Life in Gloria’s Enchanted Kingdom

Villar’s Vision

By Mario M. Galang/Yellow Pad/Business World

For just four months since November 1, 2009, presidential bet Manuel Villar is reported to have spent P1.3 billion for political ads alone. The amount almost matches what four other leading aspirants have spent over the same period, added together. That’s a huge amount by any measure just to put his campaign message across, project an image, get the voters to recall his name, and more.

Villar has used the PhP1.3 billion largely for TV and radio ads, which lend themselves to easy monitoring. Over and above this are other expenditures that will bloat the total to an amount no one will ever know exactly what.

The ad buys leave out of account the spending for allowances of campaign leaders or coordinators, “volunteers,” etc., and for building or maintaining campaign organization or network, operations and facilities. The items here enjoy a higher degree of opacity, tending to hide from view the actual amount spent.

If you don’t believe that Villar’s big-time allies have agreed to support his bid out of deep love for him or adherence to his patriotic belief, if any – you must be one of those skeptical souls who suggest that either pesos or promises or both have been given and forthwith received. No contract is ever signed, no official receipt ever issued. No such deal ever happened, to begin with. But the amount involved is surely big.

Money, big money, has taken a key role in Villar’s bid since the start of activities and up to now. The choice lies apparently in abundance. He admits he needs the extra amount to make up for what he lacks, like a famous father and mother, a good name, a sister in show business, and so on.

Hoping to turn his affluent campaign into a virtue for voters, Villar says the money is his own anyway. Were it otherwise, he would be beholden to contributors to whom he must return the favor when he wins the coveted post. In business terms, it is not a corporate thing, only a single proprietorship – ergo, all returns shall accrue to him alone?

Having a steady supply of money isn’t enough to make a mark. So give Villar credit for his wiles, or savvy, in using his billions wisely. Otherwise, go find other reasons to explain his improved performance in the surveys. You probably had found the same traits wanting in the presidential bids of Eduardo Cojuangco and Jose de Venecia some years back (or, on second thought, may be there was too much of wiles on their part to keep money from flowing generously).

What Villar, the NP candidate, really reminds me of is the NP reelectionist in the 1969 presidential race. Ferdinand Marcos had funded his campaign on so massive a scale, unheard of until then in the history of Philippine elections, that the event left the economy quivering from a crisis. No elections before 1969 were as dirty, costly, and fraudulent.

Only in 2004 were elections dirtier, costlier, and more fraudulent. At the rate Villar is spending for his campaign, 2010 may just as well set a new record of its own. So far, like in a beauty pageant, the current electoral activities, reports say, have already earned for 2010 the title “The Costliest” elections so far. Meanwhile, the campaign will go on for about two months more.

As Election Day draws nearer, the need for campaign cash ironically grows bigger too. The main focus shifts from broadcasting to “narrowcasting.” Broadcasting spreads the candidate’s message to a broad audience via mass media, where TV has become the logical favorite by virtue of ubiquity. It aims for the buy-in.

Narrowcasting, on the other hand, works to conclude the sale and ensure the actual buy. The branded item is the candidate, the currency is the vote, by analogy. Campaign strategists often refer to this as the “translation of popularity into votes.” This is the scheme of things as you see it on the surface.

Lying below that is its seamy side. If your aim is to lock the actual buy, a tried and tested way awaits you. Money is the currency, the vote becomes the item for sale. The candidate no longer appears as a mirror of the voter’s values. He appears instead as mere buyer who faces the voter as mere seller. Money morphs into a mirror of the vote’s (exchange) value. In plain English, I don’t care if the candidate is wrong; I care only if the price is right.

Campaign operators normally refer to this and its attendant activities as “Special Operations” (a.k.a. Dirty Tactics). They work on the assumption that money is never an issue. In the current contest, only Villar seems able to take this assumption as his own without any worry.

Special ops aim to strengthen and broaden your network of operators and active supporters, especially at the subnational levels down to barangay. And what better way of doing this than raiding your opponent’s machinery, thus undermining its operations at the same time?

A tell tale sign is in this recent news item reporting about some “300 Liberal Party stalwarts and members in three key provinces in the Caraga region” defecting allegedly to the Nacionalista Party. The report cites Villar as saying that “he expects more defections not only from the LP but also from other parties as the May presidential election nears.” That is ominous.

Special operations also yield political intelligence reports and analyses, to know, for example, who to approach, the subject’s profile, the issues involved, the right price, and the like. A good operator deals flexibly, preferring to see things in shades of gray. If conscience or other constraints keep a local LP leader, for example, from defecting or openly supporting Villar, the table is laid open for other options – from, say, undercover work to simple distribution of NP sample ballots come E-day (while holding the LP’s from distribution) .

Special ops spare no one, not even the big national figures. Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Richard Gordon, along with presidential bet Joseph Estrada, share a common story about separate bribe offers implicating Villar, who quickly dismissed the accusations as “politically motivated.”

For maximum effect, timing is key to successful special ops. People gunning for local posts who find themselves running out of gas while the race approaches the homestretch are likely to bite the offer if no support is forthcoming from his or her own party.

The Philippine presidency is no doubt the juiciest post that any businessman would find worth gunning for at all cost. When Marcos won his bid for reelection in 1969, nobody thought that early that his liking for the highest post would extend beyond the additional four years that he had just won. With the benefit of hindsight, however, you’ll find good reason why Marcos needed to win his reelection in the costly way he did. After all, he was looking beyond four years and contemplating holding on to power in perpetuity.

What’s with Villar’s vision to warrant the billions that he has been spending merrily to get the presidency? Nobody can read his mind and share what he sees: nobody knows for now.

I only know what I can see. And, like Caesar referring to Cassius in Shakespeare’s play, I see a “hungry look.”

A reader in Ellen Tordesillas’ blog pointed out that Atty. Antonio Mariano Almeda, former chief of staff of Mikey Arroyo, is running for Congress in Caloocan City under the Nacionalista Party.

Manny Villarroyo also endorsed the candidacy of Jocjoc Bolante, a close associate of Mikey’s father.

Just a coincidence?

And read this report on Karen Davila’s interview with Cynthis Villarroyo. Cynthia Villar for Gibo if husband not running

Never give a sucker an even break.—W.C. Fields

I was telling my wife about a scam where someone hacks into your e-mail account and uses your identity to swindle money from your contacts.

“How?” she asked.

“With a sob story that ends with a request for an emergency loan,” I replied.

“Terrible,” she said.

“I got one recently,” I said. “And it was signed in my name.”

“Duh,” she remarked.

“I know,” I replied. “But I was so moved by the letter I immediately lent money to myself.”
(more…)

Black Propaganda

Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III, Yellow Pad/Business World/March 8, 2010

Black propaganda is part of the arsenal, employed in any kind of conflict—in politics, in economics, in war, in elections. All the parties engaged in the conflict—not only the bad guys but the good guys as well—use black propaganda.

Black propaganda’s distinct feature is that the treacherous material assigned to one side actually originated from the rival group.

In this case, the label of “Villarroyo”—describing Manny Villar as Gloria Arroyo’s clone and candidate—cannot be classified as black propaganda. The one who coined the term had no intention to assign the source of “Villarroyo” to the Villar camp. To disclose information and give credit where credit is due, I cite the creative person who coined “Villarroyo”—Manuel Buencamino, our fellow at Action for Economic Reforms.

A good example of black propaganda is the statement that went viral on the internet, titled “Why I will vote for Noynoy,” allegedly written by Winnie Monsod. (Winnie has issued a disclaimer in her Philippine Daily Inquirer column and on television.)
(more…)

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) now wants condom ads banned.

They said, “condom advertisements should be banned from television, radio, movies, newspapers, magazines, and public places, as they desensitize the youth’s delicate conscience and weaken their moral fiber as future parents.”

And one of them wants condom manufacturers to add a warning label on condom, something like the scare warnings on cigarette packs. He suggested something like “Condoms don’t prevent HIV/AIDS.”

Well, I got a better idea. How about, “You will go to Hell if you use this product” ?

Manuel Buencamino / Dispatches from the Enchanted Kingdom/Business Mirror

“The ratio of tolerance of our bishops toward the excesses of the Arroyo regime is directly proportional to their intolerance for condoms and contraceptives.”—Philip Gilmore

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral decided to distribute free condoms “to those who cannot afford it” because HIV/AIDS cases are spreading at an alarming rate. That earned her the ire of the Catholic Church.

One bishop denounced her timely intervention as immoral and warned her that “she already has one foot in hell and many more might suffer the same fate” if she did not stop what she was doing.
(more…)

The story below will give you a good idea of how Villar operates, the different schemes he used to go around the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.

Why the Magdalo and the Left find this man so appealing truly escapes me.

THE VILLAR EMPIRE: Dream homes on farmlands
by Jerry Esplanada

IN ADDITION to 450 hectares of prime land near the
Ninoy Aquino International Airport, real estate tycoon
and Las Piñas Rep. Manuel Villar has acquired some
5,500 hectares (equivalent to 55 million square meters) in mostly agricultural lands in various parts of the country.

The Villar flagship Camella & Palmera Homes Inc. and its affiliate firms have been developing the landholdings into housing projects marketed as ”Dream Homes in a total California setting,” ”Slice of Europe,” ”Queen City’s crown jewel,” and country homes with the ”Charm of the Caribbean,” among other come-ons.

Documents obtained by the Inquirer, however, revealed that the conversion of many Villar landholdings from agricultural to residential use was made without the required clearance from the Department of Agrarian Reform.
(more…)

An old priest who lay dying in his hospital bed motioned to his nurse to come near.

“Yes, Father?” asked the nurse..

“I would like to see Manny Villar and Gloria Arroyo before I die.” whispered the priest.

“I’ll see what I can do, Father,” she replied.

Villar phoned Arroyo after he heard from the nurse..

“Did you get the priest’s request?” he asked her.

“Yes,” she replied.

“I don’t know why he wants to see us but my advisers told me I should go, it will be good for my image daw.” he said.

“My people told the same thing,” she replied,

“Then let’s go together.” he proposed.

“That’s a good idea,” she said. “We can milk the visit.”

The priest’s hospital room was packed with reporters and TV crews when they arrived.

The priest beamed when he saw Manny and Gloria. He motioned her to stand by the right side of his bed and VIllar on the left. A look of serenity settled on the priest’s face after they took their places.

The cameras were rolling. Everybody was waiting for the priest to say something for the evening news’ soundbite. But he said nothing. All he gave them was a beatific smile.

Villar finally spoke up, “Father, of all the people you could have chosen, why did you choose us to share your last moments with you?”

The dying priest replied. “I have always tried to live my life as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did. Now I want to die like He did.”

Villar bowed his head. Arroyo wiped a tear from her eye.

The priest continued, “Thanks to you both my wish will come true.”

“How so?” chimed Villar and Gloria.

“Christ died between two lying thieves.”

Lito Banayo of Malayo writes a very spirited argument against Money Villarroyo.

Why ever not Villar (1)
by Lito Banayo, Malaya

IN the years when FVR was president, a prominent businessman whose name I shall not mention because he is old and ailing was conned by a police character into buying prime real estate right smack along Roxas Boulevard. He was given a torrens title (TCT) and seizing the opportunity to land a bargain, he paid.

When his lawyers went to the Registry of Deeds, they learned that he bought land that belonged to a foundation. In short, the title he had was fake. Police character could no longer be found. (more…)

Gloria Arroyo, Money Villarroyo, Jocjoc Bolante, Satur Ocampo, and Liza Maza. I guess they have something in common.

Magdalo also endorsed Money Villarroyo. They also found something in common with those people in the poster.

And my friend SCHUMEY is disappointed with Magdalo joining Vilarroyo’s big tent.

Photo lifted from THE MOUNT BALATUCAN MONITOR