The Wutz Up in the Philippines!

Estrada a no-show, cites PDI’s ‘bias’ against him

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 2) Eight candidates showed up at the first ever presidential debate organized by the Philippine Daily Inquirer held on Monday, a day before the start of the official campaign period.

In attendance were frontrunners Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel Villar, administration bet Gilbert Teodoro, Senators Richard Gordon and Ma. Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal, evangelist Eddie Villanueva, Nicanor Perlas and JC de los Reyes.

Former president Joseph Estrada did not attend the debate, citing “bias” against him by the paper.

The event is being held at the University of the Philippines Theater in Diliman Quezon City.

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MANILA, Philippines - Liberal Party standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III continued to top the list of presidential candidates in the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), but Nacionalista Party bet Sen. Manny Villar has further narrowed the gap to just seven percentage points.

The SWS poll, commissioned by BusinessWorld, found that 42 percent of Filipinos would vote for Aquino while 35 percent would choose Villar.

The survey, conducted from Jan. 21 to 24, used face-to-face interviews of 2,100 adult respondents.

Aquino’s lead over Villar was 19 percentage points in Dec. 5 to 10 and 11 percent in Dec. 27 to 28.

Before the filing of candidacy papers, Aquino’s lead over the rest of the aspirants was more than 20 percentage points.

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Estrada gets Comelec nod: Watch my rating soar

MANILA, Philippines—Why just be a “kingmaker” when you can be the “king” yourself?

Fresh from getting the nod of a division of the Commission on Elections for him to take another shot at Malacañang, deposed President Joseph Estrada Wednesday said he would not withdraw from the presidential race.

Estrada said he would slug it out “to the end” because he wanted to be “king again.”

Estrada said the Comelec decision would have a “big impact” on his campaign” because his detractors were spreading “disinformation” that he would withdraw from the race or be disqualified.

Now that the poll body has ruled in his favor, he expects his ratings in surveys to rise.

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed with finality a petition to disqualify former President Joseph Estrada from again seeking the presidency in the May 2010 elections.

The petition was filed by the group of Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc., was first junked by the Higher Court on December 8, 2009. But the group filed a motion for reconsideration.

“The Court denied the petition with finality  because there are no substantial arguments in the petition,” said lawyer Midas Marquez, High Tribunal spokesman and concurrently deputy court administrator.

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Former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, standard bearer of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP)-PDP Laban coalition party, said on Thursday showbiz personality Edu Manzano has been officially included in his party’s list of senatorial bets for the May, 2010 elections.

Estrada said during the No Holds Barred media forum sponsored by the National Press Club (NPC) that Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares, daughter of the late movie king Fernando Poe Jr., was also named as among the “senatoriables” for the PMP-PDP Laban slate.

Manzano, former head of the Optical Media Board (OMB), which is in the forefront of the government’s drive against video piracy, has agreed to throw his hat in the senatorial race.

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MANILA, Philippines - Former police senior superintendent Cezar Mancao II tagged former President Joseph Estrada and Sen. Panfilo Lacson behind the murders of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000.

Mancao testified in open court yesterday tagging the two personalities as among six people that carried out “Operation Delta,” a covert operation supposedly designed to silence Dacer.

Mancao’s lawyer Ferdinand Topacio told reporters that the former police official also testified before the closed-door hearing that former police senior officials Michael Ray Aquino, Teofilo Viña, Vicente Arnado and Glenn Dumlao took part in Operation Delta.

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MANILA, Philippines—“Hearsays,” a “demolition” job, and another “diversionary tactic” were how former president Joseph Estrada described his alleged involvement in the murder of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito.

Estrada was reacting to former Senior Superintendent Cezar Mancao’s alleged testimony in court that he ordered the killings in 2000.

“These are very simple hearsays and at the same time, a demolition squad that they are doing and I believe that it’s another diversion tactic to forget the $20,000 dinner,” he said at a regular forum in the Senate on Thursday.

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MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo came out swinging yesterday at her critics in her last State of the Nation Address defending her style of governance and vowing to continue to “fight” for the welfare of ordinary Filipinos and the economy up to the last day of her term in June 2010.

“At the end of this speech I shall step down from this stage, but not from the presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino. The nation comes first. There is much to do as head of state – to the very last day,” Mrs. Arroyo said.

Wearing a magenta terno and sporting a hairstyle similar to what she had when she was sworn into office in 2001, Mrs. Arroyo started her SONA with a prayer for the cancer-stricken former President Corazon Aquino, whom she later cited in her speech.

She said under her administration, the economy grew stronger despite the global recession while the country’s democracy remained protected despite several destabilization attempts accompanied by allegations of massive corruption and efforts to amend the Constitution to purportedly prolong her stay in office. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank expect the economy to contract this year.

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If being blessed by the Catholic Church is determined by numbers, then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has got it.

With reliable supporters in the Church hierarchy, Arroyo has had an easier time than her two predecessors when it comes to church-state relations.

It could be that she is a woman and a devout Catholic, like former President Aquino, that bishops tend to be kinder, or more tolerant of her.

Previous presidents Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada clashed with the Catholic Church, specifically Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin. From population control programs to Charter change to moral issues, the bishops used the pulpits in criticizing Ramos and Estrada.

But when it came to Arroyo, the sermons were rather muted.

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