ANC Leadership Forum (Pinoy Makialam!)

First of all, I’d like to remind people that this is MY blog and will therefore carry MY opinions and criticisms. I understand that some of you may not agree with me and that’s fine, I would like to hear your opinions as well. A healthy dose of debate is always nice.

And because I welcome other thoughts and opinions, you can also react to them. But please practice RESPECT for other people’s views and do not reply for the mere sake of attacking that person. Yes, you can curse but kindly put them in place and temper them as my younger cousins are in my network (and so is my mom and aunts. Ok! hihi)
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Here it goes, 364 days before 2010 election, ANC decided to hold a “Leadership Forum” inviting possible Presidentiables for a “getting to know you and your platform cum meeting de avance session” of some sort. Some of the invited guests have already been vocal about running for the post to the point of releasing early advertisements, etc; one hasn’t really made a statement about it yet, while another is undecided.

For those who weren’t able to watch, the proceedings were 2 parts. The fist part was a 10-minute individual interview by the hosts (Tina Monson-Palma and Ricky Carandang) and the second was a group discussion of some sort where questions were thrown one at a time, and everyone gets to answer them.

For this entry, I’ll focus more on the 1st part, the interviews. You might see a lot of quotes from the “presidentiables” and a lot of my opinions interjected as well. (Bullet points para mas simple)

1)    First on the Chopping block was CHIZ ESCUDERO
•    Tina Monson-Palma interviews and she starts with a grand intro of Chiz being the youngest among the group and someone who belongs to the Youth Sector
    – Hep! This early on I just have to react. Come on! He is already 39 years old. I’m not even part of the youth sector anymore according to the UN and most youth organizations limit the age of the Youth to 35. He is young but can we not force the idea that he is still part of the generation of the Youth? (pasintabi to those who still work for the youth and youth development who are above 35 - you are still Young but I don’t hear you forcing yourself to still be part of the youth sector.) Akin lang, wag ipilit.
•   He said he only spent about 7M (or was it 70M) during his Senatorial Campaign and most of which didn’t come out of his own pocket. And he swears to have properly audited and accounted for his donors and expenses. He also stressed that he knew all of those who contributed to his campaign but that he is not in debt for their support. – GOOD JOB!
•    I listen to him speak and his tone is sometimes just irritating, don’t you think? But Gosh is He a Sweet Talker!? That tongue is just good, and in both English and Tagalog. I am yet to find out more though how far the words from his mouth have gone down to the hands and feet and in real action. And sometimes, when you listen really closely to what he is saying, you realize there’s just nothing there. Walang laman, maganda lang pakinggan.
•    I do have a love and hate relationship with Chiz. There are days (and Senate inquiries) that I just adore him and respect him (and his staff for properly researching), but there are days when he’s just too SHOWBIZ. And I hate how he always joins the bandwagon in those ralllies, for calls to impeach, etc etc.
•    I still have to review what he has done in Senate, aside from getting a vey high media mileage.


2)    Ricky Carandang interviews RICHARD GORDON
•    I have to admit that I am a Richard Gordon fan – in a lot of things he has done in Subic, in Olongapo and in the Department of Tourism.
•    I do not appreciate the media mileage with the ICRC volunteers kidnapping because 1)There is a part of me that questions his sincerity and 2)He heads PNRC and not ICRC and a good friend works for ICRC and he is not very happy with him right now and feels they can do better without him talking so much to the media.
•     During the entire forum, a bit of his being elitist might have come out (hehehe) but I admire his clear vision for the country and his idea of what leadership ought to be – Moral Leadership with a Vision to Change not forgetting about history, culture and values.
•    I love his subtlety (or not) in making "parinig" to some of his other opponents in the forum by using the taglines they have used in their ads to start his answers to some of the questions. I think someone wants a proper debate?
•    I have a long list of quotable quotes (lumalabas na ang biases ko!). But for the quotes alone, he won the forum. Here are some of them –
        o    “Di mo na kailangan ulit-ulitin na mahirap tayo, kawawa naman tayo, alam na ng tao yan. What this country needs is a creation of a new face. A new Philippines that we can be proud of. “
        o    “The President sits on the pulpit therefore what he does and what he says is very powerful. So his sense of leadership must be leadership by example.”
        o    Speaking about his past experiences and how that can contribute to his presidency – “Gaya ng mga slogan at ginawa naming sa Olangapo. Bawal ang TAMAD, Bawal ang TANGA. May alam ka, gamitin mo. Walang kang alam, mag-aral ka.”
        o    “The big A word is not Arousal, it should be Assertion. And I think I have always been assertive of the changes I want and I’ll continue to be so. Dapat ang Pinoy, kung alam nya na tama sya, assertive.”
        o    4Vs- Vision, Values, Volunteerism = Victory (parang masyadong cheer to end with Victory!ahahaha)
        o    When asked about his age because he was the oldest among the 5 guests – “I am the Youth of Old Age. “ hmmm


3)    GOV. ED PANLILIO
•    His slant is “Stand up Against Bad Governance”
•    I know a good number of people (a few are my friends even) who are convinced that he should run and that he will bring about the Change and Development we have long desired. But I’m sorry, I really am not convinced. I’m still waiting for him to really show me his track record, for him to provide me with his concrete plan and for him to make a stronger stand on his decision to run. It cannot be, as what he has said, dependent alone if the people will move together to ask him to run. I would want my President to be more decisive and actually WANT to be there. I neither appreciate his indecision nor his dependence on others.
•    Appreciated his answer on the question on why so many of his colleagues in Pampanga dislike him and that they are questioning his ability to work well in a team, etc. His main point was his wanting to work with “People who will not compromise their principles just because the majority wants it.” – KUDOS TO THAT!
•    On the questions of Family Planning and Mining, if his Catholic/Priestly background will greatly affect his stand – he came out so much of a priest to me and actually, even with the answer that there is still a need to dialogue and exhaust the topics and solutions, gave me his stand. I just wish, he just said it out loud, plain and simple. I would’ve given him more respect for making a stand on National television (regardless of what it was, whether I was for or against it) rather than beating around the bush.
•    I don’t know, after the interview I am even more convinced that He is just not the One yet.

4)    Tina Monson-Palma with MAR ROXAS
•    Can I just say that Tina didn’t do a good job last night? Poor questions, poor questions. And she talked too much; she ate so much of the time of the speakers.
•    Her questions were so bad, that MAR came out as a mere TRAPO last night. That’s all he was to me. Ew!
•    Of the 10 minutes must you really eat up about 2mins to speak about your lovelife? Seriously!?! I don’t care about Korina and how your family has accepted her. I want to know your vision, your plans, your platform, your track record not your wedding plans.
•    I do agree with you that you probably did a lot during your time at DTI and if you focused more on that, in relation to your platform I would have been impressed. But you didn’t. Instead you made sure to put in your slant – “Kampi sa Api” and “Para sa Mahihirap” And must we really stress on the Visayan term for the padyak – TRISIKAD as the main theme of your Ad? Is that an attempt to get more votes from us of the Visayas and Mindanao? I almost wanted to puke.
•    I think if Ricky were the one who interviewed you, you probably had a better chance to show and say something that matters. This forum along with your grand PDA at Wowowee was a disaster for you! Kung pwede lang ako pumasok sa TV, tumayo at magsalita- sabihing – Utang na Loob, wag naman tayong magGaguhan! Hindi po kami tanga, hindi kami bobo, ano ba talaga ang plataporma mo? Anak ng!

5)    GILBERT TEODORO (gilbert teodoro who?)
•    Perhaps the least well known among the 5 but lately also made an Ad to slowly ease himself in the knowledge of people.
•    Secretary of Defense – according to him is the most complicated department to handle and this has helped hone his managing skills.
•    What can I say about our defense strategies?Hmmm... First of all, Do we really have one? What is it, our defense STRATEGY I mean? And when you go claiming how successful you have been in restoring peace and order in Mindanao – have you forgotten to include in the area of Mindanao the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Zamboanga? Because the last I heard teachers are still being randomly kidnapped in Zamboanga for a ransom as low 5,000Php. Surely you must have restored some peace in some areas in Mindanao, but kindly just state them specifically rather than generalizing our island like you normally do.
•    And what’s up with the word “BALANSYADO!?” Ano?! If there already is a proper Tagalog word for it, let us not create new words for it.  I hate it when people do that, laziness to learn the proper term. It’s not rocket science, it’s BALANSE.
•    If you are a continuity voter, Teodoro was very honest in admitting that he is with the current administration.
•    “Institutions shape Behavior.” – may punto nga naman sya. And all throughout his interview, the businessman in him came out. Perhaps, in these trying times of global economic crisis, we do need the mind and strategy of a businessman. But does he have to be the President? Or can he just be an economic adviser?

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In as much as my comments make it seem that I already made a decision on who to vote, I haven't. I do not vote based on one forum alone, I am quite proud to say that I have always been a responsible voter. I study who my candidates are, I read the paper, I watch forums like these, etc. I applaud ANC for the forum as early as yesterday. 

I just really hope that a lot of the voters watched it and would watch more forums like it. I also hope it has ignited the spirit of responsible voting. There is a great need to study the candidates before we decide who to vote... Now if only we can make sure that forums like this become easily accessible to more people (ANC is a cable channel) and use a language that is simpler for all people to understand.