Pulse Asia's Survey on the 2010 Elections

Pulse Asia releases its February 2009 Ulat ng Bayan survey for the 2010 elections.

To summarize, the survey states that if the elections were done on February, the following Presidentiables will make it to the top:

"Kabayan" Noli De Castro (19%)
"Chiz" Senator Francis Escudero (17%)
"Erap" Former President Joseph Estrada (16%)
"Mr. Sipag at Tiyaga" Senator Manny Villar (15%)

For the Senatoriables, the survey's top 5 are:

Jinggoy Estrada
Pia Cayetano
Mar Roxas
Miriam Santiago
Frank Drilon

While those who belong to the top 5 are old-timers in the senate, the survey also include "newcomers" in the list of can-be-senatoriables, including Edu Manzano, Korina Sanchez, Joe De Venecia, and Willie Revillame (yes, you've read it right. Willie is on rank 17-23).

Relative to this survey, I have previously posted a blog to give emphasis on the importance of funds, in other words, money, for the upcoming 2010 elections. As pointed out, since the Presidential Race seems tight and we don't expect a runaway winner, money and machinery will definitely play a big role for the winner.

Columnist Manolo Quezon, in his blog entry, In This Corner, provides a comprehensive analysis on this Pulse Asia February 2009 Survey. Manolo points out that while the Administration candidates are doing badly in the survey, the local allies will still play a big role in the final stretch. Which is true! So the Opposition could not yet stage a sound of victory at this moment. They have got to take care of their local allies.

To conclude, I would like to copy on The Professional Heckler's take on the Pulse Asia Survey:


"Vice President Noli De Castro topped the latest Pulse Asia survey with a 19 percent preference rating. He was followed by Sen. Francis Escudero, 17 percent, Joseph Estrada, 16 percent, Sen. Manuel Villar, 15 percent, Sen. Loren Legarda, 12 percent, Sen. Manuel Roxas II, 7 percent, and Sen. Panfilo Lacson, 6 percent. Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay got 2 percent while MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando got only one percent. The First Gentleman was luckier. He got five percent."


Heckler, you rock!

News Tidbits 2009

(Medyo) Tahimik ang Pilipinas ngayon. Walang masyadong ingay, maliban sa Right of Reply Bill ni Senator Nene Pimentel (na hindi ko masyadong naiintindihan at hindi ko na rin pinagtiyagaang intindihin) at sa pagkapasa ng Automation Budget para sa 2010 elections (na patuloy pa ring pag-aawayan dahil kabi-kabila ang siguradong magsasabing may dayaang mangyayari. Tingnan natin, kung magagamit na ang automation sa 2010 elections, panigurado na yung matatalong kandidato eh magsasabing "nadaya ako!").

Sikat si Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. Aba'y big-time siya! Kung dati-rati eh Pangulo lang ng Pilipinas ang gustong i-impeach, ngayon, naka-file na ang impeachment complaint niya sa Kamara. Ang problema lang, katulad din ng complaints laban kay GMA, may pag-asa ba namang umusad ang kaso? Kilalang kaalyado ng First Couple si Gutierrez, dahil classmate siya ni FG Mike Arroyo sa Ateneo De Manila College of Law. In fact, hindi pa nga napag-aaralan ang kaso eh nagsabi na si Mikey Arroyo na hindi siya tututulan niya ang Impeachment. Pati si DOJ Secretary Raul Gonsalez eh nagpahiwatig na mahirap lumusot ang kaso.

Other than the above news, wala nang masyadong matunog. Magtataka ka na lang, ano na ang nangyari doon sa mga naunang issues, katulad nang Alabang Boys Drug Case, WB Corruption Charges, Euro Generals (sabi sa news, hindi na raw kakasuhan si General Dela Paz kasi ibabalik na daw yung kinuhang pera-pwede pala yun?), Fertilizer Scam, etc.

Para tuloy gusto kong sabihin sa sarili ko: "Hindi ka pa ba nasanay?".

Kung nasusulusyonan lang ang mga nakikitang iregularidad. Kung napaparusahan lang sana ang mga dapat maparusahan. Kung kahit paano sana ay nagkakaroon ng pagbabago at kaunti mang pag-unlad ng bansa. Siguro ay tataas kahit paano ang Trust Rating ng Pangulo. Subalit dahil dito, patuloy na hindi maganda ang resulta ng surveys. Ayon sa pinakahuling tala ng Pulse Asia, halos kalahati ng mga Pinoy ang walang tiwala kay Pangulong Arroyo.

Kung wala na talagang pag-asang magbago ang patakbo ng gobyerno, sana naman ay magkaroon ng pagbabago sa susunod na mga lider ng bansa.

Excuse Letter

First Gentleman Mike Arroyo has once again 'excused' himself from going to the Senate hearing concerning another controversy linking him to an 'anomalous' construction company, the E.C. de Luna Construction Corporation, blacklisted by the World Bank due to corruption charges.




Whether he is fit to testify in the senate on Thursday (Feb 12) will be determined by his doctors at the St. Luke's Medical Center where he is undergoing a regular check-up.





FG's spokesperson says FG Mike is physically stable and well enough to play golf; but the latest news on early Thursday morning states that he would not come to the Senate to testify but instead send his lawyer Ruy Rondain to represent him (dahil baka nga naman mapagod).

Pero malay naman natin, baka mamaya, gulatin tayo at biglang sumipot din si FG sa Senate Inquiry. We never know, sabi nga eh, life's full of surprises.

Or; bigla-bigla, baka ang mangyari eh, 'Oo, totoong me koneksiyon si E.C. de Luna, pero hindi si FG, kundi si Jose Pidal, este, si Iggy.

Lalo nang gumulo.

The Gentleman

Wikipedia illustrates "Gentleman" as:

...."gentleman" signifies a man with an income derived from property, a legacy or some other source, and was thus independently wealthy and did not need to work.

Ay ang saya! patok na patok! Mismo!

Anyway, involved na naman daw si FG sa bagong kontrobersiya ng korupsiyon, sabi ni Sen. Ping Lacson.

Eh, what else is new?!!!!

Para yatang dapat eh laging may hobby/collection ang asawa ng mga pangulo natin. Let's look at the parallelisms.

Sikat si Makoy sa korupsiyon, sa mahabang term na pagiging pangulo, sa martial law.

Sikat si GMA sa korupsiyon, sa more than one term na pagiging pangulo, at naakusahan na nag a ala-martial law.

Asawa ni Makoy si First Lady Imelda na sikat sa pangongolekta ng sapatos.

Asawa ni GMA si First Gentleman Mike na sikat sa pangongolekta ng mga corruption charges.

(Interesado ka ba sa mga charges against FG? Here's the link on gma's special report)

Noon At Ngayon

Let me take you back to the Good Ol' Days:

Ganito Sila Noon:

Pero katulad nga ng laging nangyayari, ika nga eh, walang permanente sa mundo, lalo na sa mundo nang pulitika.

Ganito na sila ngayon:

De Venecia: ‘Arroyo bribes total P100M'

Congressman Joe De Venecia (Former House Speaker and Former GMA Ally), accused President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of spending as much as P100 million in bribes in October 2007 to buy herself “legal protection” from moves to impeach her for at least a year.

Further more, concerning the NBN-ZTE Broadband deal, he recalled how the President invited him and his wife to a golf game which turned out to be a meeting with ZTE officials and former Commission on Elections Chair Benjamin Abalos in Shengzhen, China.

“Pray tell me, what is the President of the Philippines doing there? What is the husband of the President doing in the ZTE headquarters, a company that is bidding for a massive project in the Philippines? Pray tell me why the Comelec chair is there?”

-Joe De Venecia

Joe de V lying, says Mike A on ZTE rap

First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo Sunday called former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. “a liar” for claiming in a forthcoming book that he had suggested a formula that led to the awarding of the $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) project to China’s ZTE Corp.

“I never suggested anything, that JDV is a liar and you can tell him that to his face.”

-FG Mike Arroyo

But perhaps, the best conclusion for this fiasco came out of our notable senator Miriam Defensor Santiago during the Senate Hearing in 2007:

“Now, I want to place on record as a senator with the principal duty of passing good laws, to promote the national interest even long after I'm gone from the Senate, I resent being made part into this squabble. Pinag-aawayan niyo lang ang kickback ninyo. Inaaksaya nyo ang panahon ng Senado"

-Miriam

Need I elaborate more?

Mukhang Guilty

(Naalala ko dati, umentra din sa showbiz si Mikey. Ewan lang kung bakit hindi na nag-progress ang career nya. Anyway.....)


Inquirer.net's Nancy Carvajal reports a simple and casual encounter with the Arroyos in an interview at the St. Luke's Medical Center where FG Mike Arroyo has had an overnight stay for some treatments due to diarrhea.

FG, who is being interviewed on his reactions on JDV's statements about the business meetings in China concerning the ZTE deal, then said, "Enough with Politics".


Mikey, who was standing to the right of his father, bent over, suddenly grabbed Nancy Carvajal's (Inquirer reporter) right arm and with eyes glaring yelled: “Tama na, tama na! (Enough, enough!)”

Dato, who was standing to the left of his father, signaled to his older brother to stop. The First Gentleman appeared unaware of what Mikey was doing, continuing to answer questions by other reporters about his illness.

>>>>> So to speak, FG Mike Arroyo accused former speaker (and former GMA ally) Joe De Venecia of lying.

So sino sa kanila ang mukhang guilty?

A. De Venecia
B. the Arroyos
C. All of the Above