Why am I voting TG Guingona for Senator

Posted on March 19, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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This is the second article of my “Why am I voting for” series. I’ll be alternating the articles here and Blog Watch but I’ll definitely post snippets of the articles that will appear over there here. The next candidate that I’m supporting is from the Liberal Party – TG Guingona. We had the opportunity to sit down with him for a few hours over dinner and he explained to us the ins and outs of the Philippine budget and how the Arroyo administration exploited the system to turn the national budget into a giant personal piggy bank. For a more detailed article on his explanation, please do check out Rochelle Chua’s post on the topic.

His Track Record
One of the things that I like about TG is that he has a solid track record. The misconception that he’s just running because he’s the son of former Vice-President Guingona is completely off the mark. He’s been in congress representing the Second District of Bukidnon for several terms. He’s filed numerous bills (that make sense) and TG has been at the forefront of fighting anomalies in the Philippine budget. His exposes have led the government to abandon really insanely expensive (and useless) projects.

For his professional background, TG has managed a real estate business. Personally I like people who’ve proven their worth in business management because it shows that they have the capability to deliver and to manage people. TG graduated with an Economics degree from the Ateneo and he even joined the student government. He was actually one of the student activists that marched in protest during the 1978 elections and he got arrested for it. He was jailed together with Nene Pimentel, Lorenzo Tanada, and Joker Arroyo.

This guy has a good track record for his political, professional, and educational careers. He’s clearly competent and will be a great addition to the Philippine Senate.

His Platform
This is a bit general but it shows a clear perspective of what he stands for. This is taken from his official website:

TG Guingona strongly believes in the principles of transparency in governance and accountability of government officials. He has played a major role in the move to impeach President Arroyo and has had a significant role in opposing Charter Change. He involved himself in issues such as military corruption, human rights and extra-judicial killings. His plans and programs are directed towards building a healthy and educated citizenry with improved access to food, technology and energy. He is presently very focused on budget reform policies.

TG has lived his life in accordance with the maxim: “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”

During the blogger event with TG, I took home one thing. This guy will fight corruption. This guy would make a phenomenal Chief Financial Officer and that’s what the country needs. TG will be our guardian when it comes to the budget and where all that money goes. If Toots Ople is a vote for the OFW and local labor workers, a vote for TG is a vote against corruption because we get a guy who will really protect the country’s interests with eagle eyes.

If I’ve convinced you with this article to vote for TG Guingona, please do re-post this in your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Guingona sa Senado!! :)

The next candidate that I will feature here will be posted in full in Blog Watch. Please do watch out for that one.

PS: I clarified the “blogger incident” which was reported earlier. The blogger has withdrew his accusation that TG ignored him intentionally. Apparently it was a big event and TG probably didn’t see the blogger since there were a lot of people during that time.

JUAN COUNTRY BALLOT (As of March 19, 2010)
Senatorial:
1. Susan Toots Ople
2. TG Guingona

Posted in My Ballot, TG Guingona | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Why am I voting Toots Ople for Senator

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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For the first name on my list, I’m voting for my aunt, Susan “Toots” Ople, who’s running for the Senate under the Nacionalista Party. I’m not voting for her just because we’re related. In fact, my personal friends know that I openly oppose the idea of having more Oples run for government positions especially if they’re not really qualified or if they don’t have the heart for service. That’s not the case with Tita Toots. Here we have a person who is genuinely passionate about helping local and overseas Filipino workers. Combine that with her track record and you have an upcoming phenomenal public servant.

Her Track Record
She’s not just running because she’s an “Ople”. Tita Toots has been working with the government for more than 16 years, including a stint as Undersecretary for the Department of Labor. Her educational background is also quite something else. She holds a master’s degree (Public Administration) from the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University. She was even given an additional award for Excellence in Communication.

After my grandfather passed away, one of my auntie’s first projects was to put up the Blas F. Ople Policy and Training Institute. This NGO’s main goal was to continue the legacy of my grandfather whose heart was really for the Filipino worker (domestic and abroad). Through the Ople Center, Tita Toots was able to bring home countless oppressed Filipinos which included trafficked victims in Syria and the 137 bus drivers who were stranded in Dubai due to illegal operations of recruitment agencies. For training, the OPLE Center has provided FREE computer literacy programs to OFWs and their families. This is in cooperation with OWWA and Microsoft.

Her track record is solid. Her heart is in the right place. She deserves your vote.

Her Platform
Let me just quote this from her official website:

For Labor:
- OWWA reform: 6 of the 12 members of OWWA’s Board of Directors must be bona fide OFWs, because they are the ones who can genuinely represent the needs of their sector.
- Stop the abuse of contractual workers: Make it more difficult for companies to fire employees indiscriminately at the end of their 6 month contract, to make sure workers who are industrious don’t get fired just because their employer doesn’t want to pay for additional benefits.
- Beef up local employment: Study trends in employment and come up with a 6 to 10 year national employment strategic plan. This employment plan should not have a bias for what jobs will be in demand overseas; rather, it should also give equal attention to local industries that when developed would employ a lot of people (i.e. creative industries).

For the Youth:
- Study Now, Pay Later: Re-introduce and strengthen the Study Now, Pay Later program, where students can borrow money from the government for their studies, and pay it back once they already start working.
- Inclusion of Financial Literacy in HS and College Curriculums: high school and college students, no matter what course, should be taught the basics of saving and investing. They should know how to open a bank account, what a time deposit is, how to buy shares from public companies, and the like. This is practical education that will serve them well once they start earning their own money.

A vote for Ople in the upcoming elections is a vote for someone who fight for the rights of the everyday Filipino worker. We need that now more than ever because the government really isn’t handling the OFW situation properly. One of the programs that my Auntie wants to push is a re-integration program by boosting local employment. Let’s give our brothers and sisters a reason to go home, and stay home as well. :)

On a more personal note, I’ve known Tita Toots for years. I can honestly say that she is too kind for her own good, hahaha! She sacrifices too much even for people she doesn’t even know. She has the right motive and with an excellent track record I see no reason why we shouldn’t support her.

OPLE SA SENADO! :D

Posted in My Ballot, Susan Toots Ople | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Why am I voting for Posts

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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Over the next few weeks I’ll be doing a series of posts called “Why am I voting for”. My goal is to blog about every single candidate that I’ll be voting for in the upcoming 2010 elections. This is my way of supporting their candidacies and trying to put some sense and purpose to this site as well. I pick my candidates based on their platforms and track record. Note that there is no perfect candidate. There will always be something that we can pick on. At the end of the day it all boils down to our intellectual and spiritual discernment on who we should support. I’ll be posting about my Senatorial preferences first then Vice-Presidential, and finally my Presidential bet.

This will definitely be an exciting project!

Posted in My Ballot | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Getting to know QC Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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We got our chance to sit down, have dinner, and talk with Quezon City Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista last night. I took the initiative in trying to organize the meeting since I felt that it was unfair to only publish Mike Defensor‘s side especially since I’ve been a resident of QC for the longest part of my life. Before we go on, let me just thank Chuck Cabral and Tito Mike Orosa for helping me connect with Herbert. This event wouldn’t have happened without their support.

First Impressions
I literally did not notice Herbert when I went in the room. He was seated on the floor charging his cellphone while he was texting when we came in. It took me two to three glances before i realized that the Vice-Mayor of Quezon City was in the room! He quickly got up and went over and greeted us while shaking our hands. Personally I felt that he was really stressed or burdened that night. There was definitely a gloomy cloud hovering over him. Eventually all the bloggers arrived and Herbert joined us for dinner. We had a Filipino home cooked meal of tilapia, rice, kaldereta, and liempo. After the dinner, we all took our positions and got ready for the session.

Herbert answers Mike’s Allegations
The session heated up pretty quickly since the first topic for discussion was Mike Defensor’s allegations. According to Mike, 30% of QC’s budget went into food and drinks and it was not inspected because Herbert signed a waiver for non-inspection. In his defense, Herbert said that these programs really needed to be procured via emergency because it takes so long to do it the normal way. The food and drinks budget was also allocated for all the training and seminar sessions that the office of the Vice-Mayor and not just for simple feeding programs. With regards to the waiver for inspection, he shares that it’s also part of the justification.

Here’s the video interview which Blog Watch uploaded:

In the interest of fairness, I’ll leave it to you guys to figure out who to support.

With regards to his plans for Quezon City, Herbert says that he will allocate more funds to social services and development. Unlike Mike, he’s not promising anything big and says that as a politician, he can promise a lot. But as an administrator, he can’t because he knows what can be done and what can’t be done given the budget and the population of QC.

Herbert Bautista has a lot of experience, being in local government for over a decade. He’s been a councilor, a Vice-Mayor, and he practically grew up serving Quezon City. Other than his record, Herbert strikes me as a person who wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s very “human” and he’s actually one of the most approachable politicians/celebrities I’ve ever met. However, that’s both and advantage and a disadvantage.

My suggestion for Bistek is that he needs to hire really good marketing/pr professionals to help him with his campaign. They have to iron out the message that they want to communicate to the voters and they need to properly handle the case being filed against them by Mike because it’s damaging.

Thanks again to Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista for accepting our request for a blogger session. Thank you and good luck with the upcoming elections!

Posted in Current Events, Herbert Bautista, Mike Defensor | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

QC Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista answers Mike Defensor’s allegations on ANC

Posted on March 11, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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I just came from a rather interesting dinner-blogger session with Quezon City Vice-Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista. The session heated up quickly since we immediately dove into the major pressing issue which was Mike Defensor’s allegations of 30% of his budget being used for “food and drinks”. I’ll write a piece on Herbert either later tonight or tomorrow morning. For now, let me re-post a video of Herbert answering Mike on an ANC show hosted by Karen Davila.

So, what do you guys think?

Posted in Herbert Bautista, Mike Defensor | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The 15M Filipino Blogger

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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I gave a talk during the recently concluded Blog World Philippines 2010. As I was getting ready for my talk, I said hellos and hi’s to the other speakers. The two guys at the far end of the table looked really nervous and anxious. Little did I know that these two guys are actually Filipino millionaire bloggers. The entire room’s attention was literally focused on them when the emcee started to introduce them. Apparently these guys are some of the best Search Engine Optimization experts in the world and they’ve made more than P15,000,000 on blogging. Yes, you read that right. FIFTEEN MILLION.

For more information on the event and some talking points of my session, please do head over to my Internet Marketing blog.

Posted in Random Musings | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Latest SWS and Manila Standard Surveys say Villar is tied with Aquino; Pulse says otherwise

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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Pulse Asia released a survey last week which showed that Noynoy Aquino is pulling away from Manny Villar. However the following week two other surveys showed that the two candidates were still locked in a statistical tie. In the latest survey commissioned by BusinessWorld, both of them are still pretty much in the running on almost equal footing. The other candidates though registered gains. Not that big but still it’s a sign that the voting public is slowly realizing that it’s not just a Aquino-Villar election.


Source

Brother Eddie is steadily moving up; albeit at a snail’s pace. Same can be said for LAKAS-KAMPI’s Gilbert Teodoro. Former President Estrada is also climbing back up mostly because of his latest media ad campaigns. What I find weird is that KBL’s Acosta has higher ratings than Nick Perlas and JC Delos Reyes. x.x

Interesting developments!

Posted in 2010 Presidential Elections, Manny Villar, Noynoy Aquino | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista Blogger Event in the works

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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Eversince Mike Defensor raised his concerns and issues against Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista during his blogger event, I’ve been trying to organize and set-up another event with Vice-Mayor Bistek so he can answer and clarify the allegations thrown by his rival for the Mayoralty of Quezon City. I’m very happy to let everyone know that someone from his staff and one of his personal friends have confirmed that we will be having a blogger dinner/lunch with the Vice-Mayor.

herbert’s appointment secretary is still working on his schedule. rest assured that the meeting with bloggers will push through.
thank you.

According to our discussions, it won’t be as formal like the set-up of Mike’s event. It will probably be casual talk over lunch or dinner. Doesn’t really matter to me as long as we get to hear what he has to say.

Let’s all hope this pushes through. :)

Posted in Current Events | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

My Tax goes to… Condoms?

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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I’ve been a “corporate slave” for well over 6 years now. One of the things I hate the most is seeing the amount of money deducted from my monthly salary due to the withholding tax (around 30%). This money goes to the Philippine government and they basically decide how to spend that money to benefit the Filipino people. I wouldn’t mind seeing that money go into road development or to pay for the salaries of our police, military, and teachers. What I don’t understand is why we should be paying for condoms and pills which are being distributed right now by the Department of Health!

Yes, overpopulation is a problem. Yes, the HIV-AIDS epidemic is something we have to confront. But we won’t be able to do that by giving away condoms and pills! This is not a sustainable program. Does this mean that every year an amount of the Philippine budget will be spent on buying condoms and pills for distribution? That’s just insane and a total waste of money.

What we need is education and a more permanent and long-term solution to this issue. It can’t be solved by just throwing contraceptives to those who don’t do safe sex.

But wait… there’s more. :)

This is a SERIOUS challenge not just to the government but for PARENTS, the CHURCH, and SCHOOLS. It’s not just about safe sex. The core problem is the promiscuous behavior of the youth. The rate of unwanted pregnancies are going higher and higher each year. For AIDS, let’s not forget that 50% of recorded cases come from the Call Center industry. Parents, churches, and schools – don’t just throw this problem to the government. Reinforce values and be good examples to your children/flock.

VALUES. VALUES. VALUES.

Posted in Current Events | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Winnie Monsod denies writing “Why I will vote for Noynoy” e-mail article

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Carlo Ople
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A few weeks ago, an article started to circulate around e-mail and social networks. It was an article supposedly written by Winnie Monsod and it pretty much laid out a bunch of reasons why she will vote for Liberal Party standard bearer, Noynoy Aquino. I was able to read the article myself but I was a bit curious if this was really Winnie since it lacked her trademark substance and facts. This article was really more emotional – something that’s not Winnie’s style of writing.

In her latest article posted on Inquirer.net, Winnie Monsod clears everything up by saying that she wasn’t the one who wrote that piece.

(To whom it may concern: I am not the author of an e-mail going around titled “Why I will vote for Noynoy—Winnie Monsod.” To the real author/s: Hiding behind others is cowardly. Stand up and be counted. To everybody else: Any statement attributed to me can be very simply checked by referring to this column, or my column in BusinessWorld [Calling A Spade], or a blog under my name in GMA News.TV.)

I personally don’t believe that this is something that the Liberal Party intentionally did. This is most likely the work of one of the rabid cultist fans of Noynoy.

Posted in Current Events, Noynoy Aquino | Tagged , , | 18 Comments