Juan Country » Jejomar Binay

Congratulations to President Noynoy Aquino!

Carlo Ople — Wed, 12 May 2010 09:26:08 +0000

All of Senator Noynoy Aquino‘s opponents for the Presidency, with the exception of former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, have already conceded. It looks like that Aquino will win with a landslide based on the latest results from PPCRV and the COMELEC. I have doubts that Estrada can still catch up especially since the remaining provinces that have yet to be counted are mostly the “balwartes” of Aquino and Roxas. I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you and congratulations to Senator Manny Villar for his campaign. It was a good fight and my respect for you grew even more when you decided to concede to Aquino. In your statement you also said that you will make an effort in the coming days to clear your name. I pray that you will do just that so people will see the “real” you.

With regards to the tight race between Senator Mar Roxas and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay for the Vice Presidency, it looks like Binay has a very comfortable lead but the Liberal Party is saying that Mar’s strongest provinces haven’t been counted yet and that would be enough to give him a very slim lead at the end of the counting. Hopefully the agony will end in the next few hours and we’ll find out who will be the partner of President Noynoy Aquino in the next 6 years.

Lastly, I hope that all the supporters and fans of Aquino now drop their “fanboy” status and start to monitor and hold Aquino accountable for all of his promises. We can’t afford another 6 years of corruption and incompetence.

Again, congratulations and good luck to President Noynoy Aquino!

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.

VP 2010: Roxas vs Legarda vs Manzano vs Binay

Carlo Ople — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:46:05 +0000

Administration Standard Bearer Gibo Tedoro finally has found a running mate in popular TV actor and host Edu Manzano. In an interview broadcasted over several networks the night before of the declaration, Manzano said that the invitation for him to take the offer was like a Pacquiao punch. It wasn’t something that he was expecting at all. Personally, I also never imagined that the administration would field Edu Manzano as their VP bet. I mean his only experience is handling the Optical Media Board and a short Vice Mayor stint in Makati. He’s still kinda raw at the moment.

If you compare all the candidates running for VP, all of them save for Manzano have strong accomplishments and credentials under their belts. Here’s a quick run-down. Note that this is not at all exhaustive:

Senator Mar Roxas
- President, Liberal Party
- #1 voted Senator in 2004
- Author of the Cheaper Medicines Bill
- DTI Secretary
- Wharton School Post Graduate Studies

Senator Loren Legarda
- #1 Senator in 2007
- Author of A LOT of bills (too many to mention lol)
- Illustrious and successful broadcast journalism career

Makati Mayor Binay
- “Super” Mayor of Makati for so long
- UNO Party President
- One of the main opposition figures against PGMA

Edu Manzano
- Optical Media Board
- Vice Mayor Makati (1 term)
- Show Biz

I’m sorry Edu, but you truly are… the weakest link.

All the other VP candidates have much more experience and qualifications. They have a lot of tangible accomplishments that have made a major impact in the lives of this nation. I feel sorry because I think you would have easily won a seat in the Senate if you took that route. As a Senator, you would have gained more experience and who knows maybe you can actually make a run for VP in 2016 or 2022?

This just goes to show how ridiculously desperate the Administration block was. They were turned down by so many VP potential candidates and eventually they had to settle with who would agree. Edu, they’re using you and I hope that you’d strongly consider backing out.