By Efren L. Danao Manila Times The Liberals have been going to town with the mantra that the 2010 election is a choice between good and evil—the good will go for LP presidential bet Sen. Noynoy Aquino, while the evil will vote for others. The high rating of Noynoy must have gone into the heads of Liberal moguls, such that they now consider themselves the sole repository of goodness and virtue. Do you consider yourself with the forces of good? Then join the sainted LP. If you have sinned before, don’t worry. Once you join the forces of good, all your sins will be forgiven—by the Liberals, that is. I don’t know if the people will forget those sins, however. I remember that some personalities associated with the anomalous issuance of the Peace Bond are among the most ardent supporters of Noynoy. And what about Kamaganak Inc.? The Mendiola massacre? The Hacienda Luisita Massacre? Oh well, their members or perpetrators must have reformed themselves, otherwise they would not have been with t...

By Mon Casiple The news was a bit of a surprise. After shopping for a senatorial slot in LP, NP, and PMP, Ferdinand “Bongbong”Marcos, Jr. finally found a nesting place in presidential candidate’s Manny Villar’s Nacionalista Party. With this move, the Marcos family will again try–for the umpteenth time–to go back to national politics. On his side, Mr. Villar will try to help breach the historical barrier against the Marcos dictatorship that EDSA I and the antidictatorship movement erected. The move to bring Bongbong into its fold deliberately sets the NP on a course to capture the pro-dictatorship political base of the Marcoses. This base is, of course, unreachable from the LP side, particularly because of Noynoy Aquino’s own political base that is rooted in the EDSA I and anti-dictatorship struggle. It’s maybe good trapo politics but the consequences will be far-reaching. Villar gambles that the bitter memories of the dark days of the Marcos dictatorship will have been forgotten or att...

silent for a week because of my mother's death, merely a month after my father passed away. it was so quick, and so devastating. and now i have to face the intellectual pygmies at comelec.

Poll exec: To be moral is not old-fashioned Written by Reynaldo Santos Jr. Newsbreak Magazine www.newsbreak.com.ph Monday, 16 November 2009 Gays are already ‘over-represented’ in the House The Commission on Elections (Comelec) stands firm on its decision to deny a gay organization accreditation for the party list, even after the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) sided with the incensed members of the “third sex.” In response to the CHR’s comment that the poll body’s ruling on Ang Ladlad (literally, The Coming Out) “smacks of prejudice and discrimination,” Comelec commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said there was nothing “retrogressive” in it. Ferrer, along with commissioners Lucenito Tagle and Elias Yusoph, on grounds the group “tolerates immorality,” last week rejected Ang Ladlad’s petition to participate in the party-list elections and be hopefully represented in the lower chamber of Congress. In its petition for accreditation, the group claims to represent lesbians, gays, bisexuals, ...

Joker comes to defense of Ang Ladlad By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) Updated November 15, 2009 12:00 AM MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Joker Arroyo came to the defense of Ang Ladlad, a gay organization whose petition for party-list status was junked by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on grounds of “immorality.” Arroyo joined several organizations, including militant groups, in asking the Comelec to reconsider its decision. “The Comelec’s 2nd Division acted out of bounds when it denied accreditation to Ang Ladlad’s bid to participate in the party-list elections on grounds of ‘immorality’ and for ‘being inimical to the interest of the youth,’” Arroyo said. “The resolution reveals a deeply-entrenched prejudice against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders (LGBTs), the constituency of Ang Ladlad. So what if they are LGBTs? Precisely because of that, as a group which has been oppressed and marginalized in all spheres of their lives, they should be allowed to exercise their basic r...

Remnants of the Dark Ages Ellen Tordesillas Ang Pahayagang Malaya November 16, 2009 ‘Is there in fact a secular, governmental policy against homosexuality?’ Leila de Lima, chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights said reasons cited by the Commission on Elections in denying the application of Ang Ladlad for accreditation as sectoral party illustrates that gays are objects of ridicule, contempt and violence which renders them marginalized. It’s good that De Lima took up the cudgels for Ang Ladlad, a nationwide organization of lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. De Lima read to the Comelec commissioners Article 7 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, to which the Philippines is a signatory, that states: "All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination....

Dear Editor: Is there anyway to impeach the following Comelec Comisssioners: Nicodemo T. Ferrer, Lucinito N. Tagle and Elias R. Yusoph? They must be impeached because they have openly decided to turn the country into a religious state instead of a secular one. I am referring of course to their decision to outlaw Ladlad on the basis of upholding religious beliefs. They quote the Bible and the Koran forgetting that they should consult the Philippine Constitution instead. Only in the Philippines would we have high government officials who state that obedience to religious beliefs trumps other more cogent legal provisions as a basis for policy. If stupidity were a basis for impeachment, the proceedings would be quite short. Their display of ignorance of current scientific knowledge on sexuality is quite appalling. They should have taken the simple expedient of asking any psychiatrist or psychologist who upholds the standards of organizations like the World Health Organization or the Americ...

Disenfranchising homosexuals Editorial Ang Pahayagang Malaya November 16, 2009 ‘Homosexuality is now a contagious moral and spiritual disease from which our youth need to be quarantined?’ The Commission on Elections decision last Friday denying accreditation to the Ang Ladlad is the very proof that gays and lesbians are so marginalized they need to be represented in Congress. They are discriminated against on the basis of their sexual preferences. They are powerless against the dominant culture that classifies them as aberrations of nature. They are victims of beliefs that treat them as moral misfits. The Neanderthals in the Comelec, in effect, disenfranchised a class of citizens on the basis of a set of prejudices. The grounds cited by the Comelec second division are laughable. "Should this Commission grant the petition, we will be exposing our youth to an environment that does not conform to our faith," it said. It then gratuitously added that homosexuality is against Chris...

BY Kristine Servando abs-cbnnews.com November 12, 2009 MANILA - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday rejected Ang Ladlad for party-list accreditation on the grounds that the party advocates "sexual immorality" and "immoral doctrines." Ang Ladlad is an organization of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT). In a ruling dated November 11, the Comelec said that although the party presented proper documents and evidence for their accreditation, their petition is "dismissable on moral grounds." Page 5 of the ruling states that Ang Ladlad's definition of the LGBT sector as a marginalized sector who are disadvantaged because of their sexual orientation "makes it crystal clear that the petitioner tolerates immorality which offends religious beliefs." The document quotes passages from both the Bible and the Koran (taken from internet site www.bible.org) that describe homosexuality as "unseemly" or "transgressive...

1. Why have you taken a break from column-writing? My father died two weeks ago and I had to take charge of the wake and burial, being the eldest. I had to deal with everything -- from the mortuary to the car that would pick up my siblings at the airport to always being there with my mother, who is quiet and noble in her grief. 2. Are you running under the Liberal Party? I do not know. All I know is that I am running for senator in the 2010 elections with a big political party. 3. Why not independent? Been there, been that. People will promise you funds, warm bodies, watchers. But when push comes to shove, you are all alone, with only a few of your most loyal campaign volunteers. 4. When will you declare? My political party of choice has told me to wait it out while it finalizes a possible coalition with another party. We will declare before November 20, the first day of filing of certificates of candidacy. We will declare as one, solid group. 5. Aren't you afraid of your competito...

Eighteen days to go before the start of the filing of certificates of candidacy for elective national positions -- president, vice-president, senators and party-list. The filing period is between November 20-30. Expect the next four weeks to be a nail-biting experience. Why? 1. Not a single political party has completed their senatorial slates. 2. Manny Villar and Gibo Teodoro have no VP candidate, while Loren Legarda has no presidential candidate. 3. The forthcoming Pulse Asia survey should help the political parties finalize their senatorial slates and their alignments or realignments. According to Lito Banayo, this survey should be out late this week. And which party will I join? 1. The party that will not tell me to firm up my niche or message, because that has been firmed up in the last three years. 2. The party that will treat me with the respect that my candidacy deserves, having done their extensive research and found out the following about my political mapping: a. There are 4...