Me and My Gibo

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/3919952. Watch as we "grill" Gilbert Teodoro in yesterday's Manila Peninsula meeting.

You know, for Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro to appeal to the common Tao, he must promote this slogan: Me and My Gibo.

"Gibo" should mean Genuine Interest for the Basic taO or what we commonly know as Love of the Filipino People.

By the way, for those who want to be interviewed by Filipino bloggers, just send me an email or Noemi Dado of Blogwatch.ph.

Special Note: This is NOT an endorsement. I am NOT endorsing anybody for the presidency. However, in April, when the "coasts are clear", maybe. I am still studying every candidate's platform of government.

Profiling the 2010 Presidentiables

Yesterday, I had the time to write about the psychological profiles of at least four (4) Presidentiables, namely: Noynoy Aquino, Manny Villar. Gibo Teodoro and Joseph Estrada. Read it at http://pinoyobserver.com. These posts are very interesting because these look at the psychological aspect rather than qualifications or what-have-you. In political analysis, political psychology is an important tool since this looks at how personalities would react in certain situations.

For example, Noynoy Aquino will suffer from some sort of a physical reaction when faced with a stressful situation. He is a strong-willed individual, believes in what he is fighting for, and has a genuine concern for his fellowmen. Under his administration, Noynoy will definitely allow the present crop of business elites to remain the same, and only those areas or fields that need to be changed will be attended to. Noynoy is also a revolutionary. He will welcome a change in the technological landscape. He loves to be with people and listen to their problems. He also has a philosophical mind.

Despite his public persona, Manny Villar has an independent streak in him. He loves life. He is a calculated risk-taker. He values freedom and is an incurable Optimist. He cherishes new ideas, will try them out, yet, will probably come up with one concrete solution after discussing the others. He is quite an adventure seeker and loves to travel to learn on new things. Definitely, under a Villar presidency, expect more foreign travels with him. Yet, society will be freer and more democratic under his stead.

Gibo, as I learned, has similarities with former president Fidel V. Ramos in terms of management and leadership styles. He is very intelligent, a quick thinker and very creative. He is somewhat a Noynoy Aquino opposite since Gibo will probably be more flexible in terms of welcoming new ideas rather than opposing them.

If you closely look at the psychological profile of former president Joseph Estrada, he surely is destined to be the President of our country. He has all the attributes of a Leader. He is bright, a risk-taker, a zealot, and possesses natural managerial skills. He loves action and hates routine. That's why expect a revival of midnight Cabinet meetings should we elect him back.

I have three more profiles to write---Richard Gordon, JC delos Reyes and Eddie Villanueva. Read them all at PinoyObserver (http://pinoyobserver.com/ or at http://www.pinoyobserver.wordpress.com/).

"The Survey" of " The Center"

Ed Malay, a publicist, created The Issues and Advocacy Center or "Center", purportedly a survey group. A PR man of former president Fidel V. Ramos, Malay spearheaded surveys on presidentiables, the most recent, a survey reportedly showing administration candidate Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro's "surge" and Liberal party candidate Noynoy Aquino's "stationary dive".

I've been in the strategic marketing research for a very long time (since my MA in Comm Res-UP Dil), managing survey groups for banks in Singapore before (Citibank, AMEX, etc.) and even helped in creating a research group (ITMC) which assist private companies and in a decade of involvement, this is the first time that I encountered the term "stationary dive". What in the world does this mean?

The "Center" said that Noynoy Aquino continues to lead Manny Villar by 7 points, yet the "Center" noted "the survey" shows Aquino's ratings slowly levelling to a point where it is now just 31%. Malay, however, said that Noynoy continues to show strength in the "super regions", yet, highly praised Gibo Teodoro for getting at least double digit ratings (10%) after the presidential debates.

And it seems that the "Center" was created to specifically aid in the candidacy of two formidable administration allies---Gibo Teodoro and Richard Gordon. Whereas these two always get single digit (and rather dismal) ratings in Pulse Asia and SWS (Gibo--2%; Gordon--1 or even less), "The Center" says in "The Survey", that Gibo is now double digits and Gordon "at least 8%". Wow. Talk about statistical improbabilities, this one is phenomenal.

Look at what Ed Malay told the media about "The Survey" results:

“The other significant movements were Teodoro’s climb to 10 percent on the strength of his bold decisions on the Maguindanao massacre and his impressive showing in two presidential debates, and former President Joseph Estrada’s 19 percent as he bounced back from last October’s survey,” he said.


“Sen. Dick (Richard) Gordon also began to make his presence felt with eight percent.”


Malay said Teodoro benefited from the positive reviews that he has been generating from the public debates among the presidential aspirants, as well as his handling of the Maguindanao massacre even when he was no longer defense secretary."

See the PR standpoint? Let me reproduce with the permission of the Philippine Star and Paolo Romero, what Ed Malay, the publicist cum survey man, told a news conference about what "The Center" noted:

In the wake of the Maguindanao massacre, Filipinos “have begun to look not only at the qualifications of the presidential aspirants but also at the experience and capability of each to lead the country in 2010 and beyond,” he added.



Malay said the presidential debates became a springboard for Teodoro by highlighting the qualities of strong leadership and bold ideas associated with strong leaders.


"The debates were most harmful to Noynoy,” he said.


“(They) exposed the weakness and lack of depth on the basic issues by the neophyte senator when ranged against a more knowledgeable and experienced candidate such as Teodoro who topped the 1985 bar exams.”


With the elections five months away, the Center sees a further tightening of the race among the top four or five candidates, Malay said.


Malay described Aquino’s once-formidable lead – driven by public outpouring over his mother’s death in August – as a ”myth” and a “bubble.”


He cited an earlier survey by The Center taken Oct. 19 to 26, 2009 where a “stationary dive” in Aquino ratings was detected.


The survey was the first since Dec. 1 after the candidates had filed their COCs with the Commission on Elections.


Malay said the survey was a more focused and accurate assessment of voters’ sentiments than earlier ones.


“People have started narrowing down their choices and preferences, basing them not on rhetoric but on what each presidential candidate represents such as their platform of governance, family values, advocacy of issues, and the viability of the roadmap each has proposed to lead the Philippines out the political and economic doldrums,” he said.


Malay said the survey asked respondents the question, “Who would you vote for from among the list of nine presidential aspirants (Noynoy Aquino, Manny Villar, Erap Estrada, Gibo Teodoro, Dick Gordon, Bro. Eddie Villanueva, JC de los Reyes, Jamby Madrigal and Nicky Perlas) if elections were to be held today?”


Reacting to The Center’s survey, Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay said it only “confirms the crowd-drawing charms of Teodoro, who visited several cities across the country in denims and green polo shirts, even without celebrities in tow.”– Paolo Romero

Malay mo tama si Ed. At malay mo din ang "Sentro" ay ginagamit lamang para kay Gibo. You'll never know--Malay ni Ed.
Wow. Talk about surveys, this one is definitely PR-related. "The Center" is one wrecking crew, trying very hard to project that Gibo is the man to beat in this elections and trying to justify that political machinery still works here.

Why we choose the wrong leaders?

Retired general Fortunato Abat today said that Defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro has a slim chance of snatching the presidency. He said that Teodoro is not a traditional politician and being so, has a slim chance of making it because the electoral system is not mature enough to elect someone like him.

Abat just echoed what we are espousing all along--that we cannot proceed with this elections until after we achieve political maturity. Elections will just be a waste of money, resources and would further frustrate the people since it's quite certain that we'll just elect the wrong people. Until we solve the Cordocet paradox, we can never ever be ready enough to exercise the full workings of democracy.

A system of patronage works only for the perpetuation of elite domination. And when traditional politics still plays a major role in governance, there can never be political modernization. Elites will forever block efforts at changing this country in a substantial way since they benefit from the status quo. With this cycle, we remain underdeveloped in our political thinkings and processes.