May 2013 senatorial elections: regional bulwarks and weak areas of senatorial candidates

We compute the percentage of votes per senatorial candidate. We then sum these percentages and divide by the number of senators (33) to obtain the average percentage of votes received by each candidate per region. We also computed the standard deviation from this average. We get the difference between the actual percentage received by each candidate per region and the said average percentage of votes. We divide the result by the standard deviation per region so that the percentage differences are measured in terms of standard deviations. With this result, we can classify regions according to their strength of support for each senatorial candidate using the following color scheme:

red: 1 < s : very strong support (includes s = 1)
yellow: 0 < s < 1: strong support
green: -1 < s < 0: weak support
blue: s < -1: very weak support (includes s = -1)

Strength of support for each candidate per region in units of standard deviation from the average percentage of votes obtained by all the senatorial candidates per region

JC de los Reyes and the Ignatian Tradition: Politics as a vocation

JC de los Reyes before the image of the Divine Mercy

Meet John Carlos (JC) de los Reyes, senatorial candidate of Ang Kapatiran Party.

JC studied in Ateneo de Manila Grade School of the Jesuit Fathers and then in De La Salle Santiago Zobel School of the La Salle Brothers. In college, he took up AB in Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville.  In 1999 he finished his post-graduate studies in Public Administration in University of the Philippines and in 2005 he finished his Law Degree in St. Louis University in Baguio City.

In this article, I shall focus only on JC’s Ignatian roots and his view of politics as a vocation.  (Hopefully, in another article, I shall write on JC’s Lasallian roots and his view on empowerment through entrepreneurship).  I shall frame the article as a response to a series of questions.

Introduction: Jesuit System of Education

Jesuit-run schools are outgrowths of the need to train the next generation of Jesuits.  Since many parents also want their children to receive the same training as the Jesuits, the parents enrolled their children in Jesuit universities, and the Society of Jesus adapted to this new apostolate.  That is why Ateneans in their early years are grounded in the Catechism and the recitation of the Rosary.  Mary is the model and all Ateneans are slowly transformed into soldiers who shall offer their sword–their time, talents, and treasures–to our Lady, as St. Ignatius did at Montserrat in March 1522.  Indeed, the Ateneo’s Alma Mater song is none other but the Song for Mary: “Mary for you!  For your white and blue!  We pray you’ll keep us, Mary, constantly true!  We pray you’ll keep us, Mary, faithful to you!”

But to be a true soldier of Mary and companion of Christ, an Atenean must be intellectually prepared for such a task.  He must study as St. Ignatius studied in University of Paris–Grammar (Latin), Literature, Philosophy, and Theology.  Thus, an Atenean must be able to write lucid prose, dissect a poem, read original philosophical and theological texts, and discuss a thesis statements in oral exams.  It’s the rigor of thought sharpened by years of training.  Jesuit education is a system of education born out of decades of Jesuit experimentation on educational theory–what works and what doesn’t in the actual classroom with data from all Jesuit schools around the world.  The results of this experiments were distilled into the Ratio Studiorum of 1599, also known in full as the Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis Iesu (“The Official Plan for Jesuit Education”).  It is a guide for how a Jesuit school is run and how teachers should teach different subjects.  It is a guide that remains in force today, albeit with some modifications, in all Jesuit schools, including the Ateneo de Manila University.

Question 1: Is JC de los Reyes a true Atenean?

He is.  His elementary education in Ateneo de Manila Grade School with the Jesuits suffices.  As the Jesuits would say: “Give me the child for seven years, and I will give you the man.”  So even if JC has not undergone college in Ateneo and trained by the Jesuits to read the classics from Aristotle to Aquinas to Kant, JC has studied the works of these authors more than the average Atenean: JC studied them when he took up his AB in Theology in the Franciscan University of Steubenville, one of the most Orthodox Catholic Universities in the US.  That’s Magis.  That’s more.

Question 2: What’s an Atenean like JC de los Reyes doing in a Franciscan University?

Oh, why is our Jesuit Pope named Francis? When St. Ignatius was recuperating after being hit by a cannonball, he read the “Imitation of Christ” by Thomas a Kempis and the lives of the saints, which made him wish to imitate the heroic lives of saints such as St. Francis of Assisi.  When St. Ignatius reached the Holy Land, hoping to settle there and convert the Muslims, the Franciscans sent him back to Europe.  And from this setback arose the Jesuit mission of Counter-Reformation and the establishment of Jesuit Schools throughout Europe.  By 1739, there were 669 Jesuit schools throughout the world.  The bond between Jesuits and Franciscans is deep.

JC de los Reyes (right) with his uncle, Cardinal Chito Tagle (left)

Question 3: There is no doubt that JC de los Reyes would be a good philosopher or theologian.  But politics is a different thing.  To be a man and woman for others, you need competence.  Is JC de los Reyes competent to be a senator?  

For Plato, the ideal ruler is the Philosopher-King as stated in his book, The Republic.  Thus, to be a philosopher suffices to be a senator.  As Socrates said in Plato’s Republic:

Inasmuch as philosophers only are able to grasp the eternal and unchangeable, and those who wander in the region of the many and variable are not philosophers, I must ask you which of the two classes should be the rulers of our State?

The Philosophers, of course.  And Socrates continued with his proposed definitions on what it is to be a philosopher:

 Let us suppose that philosophical minds always love knowledge of a sort which shows them the eternal nature not varying from generation and corruption….And further, I said, let us agree that they are lovers of all true being; there is no part whether greater or less, or more or less honorable, which they are willing to renounce; as we said before of the lover and the man of ambition…. And if they are to be what we were describing, is there not another quality which they should also possess?… Truthfulness: they will never intentionally receive into their minds falsehood, which is their detestation, and they will love the truth….He whose desires are drawn toward knowledge in every form will be absorbed in the pleasures of the soul, and will hardly feel bodily pleasure–I mean, if he be a true philosopher and not a sham one….Such a one is sure to be temperate and the reverse of covetous; for the motives which make another man desirous of having and spending, have no place in his character….Another criterion of the philosophical nature has also to be considered….Then, besides other qualities, we must try to find a naturally well-proportioned and gracious mind, which will move spontaneously toward the true being of everything…. Well, and do not all these qualities, which we have been enumerating, go together, and are they not, in a manner, necessary to a soul, which is to have a full and perfect participation of being?…And must not that be a blameless study which he only can pursue who has the gift of a good memory, and is quick to learn–noble, gracious, the friend of truth, justice, courage, temperance, who are his kindred?…And to men like him, I said, when perfected by years and education, and to these only you will entrust the State.

That’s JC de los Reyes: the philosopher who aspires to be a senator.  But JC never contented himself with the study of Philosophy or Theology.  He wishes to be a competent public servant.  That is why he studied Bachelor of Laws in the University of the Philippines and did post-graduate studies in Public Administration at St. Louis University in Baguio City.  That’s Magis.  That’s more.

Question 4: Does JC de los Reyes subscribe to Liberation Theology?

Yes, but only within the bounds set by Vatican, as defined by the Instruction on Certain Aspects of the “Theology of Liberation” which was signed by Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) when he was the head of the Congregation for Doctrine and Faith.  The Instruction concludes:

The words of Paul VI in his “Profession of Faith”, express with full clarity the faith of the Church, from which one cannot deviate without provoking, besides spiritual disaster, new miseries and new types of slavery. “We profess our faith that the Kingdom of God, begun here below in the Church of Christ, is not of this world, whose form is passing away, and that its own growth cannot be confused with the progress of civilization, of science, and of human technology, but that it consists in knowing ever more deeply the unfathomable riches of Christ, to hope ever more strongly in things eternal, to respond ever more ardently to the love of God, to spread ever more widely grace and holiness among men. But it is this very same love which makes the Church constantly concerned for the true temporal good of mankind as well. Never ceasing to recall to her children that they have no lasting dwelling here on earth, she urges them also to contribute, each according to his own vocation and means, to the welfare of their earthly city, to promote justice, peace and brotherhood among men, to lavish their assistance on their brothers, especially on the poor and the most dispirited. The intense concern of the Church, the bride of Christ, for the needs of mankind, their joys and their hopes, their pains and their struggles, is nothing other than the great desire to be present to them in order to enlighten them with the light of Christ, and join them all to Him, their only Savior. It can never mean that the Church is conforming to the things of this world, nor that she is lessening the earnestness with which she awaits her Lord and the eternal Kingdom.” (Emphasis mine.)

Ang Kapatiran Senatorial candidates. From left to right: Marwil Llasos, JC de los Reyes, and Lito Yap David.

Question 5.  Is this passage where Ang Kapatiran Party got its name?

Brotherhood among men.  That’s what the Ang Kapatiran Party is all about: the brotherhood who “lavish their assistance on their brothers, especially on the poor and the most dispirited.”  That’s why JC de los Reyes joined the Ang Kapatiran Party: in order to serve the poor, not within the framework of class struggle as espoused by the Marxist Left–many of whom are now occupying positions of power in Pres. Noynoy Aquino’s administration–but within the framework of Catholic Social Doctrine as expressed in papal documents such as “Mater et Magistra,” “Pacem in Terris,” “Populorum progressio,” “Evangelii nuntiandi,” “Octogesima adveniens”, “Redemptor hominis”, “Dives in misericordia”,  ”Laborem exercens,” and Second Vatican Council’s “Gaudium et Spes.”

Whether Ang Kapatiran Party got its name from this passage of the Instruction is not known.  But the concept of brotherhood of men is as old as Christianity itself.  First, we are all brothers and sisters because our Faith teaches us that we all came from the same parents: Adam and Eve.  Second, all baptized Christians become adopted sons and daughters of God, so that we call Christ as our brother and God as “Abba” or Father.  That is why, during the Mass, we have the courage to pray the “Our Father”.

Question 6. There is a useful concept in Liberation Theology: structures of sin. What for JC de los Reyes and the Ang Kapatiran Party are the structures of sin in Philippine Politics?

As stated in Cardinal Ratzinger’s Instruction:

Structures, whether they are good or bad, are the result of man’s actions and so are consequences more than causes. The root of evil, then, lies in free and responsible persons who have to be converted by the grace of Jesus Christ in order to live and act as new creatures in the love of neighbor and in the effective search for justice, self-control, and the exercise of virtue.

It is the duty of the Church to convert each man to Christ.  For its part, it is the duty of political parties such as the Ang Kapatiran Party to work for the establishment of good structures in government by crafting sound laws and ensure their implementation.  The Ang Kapatiran Party believes that there are many sinful structures that needs to be eradicated: pork barrel system, political dynasties, nontransparency and nonaccountability in governance, proliferation of loose firearms, and the RH law.  Please visit the Ang Kapatiran Party website for more detailed discussions of these issues.

7.  Is not Politics dirty?  How can Politics be a Vocation?

Politics has been perennially associated with the word “dirty,” because it is in politics that one meets  political butterflies, balimbings, rumor-mongers, character assassins, vote-buyers, boot-lickers, mud-slingers, and plastic men.  It is in politics that one crosses paths with druglords, warlords, and church groups crying, “Praise the Lord!”  Politics, indeed, is a dirty world–but a dirty world in need of redemption.  As JC de los Reyes wrote:

Please don’t be too mesmerized with track record and political experience. In Philippine politics, decades in power and experience means political survival, immoral compromise and corruption (jueteng payola). Track record often times is financed by the infamous pork barrel fund. Then they say, “I did this, I did that…” The big question is, what did you do and what will you do to contribute to PRINCIPLED POLITICS, a term that has been gagged side-lined and waylaid by trapos and demagogues.

For JC de los Reyes, politics can be a vocation, a path to holiness, for it is in politics that one can practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy on the scale of the barangay, the city, the province, and the country.  Most of the corporal works of mercy–feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, harbour the harbourless, visit the sick, ransom the captive, bury the dead–are handled by government and institutions such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).  On the other hand, most of the spiritual works of mercy–instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish sinners, bear wrongs patiently, forgive offences willingly, comfort the afflicted, pray for the living and the dead–are primarily the duties of the Catholic Church; the instruction of the ignorant is primarily addressed by Catholic Schools and it was only after the Americans took over the Philippine colony that the State intervened in education through the Public School System and the establishment of state universities such as the University of the Philippines.

JC de los Reyes with a supporter

8. What is the end or the ultimate goal of Politics?

The ultimate goal of politics is the salvation of man, because as St. Irenaeus said, “the great glory of God is man fully alive.” And this is not only in the here and now with the Millenium Development Goals and Happiness Index, but also in the life hereafter–heaven.  St. Ignatius tells us in his Spiritual Exercises to always begin with the end in mind.  And for a Catholic politician like JC de los Reyes, the end is the Last Judgment.  This would be terrifying thought for a politician who has not exercised his duties to his neighbors during their lives on earth:

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.42k For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’44* Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ 45 He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ (Mt 25:41-45)

With this end in mind, a Catholic politician like JC de los Reyes then performs his duties as demanded by his office, and prays the Prayer for Generosity of St. Ignatius:

Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, save that of knowing that I do your will. Amen

As JC de los Reyes wrote:

The most profound victory not only for the Philippines but for humanity is if Ang Kapatiran Party can produce politicians or more aptly, political missionaries who have the purest of hearts and intentions, who do things not for votes but intensely out of love and compassion. Those who will ‘decrease, so He might increase,’ those who will ‘not let their right hand know what their left hand is doing,’ those who are ‘not lukewarm but cold or hot,’ those ‘who let their yes mean yes, and no mean no,’ and perhaps, those who will assume a faith journey whose victory is ‘now but not yet.’

That is why for JC de los Reyes of Ang Kapatiran Party, politics is a vocation.

(Full disclosure: The author, Dr. Quirino Sugon Jr., is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Physics of Ateneo de Manila University.  He finished his BS Physics (1997), MS Physics (1999), and Ph.D. in Physics (2010)  in Ateneo de Manila University.  Though he is not an official member of the Ang Kapatiran Party, Dr. Sugon campaigns online for the Ang Kapatiran senatorial candidates JC de los Reyes, Lito Yap David, and Marwil Llasos.)

Catholicity rankings of Philippine senatorial candidates and political parties using Catholic Vote data

 

Catholic index of senatorial candidates based on updated Catholic Vote data published 12 May 2013

UPDATE 12 May 2013

These are the Catholicity rankings of senatorial candidates based on the updated Catholic Vote data published last May 12, 2013.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/482644_171759259651048_911604752_n.jpg

The parameters of interest are “Reproductive Health Law”, “Divorce”, and “Same-Sex Marriage”. For each “No” answer, I replace it by +1; for each “Yes” answer I replace it by -1. The sum of the scores is the Catholic Index with +3 as Catholic (agrees with the teachings of the Catholic Church) and -3 as anti-Catholic. I arranged the groups into Team Buhay (+3 Catholic Index), Team Agaw-Buhay (+1 or +2 Catholic Index), and Team Patay (0, -1, -2, and -3 Catholic Index). Please share the table. Thank you very much. Each vote counts. Let us show them that Catholic Vote exists.

Let us vote only those with +3 Catholic Index and forget about the rest. Be sure to include in your list the four senatorial candidates and the party-list supported by Filipinos for Life:

For senators: #9 David, #10 de los Reyes, #20 Llasos, and #23 Magsaysay (Mitos)
For Party-List: #42 Ang Pro-Life.

 

ARCHIVE 24 May 2013

by Quirino Sugon Jr. [1,2]

Abstract

In this paper, I propose a simple ranking system for Philippine senatorial candidates based on the candidates’ opposition to the Reproductive Health Law, divorce, and same-sex marriage, as compiled by Catholic Vote Philippines. In this system, we replace the thumbs up icon by +1 and the thumbs down icon by -1, then add all the ratings for each candidate get a scale from -3 to +3 at intervals of 1 unit, with -3 as anti-Catholic and +3 as Catholic. We refer to this scale as the Catholicity scale. We then group candidates according to political parties and compute the average party stand on the issues. We add the average party stand to the candidate’s stand to arrive at the party-influenced stand of the candidate. Finally, we compute the Catholicity of the party-influenced stand of the candidate and rank the senatorial candidates accordingly.

Read the full paper:

Catholicity rankings of Philippine senatorial candidates and political parties using Catholic Vote data

(DISCLAIMER: The opinions, equations, and senatorial candidate rankings published by the author in this paper may not reflect the opinions of Manila Observatory, Ateneo de Manila University, and the Catholic Vote Philippines.)

[1] Upper Atmosphere Dynamics Program, Manila Observatory, Ateneo de Manila University Campus, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines

[2] Department of Physics, School of Science and Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines

Date Published: 25 April 2013, Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist

Catholicity rankings of the stands of senatorial candidates added to the stands of the (average) party persona for the three issues: anti RH law, anti-divorce, and anti same-sex marriage.

Catholicity ranking of the stands of each senatorial candidate on anti RH law, anti-divorce, and anti same-sex marriage.

Catholicity ranking of the total stands of the candidates of each political party regarding anti RH law, anti-divorce, and anti same-sex marriage.

Catholicity ranking of stands of the average candidate of political parties on anti RH law, anti-divorce, and anti same-sex marriage.

JC de los Reyes for senator: Iboto si JC dahil pogi?

JC de los Reyes for Senator: Pogi poster

Senatorial candidate Lito Yap David on Catholic Vote, gun control, senate experience, and political dynasty

Lito Yap David in GMA News To Go In Depth dated Jan 23, 2013

[I transcribed the interview of Lito David in GMA's News To Go which was uploaded in You Tube January 23, 2013.  I directly translated to English while transcribing.  I hope this transcript would be useful to others who wish to know more about the Senatorial Candidate Lito David of Ang Kapatiran Party.]

1.  What for you is the biggest problem in our country?

Poverty which is the fruit of corruption is the biggest problem of our country.  Thus, we must strive to remove corruption so that we can give solution to the problem of poverty of our citizens.

2.  You were are representative or member of the Ang Kapatiran Party which has religious orientation.  I assume that you have been an anti-RH advocate?

That is true.

3.  Why? So you believe that there is a Catholic Vote? 

It was proven in 1995.  Senator Flavier should have been No.  1, but he ended up No. 5 in that election.  This 2010, the poster girl of the RH campaign and the poster boys of the RH campaign–those three lost: Risa Hontiveros, Nerio Acosta, and Ruffy Biazon.  Negative Catholic vote was silent before, and did not became noisy.  But it happened.

4. But we can say that there are Pro-RH also won and the RH itself won.

The pro RH’s win, Howie, in the previous months we cannot say was not an honest vote.  As far as we know, because we were there, many of them there were intimidated or bribed to vote in favor  of RH.

5.  So there was bribery?

Yes.  It was clear.  It was not denied by the palace, even if we said it many times in the TV and radio, that they were there to threaten the others that if they will not vote Pro, they better not come; otherwise their pork barrel will not be released.  That was the thing that happened before.

6.  Do you possess a gun?

Me, no.  Ever since I never had a gun.

7.  What is your view on gun ownership and proliferation of guns in the society?

It was due to our allowing this culture.  But the Filipino culture is peace-loving.  But we only allowed a few to own guns.  The stand of Ang Kapatiran Party is not to outlaw guns and gun ownership, but to regulate well the bringing of guns in public.  The permit to carry is what should be regulated–that is what we are pushing for.

8.  Why are you immediately running for the senate? You have no experience in elections.  You have not yet run before.

This is my second time.  In 2010 I also ran under the Ang Kapatiran Party as one of the senatorial candidates.  I was instructed by the party to run again.  If it is experience and competence in crafting of laws, I already have a long experience.  I spent 10 years working in the senate, there are many laws that I took part in crafting.  There  are also many laws that I primarily finished. But because I am only a staff, I could not own the writing of the law. We are the background workers that make these laws.

9.  So what are tyourhe priorities if you enter the senate?

We have many priorities: the prohibition of political dynasty, control of ownership and use of guns, the passage of freedom of information law, the prohibition of the pork barre–these are some of the items that we shall really push for.  For me, personally, I wish to focus on the creation of frameworks for the use of land and water resources.  Up to this time, before I left senate, I already finished that proposal.  It was already in the senate floor.  But the problem is some senators did not find it important.  But for me it is important because this will give us true progress in our country.

10.  You oppose political dynasty, but you have a member in Ang Kapatiran, one senatorial candidate, JC delos Reyes who is a member of the Gordon Political Family.  Would you oppose his running again if the Anti-Dynasty Law gets passed?

He is the one who said that if the Anti-Dynasty Law gets passed, he said he will not run if Senator Gordon is there.

11.  Ok. We have a Miss Universe portion on a lighter portion regarding the character and personality.  When was the last time you cried?

Just the other day.  When I looked back to the length of time for my fight for the betterment of our society, sometimes I feel tired.  I started at 17 years old.  Many times I was nearly killed.  Before I fought for an ideology for our citizens.  Now I am fighting for the Faith for our citizens.

12.   What is the trait that you don’t like with your self?

Sometimes, I do procrastinate.  I have a problem with that.  But I was able to work against it.

13.  Do you have something to change in your past, what is it?

There are many things that I wish to change, that is why I am here.  This is my way to pay my sins to my fellowmen and to God.

Thank you, Lito David of Ang Kapatiran Party.

Pork Barrel System: Should we scrap it or do we have an alternative?

JC Delos Reyes on Pork Barrel System

“[The pork barrel] is left to the discretion of legislators who are politically motivated to put the money in projects that would make them popular. That’s the problem: It’s an immoral system.”–JC Delos Reyes, Senatorial Candidate of Ang Kapatiran Party.

In the Philippines, the pork barrel of each senator is Php 200 million and that of each representative is 70 million (Wikipedia).  Last 2011, for example, the Department of Budget and Management showed that 8 of the 23 senators spent at least 100 million of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).  Here’s a sample of how the senators spent from Yahoo News:

Angara allocated P40 million for the construction of a school building, multi-purpose pathways, and installation of pipes and tanks for water supply in Aurora; Lapid spent P31 million for infrastructure projects including the rehabilitation of a hospital, and construction of a school building and line canal in Pampanga; while Recto set aside P45 million for concreting of roads and purchasing of facilities for police stations in Batangas.

On the other hand, Estrada gave away P50 million in financial assistance to indigent farmers through the Department of Agriculture.

Honasan spent P40 million for the planting of jatropha, a plant touted as a source of biofuel but later discovered that it was not commercially viable. The Arroyo administration reportedly wasted more than P1 billion for this project.

Sotto set aside P28.5 million for infrastructure and educational projects in Pampanga, home province of his wife, actress Helen Gamboa.

Villar meanwhile allocated P39 million for scholarship programs in different provinces

The Department of Budget and Management has issued a National Budget Circular  last February 20, 2012 entitled, “Guidelines on the Release of Funds Chargeable Against the Priority Development Assistance Fund for FY 2012.”  The implementing agency can be the LGU (e.g. Provincial Governor or Mayor).  So what basically happens is that a senator or congressman has a project and he asks an LGU to implement the project.  In doing so, the LGU becomes beholden to the senator or congress who made that fund available to the LGU’s constituency.   If the senator or congressmen is at odds with the LGU, then access by the LGU to PDAF can be cut-off.  There are many things you can do with a 200 million or a 70 million.   Thus, a senator or congressman wields a considerable clout over the LGU’s.  In effect what they are saying before elections is this: “Support my candidacy and you will have a share in my PDAF.  Support me not and not a centavo you shall receive from me.”

Do we have other alternatives to this pork barrel system?  What I propose is this: remove the pork barrel of each senator and congressmen and give it directly to the LGUs.  Since the main purpose of the PDAF is to prioritize the poor, the money can be distributed to the LGU’s per capita, that is, according to the number of constituents.  Each barangay will then have its own allotment depending on the number of its constitutents.  The implementing agency becomes the mayors office or the governor’s office.  The money will be given provided that the Barangay Council gives a project proposal and the progress of the project is monitored.  All detailed costs of the project shall be made available in public through a website, with pictures of accomplishments.  I think this can be done.  The governors and mayors already have automatic budgets from the national government.  They can use these for making projects beyond the barangay level.  What senators and congressmen should therefore focus on are projects that are national or regional in scope that would affect the whole nation.  This is the principle of subsidiarity: let small groups handle what they can at their level, and the government only intervenes on the national or regional level.

John Carlos “JC” G. de los Reyes: Senatorial candidate of Ang Kapatiran Party

John Carlos “JC” G. de los Reyes: Senatorial candidate of Ang Kapatiran Party

Born February 14, 1970, married to Dunia Valenzuela with four children, Gabriel 14, Santiago 12,Barbara, 10 and Juliana 1.

JC as he is known is owner/proprietor of Legobrick Systems and Designs (www.facebook.com/legobrickphilippines), managing director of Barbara’s Foods, Inc.  and sole proprietor of RJ Marine Allied and General Services, a company engaged in shipping services. He is at present, president of Ang Kapatiran Party, national political party, and President of the Intramuros Tourism Council.

He studied in Ateneo de Manila for his elementary education, and graduated in De la Salle for high school. He finished his B.A. in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. In 1999 he finished his post-graduate studies in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines and has a law degree from Saint Louis University, Baguio City.

In 1993 he taught Philosophy in the then Center for Research and Communication, now the University of Asia and the Pacific, and was under the tutelage of Fr. Joseph de Torre, a Spanish priest of the Holy Cross who wrote extensively on the social teachings of the Church. This training led him to work with Fr. Joe Dizon, being lead animator of Solidarity Philippines, a movement to pro-actively advance the Social Teachings of the Church. In 1995, he ran and was elected City Councilor of Olongapo. During his term, he focused on the poor, the youth and cooperatives.

In 1996, JC met Nandy Pacheco in the National Renewal Movement. JC a new politician at age 25 was disappointed with the political party he joined as there was no emphasis on platform and principles. He was then a member of the Nacionalista Party in name but not in heart.

During this time President Ramos’ men were ramming down charter change as his term was to end in 1998. De Venecia’s Rainbow Coalition was the source of patronage and power. Also, that same time was wrought by fear and uncertainty for an Estrada presidency. This was the backdrop under which the National Renewal Movement was organizing.

In 1998, JC did not run for re-election out of disgust for patronage/trapo politics and campaigned for Santi Dumlao and Nandy Pacheco of National Renewal’s Bago Party. Unfortunately, they lost but the fire and zeal obviously did not end there. It was after this, and after intense prayer and discernment that it was a genuine accountable and responsible political party that was seen as the missing link for real reforms in Philippine Politics.

In late 2003, Norman Cabrera for Central Luzon, JC de los Reyes for Northern Luzon and Fr. Leonardo Polinar for the Visayas and Mindanao gathered the needed signatures for the accreditation of Alliance for the Common Good or Ang Kapatiran Party. It was finally accredited by COMELEC on 8 May 2004 or 2 days before the 10 May 2004 elections.

After a decade absent from local politics, JC ran under Kapatiran party in the 2007 elections and, among the party’s 30 local and national candidates, he was Kapatiran’s lone winner.

He campaigned against illegal drugs, rampant violations of worker’s rights at Hanjin and was outspoken against illegal fish cages in Olongapo. More recently, he also led protests against the proposed coal power plant and criticized government’s plan to open more casinos in Subic. He filed numerous cases before the Ombudsman against high ranking government officials where he himself was complainant.

In the 2010 national elections, he was the youngest presidential candidate who led the charge for new politics, together with a vice-president, 8 senatorial and 50 local candidates. Though they lost the election, they won the awareness of the people on issues such as the RH bill, the political dynasties issue, the FOI and the need for platform and principles based politics.

(Note: Thanks to Norman Cabrera of Ang Kapatiran Party for sharing to me this article.)

Marwil N. LLasos: Senatorial Candidate of Ang Kapatiran Party

Below is a biography of Ang Kapatiran Party Candidate for Senator:

MARWIL N. LLASOS

Atty. Bro. Marwil N. Llasos, O.P.

At 37, ATTY. MARWIL N. LLASOS is one of the youngest candidates for SENATOR in the May 13, 2013 elections. A true-blooded Bicolano, Atty. Llasos was born in 1975 in Daraga, Albay. His father, Wilson Llasos, a witness in the Agrava Fact Finding Board which investigated the Aquino-Galman double murder case in 1983, is from Daraga, Albay. His mother, Marichu Nacor, a former OFW, is from Barcelona, Sorsogon. Atty. Llasos grew up in Daraga, Albay but studied in Legazpi City from elementary to college. He now lives in Roxas District, Quezon City although he is a registered voter in Tagas, Daraga, Albay, his hometown. He is a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Albay Chapter.

Atty. Marwil Llasos has impressive academic credentials. He had his early childhood education at Divine Word College of Legazpi where he graduated with honors in 1988. He went to Bicol University College of Education Laboratory High School for his secondary education. In high school, he distinguished himself in academic and extra-curricular activities. Among others, he was Vice President of the Student Catholic Action, President of the Monitors’ Club and President of the English-Dramatics Club. He was also the Literary Editor of the school paper The Mayon. It was in high school when he first ventured in campus politics – winning hands down as Public Information Officer of the Homeroom Coordinating Council. He was Class Peer Facilitator Awardee when he graduated in 1992.

Atty. Marwil Llasos holds the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, cum laude, from Bicol University College of Arts and Sciences in Legazpi City. He graduated at the top of his class being the sole cum laude graduate in Political Science and the lone male honor graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1996. He was the recipient of the following awards: Most Outstanding Political Science Student, Outstanding Student of Bicol University and Outstanding in Service. He likewise received a citation as regional debate winner and national debater of Bicol University. Moreover, the Commission on Higher Education, RFM Foundation and Rotary Club International awarded him as one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines-Region V in 1996. If elected to the Philippine Senate, Atty. Marwil Llasos will be the first alumnus of Bicol University to be a Senator of the Republic of the Philippines.

As campus journalist, Atty. Marwil Llasos was Assistant Section Editor of The CASette and became News Editor of Bicol Universitarian after topping the editorial examination for the school paper. Atty. Llasos was also actively involved in campus politics. He was elected as Public Information Officer of the College Student Council, Majority Floorleader and Chairman of the 5th (1995) and 6th (1996) Bicol University Congress of Student Leaders, respectively.

At a very young age of 18, Atty. Marwil Llasos served as youth ambassador of goodwill to the ASEAN countries and Japan when he was chosen as one of the country’s delegates to the 21st Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP) in 1994 representing the Bicol Region.
In 1998, Atty. Marwil Llasos passed the Law Aptitude Examination of the University of the Philippines College of Law. He graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws (Juris Doctor) in 2003. He passed the 2004 Bar Examination (first take) with 82.30% rating. In the UP College of Law, Atty. Marwil Llasos was a Chief Justice Fred Ruiz Castro Scholar, Hisatoshi Ito (Japan) Scholar, Owen L. White (Australia) Scholar, and UP Law Batch 1971 Scholar. He was a recipient of Students with Outstanding Academic Performance Award and a member of the prestigious Order of the Purple Feather honor society.

Atty. Marwil N. Llasos completed the academic requirements for Master of Arts in Public Administration, with very high scholastic rating of 1.2. in Bicol University Graduate School in 1998. He also completed the academic requirements for Master of Laws at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila in 2010 as Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez Scholar. In 2005, Atty. Llasos studied for his Post-Graduate Diploma in Humanitarian Law as Fellow of the International Committee of the Red Cross at the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), University of Law, Hyderabad, India.

Profession

Atty. Marwil Llasos is an educator by heart. While still in Legazpi City, he worked as a Social Science Instructor, Head of the Social Science Department, and Coordinator for Research, Extension and Development Services of Computer Arts and Technological College in Old Albay District, Legazpi City from 1996-1998. At present, Atty. Llasos teaches Economics, Philippine Government and Constitution, Law on Obligations and Contracts, Negotiable Instruments Law, Labor and Social Legislation and Income Taxation at Siena College Quezon City and Siena College of San Jose in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.

Atty. Marwil Llasos has wide exposure in various areas of the law. He was a working student while studying law at UP. At that time, he was a University Research Associate and University Researcher in the Institute of Human Rights and Institute of International Legal Studies, respectively, of the UP Law Center.

After graduation from the UP College of Law, Atty. Llasos had experience in these areas of law:

(1) Legal Education –Atty. Marwil Llasos served as Law Education Specialist in the Institute of International Legal Studies of the UP Law Center in 2005. He also served as Lecturer in The Manila Times Institute for Paralegal Studies from 2006-2009. From 2009-2010, Atty. Llasos was a Professorial Lecturer teaching Statutory Construction at the School of Law and Jurisprudence of Centro Escolar University in Makati City.

(2) Corporate Law – Atty. Marwil Llasos worked as assistant corporate counsel of International Thunderbird Gaming Corporation (a multinational corporation) and Eastbay Resorts, Inc. in 2006.

(3) Litigation – Atty. Marwil Llasos was actively involved in litigation and appellate practice as Partner of the law firm of Dasal Laurel Llasos and Associates from 2006-2010.

(4) Development and Alternative Law – Atty. Marwil Llasos is presently engaged in development and alternative lawyering as Senior Lawyer of the Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS), Inc., a non-government organization (NGO) providing services to farmers and migrant workers, among others. IDEALS, Inc. also does work in environmental protection, international trade, and social enterprise development. As part of his advocacy, Atty. Llasos extends his services to the Philippine Deaf Resources Center.

Atty. Marwil Llasos served as Executive Assistant and Legal Consultant in the Department of Agrarian Reform from 2000-2002. He appeared as a Resource Person in the House of Representatives Committee on Agrarian Reform. Atty. Llasos also served as Secretary to the Sub-Committee on the Rules on Criminal Procedure of the Supreme Court.

Since the Senate has threefold functions – legislation, investigation, and education – Atty. Marwil Llasos is professionally and eminently qualified to be Senator of the Republic of the Philippines:

(1) Legislation – Atty. Llasos drafted bills for the Philippine Congress as Legal Education Specialist of the UP Law Center, the successor of the Philippine Code Commission. He served as a Resource Person of the House of Representatives Committee on Agrarian Reform;

(2) Investigation – Atty. Llasos was among the “formidable array of leading academics … who gave their expert opinion”1 on the anomalous, graft-ridden, and unfinished Northrail project at the Philippine Senate in 2005. In 2006, he was appointed Legal Officer of the Rapu-Rapu Fact Finding Commission that investigated the Lafayette mining incident in Rapu-Rapu Island in Albay.

(3) Education – As already stated, Atty. Llasos is an educator at heart. He was a Legal Education Specialist of UP Law Center and professor of law at CEU School of Law and Jurisprudence. Since 2004, he serves as Lecturer in the Seminar on Laws and Jurisprudence for the Philippine National Police, Popularizing the Law (POPLAW) Program, and Barangay Legal Education Seminar of the UP Law Center. As Lecturer in these seminars, Atty. Llasos has been all over the country – Ilocos Norte, La Union, Cagayan, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Laguna, Cavite, Palawan, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, South Cotabato and Saranggani.

Finally, Atty. Llasos authored and published several legal articles and studies.

Public Service

As youth leader and community worker, Atty. Marwil Llasos served as SK Councilor, SK Chairman and ex-officio member of the Sangguniang Barangay of Bgy. Tagas, Daraga, Albay. In 1996, he was elected as the first President of the Social Service Club of ABS-CBN Foundation in Legazpi City.

While in law school, Atty. Llasos continued his public service as Legal Assistance Coordinator and Paralegal Officer in the Assistance Center for Victims (ACV) of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Manila IV Chapter, Paralegal Volunteer of the Child Justice League, Inc. and a volunteer in Bantay Katarungan.

Atty. Marwil Llasos served as Resource Person and later on as Host of Batas Barangay in DZRH.

Apostolate

Although a lawyer by profession, Atty. Marwil Llasos is a consecrated secular Dominican by vocation. In Catholic circles, Atty. Llasos is known as “Bro. Mars” as a commissioned lay preacher, catechist and apologist. He is a Resource Person on Mariology and Catholic Biblical Apologetics in Defensores Fidei Foundation and legal adviser of Catholic Faith Defenders-Davao. Atty. Llasos serves as Formator and Council Member of the Company of St. Dominic of the Archdiocese of Manila, a Dominican secular institute of consecrated life. Atty. Llasos is actively involved in catechesis in urban poor communities as well as in the prison ministry.

A netizen, Atty. Llasos is a blogger2 and a regular Facebook3 and Twitter4 user.

Harry Tambuatco, President and CEO of Superbrands Marketing Int., is running for representative of Muntinlupa City

 Please vote for Harry Tambuatco of Superbrands and Ang Kapatiran Party for representative of Muntinlupa City.  Superbrands gives a seal of excellence to exceptional brands. We really need competent businessmen in Congress not just lawyers.  Businessmen create jobs and they understand the financial workings of the government.  I met Harry in a dinner of AKP with pro-life groups. He is a good and principled man.  Below is his story:  

What drives me to be the Representative for Muntinlupa?

Hello, my name is Harry Tambuatco, a businessman, a broadcast journalist,
entrepreneur, political analyst, PR and being a brand consultant are
amongst the many things I provide as a service and consult for. My interest
in politics is born out of a personal advocacy I learned from an American
friend who always tells me, that should I wish change; to offer myself to
commit for that change is the only solution. And he is correct.

The political dynasty that has engulfed our district in Muntinlupa has been
the transfer of power from a father and son team, i.e. the Biazon’s who’s
now sitting as district congressman hailed once as a senator for two terms
and now bides his tenure in the lower house to stay the authority.
Interestingly enough the older Biason, the former Senator was once a
General which is incorrect for political authority. After 12 years of the
Biazon’s the district is ripe for change and for representation other than
the dynasty that has controlled the politics in Muntinlupa. Political
dynasties are a menace to our societies and should the people not challenge
their stay, the oligarchies they morph into together with their insatiable
appetites will compete with other city oligarchs to suffer the people as
collateral damage one day. There are a number of issues that need to be
challenged with the sitting Representative of Muntinlupa with the multiple
stand the Ang Kapatiran espouses which need to be adhered to. My personal
advocacy is to challenge the status quo which has reduced the authority of
the people of Muntinlupa be it for security, health care and political
reform for the district. Personally I do not lust the position for power,
money or authority other than to offer a competent option for the job for
representation for national legislation.

I need to be careful however as personally advised considering the
nuisances I am confronted with i.e. the tradition of cash and money that
drives campaigns. There is a thin line between campaigning to win the
electoral contest and buying the elections. Careful as I stand, there is a
need to be prudent and not turn into the monster I am contesting to change.

As for projects the city may require other than the traditional education
sponsorships, deep wells, basketball courts, etc., it is my intention and I
promote; to address the perennial flooding of some four barangays we share
the Laguna de Bay waterways with. Addressing this will require
infrastructure and massive investment the national government obviously has
not prioritized and the key solution requires strategic association and a
business model to propel the infrastructure needed. Needless to say to
outline my strategy publicly at this point may be disadvantageous only for
all other aspirants to hear who are known to pay lip service to innovative
promotions for the alleged benefits for the people. Consumed as these
traditional contestants are known to win, it may be best to stay the course
till we hear the outlines of their projects during the campaign.  These
barangays suffer annually from the overflow of water originating from the
mountains aggravated by the silting and erosion of the land surrounding the
lake plus the over flow of the Caliraya lake spill-way causing damage to
property, death and inconvenience to our constituents.  A spill-way from
the lake to Manila Bay which is topographically viable is a solution as
well as the tree planting on the hills of the lake. Desilting the lake is
also a solution but more complimentary as well, the removal of the
all-powerful fish pen operators in the lake.

As for advocacies and what I stand for, I leave this to the platforms of
the Ang Kapatiran Party that I personally adhere to; that has already been
identified and outlined by the party position complete with positions
undertaken on current issues and baffling recurring issues that could have
been resolved i.e. corruption and procrastination. The definition of the
title Representative is exactly what it is defined to be however many if
not most Representatives do not allow for the people’s representation and
voice they are to represent in congress.

HARRY TAMBUATCO
President & CEO
Superbrands Marketing International Inc. (SMI)
P: (+63 2) 728.98.80 & 846.75.25  * F: (+63 2) 758.32.20 *
W: http://www.superbrands.com/ph
E: mailto:harry.tambuatco@superbrands.com <harry.tambuatco@superbrands.com>
E: harrytambuatco@yahoo.com
Superbrands
* Public Relations * Broadsheet Supplements * Web Design & Management *
Brand Marketing Consultancy
* Media Broadcast * Brand Academy * Business Registration *

ANC: Three Ang Kapatiran Party senatorial bets file their candidacy

THE EDITED TRANSCRIPT:

KOKO: We’ll gonna go to Linda Homilla live at the Comelec. She is joined by more senatorial aspirants. Go ahead, Linda.

LINDA: Thanks, Koko. Well, we have here Mr. Lito David, Mr. JC de los Reyes, and Atty Marwil Llasos. Gentlemen, good afterrnoon. Thank you for joining us. Let me talk first to JC. Of course, a familiar face to our voters having run in 2010 presidential elections. How are you, JC.

JC: I am ok.

LINDA: What made you decide to run again.

JC: I was nominated by the party. I accepted. And my goal is to push the party platform and its principles.

LINDA: And of course Lito you also ran in 2010 as a senatorial candidate of JC.

LITO: I was asked again by the party. And I follow wishes of the party.

LINDA: And Atty. Llasos, you are a new comer to the party.

MARWIL: Yes, I am a political virgin. I am new to these things. That is why it is an experience for me.

LINDA: Of course, I am assuming that you will all have a central platform and legislation. And I’ll ask JC to be the spokesman.

JC: That’s what makes the Ang Kapatiran Party different. If there is someone who does not abide to the platform and principles, we remove him. Everybody will have to adhere to one symphony orchestra and one conductor. And that conductor is our platform. We are here to push the platform. Legislate the anti-political dynasty. Go all out against the pork barrel system. Those funds should be aligned to the priority projects of the smallest barangay. Then gun control that the Ang Kapatiran has been fighting for a long time. And fight for the FOI.

LINDA: I’ll ask you about the current issues. FOI—you are for FOI. How about the Cyber-Crime Law which is all the rage right now? Are you for it or amending it?

(JC gives the mike to Marwil)

MARWIL: Actually, yesterday I was interviewed in the radio. I said there are good provisions in the Cyber-Crime Provision Act. But there was inserted that is not good and this is fearsome because it is so repressive, for example the libel that was inserted in the Cyber-Crime Prevention Act. This is oppressive and is not proper to the democracy that must reign in our country. The Filipino people has no way out here. What gives me the reason to run for Senate in the coming elections, I saw that it is possible to insert a provision in the law that was not debated and the senators does not know. No public hearing. That is so contrary to the idea of parliamentary democracy: debate, discuss, and consult the Filipinos, especially the stakeholders in the law. So I see if that is how it is done, there is no hope for the people, it is time to change.

LINDA: Next issue: Reproductive health bill. There is a possibility that they may not pass it. There is a possibility that it may be carried over to the next Congress.

LITO: We will fight it out. In our party our stand is that it is not needed, because there are laws. And it is already in the mandate of the Department of Health the things that must be done for women, mothers, infants, and babies to be born. You do not need a new law if the intention is just money, because those who make condoms and contraceptives will have their life simpler. No more marketing is needed because the government will buy from them. And you know how much money one gets from those contraceptives and condoms? That one brand of condom how much they sold last year? 4 million pieces, 2 million pills, 1 million injectables, and 300,000 IUDs. That is big money. Especially if you put government money there. And the government will spend millions and millions for something that is not needed by our women.

LINDA: Alright. Thank you very much for your time gentlemen and we wish you luck in the coming campaign. Koko, Those are the candidates for Ang Kapatiran party.

KOKO: Thank you very much, stay tuned.