The fighting spirit of Miriam Defensor Santiago for 2016

A beaming Sen, Miriam Santiago before her supporters at the UP Bahay Alumni,

It was a brief meet-and-greet session with her supporters at the UP Bahay ng Alumni yesterday (26 October 2015). Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago who is running for the presidency of the republic in 2016  spoke no more than five minutes. It was, nevertheless, a vibrant evening: the audience had a spirited repartee with their favorite candidate.

Earlier in the day, we watched the working team set up the audio-video on the senator, and took pictures of the screen images like those on her education. We presumed this would be used to introduce her during the evening program.  

Her images as iskolar ng bayan reminded as that she was in the college of law in the UP Diliman at the same time we were struggling with our subjects in the nearby college of engineering.  These were the years when the studentry started to feel the winds of the coming First Quarter Storm.  We read her editorials in the student weekly Philippine Collegian: she was the first female editor-in-chief of the paper. We saw her as Corps Sponsor of the UP ROTC twice; also as a councilor and then vice-chair of the UP Student Council during that period.

The education of Miriam Defensor Santiago

The other images gave highlights of her outstanding public service: posts she handled in key government agencies.  She was 43 years old when she received the 1988 Ramon Magsaysay Award in recognition of "her bold and moral leadership in cleaning up a graft-ridden government agency [Bureau of Immigration and Deportation]." 

When she arrived, she sat at the middle of the platform with the spotlight on her and the master of ceremonies read her credentials instead of showing the video presentation.

Red was the color of the evening. The red flag, so to speak, was up to stop graft and corruption (walang katapusang pagnanakaw sa ating pera, as she put it).

"Allow me to introduce myself," she said after thanking those who came. "I am the person who is seeking for public office next year."  Because of this, one netizen posted an urgent wish that she should die before six years. "It's up to you," she told the audience, "whether to accommodate the macabre wishes of that person."

Is she healthy for the campaign and the presidency if she wins? She told the audience: "I have passed through the hardest of all the physical trepidations and hardships known to man.  Cancer is not an easy disease to have and still thereafter. I decided after consultation with my panel of doctors from St Luke's hospital that it should be up to me to decide on whether or not I should campaign for president again."

At this point the lively repartee between her and her supporters began:

She said, "My answer is this. Do you want a clean government?"  The shout-out response: "Yes!"

"Do you want a courageous government?"  Audience: "Yes!"

"Do you want a government of, by and for academic excellence?"  Audience: "Yes!"

"If that is the case, do you want me to ..?", which was interrupted by "We want, we want!"

"Alam mo, napansin ko sa Senado, hindi naman pala mahirap na  ipunin ang pera ng gobyerno  Ang problema lang sa atin sa bansa nating ito ay una, ang nagsasalita, iyon din ang magnanakaw. Pangalawa, pag nagsasalita sila, kunwari laban sila sa graft and corruption, maling-mali pa ang Ingles nila. At pangatlo, ninanakaw nila ang pera ng gobyerno para pag nakuha nila lahat ang pera, ibibili nila ulit ng boto ng taong bayan at sa ganung paraan wala ng katapusan ang pagnakaw sa ating pera. This must stop."

Shouts from the audience: "We love you!"

"Kaya subukan at subukan ko pa rin ang lahat ng magagawa ko itong tumatanda na ko."

Voice from the audience: "Kasama mo kami!"

Santiago: "Kasama mo ako? Hindi mo lang alam ang ugali ko!"  Loud cheers from the audience. 

Selfie time of supporters with their idol!

"Basta ako, i-sige ko at i-sige itong ating  laban sa ating bansa. Nag-iskwela  ako sa Amerika, Nag-iskwela ako sa England. Kung saan saan ako nag-iskweal. Hindi ako tatanggap na matatalo ako ng anupang bansa Tayo ang magaling. Filipinos, believe in yourself. Have faith in the Filipino. For, as poetry says, It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul."

She ended her brief speech with: "Come and join me, and thank you very much for becoming the captain of your soul."

Grace Poe declares presidential bid for 2016

"Ako po si Grace Poe. Pilipino. Anak, asawa at ina, at sa tulong ng Mahal na Diyos ay inaalay ko sa inyong lahat ang aking sarili sa mas mataas na paninilbihan bilang inyong Pangulo." [I am Grace Poe. A Filipino. A daughter, wife and mother. And with God’s grace, I offer myself for the country’s highest calling as your President.]

16th September 2015. We dropped by UP Diliman in the mid-afternoon to get a hair-cut at the shopping center. On the way out, we saw people wearing some kind of white 'uniform', which on closer look had slogans in blue declaring support for Grace Poe. I was surprised when told that the senator is going to announce her bid for the presidency in the early evening at the UP Bahay ng Alumni.

Well, I soon found myself looking for a vantage point to record the newsbreaking moment. The program was brief.  As soon as she arrived and after some greetings/handshakes/hugs with supporters within her reach, she joined her mom Susan Roces and the Llamanzares family, a prayer was said, and the national anthem was sung. For introduction, a short video was shown to refresh in the audience's mind of her beginning as a Poe, her return to native land as Filipino once again, and her stint as government servant from the MTRCB to the halls of the Senate.

She spelled out her platform in Filipino, a to-do list of 20 items.She hopes to attain these with "your help", she tells her countrymen listening to her live on radio and television. Before she did that, she recalled that her father FPJ declared his decision to seek the presidency in this same venue, and that she just want to continue what he started "to help the poor, fight oppression, and forge a prosperous and just society."

Her platform in English translation (from the Philippine Daily Inquirer):

"1. In education, we must attend to the needs of our classrooms. We should maximize digital technology for education, and eliminate backlogs. We shall strive to expand our scholarship programs and strengthen the “Study now, pay later” program. We will also help college students find internships and jobs to gain invaluable experience even before they graduate.

"2. We shall work for the flourishing of the agricultural sector. We will heed their longing for land to till. Irrigation is still badly needed in half a million hectares of land. We will push for mechanization. We need an effective program to make fishing, farming and livestock propagation profitable for our farmers and the youth.

"3. We will make infrastructure development our priority, whether in terms of streets, trains, airports, seaports or the internet. I will strive to increase the annual infrastructure budget to 7% of the GDP. The government will support the private sector in formulating an industrialization and IT plan. As more products “Made in the Philippines” flourish, more jobs will be created. This should be done while taking care of our environment.

"4. No one man or group holds a monopoly on “Tuwid na Daan”. President Aquino has done much to curb corruption and I am thankful that it has restored the people’s faith in an honest leader.

"It is only right to continue the fight against corruption. We will hold the corrupt accountable, whether they be friend or foe. This should be the crusade of every Filipino, not just one person or party.

"To strengthen transparency in government, I will push for the passage of the Freedom of Information bill at the soonest possible time.

"5. We have one of the highest tax rates in the world. My aim is to lower these.

People know what their needs are and they have a right to choose how to spend their hard-earned money. But if government lowers taxes, we should reciprocate by paying the right taxes. And this I guarantee: Every peso you pay will be returned to you in fast and quality service.

"6. We need to examine if we are giving our workers and government employees fair wages and benefits. Their work and service will suffer while their own families starve. Every worker needs a decent and legal source of income.

"7. A large percentage of a family’s earnings goes to paying for electricity. We need to find a way to lower power costs. In many parts of Mindanao, brownouts are a frequent occurence. We will ensure sufficient power to fuel a growing economy, especially in Mindanao. We shall see to the development of renewable energy.

"8. We will value our OFWs and take care of them. We will provide them with proper legal support overseas and reduce the fees and red tape that they currently put up with just to have their papers processed.

"9. As a mother, I am deeply troubled by the proliferation of crime and drugs. Like every parent, I cannot rest easy until my children are home safe at night. For me, the elimination of drugs and crime is not just a job. It is my personal crusade. I will make sure the police have the required discipline and skills to immediately deal with crime. Their job is not just to log crimes, but to catch the criminals.

"10. We will pursue peace with all groups. Filipinos should need no longer kill fellow Filipinos. With peace, real progress can touch all corners of the country.

"To our Moro brothers, your culture and heroism were the inspiration for many of my father’s films. After a long and hard history, it is time that you are given equal opportunities and genuine assistance.

"11. We should respect human rights. We will not be blind to the conditions of our vulnerable sectors, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, urban poor, women, youth and children, the LGBT sector and senior citizens. To all senior citizens, you will not be ignored. My own mother has asserted that the older one gets, the more he/she should feel government’s care.

"12. Everyone’s health is important. No family should be driven to bankruptcy by illness or be made to choose between food or medicine for their sick loved ones. Our people should be able to rely on expanded health benefits through Philhealth. I will ensure that each community has a proper hospital, staffed with enough doctors, nurses and midwives, and with all the necessary equipment, medicine and supplies.

"13. The West Philippine Sea is ours. We will protect our right through peaceful means, and according to international law. We will beef up our Coast Guard and armed forces so that we need not be intimidated by other countries.

"14. The traffic situation takes away not just our precious time, it tests our patience. It eats up valuable time that we would otherwise have spent at work or with our loved ones.

"15. We should do the following: We should build more roads and trains not only in Metro Manila but all over the Philippines. We should ensure that our train project is awarded to a contractor with strong capability and track record in long-term maintenance. We should clean our drainage systems. We should provide coats and boots for the people who manage our traffic. We should remove all colorum and illegally parked vehicles. We should implement staggered office hours. No roadwork should be left unfinished. We should immediately fire contractors who don’t stick to the approved timetable.

"16. The internet is just like a highway. It is a conduit for information. It should be fast. Many jobs will become more productive with faster internet connection. Kids will finish their homework faster and we can more easily talk to our loved ones working overseas without any Skype delays. When it comes to the internet, connecting should not take Forever.

"17. Arts, culture and sports deserve the government’s attention. We are recognized internationally as a creative race of visual artists, writers and performers, but we do not value them ourselves. They bring us honor, so we should support them. Our athletes too need our support. We should never give up on our dream to win an Olympic gold medal.

"18. Let us not forget the reality of climate change. This is not just a middle class issue; the poor will be hardest hit by its effects. We should have a separate Emergency Management Department that will focus on national preparedness, climate change and geo-mapping.

"19. Tourism is another sector that needs our attention. A vibrant tourism industry will create new jobs for Filipinos, even those in far-flung areas. Our country is filled with beautiful tourist destinations, but the industry will never fully succeed if we don’t provide sufficient infrastructure and build more airports.

"20. Children are the nation’s treasure. They are our present and future. And yet, they do not stand a chance if they do not receive proper nutrition. Many children continue to starve and waste away. It is time to create a Standard Lunch Program in all public schools."

Who will be her running mate? The rumor mill points to Senator Chiz Escudero. Will he make a similar newsbreaking show pretty soon?