Juan Country » Bayani Fernando

The ABS-CBN HARAPAN Vice-Presidential Forum

Carlo Ople — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:02:18 +0000

As I’m typing this blog post, I’m currently watching the ABS-CBN Harapan Vice-Presidential Forum. Let me just say that I’m very impressed with what ABS-CBN did in terms of the format. It wasn’t your typical debate like the previous forums hosted by the major television networks. It was amazing how they were able to integrate all the various platforms available to make the forum a completely multi-media realtime experience. Other than the live broadcast on ANC, channel 2, and Studio 23, they also had live chat online and they also had people tweeting away and updating via Facebook. The term “#Harapan” even became a top trending topic on Twitter!

Exciting Debate Format
The format was very intense at the start. I loved how they had the candidates do mini-debates. My only problem here is that there wasn’t really enough substance in the discussion. It was mostly mudslinging, counter-mudslinging, and more, hahaha. They tried to redeem the debate in the end by having more sensible questions (via the fishbowl) but it became a bit boring. I guess ultimately it’s a lose-lose situation. They make it exciting, the debate loses substance. They make it meaty, the debate becomes boring.

Personally I found the exchanges between Loren Legarda and Mar Roxas to be the most exciting parts of the debate. Closely following that would be the heated and almost hostile spats of Jojo Binay and Bayani Fernando. Yasay and Sonza definitely had brilliant moments. Yasay’s answer on tripling the education budget because it’s the global standard is one of the more sensible statements in the entire debate.

Where’s Edu?
I was able to contact LAKAS-KAMPI VP bet Edu Manzano about his absence via SMS. He replied saying “Am in Pangasinan campaigning with Raul Lambino.” Edu, whoever is handling your over-all strategy should get a dress down. The Harapan forum would have been a great opportunity for you to present what you’re about to the Filipino people. That’s just my honest opnion.

Where’s the Chipeco?
Now this is weird. There was no mention whatsoever of the Vice-President candidate of KAPATIRAN, Dominador Chipeco. Oh well.

Bayani’s Yellow Engineer Hat
Truly epic. Must post picture.

TANDEM PRESIDENT-VP DEBATE COMING SOON
According to ABS-CBN News Gathering Head Maria Ressa (via Tweeter), there will be a tandem version of this debate next Sunday, same time (10:15PM). If ever that pushes through, I’m definitely canceling all my evening plans and make sure I’m glued to the TV at that time.

Let me just congratulate ABS-CBN for a job well done. My only complaint is that the debate was aired late night. This should be put on prime time.

REPLAY ON ANC
To those who didn’t catch the action, HARAPAN: The ABS-CBN Vice Presidential Debate will be replayed on ANC on March 22, Monday, 10:30 pm.

Bayani Fernando Accepted P1.6M Cash Gifts from MMFF

Carlo Ople — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:59:23 +0000

MMDA Chairman and Presidential aspirant Bayani Fernando is in hot water after he admitted in a recent senate hearing that he accepted cash gifts amounting to more than P1,500,000. He further explains that he has no plans of donating the cash nor will he reject any gifts in the future should they come. The gifts came from the government funds of the Metro Manila Film Festival. This has drawn a lot of criticism, especially from Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago.

In his explanation, Fernando defends himself by saying that the “gifts” were budgeted as some form of incentive for those who contributed to the project should it perform well. According to Fernando, the revenue generated by the MMFF doubled during his term and this was recognized by the MMFF Executive Committee. Also he relates that he wasn’t the only one who got the bonus since all those who helped make the project a success also got gifts.

Question of Ethics
Giving out corporate incentives is not bad – in fact it’s a practice that’s highly encouraged. If I were working in government, I also wouldn’t mind having an extra 14th or maybe 15th month pay if the agency I’m working for does terrific. The pay bonus shouldn’t be extravagant because the agency isn’t using private cash, it’s using the hard earned money of tax payers.

The same can be said for the MMFF. It’s a government-funded agency and initiative. I am not totally averse to giving bonuses to performers however when the amount reaches P1.6M it’s not “regular” anymore. If it’s technically possible to get away with something like this, then we seriously have to take a look into our laws and have it amended ASAP. P1.6M is a lot of cash that can benefit a lot of people in the country. Giving it to just one person in recognition of his good work is just an irresponsible management of government funds. I would rather have used that money for micro-financing programs in a far flung rural area than just give it away as a gift.

It’s amazing that this administration is spending our money as if we’re a 1st world country. They go out of the country to dine in P1M restaurants, they spend P218M on self-serving infomercials, and they also give away “cash gifts” to themselves.

Senator Santiago was right in her speech – this is a blatant and shameless display of criminally liable acts. If this isn’t illegal yet, then someone in Congress should do their job and file a bill that will prohibit things like this from happening ever again.

Latest SWS Surveys says it’s Villar, Estrada, and Chiz

Carlo Ople — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:54:30 +0000

The latest SWS Survey commissioned by Senator and Presidential aspirant Manny Villar shows that the top three front runners are: Senator Manny Villar (22%), Former President Joseph Estrada (19%), and Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero (18%). It’s not surprising to see this because Senator Villar has really been pouring out massive amounts of resources in trying to build his name for the upcoming 2010 elections. He’s been doing television, radio, print, and online for almost 6 months straight now and I can only assume that his spending will intensify even more when the real campaign season kicks in. By the way, I had coffee with Senator Villar a few weeks ago. You might want to read about it in my previous post.

Erap Estrada – Icon of the Masses
Former President Estrada, who has been reported to be going all over the Philippines in political sorties also put up good numbers. I can understand perfectly why he can get jailed for plunder and still enjoy the support from the masses. I’ve seen him on television and I’ve seen his Arthro commercial and there’s one thing that I can say confidently – this guy has the most charm and appeal for the average normal Filipino. The way he moves and speaks has been refined by years in the movie industry. He knows how to tickle the funny bone of the masses. What he lacks in actual political savvy, he makes up for it with wit, humor, and the ability to inspire.

Chiz – Constant Performer
Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero has been a constant solid performer in surveys since last year. This is interesting since he really hasn’t gotten out of his way to promote himself yet through television or radio. The most he’s done is to appear during Presidential forum events which are usually organized by TV stations or non-government agencies. His ability to easily connect with the youth is one of his strongest traits. Other than that, I believe that his hard line opposition to the Arroyo administration has sky rocketed his political capital in the past few years. Not once have I seen him stand down in favor of the administration. You can expect his ratings to soar even higher if and when he finally decides to announce his candidacy for President in 2010.

Like Senator Villar, I’ve had the honor of having coffee with this guy. You can read about the “Chiz” experience in my previous article.

Following the top 3 are VP Noli De Castro (14%), Senator Mar Roxas (10%), Senator Loren Legarda (6%), Senator Lacson (3%), Mayor Binay (3%), MMDA Chairman Fernando (1%), and Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro (0.3%).

Just some random thoughts on the other placers:

- Despite all the ad spending and his highly publicized engagement with Korina, Senator Roxas is still at 5th place. Awareness for Senator Roxas is there… but why aren’t the people picking him over the other candidates? Some people say that the SWS survey is biased since Senator Villar commissioned it. I would love to validate this survey through the next Pulse Asia report which should come out soon.

- Another puzzling trend is the decline of Senator Loren Legarda. She used to place fairly well in surveys but she’s been constantly going down in the past few months. I wonder what’s going on here. Maybe it’s the lack of media exposure?

- If Gibo’s performance doesn’t improve in the next Pulse Asia survey, I highly doubt he’ll be picked by the administration party to be the standard bearer.

- All three religious leaders: Among Ed, Bro. Eddie, and Bro. Mike are not even on the list. This maybe because they only declared recently. Would love to see the next survey to see if they can actually make an impact on the list.

- Also noticed that Senator Jamby Madrigal isn’t on the list as well. Let’s see next time if she’ll show up given her recent announcement. Since she’s insanely wealthy, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her match the intensity of the ads of Senators Villar and Roxas.

- Lastly, would love to see Senator Noynoy Aquino’s impact in the next survey.

Your thoughts on this guys? Feel free to leave a comment.

Bayani Fernando “Be the Chairman” Flash Game

Carlo Ople — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:33:58 +0000

I’ve been hearing about MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando’s latest online gimmick from several friends for the past 2-3 weeks. I finally decided to check it out this weekend and I was really surprised. In his bid to boost his popularity for the upcoming 2010 elections, he came up with something that really blew me away. He came up with a “Be the MMDA Chairman” flash game on his official website. To support the game, they also launched a promo wherein the person with the highest score gets to win a brand new laptop! Yes, this is definitely innovative and a first for any politician, so I’ll give him that. Here’s a quick review of the game.

Obviously Political
The game’s objective and nature is definitely and obviously political. Before you get to play the actual game, you’re asked this question: “What position will Bayani Fernando run for in 2010?” You have to answer it correctly by picking the President answer. After that, you get to play. Here’s a screenshot of the question that I’m talking about:

Plays like a rhythm game
The actual game play is simple. You just have to time your tapping of certain keys in the keyboard. In the first stage, several karts are going down the street. You have to time your tap so that you hit the key exactly when the kart is aligned with the said key.

I was only able to get toe the second stage because I couldn’t take it anymore, haha. The second stage has the same mechanics I think but instead of karts you’re going after buses.

If you keep missing, your “Urinal Meter” increases. The moment you hit the red it’s game over.

So Does it Work?
Okay, BF’s team gets bonus points for being innovative. However I personally don’t think this will improve his chances that much in 2010. It’s a good effort in raising awareness – hell it’s definitely viral in nature. I’m sure the traffic of his site is mostly because of this game and not of any other content in there.