In defense of Grace Lee!

"VERAFILES uses “quotes” from the completely unreliable

DJ MO TWISTER

to support her article and then misquotes Grace Lee...

Shouldn't Mo Twister just get Ellen Tordesillas as her co-host?"

BY AMIEL AGUILAR CABANLIG

You would think that “JeJe-Journalists” would learn a lesson and want to better hone their craft!

Ellen Tordesillas seems to have a penchant to take a smidgen of misinformation and make mountains out of mole hills – specifically concerning her sensationalized report about Grace Lee “praying” to take PNoy to the marriage altar.

Tordesillas uses “quotes” from the completely unreliable DJ Mo Twister to support her article and then misquotes Grace Lee, mistaking a female co-host for the Korean DJ.

First of all, why would anyone believe what DJ Mo Twister has to say about the subject?

The very nature of the Good Times radio program is non-serious and full of controversy-inducing banter. Twister is known to stir gossip for the sake of garnering ratings and he is not to be considered as a “credible” or “dependable” source.

Then Tordesillas goes on to say that Grace Lee was offered a retinue of PSGs. This was according to unnamed source – again, where is the credibility here?

Instead of piecing together a reliable story, Tordesillas’ tabloidal report totally misrepresents Grace Lee and puts her in a negative light.

Shouldn’t Mo Twister just get Ellen Tordesillas as her co-host?

Grace Lee – who’s that girl?

(Written by : ED UY)

Love is definitely in the air and it looks like even President Benigno Aquino 3rd has taken a whiff of the romantic air or bitten by the love bug (again).

The country’s most eligible bachelor admitted on Wednesday that he is indeed dating Korean television and radio host Grace Lee.

When asked about the real score between him and Lee, the President coolly replied, “Well, we’re seeing each other.” But when asked to give a bit more details, Mr. Aquino was quick to invoke his right to privacy.

“Sa Constitution po natin may nakalagay na privacy, eh. Baka pwedeng mabahaginan din ako ng karapatan na yon under Article 3,” the 51-year-old bachelor said.

After the President’s confirmation, Lee likewise affirmed that she is indeed dating the Chief Executive during an interview with a noontime news program.

News of their date first spread after controversial radio disc jockey Mo Twister, revealed on his Twitter account that he was able to make Lee squeal on her date with the President.

President Aquino and Lee met during the inauguration of the Korea Electric Power Corp. power plant in Cebu. Lee was hosting the event and was complimented by the President as “gwapa” or beautiful before he delivered his speech.

But while the President only met the 29-year-old host last year, Lee has already amassed a lot of Filipino admirers in the past years.

Lee was even voted to no. 57 on FHM’s list of 100 Sexiest Women in the World in 2010, and a Facebook fan page soon followed asking the magazine to put Grace on the cover.

Though Lee has yet to appear on FHM’s cover, she did grace the pages of UNO magazine wearing an unbuttoned white polo dress and showing plenty of cleavage.

Lee was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea and moved to the Philippines when she was 10 because of her father’s car import business. She finished high school at St. Paul’s College in Pasig City, and took up Communication Arts at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Lee reportedly worked at Malacañang as an official interpreter before becoming a TV and radio personality in 2007.

She landed her first Philippine TV hosting job as a segment host on the now defunct QTV 11’s lifestyle-magazine show The Sweet Life. Among her first assignments included featuring life in Korea and interviewing prominent Korean celebrities.

She later joined Magic 89.9’s morning radio show Good Times With Mo with Mo Twister and Mojo Jojo as a replacement for Andi-9.

Lee also serves as Manila correspondent for Yonhap Television News in Korea, and teaches at the Manila New Life Church’s Sunday school for preschool students.

She is now a guest segment anchor both for Balitanghali on GMA News TV on weekdays and 24 Oras Weekend Edition on GMA Network on Saturdays.

In a text message to The Manila Times, Tinnie Esguerra, ALV Talent Circuit PR Manager, which manages Lee’s career, describes the young host as pretty much the same as her on air personality.

“Grace has been with us since 2011 and she is pretty much what she projects as a TV/Radio personality and events host—articulate witty and outrageously funny to those who know her well.”

Esguerra also disclosed Lee’s new website www.dailydose.ph where she shares her musings on cooking, travel, entertainment, pop culture and other peculiar thought-provoking pleasantries. Like a proud mom, Grace talks passionately about her new “baby” every chance she gets—birth pains notwithstanding.

“It’s an idea that’s been brewing since late last year,” she explained in a press release from her management. “Friends have always been bugging me about starting my own blog, and I figured, ‘Why the heck not?’ Except that this is more than just self-indulgent writing.

“Aside from having that space for chronicling my daily thoughts, I thought that it would be cool to have a neat online portal where we can help small startup businesses advertise for free.

“Having been exposed to all these new media, I just find it cool to be able to share my passions and interests to the world. I love cooking and sharing recipes, and my mom used to own a Korean restaurant, and someday, I’d love to start my own. Through the website, I could do restaurant reviews as well and write about my travels.”

With all the attention she has been getting recently, however, it looks like her readers might be more interested on her thoughts and reviews about her future dates with the President.

PNoy is a spoiled brat..?

The in-house coverage team, which had its microphones on, clearly caught Aquino’s response: “Anak ng puta”… The “siga” was a man worthy of respect who had nothing more to prove; the “siga-sigaan” was a fake, outwardly feared but cursed behind his back.

Taken from: Jojo Robles

“The lighting of the Christmas decorations at Malacañang Palace last weekend was no big deal. The President didn’t really have to be there, even if he must have decided that he should be present anyway, for some reason.

But during the small ceremony, which was dutifully covered by the Radio Television Malacañang or RTVM group, a subordinate approached President Noynoy Aquino and whispered something in his ear. The in-house coverage team, which had its microphones on, clearly caught Aquino’s response: “Anak ng p---!”

Quick-thinking Aquino aides promptly confiscated the tape from the crew that was covering the event. It’s safe to say that no one will ever get to see the video of the cussing President.

But what did the flunky say that enraged the President so? That will probably be harder to discover than the recording of Aquino impersonating a street thug one more time.

…In the hardscrabble neighborhood where I grew up, a couple of kilometers —and dozens of economic levels—away from Aquino’s upscale Times Street home, we learned early on how to deal with bully-cowards: You showed up with superior force.

Since force is the only language bully-cowards understood, superiority (or at least parity) took the form of more numbers, armaments or protection from those with more numbers or armaments. Bully-cowards (who were called “siga-sigaan” as opposed to the real tough guys, who were simply “siga”) always backed away at even the illusion of retaliatory capabilities.

The real “siga,” by the way, never advertised their toughness. They were often quiet people who minded their own business and who didn’t go around with posses; but they were never to be trifled with, especially by the fake tough guys, because of their reputation for being real fighters or even killers.

The “siga-sigaan” were foul-mouthed braggarts who always travelled with entourages, appeared perpetually ready for a fight (often with people who wouldn’t) and whose exploits were often apocryphal. They made a lot of noise but quieted down in a hurry whenever a real “siga” appeared.

The “siga” was a man worthy of respect who had nothing more to prove; the “siga-sigaan” was a fake, outwardly feared but cursed behind his back.

Sometimes, the “siga-sigaan” became a real “siga”; Most of the time, he just remained a fake, a bully and a yellow-bellied coward.”

FACEBOOK WAR!

“Over at the administration-friendly network that was airing the YouTube interview (and which was supposedly taking questions from online citizens), the people in charge tried a different tack when confronted by the same comment storm. They began posting even the most nonsensical “news” in a bid to keep the critics – and push their uncomfortable snipings – at bay.”

Taken from: Jojo Robles

The top Internet propaganda strategist of Malacañang was in a foul-mouthed, hair-pulling rage. For an entire day last week, he and his army of paid Facebook page “administrators” and commenters were working as hard as they could, deleting critical posts and attempting to bury them under an avalanche of pro-government declarations and small talk.

And yet, for all their efforts, the critical questions and the occasional heckling would not be stopped. How was this possible, especially on this day, when the President was supposed to be answering sanitized questions softly thrown by a Google executive who had no idea at all of what was going on in the Philippines?

Over at the administration-friendly network that was airing the YouTube interview (and which was supposedly taking questions from online citizens), the people in charge tried a different tack when confronted by the same comment storm. They began posting even the most nonsensical “news” in a bid to keep the critics – and push their uncomfortable snipings – at bay.

President Noynoy Aquino just kept on fielding the softballs hurled his way. In cyberspace, the war raged on.

Apart from the reference to Santa Claus, there was surprisingly little that was noteworthy in the interview of Aquino aired over the video-sharing site YouTube last Friday. The real interesting stuff that day took place elsewhere in cyberspace, when self-styled Internet warriors got busy flooding Aquino’s official Facebook page and another that was being used by a cable news channel that was airing the YouTube interview.

We’ve been told that the Palace propaganda mavens were surprised by the cyber attack, which consisted of posting critical questions and unflattering remarks on both pages simultaneous with the interview. The sudden surge of Facebook activity forced the “admins” of both pages to take counter-measures like deleting posts as soon as they were posted (in the case of the Aquino page) or attempting to snow critical posts under with trivial “news” (which was what the people running the ANC News page did).

In both instances, the admins failed to stop the comment storm. In the Palace, an informant said the official in charge of trumpeting the YouTube interview started cursing; he repeatedly asked aloud if the people armed with government-issue laptop computers (which are the standard gear in creating the impression of many individual “posters” who favor Aquino) were doing their job.
When the virtual smoke of cyber war cleared, the loose group of people who decided to stage the sneak attacks felt tired but exhilarated. They had proven, if only to themselves, that it’s possible that Malacañang – despite its resources and its army of paid computer users – could be unable to stop a determined counter-propaganda drive online.

In the palace, government propagandists who once thought the Internet was their exclusive playground and their one-way press release platform, were understandably shell-shocked. They had a carefully planned, easy interview on the global stage of YouTube, where the “softball” questions had been picked days in advance and the audience just waiting to hear what they thought were profound and witty responses from Aquino.

And a motley crew of mostly anti-Aquino Internet users was able, on its own dime, to post uncomfortable questions about the massacre of 19 soldiers by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Basilan and a video about the supposed questionable deals involving the Aquino-Cojuangco family through the years. It was, especially for the palace propagandists, embarrassing.
The cyber-rallyists weren’t able to shut down the interview itself, of course. That would have been hacking, an illegal activity.

Instead, what they did was to reclaim the Internet and social media from Malacañang and its PR flacks. And for the fleeting moments before the heavy-handed page administrators censored their uncomfortable questions and critical comments, they were able to prove that not only are there hard issues that Aquino will not confront – but also that there are people willing to ask them outside the mostly Palace-influenced “traditional” media of broadcast and print.
This is truly a new battlefield. And a unique, spontaneous exercise of participatory democracy through social networks long promised by the people who dreamed up Facebook and the Internet.

The people in charge of the Palace presence on the Internet, particularly through the dominant social network of Facebook, like to claim that they have 2.2 million people who “like” the official page. Presumably, this is the army of online supporters that Malacañang has as a sounding board for and as a passive recipient of its propaganda.

But people who understand the metrics of social networks point out that only a little more than 6,000 FB users “are talking about” Aquino’s page.

For the amorphous group of Internet warriors who staged the attack, there can no longer be any turning back. Now that they’ve tasted victory, they can surely be counted on to mount similar cyber-skirmishes in the future.

“That means only .309 percent of the claimed fans are actually engaged,” said one analyst. “That’s a very poor social media metric.”

The Palace’s Facebook presence, said this analyst, “is really a propaganda page. They were not able to harness the pool of people ‘talking about this’ to respond to the deluge they got [during last Friday’s cyber-attack].”

As a result, “they were really surprised and didn’t know what to do.” “I mean, if you create a propaganda page, you should have been able to respond,” the analyst said. “There was no protocol followed to respond to a cyber rally.”

In the world of Facebook, the Aquino page is also controversial because it was basically created by government takeover of what was once a fan-originated and -driven page.

The two million fans, who joined the page in droves before the May 2010 elections, tracking the popularity of Aquino outside of the Internet, were simply “migrated” by Facebook to the official page of the President, with the cooperation of the owners of the social network in the US. The lack of activity in the FB page since the election reflects the disillusionment of many of the people who joined the first page unbidden, before it became an official propaganda vehicle.

Treasonous

“The President only backtracked somewhat after a few days by ordering our soldiers and policemen to go after those responsible for the Al-Barka massacre. Perhaps he noticed rather belatedly that he was losing the confidence of his soldiers. The public was crying out for justice for the 19 soldiers who were killed in Al-Barka, as well as the other soldiers, policemen and civilians who were killed in other encounters with the MILF and other Muslim rebel groups.”

By Ernesto Herrera

I wish I could be more optimistic about the peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front but there has been little evidence that any meaningful deal is in the offing.

Now that the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police have started going after what they carefully called “lawless elements” in Mindanao, many of whom are in fact also MILF members, I fear that a peaceful, negotiated settlement with the rebel group would be further obscured.

Not that there was much hope to begin with. There was no evidence that the MILF leadership was willing to accept less than their proposed and territorially ambiguous Moro substate in Mindanao, or some sort of the same political arrangement, which would be like another form of the fiasco that was the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain.

The MOA-AD, which was forged by the Arroyo administration with the MILF in 2008, was a treasonous piece of paper that had already been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

After President Aquino met with MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in August, the MILF made public its new demand for a Moro substate. Recently we also heard of this entity called areas of temporary stay (ATS), which are practically safe havens for the rebel group.

Our soldiers had unfortunately entered one of these ATS in Al-Barka, Basilan, and 19 of them were killed. Outrageously enough the MILF blamed our troops for not coordinating with them, for entering the ATS without their permission. More outrageous is the fact that the President agreed with the MILF and found fault with our soldiers. Talk about honoring our fallen soldiers and from the commander in chief no less!

The President only backtracked somewhat after a few days by ordering our soldiers and policemen to go after those responsible for the Al-Barka massacre. Perhaps he noticed rather belatedly that he was losing the confidence of his soldiers. The public was crying out for justice for the 19 soldiers who were killed in Al-Barka, as well as the other soldiers, policemen and civilians who were killed in other encounters with the MILF and other Muslim rebel groups.

Members of the government peace panel must explain this ATS and the other concessions they may have made with the MILF. As Senator Chiz Escudero said, they should explain when the agreement was entered into, what is its legal basis, how many are there, and where are they located.

“Congress was never informed about it. We would not have known that there was such a creature if the massacre didn’t happen,” he said.

We should not give these kinds of concessions to the MILF, a rebel group that looks at our government as a foreign, colonial government, and whose fractious ranks also include murderous thugs, kidnappers, thieves and terrorists. If this ATS was the idea of the President’s peace advisers then they should be held accountable for this treasonous blunder.

Incidentally, the President was also criticized for giving P5 million from government coffers to the MILF, even before a peace accord was forged with it. Rep. Milagros Magsaysay of Zambales said this is like giving money to an enemy of the state which is also considered treasonous.

Don’t get me wrong. Who doesn’t want peace? But the MILF has hamstrung the peace process for decades with their lopsided preconditions for dialogue that they well know the government side cannot deliver.

This is the same problem we have with other Muslim separatists and communist insurgents. We cannot give in to their demands without violating our Constitution because their demands infringe on Philippine sovereignty and the right of other citizens, in fact, the majority of citizens.

The MILF does not represent Muslim Mindanao. They can’t even control their own members.

Their group is wracked by dissention. They’ve got rogue commanders fighting against their own group. Some have even joined the Abu Sayyaf bandits or at least have formed an alliance with them.

The moderate Muslims in the areas being claimed by the MILF don’t want a separate substate of whatever you may call it.

And what about all the other Christian Filipinos and Lumads who chose to settle in these areas,
including the Cotabato provinces, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and other Southern Mindanao areas?

These Christian-and Lumad populations have staked their whole lives there. They built productive farms, businesses and other livelihoods. The MILF does not speak for them as well.
It’s hard to imagine the government evacuating these populations for an MILF substate. They won’t take that sitting down. Besides, under a democracy, decisions that affect citizens are essentially made by the citizens themselves. People should play a role in deciding policy. Each citizen has equal representation. So the MILF is not the sole arbitrator for Muslim Mindanao.

Also, what will happen to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao when the MILF lays claim to the same lands? The ARMM is based on our Constitution and was created by law. How can the MILF substate supersede the ARMM?

If we wanted to be honest, there are really no meaningful concessions we could make to the MILF’s demands, at least without Constitutional change and without violating the laws of the land.

Allowing the MILF to nibble away at Philippine territory would only escalate conflict, instead of bringing peace and prosperity to Muslim Mindanao, as recent events have shown.

The President took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution to the best of his ability. He should be the first to shun substates and areas of temporary stay that are so blatantly unconstitutional and disadvantageous to the nation.

Tell-tale signs of a Weak Leader?

“Also likely to incite this eruption of violence was PNoy’s reversal of Arroyo’s other policy of demanding ceasefire before talking peace. Plainly, when negotiations are conducted amid fighting, insurgents have a huge incentive to mount assaults with the triple objectives of expanding control, amassing weapons and ‘revolutionary taxes’, and degrading state forces—thus, boosting the insurgents’ position on the battlefield as well as the negotiating table...This month alone, NPA firefights were reported in Compostela Valley, Agusan, Surigao, North Cota-bato, Negros, and Mindoro.”

Tell-tale signs of a weak leader?

By: Ricardo Saludo

Along with our countrymen, this writer expresses heartfelt sympathy and sadness for families and friends of nearly 30 soldiers killed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front last week. Just two days after the death of 19 Scout Rangers in Basilan last Tuesday, another eight soldiers fell, the MILF claimed.

If one’s memory of the Arroyo years serves this former Cabinet member right, last week’s casualties are the worst losses sustained by our courageous fighting men in the past decade at least. The MILF seems bent on catching up with the ferocity of the communist New People’s Army, which has intensified its own assaults nationwide since Benigno Aquino 3rd became president.

This month alone, NPA firefights were reported in Compostela Valley, Agusan, Surigao, North Cota-bato, Negros, and Mindoro. Insurgents also burned equipment in Bukidnon and Negros, and kidnapped a Surigao del Sur mayor and his two military escorts. Provincial Governor Johnny Pimentel warning of more abductions.

Then there were the recent attacks on three Surigao del Norte mines, which even prompted a stern statement from New York-based Human Rights Watch. That plea for peace fell on deaf ears: the communists have threatened more foreign-operated mines.

Rebel assaults have escalated since July 2010 despite President Aquino’s scrapping of his predecessor’s firm no-ceasefire-no-peace-talks policy and her counter-insurgency campaign combining military action with development initiatives. A few months after repeating the ceasefire-first line in his 2010 State of the Nation Address, PNoy went ahead with negotiations.

Then, in place of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Bantay Laya strategy, which trimmed NPA forces and influence by a quarter during Gloria Arroyo’s rule, PNoy launched the Bayanihan program with a reduced security component. The AFP even dropped the ‘communist-terrorists’ (CT) tag in favor of CNN (for Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front).

Now, some are wondering if the insurgents were, in fact, emboldened by, not despite, PNoy’s about-face from Arroyo’s tough tack.

Consider a few things. First, anti-government groups normally crank up their activities, peaceful or armed, to test a fresh administration. Some rebels might ease off the trigger if a new Commander-in-Chief pulls back the troops from a decade of relentless counter-insurgency. But it is just as likely if not more so for insurgents to take advantage of AFP restraint for battlefield resurgence. Just imagine what radiator water does when the cap is opened.

Also likely to incite this eruption of violence was PNoy’s reversal of Arroyo’s other policy of demanding ceasefire before talking peace. Plainly, when negotiations are conducted amid fighting, insurgents have a huge incentive to mount assaults with the triple objectives of expanding control, amassing weapons and ‘revolutionary taxes’, and degrading state forces—thus, boosting the insurgents’ position on the battlefield as well as the negotiating table. The temptation to attack is even greater when the military is prevented from responding in kind.

With the MILF there is a further trigger to attack: any perceived violation of Muslim freedom and territory. In 2000 then President Joseph Estrada waged all-out war and took the Front’s Camp Abubakar headquarters. On December 30 that year, Manila’s worst terrorist bombings hit commuter trains and malls. Arroyo, for her part, faced attacks by MILF units after the military took its Buliok base and when the Supreme Court blocked talks on Muslim ancestral domains.

What PNoy move could have ignited Basilan? Notably, the assault happened days after the High Court narrowly cleared the law postponing this year’s election for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and empowering the President to appoint ARMM officials. While the MILF expressed no open protest, countless Muslims oppose the scheme, including rebels fighting to be free of Manila’s power.

It doesn’t help restrain rebel violence that President Aquino has come across as a less hands-on, proactive security and crisis leader than the past three Commanders-in-Chief. Fidel Ramos was a former Armed Forces chief; Erap continues to advocate all-out war. While Arroyo faced down coup plotters and hostage takers, Aquino was largely unseen when terrorism and calamity struck.

Moreover, his surprise Tokyo meeting with MILF Chairman Murad Ebrahim—a huge concession and propaganda win for the Front—and PNoy’s pursuit of talks with “CNN” sans ceasefire, may have signaled an overriding desire to sign peace pacts at all costs. The President’s response to the Rangers’ deaths may further buttress this view.

“The instruction,” reported AFP operations chief Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta after PNoy’s October 21 command conference, “was that operations against the MILF should not be pursued because of the existing ceasefire.” Nor will the government press for the arrest of rogue commander Dan Laksaw Asnawi who allegedly led the Basilan attack.

Sadly, that stance may lead to more sacrifices for our heroic men in uniform.

You got PNOYed ..!

“Well, Mr. Spokesman, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Aquino did smoke on the PAL 747 from San Francisco…

(President) Aquino spent several hours in Tokyo’s Akihabara district to shop for those new Kinect-equipped 3D game consoles…”

Taken from Jojo Robles

Replying to an item in this column that President Noynoy Aquino violated local, federal and international civil aviation regulations by smoking on a Philippine Airlines plane during his recent trip to the United States, Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda was terse: “The long and short of my answer is it’s not true.”

Well, Mr. Spokesman, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Aquino did smoke on the PAL 747 from San Francisco, using his security men to stop anyone from going up the stairs to the plane’s upper deck where the deed was done.

I do wish someone would ask Lacierda if it’s not true, as well, that Aquino spent several hours in Tokyo’s Akihabara district to shop for those new Kinect-equipped 3D game consoles that are all the rage among gamers these days. Did he not tell the people in his party that he was doing the shopping for a young relative—and did he not disappear from view for days after his return, apparently because he was so entertained by his (or his nephew’s) new toy?

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of toys, the people looking for Aquino at his official residence in Bahay Pangarap or at Malacañang Palace or at Cory’s Times Street house when he’s gone MIA will probably not find him there, we’ve been informed. More than likely, Aquino will be found at a “safe house” conveniently located near the palace.

Our informants say the house was a gift from a prominent businessman-relative who is named as a big contributor in the May 2010 campaign to get Aquino elected. The house is virtually one big bachelor’s game room and came fully-equipped with all the toys and gadgets imaginable—including an old-school billiard table that (unlike Aquino’s favored playthings) doesn’t run on electricity.

This house is where Aquino reportedly spends the bulk of his “me time” these days. And where, in all likelihood, he was cocooned at the height of the recent typhoons.

If he’ll take some advice, perhaps Aquino shouldn’t visit this crash pad of his any longer. The neighbors know who goes there—and, yes, they talk.

OUR BACHELOR PRESIDENT!

“As a bachelor, PNoy keeps his merrymaking ways.

He wakes up later than most jobholders and wage earners do.

He designs his own agenda according to his needs for the day.

He buys gadgets and toys as he wishes, as long as he has the money to pay for them.

He is a bachelor, remember?”

BY TONY LOPEZ

When the nation elected a bachelor and an economist president in May last year, it was thought that would be good for the country.

A bachelor president would not have a first lady whose frivolities and Imeldific tastes could detract from the more urgent problem of rebuilding a nation ravaged by poverty and the worst global economic slowdown in 80 years.
An economist president would have an intimate and sympathetic understanding of the country’s basic problem—the gnawing poverty which afflicts from a quarter to half of 95 million Filipinos.

The record of President Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino 3rd so far is disappointing.

As an economist, PNoy has approved and or tolerated increases in prices and rates of nearly every basic good and service—of rice (the bellwether of all other consumer prices), mass transit like MRT and LRT, tollways and expressways, taxis and buses, and petroleum products. The increases are not simple price adjustments. They are dramatic, massive, astronomical, revolting, sudden
and immediate.

An economist looks at the cost of producing a product or a service and allows a certain margin—called profit for its producer.
As a bachelor, PNoy keeps his merrymaking ways. He wakes up later than most jobholders and wage earners do. He designs his own agenda according to his needs for the day. He buys gadgets and toys as he wishes, as long as he has the money to pay for them. He is a bachelor, remember?

On November 27, 2010, the 77th birth anniversary of his father, the martyred opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr., SWS began a four-day survey of hunger among Filipinos. The results are disturbing.

Eighteen of every 100 Filipinos claim to have been hungry in the last three months (the second to the fourth months of the
Aquino presidency), up from 16 of 100 in September and from the average of 13.7 out of every 100 in the past 12 years. SWS also found that 9.2 million families—49 percent of respondents—consider themselves poor.

A fifth of Filipinos (3.4 million families or 19 million people) are hungry. They don’t have anything to eat. Half of them (9.2 million families or almost 50 million Filipinos) are poor. They don’t have money or assets.

What does Noynoy, the bachelor, do? Well, he buys a slightly used (10,000 kilometers or the average mileage one logs driving a car in a year) Porsche for P4.5 million. He didn’t steal the money. It is his money. After all, he is part owner of the single biggest piece of contiguous sugar plantation land, which by the way has been losing money every year for the past 10 years.

In most of the basic products and services, the common producer should be the government whose responsibility it is to produce basic goods (like food) and render basic services like reliable public transport and roads. To finance these things, the government collects taxes. Taxes are applied according to one’s income—the higher your income, the higher your tax. The poorer you are, the more is your need for basic goods (like food) and basic services like public transport.

It is government’s responsibility to provide these things. So it collects taxes in places like Visayas and Mindanao and spends the money in places like Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon where the bulk of the population—and business—are.

It is fallacious reasoning to say that the people of Mindanao and the Visayas should not pay for higher rates of taxis, buses and tollways in Metro Manila because they don’t live in Metro Manila. If Metro Manila revolts because of the breakdown in or high prices of basic services, the resulting commotion and rebellion will spread to the south and burn the entire archipelago.

Poverty has its roots in massive unemployment and underemployment that bedevil a quarter of employable Filipinos and in the increasing income disparity between the few who are very rich (majority of whom do not pay the proper taxes) and the millions who are very poor.

Joblessness and poverty in turn feed a communist insurgency that is the longest running in the whole world and a Muslim separatist movement that is also the longest running Muslim separatist rebellion in the world. These twin insurgencies, in turn, prompt the state to allocate scarce financial resources to an armed forces that is consistently disrespectful and contemptuous of the commander in chief and exceedingly corrupt to the core, not to mention grossly incompetent, for having failed to defeat, after 40 years, its two major enemies.

The bottomline? We are a failed state, according to the Foreign Affairs Magazine. Globally, the Philippines is below average in economic freedom. In entire Asia, the country is also below average, No. 21 out of 41 countries.

Economic freedom is defined as the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume and invest in any way they please. That freedom is protected and not constrained by the state.

Without economic freedom, economists say, there is no true political freedom. Which is why sacada workers in a sugar hacienda often do not exercise their right to vote freely because their choice, if at all, is dictated by the plantation owner.

PNoy’s Porsche and the “Daang Matuwid”

The daang matuwid meant a lot more than just a straightaway where the President can floor the accelerator in his expensive German sports car…

This is what columnist Jojo Robles has to say with the Presidents new toy!

PNoy’s Porsche and the “Daang Matuwid”

I’d like to buy a Porsche, too, sure, even a second-hand one. But if I were President, I’d sure think twice before doing such a stupid thing—even if I could afford to do it.

Yes, I’ve heard all the justifications for President Noynoy Aquino’s purchase of his latest toy, a white, entry-level Porsche, for less than P5 million. I know he traded in his BMW (which was dutifully declared in his statement of assets and liabilities) to buy the Porsche.

I even understand that a bachelor needs a sweet ride, and that there are few cars out there that can give the driving enthusiast the satisfying feeling of power and control like something that came off the Zuffenhausen assembly line. And, though I’ve never done it, I’d like to bring a Porsche to a racetrack as well, and drive like I’m in a real-world version of Gran Turismo 5.

But, if I’m Aquino, I’d worry about the message I’m sending to the people I’m supposed to be leading if I buy a Porsche. I’d think about how it would go over with Filipinos who are protesting the planned increase in fares of all sorts of public transportation, including the state-run MRT-LRT system.

(Heck, if I just bought a Porsche, I know my next problem will be where to drive it in the giant parking lot that is Metro Manila. Especially after the MRT-LRT fare increases take effect, traffic is sure to be worse than ever before as more people forsake the trains for cheaper modes of transportation.)

If I were President and I really wanted to drive a Porsche, I’m sure there will be no shortage of people who will lend me theirs. But I wouldn’t buy one, even if could, because it would just make me look insensitive to the plight of the poor who are finding it harder and harder to get around in kuligligs, habal-habals, pedicabs or on foot.

Furthermore, with the pressing problems that confront Aquino on a daily basis, some people are bound to wonder how their President can find the time to race around the Subic track like he has all the time in the world. Or is that intruding into Aquino’s now-famous “private time”?

And here I was thinking that this government is extremely sensitive to what people think. And that the daang matuwid meant a lot more than just a straightaway where the President can floor the accelerator in his expensive German sports car.

Is PNoy confused?

"My experience covering the business beat for the past 42 years is that there has never been a single year in which foreign investments exceeded $3.5 billion. Not $4 billion. Not $5 billion. And certainly not the $7 billion or close to $8 billion that Aquino is claiming... Why the difference in figures? My guess is that the figures are not firm. Or President Aquino is confused which is which.”

Is PNoy Confused?

By Tony Lopez

In press statements and press interviews, President Aquino claimed that in his first six months, he got $7.8 billion in investment commitments—$2.4 billion from the United States and $5.4 billion from Japan. (Interview with Aurea Calica, December 23, Philippine Star).
The investments are supposed to create 43,000 jobs, which implies that it takes $181,395 (or almost P8 million) to create one job, a rather outlandish amount to generate a job. In the 1970s when I was covering the Board of Investments, P50,000 could create a job.

On November 12, 2010, Noynoy gave different figures in the report made by Chino Leyco of Manila Bulletin who reported the potential investments from three companies from Japan of $3.655 billion, which is higher than the $2.8-billion investments the President secured during his trip to the US in September. Add $2.8 billion and $3.655 billion and you get $6.455 billion—a difference of $1.35 billion from the PhilStar figure of $7.8 billion.

Why the difference in figures? My guess is that the figures are not firm. Or President Aquino is confused which is which.

My experience covering the business beat for the past 42 years is that there has never been a single year in which foreign investments exceeded $3.5 billion. Not $4 billion. Not $5 billion. And certainly not the $7 billion or close to $8 billion that Aquino is claiming.

Which is which—$6.45 billion or $7.8 billion? Either the investors are pulling President Aquino’s leg or he is simply lying. Having been trained by his mother, who didn’t lie, Noynoy, of course doesn’t lie.

In 2000, after two years under the presidency of Joseph Estrada, $3.225 billion in foreign investments came in, the best of his presidency. In 2007, more than six years into President Arroyo’s presidency, the $3.2 billion was exceeded by a $3.5 billion FDI—the best of her nine-year presidency.

Also in my experience covering business, foreign investors don’t usually decide to invest billions of dollars just because they shook the hand of the president. Ever heard of the phrase “due diligence”? Yes, investors do that, unless, of course, they are laundering money.

I dearly want President Aquino to attract outrageously large amounts of foreign investments. If it is true Noynoy can generate $3 billion in investments per trip, then by all means he should be traveling around the world. After 10 trips, he should be able to raise $30 billion, more than enough to bankroll the priority projects under the public-private partnership program of the president many times over. The total cost of the 13 PPP projects for 2011 is only $3.11 billion

Among about 200 countries, the Philippines is No. 144 in competitiveness (out of 183 countries surveyed by the International Finance Corp.). Our country is simply not competitive enough to attract investments.

In 2008, the Philippines attracted $1.52 billion in FDI—the smallest among the six major Asean countries. The same year, Singapore got $22.72 billion, Thailand $10 billion, Malaysia and Vietnam $8.05 billion each, and Indonesia $7.9 billion.

It takes 45 days to get a business permit and six months to start up a house construction. It is the pernicious permit system—you get a permit for nearly everything you want to do. Since you get a permit, you deal with government bureaucrats and each time you do that, you need to grease their hands or nothing happens.

Remember the Manila couple who were taking a stroll? They were arrested by a Manila policeman who brought them to the Manila Police headquarters. There, the woman was raped and robbed. That’s one atrociously pernicious effect of the permit system. Wala silang permit mamasyal. So they were charged with vagrancy. You know the legal definition of vagrancy? Walking aimlessly.

Indeed, millions of Filipinos are walking aimlessly—looking for a job. The Philippines has a labor force of 38 million. One fourth of them or 9.5 million are looking for a job (either because they don’t have a job, the unemployed, or are overqualified for their present job, the underemployed. They are jobless. Looking for a job. They are walking aimlessly. Rapists among our policemen will certainly have plenty of rape victims.

How much will it cost to employ 9.5 million jobless Filipinos who are now walking aimlessly? If you use Noynoy Aquino’s job generation figures and foreign investments, it is $1,723,252,500,000.00. That’s $1.7 trillion.

If Noynoy can indeed generate $3 billion investments per trip, he should travel 574 times over the next six years (that’s once every four days) to raise the $1.7 trillion.