WHIRRING
President Arroyo was still in Ortigas for an awarding ceremony but her special guests were already inside Malacanang waiting for the dinner to start. No, we didn’t see them waiting because the event wasn’t open for coverage.
We knew the members of the City Mayors League of the Philippines were inside because SUVs and other luxury cars jammed the portion of Laurel Street just outside the New Executive Building compound. The bodyguards, aides and the drivers talked to each other by groups on the sidewalks and near the lamp posts. There was just too much activity around the complex for a supposed uneventful, Monday night.
More vehicles jammed the area when the President’s convoy arrived. A lot of the vehicles that arrived were the vehicles of some of the Team Unity senatoriables.
We knew that the mayors were inside and we knew that the President presented her senatorial bets to them for consideration and eventual assistance come election time. We knew we had to bug (endless texting and calling) some of the people we know who were inside, to grant us a quick interview, before our deadline. What exactly was happening inside? (We have an idea what, of course.)
“Usual suspect” Mike Defensor obliged and he excused himself from the soiree inside to face the questions of the TV reporters waiting outside the main gate.
So what did they talked about over dinner? Mike offered, some taxation issues and a kiss ass laced discussion about the dangers of an impeachment case against PGMA.
You mean, “hindi kayo nanligaw?”
In so many words, of course, they did. Defensor told us they engaged the mayors in an “informal” and free flowing presentation of their platforms. (of course, of course!!!)
I told him that activities like “hosting dinners in the palace” and ‘wooing local leaders who may help them in the course of the election period” could bolster MORE suspicions and may strengthen the allegations that the administration ticket is riding high (read: USING) the facilities and resources of the government.
Of course, Mike denied the allegations. He even quipped “Ilan lang naman kami…no big deal…”. (Okays…few or many, number is not the issue here- a co reporter quipped)
Once again, and just like in 2004, the ruling party led by PGMA is walking on the thin line that separates governance and politics (campaign).
And the affair inside the palace tonight is just the beginning of PGMA’s string of meetings with local leaders.
Tomorrow, she will be gracing the convention of the Provincial Board members at the Century Park Sheraton Hotel in Manila. Yes, she will be bringing with her some if not most of the senatorial bets of Team Unity.
On Wednesday night, PGMA will once again host dinner for the members of the Governor’s League of the Philippines inside the palace. And yes, team Unity bets will also grace the occasion
Right on schedule? On the right track to the March 29 COMELEC deadline? Most probably. Just look at the quotes from the MPC’s interview with Secretary Gabriel Claudio last Friday about the important role of the admin local allies during elections. He kept boasting about, PARTY MACHINERY.
Q: Go candidates continue to lead in the surveys sir?
A: una ang survey na tinutukoy niyo ginawa ito sa city of manila lang and I understand it was commissioned by the opposition siguro predictable ang magiging resulta niyan as far as opposition is concerned, pangalawa it has not factored or taken into account yet the machinery that is going to be largely responsible for the victory, the expected victory of the administration ticket.Q: sweep sir?
A: well, hindi naman, hindi naman siguro but being realistic about it, we expect a very good showing on the part of the team unity because of the overwhelming strength of the machinery all over the country.Q: are they expecting (a sweep)?
A: yes, certainly, let us bear in mind that the campaign for local candidates has not yet started, the campaign period for the locals will begin only on march 30 and this is when we expect the machinery of the coalition made up of five or six major political parties, which include lakas, kampi, npc, lp and others. Will go into full throttle and this will make a great big difference as far as the momentum of coalition candidates is concerned. We do expect that the , emergence of the machinery of the administration will spell the victory of team unity.Q: the president as head of lakas satisfied with campaign strategy?
A: yes, she is, kung ating ihahambing ang kampanya ng administration saka GO, you will note that the opposition could not even conduct a campaign in Iloilo. It was cancelled in the last minute, not because of any other factor, sinasabi nila mayroong threat. At the height of the controversy of the suspension of governor topaz, who is identified with the opposition at maraming physical threats actually noon, they were able to muster several hundreds if not thousand, so it in this particular case I don?t think it is valid for them to claim that the rally of the opposition was cancelled or called off because of any threat of violence. Like that. I think the opposition will have to admit that the campaign or the rally of GO in the opposition was cancelled simply because they could not muster more than 100 supporters or participants to the rally.Q: they are blaming a malacanang ally, secretary raul Gonzalez]
A: that is most unfair and incredible kagaya ng nasabi ko nga, at the height of the crisis he involved the governorship itself where there are all sorts of physical threats whether valid or otherwise, and that would not stop the opposition from gathering hundreds of their supporters in support of the opposition, in support of the governor and in this particular case, they were said to have been text messages eh wala naman, even the local police, has been able to verify that there were no such real threats so ang kailangan siguro aminin ng opposition and this is I think very clear to everybody that the plain and simple reason for the cancellation of that rally is that they could not muster enough people to attend that rally and that independent objective media report have it that no more than a hundred of the supporters of the opposition where there in hand and many of them were even peanut vendors so that is the simple truth fo the matter. If the opposition, GO cannot even have a rally in a province whose chief executive, whose local executive is identified with the opposition. Where else can the opposition can have a rally, where else can the opposition have a rally, wherelse the opposition can the opposition conduct a viable campaign. This is very reflective of the entire situation that befalls the opposition right now between now and the end of the campaign. We expect the efforts of the campaign of the opposition to go from bad to worse.Q: why do you think?
A: let us consider the fact that among the incumbent provincial governors there are only three incumbent governors who are identified with the opposition and not even all of them are outspokenly against the president and the administration so I, we doubt very much if there will be any province, district or municipalities where, aside form places like san juan and maybe makati, but even on those places they have to cancel their proposed rallies in those areas that they have to opt for plaza Miranda. So klarong klaro na nagkakagulo sa opposition and it is very clear naman that the administration is nothing to do with this, the opposition, the GO has every right to its own self destruction.Q: sino ang three governors?
A: wag na nating pangalanan. Di ko na pangalanan sabi ko nga not all of them are even outspokenly against the administration.Q: so total five areas lang balwarte nila?
A: lumalabas na ganun, there are only, well, among the incumbent governors, congressmen and mayors, 90 % are identified with the administration and so this provides the team unity with a formidable juggernaut of a machinery that is present, active and full in support of the adminitration, the president as well as team unity as an entire ticket, as I said in every province, district, city, municipality all over the country this is something that has not been captured, this is something that has not been factored by so called survey that is being brandished by the opposition.Q: pulong-sulong meetings are veiled way of using goernment resources in campaigning?
A: no, there is no ocassion and there is no area where the pulong sulong is being conducted where government resources are being applied or used. The mobility for instance of the candidates is taken care of the candidates themselves or the political parties that they represent within the coalition.Q: the expenses for the meetings are being shouldered by local officials?
A: no, this is being shouldered by the political parties concerned.Q: ?
A: we are talking about, inuulit ko, no resources of the government, whether at the national or local levels are being used for the campaigns, when we talk of a formidable campaign machinery in support of the administration, we are talking about the clout, influence and power, and the credibility of mostly incumbent local government officials who are fully in support of the administration and the team unity, this is where the power and the winnability of the administration ticket whether at the national or the local level is coming from, the presence of formidable and mighty campaign organization in every province, city district, municipality and barangay all over the country which the opposition does not have without very much if the opposition can even field candidates for 30 percent of local and congressional positions being fielded. What the opposition is doing now is naghahantay lamagn sila ng resulta ng selection or arbitration process na ginagawa ng administration coalition in the hope that those, the would be candidates of the administration who are disgruntled or who are not favorably, who are not chosen in the selection process will go to them and join the opposition. Iyon na lamang po ang ginagawa ng opposition para magkaroon gkandidato sa ibat ibang localities, they are forging for candidates, otherwise there is hardly, there are hardly, there is not a good enough of number of candidates who are willing to join the opposition right now.Q:?
A:?.so march 30 the onset of the campaign period will makie a great difference as far as memomentujm for team unity is concerned, this is where the local candidates of the administration which as I said are present in all provinces, districts and cities and municipalities, they will become very active not only in campaigning for themselves but the national parties.Q: forecast of 9-3 pa rin?
A: yes, I think we are expecting a very good showing on the parto fthe administration ticket, kung hindi 8-4, baka 9-3.Q: wala namang masama kung sponsor ng isang gathering ang local official para sa team unity?
A: wala naman for as long as they are not using the resources of governent at maignag na maingat ang administration ticket on not using and not being accused of using the resources of government.tQ: how do we know hindi govt resources ginagamait sa pambili ng pansit.
A; If I promise would it help?Q: try us.
Q: sabi kasi reli herman some of those town hall meetings will be sponsored by lgus.
A: no hindi kasi baka misunderstand lang siya, some of them are hosted or being participated by incumbent local officials as well as community leaders but not using resources of local govenrents, remember iyong incumbent officials, heads of political parties at the local level ano, it doesn?t take much to host or participate in this town hall or pulong sulong assemblies, kaya nga natin ginagawa ng ganito para ano eh, it is a frugal way of being able to campaign and reaching out to as many members of local communities as possible di kagaya ng rally na napakamahal and then you are catering or addressing on the supporters who are already given, they are already supporting the administration, so this a novel way of reaching out to more people than the usual way of campaigning and at the same time save on logistical requirements kasi wal anaman halos gastos diyan sa mga pulong sulong na iyan. They are already there in the communities instead na sila hinahakot sa rally ang kandidato natin nagpupunta sa localities nila, it doest take much, napakatipid, because the candidates are spreading out into teams of four, and then sa bawat team na apat, each candidates will take, will?so the reach, the outreach is maximized, every candidate campaigning not only for himself but for the rest of the ticket.
Listen carefully, can you hear the noise? That’s the machinery working.
+++
ANG LADLAD AND DANTON REMOTO
Jher declared, COMELEC=BIGOTRY
.
And he is not the only one miffed about the whole issue of the poll body’s trashing of ANG LADLAD’s application for party list accreditation and the possible rejection of Danton Remoto’s bid for a senate seat. (Manolo
is one of many, okay millions, and THE COMELEC should wake up and admit the fact that numbers wise, this sector is very capable of doing anything.)
(please look into the healthy discussion about this issue in the comments section of Manolo’s blog Malevolence ipod
Ang Ladlad’s visit to the COMELEC headquarters today (led by Danton) was not my story. Our Comelec reporter, Faye Tobias covered it for our station. But later in the day, our producers gave the story to me so I can wrap it with my “Hair Asia” coverage at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
You see, PGMA graced the international beauty event to award the winners of the tilt. And with her (though they didn’t appear on stage ng sabay) was Team Unity senatorial candidate Lolo Joker Arroyo.
The huge venue was filled with our creative and talented gay beauty experts. You can actually feel the creativity around you as soon as you enter the hall. Note that a lot of these talented and hardworking people own or work in beauty shops and other boutiques. They are part (a facet, a sub sector) of the supposed bigger (LGBT) sector that Ang Ladlad would like to represent in Congress. (in its appeal to the Comelec, they submitted that so far the group has 6,000 members nationwide and that they already assigned coordinators in 11 out of 12 provinces all over the country)
The organizers and our gay brothers and sisters welcomed the presence of political figures in the event. They didn’t ask directly, but it was evident that they want to make the leaders feel that the sector needed representation in congress or in any venue where the community’s voice should be heard. There’s a palpable need for the community to be counted and heard in all issues and struggles affecting their day to day lives.
Sadly, I again realized that a lot of our officials and countrymen are not yet ready to give positions to the members of this profoundly (deeper sense, because at face value, the LGBTs don’t really register as “indigent”, “poor”, “desperate”, “useless” etc) marginalized community.
Not ready, BUT ironically they acknowledge the strength of the community by wooing their votes every election time.
Iyan ba ang walang lakas, kakayahan at kapasidad?
FROM JHER: If you want to support Ang Ladlad, fax a note to the Comelec at 525-9301. Write chairman@comelec.gov.ph or comm_tuason@comelec.gov.ph, or to Commissioners Tuason, Sarmiento, and Ferrer at this address: 8/F Palacio del Gobernador, Commission on Elections, Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila 1002
Leave a comment online in the Comelec’s blogs: “inside the Comelec” (http://comelec. wordpress.com), “james jimenez” (http:// htt://jimenez.wordpress.com), and “Overseas Absentee Internet Voting” (http://oaiv.wordpress.com )
If you believe Ang Ladlad should be accredited as a party list, you have this week to express support and add your voice to those questioning the decision of the Comelec Second Division.
