Yesterday, the almost postponed Barangay and SK elections were held. No, I should say, it was the elections that was postponed a number of times that the fear of Sen. Aquilino Pimentel was that the SK’s who were holding their positions were no longer young. It was because the supposedly three-year term reached more than five years. As it is always told of governance – you have a very good leader and the term of three years is just like tomorrow; you have a very bad governance and it seems like eternity.
Yesterday, too, JTV handily won over his rivals for the position of Barangay Captain in Bubog, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.
What accounts for this? At least we can explain his triumph on a number of reasons: firstly, a long time politician that he is, he remains a clout. He has an edge in name recall. He has a track record to show – never mind if his political track record is as gloomy as the stormy night. Side by side with this he has a very wide experience in political exercises such as the elections. He knew how to campaign, to vote buy, to cajole people’s vote and sympathy…
Secondly, he undoubtedly has his big number of followings. Blind followings, I should say. These are people who, despite of the overwhelming evidence of bad leadership, moral failure and even relational fall-outs, still stick to their big boss – “kay JTV kami” emblazooned in their white shirts.
Thirdly, nobody of solid and impeccable political background squared it off with him. It was a joke during the campaign period that because a convict was running, those “who were with him in this contest” were a policeman and a security guard – to mind supposedly the manners of the felon. Anyway, no one from Bubog gave JTV a run for his money. The former Barangay Captain of Bubog, a man surnamed Acla, was reportedly “visited one night” in his house – regarding the prospect of him running against JTV. The result of the visit? Acla ran as Kagawad.
Fourthly, and this already pertains to the people of Bubog, the practise of JTV during the pre-campaign period was he opened his “services” to his constituents. What do I mean? He fed them, he distributed goods, and promised scholarship. The most prudent manner of saying this is: the people of Bubog cannot be counted on still, insofar as the minimum of political maturity is concerned.
Fifth, we have a COMELEC officer in San Jose who is known for his indecision and lousy actions. Mike Artanggo, a JTV opponent in yesterday’s elections, filed a disqualification case against the convict. It was on ground of non-residency. In COMELEC rulings, those who may run for public office must maintain a residency in the place where he/she aspires to serve. And residency is six months before the election time. JTV has been spending years of his life already in Muntinlupa. Artanggo has reason for his complain. And Mr. Balayan, the COMELEC officer, has his own reason too – which he alone knows.
Now that JTV has won, what to expect? I see at least two scenarios. One, Bubog has a Barangay Captian in absentia. I do not know how this is going to be resolved. Will the DILG step in? Or the COMELEC? Kawawa naman ang Bubog..
The second scenario consists in JTV coming home to do his political role… But, how? After the pardoning of Erap Estrada, JTV’s pardon is not far-fetched? This is unfortunate but we have a President who has a pickle mind. Or he wins his appeal, because after the former Solicitor General – the supposedly Government Lawyer – had argued already before 2006 ends that JTV should not have been convicted. It’s the competence of the court, of course. But political influence is going to be a factor.. For sure.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The Convicted President is Pardoned…
Today, Erap Estrada is pardoned by the present President Gloria Arroyo, after the former was convicted by the Sandiganbayan to a life imprisonment on account of his plundering the Philippine coffer. We note that PGMA had a hand in the ouster of Erap, when the daughter of Diosdado Macapagal was serving as vice president under Erap.
To me, the pardon is hastily done. Of course, the Palace claims it really passed through a long process already. Considered were Erap’s age, his resolve not to seek political posts again, and that Erap has already serve some seven years in prison.
But still the pardon seems to me a handiwork of a thief in the night. When no one expects it to happen, a thief breaks in and does his evil deed.
The reason for my entry today is my anxious reaction concerning the granting itself of pardon. My first presupposition is: PGMA is an alumna of a Catholic institution run by the religious sisters. She must have been taught about the Sacrament of Reconciliation, if not made her practise confession per se of her sins.
So, what’s the heck?
I, as a practising Catholic, who when I have an occasion would go regularly to confession, can see that the granting of pardon is never in accordance with the process of reconciliation as we know it from practise, if not from theory or its theology.
Of course, the process of reconciliation in the sacrament of penance is never a product of the whims and desires of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, or simply a non-sensical rite that is no different from make-believe rite of paid magicians or quack doctors (no pun intended for the magician-clowns and quack doctors). As I experience it, the process is very realistic and is grounded on life.
To be pardoned of our sins, the precondition is to own up to ourselves that we really and actually sinned. There must be a genuine feeling of remorse. Sorry, Lord, kasi nagkasala ako. Kung puwede lamang ulitin ang pagkakataon na iyon, hindi ko iyon gagawin…
Secondly, there is a need to confess that we really sinned. In the olden times, while there were already priests who were present to grant the absolution of priests, the first Christians publicly confessed their sins. I would like to underline the word PUBLICLY. Now, we do our confession inside the confessional box. At least it is the usual set up in our Churches. This is so after the number of Christians has increased, so that the priests had to resort to alternative measures.
Then, proceeding from this, the “sinner” does something to repair the damage caused by his sin. This is in accord to the principle of retribution. Pag may nasira ka, ayusin mo muna…
In this third process, there is still an ongoing debate as regards which precedes which: retribution, then absolution; or absolution, then retribution. In our confession process, we are given absolution prior to our retribution. But any priest would like to point out that the absolution is given because of that “priestly trust” that after the absolution there is going to be a genuine effort to do retribution. Some priests would even contend that absolution becomes more efficacious the moment a sinner does his retribution.
Now, back to my first presupposition: si PGMA, produkto ng Katolikong institusyon. Well, this is case of an alumna of Church’s educational institution forgetting her training – all in the name of political expediency…
Pity us…
To me, the pardon is hastily done. Of course, the Palace claims it really passed through a long process already. Considered were Erap’s age, his resolve not to seek political posts again, and that Erap has already serve some seven years in prison.
But still the pardon seems to me a handiwork of a thief in the night. When no one expects it to happen, a thief breaks in and does his evil deed.
The reason for my entry today is my anxious reaction concerning the granting itself of pardon. My first presupposition is: PGMA is an alumna of a Catholic institution run by the religious sisters. She must have been taught about the Sacrament of Reconciliation, if not made her practise confession per se of her sins.
So, what’s the heck?
I, as a practising Catholic, who when I have an occasion would go regularly to confession, can see that the granting of pardon is never in accordance with the process of reconciliation as we know it from practise, if not from theory or its theology.
Of course, the process of reconciliation in the sacrament of penance is never a product of the whims and desires of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, or simply a non-sensical rite that is no different from make-believe rite of paid magicians or quack doctors (no pun intended for the magician-clowns and quack doctors). As I experience it, the process is very realistic and is grounded on life.
To be pardoned of our sins, the precondition is to own up to ourselves that we really and actually sinned. There must be a genuine feeling of remorse. Sorry, Lord, kasi nagkasala ako. Kung puwede lamang ulitin ang pagkakataon na iyon, hindi ko iyon gagawin…
Secondly, there is a need to confess that we really sinned. In the olden times, while there were already priests who were present to grant the absolution of priests, the first Christians publicly confessed their sins. I would like to underline the word PUBLICLY. Now, we do our confession inside the confessional box. At least it is the usual set up in our Churches. This is so after the number of Christians has increased, so that the priests had to resort to alternative measures.
Then, proceeding from this, the “sinner” does something to repair the damage caused by his sin. This is in accord to the principle of retribution. Pag may nasira ka, ayusin mo muna…
In this third process, there is still an ongoing debate as regards which precedes which: retribution, then absolution; or absolution, then retribution. In our confession process, we are given absolution prior to our retribution. But any priest would like to point out that the absolution is given because of that “priestly trust” that after the absolution there is going to be a genuine effort to do retribution. Some priests would even contend that absolution becomes more efficacious the moment a sinner does his retribution.
Now, back to my first presupposition: si PGMA, produkto ng Katolikong institusyon. Well, this is case of an alumna of Church’s educational institution forgetting her training – all in the name of political expediency…
Pity us…
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
The Governor Signs the LPP Paper on Malacanan Pay Off
A day before yesterday there was a full-page ads in the daily papers commissioned by the League of Provinces (in the) Philippines casting doubts, er, explaining away -- as a way to counter Governors Panlilio and Mendoza of Pampanga and Bulacan respectively on the pay off that took place right at the heart of governance in the Philippines -- on the claims of the two governors who admitted that they were given half a million pesos each during a meeting that was called by the President herself. Among those signatories were the Governors of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro -- Gov. Josephine Sato and Gov. Arnan Panaligan.
What's the big deal?
Let us see. First, there was an unusual, no, irregular giving away of money right at the corridors of power. Yup, it cannot be unusual. For straight from the mouth of the "flowery" ex-mayor of Manila and now Secretary of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (read: the peddler of our natural resources to foreigners in the name of economic return), Lito Atienza, an information we had that the dole out of cash among the ranks of politicians dated back to Cory Aquino and FVR's regimes (of course, the two denied the "Hawaiian" claim). But it still is irregular. Why irregular? For simple reason that it could only be regular if the money is accompanied by a SARO -- this is an official paper that has all the reportorial requirements of a fiscal transaction, let alone a disbursement of a fund.
This is a case of our politician-leaders' insensitivity to public interest. Ang alam kong ibinigay lamang natin sa kanila ay ang responsibilidad na pamunuan tayo. Kasama ba talaga dito ang kapangyarihang paghati-hatian ang laman ng kaban ng bayan nang parang ginagawa ng mga kawal matapos na magapi nila ang kalaban?
But, of course, one may say, well it depends on where the money came from.. I know, it does. And for this reason, the LPP comes to the rescue of the pilloried President of the (Strong) Republic of the Philippines. The league of the governors explains away that it is the source of the money. The overriding logic is as simple as "Okey, since we stand to have been the source of the money, then the first proposition of Didaskalos becomes unfounded." The Governors say their league is the font of the money; meaning, the money is never a public money.
However, it is one thing that one group owns up to the irregularity; and it's another thing if that group that claims it did the irregular money-giving is credible in itself -- at least in this instance. The first question that LPP has to address is: what took them more than ten days to make the claim? If it was indeed regular, as LPP claims, then why did not at once clarified the issue when the two maverick governors of Luzon initiated the noise? Another question is: if the money really came from the LPP, then where did the money for the more than one hundred congressman proceed from?
As long as LPP is not able to satisfy our query that essentially comes out in view of their admission of the regular-ness of the irregular handing over of funds, we are led to consider a corollary point to the first mark that we noted. Now, we say, the disgusting thing about LPP is their effort to right the wrong, to justify the irregular, to make acceptable the unacceptable, or to explain away the unexplainable.
In the Old Testament, to right the wrong in order to effect reconciliation in and among the community of the Israelites, they were choosing a goat which they all made to bear the sins or the wrongs that they wished the community to be rid of; and the goat is driven away from the community, as it is led to the desert carrying to itself the trespassess of the community-members. This is the origin of the vocabulary "scapegoat". Note, however, that the scapegoat is involuntary. Being scapegoat is imputed.
The LPP is scapegoat? If ever it is, then one can say LPP's being scapegoat is self-imputed. For what reason, er for how much? We don't know. At least, until no one from them is pricked by his/her conscience to tell the truth. And to recognize that at the end of the day he/she is ultimately accountable to the public. Which is the essence of democratic leadership.
And, to me, it's a cause of angst that the leaders of Mindoro are part of the group that has so far tried to help out the President of the Philippines in this trying moment.
Well, ganito talaga, for some, the political weighs more than the moral..
--------------------------
By the way, what explains the noise that Governors Panlilio and Mendoza made? For Governor Panlilio, I suppose it is comprehensible since he is (note the present tense, for technically a priest is a priest forever -- even if he's suspended from exercising his priestly ministry) a priest. His training in the seminary that I can only surmise fortified his training at home, and the formation that he got while he was active in his ministry as a priest for quite a long time must have bestowed in him a sensitive and probing conscience. For anyone who would counter: Are all priests really honest? and point to the one who ran in the last elections, I submit the being man-of-cloth is not equivalent to being honest..
For Governor Mendoza, who was a former PGMA boy until he and Obet Pagdanganan squared it off in gubernatorial race, they say it was his way of exacting revenge, if not a mere display of displeasure, against the Chief Executive. Reason? Because of the continuing support of Malacanan to the election protest filed by Pagdanganan against Mendoza..
Tainted motive?
In morals, one's intention is of paramount importance.
In politics, we are left to judge the nobility of the intention by the product that it produces.. Remember, Chavit Singson was to Erap Estrada.
What's the big deal?
Let us see. First, there was an unusual, no, irregular giving away of money right at the corridors of power. Yup, it cannot be unusual. For straight from the mouth of the "flowery" ex-mayor of Manila and now Secretary of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (read: the peddler of our natural resources to foreigners in the name of economic return), Lito Atienza, an information we had that the dole out of cash among the ranks of politicians dated back to Cory Aquino and FVR's regimes (of course, the two denied the "Hawaiian" claim). But it still is irregular. Why irregular? For simple reason that it could only be regular if the money is accompanied by a SARO -- this is an official paper that has all the reportorial requirements of a fiscal transaction, let alone a disbursement of a fund.
This is a case of our politician-leaders' insensitivity to public interest. Ang alam kong ibinigay lamang natin sa kanila ay ang responsibilidad na pamunuan tayo. Kasama ba talaga dito ang kapangyarihang paghati-hatian ang laman ng kaban ng bayan nang parang ginagawa ng mga kawal matapos na magapi nila ang kalaban?
But, of course, one may say, well it depends on where the money came from.. I know, it does. And for this reason, the LPP comes to the rescue of the pilloried President of the (Strong) Republic of the Philippines. The league of the governors explains away that it is the source of the money. The overriding logic is as simple as "Okey, since we stand to have been the source of the money, then the first proposition of Didaskalos becomes unfounded." The Governors say their league is the font of the money; meaning, the money is never a public money.
However, it is one thing that one group owns up to the irregularity; and it's another thing if that group that claims it did the irregular money-giving is credible in itself -- at least in this instance. The first question that LPP has to address is: what took them more than ten days to make the claim? If it was indeed regular, as LPP claims, then why did not at once clarified the issue when the two maverick governors of Luzon initiated the noise? Another question is: if the money really came from the LPP, then where did the money for the more than one hundred congressman proceed from?
As long as LPP is not able to satisfy our query that essentially comes out in view of their admission of the regular-ness of the irregular handing over of funds, we are led to consider a corollary point to the first mark that we noted. Now, we say, the disgusting thing about LPP is their effort to right the wrong, to justify the irregular, to make acceptable the unacceptable, or to explain away the unexplainable.
In the Old Testament, to right the wrong in order to effect reconciliation in and among the community of the Israelites, they were choosing a goat which they all made to bear the sins or the wrongs that they wished the community to be rid of; and the goat is driven away from the community, as it is led to the desert carrying to itself the trespassess of the community-members. This is the origin of the vocabulary "scapegoat". Note, however, that the scapegoat is involuntary. Being scapegoat is imputed.
The LPP is scapegoat? If ever it is, then one can say LPP's being scapegoat is self-imputed. For what reason, er for how much? We don't know. At least, until no one from them is pricked by his/her conscience to tell the truth. And to recognize that at the end of the day he/she is ultimately accountable to the public. Which is the essence of democratic leadership.
And, to me, it's a cause of angst that the leaders of Mindoro are part of the group that has so far tried to help out the President of the Philippines in this trying moment.
Well, ganito talaga, for some, the political weighs more than the moral..
--------------------------
By the way, what explains the noise that Governors Panlilio and Mendoza made? For Governor Panlilio, I suppose it is comprehensible since he is (note the present tense, for technically a priest is a priest forever -- even if he's suspended from exercising his priestly ministry) a priest. His training in the seminary that I can only surmise fortified his training at home, and the formation that he got while he was active in his ministry as a priest for quite a long time must have bestowed in him a sensitive and probing conscience. For anyone who would counter: Are all priests really honest? and point to the one who ran in the last elections, I submit the being man-of-cloth is not equivalent to being honest..
For Governor Mendoza, who was a former PGMA boy until he and Obet Pagdanganan squared it off in gubernatorial race, they say it was his way of exacting revenge, if not a mere display of displeasure, against the Chief Executive. Reason? Because of the continuing support of Malacanan to the election protest filed by Pagdanganan against Mendoza..
Tainted motive?
In morals, one's intention is of paramount importance.
In politics, we are left to judge the nobility of the intention by the product that it produces.. Remember, Chavit Singson was to Erap Estrada.
Monday, October 22, 2007
The COMELEC Check Points
I was on my way to an appointment this afternoon when I chanced upon a group of PNP personnel manning a checkpoint along the national road. I asked them what it was for, and I got the reply that it's a COMELEC check point. Barangay and SK elections are scheduled to be held next week.
At once, I was reminded of an information I heard over the radio program of the Police Provincial Office regarding the necessity of setting up check points. The police-broadcasters were telling that check points are mandated by the law especially during these times of election; and that on the level of the practical, check points have been instrumental in quelling criminality. Well, the police officers have their stories to tell to buttress their claim on the benefits of check points.
To me, check points are choke points. They serve to clog our movement, particularly when we travel. I just wonder whether those who man the choke points are really briefed on what and how to do their craft. Strictly speaking, for instance, unless there is a grave reason, one cannot be ordered to alight from his/her vehicle. Yet, once I was made to disembark from the vehicle that I was driving. I did not argue against what they do. To my mind, to argue with a misinformed mind is useless -- misinformed, because if they were otherwise, my rights should have been respected voluntarily by them.
Actually, what prompted me to write an entry in my blogs about COMELEC check points is their obvious uselessness. Take for instance the COMELEC check point in Sto. Nino, Rizal. In the middle of the road, there is an iron-sheet-made structure that says "Stop! (This is) COMELEC Check Point." Yet no one was manning the choke point!!!!
A case of implementing the letters of the law, or literally interpreting the legal requirements laid down by the occasion of, say, elections...
Hindi nga lamang choke point, e. Makaka-disgrasya pa sa mga motorista..
At once, I was reminded of an information I heard over the radio program of the Police Provincial Office regarding the necessity of setting up check points. The police-broadcasters were telling that check points are mandated by the law especially during these times of election; and that on the level of the practical, check points have been instrumental in quelling criminality. Well, the police officers have their stories to tell to buttress their claim on the benefits of check points.
To me, check points are choke points. They serve to clog our movement, particularly when we travel. I just wonder whether those who man the choke points are really briefed on what and how to do their craft. Strictly speaking, for instance, unless there is a grave reason, one cannot be ordered to alight from his/her vehicle. Yet, once I was made to disembark from the vehicle that I was driving. I did not argue against what they do. To my mind, to argue with a misinformed mind is useless -- misinformed, because if they were otherwise, my rights should have been respected voluntarily by them.
Actually, what prompted me to write an entry in my blogs about COMELEC check points is their obvious uselessness. Take for instance the COMELEC check point in Sto. Nino, Rizal. In the middle of the road, there is an iron-sheet-made structure that says "Stop! (This is) COMELEC Check Point." Yet no one was manning the choke point!!!!
A case of implementing the letters of the law, or literally interpreting the legal requirements laid down by the occasion of, say, elections...
Hindi nga lamang choke point, e. Makaka-disgrasya pa sa mga motorista..
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Hubris, or Simply Freebies
In May, 2007 national and local elections were held. In October, 2007 SK and barangay elections are to be held. Not only are the two elections held on the same year; in fact, in some cases, especially in San Jose, I see semblance of campaign strategies and political antics employed during the two elections -- for example, motorcades, pestering posters, tarps with computer-repaired faces of aspiring public servants, and jingles of varying tunes.
I just cannot have a definite view as to the process that these elections have gone through -- the level of politicking in the SK and barangay improving up into the level of that of the municipal, provincial and even national, or the latter degenerating into the level of the former?
What's my basis?
Of course, I do not mean that the level of governance in the barangay and even among the sector of the youth can be below the standard. For the level of the political undertaking is immaterial, and what matters is the quality of public service that our elected leaders can actually dish out.
But consider this -- JTV, the convicted murderer of the Quintos brothers, running as Barangay Captain of Bubog. This is, to a certain extent, very well anticipated. By and large, immediately after JTV launched a failed mayoral bid in San Jose, a confirmed report coming from the mouth of his allies -- in particular, the socialite council-women of San Jose, Vicky Villarosa -- that indeed JTV was contemplating the possibility of joining the barangay elections. The motive is quite clear, accordingly: JTV wins the barangay election; then, he runs as head of the association of barangay captains in the municipal level -- which he could win considering his political clout and his money; then, he vies for the position of a representative of barangay captains in the Provincial Council. In that way, he's going to find his way to the top..
Since Friday, the talks were confirmed. JTV indeed has run unashamedly as barangay captain of Bubog.
I've been asking people especially those residing in Bubog about the prospect of having a convicted criminal as their barangay captain. While most of them consider the influence that JTV still has -- especially since his wife is still in the congress -- and that he can actually "buy" the voting public in his barangay, there are voices that tell about the repugnance of having an absentee barangay captain (because JTV is still in Muntinlupa, although there are talks about his release for whatever reason). More importantly, these voices say, they cannot accept such a character -- a convicted murderer/politician -- as a leader. I suppose their word do not apply to all the convicts, but only to the aspiring barangay captain as a convicted criminal.
One may ask: what is really in political posts that the likes of JTV would leave no stone unturned just to be on the race and win the race?
I suppose I knew a couple of reasons: one is hubris. It is the unquenchable thirst for power. He who leads, and who can direct is powerful.. He who can decide over others is notches above his neighbors. Some people simply enjoy being in power..
The second reason is the freebies that go along with the post. How much is barangay captain's monthly remuneration? Hardly gets over 5,000 or 10,000 for such barangay as Bubog.. But it is a public knowledge in the Philippines that even a pauper who wins an elective post before he is replaced gets rich. And this is magic, no an almost accepted fact in Philippine politics. Definitely, the affluence that gets alogn with political position is not because of the monthly take home pay of a politician..
More on barangay and SK elections of 2007 ---
An ilk of JTV, formerly a Provincial Board Member Ulyses Javier runs as barangay captain of Pag-asa. Another former San Jose councilor Polding dela Cruz -- whose candidacy in the last elections for seat in the municipal council was also a failure -- runs as barangay captain of Mapaya.
A former school administrator, Abe Macaraig, is Ulyses Javier's opponent in Pag-asa. I don't think he should win. When he was in the school, he was involved in the non-remittance of the employees' share for mandated statutory contributions to GSIS, etc. by his teachers and non-teaching personnel alike. The amount involved was millions of pesos!!! He flew to US of A to evade the case. I just do not know the progress of the issue. The last item that I knew of is about the death of one of the should-be beneficiaries of pension, whose death overtook her enjoyment of the fruits of her labor. And now Mr. Macaraig is vying for another public position!!!!
In Bagong Sikat, at least 17 are the candidates for barangay captain...
Bumabalik ako sa aking tanong: bakit ba talaga sila tumatakbo sa mga posisyong di naman talaga malaki ang suweldo?
Sa isang banda, masuwerte tayo kasi marami ang gustong maglingkod!!!!!
I just cannot have a definite view as to the process that these elections have gone through -- the level of politicking in the SK and barangay improving up into the level of that of the municipal, provincial and even national, or the latter degenerating into the level of the former?
What's my basis?
Of course, I do not mean that the level of governance in the barangay and even among the sector of the youth can be below the standard. For the level of the political undertaking is immaterial, and what matters is the quality of public service that our elected leaders can actually dish out.
But consider this -- JTV, the convicted murderer of the Quintos brothers, running as Barangay Captain of Bubog. This is, to a certain extent, very well anticipated. By and large, immediately after JTV launched a failed mayoral bid in San Jose, a confirmed report coming from the mouth of his allies -- in particular, the socialite council-women of San Jose, Vicky Villarosa -- that indeed JTV was contemplating the possibility of joining the barangay elections. The motive is quite clear, accordingly: JTV wins the barangay election; then, he runs as head of the association of barangay captains in the municipal level -- which he could win considering his political clout and his money; then, he vies for the position of a representative of barangay captains in the Provincial Council. In that way, he's going to find his way to the top..
Since Friday, the talks were confirmed. JTV indeed has run unashamedly as barangay captain of Bubog.
I've been asking people especially those residing in Bubog about the prospect of having a convicted criminal as their barangay captain. While most of them consider the influence that JTV still has -- especially since his wife is still in the congress -- and that he can actually "buy" the voting public in his barangay, there are voices that tell about the repugnance of having an absentee barangay captain (because JTV is still in Muntinlupa, although there are talks about his release for whatever reason). More importantly, these voices say, they cannot accept such a character -- a convicted murderer/politician -- as a leader. I suppose their word do not apply to all the convicts, but only to the aspiring barangay captain as a convicted criminal.
One may ask: what is really in political posts that the likes of JTV would leave no stone unturned just to be on the race and win the race?
I suppose I knew a couple of reasons: one is hubris. It is the unquenchable thirst for power. He who leads, and who can direct is powerful.. He who can decide over others is notches above his neighbors. Some people simply enjoy being in power..
The second reason is the freebies that go along with the post. How much is barangay captain's monthly remuneration? Hardly gets over 5,000 or 10,000 for such barangay as Bubog.. But it is a public knowledge in the Philippines that even a pauper who wins an elective post before he is replaced gets rich. And this is magic, no an almost accepted fact in Philippine politics. Definitely, the affluence that gets alogn with political position is not because of the monthly take home pay of a politician..
More on barangay and SK elections of 2007 ---
An ilk of JTV, formerly a Provincial Board Member Ulyses Javier runs as barangay captain of Pag-asa. Another former San Jose councilor Polding dela Cruz -- whose candidacy in the last elections for seat in the municipal council was also a failure -- runs as barangay captain of Mapaya.
A former school administrator, Abe Macaraig, is Ulyses Javier's opponent in Pag-asa. I don't think he should win. When he was in the school, he was involved in the non-remittance of the employees' share for mandated statutory contributions to GSIS, etc. by his teachers and non-teaching personnel alike. The amount involved was millions of pesos!!! He flew to US of A to evade the case. I just do not know the progress of the issue. The last item that I knew of is about the death of one of the should-be beneficiaries of pension, whose death overtook her enjoyment of the fruits of her labor. And now Mr. Macaraig is vying for another public position!!!!
In Bagong Sikat, at least 17 are the candidates for barangay captain...
Bumabalik ako sa aking tanong: bakit ba talaga sila tumatakbo sa mga posisyong di naman talaga malaki ang suweldo?
Sa isang banda, masuwerte tayo kasi marami ang gustong maglingkod!!!!!
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