I have been wanting to write this post. But I have been swamped with work and other stuff that I didn't have time. I wanted this post to be fair and me writing at the end of my day, tired, pissed and ready to explode, will not produce a fair entry. But today the cosmos conspired. The day is pleasant, it's a Friday and a holiday, I have a little money in my account and the cheesecakes are free at Starbucks. It all said, go get a double brownie fudge cheesecake and some tea, then sit your ass and write. So here I am, writing.
I am for Villar. If you have visited my page anytime in the month, I am sure you'll see that's pretty obvious. Why? Why will I vote for someone who used his influence to apparently change the C5 plans so it will pass through his properties? Why should I vote for someone who lied about his brother dying and him being poor?
(FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not paid by Villar, nor do I want him to. I am in no way related to him, though that will be cool. I am Facebook friends with Maryrose Villar, through the Tropang Zamboanga page. My cheesecake was courtesy of Starbucks, and I paid for the tea myself.)
I will begin by saying that when I go to the supermarket and buy tomato sauce, there is a reason why I pick up a can of Prego, or Del Monte and not Goody's Tom-A-To sauce. Because Prego and Del Monte have always worked for me. I'm a track record girl. For a spaghetti dinner I will cook for my mother-in-law, I put out the best I have. This is not the time for me to experiment with new brands. I will buy those brands because I know it's done well before.
If we were electing someone for say, Barangay Captain, it's fine to not give so much weight to track record, because that is the entry level. However, when you are voting for President, the highest position in the country, there is no room for experimentation. He better have a damned good track record, because if he messes up, it's going to affect a nice chunk of the decade.
Aquino simply does not have that track record. Okay, well he's gone through the motions of congress then senate, the same way we go through grade school and high school. But then again, did he ever make an impression while he was there? When did you last see him on television, rallying against a law he did not like? Corollary to that, when was the last time you saw him on television rallying for something he's FIGHTING for? I can tell you when. Never. In fact, he's never been in the limelight. He's not the smartest apple in the tree that is the senate. He was never interviewed to get his views on something, because well, he's never really had anything to say. And that's odd for a legislator. It's a red flag. A very bad sign. The only time we saw him again was when his mother died. And when he said he'll run. I hate to say it, but it really looks like he used his mother's death as a springboard.
Now Aquino is all "Ituloy natin ang laban..." but was he making "tuloy ang laban" four, five years ago? What laws or actions resulted from this effort? What laws did he pass to ensure that the freedom and democracy that his parents fought and died for is taken cared of? If he was really fighting the good fight his parents fought, why are we hearing this "ituloy ang laban" thing just now?
Villar has the background necessary for the job. He has a platform that is suited to for the presidency. He has passed laws (good job on the no smoking in public areas!) that have helped the average consumer (usage of recyclable materials in packaging, go green!), educational institutions (freedom of speech associations for students in higher education, digital education partnerships, creation of an institute for science and math) as well as small businesses and medical practice, among others. Now I know Aquino said the Philippines has too many laws that are not followed anyway and he doesn't want to add them? But heck, what kind of reason is that? There is a reason why you are a legislator...you MAKE legislation. Gah. Villar, he read the job description.
I'm tempted to discuss Aquino's medical record, but I realize it is in bad taste. So I will veer away from that if you promise me to be impartial about Villar's apparent lying about his poverty and about his brother's death until some documents are presented. I think it's a fair deal. After all, where are the documents, death certificate, ownership papers that will will verify these claims? The claims against Aquino are backed up by an actual document. So we'll wait for the anti-Villar documents to surface before I say anything further on this topic.
As for the C5 issue, it is carefully explained in his website www.mannyvillar.com.ph read it with an air of fairness and it actually makes damned good sense. On the matter of Luisita, however, how did Aquino respond? He didn't. This is a big issue for me. If you can't take of things in your backyard, you have no right to "take care" of other things, especially an already severely problematic country like ours.
I also do not agree with Aquino's plan to add years to basic education prior to college. He's going to add two to three years to basic education. I see that he is doing this to sort of pattern it to the educational system of western countries. First, western countries have junior high and middle school because they're only in school for a 7-8 months a year, not counting holidays and Christmas break, compared to the Philippines' 10 months. If you count it, the number of years or months that a western student is in school is almost the same as a student here. It's not about the number of years a student is in school. What we have now is good...it's the quality that's bad. Quality over quantity. Always. But we go back to the previous issue...did Aquino pass any laws to improve the quality of education? Will families have enough money to send their kids to three more years of school? They don't even have money to send their kids to first grade. We need more computers, more good teachers, more facilities for gifted students, cheaper private schools and better public schools. Better academic measurement standards. We need to give incentives to people taking up education, not frickin' nursing. I need to pay teachers better and on time. We don't need to put kids in middle school and junior high as a requirement.
Finally, we go to corruption. I'd like to say that Villar will not grow richer during his term, but that's not true. He has properties, businesses and other sources of income and if those are managed well, he will become richer. It's weird for us to expect him to become poor during his term. Duh. Following the same thought, Aquino will also become richer in office, because he is a shareholder of many properties. But will Villar become corrupt? Maybe. But I think that I'd rather vote for someone who has an ego big enough not to be pushed around and be pressured by other people in the palace. I'd rather vote for someone who has a big enough ego to not tolerate being told what to do. For me, that's Villar. He's a commander. You don't create large, successful companies by being a wimp. In my head, Villar has the presence, command and swagger to point his finger and say: "Get that bastard Ampatuan to jail now, finish that case in eight months." He's more the father figure, yes? Big, burly guy with a firm decision making skills. Aquino, more the bestfriend, sidekick material. But hey, I'm just saying.
We also cannot say Aquino will not be corrupt. So what is his parents are not corrupt? They're not him. He has never had power like that...unlike Villar who already has experience having absolute power in his companies. Thing is, we really don't know what Aquino is capable of. That's the problem. And I don't want to experiment.
Bottom line, Aquino was ill-prepared to take on a campaign for president. He's ill equipped to do the job. He is not his mother, he is not his father. If you're voting for Aquino, I don't want to know. Villar has many faults, sure, but Aquino has so many more lacks. Kulang. Hilaw. I'd vote Roxas over Aquino. Heck, I'd probably vote Jamby more than Aquino. Call me masa, because the truth is, earning less than 30k a month, I AM part of the masses. Except that I don't watch telenovelas.
Let's look at facts here. Let's not think with our emotions. I know people view Aquino as the pure-hearted innocent. But it's 2010, not 1986. We need more. I don't want to come to work in the morning and not be able to come home because there's a coup attempt in Ayala Avenue or wherever. If you cannot stomach Villar, vote for someone else, but please, not Aquino. If Aquino will win, I will seriously consider migrating to another country.
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