DUTERTE SUPPORTERS DEFY LOCAL POLITICAL WARLORDS

North Cotabato revolt!

DUTERTE SUPPORTERS DEFY
LOCAL POLITICAL WARLORDS

By Manny Piñol

This is the story of a province and its people who stood up against the dictates of their local political leaders and went all out to vote for their preferred presidential candidate.

North Cotabato, the province where I was born and raised, was a problematic area for the presidential campaign of Rody Duterte.

The Governor, the three Congressmen and most of the Mayors belonged to the administration Liberal Party.
In fact, three of my siblings who were running for local political positions officially belonged to the LP while the two others ran under PDP Laban. (All of them though campaigned openly and hard for Duterte.)

I realized this problem early on. This was the reason why I gave my approval to the political group of the Duterte campaign to reach out to the political family which holds sway in North Cotabato.

You see, when I was convincing Duterte to consider the Presidency I made a promise to him that I will not run for a political position so I could focus on his campaign.

I hoped that this move would also convince my political opponents in the province that I was no longer a threat to them and it would pave the way for a political reunification.

In fact, towards the last few weeks of the campaign, I made a pitch in the radio programs aired locally, which I was handling, asking local political leaders to set aside political differences and get behind the candidacy of a Mindanaoan, Duterte.

I had to handle a radio program which was aired twice a week since January over seven local radio stations to campaign for Duterte to support the local PDP Laban team which did not have the finances and the machinery to wage a province-wide campaign.

I said a Duterte Presidency would be beneficial to the province. Besides, Duterte has always been there to help the people of North Cotabato in the past, including coming to the succor of victims of bombings in the province who were brought to the Southern Philippines Medical Centre in Davao City.

I also made personal efforts to reach out to the other political family controlling North Cotabato through common friends assuring them that I have no plans anymore to go back to politics in the province.
My appeal fell on deaf ears.

In the town of Carmen, where the other political family holds sway and virtually controls the lives of people, voters were intimidated and instructed to vote for anybody but not Duterte.

This tactic worked in the past but on Monday, the people of North Cotabato defied their local political leaders and voted for the candidate of their choice.

The result was a resounding rejection of traditional politics.

Yesterday, when I came home to the province of my birth, I felt so very proud of my people.
In spite of the pressures exerted on them, administration candidate Manuel Roxas III only managed to get 67,971, Grace Poe 34,955, Jejomar Binay 21,991 and Miriam Defensor Santiago 2,334.
And Duterte?

He got a whopping 395,370 votes!

The 395,370 votes are more than just a number for me.

This number represents people in my province who have reached a higher level of political maturity who who were willing to defy their local political leaders and vote for who they believe should be their next President.
It would be preposterous for me to claim credit alone for what happened in North Cotabato in the last Presidential elections.

So many volunteer groups worked hard, including a group of doctors who formed a team to campaign for Duterte.

The local PDP Laban group sacrificed a lot to campaign even without resources.

But most of all, the people themselves pressured their local political leaders.

T-shirts given out by local political candidates were rejected if these did not carry the name of Duterte.

The Muslim tribes of North Cotabato were among the most die-hard Duterte supporters because of the fact that he has a quarter Bangsamoro blood.

They also consider the Duterte Presidency as historic because he will be the first President who carries Moro and IP lineage

Many of the local political leaders capitulated to the wishes of their people. Aside from a few mayors, including in the town of Arakan, who openly campaigned for Duterte, a congresswoman switched sides and went for Duterte at the last minute.

Many others, except the political family based in the town of Carmen, simply abandoned the campaign for Roxas.

In the end, the people of North Cotabato triumphed.

Of the over 500,000 who voted, 395,370 showed me that there is hope in my province.

I am sad, however that in two other provinces in Mindanao - Zamboanga del Norte and Agusan del Sur - people's right to vote is still trampled upon by the local political warlords.

This would end soon with the Duterte Presidency. What happened in North Cotabato could happen in these provinces soon.

Change is coming.

(Image shows the results of the presidential elections in North Cotabato; a color coded Philippine map shows how the country voted - yellow went Roxas, orange went Binay, light blue went Poe while blue went for Duterte. John Pagaduan)

Duterte Supports the Launching of "Feeding Millions" Book

Presidential frontrunner Rody Duterte will lay down the Food Security Agenda of his Presidency in a forum to be attended by farmers representing the different agriculture sector on April 21 in Davao City.

During the same occasion, Duterte will also witness the launching of the book "Feeding Millions" which I wrote recently.

 A book signing will also be held after the launching.

The forum, "Feeding the Nation: Philippine Agriculture 2016 and Beyond," is expected to provide stakeholders an opportunity to take a first look at Duterte's plans for agriculture and fisheries.

Duterte will elaborate on his vision to provide "Available and Affordable Food" for the Filipino people even beyond his expected six-year term.

The forum will also allow farmer-leaders to provide additional inputs to the Food Security Blueprint.
Those who will be invited to the forum are farmer-leaders representing the different agriculture sectors - rice and corn, banana, rubber, oil palm, vegetable, fisheries, livestock, poultry, hogs, goats and small ruminants, dairy, processors and manufacturers, agriculture cargo transporters and others.

The one-day forum to be held at The Royal Mandaya Hotel in downtown Davao City will start at 9 a.m.
Registration fee is P1,500. This would cover reading materials, free meals and snacks and one copy of the "Feeding Millions" book.

Interested buyers of the "Feeding Millions" book will also be served by staffers in a booth outside of the forum venue.

Duterte Now Number 1 In Standard Survey

A day after presidential frontrunner Rody Duterte topped the Manila Broadcasting Corporation/DZRH nation-wide survey, the Standard/Laylo national survey came up with its latest poll showing the Davao City Mayor breaking away from the 5-person pack.

“We have seen our numbers getting even bigger, validating what we are seeing on the ground. That Rody is on top means the people are on top. However, that Rody is on top exposes him to attacks. We believe that his popularity now is the reason why the Aquino administration has unleashed a string of attacks against Duterte, hoping that they can prevent his surge,” Bohol Mayor Leoncio Evasco, Duterte’s national campaign manager was quoted by the Standard as saying.
 

With a little over a month to go before the elections, political forces are consolidating behind Duterte whose ratings have consistently climbed since he declared his bid for the Presidency.

City Council Of Davao Approves 31 Million Pesos Aid For Farmers in Cotabato

The Davao City Council today approved a P31-million calamity assistance to provide 15,000 bags of rice to farmers of North Cotabato whose farms were rendered unproductive by the 4-month-long drought.

Leo Villareal, information officer of Davao City, confirmed that the measure was approved in a session today of the Sangguniang Panglungsod.

The amount will be used to purchase 15,000 sacks of rice which will be distributed to the farmers of the neighboring province of North Cotabato through the Philippine National Red Cross and the City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO), Villarreal said.

Also approved during the session was an allocation of over P300-M as part of Davao City's own preparation for the effects of El Niño on the city's fisherfolk and farmers.

The approval of the P31-m calamity assistance for the farmers of North Cotabato affected by the drought came five days after Duterte was informed of the mass action staged by farmers and supported by militant groups in Kidapawan City.

The North Cotabato Provincial Government earlier said it could not provide the 15,000 bags demanded by the protesters and negotiations between the government and the protest leaders ended in a stalemate.
On April 1, on the day when Duterte was tentatively scheduled to meet with the rallyists, policemen dispersed the protesters.

A melee which turned bloody and deadly left two protesters and a bystander dead and dozens injured, including ill-equipped policemen who were ordered to disperse the protesters.

Villarreal said it will take a few more days before the rice calamity assistance would reach the beneficiaries as the city government will have to coordinate with he Commission on Elections (Comelec) first and then engage the Red Cross for the distribution.

He added that the rice assistance will not only be for those who participated in the protest in Kidapawan City but also for other farmers who were severely affected by the long drought.

Villarreal said details on the mode of the distribution will be announced later.

Davao City has earlier extended assistance to other areas hit by calamity, including the Leyte Provinces and Tacloban City which were ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda.

The Local Government Code allows inter-LGU assistance in times of calamity and emergencies.

By:MannyPiñol

DUTERTE CANDIDACY AGRICULTURE'S HOPE

Late last year, I read a news item, apparently a media release from the Department of Agriculture, which said that the country was expecting a shortage in the supply of meat chicken.

As a farmer and an agriculture advocate, I was expecting that the government would announce next that it would allocate funds to support poultry raisers in the country for after all it would only take 30 days to raise broilers to satisfy the demands of the market.

But no. The next news release I read in the papers was an announcement that the government would allow the importation of dressed chicken to fill up the shortage.

Now, why in the world would we import chicken, or even pork, onion, garlic, rice and other agricultural products, when the Filipino farmers, given the needed support by government, could easily produce this?
I will provide four answers:

1. Agriculture programs in the country are never planned long enough to anticipate the food requirements of the growing population. It has always been knee-jerk planning.

2. There is no money to make for corrupt agriculture officials when the chicken, pork, garlic, onion and rice are produced by the Filipino farmers. But there is a lot of money in issuing import permits to big-time businessmen who would bring in these food products from other countries.

3. While the agriculture department is teeming with experts in the different fields, the priorities and programs of the department are determined by the political appointees who lord it over in the department for six years. Then, they turn over the department to another political appointee who implements programs not to feed the Filipino people but to please his President.

4. The Philippines never had a President who truly understood agriculture, who was able to touch the soil and who felt the hardships and pain suffered by the Filipino farmer.

Philippine agriculture's heyday was during the early years of the presidency of Ferdinand E. Marcos and it was not because Marcos was an agriculturist. He was a lawyer. It was simply because he was wise enough to hire the most brilliant agriculture men, specifically Arturo Tanco.

Under the administration of President Benigno Aquino agriculture has been in the doldrums with a growth rate of a pathetic 1%.

Proceso Alcala has been a mediocre agriculture secretary and perhaps the only distinction he earned was that he was the first among President Aquino's men, not Generals Purisima and Napenas, who fed the President the wrong info.

"Si Alcala ang unang naka-bola kay PNoy," says my older brother, Patricio, a true-blooded farmer.
In 2010, Alcala, after his appointment as agriculture secretary, made President Aquino believe that the country would be rice sufficient by 2013, a projection which PNoy proudly announced in his State of the Nation Address.

The year 2013 has come and gone, in fact it is already 2015, but the Philippines is still importing rice.
This is where I submit a very strong contention that unless the Philippines elects a President who truly understands agriculture and who has a solid agricultural development plan which emphasises not only production but more importantly marketing and distribution, the country's agriculture will never get anywhere.

So, who are the Presidential prospects who truly understand agriculture?
Vice President Jejomar Binay? Nope. He reportedly raised hogs as a boy but there is more to agriculture than just raising hogs.

Secretary Manuel A. Roxas? Nope. His family owns a sugar mill in Ma-ao, Negros Occidental but i do not believe he even knows how to plant sugarcane or even realises how hard it is for the sacada to plant sugarcane for only P75 a day.

Senator Grace Poe? Certainly not. I do not believe she has gone anywhere near a farm who even knows the difference between a doe and an ewe.

Of all of the names being floated as prospective Presidential materials, it is only Davao Mayor Rody Duterte who truly understands agriculture and the importance of available and affordable food for his people.

As Mayor of the only city in the whole Philippines which produces bananas, durian, coconut, vegetables, cut flowers, pomelos, mangoes, and other fruits, it is only Duterte who believes that a political leader's obligation includes producing healthy food for his people.

While the neighbouring areas of Davao rake in so much money from digging gold, Duterte has remained steadfast in his opposition to mining saying it would destroy Davao City's environment and affect food production.

Philippine agriculture's best hope is Rody Duterte and if we miss this chance of installing a President who truly understands agriculture, we will have to go through another six years of very expensive and scarce food supplies and the country will have to rely on importation once again.

This is the reason why I am 100% behind the move to convince Rody Duterte as President of the Philippines.

By MannyPiñol

Why Choose CAYETANO For Vice President?

Marami po ang nagtatanong sa akin kung bakit hindi ako nage-endorso ng kahit sinong kandidato para sa bise presidente. Kahit sinabi na ni Duterte na “don’t vote for me if you won’t vote for Cayetano”.

I will give you a straight and honest answer- So I did my research on him for more than one month as well as the other vice presidential candidates. I came up with this conclusion:

1. I WILL NOT VOTE for a VP na balimbing at ginagamit lang ang showbiz para sumikat (Escudero).

2. I WILL NOT VOTE for a candidate just because of the accomplishments of her husband (Robredo).

3. I WILL NOT VOTE for a candidate na sumasakay lang sa accomplishments ng kanyang tatay (Bongbong). Remember, ganyan din si Pnoy at ano napala natin?

4. I WILL NOT VOTE for a candidate who is just sourgraping dahil hindi siya pinili ni Duterte (Trillianes).

So what about CAYETANO? Like what people say, DUTERTE can’t make it alone. He needs a TEAM to HELP him and SUPPORT him in bringing TRUE CHANGE in our country. At hindi yung klase ng VP pag nakaupo na ay puro kontra at batikos lang ang gagawin.

Based on my research, I am convinced now more than ever that Cayetano is the perfect Vice President for DUTERTE. Si Cayetano lang ang may PUSO. Siya ay taos pusong naniniwala sa kakayahan ni DUTERTE at mas inaangat nya ito kaysa sa kanyang sarili.

Hindi tulad ng ibang mga kandidato na alam mong uhaw sa kapangyarihan sa gobyerno. Si CAYETANO na mismo ang nagsabi, kapag si DUTERTE ay nagresign bilang presidente ay magre-resign din ito. Yan ang gusto kong bise presidente, bayan muna ang iniisip at hindi ang sarili. Kaya huwag tayong maging BOBOTANTE and do your research on the VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES.-Mocha Girls

AQUINO, ROXAS, SOLIMAN BLACKMAILING THE POOR

Deception and a brazen, shameless lie.

This is my verdict on the TV and radio advertisement of Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Manuel Roxas III which clearly threatens poor Filipinos that if he is not elected President, the monthly cash subsidy that they are receiving under the 4Ps project of the government will be stopped.

What is the truth?

The 4Ps or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programis the government’s “anti-poverty centerpiece” or flagship anti-poverty program.It is defined as “a poverty reduction and social development strategy of the national government that provides conditional cash grants to extremely poor households to improve their health, nutrition and education particularly of children aged 0-14.

” Under certain conditionality like an 85% attendance rate per month of school children and regular attendance of mothers to “family development sessions” among others, poor families receive conditional cash grants worth P500.00 a month for health and nutrition expenses and P300 per child per month for educational expenses covering a maximum of three children per household."

Monthly cash subsidies are given to poor families on the condition that "parents regularly bring their children to preventive health check-ups and enroll them in school. Pregnant beneficiaries are required to seek pre- and post-natal care, and should be attended by a health professional when giving birth."

The 4Ps is also called Conditional Cash Transfer and patterned after the anti-povety programs of Mexico and Brazil.

Launched during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, it was originally called Ahon Pamilyang Pilipino before it was renamed 4Ps in 2008.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which supervises the project, pilot-tested the CCT in 2007 in municipalities of Sibagat and Esperanza in Agusan del Sur; the municipalities of Lopez Jaena and Bonifacio in Misamis Occidental, the Caraga Region; and the cities of Pasay and Caloocan.

"As of June 2013, the program has nearly 3.93 million registered households. Operations run in all 17 regions, covering 79 provinces, including 1,484 municipalities and 143 major cities, according to the DSWD," wikipedia reported.

In the 2016 budget, P64-B has been allocated for 4Ps.

So what are the basic things people should know about 4Ps?

1. It is not a program initiated by President Aquino. The 4Ps was started by President Arroyo.
2. Cash grants under the 4Ps program are not free. It is made up of US$405 million loan from the World Bank (WB) and US$400 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
3. The 4Ps will continue even if Roxas loses the Presidency, as expected, simply because it is funded by a foreign loan.
4. The 4Ps is now being used as a political tool by the administration and DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman who in the past has declared that no politician should be associated with the program has now become an accomplice in a grand scheme to deceive the poor and get their votes under duress.
Now, whether the 4Ps is really liberating millions of Filipinos from poverty or not, is another topic that I will discuss in a future post.
The future post will also focus on the thoughts and ideas of Presidential frontrunner Rody Duterte and his vice presidential running mate, Alan Peter Cayetano, on the 4Ps.
In the meantime, we have clearly established the truth that this administration is exploiting and blackmailing the poor and peddling a big fat lie just to work for the candidacy of Roxas.