PNoy disapproves Magna Carta for the Poor

 

President Benigno Aquino

With a quarter of the country’s population classified as living below the poverty line, there is no question that a Magna Carta for the Poor has to be in placed to ensure that their basic rights are protected and government services reach them.

But, why did President Benigno Aquino, PNoy, disapproved or vetoed the Magna Carta for the Poor submitted by Congress?

While some thoughtless politicians and senatorial candidates are making the veto an issue in their campaign sorties, I don’t believe, however, that there is anything political nor apathy on the part of PNoy in disapproving it.

On the contrary, and considering that there will be elections in May, he could just have gladly signed it into law and use the occasion for political advantage.

Thus, I find it idiotic why senatorial aspirant and Aquino staunch critic, Zambales Representative Mitos Magsaysay, said Aquino’s move to veto the Magna Carta for the Poor “just goes to show that he has no love and concern for our less fortunate brothers”.

“His elitist background is showing,” Magsaysay, an author of the House version, said.

Sounds of a trivial and despairing senatorial candidate!

More than anything, PNoy is just trying to be circumspect about it, making sure that once in place, it is doable.

Can you blame him if he found the provisions of the charter ‘unrealistic’?

The president said he vetoed the proposed Magna Carta for the Poor because its implementation could not be funded.

He said the Philippines is a signatory to an international agreement that implements a staggered or progressive implementation of the rights of the poor, but the proposed bill does not conform to this.

He cited, for example, a provision that “the poor shall have the following rights, the enjoyment of which is an essential step towards poverty alleviation: a) the right to food; b) the right to employment and livelihood; c) the right to quality education; d) the right to shelter; e) the right to basic health services and medicines.”

The provision also states that the government has the duty and obligation to provide for these rights.

He said there should be a “progressive realization” of these rights. This means: “Pero ‘pag pinirmahan natin sa batas, alam nating hindi magagawa ng gobyerno, binola ko ‘yung mga boss ko, at hindi ko magagawa ‘yon.” (Rough translation: But once signed, we know that government can’t do it and I will be fooling the people who are my boss, and I can’t do that.)

Aquino noted that funding the various projects in the bill was already beyond the country’s budget this year.

The President cited as example the provision on socialized housing for the poor, which would roughly cost P2.32 trillion.

This year’s budget is only a little over P2 trillion, of which P600 billion has been earmarked for socialized housing.

Aquino was also not comfortable that the National Housing Authority can be sued if it fails to provide housing units for indigent people.

“The corrective action for this is to direct our Cabinet social cluster to draw up a substitute measure that we will give to the next Congress and, hopefully, that they will act upon with haste,” the President said.

Aren’t PNoy’s arguments reasonable and believable enough?

 

 

Politician cashing in, in time of difficulty

The massive flooding in Metro Manila and most Luzon regions brought about by the continuous torrential rains came close in the heels of the lower House deciding to end the plenary debates on the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

This move did not bode well with the anti-RH bill advocates in Congress, especially to some members more known to be very vocal against the bill, like Reps. Mitos Magsaysay, Amado Bagatsing, Rufus Rodriguez and Rep. Hermilando Mandanas.

They were so aghast that their pro-RH bill advocates colleagues has pulled a fast one, this, after President Benigno Aquino met with the leaders of the House of Representatives in Malacañang.

The feeling of frustration seemed to have been lingering in the hearts of the anti-group, especially UNA senatorial aspirant Rep. Magsaysay, that when rains started falling in torrents for days and flood waters rising causing more and more residents to evacuate and seek higher grounds, she allegedly posted a message on her Twitter page, saying: “Heaven must be crying… we have to undo what has been done.”

She was obviously referring to the earlier termination of discussion of the RH bill and the heavens are said to be angry at people for supporting the bill, or what else was she trying to say?

UNA senatorial aspirant and Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay

Although Magsaysay vehemently denied she was referring to the recent events revolving around the RH bill, her denial, after getting some flak, even made it worst by insulting the intelligence of the Filipinos.

“I strongly detest the article… my tweet had nothing to do with the RH bill nor the vote the night before. It was about the environment,” Magsaysay said via Twitter.

The article she was referring to was that of Kristine L. Alave of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Environment, my foot! If we were the likes of China or America or any large economy country contributing to putting a big hole in the ozone layer, causing global warming and havoc to the global weather system, then, yes, we have been messing up with the environment. But what have we done to the environment, I pray, tell me?

Rep. Magsaysay simply made an irresponsible, thoughtless twit trying to cash in for political expediency, while ingratiating herself to the members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), at the expense of the victims of the recent devastating floods.

Now it has boomeranged on her. What can I say?

Good for her!

Hope this faux pas will be remembered come 2013 national elections.

Strategy and stratagem for political expediency

 

United Nationalist Alliance (UNA): A Binay – Estrada political tie-up

There are many ways by which a person can be called a political opportunist.

Whether the description is disgraceful and derogatory depends on how the politician is perceived to be using his/her shrewdness in attaining the success of his/her political agenda.

Lately, we have seen national and local politicians hugging the limelight in all types of media mouthing their political plans, making political tie-ups and seeking political patronage.

This, in the wake of the most publicized political alliance in the country today between Vice President Jejomar Binay’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) and former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada’s Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).

The new party name given to this coalition is United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

It is the alliance of these two well known populist leaders that is so enticing to the aspiring politicians in both local and national levels, the re-electionists and to some ‘comebacking’ politicians, who wants to ride on the popularity of Estrada and Binay.

UNA is perceived by many now to be the political opposition party that will challenge the leadership of President Benigno Aquino’s Liberal Party in the coming 2013 congressional elections and the 2016 presidential elections.

Billionaire boxer-politician Rep. Manny Pacquiao

Thus, as early as now, we are already seeing politicians of all colors sashaying towards the political platform of UNA for political expediency.

Political expediency is a move that makes it politically advantageous for a politician or a party for that matter, rather than for what is right or just. It is a self-serving political action.

We have political strategy and we have political stratagem.

Politicians, for instance, like re-electionist senator Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero, come-backing former senators Ernesto Maceda and Juan Miguel Zubiri and senatorial aspirant Zambales representative Mitos Magsaysay are joining UNA as their political strategy in achieving their vision of becoming senators of the realm in the 2013 elections. They need a party that could assure their victory in the coming 2013 elections, thus, fulfilling their political ambitions. Even billionaire boxer-politician Rep. Manny Pacquiao has sought to be under the umbrella of UNA for political expediency, although everybody knows that his popularity and wealth will surely get him to where he wants to go politically.

Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia

On the other hand, we are also aware that Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia has been invited and, in fact, has already accepted the proposal of no less than Vice President Jejomar Binay to run as a senatorial candidate under UNA in the coming 2013 elections.

The difference, however, is that not only is she using UNA as a political strategy, but she is also complementing her candidacy with political stratagem.

For how else could one describe Gwen’s move of transferring her voter’s registration to Barili in the 3^rd congressional district as a confirmation of her earlier political revelation that running for a congressional seat is one of her options?

What this means is that if she feels it is an uphill battle for her among the senatorial candidates to be assuredly elected, then she could always slide down and run instead for congress filling up the position to be vacated by her younger brother, Rep. Pablo John Garcia.

Now, this is what you call political stratagem – a cleverly contrived trick for gaining an end.

This is political opportunism of the first order.

 

Political opportunists

 

UNA: the result of Binay-Estrada alliance

Election year 2013 is still too far out and 2016 is even farther, yet as early as now what is hugging the limelight in all types of media are about politicians, in both local and national levels, mouthing their political plans, making political tie-ups and seeking political blessings.

Forget that the country has a serious diplomatic row with China at the Western Philippine Seas over the sovereignty of the Scarborough Shoal and the country is threatened by the number of armed Chinese vessels deployed to the area of conflict where we feel we are the legal claimant.

That issue could wait. It can take a back seat while politicians are busy participating in political calisthenics. They don’t want to miss the opportunity, therefore, timing it right and seizing the moment is all that matters for any crafty politician.

The opportunity is nothing but political expediency.

Political expediency is a move that makes it politically advantageous for a politician or a party for that matter, rather than for what is right or just. It is a self-serving political action.

Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism, put it in a better perspective by describing it this way: When virtue is lost, benevolence appears, when benevolence is lost right conduct appears, when right conduct is lost, expedience appears. Expediency is the mere shadow of right and truth; it is the beginning of disorder.

The most publicized political alliance in the country today is that of Vice President Jejomar Binay’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) and former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada’s Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).

The new party name given to this coalition is United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

Whether the UNA will evolve into a political party that will represent the opposition against President Benigno Aquino’s Liberal Party or not will mainly depend on how solid or shaky their personal partnership is in running the government.

Many political pundits have expressed their opinion that the two political leaders will inevitably have parting of ways.

Having different political platforms will only hasten their parting, no doubt about it.

It is the alliance of to these two well known populist leaders that is so enticing to the new aspiring politicians and to some ‘comebacking’ politicians, who wants to ride on the popularity of Estrada and Binay.

Not only that.

UNA, being the grand opposition party in the offing, is poised to go into union with other political parties, like those of Danding Cojuangco’s Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Sen. MannyVillar’s Nacionalista Party (NP), and Sen. Edgardo Angara’s Laban ngDemokratikong Pilipino (LDP).

Again, what else but for political and party expediency.

It is also a looming formidable party especially for the 2016 presidential election when Binay, who mince no words of his desire to become president, will run.

What they are careful about is to avoid being construed that UNA has also forged alliances with former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s party, the Lakas-Kampi-CMD. It will only doom their fate.

What is interesting, however, is that former Arroyo loyalists have already joined the bandwagon of UNA and are already given prospective slots for the senatorial race in 2013. We are talking here of Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri and Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, a well known GMA apologist.

We have political opportunists and we have political opportunists.

Recycled politicians and political opportunists, to name a few, like Ernesto Maceda, Francisco Tatad, Richard Gordon, Jamby Madrigal should no longer be shown that window of opportunity. They had been there before.

Let us stop being fooled by political opportunists.

Please.