Election 19, On Grace Poe's renewables coercion

Ahh, Sen. and Presidential candidate Grace Poe wants us to pay for more expensive electricity from intermittent, unstable power sources. Must be upon the prodding of her ecological socialist adviser Tony la Vina, among other reasons. One more reason I won't vote for her then.

She's dependent on mostly the Ateneo group. While Ciel Habito makes sense in economics, Tony la Vina is clearly socialist and central planner -- in some instances in the past, he posted things praising socialism and forced equality -- in energy and environment policy, can be her DENR Sec. if she wins. 

Meanwhile, people should walk their talk. If they love solar and wind, then they should do it on their own, pay for the high price, NOT coerce, force, arm-twist everyone else to subsidize expensive power via higher monthly electricity bills. This renewables coercion and dictatorship will make our already "2nd most expensive electricity prices in Asia" (next to Japan) to become even more expensive -- via FIT, RPS, mandatory dispatch to the grid.

If we have to follow renewables coercion, that we should embrace wind, solar, biomass asap, we should have massive, large-scale black out in the whole Luzon grid. Data from DOE as of mid-2015. ACTUAL electricity output from wind, solar, biomass in Luzon was only 1%. At Meralco franchise area, those renewables' share is zero, nada.

So if people love their 24/7 electricity, they will realize that mandatory, forcible, coercive renewables is NOT the answer. http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Opinion...

 

Expensive electricity from renewables, actual numbers, are shown in a chart and table here, cases of Germany, UK and the PH, http://sparkbyadri.com/.../feed-in-tariff-fit-means-more.... 

Grace Poe wants huge, energy-intensive manufacturing companies to be located in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, create tens of thousands of high-skilled jobs there, then they can export to the PH at zero tariff anyway.

The largest solar farm in Southeast Asia so far is in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, my hometown. Rated capacity about 132 MW. This means... more expensive electricity for Negros and the Visayas grid. Coal and natural gas can give us electricity at P4-5/kWh (sometimes less than P4), zero electricity uncertainty. Solar automatic P9+/kWh, and very erratic. Zero output for 12 hours at night, bet 1% to 65% capacity factor at day time. I recognize though the job creation + real estate taxes contribution of that solar farm in Cadiz.

But if people want more industrial zones, more manufacturing plants, more hotels in Cadiz and Negros, they need coal and natural gas, not solar or wind. With or without the Sun, with or without the wind, the elevators, lights and air-con in hotels and industrial parks must run, 24/7.

Among the other Presidentiables, they all seem to be supporting more renewables, but I  was surprised to read that Rodrigo Duterte is openly and explicitly supporting coal. He even lambasted the UN and Al Gore hypocrisy in forcing renewables in developing countries like the Philippines.

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See also:

Election PH 16, The Presidentiables and the Iglesia militants, August 29, 2015 

Election PH 17, Questions for Binay, Poe and Roxas, September 20, 2015 

Election 18, On Duterte's killing field of 1,700 murders, December 09, 2015

Election PH 17, Questions for Binay, Poe and Roxas

Reposting (with permission) some comments and questions by a friend, JB Baylon, posted in his fb wall. Then my additional comments below. The photos I got from the web, added here and not part of JB's original posting.
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September 13. 

There is something wrong with headlines of news items about the LP.

This one says Sec Mar's mom stopped a party leader from quitting. Another one says PNoy has chosen Leni Roberedo to be the running mate.

Excuse me. It is Sec Mar who is the candidate now. It should be he who is making these decisions - or at the very least delegating to others the making of these decisions. He needs to be seen as his own man now - and these headlines are not helping. Either the stories are not accurate - or something has to change in the way the LP makes its decisions.

We want to know that we will be voting for Mar Roxas the man qualified to be President -- not for PNoy the soon former President, or Judy Roxas the mother of the candidate for President for goodness' sake!

September 19.

ISSUES I THINK THE THREE CANDIDATES HAVE TO ANSWER: (SHARE IF YOU AGREE!)

As a political science student, and looking at our three declared candidates, these are what i would like to ask them in a public forum:

To Vice President Binay: how do you respond to all the allegations of corruption beyond claiming they're politically motivated? Why is your close associate Mr Limlingan still unaccounted for till now? Could he by any chance be on the space shuttle to Mars?

To Secretary Roxas: why should I vote for you given your dismal record at the DOTC and the unremarkable record at the DILG? You claim that politics never figured in your work, but what about the Yolanda brouhaha with the Tacloban Mayor? And the fact that the President sidelined you on Mamasapano - isn't that a reflection on the amount of trust - or lack of it - that he has in you?

To Senator Grace Poe - the citizenship issue aside, you have the thinnest public service record among the three candidates. We require commercial pilots to have a certain number of flight hours before we entrust them with a commercial aircraft. I will not agree to being operated on by a fresh graduate of Medicine. Explain to me why in your case we the voters are effectively being asked to put our trust in someone who in other professions wouldn't be the lead and yet is aspiring for the Presidency of the Republic!

Now aren't these the questions we should be pressing on our candidates???

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And here are my questions to the three declared Presidential candidates.

For VP Jojo Binay: You promise more subsidies, more welfare programs nationwide if elected President and yet you also support cutting income tax rates. How do you plan to sustain the budget for more welfarism without resorting to higher taxes elsewhere plus endless borrowings? Or you are silent about your hidden plan to raise taxes elsewhere and continue endless borrowings?

For Sen. Grace Poe: Lots of questions about your citizenship, you voluntarily gave up your PH citizenship (to become a US citizen) and reacquired it later. Your kids remain US citizens until now. Answer those questions convincingly. And you justified the Iglesia illegal, stupid occupation of Edsa for 3D/3N that created heavy traffic, cancelled flights, meetings for many people. Do you still justify the Iglesia bullying and arrogance?

For Sec. Mar Roxas: DOTC during and after your term (succeeded by another LP leader Sec. Jun Abaya) is lousy, inefficient and corrupt. I don't even have a plastic driver's license, don't have that new car license plate until now, after fully paying for them last May and April, respectively. As a Liberal leader, do you intend to keep the current BIG and bureaucratic government size, or trim it down?

Pahabol kay VP Binay: You are lying when you repeatedly declared in your provincial sorties that "you made Makati rich" in your nearly 30 years leadership (you, your wife, young son Junjun). What, Makati before was poor and you made it rich??? First time I set foot in Makati as a probinsyano from Negros Occidental was in 1980. I saw the high rise buildings, clean streets of Ayala ave. and surrounding areas. Makati was already rich even before you were appointed as OIC Mayor. 

Please stop your lies, VP Binay.

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See also:

Election 13, Bernard Ong's Analysis, June 21, 2015 

Election 14, The Middle Earth of PH Politics, by Doy Romero, June 24, 2015 

Election PH 15, Who's the least welfarist?, August 07, 2015 

Election PH 16, The Presidentiables and the Iglesia militants, August 29, 2015

Election PH 15, Who's the least welfarist?

Yesterday during the Ateneo Eagle Watch briefing, the third speaker was Rappler's Maritess Danguilan-Vitug. Her talk was about "Scenarios for 2016."

She talked mainly about the four leading candidates. I mix her 2 slides in one image here, to save space.

Personally, I can support Sen. Grace Poe's candidacy as her being a "newbie" or "inexperienced" means being inexperienced in heavy political populism and welfarism, or corrupting the minds of the public that they can be less responsible about their lives, anyway government will do many things for them, from education and books for the poor, healthcare and medicines for the poor, to housing and relocation for the poor, to cash transfer and condoms for the poor, to iPad and cars for the poor, soon?

Mar Roxas used to be free market-leaning, then  he became populist as he was getting desperate in 2009 for his 2010 Presidential ambition. How he can go back to being market-friendly is a big question mark. But at least he's not involved in large-scale corruption and robbery scandals. But his wife, ahh.... no comment.

Jojo Binay, definitely corrupt, can  surpass Marcos robbery if he becomes President. From a bright, poor human rights lawyer until February 1986, he was appointed by former President Cory as OIC Mayor of Makati in  March 1986, he and his family taught that Makati City is their political kingdom forever. They got very rich, super rich, and they are not  known for any fair business acumen, just being in dirty politics.

Duterte, at one time I thought that he is mentally sick because the words "Patayin", "barilin","kill", were too frequent in his mouth. I thought that  only very violent minds can say those things, repeatedly, in national media, and not feeling  sorry about it. I can understand  the impatience of many Filipinos that there are too  many rotten  eggs in government, both local and national, both civilian and armed, including the businessmen they are protecting. But resorting to  outright murders, state-sponsored murders, is not the way to address it.

Ok, who's the least welfarist, least enamored to BIG government, big and many taxes and borrowings, more regulations and  permits, of these 4 or  more Presidential candidates?

Hard to answer that. But maybe Grace Poe and Mar Roxas, maybe. But definitely not Binay.
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See also:

Market Reforms in the 2016 Elections, May 25, 2015

Election 11, Dr. Doy Romero on Binay, Roxas and Grace Poe, June 01, 2015 

Election 12, JV Bautista and Toilet Politics, June 05, 2015 

Election 13, Bernard Ong's Analysis, June 21, 2015 

Election 14, The Middle Earth of PH Politics, by Doy Romero, June 24, 2015

Election 14, The Middle Earth of PH Politics, by Doy Romero

The Presidential and local elections in the Philippines are just 10 1/2 months away. Generally it will be a battle between which side of Big Government advocates will prevail. Nonetheless, we can delineate or distinguish them which side will advance Big Government + Big Private Monopolies and Oligopolies, vs. Big Government + Competitive Economy.

I think the old and traditional politicians like VP Binay belong to the former while newbies like Sen. Grace Poe may belong to the later, am not sure.

What about good governance? For me, Big Government = bad governance There is little or no justification why bureaucracies, regulations, permits, taxes, fees, fines, mandatory contributions, etc. should be as many as possible.

In the absence of a political party in this country that advocates limited and small government, free marketers like me can only compromise with candidates or political parties that somehow advocate more economic freedom and less monopolies, oligopolies, which are always created by government via Constitutional restrictions and franchising system.

This article by my former Prof. in a Political Science subject in UP Diliman in the 80s, Dr. Segundo "Doy" Romero, is another sharp analysis and can help guide voters who among the different political parties and factions can advance more economic freedom and who can oppose it. Sir Doy posted this in his fb wall, reposting with his permission.

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The Battle for "Middle Earth" Begins

 Dr. Segundo Romero

June 24, 2015

The resignation of Jejomar Binay from the Cabinet of President Aquino is a declaration of war. Now the campaign for the Presidency in 2016 is unofficially open. The battle lines are drawn. Consolidation of forces begin.

The Binay declaration of war is timed to prevent other opposition contenders from prematurely declaring and committing themselves to the fight for the Presidency. If they do, it will take time and a lot of resources before they and their core supporters can be cajoled to give up their presidential ambitions and agree to put themselves behind Binay. That would waste at least six months of preparation for and conduct of war.

Now that Binay is the default leading opposition contender, he can now begin to consolidate the fragmented opposition. He is hopeful despite the polls showing he is steadily losing the people's favor, for he finds himself in fertile opposition ground. PNoy has so changed the political landscape that he has created powerful enemies among the traditional elite and political families. These families, while themselves competitors and rivals for slices of political and economic power, are willing to set that aside at this time, just to bring back the old rules of the game of politics where they perform exceedingly well..

Jejomar Binay is the man for this nostalgic return to the status quo ante, the return to the good old days. There is no doubt He is open to negotiation. He is an astute cobbler of win-win situations with political factions and other parochial tribes. So, he will be busy building the forces of the future Binay empire, selling shares of stock to the following, who must now be eagerly waiting to make deals with him:

Class A: The Core Ex-Presidential families

1. The Macapagal-Arroyo family and loyalists

2. The Estrada family and loyalists

3. The Marcos family and loyalists

Class B: The "Penumbra" Dynasties, such as

4. The Enrile family and loyalists

5. The Bong Revilla family and loyalists

Class C: The Issue advocates, such as

6. The "progressive" groups who have been calling on PNoy to resign

7. The various opponents of the Tuwid na Daan in the government

8. The various opponents of the Tuwid na Daan in the private business sector

9. The passionate advocates or opponents of very specific policies (FOI, BBL, CCT, K-12) who are disaffected

Class D: The Spurned Supporters

10. The various enthusiasts of the Tuwid na Daan who have been variously slighted, rejected, abandoned, and now decry what they claim to be the Baluktot na Daan

Class E Middle Earth

At this early point, there is also a big chunk of the electorate who are unattentive, just observers or hecklers of the passing political scene, who are yet uncommitted, perhaps as much as 60 percent of the electorate. The polls show they are the voters who are lower in socio-economic status and farther from Manila. They are in the middle between the Binay camp and the Poe camp. They are the Middle Earth.

This is a source of hope for Binay. The Binay touch had shown wonders here in the 2010 elections, using local government officials and leaders to transact electoral support the way cobradors of jueteng fan out to the countryside.

Binay's assets are frozen and, under the watchful eye of the public, cannot be renewed or augmented through public coffers as in the past. He needs the subscription of various investors and stakeholders to his campaign.

His promises will be weighty, because Grace Poe, will not be willing to enter into these sweetheart deals, using the Presidential prerogatives as a futures commodity to be traded.

The reason Grace Poe has edged Binay from the presidential preference polls is that she has served as the consolidation point for all those who advocate for continued good governance and rejection of corruption.

The Binay declaration of war simply creates a parallel, symmetric consolidation around two opposite poles -- the experienced but tainted, the inexperienced but principled.

For the first time since the Ferdinand Marcos-Cory Aquino face-off in 1986, we will have another face-off between just two major opponents -- Binay and Grace Poe. .Any other candidate will serve to be a muddler -- serving only to draw votes from any of these two primary contending forces. Mar Roxas and Duterte are in this category.

SWS and Pulse Asia, working independently but validating each other's reading of the people's political pulse, will ensure that no politicians will be blinded with illusory hopes of personal grandeur.

With social media as the new powerful channel of information between candidate and voter, the 2016 elections will be the neatest, sharpest reflection of the people's will in a long, long, time.

It will tell us whether the Filipino people essentially judge on the basis of the "aliwalas ng mukha" factor, or the "lalim ng bulsa" factor.

For the first time since Cory Aquino, the Philippines is poised to have a majority president in 2016. The question is, Binay or Poe? I already have my answer, and it makes me smile.

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See also:

Election 10: Comelec Critics and Commissioner Luie Guia, December 26, 2015 

Market Reforms in the 2016 Elections, May 25, 2015

Election 11, Dr. Doy Romero on Binay, Roxas and Grace Poe, June 01, 2015 

Election 12, JV Bautista and Toilet Politics, June 05, 2015 

Election 13, Bernard Ong's Analysis, June 21, 2015

Election 13, Bernard Ong's Analysis

I do not want to do serious political analysis of the coming May 2016 Presidential, Senatorial and local elections in the Philippines for several reasons. First, my hands are full  with other papers to write and I often miss deadlines. Second, there is no single free market-leaning national candidate or political party. And third, there are so many analysts of this subject around, it is entertaining to read them, from the sensical ones to the absurd. 

So I resort to reposting the ideas of some friends whom I think make useful analysis. Below, some random thoughts posted by a friend way back from UP Diliman in the 80s, Bernard Ong, in his fb wall. Reposting these with his permission.

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June 16:  

Serge Osmena is the premier campaign strategist of the Philippines. Local version of Karl Rove or David Axelrod. He saved the Pnoy candidacy in 2010. Villar was polling well vs Pnoy, until Serge took over the campaign management & messaging.

Here's what he has to say for 2016: Grace Poe should run as an independent. She can win w/o a party. Like Miriam or Roco before, plus the FPJ magic. Poe should drop Chiz. He will be a baggage to Poe for people who don't like him.

Exactly my thoughts. The added bonus is she can govern w/o political debts afterward. Our current party system is a joke - local parties are mainly a mix between personality cult, marketplace for exchanging political favors, and exclusive club for rich families.

June 18-20: 

Binay went to 3 markets in Antipolo - shaking hands, asking for votes, giving away wheelchairs & T-shirts with his face & slogan. Typical trapo & epal stuff. HIndi daw campainging. Part daw ng kanyang official duties (which are Housing & OFWs).

Law on premature campaigning is flawed. It only covers acts after one files his candidacy. Any campaigning before that is allowed. It should be amended to cover retroactive acts by eventual candidates. Meanwhile we should not vote those who use technicalities to go around the spirit of the law. Like this thief & liar.
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Biggest gainers in lastest survey: Poe & Duterte. Biggest losers: Binay & Others. Shortlist seems to be Poe, Duterte, Binay, Roxas (unless he drops out). Erap only comes in if Binay can't run. Otherwise, he "endorses" Binay but his followers vote FPJ/Poe.

Poe can win this 1-on-1. Or 1-on-3. Duterte not so because of narrower base & appeal. Nice to have both "outsiders" trending positively. Major parties (UNA & LP) should be on panic mode. All the e-pal, premature campaigning & preemptive strikes aren't working. Probably thinking of Plan B which is PCOS & Smartmatic.

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Drilon said "No party convention needed. Mar is the man." Good. I'd like Mar to run for President. It will cure his itch & redistribute some of that fabled Roxas-Araneta-Ayala wealth.

More important, it will keep Grace Poe free of Liberal Party baggage. Beyond May 2016, those responsible for PDAF, DAP & Mamasapano should be held accountable. Without political debts to worry about.

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"A P-Noy endorsement of Roxas is clearly a secret vote for Binay. Roxas is one weak challenger to Binay and it is doubtful public sentiment will drastically change."

It is Poe vs Binay now. I've said this before: Poe can beat Binay 1 on 1. Poe can beat Binay + Roxas + Duterte 1 on 3. Machinery is over-rated. The game has changed.

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Binay's preemptive strikes (residency, citizenship) & half-baked apologies backfired big time. It firmed up Poe's resolve. And changed the storyline from Binay-vs-Others (where he had a comfortable lead) to Binay-vs-Poe. Or more accurately Looter-vs-Orphan. Unwinnable for him without Smartmatic intervention.

In effect, Binay annointed Poe to be the anti-Binay alternative. Drove most of the "Anybody But Binay" millions into one candidate. Under the spotlight, Poe parried the attacks skillfully. And now we have Poe-vs-the-Rest. Salamat Toby Tiangco!

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Personally, I wish that Sen. Grace Poe will run for President. Her being a "newbie" compared to Binay, Roxas, Duterte, Estrada, etc. is for me, an advantage. It means less political baggage and old compromises. When a candidate is financially- and politically-indebted to certain economic interests, it  is hard to decline their political and business "requests." Thus, it is easier for that "newbie" to further advance trade and investment liberalization in the country than candidates who were long indebted or engaged to local monopolists, duopolists and oligopolists.
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See also:

Election 9: India's Political Dynasties vs. Democracy, April 21, 2014 

Election 10: Comelec Critics and Commissioner Luie Guia, December 26, 2015 

Market Reforms in the 2016 Elections, May 25, 2015

Election 11, Dr. Doy Romero on Binay, Roxas and Grace Poe, June 01, 2015 

Election 12, JV Bautista and Toilet Politics, June 05, 2015

Election 12, JV Bautista and Toilet Politics

This Inquirer report yesterday elicited laughter and jeers from many people, even  from non-supporters of Sen. Grace Poe.

From that report, it says,

“A foundling by definition is stateless,” Bautista said.
 Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal has said Poe is considered a Filipino and a natural-born citizen under the United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
 But Bautista said that the Philippines was not a signatory to the UN convention.
 “There are only acts of compliance by the Philippine government to the convention but we are not a signatory so it never cured the statelessness of a foundling,” Bautista said.

I shared that news in  my fb wall with this joke: "From what I heard, yong 90% octane + 5% rugby + 5% rubbing alcohol ang nasinghot ni JV Bautista before he made this press con, hehehe."

At least 10 of my fb friends shared that story ahead of me and made these comments in their respective fb walls:

1. The PDEA should be alerted on the strong stuff these UNA guys are having. Oh boy. -- Gus.

2. This makes Grace Poe more popular and appealing. -- Aiken

3. My heart goes out to Grace and all other children who long to know their biological parents. But I pity more those whose parentage are known with certainty. Sons of bitches. -- Ethel

4. Am-Poe-nin si Grace... with apologies to former Senator Saguisag... -- Tomas

5. Atty jv i thought i knew you... i don't! Talk to the Marines. Where is your humanity? I suggest it is time you go searching and shut your big mouth! Shame on you! As if foundlings and stateless persons have no rights and are not humans like me and the rest! I have doubts about you... kunsensiya ba meron ka??? -- Reyes

6. These are freaking idiots... -- Rike

7. ayaw ko na sana i-share kasi mainit pa ulo ko pero, sige na nga, para makatulong na matalo sila...yan talaga ang issue mo? may kinalaman ba yan sa kakayahan mamuno? -- Byron

8. Wala ka ring bang kinalaman sa pinagsasasabi nitong isa pang bark dog mo, Nay-Bi? -- Joji

9. Mga walanghiya talaga ang mga miyembro ng UNA.  Pinaka-maruming TraPo!  Huwag pansinin, huwag iboto! -- Estong

10. magandang idea yan: "Orphan adopted by d King becomes new president" -- Gibet

A friend, Todd, commented on my fb status,

Nothing enhances the credentials of a self proclaimed peace activist and human rights lawyer more than going after a women because she's adopted. Is this Bautista guy as much of a fraud in all his dealings, as he is with this issue?

I think persons with some attention deficit problem would utter such type of attacks on the lady Senator. It was not her fault that she was simply adopted, not her fault that her biological parents are not found or never bothered to come out until  now. The main issue in PH Elections 2016 is the capability and integrity of politicians aspiring to become the next President of the Philippines just 11 months  from now.  JV Bautista's concerns are toilet politics, low-life demolition and personal attacks.

Lastly, I saw a new "theory" re JVBautista's inhaler when  he uttered those remarks, a joke of course:

"katol or sunog na chinelas na china-made."

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See also:

Election 8: Growth, Debt and the 2013 Polls, May 30, 2013 

Election 9: India's Political Dynasties vs. Democracy, April 21, 2014 

Election 10: Comelec Critics and Commissioner Luie Guia, December 26, 2015

Election 11, Dr. Doy Romero on Binay, Roxas and Grace Poe, June 01, 2015

Election 11, Dr. Doy Romero on Binay, Roxas and Grace Poe

The Presidential and national + local elections in the Philippines are just 11 months away. I am reposting below a commentary, a good analysis, from a political scientist who does real political science analysis and shares his frank ideas in facebook and social media, Dr. Segundo "Doy" Romero. He was my former teacher in Pol. Science 14 (PH politics and government) in UP Diliman, sometime in 1983 or 84. 

Copy-pasting with zero alteration, from his raw and informal posting in his fb wall the  other day. The photos I got from the web and adding them here.

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1. On VP Jojo Binay:

BINAY FOR PRESIDENT! Part of the wisdom of the Filipino people is their ability to gravitate towards personalities that have that quality they need in a leader during specific periods in the nation's life. Charisma brings magic to the way a presidential candidate and the people find themselves invigorating each other. Even now, people remember fondly Ramon Magsaysay, Corazon Aquino, and the would-be presidents who never were -- Ninoy Aquino, Fernando Poe, and Jesse Robredo. When there is no charisma, when there is a nagging suspicion of pandaraya o pagnanakaw, It takes a lot of money to buy the people's favor when it is not there. That Manny Villar found out in 2010. I hope Jejomar Binay gets the chance to find out for himself in 2016, so that he will have a way of giving back to the people what his family has creatively appropriated for themselves, in the thought that like in war, elections are a matter of preparing a large enough war chest. Let us not dissuade Binay from running from President in 2016. Our people would know how to put him in his right place.

2. On Sec. Mar Roxas:

THE GREATEST DISSERVICE OF THE LIBERAL PARTY TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE ... is in continuing to half-heartedly promote the candidacy of Mar Roxas in the 2016 presidential elections. Most people know Mar has no eye-contact with the Filipino people, and just like in basketball, he has stayed too long under the basket without the ball and needs to free the space for new players. The Liberal Party over the last five years has not really looked for an alternative to present to and excite the people, a grossly over-confident, even negligent course of action for a party in power.

3. On Sen. Grace Poe:

The Liberal Party should now put itself squarely behind Grace Poe as candidate for President. In signing the Senate Committee report that recommended Binay to be investigated by the Ombudsman for corruption, Poe has shown she is of sterner stuff than many imagined. She would be my candidate any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

But Grace Poe should be a candidate of more than the Liberal Party -- she should remain independent going into the elections, as the Liberal Party has unnecessarily alienated many voters and absorbed many poisonous creatures, even as President Aquino's administration over the last five years has had high approval from the people.

What the Liberal Party can constructively do is to help build the organizational and managerial scaffoldings of a Poe presidency, so that she hits the ground running in July 2016. She must have a strong cabinet, a coherent strategy and vision, workable relationships with Congress, the courts, and the Constitutional Commissions, a good public information system, shared command of local governance with LCEs, and must be able to spot and avoid hiccups like the Luneta hostage-taking crisis that rattled the Aquino Presidency early on.

Because she knows it is necessary, Grace Poe is a fast and willing learner. She must be given the systematic briefings and experiential involvement she needs to be presidential in mind and performance. The heart, I think, is already there, as oftentimes it is the main asset "inexperienced" politicians bring into politics. Heart and morality are the first things that politicians lose in trying to gain experience against low-life personalities that chose public service as their career.

4. On Mar Roxas-Grace Poe tandem:

If that is the best combination we offer the Filipino electorate in 2016, then the next Philippine President for 2016-2022 might either be Erap or Binay, with Poe as Vice-President. Let us remember that Erap was second only to PNoy in the 2010 Presidential elections and Binay won over Mar Roxas as Vice-President. Only Poe will clearly beat Erap or Binay for the Presidency. Fielding Mar Roxas as President will not only lose the Presidency to somebody else, but will also mean another minority President, as his candidacy will encourage so many others like Ping Lacson, Rodrigo Duterte, Miriam Santiago, apart from Erap and Binay, who would think they have a reasonable chance of beating Roxas for the Presidency. Roxas would also consolidate all the anti-PNoy forces and sentiments against him. On the other hand, a Poe candidacy will ride on the combined endorsement of Pnoy and Erap, apart from the silent endorsement of FPJ, the loud support of all the weighty movie stars in the Philippine firmament, and a natural gaan ng loob of the masses towards Grace Poe. By the way, an Erap-Poe result in 2016 might not be too bad if Erap again "resigns" in mid-term and allows another woman to serve out his remaining term, and run for and win her own term until 2028. An interesting version of Tadhana for us.

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See also:

Election 7: My Candidates for Senators, May 12, 2013 

Election 8: Growth, Debt and the 2013 Polls, May 30, 2013 

Election 9: India's Political Dynasties vs. Democracy, April 21, 2014 

Election 10: Comelec Critics and Commissioner Luie Guia, December 26, 2015

Weekend Fun 41: Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, Other Politicians

Newly elected Sen. Nancy Binay ranked 5th out of 12 Senators recently proclaimed by the Comelec. Being a never-heard political personality nationwide until November 2012, she suddenly shot up in the top 15 candidates when she was drafted by UNA in December 2012. The rest is history. Below is her political pedigree.

Some political cartoons during the campaign period, below.

Well, the joke is now on the voters, you and me included.

On the part of #1, Sen. Grace Poe who got 20.15 million votes, almost two million higher than the 2nd placer Loren Legarda who got 18.48 million, there are also jokes and memes about her, but less offensive. Like this one.

Meanwhile, a funny story about the Batangas Gubernatorial elections of 2013, from a friend, Derrick Gerardo Manas, who posted this in his facebook status and gave me permission to re-post:

The guy who challenged Governor Vilma Santos is Marcos Mandanas Sr. a distant relative of Congressman Hermilando Mandanas,who himself was a former Governor who is supposed to run but decided to back out. 

Marcos Mandanas Sr after filing his candidacy last October for Governor to challenge Vilma Santos, suddenly visited Governor Vilma Santos in her office to shake her hands and to top it all - ASK FOR DONATIONS FOR HIS CAMPAIGN AGAINST HER, Bwahahahaha! and the Governor laughingly gave him some bucks! hahaha
I got this story from a reliable source in the Capitol of Batangas. 

Vilma Santos - 759,237 votes
Marcos Mandanas 48,143
Praxedes Bustamante-4,859

I also heard a story of a perennial crackpot Presidential candidate before, Danny(?) Racuyal. Among his programs if he won as President was to enclose the entire Philippine archipelago in one big glass, and turn on several giant air-con. He noticed that cold countries are more developed than hot and tropical countries, so by making the Philippines colder, the country would develop economically. 

When he was asked, "How do Filipinos go out of the country or how do foreigners visit the country if there is a huge glass surrounding it?" He replied, "that's a stupid question." :-)

See also:
Weekend Fun 37: On Fighting Poverty, July 07, 2012
Weekend Fun 38: Skylab Motorcycles, July 14, 2012 
Weekend Fun 39: Funny Photos in Manila Floods, August 12, 2012 

Weekend Fun 40: Bank Robbery and Management, May 18, 2013