Want change? Vote for new blood in the Senate

For those still undecided, let me just tell you five (5) reasons why you should not vote for traditional politicians posing as change agents.

Who are these trapos? They are the re-electionist Senators who are now on top of the survey board. It would be extremely bad if you vote for Bong Revilla, who had the gall to change his very surname just for politics, unmindful of its effects to his numerous kids.

And why will you even consider a Lapid whose claim to fame is just one law after serving for six years? Imagine, one law for six years?

Constitutional luminaries such as Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Juan Ponce-Enrile should hang their gloves and call it quits. They had their time. They should allow other new faces to lead us. For most of their careers, they crafted these laws but without direct effects to us. They only enriched the stock of their companies, like Enrile who has his Jaka properties.

Let me tell you that you'll be surprised by the outcome of the Senatorial race. Many people I know will not vote for old and re-electionist legislators and Senatorial candidates who just use their celebrity status and their political brandnames just to be elected. And that is good.

Why will you vote for these re-electionists when they were part of this government which did nothing for us for nine years?

These re-electionists and those who are again campaigning for another slab at it, do not deserve our votes. We already know how poorly they performed as legislators. For six or in some cases, nine years, these re-electionists did nothing to uplift our situation. Worst, they have been part of the rotten nature of this system which we all live in.

If we really want change, elect new faces in the Senate.

1. LACSON, ALEX. A note lawyer, philantropist, student and civic leader. He has the skills, the experience and the vision for all of us. He will be a very valuable asset in the Senate. Noynoy Aquino personally picked him and included him in his senatorial slate. Noynoy needs Lacson at the Senate.

2. DE VENECIA, JOEY. Yes, he's the son of a former 5-time speaker and yes, he's a businessman. What people like about him--his heart is in the right place. He fought against graft and corruption.

3. OPLE, SUSAN. Yes, she's the daughter of a great patriot, Ka Blas Ople. She has been helping OFWs since a decade ago. She knows their plight. She knows their true concerns.

4. LIM, DANNY. A be-medalled officer, a professional soldier who stood up against tyranny and fought for the rights of others.

5. QUERUBIN, ARIEL. A Medal Of Valor, he risked his life so that millions will have a peaceful life.

6. MASA, LIZA. She's a true blue patriot, who sacrificed her entire life for the struggle. She was one of the most prolific members of Congress. It is time for us to have someone like her in the Senate.

7. OCAMPO, SATUR. A nationalist, he was imprisoned by the Marcos regime when he fought for the rights of impoverished farmers. Like Liza, Ocampo is a tireless and self-less worker for the people's rights.

8. ACOSTA, NEREUS. Intelligent. Highly articulate. Educator. Nationalist. What more can you ask for?

9. BAUTISTA, MARTIN. One of the most patriotic doctors I have ever seen and heard. His heart is in the right place. He went back to his motherland to help Noynoy in the change business. He deserves a slot at the Senate.

10. LAO, YASMIN. Assalamu alaikum wah rahmatullah! Bismillahi rahmanir raheem, vote for Yasmin, a true advocate of the rights of the Bangsamoro. She dedicated most of her life, helping the Bangsamoro improve their lives, like Amina Rasul before her.

11. HONTIVEROS, RISA. Like Masa, Hontiveros became known for her tireless pursue of the rights of women and has not backed down in the RH fight.

12. MITRA, RAMON. A former Marine Captain, Mitra knows what agricultural modernization means and his heart is in the right place. He deserves a place in the Senate.

Atty. Adel Tamano---elect as our Muslim representative to Senate

Last night's HARAPAN was revelatory--it convinced me that Atty. Adel Tamano, a Muslim brother, deserves at least a seat in the new Senate. I would even be glad if two Muslims, Tamano and Yasmin Lao win and serve as Senators. They deserve it especially Lao who sacrificed her entire career and life uplifting the lives of fellow Muslims in Mindanao. Lao reminds me of another equally deserving Muslimah---Amina Rasul--who is now actively involved in bringing peace and stability in Mindanao. Rasul, who is a Harvard graduate, deserves to be Senator, much the same way as Adel and Yao.

Opps...my readers will be puzzled. Before, I wrote negative articles about Tamano and here I am urging my colleagues to at least consider him.


There is one factor that convinced me---when Tamano told the crowd that he is a Muslim and it is time to elect a Muslim representative in Congress. I was waiting for him to do just that and when he did, that sealed the deal for me. 

Tamano is a brilliant lawyer. He's a young and dashing debonaire of a lawyer. He fought for the rights of fellow Muslims, especially those accused unjustly for crimes they did not commit. Like Lao and Rasul, they represent the new generation of Muslim leaders ready to sacrifice their lives and their futures for the sake of the Muslim community.


At last, Tamano recognized that he has to own that category of being the only Muslim candidate worthy of being elected to the Senate. Tamano has clearly recognized that he needs the support of his fellow Muslims, not the support of a discredited beauty consultant. 


The only thing left to do is for Tamano to deepen his iman--and only God knows that. Tamano must go the rounds of mosques here in Manila and in Mindanao. May the One True God guide him towards a deeper involvement in the Ummah. 

Magic 12 for the Senate

It’s January, a few months before May 10, a time, which, many say, is an opportunity to change things.





As part of my responsibility as a journalist, let me recommend some names for you to consider.

The main worry of Filipinos today is the local economy. Most worry about job stability.


What best to at least enrich our government’s capabilities to address this problem by electing into the Senate, a young entrepreneur by the name of Joey de Venecia III.


Joey de Venecia III represents the young generation. He is an idealist and a no-nonsense fighter for the Truth and for good governance. He will definitely be a very good addition to the luminaries occupying the Senate.


And what more to complement him than seeing the name of Susan “Toots” Ople among the winners of this year’s Lucky Twelve.


Susan Ople has been fighting for the protection of OFW and local workers’ rights. She will definitely complement Joey there.


Of course, we need to have an expert in maintaining equilibrium in our accounts. What best than elect Teofisto Guingona III as your senator? TG, as many friends call him, is an expert in fiscal matters. His expertise would surely enrich the Senate.


Alex Lacson is a name not entirely familiar with most of us. For those who read his book, Alex Lacson is one bundle of inspiration. He is a lawyer by profession, and a political scientist. He has been giving inspiration to the Youth since 2001. His youthfulness and his ideals would surely be a fresh addition to the age-ing generation there at the Senate.


I met Ruffy Biazon once but I was impressed by his views about the economy, the security of this country and the general direction of this Nation. Ruffy deserves to replace his father, the Nationalist, Senator Pong Biazon.


And who would back Ruffy Biazon up particularly regarding the dream of professionalizing and modernizing the AFP than Col. Ariel Querubin and General Danny Lim? These fine gentlemen deserve our support because of their sacrifice to the Nation.


And I told myself, how about electing Senators who will truly work for the protection of the rights of the common tao, those oppressed and down-trodded? Satur Ocampo, Liza Masa and Riza Hontiveros-Baraquel are some of those who will definitely enrich the halls of the Senate with their eloquent defense of the people’s rights.


Not to mention also, Atty. JV Bautista, whose knowledge about the laws would definitely help us fortify our legal systems more. JV is one who will fight for our rights even if it means exchanging his life. He was once the Sanlakas-PM representative.


Don’t forget to vote for Yasmin Lao, a long-time advocate of Bangsamoro civil rights. She deserves to be the voice of our Filipino Muslim brothers and sisters in the Senate.

I am also considering Bongbong Marcos. Marcos deserves to be a Senator. He is intelligent, with a solid ideological grounding.

I know, I know, most of those named here are not as rich as others, not as exposed as some but let's help them so that the likes of Jinggoy Estrada or Bong Revilla or Juan Ponce-Enrile or those comebacking ones like Frank Drilon. Serge Osmena, despite being at the senate for twice already, deserves also support since Serge is the most nationalistic among the Osmena clan members.

So, there...remember

If you worry about job security, remind yourself that Joey de Venecia III can help us hammer out solutions to the job security problems. JDVIII stands for Jobs, Democracy and Values times three. :-)

If you worry about the condition of your relatives working abroad and how best to further protect the rights of both overseas and locally based workers, vote Susan "Toots" Ople to the Senate. Ople means Overseas Pinoy Laborers Empowerment (OPLE).

If you worry where the Filipino Youth is getting into and how to strengthen the Filipino Family, vote Alex Lacson. Lacson knows what he is talking about. AL means (Alternative Leadership)

If you worry about how to balance our national budget and maximize our resources without overstraining our finances, vote for Teofisto "TG" Guingona III. TG means Transformative Governance. :-)

If you worry about our AFP, trust Col. Ariel Querubin and Gen. Danny Lim to lead in the creation of laws that will professionalize the ranks and modernize our military to contain threats of the 21st century. Ariel Querubin means " Altruism Quotient ;-), while DL means Dugong Laya.

If you worry about how government actually handles the overall security strategy, including food security, vote Ruffy Biazon to the Senate. He deserves his father's place. RB means Repormang Bayan.

If you worry about how to protect the environment, how to maximize resources, how to infuse vision and mission to this country, vote for Bongbong Marcos. Marcos means New Hope.

If you worry about the continuing violations of human rights, especially the people's and women's rights, trust Satur Ocampo, Liza Masa and Riza Hontiveros-Baraquel to do the right thing. These people know the real score and they have the right solutions. Masa and Hontiveros are genuine women's rights fighters, not some cyclist out there to perpetuate their family's dominance in Philippine politics.

Ocampo-Masa means Onward Masses (OM). Riza H means Rise Hope.

If you worry about protecting Bangsamoro rights, particularly the rights of Muslim women, trust Yasmin Lao. Lao has been fighting for the protection and recognition of the invaluable role of Muslim women in Philippine society. YL means Youth & Love (Salam)

If you worry about how to strengthen our vital legal systems, remember Atty. JV Bautista. JV means just JV. Wala na akong maisip pa eh. :-)

Happy New Year!

My Hopes and Prayers for the New Year

Let me say that 2009 is not exactly a bad one for me and my family. Despite me leaving a nice job over at an agency, I was still able to survive more than a year of financial threats. Through my solid base of friends, I was able to find some work, was able to sustain the needs of my growing family and able to enjoy some semblance of stability.

Yet, I now face an uncertain year, full of challenges in the first few months of the new year. I put my entire savings to an enterprise called rotisserie chicken. Sometimes I feel that I made a wrong decision. But when I talk with those young men I employed, I felt somewhat vindicated. I tossed good money and for me, its a leap of faith, faith that at least there is still hope in the economy and faith that, in the future, things will turn around.

Yesterday, I sold 9.5 pieces of Manok Kings. Right now, I sold more than 70% of my initial stocks. Some say, that is better than others, but, until I sell 30 chickens per day for a month, this business remains unprofitable for me. Others say, like Andok's, they sell 100 chickens or more every single day. And people say we are juicier, more delicious than Andok's. Nothing to prevent us from dreaming big, like selling at least 30 or 40 chickens a day and maybe, someday, sell at least 60 or even a 100 chickens a day.

I am now at a better location--MCI shoppers mall infront of Cash and Carry in Makati. If you have time, come visit my small nook and buy at least one (1) Manok King roast chicken. My place is easy to find. There's a big sign which says Manok King. If you see this sign

you're in the right place. I am now living off the small profits that I take home every single day.

One lesson---I am good at closing and making money out of big contracts and doing big things. In such endeavours as this rotisserie chicken business, this is not easy as others think.

My hope is, I'll be able to pay my amortizations and some loans, be able to save up and able to employ more jobless people. I pray that God the Father give me more money for my barely two year old kid and finance the education of my other two kids who are all elementary level students.

I pray also for more friends this year. Friends are someone's wealth. Better to have more friends than more money.

Let me use this space also to appeal to government----support us, small entrepreneurs. We put our monies in some business, a sign that we still have faith in our economy. Don't let us down. Don't make our lives difficult.

Make business processes easier for those who build businesses. Support us more by offering us training sessions, make a one-stop shop where we can do business or transact with suppliers so that we don't have to deal with unscrupulous grocery owners and please, offer us tax incentives, since we employ people. Probably, at the first year of our operations, government offers a 75% off our taxes? That way, we'll survive.

My prayers are:

1. That God anoints as his servants my friends who are running for national elective posts. May God grant them the victory. Just to name a few, here are, I think, a list of names to be considered as senators for the new 15th Senate session:

a. Susan "Toots" Ople (Nacionalista)

b. Joey de Venecia III (PMP-UNO)

c. Alex Lacson (Liberal Party)

d. Teofisto Guingona III (Liberal)

e. Ariel Querubin (Nacionalista)

f. Danny Lim (Independent; Liberal)

g. Ruffy Biazon (Liberal)

h. Yasmin Lao (Liberal)

i. Satur Ocampo (Nacionalista; Makabayan)

j. Liza Masa (Nacionalista; Makabayan)

k. Atty. JV Bautista (Liberal?)

l. Riza Hontiveros-Baraquel (Liberal)

2. That I pay off some of financial obligations and that God always give us food in our table and some blankets to cover us during cold nights.

3. That my kids grow healthy and strong and intelligent.

4. That I sell 30 chickens today. :-)