Cory On My Mind

In 1985 the reluctant Cory was convinced to run for president to unify the fragmented opposition. If she did not run for president, Marcos could have handily crushed the divided opposition in the 1986 snap presidential election namely Salvador Laurel (UNIDO), Aquilino Pimentel (PDP-Laban), Jovito Salonga (LP-Salonga Wing) and Eva Estrada Kalaw ( LP-Kalaw Wing) who were all hell-bent to run for president.


04 Feb 1986. Huge crowd of Cory Aquino supporters at the election campaign rally in Luneta Park.


The key to the EDSA revolution was the voice of Cory. If she did not run for president there would perhaps have been no EDSA. We would probably not have the freedom we are enjoying today.



We owe our democracy to Cory. At 76, Cory remains a moral and political force. A recent Pulse Asia survey revealed that Cory rated highest with a trust rating of 41% beating Erap, FVR and GMA. The Time magazine put her again in its cover in its 2006 anniversary issue as the leading hero of Asia’s 60-year history beating Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi, MacArthur, Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and many more heroes of our time. She was also honored by prestigious foreign award-giving institutions for her continuing efforts to empower poor communities in the socio-economic sphere in collaboration with various sectors of society.




Let us pray and light a candle of faith for Cory’s recovery from colon cancer.

Can GMA Run For Congresswoman?

There is an ongoing debate as to whether President Gloria Arroyo would be considered as having forfeited her position should she run for congresswoman in Pampanga. Let me submit what I understood about this issue.

Before the passage of Fair Election Act (Republic Act No. 9006), any elective official including a President is deemed resigned from his office upon filing of his certificate of candidacy. The Omnibus Election Code (B.P. Blg. 881, Sec. 67) provides :

Sec. 67. Candidates holding elective office. - Any elective official, whether national or local, running for any office other than the one which he is holding in a permanent capacity, except for President and Vice-President, shall be considered ipso facto resigned from his office upon the filing of his certificate of candidacy.

In the landmark case of Dimaporo vs. Mitra (G.R. No. 96859, 15 October 1991), the Supreme Court sustained the constitutionality of Speaker Mitras’ administrative act of erasing Ali Dimaporo name from the Roll of the House, pursuant to Sec. 67 of B.P. 881. The High Tribunal underscored the basic concept that a public office is a public trust - it is created for the interest and benefit of the people. As such, the holder thereof is subject to such regulations and conditions as the law may impose and he cannot complain of any restrictions which public policy may dictate on his office.

However, Sec. 67 of B.P. 881, was repealed by Sec. 14 of R.A. 9006 in 2001. The repealing clause provides :

Section 14. Repealing Clause. – Section 67 and 85 of the Omnibus Election Code (Batas Pambansa Bldg. 881) and Sections 10 and 11 of Republic Act No. 6646 are hereby repealed. As a consequence, the first proviso in the third paragraph of Section 11 of Republic Act No. 8436 is rendered ineffective. All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations, or any part thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified or amended accordingly.

R.A. 9006 was declared constitutional by no less than the Supreme Court in Farinas vs. Comelec (G.R. No. 152161, 10 December 2003). The SC said that Congress is not precluded from repealing Section 67 by the ruling of the Court in Dimaporo v. Mitra, upholding the validity of the provision and by its pronouncement in the same case that the provision has a laudable purpose. Over time, Congress may find it imperative to repeal the law on its belief that the election process is thereby enhanced and the paramount objective of election laws — the fair, honest and orderly election of truly deserving members of Congress — is achieved.

Incidentally, Justice Cruz, argued that the repeal of Sec. 67 of B.P. 881 by Sec. 14 of R.A. 9006 is not valid for being a mere rider in violation of Art. VI, Sec. 26 (1) of the Constitution providing that “every bill passed by the Congress shall embrace only one subject which shall be expressed in the title thereof.” The Fair Election Act deals only with political advertising, like TV commercials and election posters. It has nothing to do with forfeiture of original offices upon the filing of certificates of candidacy for different offices as provided for in Sec. 67.
In conclusion, based on the R.A. 9006 and Farinas ruling, GMA would not be deemed as having forfeited her position should she files her certificate of candidacy for congresswoman or any other positions lower than the Presidency for that matter.

It is however my fervent hope that someone has to challenge anew the constitutionality of Sec. 14 of Fair Election Act in the event GMA files her certificate of candidacy.

Time and money can derail the recall initiative vs. Among Ed

As I write this Among Ed has safety reached Los Angeles for a series of speaking engagements before various Fil-Am organizations. He will also hold dialogue with the civil society groups foremost of which is PamagCUSA, a US-based organization that advances good citizenship through volunteerism.

Back home, the partisan news stories and editorials of Sun Star Pampanga depict that the recall initiative against Among Ed is already gaining ground. This perception is further bolstered by the moral support on the recall move given by a number of mostly controversial priests headed by an equally controversial monsignor, a son of my town Minalin who is believed to be close to the Pinedas of Lubao and Malacanang having had a hand in the appointment of one regional director in Central Luzon.

Let us not lose hope. The recall initiative will likely face formidable challenges along the way. Allow me to explain them.

1. Time Constraint

Per COMELEC Resolution No. 7505, no recall shall be held within one (1) year before the holding of the next regular election. What is the implication of this? This means the holding of a recall election is prohibited by law from 10 May 2009 until 10 May 2010, the date of the next regular election. In other words, the COMELEC has to set the recall election in Pampanga not later than 9 May 2009. After this date, no recall election is allowed by law.

Stated otherwise, Kambilan has only eight (8) months to complete the whole process of recall initiative which involves gathering of required signatures, filing of petition with the COMELEC, validating the sufficiency of the petition in form and substance and legal battles both in the COMELEC and the Supreme Court. This is a long and tedious process. Unless there’s “kingly” intervention, I don’t think the entire process of the recall initiative could be finished in a span of eight months.

2. Inadequate Budget

When top lawyer Romulo Macalintal downplayed the feasibility of a recall election due to lack of funds for that purpose, I did not believe him. Well, I believe him now after reading Republic Act No. 9498 also known as 2008 General Appropriations Act. In the COMELEC’s budget for fiscal year 2008, an amount of Php 46,894,000 is appropriated for the conduct and supervision of elections and other political exercises.

Out of that amount, only Php 5,000,000 is allocated for recall election that may be held. Incidentally, while Kambilan is yet to file a recall petition with the COMELEC there are about eighteen (18) recall petitions now pending in the COMELEC excluding the recall petition just recently filed against the governor of Sulu.

Given this situation, I do not think a recall election in Pampanga could push through. The COMELEC will have no funds to print ballots, conduct and supervise the election itself and pay the teachers that will man 6,461 precincts in Pampanga.

What happens if COMELEC officially declares that a recall election cannot be enforced because of insufficient or lack of funds? If there’s still time, I think the recall proponents would lobby Congress to pass a bill allocating a special funds for the conduct of a recall election in Pampanga. If this situation occurs, I do not think most of our senators, especially those seeking reelection, would support the measure for a simple reason that Among Ed is largely viewed as a political capital who can influence the political preference of the voters come election time.

I would like to ask a hypothetical question. What if the recall proponents volunteer to fund the recall election? Is there is a law allowing or prohibiting it. I don’t know. What I know is that a leading national newspaper branded the recall initiative as “shameless”. Going to the extent of funding the recall election by the proponents is not only brazen but downright unconscionable.

How ironic! The recall petition can prosper because of sufficient money being used by the proponents in the signature-gathering but the recall election itself cannot prosper because of the lack of it.

Note : Photo courtesy of PamagCUSA website

Prayers For Prayerful Cory

In 1985 the reluctant Cory was convinced to run for president to unify the fragmented opposition. If she did not run for president, Marcos could have handily crushed the divided opposition in the 1986 snap presidential election namely Salvador Laurel (UNIDO), Aquilino Pimentel (PDP-Laban), Jovito Salonga (LP-Salonga Wing) and Eva Estrada Kalaw ( LP-Kalaw Wing) who were all hell-bent to run for president.


04 Feb 1986. Huge crowd of Cory Aquino supporters at the election campaign rally in Luneta Park.


The key to the EDSA revolution was the voice of Cory. If she did not run for president there would perhaps have been no EDSA. We would probably not have the freedom we are enjoying today.



We owe our democracy to Cory. At 76, Cory remains a moral and political force. A recent Pulse Asia survey revealed that Cory rated highest with a trust rating of 41% beating Erap, FVR and GMA. The Time magazine put her again in its cover in its 2006 anniversary issue as the leading hero of Asia’s 60-year history beating Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi, MacArthur, Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and many more heroes of our time. She was also honored by prestigious foreign award-giving institutions for her continuing efforts to empower poor communities in the socio-economic sphere in collaboration with various sectors of society.

Achilles' Heel in the Steely Facade of Hillary Clinton

In this video, Clinton's voice cracked and her eyes welled up with tears as she spoke about her passion for the election as well as for America. A fair number of watchers believe she was doing it for the camera; a phony effort to elicit sympathy.
Scripted or not, such display of emotion is a hole-in-one masterstroke that helped the revival of Hillary’s presidential hopes.

Are Filipinos ready for a "Black" President?

Recently a member of media jokingly asked Jejomar Binay if the Filipinos are ready for a “Black” president. He retorted in jest, “I’m a darkhorse”.

Seriously, Jojo Binay has been mentioned in the media as a possible presidential hopeful. Will he run for president?

If he was true to his words, he will not.

He was once asked about rumors that he might run for the presidency. The mayor was said to have paused and subtly deflected the topic "I always believe that winning the presidency is a matter of destiny. I heard that from Cory; she was the one who said that. Running the city is hard; but let me just say that I want to be remembered as a good administrator. I think I know how to administer. Probably the only difference between running a business and running government is that in business, you can quantify your success through the profits you earn. In our case, it's not quantifiable because it's service. If there's any gauge at all, it's probably the result of the elections, because if you win overwhelmingly, you're probably on the right track."

Mark his words!