| 23 March 2010
Sid R., in response to our “SNOWFLAKE Campaign”, emailed all his friends cautioning them to “make sure their sources are reliable” and gave the link below to a New York Times article entitled: - “For a Philippine Political Family, Land Issue Hits Home”.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/world/asia/15phils.html
In essence, the article is about the connection of Noynoy Aquino’s family with the HACIENDA LUISITA land distribution dispute.
To add to our readers’ misgivings about reliability of sources, a forwarded email (that I previously received and commented on) was not, it appears, written by Prof. Winnie Monsod, the resident analyst for GMA TV News.
She said that this circulating email, “Why I will vote for Noynoy.” was a hoax and asked the person who wrote it ‘to stand up and be counted’. Then, to set the record straight, she said, “Now, just a disclaimer, I’m not pro-Manny Villar, one of the presidential hopefuls in the Philippine elections this 2010. Truth be told, I’m leaning more towards a different candidate although, unfortunately, I won’t be able to cast my vote because I’m not eligible anymore. So I am not writing this entry in defence of Manny. I still don’t like him and I don’t trust him.”
Reviewing the above, the facts are: -- Fact 1: Manny Villar used his position as Senate Finance Chairman to build the C-5 Extension. But he refused to go to a Senate Investigation relating to it, claiming that the senators were singling him out. (What a wimp, he cannot even face his own kind of music!)
- Fact 2: Former President Cory Aquino failed in her attempt to land redistribution. The NY Times article also says that the lawmakers, most of who come from landowning families, included loopholes in the legal wording of the program; so much so, that landlords have been able to find all sorts of ways and means to recover their land. (This is not unusual, considering the recent Supreme Court decision to allow PGMA to appoint the successor to Chief Justice Renato Puno. Our laws are intentionally or unintentionally riddled with loopholes).
- Fact 3: Noynoy Aquino announced in an interview that “the family” would transfer the land to the farmers after ensuring that debts were paid off, and adding, “It will be theirs clear and free.” (The question is not ‘will he do it?’ the question is ‘can he do it?’. His cousin, Fernando Cojuangco, the C.E.O. of the holding company that owns the plantation, says, “No, we’re not going to transfer the land to the farmers.”)
“To transfer, or not to transfer, that is the question!”
As I have mentioned in the previous articles, all our politicians, i.e., the seasoned ones, are corrupt in one way or another. However, boycotting the election is self-defeating and also unpatriotic; so we are left with two choices: - either to vote for the lesser of two evils or vote for honest candidates who will have very little support and will also have ‘Big-Time’ opponents; if, and when, they get into power.
Whichever way we decide, all that Philjury needs is that we then send our own SNOWFLAKES to whoever we vote for as President, Vice-President, Senators or any other position. A single or two SNOWFLAKES will not matter at all. However, an avalanche of persistent SNOWFLAKES will cause havoc and will be noticed not just by our politicians and media but also by the Supreme Court, the COMELEC and most importantly, by the Filipino People all over the world.
The Senators play an important role in the future of our country. Please choose the ones who have our country’s best interest at heart.
Congressman Ruffy Biazon, son of Senator Rodolfo Biazon, is vying for a seat in the senate. In his blog, http://ruffybiazon.blogspot.com, he presented a worst case scenario where, “Noynoy Aquino could be a Hostaged President”. Please read and decide whether to support him.
In an article I have written, “Why the Filipinos need Trial by Jury”, I established the need for GOOD GOVERNANCE PLUS A JURY SYSTEM. Assuming the lesser of two evils wins, he will need the support of the Senate who will fight with him and not against him. LET US GIVE THEM THE FIGHTING CHANCE, because even if they support the incorporation of a jury system, its passage into law will be met with strong opposition from the Weak-Willed and the Doubters.
VOTE WISELY. PLEASE SEND YOUR CANDIDATES YOUR SNOWFLAKES.