Off Topic: May 2004 Elections

[Guest kalinte]

the problem with religion is fanatisism. if poeple at luneta are holding their umbrellas upsidedown to catch Gods blessings..... that's not much different from poeple blowing themselves up in the name of their faith. scrary.

i just learned from the tely last night... Lito Lapid is running for senate. whaaaaaaaa pagnanalo pa yan end of our world na.

[Guest WeaponX]

Just like to share kung bakit si Eddie Villanueva ang choice ko...

Ano ba ang problema ng bansa?

- i believe graft and corruption, too much politics, away-away (erap - gloria, gloria - ping, gloria - fpj)

Ano ba ang kailangan nating presidente?

- i believe yung kayang tanggalin ang graft and corruption at sobrang pulitika sa gobyerno. Iyon ding pwedeng maging instrumento for the healing of this nation.

Sino ba ang may ganitong qualiy among the presidentiables?

can fight graft and corruption - kung "man of man "-> malamang instead of fighting graft and corruption e mag-join pa sa graft and corruption. Ang kailangan natin "man of God" - iyong may takot sa tao at higit sa lahat may takot sa Diyos.

hindi pulitiko - cno lang ba sa mga kandidato ang hindi pulitiko - c fpj? - di nga pulitiko pero napapaligiran ng mga taong sobrang pulitiko, c eddie gil? - parang-awa nyo na, maawa nman kayo sa bansa natin, c eddie villanueva? - "Man of God" - Hindi pulitiko.

Instrument to bring healing for our nation - no man can bring healing to a nation - only God! Kaya ang kailangan natin - Man of God!

Amen to that. I'm for Eddie Villanueva too!

[Guest adi116]

Amen to that. I'm for Eddie Villanueva too!

Yeah!

[Guest adi116]

A Google Phenomena ... TRY THIS SEARCH

Something you didn't know that google does...

1. Go to Google

2. Type "bangungot ng bayan" in the box

3. Click the "I'm feeling lucky!" button

Guess where it will lead you... hehe..

[Guest kalinte]

A Google Phenomena ... TRY THIS http://smartphone.modaco.com/search.php>Search

Something you didn't know that google does...

Guess where it will lead you... hehe..

How you found that site is beyond me but it has GMA written all over it. i mean who have the machinery not to say the cash to do such stupid thing. attacking FPJ the person will only make FPJ strongger. pinoys always pitty the underdog. the uneducated and the galing sa pagkadukha. they should attack FPJ's lack of clear politicat platform instead. they should stick to the issues.

[Guest adi116]

I doubt kung si GMA nga ang may gawa non... Siguro some hackers and internet pranksters na ayaw kay FPJ. It seems not so serious to me, the first thing that came into my mind is that's a joke. :)

[Guest binky_p]

i voted for GMA (dito sa poll)...

politics weaves a lot of topics..and so is religion...

anyway,..nice conversations and opinions...whatever happens, just vote wisely.

[Guest jabez]

Hi! Ito po si Jabez, muling nabuhay.

Alam ko, karamihan naman sa atin dito may internet access (he he he), kaya kung gusto ninyong malaman pang lalo ang platform ni Bro. Eddie V. para sa bayan, dalaw naman kayo sa www.bangonpilipinas.org

Sana naman, huwag natin siyang hatulan dahil lang isa siyang "man of God". Tingnan muna natin ang platform niya, saka natin siya "tirahin" kung nararapat. Alam ko rin, may utak ang mga tao dito sa Modaco!

"Ako po ay para kay Bro. Eddie ... Maniwala ka ... SPAMngon ang Pilipinas"

Mabuhay!

[Guest kalinte]

@jabez i'm giving bro eddie a second look but his site is too green. must be afavorite color or something.

[Guest jabez]

@jabez i'm giving bro eddie a second look but his site is too green. must be afavorite color or something.

he he he ... my art teacher says green is the color of hope.

"Maniwala ka ... SPAMngon ang Pilipinas!"

[Guest adi116]

Please take time to read this, an aritcle by Conrado De Quiros. :D

Inspire

THE REAL surprise in this campaign is Eddie Villanueva. I confess I thought

he would swiftly end up as a "vanity candidate"--if you have vanity

publications, you can have vanity candidates too--or someone who runs

merely to indulge himself. I thought he would soon see the light after he

realized he had little chance to win and go back to his previous calling,

richer in experience, if poorer in money.

Well, he hasn't gone back to his previous calling, and that isn't either

because he refuses to see the light. Rather than falling on the wayside, he

seems to be storming ahead. If his sorties are anything to go by, he should

soon go past Panfilo Lacson. And if his crowds continue to swell, who knows

how far he'll go. He himself brims with confidence, coming from a belief,

real or imagined, that he has a divine ally in all this. A belief, or

sentiment, his followers share totally. Villanueva doesn't seem to be

spending as much as his rivals, his followers are rooting for him from

sheer conviction. You can see that in the faces of Kuh Ledesma and company.

I don't know what the next surveys will say about his standing among the

presidential candidates, but the other candidates would be foolish to take

him lightly.

At the start, I thought he would just take votes away from Fernando Poe

Jr. That is, masa votes, the masa being more prone to take comfort in

someone who projects himself if not as a modern-day prophet, at least, as

a conveyor of the divine will as much as in someone who proclaims himself

to be a hero in real life as in the movies. Well, that probably remains

the bulk of his following. But it is no longer confined to them.

Villanueva has been getting good responses from the middle and well-off

classes as well. I do know some of them. They've been trying to convince

me to go their route too with the passion of converts.

While they haven't succeeded, I'm not knocking their convictions. I don't

know Villanueva at all, but he comes across as an earnest fellow on TV. His

religiousness or piety doesn't look contrived, or like a plaid suit that

can be put on and off. He doesn't have a reputation for being crooked,

which is more than can be said for many of the candidates. When he says he

will not abide even friends and relatives who fail to hew the straight and

narrow, he doesn't at all sound like Erap saying walang kama-kamaganak,

walang kaikaibigan (no relatives, no cronies). Of course, at least from

where I stand, it doesn't help either that he constantly responds to

questions with Bible quotations and platitudes. Asked, for example, for his

comments about the covenant he joined with the other presidential

candidates condemning Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's use of public funds to

campaign, all he had to say was, "Honesty is the best policy." Maybe so,

but not in campaigns. You need quite more than that.

None of this is to endorse Villanueva's candidacy. All of it is to note one

very important thing about the current elections, which I think

Villanueva's surge represents. And which is something the debate between EQ

and IQ misses out completely. This is an election where the voters are

looking not for someone who has a high EQ or IQ but for someone who has a

high MQ, or morality quotient. This is an election where people are looking

not for someone who can talk about politics and economics but for someone

who can talk about hope and leading the country out of the wilderness. This

is an election where people are looking not for someone who can perorate on

issues or cradle babies in their arms but for someone who can light a

candle in the darkness.

This is an election, in a word, where people are looking for someone who

can inspire.

With reason. The most startling statistic I've heard of late is not just

that the number of undecided is large but that it is growing. That is

phenomenal. The norm has always been that the closer you get to Election

Day, the less the number of undecided becomes, the voters already forming

their minds about the candidate they want and committing themselves to him

or her. This time, the closer we get to Election Day, the less we know whom

to vote for. That statistic is borne out by what friends are telling me:

They'll know who to go for only on Election Day.

I attribute that to the fact that none of the stronger candidates has been

able to inspire the voters. The closest to have done that, by virtue of his

religious convictions and the Filipino's proneness to look up to heaven

when all else seems to fail, is Villanueva. He's the one who doesn't seem

to suffer from the "wasted vote" syndrome, or his followers being afraid to

vote for him because their votes would be wasted. "Maniwala ka (Believe)"

is their campaign line. It is a powerful one in a world where people have

lost faith things can be better.

The fundamental problem of this country today, as palpable as the bass line

of a jazz standard, is not political or economic, however arguably

humongous the problems there are. It is moral. It is the one symbolized by

Elmer Jacinto topping the medical board exams and wanting to leave this

country to become a caregiver in America. This is a country that has lost

its bearings, not knowing where it has come from and not knowing where it

is going. This is a country that has lost its pride, the corruption that

assails it not just being one of the body but of the soul, a sense of

things decaying and rotting and one being powerless to do anything about

it. This is a country that has lost its faith and hope, the lack of

conviction and despair suffusing it like the vapors of alcohol in the dead

of night, or morning.

It's not just enough to make promises or look "pogi" (handsome) in posters

or take to the rostrum and talk about an economic platform. You want to be

president in these circumstances:

Inspire.

[Guest adi116]

mukhang mas madami yata bilang ng mga undecided voters a? and it shows - based from the response here in modaco.

Maganda yan, ang pagboto talagang dapat pag-isipan mabuti.

[Guest rodnav]

no, your info is wrong, the number of undecided have dropped significantly. mr de quiros is misrepresenting the facts. like that about emil jacinto, he's going to the states to become a nurse and not as a caregiver, and nurse's would take offense in making them the same as caregivers. mr de quiros has been an ardent roco supporter for a long time.

[Guest adi116]

This letter of appeal came from Gigi Padilla, daughter of the late Sen.Ambrosio Padilla. By the way, it is noteworthy to point out also that therecent PMAP survey came out with Bro. Eddie as the most qualified amongthe Presidentiables. God is good!

Why am I voting for Brother Eddie?

It all started with my strong feelings of disgust over what is happeningto our country. I have always believed in the greatness of the Filipinos.

After EDSA I and II, I felt that this greatness would finally be allowedto flourish but this dream has been so illusive. Instead, my days arefilled with anger, resignation, and then numbness as I see how the lastremnants of order in our country are surely being destroyed by ourpresentleaders.

Philippine politics really is immoral, unresponsive, and dirtytosay the least. Our leaders have become so brazen, so shameless, and evenproud of their corruption and immorality. In the meantime, the Filipinossuffer.

I want a change. I think majority of Filipinos wants change, a very majorone. I will not accept just a change of face or political party because,in the end, most of our politicians really belong to just one party, theone that believes only in self-interests.

I still believe in the greatness of the majority of our people. I believein our inherently gentle, God-fearing, loving nature. I believe that weare hardworking and very talented. I know that that the Philippines isvery blessed with rich natural resources. We have what it takes to be agreat nation. We just need to get our act together.My support for Bro. Eddie started as a vote of protest. I did not knowmuch about him. He was just the least evil. As  heard more and read more,I was pleasantly surprised to see that he had other qualities which Iliked and eventually admired:|

He was an activist in his youth. That tells me that he is idealistic, that he loves his country enough to give his time, energy, and even risk his life for his beliefs. He is an economist and a law student. He would have been a lawyer if not for the threats of arrests on him. He was a professor of Economics and Finance. I am glad to know he has some educational background that may come in handy in running a country.

As a preacher of 24 years, I know he loves and fears God. His first agenda is to bring back morality in the government. That is what is sorely missing in our government and in our politicians today. The experience corruption sadly is very real to all of us -- in government offices, in our traffic enforcers, in the BIR, sadly even in our courts.

He has traveled extensively here and abroad and has been exposed to different cultures and people. To me, travelling is one mind expander. It is here that you see the contrast of other countries and our own.It is in other countries where you see that things like a disciplined citizenry and a responsive government is possible.

Bro. Eddie is progressive and has many ideas. One such idea is putting up an independent graft board which will not be under the president. He saw how effective this was in fighting corruption in other countries.

He is a good organizer. As leader of Jesus Is Lord movement, he has made the organization grow. hey are now all over the Philippines and even in other countries. How was he able to make this organizationgrowso fast and so big? This experience will surely come in handy in managing the biggest corporation in our country, the Philippine government.

He is sincere. He was 'forced' into running and is 'sacrificing' six years of his life for God's mission. He has no personal agenda in running and, more importantly, he has no obligations to contributors, big businessmen, gambling and drug syndicates, powerful lobby groups etc. If Bro. Eddie wins, it will be a triumph of real people power.

I like his stand on certain issues important to me like:

He is against all kinds of abortion.

He recognizes that our justice system is impaired and that many are unjustly sentenced so he cannot implement the death penalty.

He is against automatic payments of our foreign debts specially the immoral ones such as the debt incurred in building the nuclear power plant.

He believes that globalization is inevitable but it must be balanced with national interests.

He is for putting emphasis on the development of the small and middle-size businesses over investments of big, multi-national corporations.

He is for spending more on basic services rather than on debtservicing and defense.

Many Catholics and people from other religions are scared to vote Bro.Eddie. They ask what happens to the separation of church and state? Is

hegoing to use the presidency to advance his own beliefs? Should apreacherbe allowed to hold the highest post in the land? As a Catholic, I have

noproblems with Bro. Eddie being a born-again preacher. He said that hewillbe a president for all Filipinos, whatever your faith. He promises touphold the freedom of religion and belief. To me, separation on churchand state should only mean that the funds and the power of the governmentshould not be used to favor a particular religious belief.

I do think, though, that the government should be infused with morality.

In some countries, it is illegal to pray in public schools and governmentoffices in the name of the separation of church and state. I pray thatthis never happens in our country. If Bro. Eddie is going to bring to thepresidency the righteousness that he has been preaching to many people inhis 25 years of being a preacher, then I say, he is the best qualifiedamong the presidential candidates.

Many say Bro. Eddie will never win. He has no money, no machinery, nobigtime supporters. It is all just a dream so do not waste your vote. Butwetoppled a powerful dictator in EDSA I against all odds didn't we? The  alternative to stop dreaming is to just accept corruption as a part ofourlife, to just watch as our country become poorer, to see our childrenlosetheir future. The only wasted vote is the one cast for someone we do notreally believe in. If we give our vote to someone only because he is thelesser evil, then we have already lost. If we give our vote to acandidateonly to stop a rival candidate from winning, then we have acceptedmediocrity as inevitable.

We cannot give up. They say it will take a miracle for Bro. Eddie to win.

It will take an even greater miracle for him to fight the system ofcorruption in the government if he wins. Bro. Eddie challenges us notjust to vote for him and sit back. He can't do anything without our help.

Voting for him is just the first step. After that, we all have to helphim. We all have to do our share. We all have to be vigilant. We all haveto change our ways. Let us accept this challenge. Let us shape ourdestiny ourselves.

I think it is time to put aside our pessimism. It is time to unite. Weall want the same thing -- a good government, prosperity, freedom, andpeace for our people. Bro. Eddie has become my candidate. To me now, heis not only the least evil among the candidates, but is a very worthy andinspiring candidate. He reminds me that I can dream again. He makes mefeel that there is hope for the Filipino, that our nation and our peoplecan achieve our dreams. I have not been inspired for a very long time.

Let us fight for our destiny. Let us vote Bro. Eddie.

If like me you believe that Bro. Eddie should be president, put your namebelow and send this to as many people as you have in your address book.

Feel free to add your own reasons why you have been inspired.