An unlooked-for gift -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editorial www.malaya.net.ph July 29, 2009 ‘Thanks to Gloria, Mar no longer needs to define himself.’ Gloria Arroyo might have unwittingly paid the highest compliment to Mar Roxas when she singled him out among her administration’s critics in her state of the nation address. There are lingering suspicions that some opposition figures, including presidential aspirants, are prepared to strike a deal with Gloria, assuming they have not already done so, in pursuit of their personal ambition. In her spite, Gloria may just have established Roxas’ credentials as the genuine oppositionist in what is emerging to be a wide-open 2010 electoral race. Gloria’s attack on Roxas stemmed from the latter’s allegation that she had sought to undermine the Cheaper Medicines Act by refusing to sign an executive order cutting the prices of 22 essential medicines by half. Gloria’s position was that there was n...

Nagpapasalamat ako sa Kaya Natin! for including me in their array of choices for a reform president. I am willing to engage Kaya Natin! and all other reform groups so we can find ways to unite everyone who believes in the promise of change and a nation of worth which are the real issues in the 2010 elections. The values and causes we share in the growing reform constituency are much, much larger than any of us. We represent, fight for and share the struggle with the people. Kaya naman kami sa Partido Liberal ay masigasig na pinupursigi ang pagkakaisa ng lahat ng grupong nagnanais ng tunay na pagbabago sa ating bansa. Natutuwa akong sumama na sa atin ang mga lider at grupo ng civil society at ng mga sektor sa pagpapalakas pa lalo ng kilusang reporma. Nagtitiwala ako na dahil tunay at taos-puso ang ating pagkakaisa sa adhikain ng pagbabago, makakamit natin sa 2010 ang ating minimithi na lideratong ipapatupad ng walang pasubali ang mga repormang aayos n gating bansa. Hindi ko pababayaan n...

I thought of this last week, and I am glad to be proven correct. I see here a realignment of forces between Kaya Natin's reformist bloc and the Liberal Party of Mar Roxas. Forget the Lito what's his name bloc of the LP. It's been flushed down the toilet bowl. I am happy about the Kaya Natin-LP alliance, since LP -- the party to which I now belong -- has a long tradition of being reform-minded. Now, if only this streak of reformism burns brightly and turns into action in 2010, then Senator Roxas as presidential candidate, with Governor Among Ed Panlilio or Governor Grace Padaca as Vice-Presidential timber, will have a strong chance in the 2010 elections. *** By Tina Arceo-Dumlao Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 04:34:00 03/27/2009 MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Manuel Roxas II is being asked to join a US-style popularity contest that will select the standard-bearer of a political reform movement in the 2010 presidential election. Governors Ed Panlilio of Pampanga and Grace P...

www.professionalheckler.wordpress.com I am reprinting this because when I saw Sen Roxas in a party, the first thing he told me was, "Did you read that list of ten things that mentioned you twice?" And then he let out a wicked laughter. I told him I am not the professional heckler and don't intend to be one, since I am part of the group (those darned politicians) that deserve to be heckled. I am reprinting this because it is still going the rounds, and being quoted out of context, and being mangled. As they say in Lit Theory class, let us go back and retrieve a fair copy of the text. So here goes: 10 Messages Left on Mar's Answering Machine: 10: Senator Roxas, this is Yolly Ong of Campaigns & Grey. I think you’ll need our help. 9: Mar, Si Archbishop Cruz ‘to. Amen! 8: Hello senator, Danton Remoto here. Naloka ako sa ‘yo! 7: Hi, it’s Teddy Locsin. I thought my “Fuck You” then was good. But your “Putang Ina” was awesome! 6: Mar, si Erap ‘to. Salamat sa pagmumura mo. ...

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 First of all, if anyone in the audience knows who actually won between Ateneo and La Salle, I’d appreciate it. Who won? Oh, you mean the blue and white? All right. That’s good news. I left just before halftime to make it all the way over here from Quezon City, from Cubao, and I was totally out of touch already with the developments when I came in, and so I am happy to know that people through their own way were keeping in touch of that. I’m very happy to be here with you this afternoon. It’s a very important event that gives recognition to the Philippine blog community that has been active over all of these years. This is the second edition of your blog awards, I was asking Noemi, the other organizers in fact, whether the awards were being given for content, for editorial value, or relative to the number of hits and other technical details relative to a blog. She was saying that it’s a bit of a combination of these all, and what is the Oscars to the movies, ...

by Danton Remoto Published in ROGUE MAGAZINE February 2008 It is 5:30 a.m. at the central market of Iloilo City. The haze of sleep is still on my eyelids, and I rub them to wake me up. Two “Mr. Palengke” tarpaulins of Senator Manuel Roxas II had been hung in front of the entrances to the market. As the door of the van bearing the senator opens, the “Mr. Suave” song transformed into the Mr. Palengke jingle booms in the air. Market vendors and buyers stop what they are doing, look to the left and then to the right, espy a man in blue coming towards them, and rush to him. “Tuod na Ilonggo!” they say to each other, a pointed rebuke at recent senatorial candidates who claimed they were Ilonggo but could speak not a word of the language, not even palangga, hala!. Then, the market vendors and buyers talk to the senator in the gentle diphthongs of the south. The young men dance, the older women crowd around him and kiss him on the cheek. The photographers’ bulbs flash, the VCR runs, and the cr...