PHILSTAR BY DOMINI TORREVILLAS: VYING JOJO BINAY'S SEAT
MANILA, FEBRUARY 13, 2010 (STAR) FROM THE STANDS By Domini M. Torrevillas - The sound and fury these past days has sprung from the announced prohibition of celebrities to endorse candidates for public positions in the elections in May, and if they continue to do so, they should resign their TV or radio programs. Hotshot movie and television stars are asked to step down from their pedestals, as their endorsements of kith and kin and financier put at disadvantage candidates without relatives in the tri-media and who will have to pay exorbitant amounts to draw the public’s attention and vote. Even columnists and writers are supposed to be covered by this prohibitive law, said to have been asleep and not restored to during the past nine years, when there were no Kris or Willie or Sara or Dolphy to bolster candidates’ marketability.The question is whether such a prohibition particularly when applied to media practitioners, does not curtail freedom of the press and expression. Is not a columnist entitled to promote a candidate who he or she thinks embodies the qualities that would make one a good, effective governor? Mind you, a good many columnists are not paid to endorse candidates, and they do their endorsing on their own; nor are they punished for questioning the parenthood, credentials and mental, physical and emotional state of rival candidates. For so long as one’s views do not fall within the ambit of libelous matters, one is free to praise or bash wannabes. Let’s wait for developments on this matter.
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As the tide wanes for long-reigning Makati Mayor Jejomar “Jojo” Binay who has now trained his sights on the vice-presidency, his constituents have to choose who among his wannabe replacements can lead them to the promised land. As successor to Binay, the city needs a seasoned public servant, an able and experienced leader.
I must say a few words about Jojo. He was one of the lawyers defending (pro bono) journalists, including this columnist, slapped with libel multi-million peso suits during the martial law days. Four years ago, he readily accommodated my request to have our driver’s wife deliver her seventh child at the Ospital ng Makati. Catherine Zorilla was born without an anus, and now, at age 4, specialists are going to operate on her so she can lead a normal life. Catherine’s mother, Evelyn, will forever be grateful for Mayor Binay’s intervention.
There are three candidates vying to take on Jojo’s management of Makati: Councilor Erwin “Jun-Jun” Binay, Vice Mayor Ernesto “Cado” Mercado, and former senator and Makati Congressman Agapito “Butz” Aquino. Binay and Mercado have strong financial muscle and deeply-embedded political machinery. This is especially true of Binay Jr. who is Mayor Jojo’s proxy in his fight vs erstwhile friend and long-time ally Mercado. But many Makati residents say that the man who appears to be stepping up to the plate is Aquino.
Elected to the Senate in 1987, Aquino authored several landmark pieces of legislation, most notably the Magna Carta for Small Farmers, the Seed Act, and the Cooperative Code of the Philippines. The latter law has contributed greatly to the recent resurgence of cooperatives in the country. Along with R.A. 6939 (Creating the Cooperative Development Authority), this law could very well galvanize the cooperative movement into a potent force for socio-economic change.
Butz served as senator from 1987 to 1995 and later as Makati congressman from 1998 to 2004. But in spite of his long exposure to what is said to be the “dirty” game of politics, Butz remains an idealist. He has, in fact, emerged as a tireless champion of cooperativism — a movement that, according to him, holds the key to solving widespread poverty.
Binay Jr. and Mercado have the advantage of an early start over Aquino who has been on political hiatus. However, Butz hopes that his record of productive service untainted by any issue of corruption will more than make up for his being a latecomer in the race.
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On another front, my partner and I were in Cotabato City the past three days, and felt the political campaign fever beginning to rise there. But unlike in Manila and other parts of Central Luzon, we saw very few posters yet. Visitors from Manila like us did not see any indications of violence in the city, contrary to the general impression that Cotabato and the rest of Mindanao are on fire. People were moving about their business — Muslims and Christians. Of course there is still the shock over the massacre that took place in Maguindanao and the people we talked with expressed their horror over the killing of 57 persons. Some said they lived in constant fear when the Ampatuans were in power. When the members of this family went to the airport, they had a convoy of 50 cars, including those of their bodyguards! We asked if the multitude of Ampatuans running for election this May will make it, and we were told it’s likely that only a handful of them will win.
We were able to visit the headquarters of the PRO-ARMM (Police Regional Office) headquarters in Parang, Maguindanao less than an hour away from the city. The roads were made of concrete, and we passed beautiful cornfields and other vegetation; there were no traces of bloodshed at all, only peace, and people moving about peacefully. The town of Parang itself was impressively clean and well planned, and nicely painted wooden fences lined the streets. Among the educational institutions there is the Notre Dame School. Urban planners can learn lessons in zoning from the place.
Camp Salipada K. Pendatun is situated on top of a hill from where we had a magnificent view of the sea. Dignitaries play at its nine-hole golf course, including former President Fidel V. Ramos. The facility is said to be the biggest of Philippine national police headquarters in the country. Inside it is a beautiful mosque built by Gen. Sukarno DG Ikbala Sr., when he was chief of the camp for only a little over a year. Two days after the ARMM governor was elected, the general was relieved, because, we were told, he did not follow orders of the governor. The general retired from the service two weeks ago, and had his farewell ceremony held at the camp in Parang.
Police Chief Superintendent Bienvenido Garcia Latag, regional director of PRO-ARMM, was in Manila during our visit at the camp. But we were graciously entertained by the chief of staff, PSSupt. Allen Mortera Fortes, PSSupt. Alex Yneses, PSupt. Wellie M. Dangane Sr. and the secretary of the chief directorial staff, PInsp. Jaybee Garo Blas. Very helpful was SP02 Elmira A. Relox.
At the Awang airport, we spotted police officers who rode with us on the plane; they were supposed to be investigated in Manila for alleged participation in the Maguindanao massacre.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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