The Wutz Up in the Philippines!

Presidential aspirants Senators Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel Villar Jr. continued to engage in a neck and neck race, with the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll showing the two to be statistically tied two months before the May 10 elections.

The SWS survey, commissioned by BusinessWorld newspaper, showed that while Aquino remains the top pick among presidential aspirants, Villar appeared to be catching up.

It said that while both Aquino and Villar lost ground, the cost was “more substantial” for Aquino, whose overall score was cut by six points to 36 percent.

Villar’s ratings dropped 1 percentage point to 34 percent, the survey added.

“The gap between the two falls within the ±2.2% margin of error used in the Feb. 24-28 survey, which used face-to-face interviews of 2,100 registered voters nationwide,” according to a report on BusinessWorld on Tuesday.

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Administration party standard-bearer Gilberto Teodoro on Tuesday strongly denied being President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s lapdog, appealing once more to the public to look at his platforms and not his affiliations.

“Hindi ko na kailangang iharap ang sarili ko kanino man, sa ating mga kababayan kung ako ay magiging tuta lamang. Hindi ako ng tuta ng kahit na sino,” Teodoro told GMANews.TV after his interview with broadcast journalist Mike Enriquez on the special radio program “Ikaw Na Ba: The Presidential Interview” aired over dzBB on Tuesday morning.

(There is no need for me to face our countrymen if I’m just somebody’s lapdog. I am nobody’s lapdog.)

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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Sen. Jamby Madrigal and several other presidential candidates on Monday ganged up on Sen. Manny Villar for spending too much on political advertisements, which analysts have pinpointed as the main reason why Villar has been able to catch up with erstwhile frontrunner Sen. Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III.

In the “Inquirer First Edition: Presidential Debates” held at UP Diliman, Madrigal delivered harsh criticisms against Villar. The lady senator had filed a complaint for unethical conduct against the real estate tycoon in connection with the C-5 road extension project.

The ball started rolling when Madrigal was asked the question: “Political ads nowadays seem to cater to the lowest common denominator in society. From catchphrases to jingles, they seem to contain mainly rhetoric but no real substance. Do you think this type of campaigning, including political endorsements from movie celebrities, does this not contribute to the dumbing down of the Filipino voter?”

The sole female presidential candidate responded with a resounding, “I agree—completely.”

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MANILA, Philippines - The 23 members of the Philippine Senate incurred over P300-million in expenses in 2008, according to records from the Commission on Audit (COA).

Sen. Gregorio ‘Gringo’ Honasan, a military rebel-turned-politician, emerged as the biggest spender among the 23 lawmakers.

In 2008, Honasan’s expenses reached P17.9 million. In 2007, when he returned to the Senate, his expenses from July-December 2007 amounted to P8.109 million.

The bulk of Honasan’s expenses from January-December 31, 2008 covered the salaries of his staff, which reached P9.6 million. The rest of the money were spent on travel, meetings, supplies and materials.

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Constitutionalist Fr. Joaqiun Bernas said on dzBB that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cannot appoint the next chief justice without violating the Constitution. Mrs. Arroyo cannot make any appointments within 60 days before her term expires on June 30 this year.

The current Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno will be leaving the position on May 17, thus  making the position available. Fr. Bernas said that the next president will have enough time to appoint the successor of Chief Justice Puno. But he also points out that the Constitution allow only 90 days of vacancy and the next president should filed within that period.

Fr. Bernas added that any of the associate justice can take over the vacany in acting position.
However, Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) can only send the list of successor  on or after May 17 and it would be up to the next president’s decision.

But Pres. Arroyo’s election lawyer Romulo Macalintal argued that the constitution is not absolute on its prohibition to appoint any officials within two months.

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MANILA, Philippines— After several months of hiding, American Jason Ivler, suspect in the killing of the son and namesake of a Malacañang official, was arrested by joint operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police early Monday morning, officials said.

Chief Superintendent Elmo San Diego, Quezon City police district chief, said Ivler, however, resisted arrest and was wounded in a gunfight with authorities.

Ivler sustained four gunshot wounds: the stomach, chest, shoulder, and leg. He is currently being treated at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center.

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MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo poured a whopping P459 million worth of infrastructure projects in the second district of Pampanga, where she’s seeking a congressional seat in 2010, according to documents provided by Liberal Party senatorial candidate Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros.

Documents from the Department of Public Works and Highways as of Nov. 30, 2009 show that most of the projects involved construction or improvement of roads, drainages, and desilting and declogging of rivers.

It smacks of electioneering and should be a reason to disqualify the President from joining the congressional race, Hontiveros said. The lady lawmaker has filed a disqualification case against President Arroyo.

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MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will see changes in political leadership in 2010, with an opposition president and vice-president likely to take over by noon of June 30, 2010.

However, the political transition is paved with a lot of uncertainty brought about by an untested poll automation technology and most voters still unfamiliar with the process.

Based on the October 22-30 Nationwide Survey on Election-related Probes, 61% of Filipinos had little or no knowledge about the Automated Election System (AES). Eighty percent of voters among the D and E socio-economic groups had little knowledge about it.

A plurality of 43% were undecided when asked whether the May 2010 automated elections will be “credible” for the citizenry. A total of 16% disagreed while 40% agreed that the automated polls will be credible.

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VOTE-RICH Mindanao is emerging as the new battlefront among the candidates in next year’s elections, with some opposition bets claiming that the massacre of 57 civilians there last month is boosting their candidacy while dimming the chances of the ruling party’s candidates.

Mindanao had 10.65 million voters in 2007, and those numbers appear to be more than enough to draw the attention of all the presidential candidates except deposed President Joseph Estrada, the standard-bearer of the Partido ng Masang Pilipino.

They claim visiting Mindanao almost every week to boost their chances in 2010, although it appears that only the ruling Lakas-Kampi CMD’s presidential bet, former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, dares to visit the island’s wilder areas like Maguindanao, where the 57 people, including the family and supporters of Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, were butchered.

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MANILA, Philippines—The Department of National Defense (DND) is working on an agreement with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that will provide the military a more active role in the 2010 elections.

Acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales said the new memorandum of agreement (MOA) would allow the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to meet the challenge “head on” instead of “shying away” from its responsibility during elections.

“We will show that the AFP is the true protector of democracy and our people’s will. We will prove the detractors of our soldiers wrong,” Gonzales said in a statement.

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