[PODCAST] 10 Minutes with TG Guingona

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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I’ve decided to take Juan Country to the next level by coming out with Podcast interviews with the candidates in the May 2010 elections. I’m still learning so please don’t expect anything professional, hahaha! In fact, I’m just using a P100 microphone which I was able to buy from CDR King. For the first episode, I’m featuring Liberal Party senatorial candidate TG Guingona. We had a 10-minute chat about various topics which included a “Boy-Abunda” like lightning round wherein he gave 2-3 adjectives to react to words that I gave him. Before proceeding, please note that I am a staunch supporter of TG and I hope that you guys vote for him as well. My bias will obviously show in the Podcast below, hahaha! :P

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(Click to Play)

Thank you to TG Guingona and his friend, PV Beley, for agreeing to be in this debut Juan Country podcast. I’ll be uploading other podcasts of candidates next week.

I hope all of you are having a blessed Holy Week. Cheers!

Posted in Podcast, TG Guingona | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

New Villar TVC very similar to Argentinian campaign TVC

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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The new Manny Villar TVC came out and I couldn’t help but think that it was very similar to a video which circulated on Facebook a few months ago. It wasn’t until Gangbadoy tweeted it that I realized that my initial hunch was correct. The new TVC’s idea is completely based on a campaign that was run in Argentina by Lopez Murphy. I’ve embedded both TVC’s here so you can all see how exactly the same both ads are.

NEW MANNY VILLAR TVC

LOPEZ MURPHY TVC

I’m not really a fan of doing things like this. If the Villar camp didn’t know that this was completely based on the Argentina TVC, then they should consider letting go of that agency. However if they were informed of the basis then I guess it’s all good.

Nice effort and I liked MV appearing at the end but I would have preferred something more original, hehe. ^^;

Posted in Manny Villar | Tagged , | 9 Comments

[PODCAST] Acosta, Guingona, Bautista, and Biazon talk about Air Force 1

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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I was able to meet four senatorial candidates of the Liberal Party during a recent Blog Watch dinner at Sentro in Serendra, Fort. This was the second (or third) time that I’ve talked with Congressmen Biazon and Guingona. It was my first time to grill Dr. Martin Bautista and Teacher Neric Acosta. Since most of the policy and serious questions were already being asked by my fellow bloggers I decided to take a different route. The question?

Other than Obama’s plane, have you ever heard of a place in the Philippines called Air Force 1?

Listen to the lively and informative discussion here:

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I’ll be writing more articles about this interview in Blog Watch in the next few days. Cheers!

Posted in Martin Bautista, Neric Acosta, Podcast, Ruffy Biazon, TG Guingona | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

What is Off Limits in a Campaign?

Posted on March 28, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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A few weeks ago, Kris Aquino publicly cried on national television when her personal marital problems would be used to drag down the name of his brother, Senator Noynoy Aquino. A lot of people called that off limits since it was “personal”. Even before that though, the daughter of Senator Manny Villar was also publicly chastised as she gave away scholarships and prizes during a Villar-sponsored concert. Off limits? But wait, there’s more. I just saw a tweet linking to an article on the Philippine Star wherein the author of the piece actually researched the statements made on Villar’s ad with his brother Danny dying due to lack of funds. According to the article, this wasn’t true.

In a political campaign, what’s off limits and what’s fair game?

There’s really no sure answer but ultimately politicians fail to realize that they are the ones who are drawing first blood when it comes to engagements like this. You use your daughter, sister, and even your dead brother on a political campaign then they become fair game. The moment you have them prance around the stage, you are exposing them to a world of hurt, humiliation, and scrutiny.

It’s basic competitive marketing 101. You have a claim, then make sure that it will stand against criticism. The problem here is that instead of hyping on product benefits, politicians prefer to shove their loved ones in the line of fire. Since their competitors can’t hit on product benefits, they will tear down at the people in front of them. This is the sad and brutal truth of politics.

Don’t just think twice, think a million times before you ask your children or your loved ones if they want to participate in your campaign, especially if it’s a heated contest. And before you start pointing at your competitor for going to “off-limits” areas, look at yourself first and ask yourself why those people are in the ring anyway.

Posted in Current Events, Manny Villar, Noynoy Aquino | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

No to Mikey Arroyo and his Party List

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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I’ve been trying to steer clear of any negative posts here at Juan Country but I can’t just help this one. I firmly believe that Mikey Arroyo is crossing the line with his recent move to run for Congress under the Ang Galing Pinoy party list which is supposed to represent security guards. In his defense, Arroyo says that it’s the right of the party list to nominate anyone that they want to represent them in the party. Excuse my language, but that’s just bullshit.

How the hell can someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth represent the interests of security guards? Does Mikey Arroyo even know how it feels to be a security guard? This guy is not only insulting the Philippine electoral system, but he’s also insulting all the security guards all over the country. I am one with Satur Ocampo and Lisa Maza who filed a disqualification case against the presidential son.

I hope that the disqualification case actually gets Mikey out because it will truly be a sad day for our electoral system if he’s allowed to run under the banner of security guards.

Posted in Current Events, Mikey Arroyo | Tagged | 2 Comments

2 major political parties back out of the upcoming Harapan tandem debates

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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(This is an article originally posted on my Internet Marketing blog)

According to a Tweet from ABS-CBN journalist Ces Drilon, two major political parties have backed out of the upcoming televised HARAPAN President-Vice President Tandem debates which was scheduled this coming Sunday, 10:15PM. I don’t know the exact reason why they’re doing so but apparently it’s because they’re not comfortable with the use of technology and social media during the debates.

(To read the full article, please head over to New Media Philippines)

Posted in Current Events | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Alcohol will flow tonight; 80% flunk the Bar exams in the Philippines

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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Would-be lawyers all over the county will have sleepless nights in the next few days. The Philippine 2009 bar exam results should have been released last Friday, March 19, 2010. It was delayed and the Office of the Bar Confidant said that they weren’t done yet checking all the papers. In a report published in the Manila Times, it was revealed that the reason why the release was delayed because less than only 20% who took the exams passed (whoa). I got this info from Gangbadoy via Twitter.

Here are some excerpts from the article:

LESS than 20 percent of those who took the 2009 Bar examinations passed.

A source of The Manila Times said over the weekend that only 17 percent actually passed the tests for would-be lawyers, but added the Supreme Court would hold a special meeting this week on whether this percentage would be increased.

The source added that the release of the results of the 2009 Bar examinations should have been made on March 19 on Friday. He cited 2009 Bar Examinations Chairman and Supreme Court Justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura asking Chief Justice Reynato Puno for a special en banc session.

The release did not materialize after the Office of the Bar Confidant disclosed that they had not finished computing and tallying the grades.

“There was a delay in the release because it was harder to compute the grades coming from 16 examiners as compared to eight examiners [in the past],” the source said.

Scary. I can’t imagine myself in their position. :(

Posted in Current Events | Tagged | Leave a comment

Dick Gordon and Moymoy Palaboy in the Jungle

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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I am officially a fan of Dick Gordon. This guy has balls. LOL! Here’s a video of him collaborating with MOYMOY PALABOY using the “In the Jungle” theme music thingy. Simply hilarious, entertaining, and it just makes Dick Gordon more human. To whoever thought of doing this, you are genius.

Now that’s how you do Viral Videos. :)

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The ABS-CBN HARAPAN Vice-Presidential Forum

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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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.

Posted in 2010 Presidential Elections, Bayani Fernando, Current Events, Edu Manzano, Jejomar Binay, Loren Legarda, Mar Roxas, Ted Failon | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments