Philippine News Agency September 25, 2009 Ladlad, a gay and lesbian group, has renewed its bid to get the nod of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to accredit and allow the group to join the party list elections next year. Ladlad head Danton Remoto said he is hoping that the poll body will evaluate thoroughly their application. “I hope the Comelec will see the point of our party list,” he said before the hearing of their accreditation Thursday at the Comelec head office in Manila. He said Ladlad should be allowed to participate in 2010 elections as they represent a marginalized sector in the society. “Like many Filipinos, many lesbians, gays, transgenders are poor. So we reflect the economic conditions of the country. Marginalization is not only financial,” Remoto pointed out. He is also confident that they will finally get the approval of the Comelec since they already have members all over the country. Remoto revealed that they have 13 regional chapters and 22,000 members and aff

BY SOPHIA DEDACE, GMANews.TV 09/25/2009 | 01:17 PM With only a month to go before the registration period for the 2010 elections ends, the number of names purged from the voters’ list is more than twice the number of new voters that have signed up so far, according to records obtained from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). As of July 2009, a total of 2.7 million new voters have signed up since the registration period started in December 2008, figures culled from Comelec records by GMA News Research show. During the same period, however, the number of names that have been purged from the list of registered voters has reached 6.1 million. Most of them, or about 5.6 million, are Filipinos who did not vote in the last two elections. James Jimenez, head of the poll body’s Education and Information Department, said the figures should not give the impression that there is a low turnout of new registrants because more voters have been stricken off the voters’ list. “There is a misconcepti

By Mayen Jaymalin The Philippine Star Updated September 25, 2009 12:00 AM MANILA, Philippines - The gay rights group Ang Ladlad has come out of the closet once again to seek recognition as a legitimate party-list organization by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). The group led by Danton Remoto filed a petition before the Comelec yesterday, urging the poll body to allow them to participate in the 2010 elections. Remoto said their group represents gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders that account for 10 percent of the total 43.5 million registered voters nationwide. The group sought anew to be recognized as a party-list organization, two years after the Comelec junked their petition for accreditation citing the failure to comply with the legal requirements of national membership. Remoto this time argued that Ang Ladlad has sufficient membership to mount a national campaign. He insisted their advocacy to promote gay rights is legitimate and thus they should be allowed to partici

BY Ellen Tordesillas www.ellentordesillas.com It’s heartening to know interest among young people to participate in the 2010 elections is growing. Political consultant Malou Tiquia, in her presentation on “Developments in the 2010 election campaign” in a recent forum sponsored by the Ateneo School of Government, said of the 45,029,443 registered voters as of March 2009, nine million belong to age 18-35 years old. Election observers expect 22 per cent of voters would come from the youth sector. If these young people would identify with someone in their age range, they would have three to choose from: Chiz Escudero of the National People’s Coalition, who will be turning 40 (the minimum age requirement to be president) on October 10; Gilbert Teodoro of the administration’s Lakas-Kampi-CMD; and the Liberal Party’s Noynoy Aquino. With the significant number of voters being young, Tiquia, who is advising Escudero now, said there would be higher use of New Media both by the candidates and the

BY Lito Banayo Ang Pahayagang Malaya September 18, 2009 ON the 16th day of the 9th month of the Gregorian calendar, which is the 28th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, also known as the "Kwi Ge" or ghost month, Gilbert Teodoro was "chosen" by the PaLaKa Executive Committee as their standard-bearer for 2010. (For the benefit of those who do not know the significance that the Chinese place on the Kwi Ge, know this: No Chinese family moves to a house, no businessman opens a store or an office, or ink a major contract or agreement during the Kwi Ge, when ghosts roam the land. No announcements of major significance, no career changes are made, or bad luck steps in if ghosts attach themselves to house, office or career. And this year, the 7th month began August 20 and ends today, September 18. That’s when the moon cakes are given around, thanking the gods for passing through a dreadful month.) So Ronnie Puno is wiser. He did not allow himself to be nominated as

BY Lito Banayo Ang Pahayagang Malaya September 16, 2009 The week began with startling political news. Noynoy Aquino, who announced his intentions to run for the highest post in the land September 9, zoomed up spectacularly in the first measurement of popularity done in the month of September. The surveys, in fact were done in haste (not that haste makes its results suspect). When it was clear in the last days of August that the Liberal Party seemed to be hedging its bets on Mar Roxas, some businessmen wanted to test the so-called public clamor for Noynoy. And the earliest SWS could do a test was the first week-end of September. The territorial scope would also be delimited to what political tacticians call the Mega-Manila area, or more aptly, the Lingayen to Lucena corridor. This vote-rich, urbanized community, whose population is reached almost completely by audio and visual broadcast media, and has access to print media, mostly tabloids, constitutes roughly 40 percent of the entire v

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/17/2009 4:50 PM MANILA - Sen. Francis Escudero on Thursday topped a mock poll conducted by students from the University of the Philippines Diliman campus. Dubbed the "Boto ng Iskolar ng Bayan", the campus-wide mock election was conducted by the Alpha Sigma fraternity last September 8 to 15. A total of 3,156 from 15 colleges in UP Diliman participated in the election. Escudero, who received his law degree at the UP College of Law, got 690 or 21 percent of the total votes. He gained the most votes in all except in the UP College of Business Administration where Sen. Manuel Villar graduated. Villar placed second in the mock poll with 365 or 11.6 percent of the votes. Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III placed third in the mock poll with 278 or 8.8 percent of the votes. The complete results of the UP mock elections is as follows: 1. Sen Francis Escudero - 690 or 21.9% 2. Sen. Manny Villar - 365 or 11.6% 3. Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III - 2

Ingat sa tsismis By Ellen Tordesillas www.ellentordesillas.com Ngayong palapit na 2010 eleksyun, dumadami ang mga panggulong mga balita. Kawawa nga itong si Senator Chiz Escudero. Itong mga nakaraang araw, siya ang pinagdidiskitahan ng ilang grupo na mag-withdraw sa 2010 presidential contest. Noong Linggo, maaga kong kinalampag ang kanyang political consultant na si Malou Tiquia dahil sa text na nakuha ko tungkol sa SWS survey na run-away si Sen. Noynoy Aquino sa survey sa Luzon. Malaki ang nakain ni Noynoy sa rating ng ibang mga kandidato katulad nina Sen.Manny Villar, Estrada at Escudero. Pati narin nga yung kay Noli de Castro. Sinabi sa text na magwi-withdraw daw si Chiz at nakikipag-usap daw kay Noynoy para magiging bise presidente. Sabi ni Malou, “Hindi toto-o yun!” Pinadala rin sa akin ng isa kung kaibigan ang text sa kanya ni Chiz, “Uso ang tsismis ngayon, he he.” Alam ng mga kandidato sa oposisyun katulad ni Chiz na nag-iba ang laban sa pagpasok ni Noynoy. Ngunit hindi pa naman

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama Back to School Event Arlington, Virginia September 8, 2009 The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today. I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning. I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where

From radar www.filipinofirst.org/forum/eleksyon 2010 "Both danton remoto and adel tamano (the young turks) were at our school a few months ago, and I've heard them speak. You're right, both are very much qualified and I'd like to see them in the Senate one day. Both are educators and are definitely not the traditional politicians. We need fresh leaders. They could be a source of inspiration for the youth. And most importantly, they could do a lot in our government."

From enzo_rex www.filipinofirst.org/forum "Danton Remoto is also another sound senatorial candidate. behind his goofy antics during the comelec hearings on the ang ladlad partylist during the last elections, it is clear that he is a sincere person and that he really cares about progress (not only to GLBTH but to heterosexuals as well). He was also brave enough to run against the longstanding incumbent of the third district of quezon city. Not to mention that he is an academic. (English professor at the Ateneo de Manila University). "Another candidate worth looking out for is Adel Tamano. as the current president of PLM he has paved the way for modernization and development within the campus using the same resources as his predecessors have. Of course, being good at running a school doesn't equate to being a good legislator, but at least we have seen what he can do even when given limited funds. "It is also an added bonus that both these candidates are active members

Now that Mar Roxas has junked his presidential run, the composition of the senatorial slate of the Liberal Party will change. You have heard from the party's honorable men who are in the partial list. We will see if Noynoy will follow the list that Mar has prepared, or if he will get some more from outside LP, or add some from civil society. At this point in the time-space continuum (as my freshmen students at Ateneo would put it), I guess one of the main criterion should be the candidates' winnability. What good would it be if you stuff your slate with do-gooders who are not known throughout the nation? It would be difficult, at this point, to short-circuit the awareness-endearment-passion triad that goes on in the hearts and minds of the voters. And so, my cellphone has begun to beep and beep again this morning. One of the messages came from the lawyer of a presidential candidate who belongs to a party with a vast machinery. He congratulated me on -- and may I quote -- "

By Toots Ople I knew it was coming but was stunned just the same when I heard it. Claiming my space in the crowded Gabaldon room of Club Filipino, I saw him enter the room, my former boss, Mar Roxas in blue, smiling and with a sparkle in his eyes. If he was in pain, he didn’t show it. Butch Abad, campaign manager of Noynoy Aquino in 2007 and of Mar for 2010, opened the press conference. Liberal Party chairman emeritus Sen. Jovito Salonga was seated with Mar at the presidential table. The heat was rising as warm bodies jostled to get the best shot, or have the main speakers directly in their line of vision. Suspense was palpable. Mar stood up and read a prepared statement. Short and sweet. Country above self, he said. Noynoy wanted to carry the torch. Even before his speech was over, the new LP presidential bet came in and joined the main figures at the presidential table. No Q & A. In a matter of minutes, the torch was passed, and Mar of those silly padyak ads became Mar the selfle

By Dennis Carcamo Philippine Star MANILA, Philippines -- Liberal Party president Sen. Mar Roxas announced today (Sept. 1) he is giving way to Sen. Noynoy Aquino III to be their party’s standard bearer in the 2010 presidential elections. "I'm now announcing that I'm supporting the candidacy of Noynoy Aquino," Roxas said in a hastily called press conference at the jampacked Gabaldon Room in Club Filipino, Greenhills, San Juan City. He said the decision was initially difficult for him, but he chose to make the sacrifice for the sake of unity. "Country first before self… I choose to lead unity not division," Roxas said. Also at the event were Reps. Ruffy Biazon, Erin Tañada, Riza Hontiveros-Baraquel, and Nereo Acosta, Ang Ladlad Party List Chairman Danton Remoto, and former cabinet officials Dinky Soliman (DSWD), Chito Gascon (DepEd), Juan Miguel Luz (DepEd), Liwayway Vinzons-Chato (BIR) and Avelino Cruz (DND).

"The most media-attractive partylister to date is Danton Remoto’s Ang Ladlad. While denied COMELEC accreditation in the past (it said it didn’t have a national presence), it is now more politically sophisticated to go into the fray. Gays are found in all levels of society, the trades and professions. They contribute much to our society. However, Danton is astute enough to recognize that it is OK for Ladlad to go partylist for now, but that cannot be the state of affairs for the future. Ladlad will have to expand its constituency. Danton is considering a senate seat with the Liberals. Best of all he knows how to play the conservative streak in Pinoy society. While Pinoys may have no problems with openly gay people, they may have problems with gays exchanging vows with each other. So Danton says, 'Walang same-sex marriage, Ayaw ni Jesus.' A look at Ladlad’s platform is lefty but should be acceptable to many, children’s and women’s rights, education, peace, aside from LGB

By Senator Mar Roxas Club Filipino, 1st of September 2009 Country above self. Bayan bago ang sarili.Iyan ang habilin ng aking lolo, President Manuel Roxas. Our nation is in trouble. Leadership is bankrupt. Institutions are in disarray. People are hungry. Noynoy Aquino and I share the same outrage over the mess we are all in, the same way we share solution – clean, honest, selfless public service. Marami at matindi and nga problem ng bansa. Kailangan nating ayusin. Matindi ang kalaban. We need a determined force for good far stroinger than the festering evil around us. We need to fight just as our own fathers fought dictatorship, and just as both died believing that good will conquer evil. Noynoy and I want to make a difference, but we also know that we need to unite to achieve what we want. I am the President of the Liberal Party. It is within my power to preside over a potentially divisive process or to make the party a bridge for the forces of change. I choose to lead unity, not divi

By Lito Banayo Ang Pahayagang Malaya 31 August 2009 On January 8 this year, I began a series on ten presidential wannabe’s, beginning with Joseph Ejercito Estrada, which I entitled “The Hamlet Act”. It has been almost 8 months since that article was printed on this space. Let me reprint an abbreviated version of the same: Quote the Bard of Avon, “To be or not to be, that is the question” in his well-read Hamlet. For Joseph Ejercito Estrada, dispossessed 13th president of the Republic, that translates into: “To run or not to run, that is the question”. The ostensible reason behind a run is the threat that if the opposition does not unite, he himself will run. Anybody with two cents worth of political experience knows that the opposition is not going to unite behind one candidate in 2010, and Erap’s premise is ipso facto and ab initio defunct. And the man knows it, but, “just like in the movies”, he has to dissemble. He has increasingly made his decision to run known to almost every pers

By Danton Remoto REMOTE CONTROL Views and analysis www.abs-cbnnews.com 1st of September 2009 (Excerpt from Wings of Desire, a novel) The Bank for International Reconstruction and Development (BIRD) based in Washington, D.C., held their XXth Annual Meeting in Manila. "This historical event," crowed the President that night on all the TV stations (which again zapped Wonder Woman off the screen, she who pilots an invisible plane) "proves that the bankers of the world agree that we have indeed marshaled our resources very well and turned our history of defeat into a future of hope." From that point, a flurry of questions had to be answered. How to house the world’s bankers in the luxury they had been accustomed to? Faster than Harry Houdini, the money from the Development and Aid Package of BIRD was diverted to the construction of seven new five-star hotels. And so the commuters and office workers from Manila to Makati had to suffer monstrous traffic jams as one hotel r

By Jessica Annde D. Hermosa, BusinessWorld | 09/01/2009 12:20 AM MANILA - The global economic downturn has not spared the domestic book industry, hitting sales and investment plans and limiting the production of new titles, industry officials said. Limits posed by the local market are also to blame for the industry’s laggard performance, they added. But a plan to award grants to authors and recommendations to focus on foreign markets and improve the education system could pull the sector out of its rut, National Book Development Board officials said. "This year, there are almost no expansions except for a few stores in the new malls. Companies are focusing on training and retooling to prepare for the recovery," Jose Paolo M. Sibal, Philippine Book Sellers Association president, said in a telephone interview on Friday. Publishers, likewise, have hesitated from growing their businesses with only one firm availing of incentives to import more printing equipment this year,