PRESS RELEASE
By Migrante Middle East
28 July 2012
Thus, said today by an activist overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) group in reaction to the reports that former president and now Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (CGMA) is gunning for a second term in the House of Representative in May 2013 midterm elections.
“One would really wonder, if not doubt, that despite illness and several criminal cases filed against her, CGMA has the nerve to run for reelection as representative of Pampanga’s 2nd district. This manifest ‘power-crazy’ or ‘power-hungry’ mentality of her,” said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East (M-ME) regional coordinator.
Monterona is quick to add “Well, she is the same person who promised not to seek for reelection but she ran anyway for a second presidential term, an exemption on president’s term limit as prescribed by the Constitution, right after completing the term she inherited from ousted president Joseph Estrada.”
Monterona, however, admitted that CGMA is still allowed by the Constitution to run for reelection as representative of Pampanga. “Everyone knows that she ran and will run again not for genuine public service but primarily for political survival and use her position as shield versus the filed cases against her.”
Aside from CGMA, three other Arroyos are current members of the House of Representatives namely Diosdado ‘Dato’ Arroyo of 1st district Camarines Sur, Ma. Lourder Arroyo of Ang Kasanga Partylist, and Ang Galing Partylist representative Juan Miguel ‘Mikey’ Arroyo.
Representative Ignacio ‘Iggy’ Arroyo, CGMA’s brother in-law, of the 5th District of Negros Occidental, died early this year.
“The Arroyos are part of the prominent political dynasties in the country,” Monterona noted.
Monterona said the issue on political dynasty is one of the reform agenda in the political front Pres. Aquino III has never given much attention, if not forgotten at all.
“PNoy is not even supporting the passage of bills in Congress dismantling political dynasties. We don’t know if his administration has any initiative to dismantle or discourage the rise of political dynasties in the country,” Monterona averred.
‘Even Pres. Aquino III is from a prominent political dynasty like the Arroyos. Will he seriously push the dismantling of political dynasties in the country as part of his political reform agenda?” Monterona ended. # # #
Reference:
John Leonard Monterona, regional coordinator
Migrante-Middle East
Mobile Nos. 00974 33 20 5565 / 0063 923 420 0112
Are we to believe that these people that are now in the politics are doing it because they care about the country and the Filipino people? Politics in our country is a business, a very lucrative business. In the Philippines, investing in politics is a lot more profitable than investing in the stock market. Unlike the US, where a potential candidate can receive sometimes millions from his or her supporters will not need much of his own funds to run for politics. In our country however is a different story. You want to be in the business of politics, you have to spend your own money, lots of it if you really want to win. And if you do win, it’s almost a guarantee that your investment will probably quadruple before your first term is even over. That is the nature of politics in our country. Political dynasty in my opinion will never go away, it’s been a part of our culture and it’s in everyone’s psyche. It’s like having your entire body tattooed and a few weeks later decide to have it all removed. It’s not going to be without pain, so it’s going to be either bayaan mo na or bahala na.
Katotong Noah,
You’re right: Politics is a business in the Motherland.
And PeeNoy, of course, wouldn’t push for the “dismantling of political dynasties.” It’s a lucrative business for the Aquinos, as well as for the Marcoses and for the Arroyos and for the Binays of Makati, and for etcetera, etcetera families.
I heard from the grapevine that Kris Aquino is being groomed now to be the next president of PI. Knowing the Penoy mentalitty of Pinoys, she will win! With an Aquino last name … at ARTISTA pa, surely, she will win! I betcha.
Palubog na ng palubog ang Pinas. So sad for the Motherland.
Pareng Jesse, sa mga gurang na katulad natin, magpasalamat na lang tayo at tayo ay nakaranas ng mabuting kinabukasan sa bansa ni Uncle Sam. My family owes him a lot even though my father invested almost his entire life at his service, first in the military then as a civil service employee. I pretty much followed his footsteps and have no regrets whatsoever. Of course thousands of our kababayans did almost the same thing and almost all of them had prospered in this land of milk and honey. Yup, our homeland for all its glory, may never come out of this state. Our country’s population is growing by leaps and bounds and there seems to be no way of slowing it down, hungry people all over the place, poverty, destruction of our country’s eco-system and now we have to worry about another invasion from another country. Yes, Pareng Jesse, I think our country’s goose is cooked.
Katotong Noah,
And that “cooked goose” will soon be feasted on by the Chinese, courtesy of PeeNoy. And our poor kababayans will be right there under that feasting table, waiting for falling crumbs, and fighting to death over it.
Yes, we are so darn lucky and blessed that we were able to come here to America, the land of plenty and opportunity. It’s no wonder that the line in front of the US Embassy in Manila, pahaba ng pahaba.
It’s so sad what the Motherland has become.