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Is the opposite of Noynoy evil?

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 the be-knighted group. Charge them in court? Why, they deserve a halo for joining the forces of good!

The Liberals have also been shouting to the high heavens against the so-called traditional politicians. Excuse me if I my eyes have been misleading me, but aren’t a number of those being sworn in as new Liberal members among those labeled as “tradpols?” Ah, but maybe, a politician ceases to be traditional once he becomes a Liberal. His joining merely means that he fully subscribes to the “good vs evil” campaign of the Liberals. And since he is with the forces of good, then he ceases to be traditional politician. So, all those who don’t want to be tagged a tradpol or political opportunist, join the queue at the Liberal Party headquarters in Cubao and they will become instant instruments for political reforms.

And what’s the main basis for Noynoy’s being the sole hope for national salvation in 2010? Sorry I have to ask that question. Everybody already knows that this is because he is the son of martyred former Sen. Ninoy Aquino and our icon of democracy, former President Cory Aquino. His pedigree should assure everybody that he is of a breed different from the other wannabes. And you’d better believe it, otherwise you will be considered as favoring the forces of evil. Don’t ask about Noynoy’s achievements, about his plans. The memory of Ninoy and Cory should be enough to consider Noynoy and only Noynoy. Why should one still think of any other reason to go for him? After all, one might be hard put looking for another reason.

The question now is, will those who will not vote for Noynoy and the Liberals consider themselves evil? If they don’t, then perhaps the Liberal Party must take a new tact. I don’t question at all the integrity of Noynoy but I don’t consider this the sole reason to go for him in 2010. He must provide other compelling reasons why he deserves my vote. If he can’t, then he can consider me as being with the forces of evil for all I care.

Angara’s warning on population

At the recent national executive conference of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, party head Sen. Edgardo J. Angara urged LDP to consider solutions to the upcoming problems caused by a burgeoning population. He warned that by 2015, the Philippine population would reach 115 million, which he described as the limit of the country’s “carrying capacity.”

“If we already have difficulty supplying the needs of 95 million, then the difficulty will be much more for 115 million,” SEJA said.

His warning should give more impetus in supporting the Commission on Population’s (POPCOM) aggressive implementation of its Responsible Parenthood-Natural Family Planning Program (RP-NFP) at the grassroots level.

Believing that population is a key component in hunger mitigation, POPCOM collaborated with faith-based and nongovernment organizations to promote RP-NFP to their members and their own communities. Orientations were held at the provincial/city/municipal and barangay levels which reached out to 6,940 participants and 471 batches.

There are already 86 Responsible Parenting Movement (RPM) federations at the local level and 24
federations at the municipal and city levels. RPM teams and groups have been organized in 15 regions, 73 provinces, 770 municipalities/cities, and 4,179 barangays. Every year, POPCOM targets to conduct 58,000 classes that will reach 580,000 couples in 29,000 barangays. As of 30 June 2009, POPCOM reported that they have already reached 232,000 couples through the 23, 200 classes they have conducted in 11, 600 barangays.

National Nutrition Council Chairman and Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd as lead of the Anti-Hunger Task Force said that the PopCom’s RP-NFP plays a major role in mitigating hunger in the country.

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