Tuesday, September 4, 2007

A reaction to the Mar Roxas 2010 blog

We must have hurt Kevin Ray Chua's feelings and we'd like to apologize. In anycase, we've left a comment on his post, explaining why we said what we said. The Professional Heckler Blog is funny and very well researched, well worth posting a reaction to. What we said in our comment on this blog was said in a tone and manner which we thought would appeal to its readers. Engaging in humor similar to the kind of humor Dick Gordon was accorded apparently offended some people and we apologize if we offended anyone.

We've gotten our fair share of digs about campaigning for Dick Gordon and we don't mind getting ribbed at all because, at the very least, we've gotten a couple more people thinking about the Presidential Elections in 2010 and we've gotten a couple more people thinking about Dick Gordon as a Presidential Candidate.

That said, we take this space to print our comment on Kevin Ray Chua's blog post:

Hi Kevin,

Peace!

Team Gordon admires your stand on an issue as crucial as the next presidency and your commitment to informing people about someone whom you believe will be truly right for the job. It is a noble commitment to think about your country's future and it is commendable that you are doing something to do what you think is best for your country.

If you will permit us, let us make our position clear.

There are those who dig at Roxas for being cautious in committing to one side or another of an issue. There are those who chide Roxas for keeping his positions on issues, including his bid for the Presidency, close to his chest or at least, indiscernible. On one hand, this keeps people wondering what he'll say or do -- becoming fodder for speculations which sometimes get played up in the media. On the other, even his supporters and followers urge him to make his position known. Some, with or without his 'go ahead', take positions for him and so he has the leeway to maneuver. (Depending on how you see it, his LP partymates were the ones who declared their support for him, if he runs for President -- declaring him as the frontrunner or standard bearer. Almost as if it was an attempt to create an impression that there is a clamor for him to run. And there is such a clamor, as much as there is a clamor for Loren, Noli, Ping, Manny Villar, and even Erap.)

This non-commitment is one thing about his character, which is neither good or bad in the grand scheme of politics (as nothing in politics is really good or bad in the moral sense), but is something we are not comfortable with. Is it a sign of weakness on his part or is it a sign of strength? I guess that will depend on the stand he finally takes, if he takes one.

In contrast, people take a dig at Dick Gordon for the stands he takes and he has a stand on a lot of things. This is something you have to expect of someone who is comfortable with being an Executive.

When he was mayor of Olongapo, he took a stand against moves to end the US bases treaty when the call of the times (the call of recently awakened Nationalism) was to end the treaty that was the lifeblood of Olongapo as well as other provinces in Region 3. He took a stand in insisting that Subic Bay be given a freeport status. He took a stand when he batted for Philippine tourism on the global stage, despite a laughable budget for tourism promotions... despite travel advsiories against the Philippines because of SARS and terrorism... Olongapo rose from the US bases pull out and rose from the ashes of Pinatubo... Subic Bay became tourism and investment destination... Philippine tourism experienced true resurgence, with international tourist arrivals growing every year...

A few days ago, he took a meaningful stand on the situation in Basilan and Sulu after he visited those provinces as Red Cross Chairman. He said people should stop calling Basilan, Sulu, and other areas in Mindanao as War Zones. He recommended for the DTI to start marketing agricultural produce from Basilan and Sulu, he advocated tourism promotion for those areas, he called for national government to beef up basic and social services to these islands. Invest in peace, he said. Perhaps only daring and compassion can put an end to decades old violent conflict. To be daring and compassionate, you have to take a stand.

Just today, he has taken a stand on the issue of whether or not to postpone barangay and SK elections, saying that he'll only consider postponing these elections if it will be automated. This is a stand he took when he filed the Automated Elections bill and worked to get it passed. He fought for its implementation during the 2007 elections and continues to fight for its implementation so that we can finally end problems like 'Hello Garci'... Making investigations future investigations into the 'wire tap controversy' unnecessary.

Leaders rise and fall on the stands they make... Without a stand, you cannot lead...
You can choose to publish this comment and if not, we'll understand.

Team Gordon 2010

P.S.

Gordon confirmed that he is interested in the Presidency, this is why we launched this blog and why we are working to get people to sign up to support his campaign. Frankly Kevin, we hope that Mar Roxas does announce his intention to run for President, so that all the good work you've done will amount to something.



Kevin Ray Chua's blog post appears below.

Why Mar Roxas refuses to talk about his 2010 plans
Thursday, August 30, 2007

This is in response of Team Gordon 2010's comment on the article in The Professional Heckler Blog about 2010 wherein it talked about Sen. Richard Gordon's pronouncement that he will run for President in 2010.In the comments of the article, Team Gordon 2010 said:
Good evening Mr. Heckler!

In reaction to: “Sen. Richard Gordon is running for president in 2010. If he wins, he’ll become the first Dick to rule the Philippines.” We dare ask, would people rather have a cunt ruling the country?

But seriously, the future is nothing to joke about. We all know that this country needs some serious changes… We can’t leave the tough and terrible business of change to chance… We need somebody with vision, experience and a solid track record for effecting changes that are for real, for better, for everyone and for generations to come… That somebody is Dick Gordon.
Olongapo, Subic, and Tourism… The Philippine National Red Cross… The Fair Elections Act which aims to automate the electoral process in time for the 2010 elections and eliminate wholesale electoral fraud… The tourism bill…

Perhaps, people need to take a closer look at Dick Gordon… He has been ready to lead the country for a long time.

As for :"Mar Roxas is reportedly eyeing the presidency too but he refuses to talk about his plans for 2010. That makes him a “closet contender” for president.” We were going to ask why he seems so chummy chummy with Joey Salceda, John Osmena, and Boy Abunda?

I agree that Sen. Richard Gordon has indeed made good accomplishments. I applaud him for his great job as Olongapo City mayor, as SBMA Chairman, as Senator and as Philippine National Red Cross Chairman. He has indeed made a mark in public service. But he's not my man for the Presidency, sorry.

Why is Senator Mar Roxas silent on his 2010 plans? We'll he not too silent about it. He talks 2010 but doesn't extends it to a more clear topic. But please don't refer his as "chummy chummy with Joel Salceda, John Osmena, and Boy Abunda." He's just protecting his integrity. Senator Gordon's announcement last July 6, 2007 that he's considering running in 2010 made him already a 2010 guy. He was silent before, but now, after he made that announcement, people will perceive that everything that he will do is for 2010, which I think is not right. He can't do function properly as Senator because many people would quickly think that when he works, he's campaigning early, which I think is unfair for him.

That's what Senator Mar Roxas is preventing from.We'll, if you say that potential presidential candidates should get real and tell the people that they're running, I think it's still not the right time. It's too early for them to do that, but not to early for us (their fans). We can say that "I want him to be the President in 2010!" because it our own decision. We can't speak in behalf of them. What we are doing is to inform them that we support him/her as President in 2010 but still, it's up to them whether they would run or not.

2 comments:

Kevin Ray N. Chua said...

Greetings of peace to TEAM GORDON 2010!

I would like to express also my deep regret for taking the issue seriously in a satiric blog. When I was reading on your comment, it was like an offense not only against Mar Roxas but to his supporters. I had already posted your comment on the "controversial post" and I already accepted your apology.

We have diverse beliefs on who should be in MalacaƱang by 2010, but we have a common vision, and that is to help our compatriots choose the right leader that would lead our motherland. You're for Dick Gordon and I'm for Mar Roxas.

We're in a democratic country that's why it's hard to achieve unity. We respect each other's views and there's nothing wrong with that. I hope that we would not resort into smearing campaign because we are all Filipinos.

I was just concerned on the Senators or any other people out there who have presidential ambitions because they can't perform their functions properly. Anything they will do would be viewed as early campaigning. That makes me concerned actually.

I hope that this issue would now come to rest. We are the pioneers of the 2010 presidential elections Blogging campaign! BTW, I had already linked your site to the Philippine 2010 elections in Wikipedia.

Once again, PEACE!

KEVIN RAY N. CHUA
Mar Roxas 2010 Blogger

Team Gordon 2010 said...

Dear Kevin,

We don't regret a single word that we've posted, despite our apologies for hurting people's feelings -- including yours.

The Presidential Elections in 2010 should be more about feelings, although people may be passionate about their candidate. It should be about us, the people, choosing the best direction for our country to take and choosing the best person to lead us towards that direction.

As we've said before, and we'll say it again and again, the next President should have Vision, Experience, and Track Record. Only Dick Gordon has all three.

Sorry to say Kevin, Mar doesn't have any of the three.

The Professional Heckler echoed what others had already observed about Mar. Perhaps having it pointed out in public may be painful for some and may be its only because the truth hurts.

As for smear campaigns, you will be happy to note that we haven't engaged in such a practice. Even Mar himself will tell you that he is friends with Joey (not Joel, my mistake) Salceda, John Osmena, and Boy Abunda. I don't see anything wrong about that, do you?

And as for the your fear that "by declaring or admitting that one intends to run for the presidency one's actions will be perceived as being for 2010 and nothing else", let me just say that this implies that one is doing something in the first place and maybe your shouldn't be so fearful for your candidate.

Gordon on the other hand has been doing a lot and people don't have any reason to doubt his intentions despite having said that he is interested in the Presidency.

When he took the cudgels for the people of Basilan, Sulu, and the rest of Mindanao by telling everybody to "invest in peace and stop calling these areas as zones of war", his intentions were clear because he had started telling people this even when he was still Tourism Secretary and had in fact been working to help the people of Mindanao for some time. His intention was to stop people from propagating the bias and mindset that has caused people in these areas a lot of suffering -- perhaps more than the isolated and sporadic fighting between government and armed groups. His intention was to bring development to these areas and end armed conflict.

If interest in the Presidency translates to lasting and positive changes happening to people living in underdeveloped areas of this country, perhaps more people should be interested in the Presidency and maybe more people should pursue the Presidency with the kind of guts and zeal Gordon has been pursuing it.

Team Gordon 2010