WE lament the position of candidates [Joker] Arroyo, [John] Osmeña and [Tessie] Oreta
against the completion of CARP [Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program].

Apparently, except for Osmeña and Oreta who are consistent anti-CARP advocates, Mr. Arroyo is either misinformed or has not appreciated the facts well. CARP is a social justice program which has a significant impact on the political, social and economic inequalities pervading in the countryside. It aims to break the rural poverty trap, the political exclusions of rural folks, and the skewed agrarian relations that exploit rather than protect poor and hapless tenants, farmers and farmworkers.

Ironically, it is a revolutionary measure that breathes in a democratic environment. And while it started as a centerpiece program of the government, its budgetary and enforcement support can, at best, be described as palliative. CARP is not just land reform. It includes the whole package of support services that would ensure land productivity and fair economic development of farmer-beneficiaries.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

I APPEAL to all Filipino voters not to vote for all candidates endorsed by religious leaders/celebrities.

It’s about time we realize that every voter has to come up with his own candidates through his own volition.

Candidates must also realize that endorsement may bring them down. Bulok na sistema, baguhin na!

– Nes Baricante, Hong Kong (via e-mail)

HERE’S a video of Ex-Navy Lieutenant Antonio Trillanes IV saying he would support moves to impeach President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo if he is elected to the Senate.

Video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Joel Guinto, who conducted the interview inside Trillanes’ detention cell on April 23.

THE SPOTLIGHT may be on Manny Pacquiao, but other sports stars are also running for public office in the May elections, including Yeng Guiao and Jerry Codiñera.

Here’s an excerpt from the Philippine Daily Inquirer article:

Even Jerry Codiñera, named one of the 25 All-Time Best Players in the pro league, has joined the political fray as a nominee of Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA), a party-list group that advocates sports development and the welfare of national athletes.

“Honestly, many politicians have invited me way back,” Codiñera says. “But when a friend conceptualized putting up a party-list for athletes, I could not say no. I have relatives and friends who don’t like the idea. But it’s for the welfare of the athletes. I don’t want to think it’s [just for] politics.”

CRITICIZING the government’s “double standard,” Senator Joker Arroyo has called for the release of Representative Crispin Beltran and Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes after former Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan was released on bail.

Here’s an excerpt from the INQUIRER.net story:

“If Gringo can be released, why not Congressman Crispin Beltran? There is a double standard here,” Arroyo said. “The government did not oppose too much Gringo’s application for bail but opposes strongly that of Beltran. Why?”

Arroyo pointed out that Honasan, Beltran, and Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes are all candidates in the May 14 local elections. Honasan is an independent senatorial candidate, Beltran is a party-list nominee, while Trillanes, who is also in jail for being one of the leaders of the same mutiny, is seeking a Senate seat under the United Opposition.