Where is Truth in Advertising in political ads?

Some of the things people are talking about in slums which I visited on TV ads and slogans by politicians

On Noynoy Aquino's " Hindi Ako Magnanakaw" promise:

" Hindi nga siya magnanakaw pero pano ang mga Kamaganak Incorporated? Hindi rin ba sila magnanakaw?"

On Manny Villar's "Naging Mahirap" ad:

" Hindi na siya mahirap pero sa bilyong bilyong pisong ginagasta niya sa kampanya, siguradong pag presidente na siya, TAYO na ang maghihirap."

On Gibo Teodoro's Galing at Talino ad especially that one where he is a pilot:

" Ngayon pa lang, gusto na nyang mag-travel kung saan-saan. At san yung galing? Yung galing na lumikha ng isang warlord sa Maguindanao? At yung talinong hayaang magnakaw ang mga kapanalig niya sa gobyerno?"

On Dick Gordon's Transformer ad:

" Buladas lang. Galing magsalita para itago ang nakaw sa bayan."

On Joseph Erap Estrada's ad:

" Sabi nya tahimik daw sa Mindanao nung panahon nya. Anong tahimik? Dalawang giyera ang inilunsad niya nung panahon nya. Saan ang tahimik dun? Gusto ni Erap, gerahin ang mga Bangsamoro at alagaan lang ang mga tradisyunal na Muslim leaders sa Mindanao."

:-). Truth in advertising should apply to political ads.

Dick Gordon's Platform of Government: Where is it?

Dick Gordon, I heard, was once a fine UP student leader. Glad to know. And I really expect to find a Platform that is more responsive, than, say Noynoy's or Villar's or at least better than the ones presented by Gibo Teodoro or even his nephew's.

I was terribly wrong. Dick Gordon's "Manifesto" is a mushy, wishy-washy document filled with half-truths, half-lies and half-baked presumptions. Good thing that online handlers of Gordon did not describe this document as a "platform of government." They did not, obviously, for fear of being pilloried.

So, despite what Gordon's online pompom bearers say, that he has more substance than Noynoy's or has more wit than Teodoro, let me put on record that Gordon is the only presidentiable without a clear platform of government. His manifesto is not a call to arms.  It is a manifesto written by a business writer, who dreams of seeing Pink fences and pink-colored bridges.

I remember most of those who handle Gordon online asks Noynoy--show us your platform. They even taunted Manny Villar and accused him of just using his money to win.

Now, please, tell me my young Padawans over there at Bagumbayan---where oh, where is Gordon's platform of government? All I see is his Manifesto. Is this the one which I will base my analysis with?

What kind of government will Mr. Gordon build? A government of motherhood statements and of reinvention. His first slogan---reinvent government from what to what? His second, peace and order which he says would be solved by self-discipline, vigilance and respect for the prevailing order. What Gordon is saying is this--he wants to teach criminals respect of our laws. What? Do you see anything wrong with this? It's more of a pipe dream rather than an honest-to-goodness solution to our peace and order problem.

He says of a strong and growing economy by probably raising our savings, work hard and invest. That's the thing. How do you do that under a very depressing economic state? You can't even save enough to cover higher bills and energy costs, like gasoline. Yep, working hard is one suggestion, but most of the 45 million Filipino workers, not less the farmers, work hard, than, say even a member of the Cabinet. Everyone works hard but we simply can't save enough. And how would this even improve the current state of the economy?

The problem is eminent---a totally unresponsive economic system, not giving equal opportunities to every Filipino.

Again, like Noynoy's, Villar's and Teodoro's platforms, Gordon says he will prioritize education, since he believes that it is a key driver of development. What's new? Education is the top priority listed in the Constitution. Every Tom, Dick and Harry who competed for the presidential plum all listed "education" as top priority. Even those who won and sat as president said they will prioritize education. Yet, twenty eight years after Martial law and about two centuries after the Bagumbayan sparked revolt, access to good education remains a big problem. Many of our compatriots fail to complete college education simply for one reason---lack of financial resources. And people still view the worsening local economy as a big factor why people fail to continue their college education, not the education department's "measly" multi-billion budget.

Even if we give a bigger slice of our budget to education, thousands of young Filipinos will still not finish their college education simply out of economic frustrations. The key therefor, is lift our fellow longsuffering Filipinos from the rut of poverty and financial distresses, give them more access to economic opportunities and in effect, allow them to plan the education of their children.

Gordon's sixth priority is health care services, probably FREE or Universal health care. This is good. But, how? What kind? Has Gordon thought of its impact in the budget deficit?

Another classic Gordon motherhood statement--create jobs. It is his seventh priority. How to do that remains still an unexplained phenomenon for Gordon.

The eighth is securing homes and lands to work on, meaning, Gordon favors the expansion of low-cost housing and probably, the former Mayor of Olongapo favors agrarian reform. If I am right, then Gordon should be lauded for this. It is not clear though if Gordon really intends to push for genuine agrarian reform.

Gordon's ninth priority is different from the others---strengthen the Family, by building values and instill proper virtues in individuals. How to do it? I simply don't know since Gordon is not entirely clear here. Another sweeping and broad-swathed statement? You bet ya!

The last of Gordon's priority is environmental protection, though, again, he did not say how. He just said he will protect the environment, period.

Before, I was thinking of volunteering my services to Dick Gordon. Now, how will I do that? Why will I be volunteering for something as arcane and as nebulous as Gordon's Manifesto? Surely, I will not allow myself to fall victim to the promises and rah-rah of somebody who used to protect a scheming and evil president. Definitely, why will I allow myself to campaign for somebody who is not entirely clear what direction will he lead the country into? Its toxic to follow a blind man. Gordon has admirable traits but he owe us a more concrete and more responsive platform. How would you volunteer yourself to somebody who does not offer a "transformative" platform when all he could say is what we all know already?

Of Pseudo-Nationalists and Senator Dick Gordon: Prelude to an EXPOSE against Gordon

Senator Dick Gordon is in a quandary. He wants to pander to his political benefactors namely the First Gentleman and Mrs. Arroyo but he does not want to sacrifice his political ambitions. He already made a successful campaign to erase the graft-ridden Joc-Joc Bolante case out of the public's mind, and he has one more case to go---the ZTE-NBN deal. This is a stinking deal which goes, way, way up there, in the stratosphere that is Malacanang.

Former Senate blue ribbon committee chair Alan Peter Cayetano already said before that this deal reaches up to Malacanang. Dick does not agree. For a man who benefitted largely from public trust (I will have a very explosive expose in the next few days about Honorable Senator Richard "Dick" Gordon. Abangan!), the least that Gordon has to do is render fairness.

If you watched the last senate hearing, Gordon was not fair. Yes, before I laud Gordon for his deft handling of the blue ribbon committee hearings but the last hearing, well, it left a very bad taste in the mouth. Gordon showed how he takes his job very seriously to satisfy his friends over at Malacanang.

What is the reason for Gordon's behavior? I will explain that in my next entries.

And to mask his moves, Gordon fooled the people, especially his friends, to think that he's running for president so that people will think that the main reason why Gordon is attacking the political enemies of his friends over at the Pasig is political. Ladies and gentleman, Gordon is not doing that for politics. What are his motivations? I will expose that in my later entries here. And this expose will surely rock Mr. Gordon. Abangan!

I am saddened by the favorable entries written by a blogger about Gordon. That entry was a very discomforting and definitely partial take on the ZTE-NBN deal. The blogger wanted to reinforce into the public mind that those whistleblowers are the ones guilty, NOT, the First Gentleman nor his wife, Gloria Arroyo and her devil gang, the officials of DOTC and others.

And to think that I was the one who endorsed that site to my friends online, thinking that he will only write nationalist entries. I am mistaken. I will correct my mistake in the next few days by presenting here an EXPLOSIVE EXPOSE against the "idol" of this writer.

The blog community is full of pseudo-nationalists, pro-Arroyo and pro-graft and corruption writers who masquerade as for the people, when they are for the perpetuation of the traditional elite mindsets.

Imagine, Gordon wants to file a case against the whistleblowers, namely, Mr. Joey de Venecia III and Jun Lozada, when they were the ones who opened up this case and sacrifice their lives to show the public that this deal will definitely affect them.

Today marks the second year that Joey de Venecia and Jun Lozada went out of the woodwork to expose this stinking deal which Gordon wants to deodorize. They will not succeed. For, we the people, are not fools.

For us not to forget this, I took the liberty of downloading here the famous ZTE Alphabet. Filipinos around the world, don't forget this.

Pontificating Dick Gordon

Much fuzz have been generated by Senator Mar Roxas' outburst during the interfaith rally. A colleague, Senator Richard Gordon, was one of the first one who "castigated" Mar when the Iloilo solon uttered such "bad words". After Gordon's self-moralizing tirade, Malacanang followed suit.

I don't know about you but I remember that incident before the establishment of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Area (SBMA). Gordon was then mayor of, I think, Olongapo Zambales. He was campaigning for the retention of the military bases since, he said, his entire province of Zambales and possibly, of Bataan, would not be able to cope with the withdrawal of US troops.

When Gordon was lambasted publicly by anti-bases groups, he cussed and threatened everyone. His cursing was worst than Mar Roxas. He even accused those who oppose the extension of the military bases as "ingrates", "fools" and "Communists". Had I decided to write in Tagalog, these words would definitely offend the sensibilities of many.

Yet, unlike Mar, Gordon cursed the people, not the people's oppressor, as what the good senator from Iloilo did.

I hope Mr. Gordon would not be that too a moralist and a pseudo good doer. Like Mar, Gordon is just human.

What would Gordon say if PGMA declares, say, Mr. Manny Villar as the administration's standard bearer and colleague Cheez Escudero as the administration's vice presidential timber, leaving him, Bayani Fernando and Noli de Castro in the lurch?Will he blurt the classic Tagalog cuss word against Gloria?

I would advise those who dreams to become president to just shut up, just do your own thing and not pontificate like they're saints when obviously, they're not.

And since I was one of those who suffered the brute force of state security forces during the struggle against the military bases agreement in the 1990's, I still remember that angry face of Mr. Dick Gordon and how he fought for the "right" of foreigners, especially foreign troops with the same color of his skin, to occupy a piece of his own country.

On a similar vein....

I came across a blog maintained by a supposed "queen". My blogger colleague is right. You'll just land there and will not dare come back.

She's one of the worst writers I have ever seen, a prostitute of the English language and of the most brutal kind. She cusses. She curses. And she even sells her mother online.

It's a shame. She speaks like a jolog, yet pretends to be a member of the elite. Shame. And, as I look at her face, her face is as crispy as lechon. Ah, now I understand.

She has flaws and flabs to hide that's why she cusses so that people will look the other way.

IN DEFENSE OF FELLOW BLOGGERS.

I vehemently condemn those who castigated some of the personalities I mentioned in my earlier blog entry. If you're a blogger, you need to respect my views on Noemi Dado and all the rest of the guys I met as I respect your views.

Dado and her husband are right. They are not after cleaning the blogosphere. However, I perceive them to be good people and I really think that they are really doing a great job as bloggers. And it is a shame for those people who hit them just because some blogger who happens to be me, perceive them as good folks. What's wrong with saying that Noemi is a great person? Or that Butch Dado, a great guy? I just met Noemi I think twice and I just like her tenacity. I just saw Butch once during the PhilippineBlogawards and I think that he's also a nice guy. Same as with what I know about Jayvee Fernandez and Juned Sunido. Totoong tao sila and I admire them for the sacrifices they are making for fellow bloggers who want the world to know that, the Pinoy blogosphere exists and it is making huge waves.