Pacquiao asks for public support to PBA partylist group
Posted on 30 November 2009
Boxing hero Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao supports the advocacy of party-list group, Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) as he led the filing of the manifestation to join the sectoral representative elections next year.
Pacquaio also urged the public to support the group since it (PBA)would help Filipino athletes to fulfill their dreams and aspirations in whatever sports they wanted to excel.
The boxing legend was accompanied by former Caloocan City mayor Rey Malonzo, who was once engaged in martial arts and former basketball player Cris Bolado, when he endorsed the intent to join the 2010 party-list polls at the Comelec main office in Manila Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino appealed to government officials and lawmakers not to use the party-list system to boost their intentions.
“We have been receiving information that many government officials are behind party-list organizations …. Don’t bastardize the party-list system. Leave it to the marginalized sectors,” he said, after their group’s “manifestation of intent to run” in the 2010 party-list polls at the Comelec.
With this, Palatino expressed support to the order of the Comelec for partylist to name their nominees.
“We support the Comelec’s move to require party-list groups to make public the names of their nominees during the campaign,” he said.
As of press time, 183 groups have already filed their manifestation with the Comelec to run. The deadline for the filing of manifestation is on Dec. 1. (PNA)
RMA/FGP/ubt
Perlas joins 2010 presidential race
Posted on 30 November 2009
Environmentalist Nicanor Perlas officially joined the May 2010 race for the highest position in the land by filing his certificate of candidacy (COC) with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) central office in Intramuros, Manila Sunday afternoon.
Perlas said among his programs of government if he is elected are to focus in solving poverty, put an end to graft and corruption, introduce measures that would mitigate environmental disasters, solve the insurgency problems, and introduce changes in education and self-change on people.
“Ang mga ito ay kailangan nating ipatupad upang magkaroon ng pagbabago; ang pagbabago sa sarili, ito ang importante, kasi kahit na baguhin natin ang sistema, kung ang ating pagtingin sa kapwa ay hindi babaguhin, walang mangyayari sa lipunan natin,” he said.
Meanwhile, at least three senatorial candidates for the elections next year also filed their COCS with the Comelec Sunday.
They were Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo, Gabriela party-list Rep. Liza Masa, and former Cebu Governor Emilio “Lito” Osmena, who is running under his party PROMDI.
The 71-year-old former provincial executive said that if he is elected as a lawmaker, he would continue what he has done in his province of Cebu by helping the economy to grow.
“If the public will give me a chance to serve them, I will continue what I have started 20 years ago,” Osmena said.
Both Ocampo and Masa are running as independents, but they said that negotiations are still underway for them to join a political party as guest candidates.
Since November 20, a total of 51 presidential aspirants, four vice presidential candidates and 66 senatorial bets have filed their COCS.
The filing of COCs for the May 2010 elections ends at midnight of Dec. 1, 2009. (PNA)
scs/FGP/utb
Maza, Ocampo file COCs for senator in next year’s polls
Posted on 30 November 2009
Lapian ng Manggagawa standard bearer Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. has abandoned his plans of running for the presidency in 2010.
In an event at the UP Bahay ng Alumni Sunday morning, Ebdane said he arrived at the decision to no longer pursue the presidency, noting it is a family decision.
Ebdane said lack of funds hinder him from seeking for the highest post in the land.
Ebdane, a former public works secretary, has been chosen and endorsed by the Lapian ng Manggagawa, a labor party.
He was supposed to file his certificate of candidacy Sunday at the Commission on Elections in Manila.
He is the second presidential aspirant to have backed out of the race.
Senator Francis Escudero earlier announced he will no longer pursue his presidential bid but would rather stay on as senator for another three years. (PNA)
LDV/jmc
Ebdane abandons presidential bid
Posted on 30 November 2009
Lapian ng Manggagawa standard bearer Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. has abandoned his plans of running for the presidency in 2010.
In an event at the UP Bahay ng Alumni Sunday morning, Ebdane said he arrived at the decision to no longer pursue the presidency, noting it is a family decision.
Ebdane said lack of funds hinder him from seeking for the highest post in the land.
Ebdane, a former public works secretary, has been chosen and endorsed by the Lapian ng Manggagawa, a labor party.
He was supposed to file his certificate of candidacy Sunday at the Commission on Elections in Manila.
He is the second presidential aspirant to have backed out of the race.
Senator Francis Escudero earlier announced he will no longer pursue his presidential bid but would rather stay on as senator for another three years. (PNA)
LDV/jmc
Bongbong Marcos files CoC for senator
Posted on 29 November 2009
It’s official. Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will run for the Senate in the May 2010 elections instead of seeking another term as congressman.
“I will run for senator. I strongly believe that I can contribute greatly as a senator especially on issues involving the economy,” said Marcos, as he filed Saturday his certificate of candidacy (CoC) for senator under the Nacionalista Party (NP).
The NP is pushing the presidential candidacy of Sen. Manuel Villar.
Marcos, son of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, was accompanied by his sister Imee when he filed his CoC at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) central office in Manila.
“We need a genuine change in government. A new government and a new leadership that would seriously uplift the lives of the Filipino people,” said Marcos.
He said this new government “must ensure the delivery of basic services to the people and encourage full development and employment of Filipino talent and skills.” (PNA)
V3/LGI
Mikey willing to give way to PGMA in Pampanga
Posted on 29 November 2009
Rep. Juan Miguel Macapagal-Arroyo has announced that he is willing to take “the back seat in his political career” in favor of his mother, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for the second district of Pampanga.
Until last month, Arroyo said he had been preparing for his reelection bid, “going around, consulting our constituents, feeling their love while talking to them on how we can improve our district,” he told over 150 Pampanga mayors, vice mayors, barangay captains and Sangguniang Bayan members in an impromptu speech during a luncheon today at the Palace.
His plans, however, changed when groups expressed their desire for Mrs. Arroyo to represent the second district.
“Many have come forth: priests, farmers, fisherfolk, businessmen, big investors, medium scale entrepreneurs. They have come to express the desire that they be given the privilege of being represented by a stateswoman with the stature of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,” he said.
The statement was greeted by boisterous applause.
“My dear mother, in your decision-making, my sentiments must be taken as inconsequential. My political future must take the back seat because, as public servants, we have sworn to give our all to our country,” Arroyo said.
“I believe you are the best service I can give to my constituents whom you have grown to love so much and who are now urging you not to deny them the privilege of being represented by your person.”
He continued: “Let it be known to everybody that this issue is germane solely to you and your provincemates, more specifically to the people of the second district of Pampanga, who, in the end, will be the ones to benefit from your experience, from your heart, as they are ones who know how you have wanted to serve each and every person, each and every family.”
“They are the ones who know that, deep inside your heart, you want food on every table, a roof for every home, a diploma in every household, peace and order so that our women and our children can walk freely at night and not worry. They know and I know that you will be the best asset to our constituents,” Arroyo declared.
He said the local officials who came to show their support and beg with her to listen to their plea “are the people who have been elected by their constituents and have been given the mandate of their people. I, too, have won in our district with 95 percent votes of our electorate, so it is safe to say that I carry the voice of our people.”
“The people want you to serve them,” he stated.
Arroyo said the President does not have to go to the Commission on Elections to file her certificate of candidacy herself. “They will go to the Comelec and file it for you,” he added.
Again, he pleaded as a son: “My dear Mother, that (accepting their clamor to run) is the best gift of gratitude you can give them for all the support to you, to me, and to our ancestors as well.” (PNA)
scs/OPS/rsm
Santiago, Lim file CoCs for senators
Posted on 28 November 2009
Senator Miriam Santiago filed his certificate of candidacy (CoC) for senator in the 2010 elections.
After filing her CoC at the Commission on elections (Comelec) central office in Intramuros, Manila, Santiago vowed to serve very humbly the new President that would be elected next year.
“I am going to tell the people, you decide who your president will be. I’m simply saying that whoever the president might be, I’m willing to serve very humbly,” she said.
Santiago is running under her party, People’s Reform Party (PRP) but she is a guest candidate of five political parties.
“In chronological order in which I was invited and accepted, the party of President Estrada (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino), Senator Manny Villar (Nationalista Party), the admin party (LAKAS-Kampi), the Laban ng Demokratiko of Senator Edgardo Angara, and National People’s Coalition (NPC),” she said.
Santiago noted that she accepted the invitation to be part of the different political parties to send the message that she is willing to support and serve whoever will be elected as president.
“I have accepted the slot of guest candidate for all political candidates except for the Liberal Party because I was invited. So this is my way of sending my message that I’m willing to serve, that I no longer wish to be president myself, but whoever the people will choose to president will have my support and service,” she said.
Just like Santiago, detained Army Brig. General Danilo Lim of the Magdalo group also filed his COC for senator.
If elected, his priorities would be on democratic reforms, good governance and to stop graft and corruption.
Lim said the filing of his COC signals the end of his more than 36 years of service in the military. (PNA)
RMA/FGP/utb
‘Noynoy’ files COC for the 2010 presidential polls
Posted on 28 November 2009
A day after his late father’s 77th birth anniversary on Friday, Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate in the 2010 polls, filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) on Saturday at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) central office in Intramuros, Manila.
Accompanied by hundreds of supporters wearing yellow T-shirts, holding and raising placards and yellow lanterns, and shouting “Pagbabago! Pag-asa!” (Change! Hope!), Aquino and his running mate, Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, filed their COCs, along with the LPs senatorial candidates.
Before the filing of such documents at the Comelec offices in Palacio del Gobernador (Governor’s Palace), the group of Aquino and Roxas and their supporters attended a 9 a.m. Mass at the nearby Manila Cathedral.
The LP also set up a stage near the Comelec building for a brief program before and after the filing of COCs of its candidates.
Valenzuela City Councilor Shalani Soledad, Aquino’s girlfriend, and the senators’ sisters, including actress and ABS-CBN television host Kris Aquino, also went to the Comelec to show support for the LP’s presidential aspirant.
“Good luck to Senator Noynoy, and of course to Senator Mar and the whole Liberal Party. I hope the support from the people will not waver,” Soledad said over ABS-CBN’s News Patrol.
Soledad said she is willing to accompany Aquino in sorties nationwide once the campaign period starts. She added that she is willing to do anything to help the senator win his presidential bid.
Aquino’s supporters launched a fund-raising drive for his campaign on Friday (November 27), the 77th birthday of the late Senator Benigno Aquino Jr.
On Friday night, Noynoy answered head-on some tough questions from “Boto Mo Patrollers,” including his interest in the Hacienda Luisita and whether he is fit for the highest post of the land.
The young Aquino, the only son of the late former President Corazon Aquino, entered politics as representative of the 2nd District of Tarlac in 1998. He ran for senator and won in the 2007 elections.
In the Senate, he supported various bills, including Senate Bill 3121 or the Budget Control Act, which seeks to strengthen legislative oversight over executive spending.
Aquino held various positions in the Liberal Party such as secretary-general and vice chairman. He is now the LP’s executive vice president. He is an economics graduate at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU).
Aquino also dispelled speculations that he is autistic.
The autistic yarn is meaningless, Aquino said in an interview Friday night with broadcaster Ted Failon on ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol special election segment “Juan on 1.”
“With all due respect, if you (Ted Failon) weren’t the one asking, would I labor to answer such a meaningless question?,” said Aquino.
He added that the voters who elected him to the House of Representatives or the Senate would not have chosen him if he were mentally or socially challenged.
“I was elected three times as a representative of the 2nd District of Tarlac. Does that mean my fellow Tarlac residents do not know how to choose their leader? I was ranked 6th — with 14.3 million votes — when I was elected senator. Does that mean all those voters do not know how to choose their leader?,” he stressed.
Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first two years of life. It usually affects a person’s motor, language, communication, and social skills.
According to Autism Pinoy, a website that aims to shed light on the disorder, autism is the “fastest-growing developmental disability.”
The disease reportedly affects one out of every 150 children. The website states that 67 children are diagnosed with autism per day. (PNA)
scs/JCA
Mangudadatu files COC for governor of Maguindanao
Posted on 27 November 2009
Buluan, Maguindanao Vice Mayor Ibrahim “Toto” Mangudadatu filed Friday morning his certificate for candidacy (COC) for the gubernatorial post of Maguindanao province, which is currently in the center of a controversy following the infamous Nov. 3 massacre of 57 people.
Mangudadatu was accompanied by ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD party standard bearer Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro to the provincial Commission on Election (Comelec) office in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, amid heavy guard of some 300 military and police personnel.
Mangudadatu is running under the Lakas-Kampi-CMD banner. He is the first local executive to file his COC for the gubernatorial position in the province for the forthcoming 2010 national and local elections.
Earlier, Teodoro expelled from the party Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan; his father, former Maguindanao Governor Ampatuan, Sr.; and brother Datu Unsay, Maguindanao Mayor Datu Andal Ampatuan, Jr.
Ampatuan, Jr. is currently undergoing an inquest proceeding before the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila over his alleged participation in the ambush-slay, composed of two female lawyers, over 30 journalists and members of the Mangudadatu family.
All victims were dug up dead at a mass grave in nearby Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town of same province. On Nov. 3, the victims were on their way to file the COC for Mangudadatu before the Comelec office in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, when allegedly stopped by some 100 armed led by Ampatuan, Jr. along the national highway.
Both Ampatuan, Jr. and Mangudadatu have previously expressed interest on vying for the top post in the province. (PNA)
V3/PTR/NYP
‘It’s fiesta time for candidates’ says Comelec
Posted on 27 November 2009
“It’s fiesta time for candidates!”
Thus commented Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rene Sarmiento in connection with the Supreme Court decision on premature campaigning, particularly on the aspects involving infomercials on television, radio and print media.
“What is material in this case is the issue of premature campaigning is moot and academic. It’s fiesta time for candidates,” he noted.
Sarmiento said that the SC ruling on the case of Mayor Rosalinda Penera of Sta. Monica, Surigao del Norte has cleared the issue on premature campaigning.
However, he added that even if the issue on premature campaigning has been settled, candidates running for national and local positions in the May 2010 elections are still not allowed to say or put “vote for him or her” in their advertisements.
Sarmiento said that these kinds of campaign strategies will be allowed only during the campaign period which will officially start on Feb. 9, 2010, or 90 days before the scheduled polls for the national positions. For local positions, the campaign period begins 45 days before the election date.
“Does it mean we have to set aside the regulations in Fair Election Acts? No, there are still limitations that would have to be followed,” he added.
He said candidates would still be subjected to the specific provisions of the Fair Elections Acts and the Omnibus Election Code, particularly on the posting of the streamers and posters in the common poster area; observing the size of the posters and streamers and the campaign funds where candidates could spend P5 per voter for those who have no political party and P3 for president and vice president with political party.
“It de-fangs and decriminalizes, but it does not totally remove the limitations. There is still percentage for the Comelec to assert its authority so that legal limitations will be observed,” he stressed.
The Comelec will issue guidelines regarding campaign expenses, Sarmiento said, adding that they still need to discuss the rules for issuance probably early next month.
Meanwhile, Sarmiento also observed that the High Court’s ruling is only advantageous to candidates with “deep war chest.”
“Personally, if you ask me, I think there is a disappointment in this decision. I think I share the sentiment of a justice of the Supreme Court that this is favorable to those with more war chest,” he said.
He noted that this would mean that those that could spend more will be at the advantageous side as compared to those who don’t have sufficient resources or funding.
“If you are less known and less moneyed, you will be at the disadvantaged because of this decision,” the Comelec official added. (PNA)
scs/FGP/utb
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