Tag: politics

Get to Know Nicanor Perlas

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On December 29, 2009

nick perlas

Last December 22, I was lucky enough to meet Nick Perlas. Mr. Perlas filed his candidacy for president of the Philippines. He was disqualified by the Commission on Election because they judged that Nick Perlas doesn’t have capacity to wage a national campaign.

Nick Perlas is very much determined to fight for his rights and to lead the protest to reinstate him as presidential candidate.

As of this writing, there are more than 1,800 individuals who have responded to the call to support Nick Perlas. These people are individuals from the Philippines and all over the world. They are mostly people who have known Nick Perlas from his seminars, keynotes & workshops that he had given in several countries.

When we met Mr. Perlas, the bulk of our discussion was about his protest & several opinions shared about the difference between traditional & new politics. Personally, I went into that meeting with the intent to get to know more about Nick Perlas & what his credentials are.

Who is Nick Perlas?

Nick Perlas is not a celebrity nor is he a politician. He isn’t even rich as the other candidates nor a businessman. He is an ordinary citizen like us. Before running for office, Nick Perlas was a global consultant of integral, sustainable development. And before that, Nick Perlas has been adviser to past presidents & politicians. Among other things, he has done a lot to prove that he is fit to be our next president.

Read the rest of the article in Blogwatch.PH.

References:

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua on media, events, travel, food and restaurant experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Manila, Philippines and Asia.

Manny Villar & his Vision for OFWs

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On December 21, 2009

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Last December 17, BlogWatch started its presidential roundtable discussion and it so happened that Billionaire and the Nacionalista Party candidate Manny Villar was the first to meet with us.

To be honest, I had my reservations about Mr. Villar. I formed my opinion based on what I saw on Traditional Media and how they portrayed him. Things like he’s just another politician who wants power and his choice of Vice President, well, let’s just say, that didn’t help improve the impression I had of him. Then there was his appearance at Wowowee that somehow re-enforced the idea in my mind that Manny Villar was another showbiz politician positioning himself as poor so he could get votes from the masses.

Each BlogWatch writer was given a chance to ask Senator Villar one question. So what was the question that I decided to ask Manny Villar about?

Remember this infomercial?

Since Manny Villar is known for helping Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), I had to ask if he became President, what will he do if a country goes into default (or something like what happened with Dubai) and OFWs will be sent back to the Philippines, what are his contingency measures?

Read the rest of the article in Blogwatch.PH.

References:

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua where she talks about her travel experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Philippines and Asia, as well as her adventures in food and restaurants

Get to Know the 2010 Automated Election Machine

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On November 22, 2009

pcos

Hello, I am the 2010 Automated Election Machine.

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Precinct Count Optical Scan but you can call me P.C.O.S.

For the 1st time in history, the Philippines will be embracing technology and will transform greatly the electoral system of the country.  I’m so glad to be part of the history.

I’m so honored to be one helping the Philippines move away from the known flaws of the old ways. I am proud to say goodbye to dagdag-bawas.

Why am I here?  What can I do to make your election accurate, easier & faster?  What can I do to protect your ballot & guarantee who you voted for will truly win?

  • You will not need to count and canvass for your local & national election. I will do it for you. There will be room for no mistakes.
  • I will limit/remove flying voters. If a precinct has 400 registered voters, I will only accept 400 voters.
  • I will not accept over voting. This means, if you voted for 2 candidates for president, I will not count it. I will count the rest of the ballot though, so your votes will still be counted for other positions.
  • Since I will do all your counting & canvassing, we will not tire our teachers for days & weeks.

I know you want to get to know me better. And what better way than to show you my parts, right?

PCOS parts

  • Feeder – After you filled up your ballots, this is where you will personally feed your ballots to me! I accept any orientation, except sideways, of course.
  • Touch Screen – This is going to be used by the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) to have a conversation with me. It is also where I let you know of messages like for you, voter, a confirmation that you have cast your ballot.
  • Thermal Printer – The same kind of printer you will find at your local fast food restaurant. But instead of a receipt, I print out election returns, an audit trail, and transmission of returns. And no, I’m not cheap. I only use high quality paper that lasts at least five years.
  • Backup Battery – It’s there to keep me going and going for up to 16 hours. This is just in case there is a power failure. Voting time is between 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. This is so we will be ready for any suprises! 🙂

Last week, Smartmatic, my maker explained all this during the Bagong Botante event. And yes, we have videos!!! So here, check it out:

Before I go, here is a demo made by COMELEC. It shows how I’m going to be used during the elections next year. So, can I just say, it was a pleasure to meet you and hope to see you at the Polls!!! 🙂

This article is also posted on Blogwatch.PH.

References:

PicPanda.com

The RH Bill Talk with Risa Hontiveros

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On November 20, 2009

The RH Bill Talk with Risa Hontiveros

What is the RH Bill? House Bill No. 5043 or the Reproductive Health & Population Development Act of 2008 is an act providing for a national policy on reproductive health, responsible parenthood & population development.

Why am I blogging about this? Well you see, last week, I had the chance to meet with Liberal Party senatorial candidate & AKBAYAN representative, Risa Hontiveros. On a personal note, I was really impressed with how Risa Hontiveros greeted us. She could have just seated and said her piece, but she went around the room and shook our hands one by one. Now that’s what we call courtesy.

So anyway, one of many things that Congresswoman Risa Hontiveros (now senatorial candidate) talked about and is focused on, is a platform on Health & Women. The RH Bill, which she discussed in depth during our meet, fall into that.

Here are the guiding principles of the RH Bill:

  • freedom of choice with no bias for either modern or natural method of family planning;
  • it is about health and rights, not demographics;
  • individuals are provided free, full access to relevant, adequate and correct information on reproductive health and human sexuality by the State and professional private practitioners;
  • gender equality and women empowerment and their protection, promotion and guarantee are central elements;
  • aims to ensure birth and care of healthy children;
  • promotes responsible parenting;
  • promotes breastfeeding through joint effort between local government and national government.
  • abortion remains a crime and is punishable by law *but* post abortion complications shall be treated, counseled in a humane, nonjudgmental and compassionate manner.
  • respect for, protection and fulfillment of reproductive health rights of children to adults are guaranteed
  • aims to uplift the quality of life of people, especially the poor, the needy and marginalized;
  • aims to seek active participation of government and non government organization;
  • the RH Bill does not legalize Abortion.
  • aims active participation between government, non government and people’s organizations and communities

Basically, the RH Bill aims to resolve our population problem. If we don’t act now, we will double our population not in 20 years but in 10 years.

Personally, I believe the main goal won’t be resolved with this bill. What is lacking here is not just education but discipline. If we don’t impose, people will just continue with their old habits and our current problems will not go away.

I do understand where the legislators are coming from when they passed this bill. We are a catholic country. Even with how conservative this bill was made, there were still some bishops/priests lambasting politicians who support the RH bill.

Risa’s point of view is that free will is a gift of God.  The church can preach and teach but what doesn’t take well with her is the bishops’ bullying.  Though we all think that most politicians tend to keep mum about the RH bill because they wouldn’t want to lose Catholic votes, Risa mentioned surveys actually say most Filipinos are for the RH Bill.  She also mentioned that the Catholic vote is a myth.

You can also read the article at Blogwatch.PH.

References:

PicPanda.com

Budget Reform is TG Guingona III’s Main Advocacy

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On November 13, 2009

When I got an invite for the bloggers meet with TG Guingona III, I was like, “who is this guy?” The only thing that entered my mind was, he is probably a relative of Teofisto Guingona. But why is he running for senator?

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When I saw him, I said to myself that ahhhh.  I’ve seen him on Television.  Still, the question remained. Who is he? He’s not popular. How can he win the election?

I asked him that and he said that’s why he is joining his party’s rallies as he doesn’t have sufficient funds to advertise himself.

Teofisto “TG” Guingona III is with Noynoy’s campaign. He is joining all the activities of the Liberal Party. They share the same advocacies. TG’s main advocacy however is Budget Reform.

As representative of the 2nd district of Bukidnon, Congressman TG Guingona III has filed several bills/resolutions on budget reform which are still pending with the committee on Appropriations.

How is our budget done anyway?

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To explain in simple terms, the budget is first proposed by the president (executive). The Congress (legislature) will review the proposal and authorize it. It is congress that will say where the money goes. It is their most important law that they will pass in the year. When approved by Congress, the president will implement it.

Do you honestly think that the budget allocation is being followed? Your guess is as good as mine.

Read the rest of the article in Blogwatch.PH.

References:

PicPanda.com

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