P-Noy’s Cabinet

Tomorrow would be another milestone in Philippine history. It’s the inauguration of our 15th President Benigno Aquino III. He will take his oath under Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales.  And here’s the list of the cabinet positions under the Aquino administration.

Gregorio Domingo – Department of Trade and Industry

Rogelio Singson – Public Works and Highways

Alberto Lim – Department of  Tourism

Rene Almendras  – Department of Energy

Edwin Lacierda – Presidential  Spokeman

Ping de Jesus – Transportation and Communication

Enrique Ona – Department of   Health

Rosalinda Baldoz – Labor Secretary

Proceso  Alcala – Department of Agriculture

Ramon Paje – Environment

Dr. Mario Montejo – Science and Technology

Alberto Romulo –  Department of Foreign Affairs

Ed de Mesa – Presidential Legal Counsel

Jing Deles – Peace Adviser

Cayetano  Paderanga – NEDA

Maj. Gen. Ric David – AFP Chief of Staff

Patricia Licuanan – CHED Chair

Dinky Soliman – DSWD Chief

Armin Luistro – Department of Education

Jojo Ochoa – Executive Secretary

Voltaire Gazmin – Secretary of Defense

Leila de Lima – Department  of Justice

Ramon Dizon – PSG  Chief

Butch Abad – Budget and Management

Julia Abad – Presidential Management Staff

Cesar Purisima – Secretary of Finance

Kim Henarez – BIR

Jesus Verozosa – PNP  Chief

Ramon Dizon – Presidential Security Group

Pres. Aquino will take the DILG post temporarily and the  head of Media and Communications group is still to be named.

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Countdown to 2010 – It’s A Noynoy-Mar Tandem

It’s final – Sen. Mar Roxas has accepted the vice-presidential bid under the Liberal Party in a simple ceremony held at Club Filipino a few hours ago.  It started with a prayer led by Fr. Tito Caluag of Ateneo.  I love the way Noynoy made his introduction of Mar in a precise, clear and sometimes witty speech delivery. He also acknowledged the presence of his sister Viel who was there to give him her moral support and he jokingly said that, “lahat ng mga kapatid ko tahimik maliban lang dun sa bunso, referring of course to his youngest sister Kris Aquino.

Mar Roxas was in yellow T-shirt, the proverbial color of Tita Cory.  The crowd were chanting “Noynoy, Mar“ even before Mar started his acceptance speech. “Salamat Noynoy sa tiwalang ipinagkaloob mo sa akin“.  What a short but powerful acceptance speech.  He said that they are after a government that puts the people’s interest first. And it is about a collective search for change.

“Mga kababayan, taos-puso ko pong tinatanggap ang maging katambal ni Noynoy Aquino”.

“But this fight is not just about Noynoy and me. Tungkol ito sa matuwid laban sa baluktot. Tungkol ito sa tapat laban sa tiwali. Tungkol ito sa tama laban sa mali.”

“We are up against forces who will fight tooth and nail, fair and unfair, legal and illegal, against us. Sa kanila,  tuloy ang ligaya; sa atin naman, tuloy ang laban”.

“Kailangan nating isulong ang bandila ni Noy at ng reporma. Mahirap ang laban na ito, pero nasa kamay natin ang ating kapalaran”.

He urged the public not to be complacent since this is a tough battle to face.  Noynoy announced his presidential bid last Sept. 09, 2009.

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The Search for the Next President – Countdown to 2010 (part 2)

The second ANC Presidential Forum was held last night at the UP Diliman School of Economics.  It was attended by former Pres. Estrada, Sen. Loren Legarda, Makati Mayor Binay and Bayani Fernando.  It was not surprising that Noli de Castro was again a no-show.  Ping Lacson had previously backed off from the race. Compared to the first batch of the presidential wannabees, I don’t like this batch. Only Legarda and Binay came prepared to answer those seemingly simple but profound questions posted by the audience.  Only Binay showed concrete plans on what he will do if he is elected.

And why was Estrada so disrespectful of the time limit, always making jokes at some serious questions which need concrete answers.  His manner of speaking is somewhat slurred, so hard to understand.  Disrespect for the rule of law even on such a simple forum like this is a little bit disgusting .  It’s the same with Fernando, both of them can’t communicate. I believe that first and foremost, you have to be a good communicator to be an effective leader.

Legarda, as always is so articulate about her plans and key legislation if ever she is elected President.  She will focus on good governance, sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, environment and cultural enrichment of the Filipinos.  Agriculture is the key towards providing jobs.  Her key legislation is the anti-violence against women and children act.  “Walang atrasan ang paglilingkod sa ating bansa”‘. Her declared worth for 2008 is 45.59M.

Binay is willing to slide down to being a vice-president if need be.  He said that a vice-president must be qualified to be a president with kakayahan at karanasan. His advocacy is to have a strong local government, decentralization is important and more power must be given to the local government.  He is the president of the National Boy Scouts of the Philippines.  He has faced graft charges for supposedly hiring ghost employees at the Makati City Hall and earning cuts from the contracts. He has a net worth of about 43.93M (daw).  “Aasenso ang bansa sa tama at dapat na pamamahala”.

Fernando said that for change to happen, order must be put first. You mean, paint the town pink and blue?  He is definitely out in my list.

Some questions asked were, What qualities do they have to gain the youth vote?  And their answers to this question are interesting.  Do you or do you not support the reproductive health bill? And here are their answers:

Fernando – “follow the precepts of my church. follow the natural way of
limiting the number of children to affordable level”  Huh?
Binay – “give them freedom of choice”
Legarda – she is against any form of abortion but she is for informed choice,do everything to bring down the mortality rate of women giving birth.
Estrada – ditto to Binay and Legarda’s answers

And here is another thought-provoking question.  Would you support any investigation of the Arroyo family for corruption allegation?

Binay – she has to answer to everything
Legarda –  kung may ebidensya ay mag-file ng kaso and must be done expeditiously.
Erap – nobody is above the law. He has forgiven the Arroyo family.

Sorry guys, I simply didn’t understand what Fernando answered.  Given the power to reallocate funds, they were asked where they will put it and why. Estrada said that the basic needs of the people must come first. Legarda answered that she will focus on agriculture, education and health.  Binay wants to put it on education, health and other social services. Fernando said that he will focus on hanapbuhay (as to what kind, he didn’t elaborate), education and other social services.

And the plum goes to Loren Legarda as the most likely candidate to succeed (just my opinion though).  Erap provided the entertainment, he is truly capable of making you laugh but choosing the right person to lead us is no laughing matter.

Catch the replay at Studio 23 tonight at 6pm and on Sunday at ABS CBN at 10:15pm.

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The Presidential Wannabes

Countdown to 2010: An ANC Leadership Forum, introduced us to the five presidential aspirants in a two-hour question and answer format anchored by TV journalists Ricky Carandang and Tina Monson-Palma. It was sponsored by ABS CBN in conjunction with the Ateneo School of Government. The five presidential aspirants were Gilbert Teodoro, GMA’s Defense Secretary, Fr. Ed Panlilio, governor of Pampanga and the three senators, Mar Roxas, Richard Gordon and Chiz Escudero.

Teodoro lauded the economic achievements of GMA citing NLEX, SCTEX among others. Roxas and Escudero of course belongs to the political opposition. Roxas touched on the government’s failure to address the present corruption in the public sector which “amplified the negative impact of the global economic crisis”. Escudero as usual, seemed to give those rehearsed responses, coming out like the best debater among the five but I admire his fluency in speaking Tagalog.

I wonder, I couldn’t place where Gordon was coming from. Is he a part of the administration or he was just trying to impress the people with his on and off criticism of the Arroyo government? But, Teodoro and Gordon gave more concrete answers than the rest.

Ed Panlilio was soft-spoken, more like delivering a good homily on a Sunday mass, but of course, he is still a man of the cloth.

Teodoro said that he was in favor of charter change but should be through a Constitutional Convention but he also declared that he needs the go signal of Malacanang for practical reasons before he could run.

Gordon said that Arroyo’s biggest fault was to engage in “transactional politics”. he further said that he would lead by example. Panlilio was put on the spot by co-host Ricky Carandang about his views on the issue of family planning. ‘”These things are delicate matters, critical issues, I believe that there should be more opportunities and room for discussion and dialogue”. Escudero emphasized the corruption issue against Pres. Arroyo.

Tina Monson-Palma minced no words when she asked Mar Roxas if he was merely using Korina Sanchez to boost his presidential bid and he answered that his critics are just “inggit”. (They are already engaged to be married). Actually Korina’s early morning radio program on DZMM was replaced by another anchored by Pinky Webb and Ricky Carandang. She said that she would just maintain her weekly TV show Rated K and help Mar in his campaign.

When they were asked by Ricky Carandang about the person they admire the most, living or dead, Gordon chose his father and he was emotional about it, getting teary-eyed while recalling how his father valued work ethics. Roxas said he admire Cory Aquino.

I wonder why, the other presidential wannabees were absent, Manny Villar, Loren Legarda, Ping lacson and Noli de Castro. Or is this a case of less talk, less mistakes?

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