PNoy Government, Pork Barrel and Parliamentarism

Chilling here in my hotel in Hong Kong, arrived today to attend a full day round table discussion tomorrow on “Democracy – Past, Present and Future”, sponsored by the Lion Rock Institute, HK’s first and only free market think tank. Then on Sunday, some of us participants here will fly to Bangkok  to attend the Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia 2013 Conference on “Asia, Middle Income Trap and Economic Freedom”, Monday-Tuesday. I will post articles about these two events in the coming days.

Then checking my facebook, my article, Pork Barrel 8: Forum at DLSU Manila has attracted the attention of some guys hurting over my non-singing “halleluiah” to parliamentary form of government, in the “Kilos Pinoy” fb group. Some guys there dislike it too much, even if I am not singing “halleluiah” to a presidential form of government either. 

See the exchanges below, made only this afternoon. Copy-pasting everything, zero alteration, not even comma or period. Judge for yourself re attitude, arrogance, civility or lack of it. Notice for instance Nigel’s calling me Noynoy repeatedly. Implying something and in the process, showing his mental state.

This is 2,200+ words, 6 pages, enjoy.

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Nigel Pope I love how Noynoy Oplas voted for and campaigned for Aquino but now, suddenly, is lecturing everyone else on corruption in government being wrong.

Seriously, Noynoy, why did you vote for  noy?

Nonoy Oplas Nanggigigil si Pope, hehehe, bakit ba. Anyway, yes I voted for PNoy, the only liberal candidate in the 2010 elections though he's far out from being a classic liberal. The other candidates were more statist, more dangerous than him. But I did not go out campaigning hard for him.

Nigel Pope More statist? More dangerous?

He's an Aquino! That family - and the Cojuangcos - have been big state, pro-oligarch, pro-protectionist for GENERATIONS.

Seriously, mate, you really need to learn a bit more about the free market and small state movement if you think voting for  noy was the best option. Did you honestly think he would be any different that his execrable mother?

Vincent Blas https://www.facebook.com/photo.php...

Timeline Photos

By: Saint Cory Aquino of Hacienda Luisita

Nonoy Oplas My vote in 2010, none of your business. You crucify PNoy, fine, I'm not his spokesman, not an LP member, not a govt bureaucrat.

Nigel Pope It's not really my business... other than the fact that you sit there lecturing me and damning CoRRECT for not being free market enough for your tastes but...

YOU
ARE
AN
AQUINO
SUPPORTER.

That's hypocrisy. That's intellectual dishonesty. That's not coming to an argument with clean hands. That's the sort of cognitive dissonance with taints every argument you make.

You're a joke, Noynoy, just like your namesake whom you frittered away your vote to.

Also, Noynoy, now that you are revealed as a big state supporter, I am interested in knowing more about your new political party.

Is this a pork barrel thing?
Does your support for Aquino mean you are hopeful of attracting more pork?

Nonoy Oplas Commenting without reading. My blog post was actually an attack on the administration without naming it. Pork as bribe by the Exec to the Legislative so that wasteful and corrupt spending by the former will be tolerated by the latter. The current PNoy admin, past Gloria, Erap, FVR, Cory admins were all guilty of such pork bribery. Hence, I did not single out any admin as all of them were guilty of such wasteful, big govt spending.

Some guys are just groggy or hurting that some people are not convinced by their pol advocacies.

Vincent Blas ^You realize that they’re all guilty, and still you want to keep the Presidency?

Nonoy Oplas If you want to put Binay as successor to Pnoy now, fine, do it, should make you happy. 

Joseph Solís Alcayde In addition, Nonoy rather prefer to maintain the presidential system and its rigid "check and balance" system in which has to be supported with pork barrel.

Nigel Pope The difference, of course, is that  noy - whom you voted for - has turned his control over the pork barrel as a means of destroying constitutional government because, by bribing Congress on a wholesale basis, he has rendered himself immune to impeachment which only remedy this faulty, US-inspired Constitution allows.

That means there is no restraint over the power of the overweening big state... and that's what you voted for.

You come to this argument without clean hands.

At least Binay actually has some achievements to his name, and he has not destroyed the Constitution.

Nevertheless, that's a convenient straw man that  noy supporters love to throw around.

Vincent Blas So you’re going to let a criminal complete his term despite the fact that what he did was unconstitutional and let him go scot-free just because you don’t like Binay?

I marvel at your reasoning, words cannot express my disappointment in realizing there are people out there who think like you do. Apparently to you, some people are above the law.

Nigel Pope Exactly, Vincent.

Noynoy has just thrown up the favourite yellow straw man - "Yeah, we know Aquino is corrupt and incompetent but Binay is worse" - which has the same intellectual dishonesty and moral cowardice as  noy always blaming Gloria for everything that he cannot handle (which is everything).

Only in the Philippines can you give a talk warning against the expansion of government and also vote for the expansion of government.

It's like Aquino talking about the "Straight Path" and yet running the most corrupt maladministration since his mother was pretending to be president.

Nonoy Oplas Joseph, I wish that the 2014 budget should be P200 to P300 billion lesser than the proposed P2.268 trillion. The public debt, currently around P5.4 trillion, should stagnate at that level, preferably decrease. Problem is that almost all politicians, almost all NGOs, media leaders, dislike shrinking the government, they want BIG and growing govt. People are not talking about form of govt. They talk how the big should become bigger. Typical worship the state philosophy.

Nigel and Vincent, again, commenting without reading. In that blog post,
"8. Rule of law. One young and articulate faculty member of the DLSU College of Law in the audience asked if it can be proven that the President has used the P50 million pork barrel fund to bribe the Senators to convict former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Renato Corona, this can be a basis to impeach the President. I answered a quick Yes. One reason why there are lots of corruption in the government and even in certain non-government sectors (NGOs, business, media, etc.) is because people do not honor the rule of law. That the law applies equally to unequal people, no one is is exempted and no one can grant an exemption to the penalties by certain laws."

Vincent Blas ^You can’t claim to be for the rule of law, and not call for the President’s Impeachment.

Do we really have to explain the unconstitutionality of DAP for you?

Joseph Solís Alcayde Nonoy, as long as the political system which is the presidential-unitary and the economic system is protectionist 60/40 are still in place shrinking the size of the government is impossible at best.

Simple slashing the 2014 budget is like plastering a wound with a band-aid.

Vincent Blas How can you stomach supporting this clearly corrupt oligarch, and the system that keeps him and his kind in power?

Orion Pérez D. Nonoy Oplas --- I have a question for you. Please be honest...

Why is it that you supported Noynoy Aquino for President when in fact, he is totally against ECONOMIC LIBERALIZATION and is a true STATIST?

Additionally, why is it that you like to be hostile and aggressive in attacking fellow pro-Economic Liberalization groups such as the Foundation for Economic Foundation and the CoRRECT Movement, and others, when we are at the forefront of campaigning the removal of economic restrictions and also have been campaigning AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE?

I really don't get your style of choosing your alliances or whom you support.

NOYNOY AQUINO is totally anti-Economic Liberalization... Look at the recent news... http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/...

The South Koreans asked him to please remove the restrictions on foreign corporate ownership so that they can invest in the Philippines and help to create jobs for Filipinos. You know, the Koreans are sentimentally THANKFUL towards Filipinos because we helped them out during the KOREAN WAR when we sent in peacekeepers and army engineers to help them out against the Communists from the North.

But Noynoy Aquino rebuffed them! He gave a stupid answer saying "we don't need to remove economic restrictions because China has been able to attract investments despite having a ban on land ownership by foreigners."

Stupid, no? We're talking about 60/40 and other anti-FDI restrictions which are restrictions on CORPORATE/BUSINESS OWNERSHIP, and then YOUR NAMESAKE (almost namesake) then answers about LAND OWNERSHIP. Sablay talaga.

SO...

We all knew he was anti-economic liberalization EVER SINCE.

Why did you support NOYNOY AQUINO THE STATIST and anti-Free Market OLIGARCH, while on the other hand, you maliciously attack fellow Free Market advocates like the CoRRECT Movement and even the Foundation for Economic Freedom?

You even call us STATISTS when we are actually all pro-limited government.

Why the INCONSISTENCY and HYPOCRISY, Oplas?

Why, why, why?

PNoy says no to Chacha anew as he woos Korea Inc

www.abs-cbnnews.com

SEOUL—For the nth time, President Aquino thumbed down proposals to amend the Constitution, particularly economic provisions that restrict foreign ownership of businesses and land.

Nonoy Oplas Vincent, read again my point #8.
Joseph, I am not supporting the protectionist constitution. I wish that ALL sectors, all professions in the economy, should be open to foreign competition.
Orion, I attacked that statement by PNoy either in my wall or in some friends' wall. And I did not attack CORRECT, I criticize statists and socialists in general, no mention of any specific person or group. If you think the term applies to you or anybody else, it's your perception.

Vincent Blas ^ Are you for Pnoy's impeachment or aren't you? Simple question

Nonoy Oplas "8. Rule of law. One young and articulate faculty member of the DLSU College of Law in the audience asked if it can be proven that the President has used the P50 million pork barrel fund to bribe the Senators to convict former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Renato Corona, this can be a basis to impeach the President. I answered a quick Yes...."

Vincent Blas You seem to be missing the point. It doesn’t matter if DAP was used to bribe the senators, the mere EXISTENCE of DAP is UNCONSTITUTIONAL and is an IMPEACHABLE offense. If you have respect for the rule of law, you should be calling for his impeachment.

You’re defending the Presidency just because you don’t like Binay? Binay hasn't committed any impeachable offenses yet.

Nigel Pope Noynoy, I am reading before I comment.

It's just that it's hard to take your pro-free market comments seriously when you are a supporter of, and voter for, Aquino.

Which should I believe? The Noynoy who is speaking or the Noynoy who is voting and campaigning?

Nonoy Oplas Vincent, commenting without reading, again. Any statement above I made "defending" or singing halleluiah to PNoy, aside from my vote as of May 2010?
Nigel, again, commenting without reading. I wrote above that I attacked PNoy over his statement opposing charter change to remove econ protectionism, I attacked his govt's pork barrel bribery of the legislature. Why the repeated term "supporter". A refresher course on reading comprehension needed perhaps.

Joseph Solís Alcayde //Joseph, I am not supporting the protectionist constitution. I wish that ALL sectors, all professions in the economy, should be open to foreign competition.//

Nonoy, I agree that all sectors should be opened to 100% foreign competition and in fact, I am for 100% FDI in mining, oil and gas through concessions unlike the current forced 60/40 Production Sharing Agreement.

But on why you incline with the presidential-unitary system over parliamentary-federal system?

Why on earth you voted for your almost namesake, Noynoy Aquino, who is an anti-economic liberalization through constitution?

Vincent Blas "Nonoy Oplas If you want to put Binay as successor to Pnoy now, fine, do it, should make you happy."

Nonoy Oplas Joseph, also commenting without reading? Can you pinpoint any blog post or any comment I made in the past, "inclining with" presidential over parliamentary? I remain an agnostic ever since until now, about the form of govt.

Nigel Pope No, my reading comprehension is just fine, Noynoy.

I read where you voted for Aquino and where you thought he was the better candidate.

That's crazy talk! 

Vincent Blas Look who's moving the goal posts LOL

Nonoy Oplas thanks guys, will blog this exchange, wait for it ha, cheers.

Vincent Blas ^ Running away again

Nonoy Oplas not running away, giving you more readers outside of KP readers as I'll post all comments, cheers.

Vincent Blas ^ Make sure I can comment on it, it seems the reply button is missing for me on some of your threads. And I would very much like to counter the disinformation you’re spreading.

Nonoy Oplas my problem too, some friends complained why they can't comment, dont understand some features of blogger.com. But my policy is that ALL comments are allowed.