change has arrived – PDI uses the word “fuck” on its front page, a first in PHL journalism

today, June 3, 2016 is a news day in the philippines. you may not feel it yet but you can certainly read it off at today’s issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

for the first time in this country’s history and history of Philippine journalism, a national newspaper has used the word “fuck” on the title of an article on its front page. no bleeps, no asterisks but good old, plain “fuck” in all it’s four letter glory.

not only was it used on the front page, it was used on the second lead article in the newspaper, right below the lead article for the day.

beyond the initial shock or glee from reading the word on the newspaper, we think there is a deeper reason for its use.

we are describing it as poetic. in simple terms, it can be described as PDI is making a point here.

first the poetry in today’s PDI issue – look at the whole front page. top of the page is a big photo of outgoing president Noynoy Aquino beside the losing LP presidential candidate and Aquino’s cabinet members having wholesome fun on the videoke.

from that giant wholesome picture, right below it is the headline: “Seek to understand Duterte, aides urge” accompanied by a photo of Duterte here he seems to be smirking and close to looking arrogant and below it the magic word “fuck” in the article “Don’t fuck with me, he tells media”. then on the far left is the article explaining the wholesome picture on top of the newspaper “P’noy. Mar lead LP in singing blues away”

next, we think all that was intentional. it was designed and laid out that way with exact purpose. these are the messages :

• draw  contrast between the outgoing and incoming presidents of the country
• the outgoing president ad administration is all about fun and wholesome
• the incoming president and administration of Duterte is all about “fucking” (“we are all fucked”?)
• if not that, well at least the incoming president Duterte is not wholesome
• the big irony of it all is that as the headline says, we are supposed to “understand” the incoming president

the contrast that PDI painted is clear, done in words and pictures that we all understand even if we didn’t think about it too much. it is obvious and plain to see.

but none of this is PDI’s fault – they are just giving it to us in words and pictures the thoughts that we have been suspecting specially in the past few days if not thoughts we have known all along and all that based on actual words and actions by Rody Duterte.

PDI’s front page just might be the signs of the times. and the sign starts with the word “fuck”.

Leni Robredo’s trek to the vice president position : part 1

thank you to blogwatch.ph (@blogwatchdotph) for inviting us to sit in during the session with LP’s vice presidentiable Leni Robredo.

there is something to be said about Leni Robredo, a vice presidentiable who gives her time to a group of bloggers and netizens to talk about issues and allow them to know who she is as a candidate and as a person.

and Leni Robredo needs the exposure. last october 19, 2015, we wrote in this blog (tittle : 2 things Leni Robredo should do to win) that to win, she needs to address her low awareness on a national level. Robredo is known in Naga and to a certain degree in Metro Manila. but with her experience and work concentrated on a local level at Naga, she is hardly known nationally specially when compared to her competitors in the vice-presidential race who are all nationally elected senators. they all have a national political base and are known on a national level.

this meeting with the blogwatch.ph will help address the need we identified in October 2015.

excerpts:

survey results notwithstanding, Robredo has 2 huge but very basic marketing things that she needs to do to win:

1. address low awareness on a national level – robredo may be known in here hometown and to some degree in Metro Manila but she is hardly known in the rest of the country. that is a key issue as the position she is running for is national in scope, she needs the rest of the country to know who she is.
2. what is the Leni Robredo brand equity or brand positioning? together with the issue of low awareness, Robredo’s other big problem and this can be much bigger than the first is nobody knows what she stands for. what is her brand equity or brand positioning of Robredo?

read: https://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/2015/10/19/2-things-leni-robredo-should-do-to-win/

since October, Robredo has gone to other parts of the country to get to know the people and to allow the people to know her. she has aired some advertising which based on the monitoring was about P91M in 2015 and places her 11th highest ad spender among the national candidates and 3rd highest among vice-presidentiables. the ad spending may be not much, but it is a move in the right direction.

what is interesting is that during the blogwatch.ph discussion, she admitted she was surprised by the amount of money spent on her TV ads. she said she did not have money to spend for the ads and the money for sure did not come from her. her party, the LP had spent for the ads. according to her, senator bam aquino is the one managing her campaign and would know the details of the ad spending.

honestly, we do not remember what ad she aired during that time. but i remember it was not a remarkable ad. it was forgettable and too run of the mill.

in a scenario where there is very low brand awareness, ads like the one she aired, boring it may be, is a good thing. the ad for sure will add awareness and build some brand equity for her.

however, for whatever brand equity she has gotten from the ads, it is on shaky grounds as a non-remarkable ad that builds an equity means the equity is vulnerable to erosion specially when the other vice presidential candidates start airing their own ads during the campaign  period which started just a few days ago.

the survey results recently released show that Robredo’s campaign is doing very well. it also supports the points we raised on what Robredo needs to win the election – increase awareness and a brand equity definition.

a few days ago, we tweeted that Robredo should aim to get more interviews to get media exposure, for more people to hear and see her. in the times that we have seen her during interviews, we were continually and exponentially  impressed by her. we thought more voters getting this experience, the more she gains supporters.

the survey results are very good for Robredo. she was on a surge in the latest mid-December poll from SWS. from a very low 7% in September 2014, she gained a +16% points in December 2015, to 19% from 3%. more importantly her ranking jumped to a tie at 2nd with Marcos coming from 5th in September.

the surge in the surveys may have been driven  by the announcement of her candidacy and the endorsement from president Noynoy Aquino and the LP presidentiable Mar Roxas and the media attention given to her after the announcement. in other words, Robredo generated awareness and started to define her brand equity.

her ratings in the survey has defined her as competitive even when faced with incumbent senators who already have a national standing.

the question is can she sustain this upward trajectory in the coming weeks?

~~~ more to follow ~~~

 

 

 

 

 

triple whammy for Poe, Roxas & Binay in latest SWS survey, Roxas gains the most

Apparently there is a second survey for the presidentiables from SWS and this one puts presidenitables Grace Poe, Jejomar Binay and Mar Roxas practically on a there-way tie.

The survey was conducted Septemebr 2 to 5, 2105 and has the following ratings for the three presidentiables :

• Grace Poe : 26%
• Jemomar Binay : 24% (difference vs Poe – 2% points) 
• Mar Roxas : 20% (dofference vs Binay – 4% points)

(source : http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections/2016/106788-sws-survey-breakdown-presidential-tie)

With a margin of error at +/- 3%, Poe and Binay are on a statistical tie while  Roxas  vs Binay with a difference of 4% points is statistically significant but  it being just shy by 1% point, that is considered a statistical tie.

unlike the other SWS survey which was an options survey (respondents were asked to name 3 candidates who can replace Aquino), this is a real elections survey where respondents were asked to identify only 1 candidate who they might vote as president if the elections were held during the time of the survey.

this survey gave a triple whammy to all three presdientiables Poe, Binay and Roxas.

1st whammy – this is the biggest whammy and it is for the benefit of Mar Roxas. mar roxas before this survey was a far third to Poe and Binay. roxas jumping to tie the front runners is a big jump for roxas. this mimics the same kind of giant improvement that Roxas got in the other SWS survey where he got a +18% point improvement catapulting him to 2nd position (read here: http://wp.me/pnw03-1W0).

this shows Roxas is a legitimate contender in the election and is on an impressive increasing trend. the increasing trend will serve Roxas well as we move to the actual election in 2016, this means Roxas is building his support base at the same time the support base of Poe and Binay are not moving if not weakening.

2nd whammy – this one hurts Garce Poe. Poe in previous surveys showed she was way ahead of the others and was a clear leader. this survey with two of her rivals catching up with her shows she is not invincible. it says she can be beaten.

3rd whammy – this hurts Jejomar Binay. Binay used to be the runaway winner in the polls but his ratings have been suffering and was on a massive declining trend since the corruption and plunder charges have been exposed in the senate. Binay just getting  a tie with the two others means Binay has not arrested his declining trend and continue to suffer in the polls.

unless Binay changes things, like address the corruption and plunder charges against him, the declining trend will continue and his numbers will shrink significantly by election time. it is possible that the shrinkage will be big enough that the other leaders will overtake him.

Roxas’ ratings have gone up driven by the endorsement of President Aquino for his presidentiable run and Roxas’ declaring that he will continue Aquino’s “Daang Matuwid”. Aquino endorsed Roxas’ presidential run in an event held at Club Filipino on August 30, 2015. Roxas also ran ads almost the next day where he said he will continue Aquino’s “Dang Matuwid”.

Roxas has gained the momentum from this survey and will allow him to enlarge his support base.

Poe will need to work harder to get back her stellar number one position. Let us see if her numbers will improve on the next survey behind her announcement that she will run for president in an event that happened after this survey was conducted.

——–

Question On Methodology & Design For SWS :

we noticed that the two presidentiables surveys, the options survey and this election survey were run on the same time period. did that mean the questions for the these two separate surveys were in one questionnaire and both were asked of the respondents in the same sitting?

if so, was there no order bias in their answers? 

i would think there would be order bias and one or both of the answers of the respondents will be affected by the other. it would be difficult to accept the survey results if there was order bias. 

Mar Roxas to get boost from President Aquino’s rising popularity

Aquino satisfaction best since Q1 2014

PUBLIC SATISFACTION with President Benigno S. C. Aquino III hit its highest point in one-and-a-half years this quarter, fueled by significant improvements in most geographical areas except Mindanao and across socioeconomic classes except ABC, according to results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

read more here : http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=TopStory&title=aquino-satisfaction-best-since-q1-2014&id=115452

latest poll shows president aquino’s net satisfaction rating is on the rise, highest since Q1 2014 according to SWS as published at Business World. this confirms once again that president aquino is the country’s most popular president.

this rise in satisfaction rating comes at a great time for Mar Roxas who recently had announced he is running for president under the LP. this is a benefit to Roxas as Aquino has endorsed Roxas’ run for the presidency.

Roxas has declared he is ready for the presidency and accepts the challenge of continuing Aquino’s “daang matuwid” governance and the platform by which aquino won the election by a landslide.

the “daang matuwid” and aquino’s rising popularity is in contrast to the continuing unanswered graft and corruption charges against Roxas’ main rival for the presidency VP Jejomar Binay.

Roxas is a far third in the latest polls although he has recovered significantly in the latest poll from the previous. Aquino’s endorsement of Roxas may give Roxas the push to challenge the leader Poe and the previous leader Binay. Poe now leads the polls, followed by Binay and Roxas at third.

the latest presdientiables surveys will be released soon, lets see how this all plays out for Roxas.

Aquino’s performance and trust ratings suffer a dramatic giant drop after Mamasapano

-21 percentage points (performance)  and -20 percentage points (trust) are very dramatic drops. aquino’s ratings at its lowest is an added kick in the burr. this is how people see aquino’s performance during the Mamasapano SAF 44 incident.

the significant drop in performance rating was the very dramatic increase in “disapproval” ratings across the board, in all areas and all socio-eco classes and in almost all at least double in increase versus previous rating.

 

president noynoy aquino’s SONA 2013 – transcript & video

a great find:

State Of The Nation Addresses 1935 to 2012
http://www.gov.ph/past-sona-speeches/

in tomorrow’s SONA 2013, we’re expecting the following:

• definitive words to address, fix, resolve and punish those guilty in the most recent P10B pork barrel scam. aquino won a landslide election on the basis of his anti-corruption platform, “daang matuwid”. he has been bragging about his “daang matuwid” stance from the beginning of his term as president. being silent about the pork barrel scam in his SONA in inconsistent with his platform. he should in fact be emphatic about it, state his action on how to get to the bottom of it and prevent it from happening again with the same passion he had during the corona impeachment.
• job generation. poverty is a key issue in the country, still affecting a majority of the population. job generation is a key component to fixing the country’s poverty.
• infrastructure – so many components of the philippine economy are hampered by the country’s poor and high lack of infrastructure.  all industries and specially the people will benefit from an aggressive pursuit of infrastructure, including job generation.

english translation of SONA 2013 here : http://www.gov.ph/2013/07/22/english-benigno-s-aquino-iii-fourth-state-of-the-nation-address-july-22-2013/

 

State of the Nation Address
of
His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines To the Congress of the Philippines

[Delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasang Pambansa Complex, Quezon City, on July 22, 2013]

Marami pong salamat. Maupo ho tayong lahat.

Bise Presidente Jejomar Binay; Senate President Franklin M. Drilon; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.; Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno at ang ating mga kagalang-galang na mahistrado ng Korte Suprema; mga dating Pangulong Fidel Valdez Ramos at Joseph Ejercito Estrada; mga kagalang-galang na kagawad ng kalipunang diplomatiko; mga miyembro ng Senado at Kamara de Representante; mga opisyal ng lokal na pamahalaan; mga miyembro ng Gabinete; mga unipormadong kasapi ng militar at kapulisan; mga kapwa ko nagseserbisyo sa taumbayan; at sa aking mga Boss, ang mga minamahal kong kababayan:

Isang , magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat. [Applause]

Ito po ang aking ikaapat na SONA; dalawa na lamang ang natitira. Halos apat na taon na nga po ang lumipas nang una akong nilapitan ng ilang kampo upang hikayating tumakbo sa pagkapangulo. Ang sabi nila: Alam naming hindi masosolusyonan sa isang tulog, sa isang taon, o kahit pa sa anim na taong termino ng isang Presidente ang lahat ng problema ng bansa. Pero simulan mo lang, at tiyak, kasama mo kaming mag-aaruga nito.

Noon pa man, mulat po ako sa tindi ng mga problemang aking kakaharapin. Mula sa pagiging kandidato, o Presidente na, o kahit ba matapos nang makababa sa puwesto, hindi biro ang peligrong kakambal ng trabahong ito. Malawakang transpormasyon ng lipunan ang aking hangarin, at mulat akong marami akong kailangang banggain para matupad ito. Pero hindi po ako pinalaki ng aking mga magulang para tumiklop lamang sa mga hamon. Hindi ko mahaharap ang aking sarili kung tinanggihan ko ang pagkakataong bawasan ang pagdurusang hindi naman dapat dinaraanan ng Pilipino. [Applause]

Tumugon nga po tayo sa panawagan, at ang mga kasama natin noong una, nadagdagan pa. Sa paniniwala ko nga po, kung tama ang aking ginagawa, lalo pang dadami ang ating magiging kasangga. Nito ngang nakaraang Mayo, tinanong ko kayo, “Boss, tama ba ang direksyon natin?” Ang tugon ninyo: “Tama, at pabilisin pa natin ang transpormasyon ng lipunan.” Humiling ako ng mga kakamping makikisagwan sa iisang direksyon, at ibinigay ninyo ito. Ang totoo nga po, hindi lang mayorya, hindi lang siyam sa labindalawa, kundi siyam sa sampung pinakamataas na puwesto na senador ay mga taong inilapit ko sa inyo. [Applause] Sa aking pakiwari, malinaw po ang mensahe nitong huling halalan: tama, ituloy natin, damihan pa natin ang 8,581 na sitiong napailawan; dagdagan pa natin ang 28,398 na pamilyang dati’y informal settler, ngunit ngayon ay mayroon na o magkakaroon na ng disenteng tirahan; palaguin pa natin ang di bababa sa 40 bilyong piso kada taong dagdag ng perang napupunta sa edukasyon, kalusugan, serbisyong panlipunan, at marami pang iba, dahil sa tama at mas masugid na pagkolekta ng buwis; dama namin ang marami pang ibang patunay na talagang nagbabago ang lipunan. Lalo nga po akong nabuhayan sa ipinarating ninyong mensahe; malinaw po talagang hindi ako nag-iisa sa pagpasan ng mga responsibilidad. [Applause] Paano ba naman pong hindi lalakas ang aking loob, kung pati ang mga tulad ni Ginoong Niño Aguirre ay nakikihubog sa ating kinabukasan? Isipin po ninyo, hindi na nga makalakad dahil sa kapansanan, pilit pa rin niyang inakyat ang presintong nasa ikaapat na palapag ng gusali, para lang makaboto at makiambag sa tunay na pagbabago ng lipunan. Salamat, Ginoong Aguirre. [Applause]

Hindi nga po nauubos ang mga Pilipinong handang makiambag, na siyang ugat ng pagbabagong tinatamasa natin ngayon. Ang stratehiya: Sagarin ang oportunidad para sa lahat, lalo na para sa mga mas nangangailangan. Hindi natin pakay maghintay ng trickle down; hindi puwedeng baka sakali o tsamba lang silang daratnan ng mga biyaya ng kaunlaran. Ito pong tinatawag nating inclusive growth—itong malawakang kaunlaran—ang mismong prinsipyong bukal ng bawat inisyatiba, bawat kilos, bawat desisyon ng inyong gobyerno. Ang maiiwan na lamang ay ang ayaw sumama, dahil hindi sinamantala ang pagkakataon.

Ang atin pong batayang prinsipyo: Malawakang pagkakataon ang susi sa malawakan at pangmatagalang kaunlaran. Huwag po sana nating kalimutan na ang pagkakataon ay punla lamang. Kailangan itong diligin ng sipag, alagaan ng determinasyon, at payabungin ng dedikasyon. Tingnan nga lang po natin ang mga TESDA-DOLE scholars. Sa 500,521 na napagtapos na natin dito, tinatayang anim sa bawat sampu ang nagtatrabaho na. [Applause] Noong araw po, ayon sa pag-aaral ng DBM noong 2006 hanggang 2008, ang nakakahanap ng trabaho sa mga napagtapos ng TESDA: 28.5 percent lamang. Noong lumipas na taon naman po: sa IT-BPO program, 70.9 percent ang employment rate ng ating mga nagtapos sa TESDA. Sa electronics and semiconductor program naman, umabot sa 85 percent na mga nagtapos noong 2012 ang nagkatrabaho. Malinaw po: Kayo mismo ang huhubog, kayo mismo ang magdidikta kung hinog at matamis ang bungang kolektibo nating pipitasin, o kung magiging bulok at katiting ang kahihinatnan ng mga pagkakataong bumubukas sa kabanatang ito ng ating kasaysayan.

Isa-isahin po natin. Ang layuning palawakin ang saklaw ng Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program: natupad. Ang dinatnan nating mahigit 700,000 kabahayang benepisyaryo ng programa noong 2010, umabot na sa halos apat na milyon na kabahayan sa ating pong administrasyon. [Applause]

Mayroon pa po: Galing sa pag-aaral ng Philippine Institute for Development Studies, mas malaki ng tinatayang 40 porsyento ang sinasahod ng mga naka-graduate ng high school, kumpara sa mga elementarya lang ang tinapos. Di po ba makatuwirang sagarin na natin ang tulong na ibinibigay natin sa mga pamilya, upang makumpleto na ng mga batang benepisyaryo ang high school, at sa gayon ay maisagad na rin ang benepisyo ng programang ito? Kaya nga po, sa susunod na taon, magiging saklaw na ng programa ang mga pamilyang may kabataang abot sa 18 taong gulang, upang hanggang sa high school ay makapagtapos na sila. [Applause]

Sa edukasyon naman po: ang layunin nating itaas ang kalidad ng kaalamang natututuhan ng kabataan, upang matapos mag-aral ay mapanghawakan nila ang mga oportunidad na bumubukas sa ating lipunan: natupad po. Nabura na ang minana nating kakulangan sa libro at upuan, at kung magpapatuloy nga po ang pagpapakitang-gilas ni Kalihim Brother Armin Luistro, [Applause] pati po ang kakulangan sa silid-aralan ay mabubura na rin sa taong ito. Ang magandang balita pa: May kakayahan na tayong paghandaan ang magiging pangangailangan dahil sa K to 12 program. [Applause]

Hindi po biro ang dinatnang mga problema ni Brother Armin sa DepEd. Isipin po ninyo, kada isang textbook, pinepresyuhan dati ng 58 pesos; nang siya na ang namumuno, bumaba ang presyo ng eksaktong libro sa 30 pesos. Paano po kaya kung dati pa nagbayad ng tamang halaga para sa mga aklat na ito? Kung natipid natin ang diperensyang 28 pesos, at may limang textbook ang bawat sa isang tinatayang 20.7 million na estudyante sa ating public school system, ang katumbas nito: halos 2.9 billion pesos. [Applause] Kaya po sana nitong pondohan ang plano nating pagpapaayos at rehabilitasyon ng nasa 9,502 na silid-aralan.

Kung nagkulang sa lakas ng loob si Brother Armin, puwede namang ipamana na lang sa susunod sa kanya ang kultura ng pagwawalang-bahala sa kanyang ahensya. Puwede naman din pong ipamana na lang ang mga backlog; ipasa na lang sa susunod ang lolobong pagkukulang dahil sa dumaraming mga enrolee kada taon. Pero itong si Brother Armin, imbes na makuntento, imbes na sabihing, “Puwede na ‘yan, tapos na ang trabaho ko,” gagawa pa siya ng mas maraming upuan at classroom, at bibili ng mas maraming libro, upang siguruhing pati ang para sa susunod na mga taon ay mapunuan na rin. [Applause]

Ang pagpapalakas naman sa sektor ng agrikultura: natupad din. Isipin po ninyo, ayon sa NFA: Noong 2010, nag-angkat ang bansa ng mahigit dalawang milyong metriko tonelada ng bigas. Noong 2011, bumaba ito sa 855,000 metric tons. Noong 2012: 500,000 metric tons na lang. At ngayong 2013: Ang pinakasagad na nating aangkatin, kasama na ang pribadong sektor, ay ang minimum access volume na 350,000 metric tons. [Applause] Nakapaloob na po dito ang 187,000 metric tons sa reserbang buffer stock sakaling magsunud-sunod ang bagyo; malamang, dahil on-target pa rin tayo sa rice self-sufficiency, hindi na rin kailangan pang mag-angkat ng pribadong sektor. Dagdag pa po diyan, nagsimula na tayong mag-export ng matataas na uri ng bigas. Ang layo na po talaga natin doon sa panahong sinasabing hindi raw natin kayang pakainin ang ating sarili. [Applause]

Datos na rin po ang pruweba: lumago ng 3.3 percent ang sektor na ito sa unang tatlong buwan ng 2013. Triple po ang itinaas nito mula sa 1.1 percent growth noong parehong panahon ng 2012. Kaya naman, patuloy po tayong nagpupunla ng mga inisyatibang pihadong magbubunga ng higit na kaunlaran sa ating mga magsasaka.

Halimbawa po, sa niyog. Ayon sa pagsusuri noong 2009, isa sa mga pinakamahirap na sektor sa bansa ang coconut farmers. Ang proseso ng pagsasaka nito: Pagkatanim, pitong taong hihintaying mamunga ang niyog, pero pagkatapos, dalawang henerasyon ang wala nang ibang kailangang gawin kundi mamitas na lang nang mamitas. May potensyal po tayong palakihin ang kita ng sektor na ito kung maglalatag tayo ng kulturang mas nang-eengganyo ng sipag at pagiging produktibo. Ang tugon: intercropping.

Tutulong ang gobyernong magpalakas sa iyong niyogan, kapalit ng obligasyong magpunla ng iba’t ibang binhi sa pagitan ng mga hilera ng niyog. Mas dadalas ang ani ng magsasaka, at depende sa kanilang itatanim, lalaki ang kanilang kita. Kung sa niyog lang, sa bawat ektarya, nasa 20,000 piso po kada taon ang kinikita ng magsasaka. Kung dadagdagan ito ng kape, maaaring pumalo ng 172,400 pesos ang kita; kung saging, aabot sa 102,325 pesos ang maaaring kitain, samantalang 89,000 pesos naman sa cacao. Ang laking diperensya, di po ba?

Nasimulan na po nating ilatag ang mga inisyatiba para rito: Nitong 2012, umabot na sa 5,500 hectares ng lupain ang ginagamit natin para sa intercropping sa 90 lokasyon sa bansa. Saklaw po nito ang 10,000 sa ating mga magsasaka. Ang target naman natin ngayong 2013: dagdag pang 434 sites para sa coconut intercropping. [Applause]

Itinitimon na rin po natin tungo sa mas produktibong pampang ang ating mga mangingisda. Isipin po ninyo: Pumalo sa 193.65 billion pesos ang ambag ng industriya ng pangingisda sa ating ekonomiya nitong 2012, pero sa kabila nito, 41 porsyento pa rin sa ating mga mangingisda ang maralita nang huli itong sukatin noong 2009. Sila ang nanghuhuli ng isda, pero ang natitira para sa kanilang pamilya, tinik na lang.

Kaya nga po: Nariyan ang maraming inisyatiba ng pamahalaan upang tulungang makaalpas sa lambat ng kahirapan ang ating mga mangingisda. Halimbawa nga po ang para sa Bataraza sa lalawigan ng Palawan. Sagana ang katubigan sa paligid nito. Pero dahil hindi mapaabot sa mga merkado nang sariwa ang isda, ginagawa na lamang itong tuyo. Sayang naman po, kasi sa bawat tatlong kilo ng lapu-lapu, isang kilo lang ang tuyong nagagawa. Paano kung mapahaba ang pagkasariwa ng isda dahil sa cold storage facility? Pupunta ka sa merkado nang sagad pa rin ang presyo ng huli mo. Parehong sikap sa paghuli, pero ang makukuha mo, tamang halaga. Kaya nga po, kasado na ang cold storage facility para sa Bataraza. [Applause] Kasabay po nito, nagtatayo na rin tayo ng mga bagong pantalan sa mga stratehikong lugar upang mapalago pa ang produksyon at kita. Ipinapaayos natin ang mga kalsada, tulay, at iba pang imprastruktura, pati na ang serbisyo para sa ating mga mangingisda.

RH Bill now RH Law, Republic Act No. 10354 – aquino signed the bill into law December 21, 2012

representative edcel lagman has said president aquino signed the bill into law last december 21, 2012. but no announcement has been made by malacanang. in twitter, malacanang spokesperson abi valte has said the palace is neither denying or confirming that the rh bill has been signed into law.

rappler.com however has published a signed copy of the bill.

is something up?

source : http://www.rappler.com/nation/18728-aquino-signs-rh-bill-into-law

MANILA, Philippines – As promised, the Philippines enters 2013 with a Reproductive Health law.

President Benigno Aquino III signed into law Republic Act No. 10354 or the “Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012” Friday last week, December 21, according to a copy obtained by Rappler. Malacañang is yet to issue a formal announcement.

It was signed without fanfare, confirmed House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II on Friday, December 28.

The RH law provides universal access to reproductive health care services and information, which do not prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum as determined by the Food and Drug Administration. It prioritizes poorer households as identified by the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction.

A new law only takes effect 15 days after it is published in the Official Gazette or in at least two newspapers.

Below is a certified true copy of the signed measure:

source : http://www.rappler.com/nation/18728-aquino-signs-rh-bill-into-law

president noynoy aquino makes history – net satisfaction rating beats all presidents since cory aquino

the SWS through businessworld released the latest presidential public satisfaction survey results, the Third Quarter 2012 Social Weather Report. the survey was conducted on august 24 to 27, 2012 which is period 9 of aquino’s presidency.

we did an analysis of the survey results and one of the headlines from the survey results which has not been mentioned in news reports is that president aquino’s period 9 rating compared to similar period 9 net satisfaction ratings of other presidents before him is the highest among all of them (chart below).

• cory aquino : +32% points
• fidel ramos : +49% points
• erap estrada : +19% points
• gloria macapagal arroyo : +28% points
• noynoy aquino : +67% points

comparing aquino’s latest net satisfaction rating to the same period 9 of the other presidents is the proper way to compare these ratings. comparing it to the same period of the administration of the presidents remove the “seasonality effect” of the ratings. removing that makes the ratings comparable and “of the same kind”.

satisfaction ratings of presidents normally drop the longer the presidents sits in office. this happens as people remove more and more of the honeymoon feeling with the new president and as the president performs his duties on a regular basis. it is normal to see more people getting disappointed as the people see that the president is unable to fulfill his election promises and as the president fumbles on day to day performance.

the chart above shows the cory, ramos and erap saw their net satisfaction ratings drop from the high at the start of their administration to period 9. only arroyo enjoyed a slight increase. it is interesting that aquino was able to beat the performance of his mother, cory who undoubtedly was one of the country’s most popular presidents.

to see president aquino’s ratings rise at this level and beating all the other presidents is a testament to the huge popularity of the sitting president among the people.

in a previous post in this blog (click to read : ABC socio eco class gives aquino satisfaction ratings rebound, hits highest level in his presidency) we also said that aquino’s latest satisfaction ratings got a boost from the rich or the ABC socio-eco class (chart below).

aquino getting a boost on his over-all net satisfaction rating because of the rich or the ABC socio-eco class is more significant as the lowest net satisfaction rating he got in the last period (period 8) was caused by the rich or the ABC socio-eco class abandoning aquino together with urban areas and ncr. (read blog post here: the rich from NCR & urban areas abandons aquino, grossly dissatisfied with president’s performance – SWS survey). the latest satisfaction rating of aquino marks the return of the rich or the ABC socio-eco class in supporting aquino.

~~~mindscape landmark~~~
carlo p arvisu

ABC socio eco class gives aquino satisfaction ratings rebound, hits highest level in his presidency

the rich or the ABC socio-eco class has come back big for president noynoy aquino – his over-all satisfaction rating went up on the exceptional ratings given by the them. satisfaction rating by the ABC jumped from 54% to 84%, dissatisfaction dropped to just 6% from 29% and consequently the net satisfaction rating increased to +78%.

the increases  in the satisfaction ratings and decreases on the dissatisfaction ratings favored aquino across the board but it was the ABC socio eco class that gave the biggest movements.

Record rating for Aquino

BY NOEMI M. GONZALES, Reporter

PUBLIC SATISFACTION with President Benigno S.C. Aquino III has rebounded to the highest so far for his administration after falling to a personal low in May, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in a new report.

Mr. Aquino’s net satisfaction score rose 25 points to a “very good” +67 in an August poll from the “good” +42 three months earlier, with 77% of respondents saying they were satisfied with his performance, up from 63% in May. Those who said otherwise accounted for 10%, an improvement from the 21% previously.

The Aug. 24-27 survey, the results of which were made exclusive to BusinessWorld, showed Mr. Aquino’s best marks yet since he took office in mid-2010. His previous high was a “very good” +64 in November 2010.

His latest score compares to the personal bests of former presidents Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (+30, March 2004), Joseph Ejercito Estrada (+67, March 1999), Fidel V. Ramos (+69 , July 1993) and Corazon C. Aquino’s all-time high of +72 in October 1986.

The SWS classifies net satisfaction scores of +70 and above as excellent; +50 to +69, very good; +30 to +49, good; +10 to +29, moderate, +9 to -9, neutral; -10 to -29, poor; -30 to -49, bad; -50 to -69, very bad; -70 and below, execrable.

read in full here: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=TopStory&title=Record-rating-for-Aquino&id=58089

president noynoy aquino’s miscommunication on the rh billl during SONA 2012 – is he anti-children? #rhbill

yes, president aquino in his 2012 SONA did mention the rh bill but phrased it as “responsible parenthood”  (read more om this one from here: http://wp.me/pnw03-1Bm)

this was what aquino said in his SONA:

aquino:

Matibay po ang pananalig natin kay Secretary Luistro: Bago matapos ang susunod na taon, ubos na ang minana nating 66,800 na kakulangan sa silid-aralan. [Applause] Ulitin ko po, next year pa po ‘yan; 40,000 pa lang this year. Ang minana po nating 2,573,212 na backlog sa upuan, tuluyan na rin nating matutugunan bago matapos ang 2012. [Applause] Sa taon din pong ito, masisimot na rin ang 61.7 million na backlog sa textbook upang maabot na, sa wakas, ang one is to one ratio ng aklat sa mag-aaral. [Applause]

Sana nga po, ngayong paubos na ang backlog sa edukasyon, sikapin nating huwag uling magka-backlog dahil sa dami ng estudyante. Sa tingin ko po, Responsible Parenthood ang sagot dito. [Applause]

—

english:

I have great faith in Secretary Luistro: Before the next year ends, we will have built the 66,800 classrooms needed to fill up the shortage we inherited. The 2,573,212 backlog in chairs that we were bequeathed will be addressed before 2012 ends. This year, too, will see the eradication of the backlog of 61.7 million textbooks—and we will finally achieve the one-to-one ratio of books to students.

We are ending the backlogs in the education sector, but the potential for shortages remains as our student population continues to increase. Perhaps Responsible Parenthood can help address this.

aquino mentioned in his SONA within the context of the potential risk of an increasing number of the student population overwhelming or negating the education department’s efforts at filling up the backlog needs of students. the education sector has been plagued for decades of a lack of schools, classrooms, chairs and even books. aquino in this SONA said the education secretary is now on an aggressive move to erase the backlog. aquino was warning that population growth, the number of new entrants or children into the education system need to be kept at a lower growth rate, otherwise the education agency will not be able to erase the backlog.

this is population control. and one can argue it is being anti-children.

population control is not necessarily a bad thing. reducing birth rates is population control. families deciding to have less number of children or the married couple agreeing to a specific number of children is population control on a family level. we all do it, why shouldn’t the state encourage it?

population control becomes bad when the state dictates on its citizens to a certain number of children couples will have , or when citizens are forced into it like the way china does it which has a 1 child policy per family.

the rh bill has no such provision. number of children a couple will have is left to the couple’s discretion. the state in the rhbill will simply provide couples the means and information on how the couple can achieve their desired family size.

but there is the risk of interpreting aquino’s statement on the rh bill within the context he said it as being “anti-children”, that aquino does not want couples to have too many children that will have the effect of overwhelming the state’s efforts on the zero backlog on education.

the rh bill is not anti-children. in fact the rh bill is from the perspective of the parents, the married couple not children. the rh bill empowers the woman, the couple and the family into giving them the tools, education and service to enable them to successfully meet their desired number of children and age spacing of their children.

rh bill advocates knew what aquino meant. to a large extent the anti rh bill groups also knew what the president meant. they know it so well that they have reacted badly to the mention of the rh bill in the SONA. in fact CBCP has already launched an attack on aquino one day after the SONA.

malacanang apparently also knew what aquino said, actually what aquino failed to say and that is the reason why they felt compelled to clarify what aquino said during the SONA.

PNoy backing same RH Bill in Congress

By Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News

Posted at 07/24/2012 4:07 PM | Updated as of 07/24/2012 10:48 PM

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said President Aquino was referring to the same consolidated bill on reproductive health (RH) now pending in Congress when he made a pitch for the passage of the responsible parenthood bill in his State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the draft bill submitted by the Palace has been consolidated with the version being pushed by advocates of reproductive health in Congress.

It has the title “An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health, and Population and Development, and for other purposes.”

The Palace, however, prefers to use the shorthand “Responsible Parenthood bill” in referring to it.

The measure was included in the list of the administration’s priority bills during the meeting of the LEDAC.

“Ang punto po ‘non, ang dulo po ‘non, na-consolidate na po ‘yung anim na pending (bills) in Congress sponsored by Representatives (Edcel) Lagman, (Janette) Garin, (Arlene) Bag-Ao, (Walden) Bello, (Rodolfo) Biazon, (Augusto) Syjuco, (Luz) Ilagan, and (Emmi) De Jesus… into House Bill 4244. Ang title po nito, ‘An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health, and Population and Development, and for other purposes.’ So ‘yun na po ‘yon. It has been consolidated with the pending bills,” Valte said.

“The bill submitted by the Palace took into consideration the dialogues that our officials had with members of the Church and also with members of pro-RH advocacy groups. So ‘yun na po ‘yung dulo niya. It’s House Bill 4244.” She added.

The Palace reiterated the President’s position on responsible parenthood. Valte said:

“First, the President is against abortion. This is a reiteration of the President’s position that he has, time and again, enunciated even from the campaign when he was running for president.

“Second, the President is in favor of giving couples the right to choose how best to manage their families so that in the end their welfare and that of their children are best served…

“Thirdly, the President is of the position that the state must respect each individual’s right to follow his or his conscience and religious convictions on matters and issues pertaining to the unity of the family and the sacredness of human life from conception to natural death.

“Fourth, in a situation where couples especially the poor and the disadvantaged ones are in no position to make an informed judgment, the state has the responsibility to so provide.

“And, lastly, in the range of options and information provided to couples, natural family planning and modern methods shall be presented as equally available.”

Asked if the President’s mention of the bill serves an endorsement for its passage, Valte said, “The members of Congress are free certainly to have their own interpretation of what was said by the President. But the President did mention Responsible Parenthood and that refers to the version that the Palace submitted during the LEDAC and to the one that was consolidated.”

Valte said there are no discussions yet if the Palace wants to certify the bill as “urgent.”

this incident demonstrates the importance of good communication and specificity specially on speeches of national importance by the president of the country.

 

 

“aquino : nothing is impossible” – PDI’s report on SONA 2012

we think PDI’s article on aquino’s 2012 SONA is an excellent report on it.

Aquino: Nothing is impossible

SONA is President’s narration of changes

By Christine O. Avendaño, Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Philippines has achieved change, and the Filipinos themselves have made it happen.

President Benigno Aquino faced a joint session of Congress Monday to deliver his third State of the Nation Address (Sona). He did not claim credit for the improvements in national life in the past year. All credit he gave to the Filipinos. He thanked them for the achievements.

He said that in the 25 months that he has been President, he learned that “nothing is impossible because if the Filipino people see that they are the only Bosses of their government, they will carry, they will guide you, they themselves will lead you to meaningful change.”

“Nothing is impossible to a united nation,” Mr. Aquino said. “It was change we dreamed of, and change we achieved.”

Toward the end of his one-hour-and-a-half-long speech, he said: “Isn’t it a great time to be Filipino?”

And the benefits of change, he said, are now par for the course: Roads are straight and level, and properly paved; relief goods are ready even before a storm arrives, rescue services are always on standby, and people are no longer left to fend for themselves; sirens only blare from police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks—not from the vehicles of government officials.

“Reforms were established as we cut wasteful spending, held offenders accountable for their actions, and showed the world that the Philippines is now open for business under new management,” the President said.

He reported eight credit rating upgrades, 44 stock market record highs, and a first-quarter 2012 gross domestic product growth rate of 6.4 percent, “much higher than projected, the highest growth in the Southeast Asian region, and second only to China in the whole of Asia.”

On his social, health, education, employment and infrastructure programs, Mr. Aquino reported achievements and announced progress on plans:

• The conditional cash transfer program for the poorest poor has been extended to 3.1 million households as of February from 760,357 when he took office in June 2010.

For next year, the program will cover 3.8 million households, five times bigger than the program he inherited from the Arroyo administration.

Under the program, the beneficiaries get P1,400 a month on the condition that pregnant women get regular prenatal checkups, mothers bring their children to clinics for immunization and parents keep their children

TO MY BOSSES: “This is not my SONA. This is the SONA of the Filipino nation. You are the wellspring of change. It’s possible. It is a great time to be Filipino.”

in school.

According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the President said, 1,672,977 mothers are now getting regular checkups; 1,672, 814 children have been vaccinated against diarrhea, polio, measles and other diseases; and 4.57 million children no longer miss classes because of poverty.

• Eighty-five percent of all Filipinos have been enrolled in PhilHealth, compared to 62 percent in 2010. This means 23.31 percent more Filipinos have gained access to health insurance in the past two years.

Better news: 5.2 million poorest households will benefit from PhilHealth programs, including treatment for such diseases as breast cancer, prostate cancer and acute leukemia.

“The process,” Mr. Aquino said, “is this: Go to any government hospital, show your PhilHealth card, get treatment, and you will go home without shelling out a single centavo.”

• By year-end, the government will have built the 66,800 classrooms needed to solve the classroom shortage in public schools, acquired the 2,573,212 chairs needed to solve the furniture shortage, and done away with the 61.7-million-book shortage to achieve the 1:1 textbook-to-student ratio.

“We are ending the backlogs in the education sector, but the potential for shortages remains as our student population continues to increase,” Mr. Aquino said. Then he suggested a solution: “Perhaps the responsible parenthood bill can help address this.”

That drew the loudest of the 100 bursts of applause that interrupted Mr. Aquino’s speech.

• A proposed 43.61-percent increase in the budget of state universities and colleges next year.

• A steady decline in the unemployment rate from 8 percent in 2010 to 7.2 percent in 2011 to 6.9 percent this year.

• The completion by 2016 of airports in Panglao, Bohol; Daraga, Albay; Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental; and the upgrading of the international airports in Mactan, Cebu; Tacloban, Leyte; and Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

• Full repair of the flaws of Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport before the next Sona in July next year.

• Completion by 2015 of the extension of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 to Cavite, which would ease traffic in Las Piñas, Parañaque and Cavite, and the addition of two elevated expressways that will connect the North Luzon and South Luzon expressways, and reduce travel time between Clark in Pampanga and Calamba in Laguna to 1 hour and 40 minutes.

• Drawing 2.1 million tourists in the past two years, compared to 1.3 million during the nine years of the Arroyo administration. The goal for this year: 4.6 million tourists.

• Reduction of rice imports from 1.3 million metric tons in 2010 to 500,000 metric tons this year. Weather permitting, the Philippines may start exporting rice next year.

Military modernization

Turning to national defense, the President said the government allocated P28 billion for the modernization of the military. “This will soon match the P33 billion set aside for the program in the past 15 years,” Mr. Aquino said.

president noynoy aquino’s SONA 2012 (july 23, 2012) – read full transcript here

Benigno S. Aquino III
Third State of the Nation Address
July 23, 2012

State of the Nation Address
of
His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines
To the Congress of the Philippines

[Delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasan Pambansa Complex, Quezon City, on July 23, 2012]

Maraming salamat po. Maupo po tayong lahat

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte; Bise Presidente Jejomar Binay; mga dating Pangulong Fidel Valdez Ramos at Joseph Ejercito Estrada; ang ating mga kagalang-galang na mahistrado ng Korte Suprema; mga kagalang-galang na kagawad ng kalipunang diplomatiko; mga kagalang-galang na miyembro ng Kamara de Representante at ng Senado; mga pinuno ng pamahalaang lokal; mga miyembro ng ating Gabinete; mga unipormadong kasapi ng militar at kapulisan; mga kapwa kong nagseserbisyo sa taumbayan; at siyempre sa akin pong mga boss, magandang hapon po.

Ito po ang aking ikatlong SONA, at parang kailan lang nang nagsimula tayong mangarap. Parang kailan lang nang sabay-sabay tayong nagpasyang tahakin ang tuwid na daan. Parang kailan lang nang sinimulan nating iwaksi ang wang-wang, hindi lamang sa kalsada kundi sa sistemang panlipunan.

Dalawang taon na ang nakalipas mula nang sinabi ninyo, “Sawa na kami sa korupsyon; sawa na kami sa kahirapan.” Oras na upang ibalik ang isang pamahalaang tunay na kakampi ng taumbayan.

Gaya ng marami sa inyo, namulat ako sa panggigipit ng makapangyarihan. Labindalawang-taong gulang po ako nang idineklara ang Batas Militar. Bumaliktad ang aming mundo: Pitong taon at pitong buwang ipiniit ang aking ama; tatlong taong napilitang mangibang-bansa ang aking pamilya; naging saksi ako sa pagdurusa ng marami dahil sa diktadurya. Dito napanday ang aking prinsipyo: Kung may inaagrabyado’t ninanakawan ng karapatan, siya ang kakampihan ko. Kung may abusadong mapang-api, siya ang lalabanan ko. Kung may makita akong mali sa sistema, tungkulin kong itama ito. [Applause]

Matagal nang tapos ang Batas Militar. Tinanong tayo noon: “Kung hindi tayo, sino pa?” at “Kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa?” Ang nagkakaisang tugon natin: tayo at ngayon na. Ang demokrasyang ninakaw gamit ang paniniil at karahasan, nabawi natin sa mapayapang paraan; matagumpay nating pinag-alab ang liwanag mula sa pinakamadilim na kabanata ng ating kasaysayan.

Ngunit huwag po nating kalimutan ang pinag-ugatan ng Batas Militar: Kinasangkapan ng diktador ang Saligang Batas upang manatili sa kapangyarihan. At hanggang ngayon, tuloy pa rin ang banggaan sa pagitan ng gusto ng sistemang parehas, laban sa mga nagnanais magpatuloy ng panlalamang.

Mula sa unang araw ng ating panunungkulan, walang ibang sumalubong sa atin kundi ang mga bangungot ng nawalang dekada.

Nariyan po ang kaso ng North Rail. Pagkamahal-mahal na nga nito, matapos ulitin ang negosasyon, nagmahal pa lalo. Sa kabila nito, binawasan ang benepisyo. Ang labingsiyam na trainsets naging tatlo, at sa mga estasyon, mula lima, naging dalawa. Ang masaklap po, pinapabayaran na sa atin ang utang nito, now na.

Nariyan ang walang pakundangang bonus sa ilang GOCC, sa kabila ng pagkalugi ng kanilang mga ahensya. Nariyan ang isang bilyong pisong pinasingaw ng PAGCOR para sa kape. Nariyan ang sistemang pamamahala sa PNP na isinantabi ang pangangailangan sa armas ng 45 porsiyento ng kapulisan, para lang kumita mula sa lumang helicopter na binili sa presyong brand new.

Wala na ngang iniwang panggastos, patung-patong at sabay-sabay pa ang mga utang na kailangang bayaran na. Mahaba ang iniwang listahan na tungkulin nating punuan: Ang 66,800 na backlog sa classrooms, na nagkakahalaga ng tinatayang 53.44 billion pesos; ang 2,573,212 na backlog sa mga upuan, na nagkakahalaga naman ng 2.31 billion pesos. Nang dumating tayo, may halos tatlumpu’t anim na milyong Pilipinong hindi pa miyembro ng PhilHealth. Ang kailangan para makasali sila: maaaring umabot sa 42 billion pesos. Idagdag pa po natin sa lahat ng iyan ang 103 billion pesos na kailangan para sa modernisasyon ng Hukbong Sandatahan. Sa harap ng lahat ng ito, ang iniwan sa ating pondo na malaya nating magagamit: 6.5 percent ng kabuuang budget para sa natitirang anim na buwan ng 2010. Para po tayong boksingerong isinabak sa laban nang nakagapos na nga ang mga kamay at paa, nakapiring pa ang mga mata, at kakampi pa ng kalaban ang referee at ang mga judge.

Kaya nga sa unang tatlong buwan ng aming panunungkulan, inaabangan namin ang pagdating ng Linggo para maidulog sa Panginoon ang mga bangungot na humaharap sa amin. Inasahan naming mangangailangan ng ‘di bababa sa dalawang taon bago magkaroon ng makabuluhang pagbabago. Bibigyan kaya tayo ng sapat na pag-unawa ng taumbayan?