Premature Campaign Rant

Finally, COMELEC has spoken up on the issue of premature campaigning. But it is still not enough to stop the deluge of premature campaigning.

A snippet of a Sun Star news article says:

Comelec earlier warned the candidates that once the certificate of candidacy (COC) is filed, infomercials and other forms of propaganda materials must be stopped. Even solicitation for the holidays is not allowed.

Which means that an elective aspirant can file his COC on the last day. Until then, he can bombard us with those annoying infomercials.

I'm sick of these commercials. There is one which describes what a leader ought to be, conveniently forgetting the fact that when the person was in position, he did not do what he ought to have done. There is one which is fully packed with personalities and nothing else. There is one which pits the sans culotte against the supercilious. This is the worst sort of propaganda - the mud-slinging type. It will only get ugly from here on out.

The only good thing I can say is that there is no aspirant yet who has graced us with a song and dance number to the tune of a tacky jingle. Oh wait, I forgot about Bobby Syjuco.

So wala. Walang magandang maidudulot ang mga infomercial na 'yan. Just don't ask the big networks, who are laughing all the way to the bank.

Photo: The Library of Congress, Flickr, Creative Commons

Political Ad Overload

Anyone tired of political ads raise your hands.

Almost every presidential and vice presidential candidate is doing it. The problem is, no one - not even COMELEC - can stop it. COMELEC itself has said that there is no premature campaigning if a person has not submitted his certificate of candidacy. But anyone with a functioning eye or ear knows that these people are throwing away money in order to make themselves known. And this leads to the inevitable conclusion that they are campaigning, tama po ba?

The problem is with the our election law; it allows a "non-candidate" to show ads to toot his own horn months before the campaign period. Perfectly legal under the law but it runs counter to the most common of common sense. Can we trust our legislators to plug this gaping loophole? I doubt it.

So the ball is in our court. It is up to us viewers to discern which ad is true and which is not. Just remember, these political ads are just that - advertisements. And like any other advertisement, the the real thing almost always falls short of the product shown in the commercial. Just like mouth-watering hamburgers shown in ads, but are bland in real life.

Caveat emptor. Let voter beware.

Photo: Ollie Crafoord, Flickr, Creative Commons

Hector de Leon Now Online

I first encountered Hector de Leon during college, when his books were the required reading materials for our Obligations and Contracts and Partnerships and Corporations class. I would later find out during law school that he has authored numerous books covering a wide array of legal topics, rivaling perhaps only Jose Nolledo (If you are a law student and you have not been hiding under a rock, I'm sure you have encountered de Leon). Because he has written books for a wide spectrum of law subjects, he may be suspected as a Jack-of-all-trades, master of none type. But make no mistake, he is a successful author because he writes in a clear and understandable manner especially helpful to students. For that he should be given credit.

Thanks to Lex Discipulus, I have found out that Hector de Leon Jr. (Son of the ubiquitous Hector de Leon, who co-authored some books with his father, I think) has gone digital. He has a blog, Lexoterica: A Philippine Blawg, which can be a very useful tool for law students and practitioners alike. What I like best about his blog is that he makes a summary of the latest Supreme Court cases, which can greatly help lawyers in refreshing their knowledge of Philippine jurisprudence. Perhaps next only to Lawphil, the Supreme Court site and ChanRobles, this is probably the most useful website for those in the legal profession.

Inundation

The bulk of the news today still center on the devastation wrought by Pepeng and Ondoy. It is heart-wrenching to see our brethren helpless amidst storms, floods and landslides. When Ondoy struck, practically everyone in greater Manila area was affected, including us in Malabon. People in our area are used to floods, so the only casualties were the properties not brought to higher ground. Not so lucky were people in other parts of Luzon (notably Marikina and Pasig), some of whose lives were lost. The same goes true for the people in Pangasinan, who bore the brunt of typhoon Pepeng's wrath. For those who lost loved ones, my heartfelt condolences.

It is an anomaly that for a nation hit regularly by typhoons year in and year out, we still seem unprepared for the worst. My father observed that the recent events show that the Philippines is still a country in infancy – we seem to have no set policy and standards on, among other things, disaster preparedness. Almost every action is backed by guesstimation. Tantsahan ba. Hopefully, as we pick up ourselves from the shambles, every person has gotten some learning experience from these events. It is about time, right?

Photo: Dan Saavedra, Flickr, Creative Commons

The Return

After a forlough of several months, I am back to writing (hopefully regularly) in this blog. I'll admit that writing again seems like an unfamiliar territory for me, much like a person who has not ridden a bicycle in a long time. Hopefully, I will get my groove back ASAP.

President Cory: Gone, But Will Never be Forgotten

What I will say might have already uttered a great many times, but no matter. This is my tribute to our beloved President Cory Aquino.

I have to say that I am deeply affected by the demise of President Cory, I cannot exactly pinpoint why. I was only in 4th grade when she stepped down as president. Sure, I saw  her on TV every once in a while. I had a vague idea of who she was and what she represented (through class lessons and stories from my parents). But the significance of what Cory did never really hit me until a few years later, during EDSA II. I would imagine that EDSA II paled in comparison with the original People Power, in terms of magnitude and chutzpah. But that sense of control, empowerment and pride felt during EDSA II  made me appreciate what the Cory-led revolution was and what it stood for.

I also think that the loss of Cory is so palpable because she passed away at a time when our nation is desperately longing for a true leader. We have an abundance of people acting as warlords, but we have not enough people acting as servant-leaders. What I admire about Cory is that for her, power was a means, and not an end. This is, of course, in sharp contrast to the contemporary politicians, who do everything they can to cling to power, and who spend millions advertising on TV, already campaigning for an election which is still 10 months away.

I take my hats off to President Cory. I have nothing but respect and gratitude. I'm sure history will be very kind to her. For what she represented, she will be immortalized in the collective memory of the Filipinos. For all the good that she did, she will always be revered by a grateful nation.

By the way, if you want to offer prayers or condolences to the Aquino family, you can do so by clicking here.

Cheaper Medicines Now

A controversy regarding the Cheaper Medicines Act arose a few days ago, when Senator Juan Ponce Enrile revealed an alleged bribe by one pharmaceutical company. It's not exactly a bribe, more of a donation, in favor of the government. And that is not necessarily a bad thing, and there's nothing illegal with such an act. It is within a corporation's power to donate to the government. In fact, it is a good thing. Taken at face value, giving discount cards for the people to use is a nice gesture on the part of the pharmaceutical company.

The alleged bribery was denied by the company, so we must give them the benefit of the doubt. If they say that there's no intention to bribe, then let us assume that the discount cards were given out of pure gratuity.

Same with the voluntary price cut proposals. From the point of view of pharmaceutical companies, proposing voluntary price cuts can be a win-win compromise for both parties. It is understandable from the perspective of a profit-driven entity to maximize money coming in.

However, these acts should NOT in anyway influence the full implementation of the Cheaper Medicines Act. The implementation of the price ceiling is long overdue, and much needed by the people. We have suffered long enough from having exorbitant prices of medicines. It is only natural that pharmaceutical companies will do everything in their capacity in order to stall or prevent the implementation. But who is in charge here anyway? The government should correct the anomaly in our country of having one of the cheapest cigarettes while having one of the most expensive medicines in Asia, if not the world. The cigarette situation will take a longer time to correct, but having cheaper medicines would be a good start.