.

Lately, a lot of speculations are spreading that Villar's running mate is narrowed down to Legarda and Escudero.

Asked what role or Cabinet post he would give to his vice president in case he wins the presidency, Villar said he likes his running mate to lead the crusade to save the environment. “I like someone who’s pro environment because you know I like trees, said Villar. This statement elicited laughter and applause, hinting that Villar was probably more interested to have Legarda as his running mate.

Senator Legarda is very popular about her advocacies about environment particularly on climate change. She boasted of having responsible for the planting of over one million trees nationwide behind her Clean and Green Program.

Pressed whom he likes to be his running mate between Legarda and Escudero, Villar simply smiled and said both senators are very qualified to become vice president.

Source: mb.com.ph

Magdalo mulls adopting Chiz as standard bearer

2009-10-30T03:35:00.000-07:00

The Magdalo Para sa Pagbabago (Magdalo) expressed openness on Friday to the idea of adopting Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero as their standard bearer in the May 2010 elections.

“We’re not closing the door on that idea, although we have yet to formally talk about it,” Magdalo spokesman Ashley Acedillo told reporters in a press briefing.

“We have to know first if he (Escudero) is willing to join us,” he added.

The former serviceman, however, admitted that before they could adopt Escudero, their accreditation should first be reconsidered by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Last Monday, the Comelec’s Second Division junked the petition of Magdalo to become a regional political party based in the National Capital Region (NCR), saying the group remains unrepentant for their illegal adventure during the infamous Oakwood mutiny in 2003.

Acedillo called the Comelec’s reason for disqualifying their group unfair and baseless.

“The resolution preempts the Court trying the case, which is now being heard at the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148. The resolution unfairly jumped at the conclusion that the founders of the Magdalo ‘employed violence’ and ‘used unlawful means’ and ‘in the process defied the laws of organized society’ during the Oakwood incident when the court hearing the case has yet to issue its ruling,” the group said in a statement.

The Magdalo said this ultimately violates the constitutional provision on the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Acedillo then appealed to the Comelec to reconsider its petition once they file their motion for reconsideration next week.

“We are appealing to the Comelec en banc, especially to Comelec Chairman Jose Melo to reconsider (our petition), and if possible, revise their resolution,” he said.

“In fact, it is in the best interest of the country for Comelec to encourage the Magdalo group to join the mainstream of Filipino society and allow it to participate in the democratic process, especially in elections, by approving its application for accreditation as a political party instead of isolating us and pushing us to the fringes by junking our petition,” added Acedillo.

Source: mb.com.ph

Youth groups ask SC for extension of voters’ registration

2009-10-30T03:16:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines—Various youth groups have asked the Supreme Court for an extension of voters’ registration as they assail the Commission on Elections (Comelec) of “unconstitutional exercise of legislative power” when it set October 31 as deadline.

The petitioners led by Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond Palatino told the high court that Comelec Resolution 8585, setting October 31 as deadline for registration of voters, violates election laws and the Constitution.

It will also disenfranchise first time registrants, they said, asking the high court to order the Comelec to extend the registration of voters until January 9 next year.

In their petition, the youth groups said the Voter’s Registration Act of 1996 provides that the filing of application of registration of voters shall be conducted daily until 120 days before a regular election or 90 days before a special election is held.

Therefore they said the start of the 120-day prohibitive period before the May 10, 2010 elections is on January 10, next year.

“Thus, the deadline of application of registration of voters should be on January 9, 2010, not October 31, 2009 which is 70 days earlier than is prescribed by the statute,” the petitioners said.

But while they recognize the Comelec’s authority to promulgate its own rules and regulations, they said the poll body must not go beyond what has been provided for under the law.

“Thus, it cannot be gainsaid that by providing a period different than that prescribed under Section 8 of the Voter’s Registration Act of 1996, respondent Comelec has actually amended the said statute,” they said.

“And this is manifestly an unconstitutional exercise of legislative power, it is beyond the province of administrative agencies, thus a serious and grave violation of the 1987 Philippine Constitution,” the petitioners said.

Aside from Palatino, petitioners include National Union of Students of the Philippines president Alvin Peters, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines chairperson Ma. Cristina Angela Guevarra, Kabataan Party-List secretary general Vencer Mari E. Crisostomo, College Editors Guild of the Philippines president Vijae Alquisola, and Kabataan Artista Para sa Tunay na Kalayaan secretary general Dianne Kristel Asuelo.

Source: INQUIRER.net

Legarda rejects calls for presidential bid in 2010

2009-10-30T02:57:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Loren Legarda rejected on Friday calls for her to join the presidential race in 2010, saying she will stick to her decision to seek the vice presidential post.

Legarda claimed that her partymates in the People’s Nationalist Coalition (NPC) have been pushing her to run for president after its presumptive standard-bearer, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero left the party.

“Nagsabi na ako, pag ako’y nagsalita pinanindigan ko [I have spoken. Once I’ve done that, that’s it. I gave my word],” said Legarda, who declared her vice presidential bid last week.

“I have spoken and made my announcement before the people that I will run for vice president. We are still young and can wait. Why will I change my mind. They will only get confused,” she said in an interview over ABS-CBN’s morning show, “Umagang Kay Ganda.”

But while Legarda closed the door on the idea of running for president, the senator indicated that she was now open to be the running mate of either Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro or Senator Manny Villar.

Teodoro is the standard-bearer of the administration’s Lakas-Kampi Christian Muslim Democrats while Villar is the presidential bet of the Nacionalista Party.

“Maaari na sigurong mag-usap pero hindi naman ako mauuna di ba [Maybe we can talk now but I wont be the first to mention it, right]?” she said.

Legarda said she had not talked with any presidential candidate before because all the while she thought was that Escudero would be her tandem.

“Bakit naman ako makikipag-usap, meron na akong ka-tandem? Pero nasabi ko na nga na nirerespeto ko yung ginawa ni Chiz bagamat hindi nagpaalam [Why will I be negotiating when I am already part of a tandem? But like I said, I respect what Chiz did even when he did not inform us about his decision to leave],” she said.

Legarda had repeatedly stated that she would only run under the opposition ticket but with Escudero’s departure from NPC, she now seemed to have opened her doors even for the administration’s bet.

“If I answered your question, it’s like announcing what I would do,” Legarda said in Filipino when asked by TV host Pinky Webb about the possibility of a Teodoro-Legarda tandem in 2010.

“My answer here is my color is white, the color of white is neutrality and peace. What I really want is peace,” she said, adding that Teodoro and Villar were both good and competent.

Source: NQUIRER.net

The Chiz Escudero Gambit

2009-10-30T02:38:00.000-07:00

By PatricioMangubat

A friend and colleague in this political analysis ek-ek, Pedestrian Observer has a pretty good analysis about Chiz Escudero. Read it, as well as Leslie Bocobo's piece.

Yep. Chiz is neither a haciendero nor a bilyonaryo, but he's surely a beneficiary of the Marcos regime. His father, Salvador, was a staunch pro-Marcos. And by Chiz association with Danding, yep, he probably benefited from the coconut levy fund which Danding is still using to prop his hold over as SMC.

It does not necessarily conclude that Chiz would be all-out Marcosian. I mean, the sins of the Father should not be blamed on the son. If Salvador Escudero erred on the side of dogged allegiance to a false prophet, he was simply, and probably did it out of fear or trepidation. And we don't expect the son to follow suit right?

Chiz's gambit, as what Senator Aquilino Pimentel described his "bold move" was, for me, a test of how far and how strong the progressives are in pursuing their cause. Chiz just lost a sizeable base of support coming from the traditionals, but the prospect of carving something out of the progressives or the middle class is higher than when he was with the NPC.

The question really is---are the progressives, or some term, reformist groups really ready to flex its muscles come May 2010? People are hoping that Chiz replicates the "miracle win" of Trillianes. Trillianes was losing in the survey game months prior to the 2004 elections when his stock suddenly climbed to the magic 12.

Political analysts were caught with their feet in their mouths. Many predicted defeat; but the contrary happened. Trillianes won, as some believe, without machinery.

That observation is surely not correct. Trillianes had his electoral machine which came from reformist groups within traditional political parties. Trapos also assisted Trillianes to win and some say, his victory also got the go-ahead from inside the palace. But, that's another story.

Now, let me go back to this gambit which Chiz took.

If Chiz pushes through, he needs the backing of the reformists and the progressives. Let me just clump them in one political creature---the middle forces. Right now, majority of the middle forces are aligned with Noynoy Aquino under the mistaken notion that Ninoy's son deserves to lead them. These middle forces constitute the bulk of Noynoy's mass base support. They are educated, idealists and really want changes in Philippine society.

Based on a very confidential poll survey research which I have, they comprise 78% of the total electorate. They are a cross-section of the economic classes. They are well informed and politically aware. They classify politicians in simple trapo and non-trapo terms. Obviously, they disdain trapos and want non-trapos to ascend to power.

What is going on right now (and which the Liberals surely know) is that even they cannot seem to get the full backing of the middle forces. Yes, majority are behind them but there is a sizeable chunk, which I call the "ideologically astute" and "political organizers" who command respect in the urban poor and middle class constituencies that reserve their support. These organizers are spread among different political parties, ready to be tapped when an ideal non-trapo enters the political fray.

This is what Chiz and his handlers want to tap. Doing so means weakening Noynoy's base, damaging the grassroots base of Erap's and slowing down organizing efforts of the Manny Villar camp. When this happens, the possibility of garnering at least 23-25% of the electorate votes is high. A candidate who gets 25% of the votes come May 2010 is a sure winner, particularly in a four or five corner fight.

Chiz has just positioned himself as a non-trapo candidate and poised to assume leadership of this category. All he needs to do is convince those belonging to Noynoy's camp, those ideologically astute and political organizers to shift and form an independent movement.

This is possible since Chiz now has the FPJM, the Samahang Magdalo, Ping Lacson's group and his own ChizNation organizations. If he gets the support of the Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM), Sanlakas, BayanMuna (now aligned with Villar's), unions, people's organizations such as the PRRM, Code NGO and the People's Primaries, he stands on firmer ground. Now, should Eddie Villanueva's group align with him and Grace Padaca's group suddenly bolts out of the Liberal Party, then Chiz has his independent third force movement.

Likewise, what is the possibility of Senator Jamby Madrigal throwing her billions out for Chiz? High, if you ask me.

Now, what is the possibility of forming a broad coalition of progressives and reformist groups under one candidacy? Grace Padaca would surely stick with Mar. JIL is one open window. BayanMuna has their own political aggrupation, but probably open to talks, same goes to PLM-Sanlakas. Code NGO has been fractured already but many of them are aligned with the Liberals.

What would happen really is that Chiz will split this group in half, further diluting the chances of progressives ascending the top of the power structure post-May 2010. Chiz is doing what Ping Lacson did in 2004---splitting the progressives by positioning as the best alternative candidate. Chiz is like a monkey wrench thrown in the political pond to confuse and befuddle the political forces.

And the target seems to be Noynoy Aquino. Wittingly or unwittingly, Chiz just played sweetly in the hands of the administration.

Source: http://newphilrevolution.blogspot.com/2009/10/chiz-escudero-gambit.html

Profiles: Chiz Escudero, Running or Not to be a President?

2009-10-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

Danding accepts Chiz's explanation for leaving NPC, son says

2009-10-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco has accepted Senator Francis Escudero's sudden decision to leave the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), the business tycoon's son said Friday.

Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, himself a member of the NPC, admitted that he and his father resented some of Escudero's statements, particularly when he said "Hindi ako heredero, andiyan ang tatay ko. Hindi ako haciendero at lalong hindi ako bilyonaryo (I am not an heir, my father is there. I am not a landlord and I am most definitely not a billionaire)," as they felt that they were being alluded to.

But the lawmaker said he and his father were appeased after the younger Cojuangco personally talked with Escudero about the senator's decision.

"Gusto niya magkaroon ng laya, hindi naman niya sinasabi na masama ang trato sa kanya ng NPC (I understood that he wanted to be free, but that doesn't mean he was treated badly by the NPC)," the younger Cojuangco said. "Sa palagay ko ang gusto niya may sarili siyang diskarte and so sa tingin ko baka tama sa kanya yun at nirerespeto ko ang mga desisyon niya (I think he wants to act on his own, and he might be right about that, so I respect his decision)."

After discussing the matter with Escudero, Rep. Cojuangco said he talked with his father, who is the NPC chairman emeritus. The elder Cojuangco established the NPC when he sought the presidency in 1992.

"Inexplain ko yung tungkol sa bilyonaryo, heredero, na hindi siya [Danding Cojuangco] ang tinutukoy (I explained the part about the billionaire, the heir, that he was not the one being referred to)," the congressman said. "Ang tinutukoy ay yung mga ibang presidentiables (Escudero was referring to the other presidentiables)."

"So gumaan din ang loob niya [Danding]. Akala niya talaga siya ang tinutukoy (Danding felt better. He really thought he was the one being alluded to)," Mark Cojuangco said.

He said the NPC has yet to discuss its next move after Escudero, its prospective presidential candidate, left. But there will definitely be consultations regarding possible coalitions with other political parties, he said.

The NPC is set to field Senator Loren Legarda as its vice presidential bet in the upcoming 2010 elections, as well as other national and local candidates. NPC officials said they are being asked to coalesce with other political parties for the 2010 elections, but that the party has yet to make its decision.

Source: GMANews.TV

‘No hurt feelings with Chiz'

2009-10-29T23:34:00.000-07:00

No hurt feelings.

That was what Rep. Mark Cojuangco (Pangasinan, 5th District) said last night about Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero's quitting the Nationalist People's Coalition.

“We respect his wanting to take a different path,” he said.

The congressman, who is the son of NPC founder and business tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco, told the DAILY STAR he sought an audience with Escudero yesterday afternoon.

Cojuangco said he had felt a little bit hurt by some of the things Escudero said Wednesday, so he sought a clarification from the senator.

The solon said Escudero told him he was not alluding to the NPC or to his father, when he said “Whoever will run or will become president of the country can't fulfill all the things that he should do … when his hands and feet are shackled, his eyes are blindfolded and mouth gagged.”

Escudero explained that he was referring to the need for a presidential candidate to be free of any political party, Cojuangco said.

Cojuangco pointed out that Escudero was never dictated on, or shackled when he was with the NPC.

He said he was relieved to know that Escudero did not feel that the party had done anything to hurt him.

Escudero was treated fairly and squarely by the party and we remain friends, he added.

Escudero explained that he left the NPC because he wants to seek a political paradigm free from the political structure of all parties, to be able to act on his gut, not go through a process with party members, and to do things his way, Cojuangco said.

NPC is very conservative and Escudero has more radical positions, Cojuangco said.

For example, while Escudero wants to grant a P125 wage hike, the NPC is concerned that it might cause the collapse of businesses, and while he wants the CARP debts of farmers to LandBank condoned, the party wants an inventory first, Cojuangco said.

The senator wants to take things faster than the NPC is willing to do, he added.

So the NPC is back to the drawing board and will definitely field Loren Legarda as its vice president to victory, he said.

NO LAKAS MERGER

Cojuangco reiterated that there is no likely merger of the NPC with the Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

Meanwhile, Escudero yesterday denied that funding and money were factors in his decision to quit the NPC.

Escudero, in a press release from his office, also doused rumors that he will join administration bet Secretary Gilberto Teodoro's ticket.

“I have the utmost respect for Secretary Teodoro. However, I have been a part of the genuine opposition and it would be impossible for me to be a candidate for the administration party,” he added.

In the same press release, Escudero also said that money was never a factor for his resignation and that he properly relayed his intentions to NPC officials.

“The subject of financing was never discussed, nor was it ever an issue within the party. My resignation was a matter of principles and conviction," he said.

He clarified that he resigned because a president should not be tied down to a political party, the press release said.

“I never prioritized money in my career. I live in a simple house with my simple family. I didn't dream of having money when I went into public service,” he said.

The 40-year-old senator Wednesday announced that he would no longer be part of the NPC. He pointed out that only a united citizenry, and not a single party or group, can solve the many deep-seated problems of the country.

Escudero said political parties have become obstacles to genuine and meaningful change, his press release said.*CPG

Source: visayandailystar.com

Sotto: Problem is NPC has no substitute for Escudero

2009-10-29T22:58:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines — The political party that Sen. Francis Escudero has abandoned may still end up supporting his candidacy in case he joins the May 2010 presidential election.

“There remains the option that we will continue supporting Chiz (Escudero’s nickname) if he runs for president and we will still field a full NPC slate,” former Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, an NPC member, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer Thursday. He was present in the emergency meeting of officials of the Nationalist People’s Coalition called shortly after Escudero, hitherto the party’s perceived standard-bearer announced he was out of there.

Sotto said the party was left with no substitute for Escudero as presidential candidate even as it was also preparing a full slate both for the national and local elections.

“No NPC member has signified his intention to run for president. That’s the problem,” he said.

Sotto, also the chair of the Dangerous Drugs Board, acknowledged that Escudero’s departure from the NPC “demoralized” some members.

“I won’t call it a dilemma, but it’s a real problem because you suddenly lost a presidential candidate,” he said.

Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez said Escudero’s announcement that he would not need a political party should he run for president shackled him to remaining party-less, a condition that may not be ideal in Philippine politics.

Like whale shark’s fate

Golez also wondered how Escudero would fare after he left the NPC to which he belonged for over a decade, as he noted the death of a whale shark, which he said met its tragic fate when it was out of its natural habitat in Sorsogon, Escudero’s home province.

Politicians supportive of Escudero’s presidential bid and who were planning to affiliate themselves with the NPC wanted to know what was next for them.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte, who has left the administration party and has backed Escudero, said the group would meet with key leaders of the NPC next week to discuss their options.

Villafuerte said the group was composed of mayors, governors and those who wanted to be governors and representatives.

They are supportive of the Escudero-Legarda tandem, though they are not necessarily members of the NPC, said the Camarines Sur lawmaker.

“While we have not formalized it, we have committed from the very beginning. With these changes, we will have to reassemble,” Villafuerte said in a phone interview.

He said the members of the group would compare notes with the NPC and would evaluate their options.

Two other options

In the meeting at the NPC Clubhouse on Balete Drive in Quezon City, which was attended by some 30 members, Sotto said the party came up with two other possible courses of action in the wake of Escudero’s resignation from the party.

He said the top option would be for the party to ignore Escudero’s decision and proceed with its full lineup of candidates, from the vice president down to mayors.

In that case, he said the NPC would still be in search of a standard-bearer.

“Just because a presidential candidate or a single member of the NPC left doesn’t mean the rest won’t move anymore,” Sotto said in Filipino.

The third option was for the NPC to coalesce with other political parties such as the administration’s Lakas-Kampi-CMD, Sen. Manuel Villar’s Nacionalista Party, and Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s Liberal Party.

Longshot

Sotto said the third option could be a longshot judging by the reaction of some NPC members in the meeting.

He said some of the members were vocal in their objection to the idea of coalescing with the ruling party, while others rejected a coalition with the Partido ng Masang Pilipino of former President Joseph Estrada.

Sotto said the choice of which political party to coalesce with would also depend on it accommodating the NPC’s vice presidential candidate, Sen. Loren Legarda.

So far, he said only Villar and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, the preferred standard-bearer of Lakas-Kampi-CMD, were without a running mate.

Legarda earlier rejected the invitation to run with Teodoro.

Sotto said the NPC had agreed to determine its course of action during its general assembly on Nov. 5.

Loren: Rallying point

Legarda has become the NPC rallying point after the party was deserted by Escudero.

Valenzuela Rep. Rex Gatchalian, NPC spokesperson, said that while the party was searching for a new standard-bearer or thinking of whether it would even field one, its focal point would be its vice presidential candidate.

“We will rally around her, support her. We will put all our effort in making sure she gets the vice presidency,” he said.

After Escudero announced his surprising decision to bolt the party the other day, Legarda had quickly declared that she would be staying with the NPC as its vice-presidential candidate.

Gatchalian also said the NPC was not a jailhouse in response to Escudero’s statement that an aspiring president could not carry out his plans when “his hands and feet are shackled, his eyes are blindfolded and mouth gagged.”

He said he felt offended at allegations that Escudero left the party because he was not assured of enough funds for his 2010 campaign.

Jubilant

He said the senator deserved more respect than putting a price tag on him, adding that he was accepting Escudero’s reasons for leaving at face value.

Unlike Bicolano politicians, militant groups in the Bicol region are jubilant over Escudero’s resignation from the NPC.

“Chiz made the right move in leaving NPC,” said Tessa Lopez, the regional public information officer of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Bikol (Bayan-Bikol).

The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas-Bikol (KMP-Bikol) also welcomed Escudero’s move.

RP’s biggest landlord

“At long last, Chiz has escaped the stranglehold of [Eduardo] Danding [Cojuangco Jr.] and is now free to decide on his own. This is a welcome news for us, peasants, particularly coconut farmers because Danding is the biggest landlord in the country and until now he is still the one benefiting from the coconut levy funds,” said Felix Paz, chair of KMP-Bikol.

Cojuangco is the chair emeritus of the NPC and the chair of San Miguel Corp. where coconut levy funds own a big stake.

Lopez said he begged to disagree with those saying that what Escudero did was political suicide.

“Actually, what he did bolstered his political stock and would help him to be accepted by more people who are turned off by his Danding connection,” she said.

New politics

The Bicolanos For Change Movement, an alliance of Bicolanos nationwide, also expressed support for Escudero.

“Such action of Senator Escudero is a manifestation of the new politics that he is espousing under the Bagong Pagbabago slogan and which must be emulated by our political leaders if we want to introduce meaningful change,” it said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

The man without a party says no to Teodoro, Villar

2009-10-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines — A day after he bolted the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, a presidential hopeful, shut the door to a possible team-up with the administration’s standard-bearer Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr., saying a “Gibo-Chiz” tandem was “impossible.”

Escudero’s colleagues in the Senate wondered whether his leaving the NPC was a gambit aimed at boosting his survey numbers before the filing of certificates of candidacy on Nov. 30.

His decision to abandon the NPC left the party without a standard-bearer.

He also rejected a team-up with Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar, who, like Teodoro, is still looking for a running mate.

“I will never jump ship and join the administration, particularly because its term is ending. Besides, I honor and respect Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, but it seems impossible for that team-up to happen,” Escudero said on dzMM radio.

Asked about a tandem with Villar of the Nacionalista Party, Escudero said: “I already commented on that.” He did not elaborate.

Escudero had already rejected a team-up with Villar in the wake of an earlier survey by Social Weather Stations which showed a likely win for a Villar-Escudero tandem if presidential elections were held at the time.

“Impossible. It will never happen. I stand for good governance,” Escudero, the 39-year-old senator who was yet ineligible to run for president, said in a press statement on Sept. 5.

Escudero turned 40 on Oct. 10, the minimum requirement for those seeking the presidency.

C-5 controversy

“Given what I have seen and read about the allegations raised in the C-5 controversy, it seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. I cannot in good conscience run with or under him,” he said.

Villar, a former Senate president, is facing an ethics probe by the Senate committee of the whole for the alleged diversion of the C-5 road project to benefit Villar’s real estate company, a charge vehemently denied by the latter.

Escudero’s statements Thursday were a far cry from his answers when he was interviewed by ABS-CBN’s “Bandila” on Wednesday.

All possible

Asked about the possibility of becoming the running mate of Villar, Escudero said: “All possibilities are possible, but I ask for a little more time.”

Teaming up with former President Joseph Estrada of the Partido ng Masang Pilipino may not be possible, either.

Estrada announced on Oct. 21 that Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay would be his running mate.

“They have a complete (team-up) already,” Escudero said when asked if he was willing to slide down to be Estrada’s running mate.

Escudero stunned his own party mates on Wednesday with his dramatic announcement at the historic Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City, that he was resigning from the NPC, the party founded by tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr.

“I am leaving my party because I believe that I can fulfill the role that I am bound to play in connection with the coming elections … not as a member of any party or a companion of any person, but as just me,” Escudero had announced at a hastily called press conference.

The announcement came a day after Escudero reportedly failed to convince Cojuangco, NPC chair emeritus and chair of San Miguel Corp., to bankroll his presidential candidacy.

The lawmaker from Sorsogon had deferred the announcement of his plans for the 2010 elections, asking his supporters to give him time to decide what to do next.

Last-ditch effort

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. asked if it was the young senator’s last-ditch effort to shore up his popularity ratings, which plummeted in the last survey of the Social Weather Stations.

“If what I heard is correct that he left NPC because of money, it’s a bad gambit,” Pimentel said in a text message.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan appeared unconvinced that Escudero suddenly saw the wisdom of running as an independent candidate in a crucial election.

He said Escudero was not known to be an advocate of a “third force,” a move Pangilinan advocated in the 2007 election to convince senators seeking re-election to form a group which had no links with either the opposition or the administration.

Pangilinan said Escudero’s decision to leave the NPC had raised more questions than answers. “The rumors as to the real reasons aren’t helping his bid,” he said. “Is it a gambit?”

Not about money

In several radio and TV interviews since he resigned from the NPC, Escudero said money was not a factor for leaving the NPC.

He had to make this clarification because in all the interviews, he was repeatedly asked about reports that he had a rift with Cojuangco, who had refused to bankroll his presidential bid.

“The subject of financing was never discussed, nor was it ever an issue within the party. My resignation was a matter of principles and conviction,” Escudero said.

He said he had no right to demand something which did not belong to him in the first place.

But he added: “I accept the reality that I’m not a hacendero (landowner) or billionaire.”

Escudero clarified that he resigned because a presidential candidate should not be tied down to a political party.

“I never prioritized money in my career. I live in a simple house with my simple family. I didn’t dream of having money when I went into public service,” he said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR CHIZ ESCUDERO AT GMA 7/UNANG HIRIT/TALAKAYAN WITH IGAN

2009-10-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

Arnold Clavio: Magandang umaga Senador Chiz Escudero.

Francis Escudero: Magandang umaga rin sayo Igan.

AC: Bakit ka umalis sa partido? Ito yung nag-alaga sa iyo, yung nag-alaga sa political career mo kasi biglang bigla e. Yung mga kapartymates mo medyo nagulat. Parang may pader sa mga mukha nila. Willing ka ban a sabihin kung ano yung mga dahlian?

FGE: Tatlo ang dahilan na binanggit ko kung bakit kumalas ako sa NPC. Una, para mas Malaya ako makapagdesisyon sa papel na gagampanan ko sa 2010. Pangalawa, sa prinsipyo't paniniwala. Sino man nagplaplano, sino man ang tatakbo, kung sino man ang magiging pangulo ng bansa, mas tama yung pagtulong kesa sa pakinggan lamang ang malapit sa kanya o mga kapartido nya. At pangatlo, naniniwala ako na sino man ang tatakbo o magiging pangulo dapat ganun din: malayang magawa ang mga nais nyang gawin para sa ating bansa na hindi nakatali sa sino mang grupo o partido.

AC: Ok, kumpara dati kay Senador Roxas, direksyon nya dati Pangulo e. Nagslide down sya dahil sa public pressure. Ikaw din ba ganun? Naapektuhan ka ban g pressure ng paligid kaya umalis ka na lang sa karera ng pagka-pangulo?

FGE: Igan, walang ganun. Hindi ito dahil sa hindi pagkakaintindihan o mga tsismis na hindi sinusuportahan ng partido, walang ganun. Naging mabigat sa akin na magpaalam sa aking partido at sa aming chairman,

AC: Chairman?

FGE: Danding Cojuangco.

AC: May katotohanan ba na hindi ka sinuportahan ni Danding kaya ka umalis sa NPC kaya ka bumitaw?

FGE: Isa yan sa mga tsismis na lumalabas. Hindi totoo yun at walang katotohanan yun. Nanatili ang kanyang posisyon noon na kung sino man ang babasbasan ng partido, yun ang kanyang susuportahan.

AC: Ngayon naman, kayo naman ni Senator Loren, wala naman kayong away na nangyare? Eto yung naging resulta ng...kasi kayo ang initial na magkatambal di ba senador? Medyo naiba na sya, naunahan ka nya sa announcement.

FGE: Walang galitan. Walang away, walang hindi pagkakaintindihan Igan. Hiling ko ang kabutihan ni Senator Legarda. Kung mangyayari man na magkasama kami, possible at bakit hindi? Pero ngayon, malaya na nyang pagdesisyunan yun at ako din.

AC: Gusto ng mga partymates mo na personal na marinig sa iyo ang iyong dahilan. Pagbibigyan mo ba yun? Ang iyong sariling dahilan kung bakit kumalas ka na?

FGE: Kung hihilingin, kung nararapat, Oo Igan. Magkakaibigan naman kami at matagal kaming magkakasama. Wala naman kaming pinagawayan.

AC: Ang intesyon mo dati tumakbo bilang pangulo. Ngayon ba pangalawang pangulo na lang ba?

FGE: Walang pagbabago sa direksyon Igan. Nagkaroon lang ng mas maraming pwedeng pagpiliang daan na pwedeng daanan. Kung paano mararating yun, pagiisipan ko pa.

AC: Gibo at Chiz Escudero, ano ang masasabi mo doon?

FGE: Ahhm, matagal na ako sa oposisyon at wala akong planong sumali sa administrasyon o kumampi sa administrasyon. Mukhang imposible at malabo.

AC: Yung Chiz, Gibo?

FGE: Imposible rin na mangyari.

AC: Yung Chiz at Loren, Malabo na yun?

FGE: Posible. Depende. Malaya sa pagpapasya nya at pagpapasya ko.

AC: Chiz o Manny at Chiz?

FGE: Nagsalita na ako tungkol dyan, Igan-

AC: O sige, Erap-Chiz?

FGE: Kumpleto na din yata yung sa kanila Igan.

AC: Mukhang natitira na lang ang Chiz-Wish

FGE: Hahahahahaha!

AC: Ano ba ang wish mo? Pwedeng hindi ka rin tumakbo. Ang ibig kong sabihin termino mo hanggang 2013. Pwedeng maging minority ka na muna, mag-obserba tapos sa 2013 doon mo na lang ituloy ang plano mo.

FGE: Lahat ng bagay possible pati ang Presidential elections sa 2013. Midterm elections ,hahahaha! Lahat ng bagay ay possible pati ang hindi pagtakbo sa darating na eleksyon.

AC: Ito ba ay kinonsulta mo kay tatay?

FGE: Ahhhmmm, personal na desisyon ko ito. Kaya ang tatay ko ay nagulat din.

AC: May mga malalaki ka bang plano sa 2010 sa ngayon o hahayaan ka muna namin magsarili?

FGE: Uuwi lang siguro ako sa probinsya at gagamitin ko ang panahon para sa pagpapasya ko.

AC: Sabi ng mga political analysts, nung nagdeklara si Noynoy Aquino, ikaw ang direktang tinamaan. Nasaktan ka ba nun sa naging desisyon ni Noynoy na tumakbo?

FGE: Hinde. Isa sa malalapit kong kaibigan si Noynoy sa Senado at anuman ang pasya o desisyon na gagawin nya, gagalangin ko yun.

AC: So ang lumalabas ngayon ay isang idenpendent candidate na hinahangad na masira itong traditional na pamamaraan sa eleksyon natin na may machinery, political party, so yun ba ang pinaplano mo ngayon na iharap ang sarili mo bilang isang independent?

FGE: Yun ang tinitignan naming isang bagay, isa sa mga options. Titignan kung kakayanin.

AC: So kamusta ang pakiramdam mo?

FGE: Nakatulog na ng mabuti dahil sa palaisipan ko at sa mga nagdaang araw. Mas maganda ang gising ko dahil dito.

AC: Napansin ko sa t-shirt mo nakalagay #1 Philippines, pangkarera po ba ito?

FGE: Hehehehehe!

AC: Parang pinapalabas mo na ang tao ang magpapatakbo sa iyo at hindi partido.

FGE: Hindi lang ako. Sino man ang tatakbo, sino man ang nagplaplano, sino man ang magiging pangulo, dapat ganun. Hindi man ako, sana lahat.

AC: Sino ang magiging running mate mo?

FGE: Posible lahat ng bagay Igan.

AC: O kamusta naman ang anak mo?

FGE: Ok naman Igan, katabi ko kanina.

AC: E yung pangalan na Chiz Escudero, maasahan po ba namin sa listahan ng mga kakandidat sa eleksyon?

FGE: Posible uyun Igan. Posible ring hindi. Bukas po ako sa lahat ng options at tulad ng sinabi ko, pagpapasyahan ko po yan. Hiling ko ang panahon para makapagisip.

AC: Sa mga nagulat mong partymates?

FGE: Pasensya na sa mabilisan o biglaan na pagpasya. Hiling ko na sana, maging kapartido man o hindi, makakapagtulungan para sa layunin ng ating bansa

AC: Ok Senator Chiz Escudero good luck.

FGE: Salamat.

Chiz: Money was never an issue

2009-10-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

Senator Chiz Escudero denied that funding and money were factors in his decision to quit the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC). Escudero said that money was never a factor for his resignation and that he properly relayed his intentions to NPC officials.

"The subject of financing was never discussed, or was it ever an issue within the party. My resignation was a matter of principles and conviction," he said in an interview at Umagang Kay Ganda Thursday.

He clarified that he resigned because a president should not be tied down to a political party.

"I never prioritized money in my career. I live in a simple house with my simple family. I didn't dream of having money when I went into public service," he said.

The 40-year-old senator made a bold stand on Wednesday and revealed that he will no longer be part of the NPC. He pointed out that only a united citizenry, and not a single party or group, can solve the many deep-seated problems of the country.

Escudero, the youngest among the presidential frontrunners, also said that political parties have become obstacles to genuine and meaningful change.

The lawmaker also doused rumors that he will be joining administration bet Sec. Gilbert Teodoro's ticket. "I have the utmost respect for Secretary Teodoro. However, I have been a part of the genuine opposition and it would be impossible for me to be a candidate for the Administration Party," he added.

Chiz to join presidential race as an independent candidate - lawmaker

2009-10-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero will join next year's presidential race as an independent candidate, a television report said on Thursday.

The report, aired over GMA News' "24 Oras," quoted Escudero's friend, An Waray party-list Rep. Bem Noel, as saying that the senator's camp is eyeing senators Loren Legarda, Panfilo Lacson and Tourism Secretary Ace Durano as his running-mate.

"Yung tatlong nabanggit... puro sila qualified at may kanya-kanyang hatak (Those three are all qualified and have their own supporters)," Noel told reporter Maki Pulido in an interview.

Escudero, who bolted the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) on Wednesday, is yet to announce his political plans in the 2010 elections.

The senator denied that he quit the party due to financial reasons. "The subject of financing was never discussed or was it an issue within the party. My resignation is a matter of principle and conviction," he said.

As an independent candidate, Escudero is expected to face a tough hurdle in his reported quest for the presidency, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

"In any election, an independent candidate would have a hard time because we are not just talking about participating in the election itself, we are talking about pulling off a campaign that wins you the election," said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez.

Malacañang meanwhile denied reports that it is offering Escudero to be the running-mate of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., the administration's standard-bearer in next year's elections.

"We don't have an offer to Senator Chiz Escudero to be the running-mate of Secretary Teodoro," said deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo. - with Kimberly Jane Tan, GMANews.TV

Lakas plays coy but NP open to Chiz

2009-10-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines—Top officials of the ruling party are of two minds over the idea of taking Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero as its vice presidential candidate in the May 2010 elections.

“No, we can’t make that offer. He already said he will run only with the opposition,” Gabriel Claudio, secretary general of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD, said of Escudero in a text message.

Claudio, who advises President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on political matters, said the party would pick the running mate of its standard-bearer, Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro, only from the ranks of the administration party or coalition.

Teodoro himself hinted of realignments as a result of Escudero’s surprise move.

Pressed to elaborate, Teodoro said he was open to running with Escudero in 2010 because they were both ex-members of the party founded by his uncle, Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco.

But Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the party president, did not reject outright a Teodoro-Escudero tandem despite the latter’s critical stance vis-à-vis the administration.

“Let’s just say that in politics, nothing is impossible. That could very well happen,” Ermita said of the possible tandem.

He said political differences with Escudero should not stand in the way, and cited the example of the recent US elections.

“In the United States, for example, during the primary, there were unsavory statements made by one against the other, but when the final thing came up, when the primary was being decided, somebody was taken as part of the tandem, and both won together,” Ermita said.

But Ermita also said he was unaware of any party plan to offer the vice presidential slot to Escudero.

He said the political alignments would be worth watching in the coming weeks in view of Escudero’s resignation from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

Teodoro open

But Teodoro said that this was a matter that could only be decided by the Lakas-Kampi-CMD, and that as of now, he was not aware of talks between the ruling party and Escudero’s camp.

“Let’s see if that happens … All options are possible because what is important is uniting the nation,” Teodoro told reporters on the sidelines of the monthly meeting of the Mandaluyong Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.

“I am not saying that it will happen, but the party is not on blinders,” he said, adding that cross-party negotiations were taking place and alliances could be formed even at the last minute.

Linking up with other parties

According to Teodoro, what is certain is the continuing link-up between the NPC and the Lakas coalition and other members of the Liberal Party at the Congress level.

“I heard that many members want to maintain that and their support for the administration,” he said.

Earlier Wednesday, Teodoro said Escudero’s resignation from the NPC was a step in a journey that the senator might have seriously studied.

He said Escudero, and even vice presidential candidate Sen. Loren Legarda, had the liberty of “being bold” because “win or lose, they will still serve as senators.”

Asked how the NPC’s loss of a standard-bearer would shore up his own candidacy, Teodoro said: “It’s too early to tell. The situation is very fluid. Realignments are very, very possible.

“But of course, there is an advantage if you are backed by an institutional party.”

Holding empty bag

But Prospero Pichay, Lakas-Kampi-CMD vice president for membership and accreditation, expressed doubt that the party would adopt Escudero, who, he said, ran a senatorial campaign in 2007 taking potshots at Ms Arroyo.

“He can’t be with us. He’s been [accusing] us of stealing and cheating,” Pichay, a former representative of Surigao del Sur, said in a phone interview.

Pichay predicted that Escudero would end up holding an empty bag after rejecting previous offers from some presidential aspirants to be their running mate.

“I think he has no more options as vice president. Erap has a VP; Noynoy has a VP. In the case of Villar, he spoke too soon and said Villar is unacceptable to him,” Pichay said, referring to ousted President Joseph Estrada and Senators Benigno Aquino III and Manuel Villar Jr., respectively.

“His only option is to run for president or vice president as an independent,” Pichay added.

Talks with Villar

But Escudero may end up running alongside Villar, the standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party (NP).

Talks are ongoing for Escudero to be Villar’s running mate, according to an NP official who asked not to be named for lack of authority to discuss the matter publicly.

The official said the negotiations were being coursed through Escudero’s father, Sorsogon Rep. Salvador Escudero, and House Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora.

Zamora, a supporter of Villar, Wednesday confirmed the discussions, saying these began months ago.

“We were serious. We were not joking,” Zamora told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone, referring to his talks with the elder Escudero who is also a member of the minority bloc at the House of Representatives.

Zamora said “nothing turned out” of the talks then, mainly because Escudero had made it clear that he would run only for president.

But another party official Wednesday indicated that the discussions were alive again, especially following Escudero’s decision to bolt the NPC.

“We have always been saying that he would make a good vice presidential candidate for Senator Villar despite his past pronouncement that he would not run with him,” NP spokesperson Gilbert Remulla said of Escudero.

“We still consider him,” Remulla said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

PPCRV is Comelec's citizens' arm in 2010 polls

2009-10-29T10:15:00.001-07:00

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has accredited Church-based group Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) as its citizens’ arm for the May 2010 computerized elections.

In accrediting PPCRV, the Comelec en banc cited the group's reliability in conducting poll watchdog activities in the past electorates.

“The petitioner's participation during the past electoral exercises and its commitment towards honest, clean, credible and peaceful elections are commendable. This Commission hereby resolves to accredit the PPCRV as (it’s) citizen's arm," the 10-page order stated.

The PPCRV was accredited for the same post during the 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2007 national and local Elections.

Section 52 of the Omnibus Election Code gives the Comelec the power to enlist non-partisan organizations to assist them in ensuring free, orderly and honest elections.

As an accredited poll watchdog, PPCRV is mandated to conduct poll watching activities and give assistance to voters. Its duties also include conducting massive voters’ education program in every municipality, city or province in the country.

On the other hand, the accreditation entitles the PPCRV to a soft copy of the computerized voter's list (CVLs) as well as the 4th copy of the election returns, both soft and hard copies.

The PPCRV will also be given the chance to test the equipment to be used in the automated elections on May 10 before the precincts open.

Source: GMANews.TV

Villar open to Chiz or Loren as vice president

2009-10-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines - Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. reiterated yesterday that he remains open to a possible tandem with either Sen. Loren Legarda or Sen. Francis Escudero.

Legarda had announced earlier that she would run for vice president under the Nationalist People’s Coalition while Escudero resigned from NPC last Wednesday.

“The NP is open to anybody who wants to join or ally with us,” Villar said.

Escudero and Legarda are both efficient senators and they will be assets to anybody who will have either of them as running mate, Villar told reporters after NP formed an alliance with the Partido Magdalo of Cavite in Kawit, Cavite the other night.

Villar refused to choose when asked whom he thinks has an edge between Legarda and Escudero.

“Hindi tayo namimili ng ganyan. Pareho nating ginagalang yan. Pareho nating hinahangaan yan. Iba- iba ang kanilang katangian at pareho naman nating hinahangaan yan (We don’t choose like that. We admire and respect both of them and each have their respective strengths),” he said.

He said Escudero can be a good running mate but he has not decided whether he would pursue his plans to run for higher office or simply back out of the race.

“Sen. Chiz Escudero is also a good senator whom we admire and the Senate is proud of. We respect his decision to think it over thoroughly,” Villar said in Filipino.

Villar also had good words for Legarda, a former presidential aspirant who declared that she would now run for vice president.

“Senator Loren is also okay, whoever she chooses to run with can also stand proud. In Chiz’s case it’s difficult to second-guess him since he has not declared he is running for vice president,” Villar said.

Villar said that if ever the NP will strike an alliance with any party, NP would lead the group.

“All remains possible. The NP-NPC, you just remove (letter) C, and you get NP. While when you add C to NP, it becomes NPC. I am saying that everything is possible. It is hard to deal with the NP as a party. We go along with anybody as long as we have same ideals, which is to help the poor and get them out of poverty,” Villar said.

Villar said NP and NPC seem to have similar platforms, hinting of a possible coalition.

Asked if he has spoken to Legarda, Villar said he has not talked to her personally but hinted that sheer logic would dictate the shape of things to come.

Meanwhile, NP spokesman Gilbert Remulla claimed that party members are holding separate talks with Legarda and Escudero for a possible alliance in the 2010 elections.

“We cannot deny there have been talks at various levels with both of them (separately of course). The best we can say is that we will be making an announcement within the next two weeks,” Remulla said.

Escudero had earlier rejected the idea of running with Villar citing his corruption case regarding the C-5 Road extension project that allegedly benefited Villar’s real estate company, while Sen. Edgardo Angara had reportedly been the one talking with NP for a Villar- Legarda team up.

However, it was Angara and Legarda who led the ouster of Villar as Senate president last year following the controversy that Villar sought a double budget for the C-5 project.

But Legarda denied talking with Villar personally although she had met with another camp, the Lakas-Kampi-CMD through Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno who is reportedly working on the tandem of Legarda and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., standard-bearer of the administration party.

Source: The Philippine Star

NPC may yet support Escudero’s candidacy

2009-10-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines—The political party Sen. Francis Escudero has abandoned may end up supporting his candidacy if he does run in next year’s presidential election.

Officials of the Nationalist People’s Coalition kept this option open during an emergency meeting called shortly after Escudero, hitherto the party’s perceived standard-bearer, announced that he was bolting the party.

“There remains the option that we will continue supporting Chiz (Escudero’s nickname) if he runs for President and still field a full NPC slate,” former Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, an NPC member who was present at the gathering, told the Inquirer on Thursday.

Sotto conceded that his party was left with no substitute for Escudero for presidential candidate even as it was also preparing a full slate both in the national and local elections.

“No NPC member has signified his intention to run for President—that’s the problem,” he said.

Sotto, also the chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board, admitted that Escudero’s departure from the NPC “demoralized” some members.

“I won’t call it a dilemma, but it’s a real problem because you suddenly lost a presidential candidate,” he said.

In the meeting attended by some 30 members at the so-called NPC clubhouse on Balete Drive, Quezon City, at noon Wednesday, Sotto said the party came up with two other possible courses of action in the wake of Escudero’s resignation from the party.

Sotto said the top option would be for the party to ignore Escudero's decision and proceed with its full lineup of candidates, from the vice president down to the mayors.

In that case, he said the NPC would still be in search of a standard-bearer.

“Just because a presidential candidate or a single member of the NPC left doesn’t mean the rest won’t move anymore,” he said in Filipino.

The third—and purportedly last—option was for the NPC to coalesce with other political parties such as the administration’s Lakas-Kampi-CMD, Sen. Manuel Villar’s Nacionalista Party, and Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s Liberal Party.

Sotto said the third option could be a long shot judging by the reaction of some NPC members in the Wednesday gathering.

He said some of them were vocal in their objection to the idea of coalescing with the ruling party, while others rejected a coalition with former Joseph Estrada’s Partido ng Masang Pilipino.

Sotto said the choice of political party to coalesce with would also depend on its availability to accommodate the NPC’s perceived vice presidential candidate, Sen. Loren Legarda.

So far, he noted that only Villar and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, the preferred standard-bearer of Lakas-Kampi, were without a running-mate.

Legarda had earlier rejected the invitation to run with Teodoro.

Sotto said the NPC agreed to determine its course of action during its general assembly on Nov. 5.

Militant Bicol groups laud Chiz resignation from NPC

2009-10-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

LEGAZPI CITY—Militant groups in Bicol hailed Sen. Francis Escudero’s resignation from the Nationalist’s People’s Coalition on Wednesday, a move which rattled the party founded by business tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. and left it with no standard bearer.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas-Bikol (KMP-Bikol) and the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Bikol (Bayan-Bikol) welcomed Escudero's departure from NPC.

“Chiz made the right move in leaving NPC,” said Tessa Lopez, the regional public information officer of Bayan-Bicol.

According to Felix Paz, chair of KMP-Bikol and a member of the KMP national council, “Whatever his reasons for quitting the NPC are, we think that it is for the better. At long last, Chiz has escaped the stranglehold of Danding and is now free to decide on his own. This is welcome news for us, peasants, particularly coconut farmers because Danding is the biggest landlord in the country and until now he is still the one benefiting from the coconut levy funds.”

“At least now, Chiz can take more pro-people and pro-peasant stands and not think of his partymates’ interests, because as it is, we know that the NPC is generally a pro-landlord party and historically speaking, it has never stood for genuine small peasants,” explained Paz.

Lopez also said they disagreed with those saying Escudero’s move was political suicide. “Actually, what he did bolstered his political stock and would help him to be accepted by more people who are turned off by his Danding connection,” she said.

With this development, Lopez said, they hoped more politicians would take up the challenge to prioritize principles and the interest of the majority rather than money.

Asked about any possibility of Chiz’s joining the administration lineup, Carl Ala, a political economist and a professor of humanities, said, “it would not be possible now, considering that I believe Escudero is an all-out opposition and it would be inconsistent to his platform-based principles and the interest of the majority of the Filipinos. And besides, there is no tangible runningmate for Escudero as of this time.”

“I think that if he is still to run for the presidency the best running mate should be one who is (not) beholden to narrow interests as well, in other words, someone with no strings attached,” Ala added.

He also said that what Escudero did would serve as a challenge to Sen. Benigno Aquino III to break away from Cojuangco, who is his uncle, instead of courting his support.

“This will be a measure if Noynoy can stand up for principles and cast aside their family interest,” Ala added.

Meanwhile, the Bicolanos For Change Movement, an alliance of Bicolanos nationwide, also expressed support for Escudero, saying, “such action of Sen. Escudero is a manifestation of the new politics that he is espousing under the "Bagong Pagbabago" slogan and which must be emulated by our political leaders if we want to introduce meaningful change.”

Source: Inquirer Southern Luzon

Money not an issue in NPC resignation—Escudero

2009-10-29T03:06:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Francisco “Chiz” Escudero vehemently denied on Thursday that the measly P200 million funding allegedly committed by the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) was the reason why he left the party.

“That’s not true. Money is not the issue and no money has been talked about in the party. Principle and conviction are behind my decision to leave the party,” Escudero said in Filipino over ABS-CBN’s morning show, “Umagang Kay Ganda.”

The party allegedly promised Escudero P5 billion in campaign funds for his presidential bid next year but the amount was reduced to P200 million allegedly because of his declining performance in the surveys.

But the senator denied this, saying that on the contrary, he had never lost the support of the group.

“The party has not become lukewarm to my bid. The support remains and it has neither waned nor disappeared,” he said.

Escudero said he maintained a good relationship with the NPC’s founder, businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, and the party’s vice presidential candidate, Senator Loren Legarda, even after severing ties with them.

Escudero issued the clarification despite persistent talks that Cojuangco might allegedly throw his support behind his nephews, Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who are both seeking the presidency in 2010.

“I believe his [Cojuangco] last statement . . . that he will support the part’s standard-bearer,” said Escudero.

The senator also dismissed the possibility of a Teodoro-Escudero tandem in 2010 as the senator reiterated his previous statements that he would not join the administration.

He said he had closed the door on the administration a long time ago.

“I have been with the opposition for eight years. I cannot move to the administration especially since it will end its term soon,” he said.

“Apart from that, I respect Secretary Gilbert Teodoro but I think what you’re suggesting is impossible and it won’t happen,” he said.

Source: INQUIRER.net

Chiz explains decision to bolt NPC

2009-10-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

Nakapanayam live ng TV Patrol World si Senador Francis Escudero tungkol sa kanyang desisyong lumabas sa partidong Nationalist People's Coalition. Ano nga ba talaga ang inayawan ni Chiz sa pagiging miyembro ng isang partido kaugnay sa posibleng pagtakbo sa panguluhan sa halalan 2010 sa 2010.

Escudero leaves NPC

2009-10-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

MANILA - Sen. Francis Escudero on Wednesday announced that he has resigned from the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), the political party of business tycoon Eduardo 'Danding' Cojuangco Jr., and asked for time to decide whether he would still pursue his presidential bid.

Escudero explained in front of a crowd of supporters and media at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City that he left the party to allow himself to decide on his own what position he should run for in 2010.

"Madalas ko pong sinasabi na ang desisyon o pasya kaugnay sa pagtakbo o hindi pagtakbo o ang pagtakbo sa partikular o anumang posisyon, dapat personal sa isang tao at hindi dapat pinapasa o inaasa kaninuman," he said.

He added: "Let that be the first test of leadership of any putative candidate: for that person to decide on his own whether or not he will run or what position he will run for."

Escudero, 40, said he is taking that first test by leaving the NPC. He joined the NPC in 1998.

He said he believes that someone who wants to run for president in next year's election should not be allied with any political party.

"Hindi puwede na nakakadena ang kamay at paa sa partido," he said, adding that a candidate aspiring for a high position in government will not be able to do what he's supposed to do if he is allied with a congressmen or senator who belongs to the same political party.

Asked if he is really gunning for the presidency, the senator said he has yet to decide on the matter. He asked his supporters to give him more time to decide as he had just been freed from the party.

The senator, however, stated that he will run for a higher position, which is either the presidency or the vice-presidential post.

Escudero has three more years left in the Senate. Even if he loses in May 2010, he will remain a senator until 2013.

Escudero reportedly met with Cojuangco, the founder and chair emeritus of NPC, Tuesday night, after which he decided to leave the party.

Escudero’s decision to quit the party came days after Sen. Loren Legarda, his former partymate, declared her intention to run for vice-president, but left open the option of running with presidential candidates of other parties.

Escudero said he informed the party's chairman, former Isabela Governor Faustino Dy Jr., about his resignation before making the announcement.

Shocked NPC members

Shocked members of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) started convening right after Escudero resigned from the party, a party official said Wednesday afternoon.

"Party members are coming as we speak," Rizal Rep. Jack Duavit, NPC secretary-general, told ANC's Dateline Philippines when asked what will be the party's next step after Escudero's resignation.

Duavit said the party may come up with an official statement within the day regarding Escudero's sudden resignation.

He said party members started getting in touch with each other right after hearing the senator's announcement at Greenhills, San Juan City, where he was expected to declare his plans for the 2010 national elections.

"What's happening is we are getting in touch with party members because this is a shock to us. He was able to talk to the chairman, but not to the general membership," Duavit said.

He added that some party members have expressed disappointment and sadness over Escudero's decision. "They were looking forward to Senator Chiz running under the NPC banner," he said.

No party split

Duavit, meanwhile, said that as far as local party members are concerned, the party remains strong despite Escudero's resignation from the party.

"At least as far as the party is concerned, the local parties are strong. We are in contact with them," he said.

The congressman said he does not see other members leaving the party to follow Escudero.

However, he admitted that some loyal supporters of Escudero may still support his possible presidential run. He said that personally, he is "still inclined to support" the senator's candidacy.

Former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and presidential peace adviser, Avelino Razon Jr., was with Escudero at Club Filipno. He said he was not bolting the party, but he will continue supporting the senator's presidential run.

Source: abs-cbnNEWS.com

Francis Joseph "Chiz" Guevara Escudero

2009-10-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Francis Joseph "Chiz" Guevara Escudero was born on October 10, 1969 in Manila, Philippines, the middle child of the three children of former Agriculture Secretary Salvador "Sonny" H. Escudero III and educator Evelina B. Guevara. His father was elected in 2007 to the House seat vacated by his son.

Escudero attended the University of the Philippines Integrated School for both his Elementary and Secondary Education, and graduated in 1981 and 1985 respectively. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Political Science at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City in 1988 and Bachelors of Laws at the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1993.

He received his Masters in International and Comparative Law at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D. C. in 1996.

At the University of the Philippines, Escudero was Secretary General of the Association of Law Students of the Philippines from 1992–1993. He also joined the Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity and was a member of the Alpha Phi Beta Debating Team which was the 1991 U.P. Open Debate Champion. It was during this time that Escudero got his first victory as a debater when, as a "frat man," he was "politely ordered" by his seniors at the Alpha Phi Beta fraternity to represent the group in the campus-wide gab fest. A consistent honor student, he was a member of the Order of the Purple Feather or the U.P. Law Honor Society from 1989–1993.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Escudero was a teaching assistant at the Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines in 1988–1989. In 1989, he became Junior Political Analyst of the Batangas Development Planning office.

From 1993–1994, he was Junior Associate at the Bautista, Picazo, Buyco, Tan and Fider Law Office. After this, he was Legal Consultant for the UNLAD Ship Management and Manning Corp. and Legal Counsel for the Crusade Against Violence (CAV), both in 1994 to 1995. Since 1995 until the present, he is a partner of the Escudero, Marasigan, Sta. Ana, Vallente and Villareal Law Office (EMSAVIL Law).

From 1996 to 1998, he was a Senior Lecturer at the College of Law at the University of the Philippines. He was also lecturer at the Graduate School of the Ateneo de Manila University in 2000.

From May to August 2000, he hosted Ngayon na Pinoy, a television program that aired on RPN 9. He anchored the radio programs "Magandang Umaga, Bayan," at the Angel Radio, DZAR 1026 AM, Usapang de Campanilla and Usapang Legal, both at DZMM. He penned a column, "Usapang Legal ni Chiz Escudero" (later renamed "Say Chiz") in the newspapers Abante and Abante Tonite.

The son of a former cabinet member of the Marcos and Ramos administrations, Escudero is the Secretary General of the United Opposition, and a member of the Nationalist People's Coalition.

In 2005, he was named as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM) in recognition of his selfless dedication as a youth leader which has resulted in significant contributions to the welfare of his countrymen as well as to the advancement of his field of endeavor.

In December last year, he was the only Filipino named in Asian News Networks’ Asia’s Idols. The award focused on those that did not only achieve something exemplary that year but are seen to change and shape their country’s and the region’s future.

Just this year, he was honored by the prestigious organization of global decision-makers, The World Economic Forum as one of the world’s Young Global Leaders of 2008. This honor is bestowed each year by the World Economic Forum to recognize and acknowledge the top 200-300 young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

Recently, he was cited as a 2008 Anak TV Awardee for being one of Anak TV Seal’s Ten Most Admired TV Personalities.

As an elected Senator in 2007, he earned the second highest number of votes. At the Senate, he heads the Committee on Justice and Human Rights and the Committee on Constitutional Amendments Revision of Codes and Laws. He is the Vice Chair of the Committee on Local Government and Senate Representative to the Judicial and Bar Council.

Married to Christine Elizabeth R. Flores, they are blessed with their first-born, fraternal twins Maria Cecilia and Joaquin Cruz.

OTHER AWARDS
• 2008 Anak TV Seal's Ten Most Admired TV Personalities
• 2008, Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum
• 2007, Asia’s Idol, Asia News Network
• 2005 The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Awardee in Youth Leadership
• Gawad Papuri Awardee, April 2002
• Outstanding Congressman of the Year (Philippine Youth Association for Public Affairs, Inc.) February 2002
• Most Outstanding Congressman of the 1st Session of the 12th Congress (League of the Press Association of the Philippines) May 2002
• One of the Outstanding Solons of the 12th Congress (Public Eye Magazine) 2002
• Legislator of the Year (Philippine Media Research and Progress Report, Inc.), Sept. 2000
• Top Congressman (Pillars of the New Republic) 1999, 2000, 2001
• One of the Outstanding Solons of the 12th Congress (Public Eye Magazine) 2001
• Leaders of the 12th Congress (Pillars of the New Republic) 2001 & 2002
• Most Outstanding Solon (League of Press Associations of the Philippines.), 1998, 1999, 2000
• Outstanding Public Servant of the Year (National Media Statistics Research News Publication), Aug. 2000
• Exceptional Young Achievers (Development of Filipino Writers, Inc.) June 2000
• Grand Advocate of Press Freedom (League of Press Associations of the Philippines.) Nov. 1999
• Youth Achiever in the Government Sector (Development of the Filipino Youth) June 1999
• 9th KBP Golden Dove Awardee, Best Public Affairs Program 2000, "Magandang Umaga, Bayan," Angel Radio, DZAR 1026AM