Your Senatorial bet ALEX LACSON has an email circulating, asking for support.

I received this letter from my friend MIRJA CRUZ UMPAD. This letter originates from BAMBI REYES NARCISO.

I believe everyone should read this to help them choose the rightful candidates, so I am posting the email message here so that everyone can read it just exactly as it is (walang labis, walang kulang).


Subject: ALEX LACSON: A FILIPINO OF FAITH

Atty. Alex Lacson would be a good choice for one of the 12 senators you can vote for. 

He is running under the Liberal Party slate.  

Below is one opinion from the late Max Soliven. 

Please assist in having others save a vote for him. 

Let's put fresh, clean-slated faces in the Senate.

(If you want to have a copy of his book "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do for His Country", they are available at all National Bookstores.)

A FILIPINO OF FAITH

BY THE WAY

By Max V. Soliven

The Philippine Star 12/19/2005

We keep on paying lip service to the catchword, "Faith in the Filipino." In this Christmas season of hope - and also sadness - this faith and confidence in ourselves too often falls short of being justified.

However, here's one story which I must tell.

This incident took place last Thursday in the late afternoon. I was rushing home in my car, an X-5, from my last meeting in Makati - already far behind schedule, since my next appointment, after a change of clothes, was in Malacañang. My vehicle broke down in the mounting rush-hour traffic on the Paseo de Roxas, not far from the corner of Buendia. There I was, frantically trying to hail a cab in vain while the avenue was crawled alongside, almost gridlocked. My desperation must have been all over my face. I had fruitlessly attempted calling my Stargate office on Ayala Avenue, then my associates and friends nearby. I needed a car badly to rescue me from the corner where I had been stranded. But nobody could be contacted.

Then a white Chevrolet Venture pulled up to the curb. The young man at the wheel leaned over, his window rolled down, and asked: "Can I help you, sir?"

I blurted out, "Yes - my car over there broke down. I must get home in a hurry! Can you bring me somewhere where I can find a taxicab?"

The fellow smiled and said: "Hop in, Sir I will drive you home."

I scrambled aboard, thankful to the kind stranger, and God - and for my good fortune. In retrospect, I wonder why it had never occurred to me he might be an armed hold-up man. I guess it was the disarming nature of his smile, his earnest approach. Yet now could anyone be so generous as to stop in the middle of traffic, then offer a total stranger a ride all the way to his home? He hadn't even asked how far away I lived; he'd made the offer without hesitation.

When we were underway, I asked to shake his hand and asked for his name, "My name is Alex," he simply said. 'I'm Max," I replied, then fished in my pocket and offered him my card. He peered at it, then exclaimed: "Wow. It's an honor! I read you every day!"

"Now. Alex, you owe me your card in return." I said.

Stopped at a light, he took out his wallet, got one and politely handed it to me. It read: Alexander L. Lacson, above which was his firm's title: "Malcolm Law", underneath that, "A Professional Partnership. " By golly, I had been rescued by a lawyer.

There you are. Somehow, when faith in the Filipino wavers, a Filipino comes along to restore your faith. Restore it? So surprise you with his kindness and generosity. This is an experience - and a shining gesture - I'll never forget.    

* * * I finally told Alex I was headed for Greenhills. He grinned. "By coincidence, since I'm taking you there, my destination happens to lie not far away - I'm headed for Wack-Wack subdivision to give a talk at a Christmas party."

"Why?" I exclaimed. "In addition to being a lawyer, are you also a preacher?"

He smiled even more merrily and explained that he had written a little book. It was on the car seat beside him, and I picked it up. It was entitled: "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country."

Alex had his little volume (108 pages) published earlier this year by the Alay Pinoy Publishing House in Quezon City, and it had sold out in its first printing within three weeks. The second and third printings were about to sell out, too.

No, he wasn't selling it through any bookshop, the biggest book shop (unnamed here) wanted too big a portion of its possible earnings, but I told them I wanted the proceeds to go to a scholarship foundation for the needy."

So, Lacson has been selling his book out of his office and out of his home.

The dedication of the slim tome reveals his sincerity.  It says: "To my Creator, who has blessed me with so much, and to my Country, which yearns for love from its people."

As we drove up EDSA, Alex said: "I read your mother's book, 'A Woman So Valiant,' too - and I loved it!"

Can you beat that?

My mama had written that book of hers in longhand, on yellow pad paper not long before she died at the age of 81 on October 16, 1990 - and belatedly, we had published it last year. Astoundingly, it had been a runaway bestseller, without publicity, and had sold out in the National Bookstores.

My sister, Mrs. Mercy S. David messaged me when she arrived from New York that the Japanese were now planning to transcribe the autobiography into Japanese and publish it in Tokyo, as a chronicle of what happened to a Filipino family in the war years (and during Japanese military occupation). The proposed Japanese title, "A Valiant Mother and Her Nine Children."

But that's another story, far removed from today's inspiring tale about Alex Lacson's Christian spirit and generosity. One thing Alex said demonstrated he had really read Mom's book. He remarked that the thing he vividly remembered in Mama's memoirs was that, in spite of our poverty, she had determined: "I don't want my children to feel poor." Thus, one of us or two of us in turn had been taken by her, on her meager earnings as a seamstress, to eat at a good restaurant. The "classy" restaurant of the time, Alex recalled from its mention in mama's book, was The Aristocrat. How lives intersect in this spinning world.

To get to the end of the "rescue" saga, Alex Lacson drove me to my home in Greenhills, and I noticed he never broke a traffic rule. I was tempted, in my selfish agitation to get home and get my tuxedo for the State dinner in the Palace, then dash over to Malacañang, to cut corners, such as push into the opposite lane when stuck not far from the Buchanan Gate, in order to sneak into the Gate. But Lacson calmly awaited his turn in traffic . Obey the law and obey the rules were obviously the bedrock of his "12 Things" credo.

In any event, getting to Malacañang in the end was only the bonus. Meeting someone like Alex Lacson was the real miracle .    

* * * Alexander Ledesma Lacson, it turned out, modest as he was in bearing, was a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Law, 1996, and took up graduate studies at the Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass. (Good old Harvard Yard, by gosh). His wife, Pia Peña - it turned out even more amazingly - is the daughter of an old friend, Teddy Peña from Palawan! She, too, is a lawyer - U.P. 1993 - a legal counsel for Citibank. They established a foundation together to help underprivileged children through school, and are now subsidizing 27 young scholars in different public schools in Alex's native Negros Occidental.

The reason Alex had been headed for Wack-Wack was the fact that the officers and employees of a company named Resins Inc., after buying 1,000 copies of his book had invited him to give the "homily" at their Christmas party. This was not a small group - the company had 600 employees, waiting for his "word" that night.

Alex, it struck me from our conversation, is an eloquent and devout Catholic. He believes God must have destined our people for some great role - why, in all history, he reasoned, were we Filipinos the "only Christian nation in Asia?" One thing is certain: He and his wife Pia practice their Christianity - and live it.

Four years ago, he and his wife had a serious discussion about migrating to the US or Canada because the Philippines, as a country appeared hopeless since things only got worse year after year. They wanted to know if their children (they have three, one boy and two girls) would be better off staying in our country or abroad in the next 20 years.

Pia and Alex had asked themselves the question: "Is there hope for the Philippines to progress in the next 20 years?"

They reasoned: If the answer is Yes, then they would stay. If it was No, they would leave and relocate abroad while they were still young and energetic. There were long discussions. One day, the realization, Alex recalls, struck them: the answer to that question was in themselves. The country would improve, Pia and Alex finally understood, if they and every other Filipino did something about it. Leaving the Philippines was not the solution. As Lacson put it in his book: "The answer is in us as a people; that hope is in us as a people."

* * * When I read the book afterwards, I discovered that many important people had endorsed it.

But these encomiums are not needed. Alex laughed when I quipped that he must be one of the wealthy Lacsons from Negros Occidental, like my classmates and schoolmates in the Ateneo. He cheerfully, and proudly, said that he was "a poor Lacson." His mother, he pointed out, had been a public school teacher in Cabangcalan.

No, he's not poor - his richness are in his friends, and in the heart.

Here are, in outline, his 12 commandments:

1) Follow traffic rules. Follow the law.

2) Whenever you buy or pay for anything, always ask for an official receipt.

3) Don't buy smuggled goods. Buy local. Buy Filipino.  (Or, if you read the book, he suggests: 50-50).

4) When you talk to others, especially foreigners speak positively about us and our country.

5) Respect your traffic officer, policeman and soldier.

6) Do not litter. Dispose your garbage properly. Segregate. Recycle. Conserve.

7) Support your church.

8) During elections, do your solemn duty.

9) Pay your employees well.

10) Pay your taxes.

11) Adopt a scholar or a poor child.

12) Be a good parent. Teach your kids to follow the law and love our country.

These are the 12 things every Filipino can do to help our country. At first blush, they seem simple. When you study them more closely, they are difficult to do. But all of us, together can do them.

============ ========= ========= ========= ========

If you are convinced that we should have someone like Alex in the Senate, please pass on this message to your relatives and friends.   

--
Bambi Reyes Narciso
Pasig Realtors Board
REBL 6276
Mobile No. 0917 898-5172
Tel/Fax 852-5172
Tel 8511249 853-0517
http://brokerbambi. multiply. com
http://brokerbambi. wordpress. com

> > > To Read More...

COMELEC LIST OF OFFICIAL CANDIDATES FOR 2010 ELECTION

For President:
1 ACOSTA, VETELLANO SEINEZ "DODONG" - KBL
2 AQUINO, BENIGNO SIMEON III COJUANGCO "NOYNOY" - LP
3 DE LOS REYES, JOHN CARLOS GORDON "JC" - AKP
4 ESTRADA EJERCITO, JOSEPH MARCELO "ERAP" - PMP
5 GORDON, RICHARD JUICO "DICK" - B.BAYAN-VNP
6 MADRIGAL, JAMBY AS "JAMBY" - IND.
7 PERLAS, JESUS NICANOR PINEDA "NICK" - IND.
8 TEODORO, GILBERTO JR. COJUANGCO "GIBO" - LKS-KAM
9 VILLANUEVA, EDUARDO CRUZ "BRO. EDDIE" - BP
10 VILLAR, MANUEL JR BAMBA "MANNY" - NP


For Vice President:
1 BINAY, JEJOMAR CABAUATAN "JOJO" - PDP LABAN
2 CHIPECO, DOMINADOR JR FUENTECILLA "JUN" - AKP
3 FERNANDO, BAYANI FLORES "BF" - B.BAYAN-VNP
4 LEGARDA, LOREN BAUTISTA "LOREN" - NPC
5 MANZANO, EDUARDO BARRIOS EDU LKS-KAM
6 ROXAS, MANUEL ARANETA "MAR" - LP
7 SONZA, JOSE YUMANG "JAY SONZA" - KBL
8 YASAY, PERFECTO RIVAS "KIDLAT" - BP


For Senators:
1 ACOSTA, JR. NEREUS OLAIVAR "NERIC" - LP
2 ALBANI, SHARIFF IBRAHIM HUSSIEN "SHARIFF" - KBL
3 ALONTO, ZAFRULLAH MAROHOMBSAR "NOLDY" - BP
4 BAUTISTA, J.V. LARION "J.V. BAUTISTA" - PMP
5 BAUTISTA, MARTIN DONATO "DR. BALIKBAYAN" - IND.
6 BELLO, SILVESTRE III HERNANDO "BEBOT" - LKS-KAM
7 BIAZON, ROZZANO RUFINO BUNOAN "RUFFY" - LP
8 BONG REVILLA, RAMON, JR. BAUTISTA "KAP" - LKS-KAM
9 CAUNAN, HENRY BUENAVENTURA "HENRY" - PDP LABAN
10 CAYETANO, PILAR JULIANA SCHRAMM "PIA" - NP
11 DAVID, RIZALITO YAP "LITO" - AKP
12 DE VENECIA, JOSE III PEREZ "JOEY" - PMP
13 DEFENSOR SANTIAGO, MIRIAM PALMA "MIRIAM" - PRP
14 DRILON, FRANKLIN MAGTUNAO "FRANK" - LP
15 ENRILE, JUAN PONCE - "JPE" - PMP
16 ESPINOSA, NANETTE MELITON "ATE NANETTE" - KBL
17 ESTRADA, JINGGOY EJERCITO "JINGGOY" - PMP
18 GUICO, RAMON, JR. NAVAL "GETS KO" - LKS-KAM
19 GUINGONA, TEOFISTO III DE LARA "TG" - LP
20 HONTIVEROS-BARAQUEL, ANA THERESIA "HONTIVEROS RISA" - H. LP
21 IMBONG, JO AUREA MARCOS "ATE JO" - AKP
22 INOCENCIO, MA. KATHERINE L. REYES "KATA" - BP
23 LACSON, ALEXANDER LEDESMA "PINOY" - LP
24 LAMBINO, RAUL LOYOLA "RAUL" - LKS-KAM
25 LANGIT, REY MAGAT "REY LANGIT" - LKS-KAM
26 LAO, YASMIN BUSRAN "YAS" - LP
27 LAPID, MANUEL MERCADO "LITO" - LKS-KAM
28 LIM, DANILO DELA PUZ "GENERAL DANNY" - IND.
29 LOOD, ALMA ABELLA "ALMA" - KBL
30 LOZADA, JOSE APOLINARIO JR LECONIA "JUN" - PMP
31 MAAMBONG, REGALADO ESTRELLA "DODONG" - KBL
32 MARCOS, FERDINAND, JR. ROMUALDEZ "BONGBONG" - NP
33 MAZA, LIZA LARGOZA "LIZA MAZA NG GABRIELA" - IND.
34 MITRA, RAMON BLANCO "MON-MON" - NP
35 NIKABULIN, ADZ GANIH "COUNT HABIS" - BP
36 OCAMPO, RAMONCITO POBLETE "MONCHING" - BP
37 OCAMPO, SATURNINO CUNANAN "SATUR" - BAYAN MUNA
38 OPLE, SUSAN VASQUEZ "TOOTS" - NP
39 OSMENA, EMILIO MARIO RENNER "PROMDI" - PROMDI
40 OSMEÑA, SERGIO III DE LA RAMA "SERGE" - IND.
41 PALPARAN, JOVITO JR SALVAÑA "JOVI" - IND.
42 PAPIN, IMELDA ARCILLA "IMELDA PAPIN" - KBL
43 PAREDES, ZOSIMO JESUS II MENDOZA "JESS" - AKP
44 PIMENTEL, GWENDOLYN DE LA LLANA "GWEN" - PDP LABAN
45 PLAZA, RODOLFO GALIDO "OMPONG" - NPC
46 PRINCESA, REYNALDO RELUCIO "PRINCE" - IND.
47 QUERUBIN, ARIEL OLIVA "MARINES" - NP
48 RECTO, RALPH GONZALEZ "RALPH" - LP
49 REMULLA, GILBERT CESAR CATIBAYAN "GILBERT" - NP
50 RIÑOZA-PLAZO, MARIA GRACIA DE VEAS "GRACE" - AKP
51 ROCO, SONIA MALASARTE "SON" - LP
52 SISON, ADRIAN ORDONEZ "ADRIAN" - AKP
53 SOTTO, VICENTE III CASTELO "TITO" - NPC
54 TAMANO, ADEL ABBAS "ADEL" - NP
55 TAMAYO, REGINALD BALISI "REGIE" - AKP
56 TARRAZONA, HECTOR MIRASOL "TARZAN" - AKP
57 TATAD, FRANCISCO SARMIENTO "KIT" - GAD
58 TINSAY, ALEXANDER BRITANICO "ALEX TINSAY" - BP
59 VALDEHUESA, MANUEL JR ECHEM "MANNY" - AKP
60 VILLANUEVA, HECTOR LABAO "KA HECTOR" - KBL
61 VIRGINES, ISRAEL NICOLAS "DR. ISRAEL" - BP

> > > To Read More...

Who is the real Presidential Candidate of Pres. GMA? Is it true that Manny Villar is the secret candidate of GMA?

Who is the real Presidential Candidate of Pres. GMA? Is it true that Manny Villar is the secret candidate of GMA?

There is a text messages circulating around, you might have encountered this already. My question here is "HOW TRUE IS THIS?". Let me quote here the complete and exact text message that I'm talking about:

Now the cat is out of the bag... Manny Villar is the secret candidate of Pres. GMA...

Mike Arroyo himself met with Manny Villar at the house of Mike Defensor last Jan. 7...

Villar secretly agreed to make GMA as Speaker of the House and protect her should Villar wins the presidency..

Villar agreed to GMA's offer of massive logistical support in GMA's commissioners in the COMELEC who will assure Villar's victory...

Please pass para di tayo maloko ulit...

If this is true, then GMA don't have any confidence that his party's bet GILBERT "GIBO" TEODORO will make it to the palace this May election.  This is a slap on the face of not only Gilbert Teodoro but also of all members of Lakas CMD - Kampi.

Hope that this issue will be made clear. The way I see this issue is this: President Arroyo is making sure that whoever wins the presidency this coming presidential election she can cut a deal to ensure her immunity against any suit especially with regards to the ZTE Scandal and the Hello Garci Scandal.

To the camp of President Arroyo, Manny Villar and Gibo Teodoro, please make your statements about this issue.

> > > To Read More...

Timeline: Events in the life of Cory Aquino

Research by Maria Althea Teves, abs-cbnNEWS.com/ Newsbreak | 07/22/2009 2:00 AM
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


1933
January 25 – Corazon “Cory” Cojuangco is born to into a wealthy, political family in Tarlac. She was the sixth of eight children (of whom two died in infancy) of Jose Cojuangco, a former congressman, and Demetria Sumulong Cojuangco, a pharmacist.


1946
The Cojuangco family leaves for the United States and Cory enters Ravenhill Academy in Phildelphia, a sister school of Assumption Convent in Manila where she used to study. She later enrolls at the Notre Dame Convent School in New York where she finishes high school.

1953
Cory returns to the Philippines and enrolls at the Far Eastern University to study law.

1954
October 11 – Cory marries journalist and budding politician Benigno Simeon “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. She helps Ninoy campaign for Mayor of Concepcion, Tarlac.

1955-1959
Ninoy becomes Mayor of Concepcion, Tarlac.

November 1955
Cory gives birth to Maria Elena, the first of her five children.

1957
Cory gives birth to her second daughter, Maria Corazon

1960
Cory gives birth to her only son, Benigno III

1961
Third daughter, Victoria Elisa, was born.

1971
Youngest daughter, Kristina Bernadette(Kris) is born.

1967
November 14 – The 1967 elections: Ninoy wins a seat in Senate. He is the only Liberal Party (LP) candidate to win a seat in the Nacionalista Party-filled Senate.

1971
August 21 – LP’s proclamation rally at Plaza Miranda, Manila, is marred by a bomb explosion. Almost all LP Senatorial candidates are injured.

1972
September 21 – Marcos declares Martial law after Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile was allegedly ambushed on Wack Wack Road, Mandaluyong September 22. On the same day, the military arrests people in the “Order of Battle” list. Among those in the list was then Senator Ninoy Aquino.

Ninoy suggested to Cory that she and the children leave for Australia but she refused.

Ninoy was detained for 7 years and 7 months, mostly in solitary confinement. At one point, when Cory’s visiting privileges were cancelled, she frantically made the rounds of people she thought could help her get permission to see Ninoy again. The Supreme Court was prevailed upon to request the military to allow Cory to see her husband for humanitarian reasons.

April 1975 to May 1975
Ninoy goes on hunger strike while in Prison. He stopped his hunger strike forty days later after being rushed to the intensive care unit. Cory was allowed to be with him all this time. She would feed him one or two tablespoons of baby food every two hours.

1977
Cory finds herself in despair when a military tribunal sentences Ninoy to face the firing squad for subversion, illegal possession of firearms, and murder.

1978
While awaiting execution, Ninoy was allowed to run in the 1978 election for a seat in the Interim National Assembly. Marcos’s wife Imelda led the ruling party in a 21-0 sweep in Metro Manila.

1980
Cory accompanies Ninoy into exile in the United States, with Marcos’ permission, after he is diagnosed to have a serious heart condition.

1983
August 13 – Ninoy leaves Boston, passing through Tokyo, then Singapore and Taipei.

August 19 – Ninoy flies to Taiwan via Hong and stays another day in Taipei.

August 21 – Ninoy boards China Airlines flight to Manila. He arrives 1:00 pm at the Manila International Airport. A group of soldiers fetch him from his plane seat onto the stairway leading to the tarmac. They block doorways to prevent media from covering the scene. Seconds later, a single shot is fired. Ninoy is assassinated. The assassination rouses opposition against the Marcos government.

1985
November 3 – President Marcos announces that he is ready to call “snap election,” while being interviewed n the “David Brinkley Show.”

December 2 – The Sandiganbayan acquits Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Fabian Ver and all military personnel charged with Ninoy’s murder in 1983. On the same day, Marcos signs Cabinet Bill No. 7, formally setting the Snap elections to February 7, 1986.

1986
2nd week of February – There is still no declared winner a week after the snap elections. The National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) figures show that Cory and her vice-presidential running Salvor “Doy” Laurel are consistently in the lead. NAMFREL’s final tabulation of Cory’s votes is of 7,853,070 and Laurel 7,441,313 votes. Marcos obtains 7,053,068 and Tolentino 6,613,307 votes.

But Commission on Elections (Comelec) tabulations show that Marcos is leading by 1.2 M votes.

Twenty-nine computer programmers, many of them women, walk out from the control center of the national canvassing office to protest the deliberate manipulation of the official election results to favor Ferdinand Marcos.

The administration dominated Batasan Pambansa declares Marcos as President-elect and Arturo Tolentino vice-president elect.

On the same day, Cory is similarly proclaimed president in a mammoth “People’s Victory Rally” at Rizal Park. Cory calls for a civil disobedience campaign. She urges followers to boycott certain banks, publications and corporations to bear pressure on Marcos to step down without bloodshed.

February 22 – Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Lt. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos announces, through Radio Veritas, their withdrawal of support from the Marcos administration.

Thousands of people peacefully rally and pray along EDSA highway in what became known as the People Power Revolution.

February 25 – Marcos takes his oath of office before Chief Justice Ramon Aquino in Malacañang Palace, while Cory is inducted into office by Justice Claudio Teehankee at the Club Filipino, in San Juan. Marcos’ televised oath taking is cut short after rebel soldiers captured TV Channel 4. Macros and his family flee to Honolulu.

HER PRESIDENCY

February 25 - Cory, in her inaugural address, issues her first edict: Proclamation No. 1 calling all appointive public officials to submit their courtesy resignations. In her speech, she proceeded to reorganize the government issuing Executive Order No. 1—appointing Cabinet ministers and task forces to help her run the government.

March 25 - One month after assuming the presidency, Cory issues Proclamation No. 3, proclaiming her government a “revolutionary government.” With this, she suspends the 1973 Constitution installed during martial law and promulgates a provisional “Freedom Constitution,” which vests legislative making powers on her, pending the enactment of the new constitution.

April 23 - Cory issues Proclamation No. 9 which provides for the creation of a constitutional commission (Concom) to draft a new charter “truly reflective of the ideals and aspirations of the Filipino People,” on or before September 2 of the same year. She appoints 48 men and women, led former justice Cecilia Muñoz Palma, to be members of the Concom.

May 1986 - The reorganized Supreme Court declared the Aquino government as “not merely a de facto government but in fact and in law a de jure government”, whose legitimacy had been affirmed by the community of nations.

September 18 – Cory makes a historic speech before the joint session of the US Congress. US Congress welcomes Aquino with a round of applause that lasts a little over two minutes. “Three years ago, I left America in grief to burry my husband Ninoy Aquino. I thought I had left it also to lay to rest his restless dream of Philippine freedom. Today I have returned as a President of a free people,” her speech began. (Watch the first part of her speech)

October 15 - Cory issues Executive Order 48: Creating an Ad Hoc Special Committee to supervise the liquidation of the affairs of the Constitutional Commission of 1986, preservation of its records, and to undertake its constitutional education campaign.

November 22 – A coup attempt originally scheduled November 11 is discovered by the Aquino government and is deliberately leaked to the Philippine Daily Inquirer—thwarting the plan and rescheduling it to November 22. On this day, the military is placed under red alert and rebel troops are blockaded leading them to return to the barracks. The coup attempt is called “God Save the Queen”

November 23 – Cory fires Defense Secretary Enrile and makes an overall Cabinet revamp. Intelligence reports claim that Defense Secretary Enrile and members of the Reform Armed Forces Movement (RAM) actively participated in the November 22 coup attempt. Ramos is Armed Forces Chief of Staff.


1987
January – January issue of TIME Magazine names Cory 1986 Person of the Year.

January 22 – Seventeen farmer demonstrators are killed when shooting broke out on Mendiola bridge, near Malacañang Palace. The farmers were demanding for land reform.

January 27-29 – Another coup attempt arises under the leadership of Colonel Oscar Canlas, a hundred soldiers seize the main compound of GMA Network in Quezon City. Other troops attempt to capture Sangley Point Air Force Base, Cavite.

February – The new constitution is approved in a national plebiscite. The 1987 constitution restores the bicameral Congress that Marcos abolished in 1973.

May – The 1987 national elections for the newly restored Congress is held.

April 18 – Fifty six rebel soldiers raid the Fort Bonifacio in what became known as the The “Black Saturday” coup. The coup is repelled same morning but with one rebel soldier dead.

July – Cory cedes legislative powers to the newly restored bicameral Congress.

Meantime, a plot to stage another coup attempt against the Aquino administration through a military takeover of the Manila International Airport is discovered. Four officers involved in the plot are court-martialed.

August 13 – The Supreme Court responds positively to Enrile’s petition to be proclaimed as 24th Senator to the disappointment of Cory. The new Senate is filled with 22 pro-administration Senators, one opposition (Enrile) and then-film star Joseph Ejercito Estrada.

August 28 – Colonel Gregorio Honasan, former top aide to Enrile, leads rebel soldiers to launch an attack against Malacañang early morning. The siege is repelled within hours but with several military and civilian casualties. Cory’s only son, Noynoy is wounded during the siege.

Honasan leads soldiers seizing portions of Camp Aguinaldo, including Department of National Defense headquarters. Other rebel soldiers seized other parts of the Philippines: parts of Villamor Airbase, military camps in Pampanga and Cebu, Legaspi City airport and three television stations in Manila. However, at the end of the day, government troops are able to recapture most of the rebel-held facilities.

August 29 – The previous day’s coup ends leaving 53 people dead and over 200 wounded. Honasan evades capture while Enrile denies involvement in the coup.

1989
November – Cory visits US President George Bush on the subject of negotiations over the US Bases in the country. Francisco Tatad writes a commentary in Newsday that Bush wanted a, “New, long-term security arrangement.”

On November 9, she opens United States trading in the First Philippine Fund Inc. She later spoke at a meeting of the United States Chamber of Commerce and the United States-Philippine Business Committee, where she urged American business to increase its investment in the Philippines.

December 1 – Colonel Gregorio Honasan and retired General Jose Ma. Zumel lead RAM and troops loyal to Marcos respectively to stage the most serious coup d’etat attempt in the Aquino administration. At the outset, the rebels seize parts of Camp Aguinaldo, Villamor Airbase, Fort Bonifacio, Mactan Airbase in Cebu and Sangley Airbase in Cavite. From Sangley Airbase, rebels launch planes and helicopters bombarding Camp Crame, Camp Aguinaldo and the Malacañang Palace.

December 3 – Government forces recapture all military bases but Mactan Airbase. Rebels retreat from Fort Bonifacio and then occupy high rise buildings along the Ayala business area in Makati.

December 7 – The December 3 occupation of buildings in Makati ends.

December 9 – Rebels surrender the Mactan Airbase. The coup ends and RAM is completely defeated. The official casualty toll: 99 dead (50 of which are civilians) and 570 wounded.

1991
July 22 – President Aquino delivers her last State of the Nation Address stressing the need for clean elections in 1992, to pave the way for the first political succession by clean and peaceful elections since 1965.

September - The Philippine Senate discards a treaty that will allow a 10-year extension of the US Military bases in the country.

November – The US turns over Clark Air Base in Pampanga.

1992
January – May – Cory supports then Armed Forces chief and now Defense Secretary Ramos. She calls the campaign “Steady Eddie.”

CITIZEN CORY

June 30 – Cory’s term as president of the Philippines ends. She is succeeded by Ramos, whose victory was largely aided by the “Cory factor.”

1997
September 21 – Cory and Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin lead protests against Ramos’ attempts to change the constitution to be head of state, even beyond his term. Ramos’ charter change attempts do not continue.

1998
January – May – Cory supports Alfredo Lim’s presidential bid for the May 1998 elections.

May – Lim does not win the elections. Sen. Estrada wins the presidential bid.


2001
January 16 – Cory is among the first few thousand people in EDSA endorsing the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada. The gathering at EDSA is dubbed as “People Power II.”

January 19 – Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines withdraw their support for Estrada. Estrada calls for a Snap election on May 14, 2001 and says he will not run.

January 20 – Estrada and his family leave Malacañang Palace. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo takes over the presidential seat. Arroyo is the second woman President of the Republic of the Philipines.


2003
August – During the “Jose Pidal” controversy involving first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo handling different bank accounts under the said name, Aquino gives a public message to President Arroyo: “I want to tell President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that I will continue to pray for her and I support her.”

2004
June 30 – Arroyo is, once again, elected President of the Philippines.

October - Cory publicly opposes proposals for charter change in the Arroyo administration.

2005
June 21 – Long time friend former Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin dies at age 76.

July 5 – Cory joins forces with four Roman Catholic Bishops to pay President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a visit to Malacañang Palace telling her to resign.

July 8 – In response to the President Arroyo’s apology for the “Hello Garci” scandal, the release of wiretapped conversations between President Arroyo and Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano about padding the 2004 presidential elections count, Cory holds a press conference calling asking President Arroyo to make “the supreme sacrifice” by resigning from office.

July 11 – Cory reiterates the call for Arroyo’s resignation.

October – Pulse Asia credits Cory as the least corrupt Philippine President. Only one percent of the respondents blame her for corruption.

2006
November - Cory graces the cover of TIME Magazine’s Issue “60 Years of Asian Heroes.” She is an Asian Hero in the Nation Builders category.

2008
February 17 – Cory attends a mass at La Salle Greenhills to show her support for Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, the “secret witness” who emerged early morning of February 7, implicating former Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos and First Gentleman in the anomalous National Broadband Network deal with China’s ZTE Corporation.

February 29 – Cory joins former President Estrada in an inter-faith rally calling for the resignation of President Arroyo at the Ayala business center in Makati.

HER BATTLE WITH CANCER

March 24 - Cory’s children Noynoy Aquino, Ma. Elena Cruz, Aurora Corazon Abellada, Victoria Elisa Tee and Kristina Bernadette Yap (actress Kris Aquino) announce in a public statement that Cory, 75, is diagnosed with colon cancer. Her children ask for prayers and request to respect her privacy while undergoing treatment. Cory is confined in Makati Medical Center and starts her chemotherapy in the evening.

December 22 – Cory apologizes to former President Estrada for helping oust him in January 2001.

2009
May 3 – Cory’s daughter Kris announces that her mother is set to undergo laparoscopic surgery to remove cancer cells from her colon after she passes medical tests.

May 4 – Cory undergoes laparoscopic surgery. Doctors start her pre-op procedure at 6:30 am. She is wheeled in to the operating room past 9 am.

May 9 – Kris Aquino announces that Cory’s laparoscopic surgery was a success. She adds that the doctors were able to remove all cancer cells from Cory’s colon.

June 22 – Cory is confined at Makati Medical Center due to lack of appetite.

June 30 – A 9-day healing mass for Cory is held at the Greenbelt Chapel in Makati City.

July 1 – Cory is moved out of the intensive care unit of the Makati Medical Center, according to staff of Sen. Noynoy Aquino.


____________
Sources:
Davide Commission Report, Philippine Presidents: 100 Years, President Aquino: Sainthood Postponed,

Website Sources: ABS-CBN News, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Probe TV, www.coryaquino.ph

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‘Erap’ to run in 2010 if opposition is divided

Saturday, July 25, 2009
By Larry Madarang, Correspondent
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BAGUIO CITY: Former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada on Friday said that he would call for a meeting of all opposition presidential aspirants to unite all opposition candidates for next year’s presidential polls.

“Let us give time for all opposition presidential aspirants for them to feel the pulse of the people and voluntarily withdraw in order for the opposition to have only one official candidate,” Estrada told a press conference here.

He did not give an official statement if he will join the presidential fray but said that if presidential candidates do not heed the call for unity, “I reiterate that I myself will run for the position.”

The latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on the best leader to succeed President Gloria Arroyo was topped by Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. with 33 percent followed by Estrada with 25 percent.

According to former Senate President Ernesto Maceda, United Opposition spokesman, Estrada still has the numbers to win the presidency.

“We have felt the pulse of the masses and they are still for President Estrada,” he said, adding that there is the underdog sympathy factor going for Estrada.

He said that Estrada is not disqualified from joining the presidential race in 2010. The ousted president can file his certificate of candidacy in November as mandated by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Maceda added.

He said that a study conducted by a collegial body composed of former justices, five deans from prestigious law schools and noted lawyers state that the statement “The President shall not be eligible for any reelection” only applies to an incumbent but not to a past president.

The reasons for prohibition were merely to prevent the incumbent president from having an undue advantage of using the powers of the office for a reelection bid, he said.

Teodoro’s odyssey

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro promised a victory in 2010 for Lakas-Kampi CMD moments after taking his party oath also Friday in a political odyssey that could lead him to the ruling party’s presidential nomination and possibly the Philippine presidency in next year’s elections.

With his formal entry to the coalition party, Teodoro will now be included in the selection process for the party’s standard-bearer together with Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando.

Fernando has been very vocal against the idea of allowing party outsiders to join the selection process, saying that if the party would be strict in choosing its standard-bearer he should be the one to get the blessing because he is the only qualified party member who is seeking the presidential post.

Teodoro was sworn in by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the Lakas-Kampi president, in the presence of his mother, Merceditas, and wife, Tarlac Rep. Nikki Teodoro, at the jampacked party headquarters in Greenhills, San Juan City (Metro Manila).

Joining Ermita were House Speaker Prospero Nograles and Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, the party’s vice chairmen; presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio, secretary-general; Rep. Jose Solis Sr., deputy secretary-general; Cabinet officials; and a huge delegation of governors, mayors and congressmen.

“He [Teodoro] now enjoys the inside track, definitely. His official entry into the Lakas-Kampi membership gives him the political affinity necessary to win the party nomination,” Nograles said.

Lakas-Kampi CMD boasts of a merged national roster of more than five million card-carrying members and has the most organized grassroot machinery among all the political parties in the country.

If he wins the nomination, Teodoro will have the support of this formidable machine that has proved it could deliver the votes, having produced two presidents—former President Fidel Ramos and President Gloria Arroyo.

A former three-term congressman from Tarlac as a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, Teodoro has been described the “prized political jewel of the season.” He is living up to this image, having made quite a stir as well among local officials under the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, or ULAP.

Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos, president of ULAP and concurrent head of the League of Cities of the Philippines, said that Teodoro brings to Lakas-Kampi a “lot of charisma and integrity.”

Candidates

Vice President Noli de Castro, an independent, is also seen as possible contender for the presidency, although he has mostly kept mum on his political plans. He said, however, that if he runs in 2010, he would seek nothing less than the presidency.

De Castro said on Monday that he would announce his intention to run as well as his interest to join a party very soon.

While Gov. Ed Panlilio of Pampanga has declared his bid for the presidency, a high ranking Catholic Church official said that the priest-turned-politician broke his promise of quitting politics after his first term as governor.

San Fernando Auxiliary Bishop Pablo David said that Panlilio vowed before entering politics in 2007 that he would return to the priesthood after finishing his term as governor of Pampanga.

But Panlilio, who was suspended from his priestly duties for entering politics, said earlier that his decision to run for president in the 2010 polls is a “calling from God.”

He added that he is ready for any consequences, including dispensation from priesthood, for his decision to continue with his political career.

“He speaks of God’s will as if he’s the only one capable of discerning God’s will. If many in the community in his own superiors say otherwise, then we are praying to a different God,” David said in the news website of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

The Church’s Canon Law specifically prohibits the participation of the members of the clergy in state politics.

Another perceived presidential candidate is Sen. Loren Legarda, who has indicated her desire to tap Sen. Francis Escudero as her running-mate.

But that may not happen, according to Nograles. While it is a “good” ticket, he said that he got word that Escudero will not settle for less than the presidency.


The Source: The Manila Times

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Meet Your Candidates: Gilbert Teodoro starts quest for presidential nomination by joining Lakas

Mike Banos
July 23, 2009
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Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro begins his quest to clinch the presidential nomination of the ruling coalition as he takes his oath as member of Lakas-Kampi-CMD today (Friday, July 24, 2009 Philippine time).

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Lakas-Kampi-CMD President, will swear-in Teodoro at the party headquarters in Mandaluyong City this morning.

A majority of Lakas-Kampi-CMD members expressed their desire to select a standard bearer who is intelligent, unafraid to face the problems and has a clear program of action for the country.

"The next president must be able to carry out a new kind of governance for the country. One whose administration can deliver absolute services, economic programs, social justice and peace and order," Lakas-Kampi Senior Deputy Secretary General and Sorsogon Rep. Jose Solis said Friday.

The 45-year old Teodoro, who first announced his bid in February, has maintained he will only run for President under the ruling party. By joining the administration coalition, Teodoro is submitting himself to the selection process to determine the party´s standard bearer in next year´s polls.

Many leaders of the party have openly declared support for Teodoro´s candidacy based on his integrity and qualifications, which they said are his key attributes which set him apart from the other presidentiables.

"The standard bearer must have a good track record of public service and free of corruption allegations. He must be decisive in actions and words," Solis said.

"This is why a majority of Lakas-Kampi-CMD members favour Gibo (Teodoro) to be the party´s standard bearer. Sec. Teodoro has presented a clear program for the country and the qualities the party is looking for in its presidential candidate," he added.

Teodoro and his wife, Tarlac First District Rep, Monica Prieto-Teedoro, are the latest addition to the ruling party which counts about 70 per cent of the total number of all elected officials in the Philippines among its members. Both are former stalwarts of the Nationalist People´s Coalition (NPC).

Lakas-Kampi-CMD is a merger of the country´s two biggest political parties. It accounts for 145 out of 267 congressmen (including 51party list representatives), 50 of 80 governors, 51 of 80 vice governors, 85 of 120 city mayors, and 1,112 out of 1,507 municipal mayors.

If elected President, Teodoro has declared charter change as his first order of business to seek meaningful political, economic and social reforms. He has declared his intention to urge Congress to call for a constitutional convention where concerns can be discussed openly and freely.

The defense chief has also vowed to pursue the economic gains made by the administration, which he said are the product of the government´s sound fiscal policy. Teodoro holds the distinction of being the youngest to be appointed to the defense portfolio in 2007 at the age of 43.

He said increased spending for national defense and security programs is crucial to ensure peace and order throughout the country. He has also declared his opposition to granting amnesty to terrorist groups like the Abu Sayyaf saying this has no redeeming social value.

Teodoro ordered intensified military offensives against the ASG last week and the arrest of its known leaders and members. The ASG has gained notoriety for committing atrocities in key areas in the south since the mid-90s.

Teodoro has not fared well in early surveys of presidentiables because people did not know his true qualities, but has since made considerable gains, said Isabela Rep. Rodito Albano.

"We must take into consideration that Sec. Teodoro declared his intention for the presidency only last February (2009). So, unlike other (presidential) aspirants who have declared their plans or have started campaigning, early, even as they have continuously denied their goals," Albano said. "To this day, Sec. Teodoro has just pursued his functions as the country´s defense secretary."

"Sec. Teodoro is a leader who will keep on track with the Lakas-Kampi-CMD objective to rally behind efforts to create lasting opportunities and foundation for peace, economic fulfilment and the promotion of human dignity," Albano said.


THE SOURCE

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Villar tops new SWS poll

Updated July 23, 2009 12:00 AM
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MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Manuel Villar has emerged as the top choice of Filipinos to be the next president in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

Vice President Noli de Castro, who topped previous SWS surveys on “presidentiables,” slipped to fourth place, according to the SWS’ second quarter survey conducted from June 19 to 22.

In the survey, 33 percent of the respondents named Villar as the best choice for 2010, up from 26 percent in February.

Former President Joseph Estrada came in second with 25 percent from 13 percent previously.

Estrada was followed by Senators Francis Escudero and Manuel Roxas II who were tied at third with 20 percent.

In the February survey, Escudero ranked fourth with 19 percent and Roxas fifth with 15 percent, the SWS said.

De Castro obtained 19 percent of votes, his lowest rating since September 2007, down from 27 percent in February.

SWS said this is the first time that De Castro’s name is not the leading answer to the survey question.

Meanwhile, Legarda’s latest score went down from 25 percent in February to 15 percent in June.

SWS asked the respondents: “Under the present Constitution, the term of President Arroyo is up to 2010 only and there will be an election for a new President in May 2010. Who do you think are good leaders who should succeed President Arroyo as President?’

SWS said no names were provided and respondents could recommend up to three candidates.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson obtained seven percent and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay received four percent. The two were ranked sixth in the survey.

Sen. Richard Gordon, Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando, and President Arroyo scored one percent each.

Other personalities who were included in the survey were Sen. Francis Pangilinan, TV evangelist Eddie Villanueva, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. An unspecified “Estrada” and Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. had scores below a percentage point.

The non-commissioned survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults. It had an error margin of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

In a statement, Villar said he was “heartened” by the support shown by the people in the SWS survey.

“I am really heartened by the support shown by the people in this survey,” he said.

“I thank the people for keeping the faith despite attempts to bring me down with unfounded allegations of wrongdoing.

“This is heart-warming. It certainly invigorates me to work harder. A lot of our kababayans need our help here and around the world.”

While it is too early to say whether the trend would continue till the run-up to next year’s elections, he would do his best to live up to the trust and confidence given to him by the people, the Nacionalista Party president said.

‘We must work harder’

Nacionalista Party spokesman Gilbert Remulla said the SWS survey showing Villar as a presidential frontrunner has prompted them to “work even harder.”

“We are thankful that the electorate - through the respondents - are placing their trust in Senator Villar as the best person to succeed the current occupant of Malacañang as president of the republic in 2010,” he said.

Remulla, who is reported to be included in Villar’s Senate slate, said they also recognize that elections are nine months away, and that the “campaign season is the critical period for the electorate to make their choice.”

“We also believe that the baseless accusations and criticisms against Senator Villar will not stop and are even expected to increase in the months to come,” he said.

“This situation is what is driving the NP to prepare all the more. The party is also in the final stages of formulating our road map for the country’s future through continuous consultations with stakeholders and experts from all over the country.

“We are currently moving to further strengthen the party in both the national and local levels as well as exploring the possibility of forming coalitions and alliances with other parties.” — Helen Flores, Christina Mendez, Delon Porcalla


The Source

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