the presidentiables on the Economy and Jobs

PDI is running an interesting series of articles on the presidentiables. we ae providing a link here and excerpts.

source : Agenda of the next president: Economy and jobs 

Agenda of the next president: Economy and jobs

Starting Feb. 9, 2016, the Inquirer is coming out with a 10-part series on pressing national concerns that should be high on the agenda of the five contenders in the May 9 presidential election. The series should help Filipinos choose wisely the country’s next leader.

In line with the Inquirer’s “ThINQ.Vote.” advocacy, we have asked the presidential candidates to outline their concrete plans of action in dealing with 10 decades-long issues on poverty, economy and jobs, food security, peace and order, corruption, health care, foreign policy, traffic, climate change and Internet connectivity.

Under the Aquino administration, the economy has grown by an average of 6.2 percent–the fastest since the late ’70s. And thanks to reforms in the bureaucracy, business has been bullish and foreign direct investment has been rising 53.1 percent from 2012 to 2014. But not everything is rosy. Creating jobs remains a challenge, more so as global oil prices plunge. If the downturn continues, some 1.5 million temporary workers in the Middle East could lose their jobs.

INQUIRER.net is publishing verbatim the candidates’ action plans to strengthen the economy and create jobs for Filipinos. For the summary of the 10 pressing issues, go to our special Election 2016 website.

 

Jejomar Binay

A Binay administration will pursue the amendment of the economic provisions of the Constitution. We aim to ease the foreign ownership restrictions on key sectors as this will open up the economy further–a major factor in attracting more foreign direct investments (FDIs). More FDIs mean more jobs and livelihood for Filipinos.

Under a Binay presidency, we will also strengthen substantially the sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, business

Jejomar Binay

process outsourcing, and exporting–which are the five biggest job generators.

Agriculture

Reforms will be undertaken to foster a competitive and sustainable agriculture and fisheries sector to increase agricultural productivity. A Binay presidency will create agricultural economic zones in key agricultural provinces and promote agricultural value-added processes to increase job creation, reduce post-harvest process and enhance output value.

We will train farmers to shift from subsistence farming to agribusiness; amend CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program) provisions to allow farmers to lease their land to agri-entrepreneurs and investors; and push crop diversification, wherein high-value crops–much more profitable than rice and corn–are planted.

A Binay administration will also provide subsidies in irrigation, fertilizer and seeds to help farmers defray some costs. We will also help farmers get connected to markets such as restaurant chains, supermarkets and food processing companies, and enable them to access credit. We will strengthen crop insurance services and credit guarantee to minimize farm-related credit risk. We will also seek to lower transaction cost to reduce lending rates.

We will improve water resource management and planning through research, and train local farmers as an operational intervention to increase manpower and double the area of irrigated lands.

Many of our farmers are now aging and young Filipinos shun farming because it is perceived to be difficult and its returns are low. It is vital that the government help reverse this thinking in order to ensure the sustainability of our agricultural sector and our food security.

Business Process Outsourcing

The business process outsourcing industry has greatly contributed to the economy and provided an unprecedented number of jobs to the Filipino people. The “IT-BPO Roadmap 2011-2016: Driving Global Leadership” formulated by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines stated that if the forecast will come true, the IT-BPO companies could employ up to 1.3 million Filipinos and generate 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

As the industry relies heavily on good Internet connection, the Binay administration will create a Department of Information and Communications Technology to help improve the country’s IT infrastructure and help grow the BPO sector further.

Tourism

The Philippines also needs to promote tourism as an economic driver. If tourist arrivals increase to 15 million by 2020, it will result in employing almost 10% of our population in tourism-related work and for the tourism sector to contribute 10% of our GDP. A Binay administration will develop, craft and implement a National Tourism Strategy that will link infrastructure development, support services and establishments, marketing and promotions plan, and development plans for tourism areas.

Manufacturing and export

There is a need for the manufacturing and export sector to become more competitive since the sector provides higher wages and absorbs more Filipino workers as compared to other sectors. A Binay presidency will focus on policies and reforms that will allow expansion of this sector by improving infrastructure and technology/logistics to lower costs of production, establish finance support programs for small- and medium-scale enterprises, streamline the bureaucratic process such as establishing one-stop shop, ensure affordable energy/power cost, continue to produce strong and highly-skilled workforce and encourage domestic linkages for raw materials.

To bolster these areas of development, it is essential that: (1) infrastructure development is made a priority; (2) increase fiscal space to benefit the businessmen and free the middle class; (3) streamline the bureaucracy; (4) adopt an energy policy conducive to growth; (5) leave business to the businessmen; (6) empower the local government units; (7) adopt policies that take into consideration issues on climate changes; and (8) a cooperative foreign policy.

Rody Duterte

Initiate measures to curb the present practice of contractualization.
Set higher coverage targets for the Social Security Systems, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and Pag-ibig Fund.
Revitalize basic industries like steel to create raw materials for downstream industries that are job generating.
Prioritize agriculture and the processing of agricultural products to provide job and livelihood opportunities in the countryside, as

Rody Duterte

well as increase farm incomes, farmers and fishermen being among the poorest of our population.
Create the peaceful environment in the countryside to encourage investment beyond incentives.
Lower electricity costs by encouraging smart grids and small scale power generation to include household solar power generation.
By prioritizing agricultural development, coupled with transportation infrastructure to link farm production with their markets, we can ensure accessibility and affordability of food, which is the biggest part of average household expenditures.
Infrastructure gaps, whether in the countryside or in key urban centers, shall be prioritized and substantially filled, or at least initiated, during my term.
Grace Poe

Poverty Alleviation: Poverty Alleviation is our flagship economic strategy.
Pursue a context sensitive poverty alleviation strategy anchored on enterprise development, development of agriculture/agribusiness, manufacturing and tourism, human development, fair competition policy, political empowerment and participatory development, social security, direct assistance to the poor and asset building and reform.
Critical Infrastructure: Ensure that our infrastructure program is

Grace Poe

designed to be participative, collaborative and innovative.
Undertake a whole-of-government approach and tap the participation of private sector and civil society in making an assessment and evaluation of our existing infrastructure situation for a sounder national infrastructure plan
Review existing contracts, particularly in transport infrastructure, to terminate onerous agreements and contracts loaded with huge penalty payments and sovereign guarantees that short-change both the general public and taxpayers
Maximize three viable options in the development of key infrastructure projects: National Government Financing, Public-Private Partnerships and Office Development Assistance and ensure the wise and strategic use of these mechanisms.
Regional Competitiveness: The building blocks of national competitiveness are competitive regions. Our program to increase regional competitiveness is anchored on three pillars: 1) fostering a healthy local economy, 2) good local governance and 3) appropriate infrastructure.
Healthy Local Economy. Coupled with efforts to development enterprises, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will be empowered to have full access to and become competitive in both regional and international markets by: (1) identifying markets and opportunities where their products and services are in demand, (2) upscaling the quality and compliance of their products to international standards, and (2) finding ways to move their goods and services to various markets at the least possible cost.
Good Local Governance. Establish an apex MSME agency to ensure the effective implementation of the integrated services system; Harmonize the efforts of both national agencies and local government units to make the support system—from access to finance to business mentoring—easily accessible to MSMEs.
Appropriate Infrastructure. National government agencies such as the Department of Transportation and Communications and Department of Public Works and Highways will work with regional and local government counterparts to ensure that infrastructure projects undergo correct procurement process and projects are awarded to contractors with track records in long-term maintenance.
Tax Environment: Design and implement a tax system that is simple, stable and certain.
Tax rate and bracketing reforms. Introduce two sets of reforms in our tax system:
Adjust income tax brackets taking into account inflation so that the cut-off for every tax bracket would be increased based on the amount of current prices to protect the purchasing power of the individual tax payer
Lower personal and corporate tax rates in a well-phased manner (annual) to be at par with our Asean neighbors
Tax administration. Improve tax collection rates of both the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs from a moderate 1% to an aggressive 2% of the GDP by leveraging on full automation of tax filing and customs procedures through ICT to ensure maximum tax compliance.
Tax simplification. Re-engineer the tax filing process by minimizing the number of steps, requirements, forms and fees imposed by tax collection agencies. It takes around 36 payments and 193 hours to fully comply with tax obligations.
Investment Climate: Create an attractive, healthy, low-cost and predictable investment climate.
Increase level of cohesion between government, business groups and stakeholders in crafting and developing industry roadmaps to attract more investments in the country.
Investment promotions agencies such as the Bureau of International Trade Relations, Export Marketing Bureau and Foreign Trade Services Corps shall work with the Board of Investment to identify bottlenecks that cause foreign direct investment inflow fluctuation and align investment priority areas with industry roadmaps for a solid and time-bound action agenda.
Take careful but important steps to review and amend the economic provisions of the Constitution, particularly in industries that need more foreign investments—the primary and service sectors, mining, oil and gas industries while ensuring that support systems and adequate safety nets are in place to increase absorptive capacities of our local industries.

Mar Roxas

For the past five years, we’ve managed to sustain our growth numbers but efforts to do so were simultaneous with our anticorruption measures, which may have limited government spending at first. Nonetheless, we have managed to yield positive results and gained the confidence of the world from being the “sick man of Asia” to “Asia’s bright spot” by upholding the bedrock principles of Daang Matuwid: Transparency, rules-based

Mar Roxas

governance and a strong anticorruption foundation. To make for an environment that is even more conducive for social and economic development, we must ensure stability and predictability of policy outcomes.

Therefore, it follows that if we want to achieve more, we must continue on our path. The first five years of Daang Matuwid have allowed us to address the leakages in the system. Now that the pipelines have been sealed, the next years will be devoted to investing in our people by providing quality services such as education, trainings in diversified skills, infrastructure, and the creation of more and higher value jobs.

For example, we see agriculture as both an immense challenge and a lucrative opportunity that holds the key to our country’s development. We can revitalize our agricultural sector by consolidating the production of agricultural products in order to achieve efficiencies and economies of scale. In the process, we are insulating our farmers from vulnerabilities caused by natural calamities such as droughts and typhoons by treating them as employees with a monthly salary. Not only are we providing the farmers a safety net, we are also reducing their operational costs, making agriculture an efficient, profitable, and competitive venture for investors and job-seekers.

We also intend to see resurgence in the manufacturing industry by inducing competition in the power sector, which in turn will lower power costs and attract investments in industry. Jobs generated in the manufacturing sector can provide a stable source of income for Filipinos. By using our balance sheet to make capital more accessible to the people, we can also spur growth in local economies and unleash the energies of our micro, small and medium entrepreneurs.

All these deliberate efforts will be undertaken to ensure that the workforce can move higher in the value chain and that every Filipino family is given a fair chance to be free from hunger, free from fear, and free to dream.

Miriam Defensor-Santiago

I commit that the Philippine economy will grow faster than ever before, that it will be truly inclusive by making sure that real incomes of workers will increase over time. We will achieve the goal of higher and sustained economic growth by investing heavily in public infrastructure. Our roads, bridges, urban transit systems, airports and seaports are crumbling. We need to build them up at par with, if not better than, our Asean neighbors. We need to prepare our people for a more modern, more competitive global

Miriam Defensor Santiago

economy. We need to educate them, take care of their health, and feed them so they will become productive members of a growing work force. Only by investing in people can we truly make growth inclusive. Only if the young are educated and healthy can they benefit from growing economic prosperity. My administration will:

Modernize agriculture and make it more productive by:
Investing in productivity enhancing infrastructure to boost agriculture;
Investing in irrigation and water impounding facilities in order to allow more planting cycles and to minimize the impact of El Niño and La Niña;
Financing programs that would expand the use of new seed varieties and modern technology in order to increase farm yield; and
Investing in research and technology;
Reinvigorate manufacturing and reenergize exports by:
Implementing a more affordable and stable power supply;
Reducing cost of doing business in the Philippines;
Improving peace and order in farms and factories;
Creating national industries that can be marketed internationally, such as machinery and equipment for agriculture; and
Making the peso competitive relative to currencies of our competitors;
Improve the investment climate by:
Streamlining and harmonizing business process and licensing procedures;
Codifying and updating laws and issuances affecting customs and tariffs;
Enhancing trade facilitation measures;
Cutting red tape at the local government level;
Drastically reducing regulations at the Bureau of Customs and the regulatory bodies; and
Amending the restrictive provisions in the Philippine Constitution which have discouraged the entry of foreign investors into the country;
Reform the tax system by:
Adopting comprehensive income taxation and reducing maximum personal income tax rate from 32 percent to 25 percent;
Reducing the corporate income tax (CIT) rate from 30 percent to 25 percent;
Rationalizing fiscal incentives to partly offset the revenue loss from lowering the CIT rate;
Imposing a national real property tax (RPT) piggybacked on local RPT;
Abolishing the estate tax;
Abolishing tax on dividends; and
Gradually raising the value-added tax rate from 12 to 15 percent by 2019; and
Reduce unemployment and underemployement by:
Ending contractualization, which is an economic deprivation of life and security of person;
Creating national industries to increase job opportunities for skilled workers in the Philippines to prevent migration of workers; and
Creating more jobs per sector, especially in the science and technology, and infrastructure industry.

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.

president noynoy aquino’s campaign promises

we are posting here  the campaign promises that noynoy aquino has made during the campaign period.  we intend to go back to the list to see how he is doing against these promise.

• A SOCIAL CONTRACT WITH THE FILIPINO PEOPLE : THE PLATFORM OF SENATOR BENIGNO “NOYNOY” S. AQUINO III
• Noynoy Aquino – the problem solver we can trust
• presidentiables stand on how they will generate jobs
• presidentiables stand on improving philippine education
• on nuclear energy : aquino, de los reyes, madrigal & perlas no to nukes; gordon, teodoro, villanueva and villar yes to nukes
• presidentiables stand on population growth
• presidentiables stand on cha-cha and arroyo as speaker

Noynoy Aquino – the problem solver we can trust

BENIGNO SIMEON C. AQUINO III : What’s important is I see problem and solve it
By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

(Editor’s Note: The presidential profiles will be running in no particular order but as the stories come in from our reporters in the field.)

(Eighth of a series)

MANILA, Philippines—He looked more like a cockfighter’s kristo—a bet caller —than a presidential candidate as he waved a fistful of paper notes with one hand and held up the back of his sliding Paddock’s jeans with the other in a late-night rally in Zamboanga City whose size could rival that of an Eraserheads’ reunion concert.

With his thinning hair, stooped shoulders and awkward gait, Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III could not care less about his looks in a campaign where he faces the most expensive political bid ever mounted in the Philippines and one of the most vicious personal attacks against a presidential candidate in history.

In the course of the 90-day campaign, Aquino has proven that looks, and a person’s biodata, can be deceiving.

Put down by his critics at the start of the campaign as “walang alam”—a know-nothing—just like his late widowed mother who dared to challenge a brilliant but ruthless dictator in 1986, the 50-year-old Aquino has surprised a lot of his cynics with his self-confidence, keen grasp of major issues, and his diligence in doing his homework before facing the media and other organizations.

His opponents claimed that he would be unmasked in the presidential debates, but Aquino appeared intelligent, well-prepared and poised in these forums and was never the one to pass up on answering a thorny issue such as the Hacienda Luisita case and doubts on his state of mental health. He was modest, warm, folksy and appreciative when meeting people in motorcades and town rallies far from the cold and snotty hacendero he was pictured to be by his foes.

“He has grown before our eyes in the campaign and proved himself worthy as our next president. I never saw this side of Noy before, because he always looked ordinary to me being the son of a martyr and democracy’s saint,” said Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, an adviser to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a strategist of the administration candidate Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro until a month ago, and a classmate of Aquino at Ateneo de Manila University.

“He has earned and gained a stature that is his own and has shown his mettle under pressure and amidst criticisms from his opponents. It was actually there all along and I have seen it up close, but I guess it’s only now that he is given the opportunity to show it to people other than his close friends,” said Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who backed out of the presidential race and has openly campaigned for Aquino’s election.

Trustworthy

Ramon del Rosario Jr., chair of the Makati Business Club, was surprised at how Aquino had weathered all the challenges in the campaign and remained as the leading candidate heading into the elections.

“I first met Noy in 1986 and I think he demonstrated throughout the campaign his leadership qualities, honesty, maturity, consistency and to take principled positions. He will be a strong, trustworthy president,” Del Rosario said.

manny villar : poverty can be eliminated

MANUEL B. VILLAR: It’s not impossible to end poverty

By Michael Lim Ubac, Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:32:00 05/06/2010

(Editor’s Note: The presidential profiles will be running in no particular order but as the stories come in from our reporters in the field.)

(Seventh of a series)

MANILA, Philippines—From selling seafood in Divisoria to leading the two chambers of the Philippine Congress, the boy from Moriones in Tondo, Manila, now wants to reside in Malacañang.

“Is it difficult to think that a poor fellow can also become President of the Philippines?” Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar asks rhetorically during his campaign rallies all over the country.

The real estate magnate and lone billionaire in the presidential derby shuns long introductions and quickly reminds the crowds about his humble beginnings in Tondo—once home to the Smokey Mountain dump, which in the 1980s became the symbol of crippling poverty in the country.

Critics, however, question his rags-to-riches story to the point of digging up his family income in the 1960s, which they say was of middle-class standards at the time. They sneer even at his campaign jingle: Did he really swim in a “sea of garbage” as a kid? Was Manila that filthy back then?

More recently, he denied wrongdoing and dismissed as mere politicking allegations that he pressured stock market officials in 2007 to bend trading rules and let him rake in earnings that now form part of his campaign kitty.

Brown ‘taipan’

Still, this “brown taipan” has attracted the biggest crowds in the presidential race—thanks largely to the “concert” troupe he brings along when touring major cities. Attendance in a Davao City rally last month, for instance, was pegged at 120,000, despite heavy rains, according to police estimates.

In his public addresses, Villar seems to stress that, for all his affluence, he should not be counted among the country’s Old Rich oligarchs. In fact, he considers their perennial lock on the country’s economic and political power as a hurdle to his antipoverty vision. (Insiders in the Villar camp say he has fully calculated the risks of making such statements.)

nicanor perlas – good governance and beyond

NICANOR P. PERLAS: New governance goes beyond gov’t

 By DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:03:00 05/05/2010

(Editor’s Note: The presidential profiles will be running in no particular order but as the stories come in from our reporters in the field.)

(Sixth of a series)

MANILA, Philippines—“My first lady is the Philippines, Inang Bayan,” independent presidential candidate Nicanor Jesus Perlas III wrote on his Twitter account, “InaNickofTime,” on April 10.

But Perlas, who is separated from his American wife, did not type the “status update” himself. He had only relayed the message to a staffer via text message.

These days, Perlas hardly gets any time on the Internet like he used to, busy as he is traipsing across the country to woo voters in a no-frills campaign that runs on a budget of P4 million. The last time he checked his e-mail was “four to six weeks ago.”
But some habits are hard to break, even for the 60-year-old Perlas, a health buff who doesn’t smoke, drink and eat red meat.

He still tries to get at least five hours of sleep despite a hectic schedule and even if it means dozing off in the airport, his car or wherever his itinerary brings him. “I make sure (I get) no less than five hours of sleep,” he said, although he admitted that this was getting harder and harder to keep up.

For breakfast, he gets something light and fruity, like one Friday morning, when he started his day with a yogurt banana shake with a honey-calamansi-coconut juice drink on the side.

His main source of protein is fish. “No pork, beef or chicken for me,” he said.

When in the city, he stays in the Ortigas flat of his 20-year-old son Christopher Michael, a business management student at De La Salle University. Two years ago, he parted ways “by mutual, respectful and friendly agreement” with his wife Kathryn Carpenter, a teacher.

erap estrada – the president who will finish plans for the poor

JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA: I want to finish my plans for the poor

By Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:43:00 05/04/2010

(Editor’s Note: The presidential profiles will be running in no particular order but as the stories come in from our reporters in the field.)

(Fifth of a series)

MANILA, Philippines—On a humid night in Tuguegarao City, where the earlier daytime temperature reportedly hit a sweltering 39 degrees Celsius, a crowd of around 5,000 came to see him and didn’t seem to mind the heat building up inside the Cagayan Sports Complex.

At 73 and even with a drawl, former President Joseph Estrada could still make multitudes hang on to his every word—whether it leads to a litany over what he maintained to be his “unlawful” ouster and conviction for plunder, or to one of his so-called “Eraptions.”

That night, he deftly combined both: “My beloved mother once told me, ‘what’s with you, Joseph? You didn’t finish your studies. You didn’t finish your presidency. Now, even your (jail) sentence, you didn’t finish.’”

The audience composed mostly of farmers, workers and vendors lapped it all up, their hearty laughter turning into cheers and chants of “Erap! Erap! Erap!”

But after delivering the punch line to full effect, Estrada shifted moods and made the follow-through in all earnest: “And so I promised her that time that I will finish the programs that I started for the Filipino masses.”

The scene had become a hallmark of almost every Estrada sortie since the former multi-awarded actor embarked on what could be his ultimate sequel: To regain the presidency after a disgraceful fall from power.

In between wisecracks, the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) standard-bearer would remind listeners that people didn’t have to form long lines for rations of rice during his abbreviated tenure in Malacañang, unlike during that of his predecessor Fidel V. Ramos or his successor Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

jamby madrigal – corruption fighter

source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100503-267780/MARIA-ANA-CONSUELO-MADRIGAL-In-serving-people-work-becomes-joy

MARIA ANA CONSUELO MADRIGAL: In serving people, work becomes joy

By Jerry E. Esplanada
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:18:00 05/03/2010

 (Editor’s note: The presidential profiles will be running in no particular order but as the stories come in from reporters in the field.)

(Fourth of a series)

MANILA, Philippines—Diving is one of the things Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal loves.

The view under water is simply spectacular, she says.

The sharks and the barracudas do not scare her.

Where she is now in Congress, she says, these species abound and she is fighting them with hammer and tong.

Corruption is the campaign theme of Madrigal, who is running as an independent candidate for president in the May 10 elections.

She passionately talks against shenanigans in government, particularly in real estate deals, as though she were on a jihad.

If that were so, it was because she learned what being a ship captain was like at a very early age.

At a time when most Filipino children’s familiarity with a boat was confined to those made of paper, Madrigal already was at home on the real thing.

At age 5, ships became the playground of this future senator and aspirant for captain of the ship of state.

“I’d gone into holds and hatches, and I could tell if a ship was a tanker or container. I grew up with that,” she says.

“Many of the captains and CEOs of today’s shipping companies were trained by Madrigal Shipping. We can be proud to say we trained very good people.”

These captains also followed the ideals of the family—incorruptible, hard working.

Old rich family

Madrigal was born on April 26, 1958, to one of Manila’s old rich families.

Her father was a son of the late Sen. Vicente Madrigal. Her mother, Amanda Abad Santos, was a granddaughter of Jose Abad Santos, appointed by President Manuel L. Quezon as president during the war against the Japanese forces and former Chief Justice.
Her granduncle, pre-Commonwealth Assemblyman Pedro Abad Santos, founded the Socialist Party of the Philippines.

Her aunt, Pacita Madrigal-Gonzalez, a senator during the Quezon and Magsaysay administrations, was also the first head of the Social Welfare Administration, now the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Vicente and Amanda Madrigal were natives of Ligao, Albay, and San Fernando, Pampanga, respectively.

Aside from Filipino and English, Madrigal has a working understanding of Kapampangan and Bicolano.

Best moments

She also speaks fluent French and Spanish, some Portuguese and German.

Madrigal started learning European languages during her family’s religious pilgrimages to Lourdes (in France) and Fatima (in Portugal), among other places.

read the platforms of government of all presidentiables here

read the platforms of government of the presidentiables here: https://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/category/platform-of-government/

or read here: https://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/category/presidentiables-stand-on-issues/

or read specifics here:

• erap estrada – the president who will finish plans for the poor
• jamby madrigal – corruption fighter
• presidentiables stand on how they will generate jobs
• eddie villanueva – a vote for what is right and good governance
• richard gordon the transformer
• richard gordon’s new platform of government for the win in the 2010 election!
• presidentiables stand on improving philippine education
• presidentiables stand on cha-cha and arroyo as speaker
• on nuclear energy : aquino, de los reyes, madrigal & perlas no to nukes; gordon, teodoro, villanueva and villar yes to nukes
• nicanor perlas’s platform of government
• richard gordon’s vision for a new philippines
• presidentiables stand on population growth
• eddie villanueva’s platform of government
• A SOCIAL CONTRACT WITH THE FILIPINO PEOPLE : THE PLATFORM OF SENATOR BENIGNO “NOYNOY” S. AQUINO III

presidentiables stand on how they will generate jobs

 

source: http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/20100501-267548/How-theyll-generate-jobs

How they’ll generate jobs 
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:13:00 05/01/2010

FILIPINOS CONTINUE TO LEAVE FOR JOBS OVERSEAS. THERE ARE SIMPLY not enough jobs available in the country. While remittances help keep the economy afloat, the social costs of a parent or spouse working abroad are huge. A bright spot is the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, which has absorbed tens of thousands of college graduates. But the BPO sector benefits mostly the middle class. It is closed to the poor who have less education. A big number of Filipinos are unemployed or underemployed or have simply given up hope of finding a job. How the next administration will address the unemployment problem can be gleaned from the answers of the presidential candidates to the following questions:

How will you generate jobs? What policies and programs will you pursue to create jobs?
What kind of jobs will be generated under your administration? What sectors, industries?
Will you encourage the export of labor?

Benigno Aquino III
Liberal Party

THE NO. 1 ITEM IN OUR PLATform is job generation. The theory is we could increase the quality and remuneration of jobs available here. It might not match those in other countries but with the added benefit of having your family and you are a first-class citizen here. We might have enough people who will decide to stay.

We want something like (US President Franklin) Roosevelt’s job creation program—building schools or public works projects with a big labor bias. If the project will not be delayed and it’s OK cost-wise, then we will choose a labor-intensive program.

We have so many areas that have a big potential like the BPO sector, IT and agriculture, particularly post-harvest production. Agriculture can be subdivided [into subsectors]. There are also many others that have not been exploited like fruits, [which can be processed into] fruit juices.

My understanding of the law is that the state cannot make it a policy to export our workers. Nevertheless, I want to make sure that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and our embassies and consulates really help all our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

A very significant portion of the population are OFWs outside the country. So the main point is that if they leave, it’s because they want to and not because they have to.
Interview by Philip Tubeza

 

JC de los Reyes
Ang Kapatiran

WORK IS A WAY OF FULFILLing part of our human potential given to us by God. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers, owners and managers must be respected—the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and join unions, to economic initiative, and to ownership and private property.

Ang Kapatiran shall ensure rapid and sustained economic growth for sustainable poverty reduction and better quality of life for all by:

Reviewing and rationalizing all outstanding public debts and limiting future government borrowings within the growth level of our exports or GDP;

Raising private and public savings rates to increase total investment rate;

Enhancing investments in human resource development, especially by strengthening education in the sciences, mathematics, engineering and English;

Streamlining government bureaucracy to reduce personnel expenditures;

Drastically improving tax administration and revenue collection;

Abolishing laws, rules and regulations that give government revenue personnel the discretion to allow or disallow certain deductions or exemptions;

Prioritizing agricultural development to attain a high degree of self-sufficiency by encouraging productivity through the introduction of new technologies and support-infrastructure;

Creating microfinance and other credit facilities for small enterprises by harnessing OFW remittances and more exports for economic development;

Encouraging livelihood through the formation of cooperatives and other small enterprises and development programs to alleviate poverty in the grassroots level;

Implementing the agrarian reform program;

Promoting industrialization by encouraging the expansion of useful industries, including telecommunications and information technology;

Attaining a stable balance of trade by encouraging the development of new export products and improving existing ones.

In summary, Ang Kapatiran shall work for a “job-filled society”—industrialization for the economic well-being of all, agricultural development, microfinance and other credit facilities for small- and medium-enterprises, and positive investment climate to reverse the outflow of OFWs.
Interview by Jerome Aning

 

Joseph Estrada
Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino

WE WILL GET RID OF THE secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the New People’s Army (NPA). So we will start developing the countryside. Right now, the government cannot develop the countryside.

In the early ’50s and ’60s, informal settlers or squatters were concentrated in Metro Manila. Today, in all urban areas, there are squatters because the countryside remains undeveloped. There’s the NPA. In Mindanao, there’s the MILF.

We will concentrate on services and agriculture to generate jobs. When there’s peace and order, there’ll no longer be [adverse] travel advisories from other countries. We will improve our tourism.

We cannot stop the export of labor soon. Maybe within two to three years. It will take time to generate jobs. Like for example, during my time, if you will remember we planned to change the economic provisions of the Constitution so that we can generate jobs.

We will allow foreigners to own land here except agricultural land. If we allow foreigners to own land they can compete with our local realtors and once (they own land) they will develop that. Once they develop that, it will generate jobs.
Interview by Norman Bordadora

 

Richard Gordon
Bagumbayan

WE HAVE NATURAL TRAITS and skills for tourism. We can be the beach capital of the world. We have enough airports already. Our problem is we have to do some policy on certain airports to be declared “open skies.” Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam have open skies.

The educational system is producing many hotel and restaurant management graduates. That is the future. Because of the tourism law which I authored, we can now invite more investors to build establishments without overtaxing the environment.

We can spread out hotels. Tourists will not want to go to Boracay every year. They want to go to new destinations. Our graduates can be tuned into tourism and entrepreneurship. But our education must also leapfrog to information technology. So you will want more software development.

We may have to export labor for a while, but we will encourage enhancing labor skills. I am not going to send a maid. I am going to send a governess. There is a value added.

We also have to make sure that we harness savings instead of encouraging a consumption-based economy. We will have a provident fund in which we are able to raise money from the savings of our overseas workers. Professional people should run the fund as they do it in Singapore.
Interview by Edson C. Tandoc Jr.

 

gilbert teodoro – bring back confidence in government

we are publishing here the article on richard gordon from PDI. the newspaper has started to run features on all the presidentiables.

———

Gilbert C. Teodoro: RP deserves to be among world’s vibrant economies

 

By Fe Zamora
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:59:00 05/02/2010

Filed Under: Family, Politics, Inquirer Politics, Elections, Eleksyon 2010

 

(Third of a series)

Editor’s Note: The presidential profiles will be running in no particular order but as the stories come in from our reporters in the field.

MANILA, Philippines—Kissing babies is not the strong suit of Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer Gilberto Eduardo “Gibo” Cojuangco Teodoro Jr.

At the Batasan Park last March where Teodoro was the guest at the birthday party of his wife, Tarlac Rep. Monica “Nikki” Prieto-Teodoro, the tall, good-looking former secretary of defense stood for some 30 minutes onstage, smiling at the rambunctious crowd of some 4,000 children and their mothers and grandmothers gathered from depressed barangays by Quezon City Rep. Annie Susano.

Other politicians would have waded in, hugged the children, kissed the babies and their mothers, grandmothers and even gay uncles—and connected with and won the allegiance of the masa.

But not Teodoro. On that day, he and his pretty wife appeared lost and in a daze up on the stage with movie actress Dawn Zulueta.

Susano, who has since junked Teodoro to join another presidential candidate, actually provided the cue early on. Before climbing the stage, she joined the kids and their mothers on the ground, checking on what they were eating and rallying them to cheer for the candidate worthy of being a role model.

“We all want our children to be magaling at matalino (bright and intelligent). ‘Yan si Gibo Teodoro!” she shouted.

Susano, who is running for mayor of Quezon City, was effective as the front act. The main star, Teodoro, flopped.

Gushing fans

But before an audience of the upper crust, Teodoro is a box-office winner.

Lawyer Claudette de la Serna was gushing after hearing Teodoro speak at a forum for the presidential candidates in Makati City. “Among them, he is the only one who has clear policy statements,” she said.

De la Serna had earlier heard very good words about Teodoro from her boss, former Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza. It was in Mendoza’s law firm that Teodoro cut his teeth as a litigator for seven years, starting as a bar topnotcher in 1989.

It was also Teodoro’s eloquence and clarity of mind that impressed a group of retired generals a few months after he was appointed to the defense post in 2007.

After his speech before the Philippine Military Academy alumni and the open forum that followed, a retired general in the audience sent a text message to a journalist: “What do you think? Gibo Teodoro for President!”

No luxury of time

The old fogeys were thrilled at the prospect of another defense secretary in Malacañang, a la Ramon Magsaysay in the early 1950s.

eddie villanueva – a vote for what is right and good governance

we are publishing here the article on richard gordon from PDI. the newspaper has started to run features on all the presidentiables.

———

Eduardo C. Villanueva: Revolution for righteousness leadership

 

By Dona Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:12:00 05/01/2010

 

Editor’s Note: The presidential profiles will be running in no particular order but as the stories come in from our reporters in the field.

(Second of a series)

MANILA, Philippines—Politics and religion do not make a strange brew for presidential candidate Eduardo Cruz Villanueva, more popularly known as Brother Eddie.

A far stranger mix is his favorite meal: Carabao milk poured onto a plate of rice.

He was after all a radical activist and political economy professor during the turbulent Marcos years leading to martial law before he heeded his spiritual calling that led him to found the now far-reaching Jesus is Lord Church (JIL).

Hearing him talk, Villanueva is a man on a mission to foil “traditional politicians” and to save the country by reviving “genuine love for God and country.”

In his official campaign kickoff event last February, he introduced a new and more pragmatic slogan, “anim na taon na walang korapsyon (zero corruption for six years).”

That same month he flew to Hong Kong, where a thriving JIL chapter is based, and emotionally addressed the throngs of overseas Filipino workers who eagerly wanted to hear from their candidates.

“We are here to tell our OFWs that Bangon Pilipinas is declaring a revolution, a revolution for righteous leadership,” declared Villanueva, who reportedly became teary-eyed during his speech.

As president and spiritual leader of JIL, he endorsed a number of prominent political candidates including President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in past elections before he himself decided to step into the political center stage and run for president in 2004.

Running for president the second time, Villanueva believes he and his party Bangon Pilipinas are now better prepared to go head on against “traditional politicians.”

Born on Oct. 6, 1946, Villanueva was the sixth of 11 children of a relatively well-to-do family in Bocaue, Bulacan, where he remains based until now.

His father Joaquin Villanueva was a soldier, elementary school teacher and sprinter who represented the Philippines in four consecutive Far East Games (precursor of the Asian Games) in the 1920s.

Owner of fishponds

His mother Maria Cruz-Villanueva owned a veil factory.

The family owned fishponds in Quezon and Bulacan and has small farmlands in Bulacan.