Juan Country » Nationalist People’s Coalition

Loren Legarda’s previous statement against Manny Villar

Carlo Ople — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:28:51 +0000

I recently posted an article questioning the recent announced tandem of Senator Manny Villar and Senator Loren Legarda. It looks like there’s still more to be said. A few months back, Senator Villar released a statement saying that if you don’t have P1 billion, then don’t bother running for President. Senator Legarda fired back by saying “Pera-pera na lang ba ang Eleksyon?” These two make for really strange bedfellows indeed. I’ve been trying to get a copy of her previous statements on Villar but I’ve only been able to find a few excerpts here and there. Here are other excerpts from Senator Legarda’s press release as reported by Lito Banayo from Abante Online:

Nakakalungkot ung nabasa ko sa dyaryo noong Martes. Sabi ni Sen. Manny Villar na kung wala ka raw P1 billion, huwag mo ng ituloy ang balak mo bilang Pangulo.”

“Ibig ba n’yang sabihin, kung wala kang pera ay huwag ka ng mangarap na makapaglingkod bilang Pangulo sa ating bansa? Nakalulungkot pong isipin na paliliitin natin ang usapin ng paglilingkod sa bayan sa isyu ng pera.

Pera-pera na lang ba ang eleksyon? Talaga bang ang tingin nya sa taong bayan ay mukhang pera? Pwera na ba ang pagmamahal sa bayan? Pwera na ba yung uri ng leadership na ibibigay mo? Pwera na ba yung vision para sa kinabukasan ng ating bansa? Basta may pera, pwera na ba ang lahat?” dagdag ni Loren.

This is really disappointing since I was a big supporter of Loren before this happened. She’s a brilliant and hard-working senator and it’s frustrating to see her go on this path. I hope that there will be an occasion that she will be able to explain everything clearly to her supporters (existing and former).

Senator Loren Legarda needs to explain

Carlo Ople — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:07:09 +0000

Senator Loren Legarda recently agreed to become Senator Manny Villar’s running mate in the upcoming 2010 elections. A lot of people have actually seen this coming for a while now and it was only a matter of time before she announced this publicly. In fact, Manny Villar has been giving a lot of teasers leading up to the announcement, calling his running mate a “green advocate”. Anyway, there’s nothing really wrong with political alliances but I do have one question that I hope Senator Legarda can shed light on.

When Senator Jamby Madrigal filed the case against Villar, he was later ousted from the Senate Presidency. What’s interesting is that Senator Loren Legarda was actually one of the Senators who signed the resolution ousting Villar. According to reports on Inquirer, she was also a supporter of the investigation. But now that she’s the running mate, she was one of the 12 senators who voted to dismiss the case.

Here are some excerpts of the article on Legarda accepting Villar’s invitation.

“He told me, ‘I believe in your platform on environment, agriculture and climate change,’ and I said, ‘I believe in your platform on helping migrant workers and pushing for their rights.’ In that respect, we clicked right away,” Legarda told this reporter.

She said she made it clear to Villar that the next administration should focus on the environment as the cornerstone of the overarching goal to defeat poverty in the land.

“I want the country to be great again, green again, and what I bring to the vice presidency is a green economy, investments and jobs, and green sustainable development,” said Legarda, who has championed environmental causes for over two decades.

Here’s a puzzling answer of hers on why she picked Villar:

Asked why she chose Villar over other presidential aspirants, Legarda said: “I woke up one day realizing that our platform and aspirations for this country, especially uplifting the poor’s lot in life, converged.”

And here’s what I think she needs to explain further:

Told that she once criticized Villar’s decision not to participate in the Senate probe of accusations that his real estate empire had benefited from the C-5 Road project, Legarda said: “I don’t even call that criticism. In a democracy, you allow all views to come out. I wanted it to come out so that we can listen to all views.”

She said she would not prejudge the results of the investigation.

“A committee report is coming out. All I can say is let the people decide in next year’s elections. I will not prejudge him and the issue,” Legarda said.

In a separate talk with Senate reporters Monday, Legarda said she would attend on Tuesday the announcement by Villar of his choice for running mate.

Asked about the prospects of an NP-NPC coalition, she said the colors orange (NP) and green (her campaign color) were a good combination.

I don’t know if her office will answer this post but I hope that she really does explain more, especially on her flip-flopping stance on the investigation against her new running mate.

2010 Presidential Polls: Villar-Aquino Showdown?

Carlo Ople — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:34:32 +0000

The highly anticipated PULSE ASIA Presidential Preference October Survey is out and the results aren’t really surprising. Leading the pack is Liberal Party standard bearer Noynoy Aquino with a dominating 44%. Following Aquino is Nacionalista Party’s Senator Manny Villar at 19%, then Senator Chiz Escudero with 13%, and former President Joseph Estrada at 11%. Administration candidate Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro only managed to rate 2% in the survey. These numbers are pretty much consistent with the recent SWS Survey which also put Noynoy on top followed by Villar. The big discrepancy here though is that in the SWS Survery, Villar had a much higher rating (37%).

The 2010 polls is shaping up to be an uphill battle for all the other candidates against Senator Noynoy Aquino. At this rate, it looks like the legendary “Ninoy” magic will propel another Aquino to the Presidency. You have got to wonder what Senator Villar’s camp is cooking up at this point. I don’t think they’ll just take this sitting down so they’ll probably mount a massive campaign effort in the coming weeks. They’ve already spent so much money pre-campaign period but it was all washed away by the free news coverage that Noynoy got after Cory’s death.

Another wild card here is Senator Chiz Escudero. If finally does decide to run, he might actually chip off the numbers of Noynoy. The youth and opposition vote is split between these two young guns and I’m pretty sure that Noynoy’s numbers will slide if Escudero finally declares his bid (if he ever does run).

Expect more congressmen and local officials to jump ship from the LAKAS-KAMPI coalition. It looks like Gibo has a tough road ahead of him and only a few people want to join him in his journey.

Another interesting thing here is that despite his declaration, Erap’s numbers didn’t show any improvement. It looks like the Filipino people aren’t willing to give him another crack at the Presidency.

The major game changers here are Erap and Chiz. If one decides to step down and endorse someone, whoever that person is will get a massive boost heading into the 2010 elections.

2010 Presidentiables – Box Office Hits?

Carlo Ople — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:39:09 +0000

This album was posted on Facebook by Gerald Magno. It basically has several movie posters but instead of the Hollywood stars an artist edited in and put in the pictures of the candidates in 2010. Really interesting and funny stuff! Hopefully these pictures will put a smile on your face. We definitely need light moments now more than ever.

Here’s my personal favorite. First poster shows Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas in the Martin-Gary poster. Second is the Twilight poster but it now has Chiz and Loren.

Next up we have former President Estrada being “dragged back to jail” by Senator Lacson:

But wait, there’s more! Here’s Vice President Noli De Castro:

And last, but not least, we have the administration slate.

O diba, panalo? Hahaha! I personally loved the Twilight poster the best. How about you guys?

Susan “Toots” Ople offered a Senate Slot

Carlo Ople — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:05:00 +0000

If there’s one thing I noticed, it’s that almost all the politicians these days are saying that they’re the allies of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). This is mainly because there are 10,000,000 OFWs and they have the power to influence the votes of their families back home. If there’s one figure that really deserves to be called a champion of OFWs, it’s former USEC. Susan “Toots” Ople. Having worked with her for several projects, I can really say that she has the heart for our Kababayans who are struggling abroad. In an article in Inquirer, it’s revealed that she’s been offered a slot in the Senatorial line-up of several opposition parties.

Based on the article below, there’s talk going around that the offer came from Senator Chiz Escudero’s NPC.

Ople child offered Senate ticket slot

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:26:00 09/19/2009

Filed Under: Eleksyon 2010, Elections, Politics

CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan — An opposition party has asked the youngest daughter of the late Senator Blas Ople to join its lineup for the Senate in the 2010 elections.

Susan Ople, 46, who chairs the Ople Policy Center, a non-government organization helping overseas Filipino workers and laborers, said she has started consulting people close to her and her group to help her decide.

Ople, whose father also served as labor minister and foreign affairs secretary, said she could not name the politician who sought her and the party that the official represents because that person has yet to announce his candidacy.

A source close to her, however, said it was the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

Ople, a native of Hagonoy, Bulacan, was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004 as labor undersecretary. She, however, resigned following various controversies that rocked the Arroyo administration.

She said she preferred to lead the Ople Policy Center’s advocacy in helping OFWs, workers and labor unions “without the clout and color of politics.”

Should she decide to run for senator, Ople said she would author laws to protect workers.

Ople, known to family and friends by her nickname “Toots,” holds a master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University, where she received the Josephine Vernon Award of Excellence.
Carmela Reyes, Inquirer Central Luzon

And we have my second candidate that I’m sure in voting for the Senate come 2010.

(Author’s Note: I’m related to Susan Ople. She’s the sister of my father.)

Sec. Ace Durano to Run for Senate in 2010?

Carlo Ople — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:14:25 +0000

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano recently revealed that he’s considering running for the Senate in 2010. Contrary to a lot of speculations, if ever he will run he will not be under the administration ticket. He explains that in the event that he does run, he will be under the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC). As most of you know, NPC is still deliberating on either Senator Loren Legarda or Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero as their standard bearer for 2010.

He clarifies though that he’ll only decide for sure if he will run under the NPC based on the party’s decision on how will be their candidate for President. This makes you think though on who he’s actually supporting. I’d love to find out if he’s for Senator Legarda or for Senator Escudero.

I haven’t heard anything bad about this guy yet, but I haven’t heard anything spectacular also. Will have to make some research first if he’s worth my vote.

Here’s the article on Inquirer.Net:

DAVAO CITY—Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano has announced that he will not rule out the possibility of running for senator in the 2010 elections.

Durano, whose Trabaho sa Turismo advertisements have become a regular fare on TV, said on Thursday that should he decide to join the race, he would run under the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

Durano said that while he was a member of President Gloria Macapacal-Arroyo’s Cabinet, the Chief Executive knew that he had been with the NPC from the start.

“She brought me in as a member of NPC. If ever I’ll join politics, I’ll come in as NPC,” Durano said.

But he also confirmed that “someone from Lakas-Kampi” offered him a slot under the administration lineup. He clarified that it was not the President who made the offer.

Durano also made clear that his senatorial bid would depend on NPC’s decision on who would be the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates.

NPC members who had announced their intention to contest the presidency were Senators Loren Legarda and Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

“I cannot decide since I don’t know who will be the standard bearer of the NPC. The party was supposed to announce the other week, but it was postponed,” Durano said.

If there’s anything I like about this guy though is that he has modernized tourism in the Philippines. I heard that he was the primary force that pushed the Department of Tourism to do online marketing. They event went as far as doing campaigns in the popular online game Second Life. Since I’m an Internet Marketing guy, this edges him closer to my heart, haha.