True or false: Money buys elections

Here’s the surprise: the amount of money spent by the candidates hardly matters at all.

It is widely held belief that Senator Manny Villar’s heavy spending in political advertisements was the chief factor that helped him narrow the gap between himself and presidential race frontrunner Senator Benigno Aquino III in the latest SWS and Pulse Asia opinion poll surveys.

The common belief goes that you need money to buy ads. The more ads you place, the more chances of getting your message across to voters. Therefore conventional wisdom goes that, in an election, the one who has the largest war chest wins. Even Noynoy bought it.

Certainly, money is a factor in an election. But does money, as the conventional wisdom dictates, necessarily translate into votes on polling day?

I used to believe the conventional wisdom until I got hold a few years ago of the 2005 New York Times bestseller Freakonomics, authored by economist Steven Levitt with Stephen Bubner. “Indeed, election data show it is true that the candidate who spends more money in a campaign usually wins,” writes Levitt. “But is money the cause of the victory?”

To figure out the relationship between money and elections, Levitt suggests considering the dynamics involved in campaign finance. “Let’s say you are the kind of person who might contribute $1,000 to a candidate. Chances are you’ll give the money in two situations: a close race, in which you think the money will influence the outcome; or a campaign in which one candidate is a sure winner and you would like to bask in reflected glory or receive some future in-kind consideration. The one candidate you won’t contribute to is a sure loser,” Levitt muses.

“Now picture two candidates, one intrinsically appealing and the other not so. The appealing candidate raises much more money and wins easily. But was it the money that won him the votes, or was it his appeal that won the votes and the money?”

Levitt says the answer to that question is very difficult to answer because voter appeal can’t be measured in numbers just like economic data. “It can’t, really – except in one special case. The key is to measure a candidate against … himself.”

You can gauge the money’s impact if you have two candidates running against each other in two consecutive elections, Levitt explains, and compare their spending and the election results. So Levitt pored over decades of U.S. election data.

“As it turns out, the same two candidates run against each other in consecutive elections all the time – indeed, in nearly a thousand U.S. congressional races since 1972,” Levitt finds.

“What do the numbers have to say about such cases? Here’s the surprise: the amount of money spent by the candidates hardly matters at all. A winning candidate can cut his spending in half and lose only 1 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, a losing candidate who doubles his spending can expect to shift the vote in his favor by that same 1 percent. What really matters for a political candidate is not how much you spend; what matters is who you are.”

So, the key to victory is to tell voters who you are, make sure that what you say matters to voters, and get your message across clearly. If people buy what you’re saying, you win – whether or not you’re selling truth or lies.

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Noynoy, be the democracy leader

Yes, you have taken up your parents’ mantle. However, be the democracy leader that you have become, not just an opposition leader.

Dear Noynoy and the Liberal Party,

The time has come to make a stand against impunity.

Last week’s massacre in Maguindanao showed what will happen to the whole country if we don’t act decisively against political tyranny. Now, we run the risk of having more Ampatuans and living virtually under martial law if Gloria Arroyo wins in her run for Congress.

Noynoy, your beloved mother’s passing gave us a rare chance to do things over and get it right. It’s now or never.

Fortunately for our people, even journalists have finally taken to the streets to rail against the climate of impunity. As a journalist myself, I am also raging against the state terror that is now slowly descending upon the nation like an iron curtain. It may not be martial law like in 1972. But it’s definitely martial law lite.

With that in mind, may I ask: why am I not hearing strong words from you? When news of the massacre was leaking out like the rot of decomposing flesh from a freshly dug mass grave, I even had no idea where you and Mar were stumping that day.

No, I’m not talking about posting a statement of indignation on the Internet or filing a Senate resolution. To begin with, Filipinos in squatter colonies don’t have Internet and can’t afford newspapers.

I want to hear your voice. Not read your words.

If Cory Aquino and Cardinal Sin were alive today, they would’ve gone on national television and radio and strongly denounced the Ampatuan Massacre. But, instead, ordinary Filipinos on the Internet are beating you to the punch in denouncing the massacre as well as Gloria’s congressional bid.

Leader ka. Huwag ka magpahuli. Know when to speak out, when to keep silent, when to listen, when to lead and when to point the way.

Yes, you have taken up your parents’ mantle. However, be the democracy leader that you have become, not just an opposition leader. You are no longer just Noynoy Aquino the Candidate but also Noynoy Aquino the Democracy Leader.

You are no longer just Noynoy Aquino the Candidate but also Noynoy Aquino the Democracy Leader.

There is also another thing that we need to make clear with you and the Liberal Party: unfortunately for many Filipinos who have taken it upon themselves to carry on your parents’ legacy, it seems that the great subversion and betrayal of the People Power Revolution is happening all over again – exactly the same way Cory Aquino and the Filipino people were betrayed after 1986.

Kaya nga maraming umiyak at nagalit nang namatay ang ina mo, hindi ba? Kaya nga nandiyan ka ngayon sa kinaroroonan mo, hindi ba?

As expected during election season, many of Macacapal-Arroyo’s henchmen and hatchet men – after committing crimes against the Filipino people – are now scurrying mindlessly like rabid rats abandoning a sinking ship.

To my great dismay, some have been taken in by the Liberal Party. May I ask: aren’t you being too liberal? This is a fight between good and evil.

After betraying the Filipino people over and over again, these rats saw the light all of a sudden? Or did they see annihilation staring them in the face? Would they abandon the ship that is Gloria Arroyo if she weren’t sinking?

Let us not forget that she is now sinking because of the threat of People Power. And we have your beloved mother to thank for that.

How sure are we that these rats won’t rat on us later on and give all sorts of excuses for doing so to justify themselves? We know how intellectually dishonest Filipinos can get.

What if Arroyo wins next year and these rats go along with her when they maneuver to mangle the 1987 Constitution – which happens to be your mother’s greatest democratic legacy, mind you – to cement themselves in power?

Who do we blame if that happens?

These rats must be drowned. Period. Or else we’ll forever be running after rats that keep on jumping from ship to ship.

We have tyrants like the Ampatuans because these rats have no notion of accountability. Unless we start drowning rats for their sins, they will keep running amuck as if they own the Pilipinas that Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio and company fought for us. Nakakahiya na sa kanila.

Once these rats are drowned, the next rat that comes along might think twice and, maybe, learn how to listen to the Filipino people the way true public servants should. Even lab rats learn. Political parties will then start to wise up and recognize that rats are pests and not pets. When that happens, rats will have nowhere to go.

We may have enlisted you and the Liberal Party to fight for us. But this is still our fight. You are our proxies. Never forget that. Kaya nga People Power ang tawag, hindi ba?

Your father once beckoned our parents’ generation in his 1981 Los Angeles speech: stand up and be a leader. And, so, here we all are together in this endeavor. Hindi ka nag-iisa, Noy. You are enjoying something that your father didn’t have in 1972 till his death in 1983.

I end this exhortation with a quote from your own father’s letter that he wrote you on August 25, 1973, from his Fort Bonifacio cell: “There is no greater nation on earth than our Motherland. No greater people than our own. Serve them with all your heart, with all your might and with all your strength.”

Your mother carried on your father’s work. Now that she’s gone – and to quote your father’s letter – the ball is now in your hands. Pero hindi ka nag-iisa. Itutuloy natin ang laban kahit may backhoe pa ang kalaban.

Nagmamahal,

Norman Sison
www.lanuevaligafilipina.wordpress.com

PS: By request, I’ve posted below Facebook readers’ comments on my letter.

Anna May Hipolito
beautiful piece, norms! i just hope this will reach noynoy…

Trixie Cruz-Angeles
Go Norman. I got your back(hoe).

Jojo Soria de Veyra
Tama! It’s not the Sison to be jolly, it’s the Sison to be angry!! Roarrr!!!

Jane Chavez Umali
Right on Norman! It had to be said. Noynoy’s entourage or counselors should urge him to go up front. We all have supported him & at the same time cried our disdain from the present powers culminating in this horrible play of murder for power’s sake. Silence is a virtue but when the time has come to speak which is now, Noynoy definitely should take the reigns!

Lila Shahani
Bravo, my friend. I have myself been deeply frustrated by recent events. I was also crafting a letter to Noynoy, but was concerned that perhaps he had too much on his plate at the moment, so I thought I would wait.

Now u have said with so much more forcefulness and eloquence what I had wanted to say. Thank u, Norman.

My trepidation began when there appeared to be an inability to control Kris, who I like a great deal but who was beginning to jeopardize Noynoy’s image. Then: the very obvious split within the party. More worrisome: the slow accretion of morally dubious types into the party (Jamby initially, Recto, etc, and the toying with Jinggoy), not to mention the departure of someone of Serge’s calibre. Curiouser and curiouser: Kiko P’s decision to let Villar off for C-5. Some unfortunate (and not very strategic) decisions at the provincial level as well. As my Mom put it, “I just hope they’re not going to become like Lakas-CMD-Kampi.” Because the LP’s comparative advantage was its moral fibre, or so I thought.

Now I understand the politics of addition all-too-well, and respect its logic. But I also understand Neric’s concerns.

I was particularly disappointed that the repeated offers of my friends to help the party (as writers, media people, members of large Fil-Am coalitions in the US, who could be helping raise funds and garner votes) have been routinely IGNORED. Absurd, really, to think that this social capital is not being tapped, when it’s being offered for FREE.

Already I felt that the LP might be TAKING ITS SUPPORTERS FOR GRANTED. And I would admonish them not to do so: because many of these supporters could easily change allegiances before the election, especially now that Bro Eddie is offering another moral edge.

But with the Ampatuan massacre my frustration reached an entirely new level. I was not happy that people were saying that Gibo was a lot tougher than Noynoy. Naturally, Gibo could kick put the Ampatuans — they were his party mates, after all. But still.

Jojo Soria de Veyra
On that last Lilac note, probably why Teodoro won the UST audience at that forum.

Sylvia Morningstar
Very well said, Jane. All of it. Are you sure you don’t go astral traveling to here? Sound like it.

Jane Chavez Umali
hahahah siguro nga kaya medyo tired!

Sylvia Morningstar
Jojo de Veyra, Official Taga Buska.

Sylvia Morningstar
And you, Norman Sison, ang ganda mo palang magsulat pag galit ka na talaga.

Lila Shahani
I was heartened that there was a condemnation and a resolution. I would, however, like to add that much of what was cited has already been done:

1. “The preventive suspension of Mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr., and all other local officials who will be charged in connection with the Maguindanao massacre.”

My response: Of course they have to be suspended, if charged; this is part of the process. Regrettably, there has been NO MENTION of Ampatuan, Sr., who is THE real warlord in the region. Gibo/Ronnie Puno actually had ALL officials suspended and not just those who were specifically charged.

2. “The suspension of the local government’s control and authority over the local police force.”

My response: this is not specifically related to the issue, but something that may need to be done in time.

3. “The immediate relief and replacement of all police officials and personnel in the province of Maguindanao.”

My response: done, and they have put in the military because that is the reality of Maguindanao politics; they also implemented a gun ban, which police cannot enforce, but the military might.

4. “The immediate revocation of Executive Order No. 546, which authorizes the Philippine National Police to deputize barangay tanods as force multipliers in the implementation of peace and order in local government units.”

My response: Maguindanao politics is tough indeed. All CAFGU’s have been disarmed, though I think some high-powered firearms are still being kept somewhere

5. “The immediate return of the COMELEC office to Cotabato City.”

My response: Cotabato City is also a tough place, and it is not part of Cotabato proper, though it shares the same name.

But, with due respect, I feel that FAR MORE COULD BE DONE, such as:

1.) The appointment of a team of professional investigators from outside the Philippines:

a) qualified in the various necessary aspects of criminal investigations;

b.) but absolutely independent of the Arroyo regime;

c.) authorized to compel production of evidence and examine witnesses;

d) mandated to conduct a thorough, transparent and accountable inquiry into the murders; and

e) mandated to make recommendations for the prosecution of the suspected perpetrators identified by the inquiry and to make recommendations on the alternatives in the
event that the Philippine courts are unable or unwilling to proceed with the prosecutions recommended.

2.) Monitor the safety of others likely to be under attack.

3.) Request for international monitors on the ground before and during the election period, both in Maguindanao and other volatile areas;

4.) The dismantling of all apparatuses that reinforce warlordism, which also requires a close look at the global arms trade and how it affects our country:
http://lilashahani.blogspot.com/2009/11/of-arms-and-man-global-arms-trade-and.html

5.) Longer-term, the formulation of a platform that will increase the economic power of the masses, such as a program for entrepreneurship, as the only way to finally, and peacefully, smash warlordism in the country.

6.) Address land reform and Luisita in particular. There was no reference to this in the platform, regrettably. Make a statement about Noynoy’s views on what happened on that fateful day in November 2004. Unless this is done, Luisita will always be a thorn on Noynoy’s side.

7.) As Milar Aguilar has observed: “Luisita could be a model
green all-organic agro-industrial area. They could even mill muscovado in part there. The EPZA could be rented out in great part to Filipino industries turning out genuinely innovative products, possibly using agricultural products from the estate. And all these can be done together with the tenants, who deserve small pieces of land of their own even as they are educated in entrepreneurship and cooperatives.

“Once this is done, it will become a signal that we have finally left our old feudal economy completely and shifted to a healthier form of capitalism — one that does not depend on public office for private gain.

“If Noynoy doesn’t do it, he will have missed a great historical chance — even if he becomes president.

“And the people, who make history in the first place, will be the ones to do it in his stead.”

There is no disrespect or presumption meant here: these are just a few ideas thrown around among friends.

8.) I liked the economic section of Noynoy’s platform. But I would add the following: we need to educate people on how they can create wealth. Entrepreneurship is the way to create wealth and eradicate poverty and corruption.

Mila’s proposal is to push an entrepreneurial mass movement that will enkindle a massive urge among the majority of the population to create products and services that can supplement, if not fully support, their basic needs, and indeed, ensure their future.

The first leg of the proposal is formal education, starting with the level where school children are most impressionable, but already fairly capable — that is, high school.

The second leg is the informal sector, composed of non-governmental organizations of women and cooperatives — of which there are tens of thousands in the country today — as well as lower governmental structures such as the barangays.

These two legs should be given equal weight and coordinated properly so this entrepreneurial mass movement can take off.

These are only a few initial ideas. Noynoy is free to use or reject them as he sees fit.

But what I am also saying is that his supporters don’t only want an honest candidate: we are also hoping for a TOUGH one. One who is tough on corruption, infighting within the party and in his family, and on those like the Ampatuans and GMA who tragically believe in a culture of impunity. If he wins — and we will do everything in our power to make sure this happens — I sincerely hope none of those involved in the massacre and other crimes, even at the highest level, will receive a presidential pardon.

It was bad enough that we were never able to make anyone accountable for what happened to Ninoy. Bad enough too that we were never able to truly do justice to the innumerable victims of Ferdinand Marcos.

I say enough with impunity, once and for all.

Thanks again, Norms.

Peter Casimiro
Such powerful heartfelt prose! Maraming Salamat!! Norman for your eloquence, determination and love. I hope Noy heeds your calling.

Just to add to your excellent metaphor on scurrying rats, I was thinking yesterday about the swine flu (a friend is now inflicted), the disconcerting events of late with LP are akin to a person trying their earnest to contract swine flu instead of protecting themselves from it, and like you Norman, I don’t see the logic in it..why get infected in the first place?

Jenifer C. Aquino-Xavier
A complicated yet simple resolution to all this is just change the leadership. Simple right? The law has been bent, skewered, navigated around to create loop holes to suit the personal agendas of each and every character in this country and it totally sucks. A vacuum in the leadership will only create more problems but then – we’re already in deep shit as it is, how shittier can it get? Now, I can’t wait for May 2010 because I want Noy to sit NOW NA. But then again, patience was never my favorite virtue.

The question is – with all the eloquence we have aired to date, is anyone who can do something remotely significant to change the course of history; even listening?

I think that’s the biggest frustration of all. All the choices to choose from but no one to make the choice because all of those who have already chosen are not in any position to make it happen… yet.

So I am still hopeful. Impatiently hopeful.

Sylvia Morningstar
Ay, Jen. You’ve forgotten how we got to EDSA. That was three long years without a prospect. But we marched, and marched, and marched with deadly perseverance. You know, I got so busy with marching and meeting and marching that I didn’t get to fix my closets for three whole years. No kidding.

Then suddenly, as I got ready to go and start writing a script for a documentation of the snap elections and its theft by Marcos, I get a call. “Turn on the TV. Ramos and Enrile are defecting to our side.” That’s why I never lose hope in the darkest hour. That’s always the prelude to dawn. Try to remember that.

Anton Mari H. Lim
Wow..goose bumps Gen. Norms..will try to make sure he gets this!!

Marites Gan
Very well said Norms! Maybe Noy and the LP people are just taking their time before they give their stance in the Ampatuan massacre (pero mukhang mabagal nga… nothing’s heard from the LP camp when eveybody else burst in tears and anger because of what happened).

I hope this will reach NoyNoy and the LP.

Let us keep the fire burning!

Alan Rivera
hanep Norman. Ang tindi. Let’s hope he and his partymates get it (there’s a deliberate pun there) but most especially Noy (gets mo Noy and ibig sabihin ni Norman?) Sorry to sound a bit flippant and seemingly disrespectful but you heard what Norman said: We need to hear your voice, not read your speech. We don’t need anymore saliva, we’d like to see some teeth. Stop barking and start biting. Big time kasi hindi ka nag-iisa. May mga kasangga ka.

Sylvia Morningstar
Oo, Norms and everyone. Moment of truth ni Noy ngayon.

Norman Sison
Buenos dias, todos! Thank you very much, everyone, for all your kind words. Hindi na ako nakatimpi kaya nag-2012 na ako.

I’m sorry ngayon lang ako nakasagot. I was out all night attending a Christmas party of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines, mga business reporters, several of whom I am privileged to call my friends of years past.

Almost midnight na ako nakauwi and almost drunk from all the red wine I had. Grabe. Now my brain is sober but I still have a hangover.

Now I know my alcohol legal limit. Ohhhhh….

Sylvia Morningstar
Di bale, Norms. Healthy naman ang red wine. Ganyan lang ang buhay lasing.

Jim Paredes
While I agree with many points, I wish to make the call for us to BE the change we want. It is all well and fine to blog, and express ourselves through social networking. It really helps to encourage other people be more vocal.

I have my own frustrations with LP and Noy. I have also learned that they DO listen to what we write and scream about even if they do not take in all suggestions and implement things slowly.

But I have decided to do what I can do on my part. I must BE the change I want to see. I must be an activist, not just a slacktivist.

I would like to call everyone and be one step higher in commitment to change by SHOWING UP and being part of the Dec.11 rally/concert in Ayala. This will be a parangal to Efren Penaflorida who has not been honored by his people. This will also be a venue to express outrage about Maguindanao, and Gloria running again.

It will be about despair and hope. We will have a Democracy wall to express ourselves. Efren will lead many karitons to express that every man no matter how small can be part of the change.

Let’s show everyone how many people want REAL change. Let’s vote with our feet. Let our prospective leaders know that our expectations and our dreams are ahead of what they hacv expressed so far.

TAYO ANG TAUMBAYAN. TAYO ANG PAGBABAGO. See you there.

Sylvia Morningstar
Ok, Jim. May announcement na ba ‘to sa wall mo na may graphic?

Norman Sison
Uy! I’ll be there!

You’re right, Jim. Nasa ating taumbayan ang pagbabago. Tuloy ang laban!

Lourdes Getigan
Norm, may I just refer you to MLQ3’s column re: The Lord of the Ring analogy.

Norman Sison
Hi, Lourdes. I read it on the day Manolo posted it.

Lourdes Getigan
thanks and to quote, “At a time when there’s a general desire to see righteousness reign in our politics, there is too great a danger of self-righteousness intruding its discordant voice, insisting, on one hand, on impossible standards for individuals while ignoring the need for a common cause to confront the greater danger. “

Lourdes Getigan
no criticism, just want to share that we live in an imperfect world.

Lourdes Getigan
Jim, I’ll be there in spirit. Currently in bicol.

Lila Shahani
Hoy, Jim, kindi kami mga slactivist, ha? Lalong lalo na ang aming matador na si Norman. U should see how he defends Noynoy with other people. At isa pa, hindi ito “blog,” no? It’s a private letter in which a very limited number of people have been tagged, all of whom are positively disposed towards the LP. So it’s only within an inner circle of sorts. None of this has been shared with anyone from different parties. And I would maintain that feedback from his supporters is GOOD for Noynoy, since it’s respectful and constructive naman, and since none of us are surrounded by a cordon sanitaire right now. So we do have an ear to the ground.

Pangatlo, lahat ng mga tao dito any wala ng ginawa kundi mag-rally, btw. They’ve just been organizing a huge one on December 9. To the extent that they are humanly capable (as in, r they in the city/country/physically up to it?), I would bet that all of them, especially Norms, will show up. And, finally, singing and music is not the only art form, u know. We’re a bunch of writers and artists here, after all.

To give u an idea what these gifted folks have been working on recently, take a look at this:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3145167&id=639696704

Lila Shahani
And this: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30689909&id=1479461143&ref=mf

And this:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2798336&id=795384152&ref=mf

And this!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3139682&id=639696704&ref=mf

And this:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=187764268750&comments

O, anong say mo? This week lang iyan, ha?

Oh, and finally:
http://www.facebook.com/notes/inday-espina-varona/december-9-invitation/209289873244
Hope to see YOU there!

Lila Shahani
Btw, have u signed this, Jim? We worked on the text too: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?Ampatuan

Jane Chavez Umali
Mr. Paredes maybe you are not aware that we “the slactivistas” had our own share of being slandered, cut off etc from Noynoy goups just because we are doing our share of interactive political activism! None of us have put it out in the news for there are more important things to work on.

Your attitude towards our group is quite condescending bysaying “I would like to call everyone and be one step higher in commitment to change by SHOWING UP and being part of the Dec.11 rally/concert in Ayala”. One step higher? Which means….! We have sent out petitions where we have supported journalists in their fight too. So is the march on the 9th of Dec. not “elevated” enough?

THIS IS EXACTLY THE KNOT THAT KEEPS US FROM MOVING FORWARD. WE ARE ALL WORKING FOR THE SAME CAUSE, NO ONE IS LESS THAN THE OTHER. EACH EFFORT IS AS VALUABLE AS THE OTHER!

SO I DARE SAY NORMAN HAS PUT A LOT OF EFFORT & EVERY SLACTIVIST IN THAT EFFECT TO THE SAME CAUSE YOU ARE IN!

Jenifer C. Aquino-Xavier
Ah, Mr. Paredes, what makes you think we’re NOT physically present during rallies? Do we need to post pictures just to “prove” that we’re there?

Isn’t it enough that there’s a common “enemy” here that’s being fought off in every which way possible and here we go again with the term SLACTIVISTS… can we not brand anyone on the SAME SIDE of the fence simply because we avail of what we have on hand to fight off this she-devil?

The opinion of FB users have left an indelible mark on Philippine politics as well as other non-political issues and has been broadcasted in media. People have spoken and they have spoken thru the internet.

As I have boldly stated before “The Pen is mightier than the Sword… and the KEYBOARD is the NEW PEN”. You can ask anyone who knows me that I coined that phrase and everyone seems to agree.

So If we are SLACTIVISTS, then damn right I’m proud to be one. But never ever imply we do not “SHOW UP” when need be.

Lila Shahani
“The pen is mightier than the sword and the keyboard is the new pen”! Love it, Jen!

Jane Chavez Umali
lovvvvvvvvve it! & the FB internet slays the enemy in one blow! Mr. Paredes you have to keep up with the times…they are a changing!

Jane Chavez Umali
We the slactivists have the brauns, the brains, the creativity & even the feet as you say to move even mountains & oceans! Thank you!

Alan Rivera
basta ako, balacktivist…puro balak.

gusto ko yung “the keyboard is the new pen” at gusto ko rin yung “and we do not need to have our pictures taken”…for da socialan pages of da diaryos da next day. Lahat tayo iisa pakay. Kanya kanyang deskarte. Kaya kung nandoon na kayo,Mr. P., eto nAPO naman kami.

Help make change possible. Join our cause on Facebook.

Sign our online petition for democratic reforms.

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Local electric vehicle firm thinks big

By NORMAN SISON
Published in The Philippine Star
April 20, 2009

 

An electric tricycle going for a spin around Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

MANILA, Philippines – They zip by quietly, running under 30 kilometers per hour around ritzy Fort Bonifacio Global City. But it’s enough to get attention from shoppers and promenaders.

 

For the past months, about 40 electric tricycles have been ferrying people around the military facility-turned-commercial district in Taguig City. It is part of an ongoing experiment on the long – and often bumpy – road to go green. But, if the electric trikes or E3s prove successful, the ear-splitting rumble of gasoline-powered tricycles across the country could someday be replaced by the gentle hum of electric motors.

On the island paradise of Boracay, the local government there hopes to replace the tricycles plying the narrow rustic streets with the E3 to keep the idyllic quiet.

Several mayors have already expressed interest in the vehicles. About a hundred are plying Taguig City’s roads.

According to USAID, jeepneys and buses accounted for 32 percent of vehicles on Philippine roads in 2005, and that the transport industry was second to electricity generation as a source of carbon dioxide emissions, a main culprit of global warming.

Car manufacturers around the world, including big names like Toyota and Honda, are designing electric vehicles with the private motorist in mind.

But Sean Gerard Villoria, president of Electric Vehicle Solutions Inc. (www.evsolutionsinc.com), which churns out the three-wheeled E3 from its factory in Taguig, thinks that electric vehicle mass transports could make the air even cleaner. Not to mention less traffic congestion.

For now, Electric Vehicle Solutions’ mainstay is the E3, which resembles an egg on wheels. But the company has an electric jeepney and a mini bus already on the drawing board.

Villoria drew his inspiration from the Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth”, which won former US vice president and environmental crusader Al Gore the Nobel Prize.

“Truth is, I never seriously thought about the environment,” he acknowledges, until he and his wife, Edelweiss, saw the movie. Since then, his wife pestered him to do something about the environment.

“Her insistence provoked me to focus on environmental projects from several opportunities we were considering then,” Villoria relates. “It pays to listen to your wife. Plus, I love peace in our home.”

The point of no return came in 2007 when crude oil prices rocketed into the stratosphere. All of a sudden, electric vehicles became fashionable. Americans eschewed their pickups and SUVs. “Unfortunately, usually something bad has to happen before people get a wake up call,” Villoria says.

The E3 has a maximum range of 100 to 120 kilometers on a full charge and a top speed of 40 kilometers per hour. Very limited and slow for the highway, but more than sufficient for short distance trips, which are the norm for the swarms of tricycles infesting towns and cities across the country.

With a price tag of P160,000 (a traditional tricycle fetches P170,000) and electricity much cheaper compared to prices at the gasoline pump, Villoria is confident of a runaway success once tricycle drivers realize that they could take home bigger pay.

Already, Electric Vehicle Solutions has received inquiries from 10 countries in North America, Europe and Africa.

According to USAID, jeepneys and buses accounted for 32 percent of vehicles on Philippine roads in 2005, and that the transport industry was second to electricity generation as a source of carbon dioxide emissions, a main culprit of global warming.

Southeast Asia ranks third highest in carbon dioxide emissions among developing countries, after China and India. Southeast Asia is forecast to increase its carbon dioxide emissions by 350 percent by 2050.

Electric vehicles are slowly making their way through Metro Manila’s smoggy streets since mid-2007 with the debut of electric jeepneys in Makati City, under an initiative by internationally renowned environmental watchdog Greenpeace.

The “Climate Friendly Cities” project calls for mass transport electric vehicles, service stations to recharge them, and a biogas power plant to supply the electricity to avoid replacing carbon emissions with another.

Late last year, as if taking a page from US President Barack Obama election campaign, the government passed a renewable energy law to attract investments and boost the economy.

Villoria’s biggest challenge may be changing mindsets as Al Gore can attest. People who are used to speed may find the E3 too leasurely. “We are all creatures of habit and we naturally resist change. We are always afraid to step out of our comfort zones,” he says.

Indeed, E3 drivers at Fort Bonifacio Global City took a while to get used to having everybody else zip by them. They were OK once they realized that taking it slow wasn’t that bad at all.

So far, the experiment results have been promising, Villoria says. Some promenaders at Fort Bonifacio even want to have their picture taken with it. Children see the E3s as amusement rides.

“I always want to do things differently, explore and push the envelope to solve a problem or create opportunities,” Villoria says. “I believe that if you stop being better, you stop being good.”

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Finally, Noynoy’s platform!

OK, this just in. NEWS FLASH from Mely Nicolas of PnoyPinay, which circulated the email detailing Noynoy’s platform.

Below is an email sent today clarifying that the circulated platform was a DRAFT and is still a work in progress:

TO ALL PNOYPINAY MEMBERS:
 
Last week the Pnoypinay secretariat sent to all the Pnoypinay members the  DRAFT Platform/Framework for the Policies of Sen. Noynoy Aquino.
 
Please note that this is still a DRAFT and subject to changes/input/comments.
 
Just as Sen Noynoy Aquino and Sen Mar Roxas continue on their “listening” sorties, this  DRAFT policy framework continues to be open to feedback especially from the consultations still going around  the country, across sectors,   from the people,  reenforcing the nature of Sen. Noynoy’s and Sen. Mar’s “peoples’ campaign”.
 
For clarification and information.  Thank you.

 

Imelda “Mely” Nicolas

* * *

I got the following email below last Thursday from a civic organization allied with the Noynoy Aquino campaign, PnoyPinay, detailing Noynoy’s platform of government. Pass it around.

Memory and Hope:
People’s Campaign to Re-Claim
Good Governance in Our Democracy

In Our Despair, We Remember and Hope

Typhoon Ondoy had submerged most of Metro-Manila in flood waters and left our communities mired in mud and muck. We struggle to rise above this calamity with courage, ingenuity, heroism, humor, good will, and most of all in solidarity as a united people sharing the burdens of tragedy. But we can only truly re-emerge from this calamity when we have replaced the useless, corrupt, abusive, lying and cheating regime of Gloria Arroyo with a clean and honest government we can believe, trust and support. We will only arise from the ravages of Ondoy, Pepeng and other calamities, indeed from the ravages of 9 years of bad government at the national level, when we elect a new president who will be the opposite of Gloria Arroyo.

Even before the recent calamities, we have long been struggling through harsh challenges of day-to-day survival. The economy had produced only more poverty to many and prosperity only to a few. Extreme misery had driven some to madness and suicide. Unrepentant criminals were being pardoned. Many crimes were left unsolved. And more soldiers and policemen fall defending citizens against insurgents and criminals. A sense of insecurity, foreboding and uncertainty had descended on our communities. And worst of all, we continued to confront a government whose leadership daily scandalizes, shames, insults, disgusts and angers most of its citizens and even many of its own civil servants.

We have been in a deep crisis that shook our belief in the very viability of our collective enterprise as a nation. We were searching for something we could believe in, someone we could trust to use the power to lead our government, not to serve herself and her retainers, but to serve our common good and shared future. As we looked to 2010 as a chance for new leadership to raise us beyond prevailing despair, it seemed that even our choices were increasingly desperate.

The people’s consciousness was reawakened in August when Cory Aquino passed away. The outpouring of love and support for her was like a shaft of light cutting through the darkness, highlighting beliefs that many years of bad government had since obscured. We were reminded once more that good wins over evil. People create the good leaders they need. And virtues of honesty, simplicity, courage, sincerity, trust and quiet determination in national public leadership can always come alive again.

Cory’s death and the celebration of her life that was her wake and funeral touched something deep and ancient among Filipinos. We were reminded of our connections with each other. Once more, we recognized our shared past, future and eventual destiny. We felt fear and apprehension in the harsh truth that so much of our individual welfare depends on the actions of our fellow Filipinos. At the same time, we exulted in the joy and exhilaration at what Cory’s life reaffirmed: that heroism in our land is still possible; that Filipinos can sustain moral courage over a lifetime; and that devotion to country and nation can be rendered fully while caring for family, children and grand-children. A public life of authentic service is entirely consistent with a private life of happiness and fulfillment.

The phenomenon that was Cory’s wake and funeral spoke loudly of the power of great ideas: the idea that the Philippines is a good nation to which a good leader devoted her life; the idea that the Filipino people is worthy of two precious lives, first of a husband who dies for it and then a wife who lives for it; the idea that indeed the Philippines deserves our individual sacrifices, devotion, hard work, achievements and, yes, even our own lives. The millions who connected with the phenomenon represented something more than euphoria, sentiment or transient emotions. They represented the reverent memory of a good leader in the past and the firm hope of having a similarly good leader in the future.

Cory’s death was political in the best senses of the word. It was an occasion for the people to demonstrate the power of their multitudes. It sent a clear message that this outpouring of public support was a clear rebuke to the discredited values of the Gloria Arroyo regime. And more than the message of rejection, it also sent a message of affirmation. The Filipino people are in solidarity with a different leader from the highest office of the land, someone who served her people well, did not tolerate corruption or abuse of power, and did not use her office for selfish ends.

And as people remembered Cory’s virtues while head of their government, they began to turn to her son, Noynoy, to once again lead in the restoration of those virtues now so scarce in the wasteland of patronage politics that Gloria Arroyo has wrought.

Noynoy comes to us, not simply as the son of Ninoy and Cory, but as the inheritor of proven virtues in public office. Noynoy comes to us, not simply as 3-term congressman and first-term senator, but as someone who has lived a life of responsible use of great power.

Noynoy comes to us as our candidate for president. We look to his platform for inspiration, direction and guidance. We turn to the bedrock of ideas upon which he shall consecrate his hard work and sacrifice to the higher power of the public good. We can then offer these propositions for people to support, advance and uphold as an expression of their own stakes in our country’s welfare and future.

Noynoy is our best hope to bring back decency, integrity and accountability in our national political governance. He can arrest the downward spiral of our politics marked by a vicious cycle of cheating to win power, using power to amass wealth and applying ill-gotten wealth to gain more power for greater corruption.

With Noynoy as president, the chances are much greater that the able, the honest and the well-intentioned will be willing to help out and the chances are also greater that the incompetent, the dishonest and the self-serving will be driven out of office. Noynoy is someone we can trust to use the power of the presidency to advance our common good and not serve vested interests.\

Noynoy Leads Us in Re-Claiming our Democracy for our Collective Welfare

This is Noynoy’s response to our despair, remembrance, and hopes:

A Clean and Honest Government

I believe that public leadership must have a backbone of morality and ethics essential for good governance, which is simply, a leadership of a government that Filipinos can believe and trust.

Our first priority is to re-establish the principle that public leadership must be based first on integrity and honesty. Without integrity and honesty, we cannot have clean and honest government that is free from graft and corruption. It starts above all at the highest levels with the personal example of the President, his family, relatives and friends. No one is above the law. The example from the highest office should raise rather than lower the standards of public service by everyone. A good president is indispensable to our nation’s progress because he generates collective good will, hard work from everyone and unity in purpose in the whole nation. A bad president, as we have learned, is a curse because she creates constant suspicion, political divisions, conflicts and widespread alienation of citizens from their own government. We must have a President whose picture we can be proud to display in all the classrooms where our children study and learn and at all the offices where our people transact business with their government. The Office of the President should henceforth be the headquarters of exemplars for good governance, not the main hideout of cheaters, cover-up artists, liars and thieves.

Presidential appointees shall meet clear standards of competence and ethical conduct. Their accountability to the public for their decisions and actions shall be enforced. The institutional oversight of constitutional bodies shall be strengthened and backed by presidential power rather than eroded or marginalized. The execution of the budget shall be made fully transparent, de-politicized and no private or partisan consideration shall be allowed to override official developmental objectives of public programs.

We shall strengthen the career civil and military services by enforcing qualification standards, competitive selection based on performance and competencies, and insulation from political interference. We shall ban the practice of having individual politicians named in signage over all publicly-funded projects and shall instead identify all such projects as “Project of the People of the Philippines”.

The powers of the president should be applied to secure for our people a clean and honest government that they can trust, believe and support. I recognize what kind of government our people want, particularly what the masses of our poor people want. A clean and honest government is fair, treating everyone with dignity and decency. It is sincere, in always seeking ways to serve first the good of many. It is responsive in answering the needs of all. It is efficient in that its actions are prompt, direct, adequate, organized and minimize waste. And a clean and honest government is always responsible in the use of government’s powers and public resources.

First, we have to put our fiscal house in order, by eliminating graft and corruption in the revenue as well as in the expenditure sides of our government finances. Increased revenues from collecting taxes and duties for government, rather than for the pockets of individuals, and increased spending from focusing budgets to program objectives, instead of kickbacks and commissions, should be enough to place our fiscal house in order.

We should then carefully choose how we spend the government’s limited funds to achieve greater productivity and competitiveness of our economy. We need to make critical choices in investments on human development; physical infrastructure for trade, commerce and industry; agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability, tourism; among others.  Again it is important that the processes of public investment and of adopting public policies on finance and the economy are kept free of graft, corruption and political partisanship.

Only a clean and honest government has a chance to successfully surmount the gargantuan challenges our nation faces in the 21st century. Only a clean and honest government can mobilize all our capabilities as a united people to address our gravest social and economic problems. On the foundations of clean and honest government, we shall provide our people, first, a government of genuine public service; second, a government for the weak, poor and disadvantaged; and third, a government of national renewal. The combined effects of these three thrusts will be prosperity for all.

A Government of Genuine Public Service

We will mobilize our people to deepen, broaden, strengthen and defend democracy by securing for themselves a government of genuine public service delivering: basic health care for all; quality education from early childhood through basic into higher education; responsive and reliable police and fire safety services; supportive agricultural and environmental protection services to rural households; and public works projects that that truly benefit our people rather than bureaucrats, contractors or their political patrons.

At the forefront of these improved public services will be strong, capable and accountable barangay, municipal, city and provincial governments (our local government units), whose resources and capabilities will be enhanced. We shall increase the use of national-local partnerships in improving the delivery of many public services so that our people can look forward to one seamless execution by the whole government, rather than the current bane of endless finger pointing about which are national or local responsibilities.

A Government for the Weak, Poor and Disadvantaged

Given their larger numbers, the millions who are weak, poor and disadvantaged shall be major actors in our renewed democracy. We are going to give institutional voice to the organizational formations and recognized leaders of the poor and disadvantaged. We shall consolidate all nationally supported anti-poverty programs under a revitalized, empowered, democratic and non-partisan National Anti-Poverty Council, which shall provide direction to all government efforts to alleviate and reduce the burdens of extreme poverty. Priority attention will be given to the communities of the urban poor and to the larger numbers of the poor who live and work in rural areas. We shall begin the process of engaging and capacitating LGUs as our eventual prime government anti-poverty agencies at all localities. More than any technical or programmatic policy, our government shall give a premium to listening to the poor and marginalized and to accord them the respect and dignity they deserve as human beings and citizens with hopes, rights and capabilities, regardless of how abject their current situations may be.

A Government for National Renewal

We shall rely on the healthier functioning of our democratic institutions to secure for our people a government for national renewal. We shall lay the foundations of a careful and substantive process leading to a negotiated peace with the Bangsa Moro people and the CPP-NPA-NDF insurgents. In the particular setting of Mindanao, we shall combine the peace process with development initiatives so that we can increase the stakes of everyone in the fruits and bounties of an eventual sustained peace. The improved health, education and livelihood of the Bangsa Moro people and the communities affected by insurgency are as crucial to peace as any negotiated political settlement.

We shall work with the Supreme Court and the constitutional bodies to strengthen our justice system. We shall progressively increase the budget of the judiciary in order to modernize the delivery of justice to all Filipinos. We shall work with the next Ombudsman to increase the conviction rate of this important anti-corruption body from its present dismal 20%. Our democratic system should be strong enough to exact a healthy dose of righteous justice on the many cases of corruption and abuse against many high officials of former administrations. It is time that our people are assured, not only that graft and corruption does not occur in an incumbent administration, but also that grant and corruption shall be punished whenever it occurs.

The result of all these thrusts will be a society and economy that generates prosperity for all.

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Debunking the survey debunkers

Ever since Noynoy Aquino has been leading opinion polls by wide margins, his opponents have been trying to contain the People Power tide by casting doubts on the validity of surveys, among other tricks.

Particularly, they claim that the opinions of 1,200 people, randomly interviewed nationwide, could not possibly reflect the sentiment of an entire nation of 92 million Filipinos. Without giving convincing arguments nor proof, they also contest the way the surveys were carried out.

Worse, critics insinuate that the surveys were rigged to sway public opinion.

Let’s tackle their basic arguments. To begin with, there is a science in opinion polls, which, if done correctly, can accurately reflect public opinion. In US politics, you’re dead once you stop listening to public opinion. In business, opinion polls are critical in marketing products.

Assuming the so-called bandwagon effect is being created by the SWS and Pulse Asia surveys, does that mean that a person started following a certain candidate after reading the survey results even if that person doesn’t know what that candidate stands for? Is that logical behaviour?

Let’s assume that all 60 per cent of 1,200 people (which is 720) interviewed by SWS nationwide were indeed for Noynoy and the rest of the country is for the other candidates. In that case, what are the odds of randomly interviewing 720 people who turn out to be in favor of Noynoy out of a population of 92 million? How statistically probable is that? That’s like dipping your hand into a giant tub full of 92 million balls in various colors and grabbing 720 red balls.

What’s going to be the story next time if you randomly interview 1,200 people again and come up with at least 720 red balls? That’ll be the case if indeed 60 per cent of Filipinos are for Noynoy. The more you interview the population — or the more you dip your hand in the tub of balls — the more accurate your survey. And there have been two SWS surveys already.

So, most likely the SWS and Pulse Asia surveys are being done incorrectly? Is that a logical conclusion, considering that the two pollsters have respected reputations abroad?

Let’s reverse the situation and assume that administration candidate Gilbert Teodoro is ahead in the polls. Would the administration also be quick to dismiss the survey results?

The bottom line is either you believe in surveys or you don’t. In any case, a government that doesn’t believe in opinion polls runs the risk of failing because it means that it’s ignoring public opinion. A government eventually collapses once it stops listening to its own people. Always.

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