SMOKE » Politics » The juggernaut that isn’t
The juggernaut that isn’t
I saw that Noynoy vid again, and I came away feeling that this guy must be approaching the status of juggernaut. And then, I realized, that’s exactly what his image-meisters wanted me – and millions of other voters – to feel; the better to hoodwink the masses onto the bandwagon.
Just like a Jedi mindtrick … and we all know what they say about who Jedi mindtricks work on the best.
The truth apparently is that Noynoy’s survey numbers have begun to slip. Nothing major as yet, but the decline is noticeable if you know what you’re looking for. And that’s got his handlers in a tizzy.
But with the video – and the massive airplay being given to it by ABS-CBN – there is a good chance that the decline will be arrested.
In the meantime, didja know that Namfrel is supported by big business?
I guess, I’d always felt that in my gut, but to actually hear confirmation … man. That totally knocked the wind out of my sails.
Apparently, this is the reason why they have been able to actually pay their volunteers. Paid volunteers … sounds oxymoronic, but there you have it. Obviously, the big name volunteers don’t see a red cent, but the troops – the cannon fodder – do get a significant amount of currency.
And this has gone on as far back as the 2007 elections when Namfrel and the CBCP’s National Secretariat for Social Action engaged in a well-publicized competition for Comelec accreditation as the citizen’s arm. Namfrel promised NASSA some money, but reneged on their promise. That pissed NASSA off and led to the break.
LOL. Namfrel, after a disastrous showing in 2007, was left in disarray until the membership voted Tita de Villa Chairman, effectively merging Namfrel with PPCRV. This resulted in Namfrel trying to find a new role to play in the 2010 polls. But the Gus Lagman faction – aided and abetted by the two self-styled fathers of Automation and Namfrel – has managed to regain control, heralding the return to ascendancy of big business in the Namfrel leadership.
What does this mean, then? It means that Namfrel – under Lagman’s helmsmanship – will steer a course of opposition to automation for one reason alone: Smartmatic got the bulk of the contract. What Lagman – and his big business principals – wanted was to force the OES down Comelec’s throat.
This would have meant that the supply contracts for the various components of the OES – remember, the free software is just one cost, and not even the largest – would be divvied up by various businesses, thereby spreading the money around. Never mind if the OES is not authorized by law, is completely untested, and is totally idiotic: if Lagman and his big business principals had gotten their way, they would’ve had a 6 billion peso (appx) cash cow they could milk every three years.
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Written by rom
Rom is a twenty-one year old experiment. She began life with the notion that she was a Filipino-Chinese Ilongga. Now, she just thinks of herself as Ilongga, having realized that she has failed at being Chinese. At least that's what her aku told her upon learning that she had fallen in love with a Filipino.
Filed under: Politics · Tags: 2010 elections, automation, juggernaut, noynoy aquino
6 Responses to "The juggernaut that isn’t"
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For that matter, Noynoy seems to want to bring across the perception that all these showbiz bozos’volunteered’ to do the campaign ad for free.
Be wary of the Filipino “volunteer” as this act of volunteerism will exact a levy on the the beneficiary of said volunteerism down the road. Everything is not only politicised but perverted to political ends in the Philippines. And once noble concepts such as volunteerism are not exempt from the ravages of the disease known as Da Pinoy Way.
Noynoy’s latest add: ang nagpapatunay ng kababawan ng kandidatura ni Noynoy. Walang plataporma. Walang sinasabi maliban sa pagnakaw sa konsepto ng kanyang mga magulang. Di nag-iisa? Pano ang mga kawawang magsasaka ng Hacienda Luisita? Nag-iisa sila, Noy! Dadamayan mo ba sila?
Gusto tayong lokohin sa pamamagitan ng mga artistang alam naman nating nakuha dahil sa impluwensiya ni Kris Aquino at Boy Abunda. Nakakahiya talaga. Yan ba ang gusto natin? Wag na tayo magpadala sa kasinungalingan ng isang malinaw na walang kakayahan! Tuloy ang laban para sa hustisya para sa mga magsasaka ng Hacienda Luisita!
Totally agree with you Luisita. In the Filipino culture, whatever material possessions and royal privileges parents have, they all get automatically passed on to their children when they unwillingly get buried 6 feet under the ground. What the Filipino people does not understand is that, Noynoy is not Ninoy. Noynoy is not Cory. Noynoy is Noynoy. Period. Rate and evaluate the person on his own merit and not on his parents’ merits.
To me, Noynoys’ political ad definitely pass for its artistic value, no more no less: great production, good singers, famous artists, beautiful faces and all that jazz! Noynoy is being portrayed as the Messiah shepherding the brood of lost sheep, the formidable leader chosen to be the saviour. But who is he saving? Can he really save? Que sera, sera!
Re: Namfrel. Thought I’d repost this snippet from Ramon Farolan
I first heard about Namfrel as a high school student in the early ’50s. It was 1951 and President Elpidio Quirino was halfway through his first term after being elected to the presidency in a heated battle against Jose P. Laurel, two years earlier. At that time, I had only the vaguest idea what Namfrel was all about and who was behind the organization.
It turned out that Namfrel was a creation of the US Central Intelligence Agency which was covertly involved in laying the groundwork for a Ramon Magsaysay candidacy against Quirino. The Americans believed that the Quirino administration was thoroughly corrupt and beyond salvation. They chose the Zambales congressman as their candidate for the 1953 presidential elections.
Ed Lansdale, a US Air Force lieutenant colonel, was assigned to the American embassy in Manila to manage the whole operation. Even the US ambassador had instructions to assist him without asking too many questions. One of Lansdale’s associates in Manila was Gabriel Kaplan, a New York Republican lawyer and politician who ran for Congress and lost. Recruited by the CIA, Kaplan was sent to Manila where he started a community development project which had support from local US company executives.
After some time, Kaplan was able to get organizations like the chambers of commerce, Rotary clubs, veteran groups and similar associations under a nationwide umbrella group to support American objectives. This nationwide umbrella outfit was the Namfrel that had its baptism of fire in the 1951 midterm elections. Namfrel operations then was actually a warm-up for the presidential contest scheduled for 1953.
Joseph Smith, in his book “Portrait of a Cold Warrior” said, “Namfrel, ostensibly sponsored by these various civic groups, was actually run by Gabe Kaplan and funded by the CIA station. Namfrel chapters sprang up all around the country. They preached the virtues of ensuring there would be no tricks at the polls and showed the practical ways to prevent them. They taught people how to make thumbprints on ballots, the system used to verify registration certificates. Other people were taught photography and instructed to take pictures of all persons entering polling places in order to identify the squads of multi-voters (flying voters) that corrupt politicians used around town.”
As far as I am concerned – one Aquino in the Presidency is one too many.
maybe these videos is much appealing to you ms. rom,
November 16, is coming close which is the Hacienda Luisita Massacre happened:
http://bit.ly/2XyqsP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUgz705QYME
http://bit.ly/2IRvxd
As a Namfrel volunteer it pisses me off that a person can just google Namfrel, read the links associated with the search query and believe all the crap that they read without even checking the veracity of the so called historical account of the organization.
Namfrel volunteers get paid??? You think that Namfrel is rolling in money? Have you actually spoken to an actual volunteer? Oftentimes we risk life and limb and we even have to provide for our own provisions when we volunteer. We rely on the kindness of donors – not the corporate ones but those small business who are based in our local communities just so we can mobilize for the elections. We get pledges from kind individuals to provide food for our volunteers. So please do not insult Namfrel volunteers by saying that they are being paid to serve during elections.
Namfrel funded by CIA – actually organized in the 50s? Please check your facts before posting them. Namfrel was founded in 1983. Namfrel was funded by the CIA and managed by a Gabe Kaplan during the ‘86 polls? This is like an urban myth that crops up every 3 years whenever Namfrel applies for accreditation as a citizens’ arm of the Comelec.