Congressional aspirant for the lone district of Mt Province, Jupiter Dominguez, has an interesting name. Jupiter, the chief god of all the Olympian gods in Greek mythology also known as Zeus, is the son of Saturn whom Jupiter overthrew.
Like the Greek gods, Jupiter is challenging his uncle, long time congressman of Mt Province for nearly 30 years, Victor Dominguez for the congressional seat. Should Jupiter “overthrow” his uncle is a story and will be known come May 14.
We will know why and how he will “overthrow” his uncle given present circumstances. Jupiter had proven how to lead, having a mind and guts.
Defying the culture of not rivaling a relative, much more an uncle, is a negative point among the conservatives. Much more, among the clannish tribes of culture- rich Montanosa.
Yet, rivaling a relative means that it is an issue of initiating changes and not sticking to culture and status quo where it may even be an unresponsive and inutile one. While you may gain votes among the liberals , you may also neutralize the conservatives.
This means Jupiter can initiate responsive and relevantly contemporary political and economic reforms which would be good for the people of Mt Province rather than letting obsolete and unresponsive systems still work which is what trapos do.
Should he have been a trapo, he may have to run in the same party with his uncle in another position, or waited for his uncle to retire before coming in. A friend said, maybe it is just a political gimmick and that eventually one of the two will endorse his votes to the other.
Yet, that would be political suicide for this political family if that would be done. In the next elections, nobody would believe them again. Candidacy is not an issue of political dynasty. It is an issue of capability. Jupiter has the qualifications of a congressman if given the chance by the electorate. He has been an outstanding mayor in his hometown in Sabangan, chairman of the Mayors’ League of Mt Province, and even adjudged as one of the most outstanding mayors of the country. He has proven his mettle.
According to my friend, Jupiter will keep off votes from other young aspirants and will eventually let his uncle or him win. Yet, that would be dividing a house and getting defeated. And worse, both may get defeated.
Both have the money and in elections, money is a major and crucial need in order to win. Either one could win. Besides, Jupiter is coming in at the right time that his uncle is already retiring in his 70s, my friend insisted.
Should Jupiter emerge victorious in the coming May 14 elections, I am inclined to believe that the Olympian gods must also be working in remote Montanosa where it also has its own mythological stories of Kabunian and the creation of the earth.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Kampanya Taktika
I laughed out loud when congressional aspirant Atty. Mauricio Domogan in an interview said “Nu umay ti politika, tiempon ti panag-uulbod.”
With the election campaign now in the heat of the moment, we will expect more promises and lies to come along the way as aspirants will promise this and that and bring the moon down to earth. So dear voters, listen with a discerning ear the sweetly flavored words of the aspiring public official as he woos your votes.
But of course not all these aspiring wanna be’s are lying braggarts or sheepishly looking smug liars. Juan de la Cruz has to be very discerning in how he will separate the full time liar from the white defensive liar, the superficial from the well-meaning one.
Some aspiring public servants are sincere enough to state and if given the chance, do their platform of government. How could we know then the genuine one from the impostor public official, the lesser evil from the bigger evil?
1.Should he/she be an incumbent or former government official, what has he done
during his term? Was he/she able to implement programs as he is mandated to do? Did he initiate pro-people and democratic systems in government for the people to participate in and/or get benefited? Given particular circumstances, was he/she able to stand up for pro-people and public good amidst pressures and threats of being isolated or not being given favors? If not, he must have been comfortably receiving his 15-30 salary only.
2. Does he/she hold a reputation of getting SOPs? This country is already full of filthy rich public officials. If we want our country to advance like our Asian neighboring countries Hongkong or Singapore, get these filthy rich corrupt people out of public office.
3. Should he not be a public official and a neophyte trying out in public office, what does he do in life? What good will he bring for the people? Is he capable of being a public official given his respective capacities? Is he able to initiate systems and approaches for the betterment of the people? Will he/she be able to stand up for pro-people positions amidst pressures and threats of being isolated or not being given favors from superiors? If not, tell her/him nga agdigos iti nalammiis nga danum bareng mari-ing.
We need public officials who are not corrupt, people who will stand up for just and people-oriented concerns. Leaders whom we feel confident that they can lead and be there at your side come hell or high waters. He may be a Christian, a Muslim, or a Pagan; an Igorot, an Ilocano, or Tagalog; a man or a woman. But definitely, not an alien or a misfit.
We need workable and relevant systems. Better approaches which would redound to the public good and public interest. And this means better and responsive characters who would actualize what government is supposed to mean: a government by, of and for the people.
***
I like what Mrs Cecilia Dalog is doing in Mt. Province to win votes for her husband, incumbent Gov. Maximo Dalog on his bid for a second term as governor of Mt Province. By herself, she goes from house to house in her hometown at Bontoc and talks to members of the household asking them to support her husband. This humbling gesture of a spouse to support her better-half speaks of the independence of a woman to do what she plans to do at the beginning of the day.
The woman is the anchor of the house, and with the persevering attitude of Ms Dalog, I am inclined to believe that comebacking governor, Atty Dalog sources his strength of character from his wife.
I am reminded of the wife of a well known politician who goes campaigning for his husband escorted by a pack of umbrella-holding women. One loyalist holds an umbrella for the wife of this well known politician whether in the heat of the sun or on a rainy day. I guess the politician-husband sources his strength from the umbrella.
With the election campaign now in the heat of the moment, we will expect more promises and lies to come along the way as aspirants will promise this and that and bring the moon down to earth. So dear voters, listen with a discerning ear the sweetly flavored words of the aspiring public official as he woos your votes.
But of course not all these aspiring wanna be’s are lying braggarts or sheepishly looking smug liars. Juan de la Cruz has to be very discerning in how he will separate the full time liar from the white defensive liar, the superficial from the well-meaning one.
Some aspiring public servants are sincere enough to state and if given the chance, do their platform of government. How could we know then the genuine one from the impostor public official, the lesser evil from the bigger evil?
1.Should he/she be an incumbent or former government official, what has he done
during his term? Was he/she able to implement programs as he is mandated to do? Did he initiate pro-people and democratic systems in government for the people to participate in and/or get benefited? Given particular circumstances, was he/she able to stand up for pro-people and public good amidst pressures and threats of being isolated or not being given favors? If not, he must have been comfortably receiving his 15-30 salary only.
2. Does he/she hold a reputation of getting SOPs? This country is already full of filthy rich public officials. If we want our country to advance like our Asian neighboring countries Hongkong or Singapore, get these filthy rich corrupt people out of public office.
3. Should he not be a public official and a neophyte trying out in public office, what does he do in life? What good will he bring for the people? Is he capable of being a public official given his respective capacities? Is he able to initiate systems and approaches for the betterment of the people? Will he/she be able to stand up for pro-people positions amidst pressures and threats of being isolated or not being given favors from superiors? If not, tell her/him nga agdigos iti nalammiis nga danum bareng mari-ing.
We need public officials who are not corrupt, people who will stand up for just and people-oriented concerns. Leaders whom we feel confident that they can lead and be there at your side come hell or high waters. He may be a Christian, a Muslim, or a Pagan; an Igorot, an Ilocano, or Tagalog; a man or a woman. But definitely, not an alien or a misfit.
We need workable and relevant systems. Better approaches which would redound to the public good and public interest. And this means better and responsive characters who would actualize what government is supposed to mean: a government by, of and for the people.
***
I like what Mrs Cecilia Dalog is doing in Mt. Province to win votes for her husband, incumbent Gov. Maximo Dalog on his bid for a second term as governor of Mt Province. By herself, she goes from house to house in her hometown at Bontoc and talks to members of the household asking them to support her husband. This humbling gesture of a spouse to support her better-half speaks of the independence of a woman to do what she plans to do at the beginning of the day.
The woman is the anchor of the house, and with the persevering attitude of Ms Dalog, I am inclined to believe that comebacking governor, Atty Dalog sources his strength of character from his wife.
I am reminded of the wife of a well known politician who goes campaigning for his husband escorted by a pack of umbrella-holding women. One loyalist holds an umbrella for the wife of this well known politician whether in the heat of the sun or on a rainy day. I guess the politician-husband sources his strength from the umbrella.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Easter and Elections
Easter falls in spring when flowers bloom, the new year begins, and signifies a season of merry making and optimism.
It is in spring when the festive Mardi Gras in New Orleans is in full swing, Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival is made ecstatic , Baguio’s Panagbenga is in cheery bloom, Adivasi’s Baha (Flower) Festival in Bangladesh is in high spirits, and many of town fiestas in the country are celebrated during this festive season of the year.
The start of the election period in the country happen also in spring. Politicians with their own dose of promises for better roads and schools want the electorate to believe in a better life when the vote –wooing (and buying) political wanna be’s get elected into office.
Those who enacted the law that elections will happen in May 14 with the 45 campaign period must have been thinking of spring and what it signifies.
Spring is a season of a promising future.
Come every election period in the country which happens in the early months of the year, the dazzling posters and promising words of aspiring politicians seemingly speak of a better life for Filipinos. Unfortunately, the promise of a new life however has not moved significantly better come election after election since the country gained its independence in 1898.
Millions of Filipinos still continue to work in other countries as overseas contract workers doing menial jobs like domestic work in developed countries year in year out. Washing dishes has become an international demand by rich people from rich countries to hire a maid to do the work. The Philippines with its rich source of human resource has a ready supply of teachers and college graduates who become maids. Aside from domestic helpers who flock to Hongkong and the Middle East, the country sends off construction workers, truck drivers, seamen, nurses, caregivers, chambermaids etc to other developed countries including the US and the UK.
Yet, the country doesn’t have to gain a reputation as a supplier of domestic helpers if it is economically able to hold its people and make the country great with its skilled and knowledgeable human resource. The problem is, our skilled and educated citizens go abroad and scrub the toilets of rich people in rich nations in order for them to earn the dough and be able to send a child to school or make a better life for their families.
And so it goes that millions of Filipinos are still mired in poverty to make both ends meet come election after every election period.
The National Statistical Coordination Board reveals that 40% of the country’s populace are living below the poverty line coming from 30.6 million Filipinos or 6.12 million families throughout the country's 78 provinces, 84 cities or 41,940 barangays.
Of P14,866 annual per capita poverty threshold for 2007, the amount of P9,987 is for food while the difference of 4,880 is for non-food needs. Of the ten provinces with the highest poverty threshold, nine are in Luzon and one in Mindanao with NCR recording the highest at P19,345. NCR is followed by Abra, Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan, Pampanga, Rizal, Mt Province, Nueva Ecija, Davao del Norte and Benguet.
Ten provinces (three in Luzon, six in Visayas and one in Mindanao) have the lowest poverty thresholds in 2007 with Siquijor registering the lowest at P11,663, NCSB notes.
Poverty in the Philippines is most acute and widespread in rural areas with poverty incidence rates of 21.5% in urban areas to 50.7% rate in rural areas.
Corruption, it cannot be denied is one major culprit in an imbalanced rich-poor proportion of the country’s populace. It continues to suck the country’s income for the powerful and the rich and heightens economic depravity among most of the country’s marginalized and deprived people.
The more impoverished a country is, the higher its practice of corruption. Obviously, unequal distribution of wealth and lack of resources, services, and economic opportunities for the mass of people, continue to perpetrate. And with the country being the most corrupt in Asia, poverty gets more enhanced, and the country’s image gets more stinky as ever.
Lack of responsive government continue to perpetuate among the country’s leading politicians most of whom are comfortable elites and have traditionally played the role of patrons and benefactors, relying on the pork barrel or ill-gotten wealth to buy votes. And with the penchant of Filipinos for “utang na loob”, what is objective is muddled with the personal perception of being perpetually indebted to a benefactor at the expense of pro-people, rational and better economic and political systems.
Elected (and even appointed) officials who are bound to truly represent and advocate the interests of their constituents remains wanting. Come May 14 elections is another round of sweetly packaged and obsolete promises of a new life for Juan de la Cruz.
And among Christians who compose some 90% of the country’s 75 million population, making the May 14 elections truly meaningful and responsive for a better life remains to be a prayer this Easter Sunday. (Printed, Northern Philippine Times, April 8-14, 2007)
It is in spring when the festive Mardi Gras in New Orleans is in full swing, Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival is made ecstatic , Baguio’s Panagbenga is in cheery bloom, Adivasi’s Baha (Flower) Festival in Bangladesh is in high spirits, and many of town fiestas in the country are celebrated during this festive season of the year.
The start of the election period in the country happen also in spring. Politicians with their own dose of promises for better roads and schools want the electorate to believe in a better life when the vote –wooing (and buying) political wanna be’s get elected into office.
Those who enacted the law that elections will happen in May 14 with the 45 campaign period must have been thinking of spring and what it signifies.
Spring is a season of a promising future.
Come every election period in the country which happens in the early months of the year, the dazzling posters and promising words of aspiring politicians seemingly speak of a better life for Filipinos. Unfortunately, the promise of a new life however has not moved significantly better come election after election since the country gained its independence in 1898.
Millions of Filipinos still continue to work in other countries as overseas contract workers doing menial jobs like domestic work in developed countries year in year out. Washing dishes has become an international demand by rich people from rich countries to hire a maid to do the work. The Philippines with its rich source of human resource has a ready supply of teachers and college graduates who become maids. Aside from domestic helpers who flock to Hongkong and the Middle East, the country sends off construction workers, truck drivers, seamen, nurses, caregivers, chambermaids etc to other developed countries including the US and the UK.
Yet, the country doesn’t have to gain a reputation as a supplier of domestic helpers if it is economically able to hold its people and make the country great with its skilled and knowledgeable human resource. The problem is, our skilled and educated citizens go abroad and scrub the toilets of rich people in rich nations in order for them to earn the dough and be able to send a child to school or make a better life for their families.
And so it goes that millions of Filipinos are still mired in poverty to make both ends meet come election after every election period.
The National Statistical Coordination Board reveals that 40% of the country’s populace are living below the poverty line coming from 30.6 million Filipinos or 6.12 million families throughout the country's 78 provinces, 84 cities or 41,940 barangays.
Of P14,866 annual per capita poverty threshold for 2007, the amount of P9,987 is for food while the difference of 4,880 is for non-food needs. Of the ten provinces with the highest poverty threshold, nine are in Luzon and one in Mindanao with NCR recording the highest at P19,345. NCR is followed by Abra, Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan, Pampanga, Rizal, Mt Province, Nueva Ecija, Davao del Norte and Benguet.
Ten provinces (three in Luzon, six in Visayas and one in Mindanao) have the lowest poverty thresholds in 2007 with Siquijor registering the lowest at P11,663, NCSB notes.
Poverty in the Philippines is most acute and widespread in rural areas with poverty incidence rates of 21.5% in urban areas to 50.7% rate in rural areas.
Corruption, it cannot be denied is one major culprit in an imbalanced rich-poor proportion of the country’s populace. It continues to suck the country’s income for the powerful and the rich and heightens economic depravity among most of the country’s marginalized and deprived people.
The more impoverished a country is, the higher its practice of corruption. Obviously, unequal distribution of wealth and lack of resources, services, and economic opportunities for the mass of people, continue to perpetrate. And with the country being the most corrupt in Asia, poverty gets more enhanced, and the country’s image gets more stinky as ever.
Lack of responsive government continue to perpetuate among the country’s leading politicians most of whom are comfortable elites and have traditionally played the role of patrons and benefactors, relying on the pork barrel or ill-gotten wealth to buy votes. And with the penchant of Filipinos for “utang na loob”, what is objective is muddled with the personal perception of being perpetually indebted to a benefactor at the expense of pro-people, rational and better economic and political systems.
Elected (and even appointed) officials who are bound to truly represent and advocate the interests of their constituents remains wanting. Come May 14 elections is another round of sweetly packaged and obsolete promises of a new life for Juan de la Cruz.
And among Christians who compose some 90% of the country’s 75 million population, making the May 14 elections truly meaningful and responsive for a better life remains to be a prayer this Easter Sunday. (Printed, Northern Philippine Times, April 8-14, 2007)
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