My platform of government is premised on three (3) fundamental philosophies – acronym of LIM: LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE: No leader deserves respect and obedience unless he shows that he himself performs, practices and does the very virtues he preaches or urges his constituents to follow. If elected Senator, I shall demonstrate that the legislator must be upright, dedicated, efficient and productive. Corollarily, I shall not indulge in things that are the opposite of these virtues. INTELLECTUAL HONESTY: The grievous sins of many leaders nowadays are hypocrisy and mental dishonesty. It is worthless to propose and promise reforms or future reliefs to the people if what that leader has in mind is in fact nothing but false promises. As a Senator, I will practice transparency, truthfulness and candor in all that I will do and promise. MASTERFUL GOVERNANCE: There is lack of respect to the law and order; common crimes abound without halt, business malpractices, like pyramiding scams and bogus investment houses, continue to proliferate and the people’s faith in government’s capability to solve the ever increasing problems of our country continue to grow because leaders have not shown their masterful governance to inspire belief, respect and credibility. As a Senator, while I shall endeavor to be magnanimous to all, I shall not hesitate to impose what is right and virtuous for the people as reflected in legislative enactments. For, what good is having laws if after all, they will be more breached than honored? In this sense, I shall work for a continuing legislative monitoring of the activities of the Executive and Judicial Branches through the Oversight Committees in order that appropriate legislations may be made to improve, if not to perfect all systems that will be beneficial to the great majority of the people. With the foregoing three (3) philosophies as bases, the specific of my platform shall be expressed in four (4) areas of concern – the acronym of FRED. FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY: We continue to read from the papers and hear from the radios and other for a complaint that a great majority of our people suffer from hunger. Has the government gone so naïve that FOOD, the basic necessity for human living, cannot be obtained by people? Any legislative measure and agenda must prioritize food production and distribution so that everyone must eat at least three (3) meals a day. Of course, I am not saying that the government must feed everyone for that is next to impossible. What is needed now is for the government to assess the current stock of staple food, preserve them when necessary and refrain from exporting them to other countries if it would mean a great loss and reduction to the affordability of our countrymen in obtaining them. Encourage food production particularly in the agricultural sector and food processor by providing them incentives. Unless the government assists farmers and small entrepreneurs in contributing to the production of food, such indifference will result in great waste of our natural resources and fertile farms. Further, let us contain and put a stop to the continuing destruction of our fertile and arable lands. We see so many subdivisions sprouting left and right from the once-upon-a-time riceland, cornland, fruit orchards or vegetable farms. Why? Because the owners have decided to destroy those lands and converted them to housing and other industrial sites since it is more profitable. It is saddening to note that while other countries in Asia and the Middle East try to convert their lands into agricultural lands since they realize the importance of food production, here in our country, we have done the opposite, it is my ardent wish that if elected Senator, I will immediately propose legislation that will stop the DAR and other agencies from approving land conversion unless it is clear that the land is no longer suitable to any form of agricultural activity. In that sense, food production will be enhanced. But, it will be equally useless to have adequate food if distribution is lacking or ineffective. We see people begging in the streets and those living in squatter areas and those living in the hinterlands and far-flung provinces suffer from hunger because food does not reach them. There must be a law providing for an effective means of distributing the staple foods such as through cooperatives from among the consumers and through a government agency, such as, the National Food Authority and the DSWD. Today, we have the so-called Rolling Stores of GMA. We have it because it’s election time. But once the election fever is over, they will surely die a natural death. Thus, there must be a law which will make food distribution a continuing concern not only during election period but for as long as the government must provide the basic necessity, that is FOOD. REFORMS: Life in this part of the globe is a confluence of bad ways, evil practices and apathy. You see graft and corruption continue unabatedly. You learn of ways and systems that are antiquated. You feel the apathy of those who realize that nothing can be done after all. We must therefore bear in mind that every problem or defective system that we have, reform can be done. The attitude of reformism should always be inculcated in our minds. Reforms breed a dynamic society and responsible leadership. When we see people despair in the streets, in their offices and in the corners if their homes because of frustrations, indignations and tragedies befalling them, they begin to lose hope for they do not see anyone caring and concerned for their plight. Just recently, we had that Super Ferry 14 mishap. One group says it was accident but some say a handiwork of terrorist. Even the Coast Guard and the owners decline to give information to relatives of the missing victims showing their apathy and indifference to the plight of these people. In my case, during the revision proceedings of my electoral protest in the 2001mayoral contest against Atienza, I discovered a lot of election irregularities, palpable as they were, that requires legislative solution. Even the COMELEC, despite the present Omnibus Election Code and other election laws that we have, continue to sit down on the disqualification recommendation of Directors Rafanan and Ladra against Atienza whom they adjudged guilty of election offense for vote-buying and premature campaigning. I have begun to lose patience and faith in the COMELEC because of their pussy-footing. Nonetheless, I continue to believe that with a reformist attitude, one day, such recalcitrance of the COMELEC will be a thing of the past because if elected Senator, I will propose an electoral reform that will ensure that not only the electoral process is reformed but even the attitude of the COMELEC as a body shall be change such that, henceforth, cases shall be disposed of without undue delay and any delay shall warrant the taking of appropriate congressional act on the erring Commissioners. I therefore promise that once elected Senator, I will constitute an office to be known as the Reform Office whereby all despairing, neglected, abandoned and forgotten citizens whose grief had made them lose hope in the government will have a place to go to and where I will be there to listen to their plight in order that I can propose reforms similar to what I have been doing in my radio and TV programs known as “Katapat”! EDUCATION TO DESERVING STUDENTS: The priceless achievement of one is to finish schooling and get a diploma. No amount of financial richness can compensate this fortune – education. There are a number of school buildings that are dilapidated. Yet, classes continue. The deplorable condition of schools in the country is but an indication that we have not given a genuine concern for education but merely paid lip service to it. More deplorable is the lack of schools to cater to the needs of the excess studentry who could no longer be accommodated. Next to food, it is my ardent wish if elected as Senator, I will push for the enactment of laws to: (a) insure that all barangays have primary and secondary schools that are decent, well-maintained, fully-equipped and provided with dedicated school teachers; (b) insure that all municipalities shall provide a quality collegiate education; (c) encourage the setting up of privately owned educational institutions by providing tax reliefs for a certain duration of their operation; and (d) mandate the DECS to have a continuing study and evaluation of the public school teachers’ pay and to provide such data to Congress in order that appropriate legislations may be made to upgrade their salaries. My vision of education for the youth came through when in 1997, as Mayor of Manila, I set up the City College of Manila which provides free education to deserving students to take up collegiate courses. I saw to it that their facilities were maintained. Unfortunately, I learned that the building which used to be the old PNB Building in Escolta had deteriorated and been neglected because of alleged plan of Mr. Atienza to move it somewhere else. As a Senator, the second priority in my legislative agenda is to assess and evaluate the condition and status of all state universities and colleges, including the City College of Manila and the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Manila in order that appropriate legislations for their improvement and development as well as upgrading may be made, when warranted. It is also my wish to provide a continuing free scholarship to all deserving students. We hear of the current program of GMA on a study now pay later scheme. While I find that laudable, I can not understand why it is only done now? Besides, I am worried that as soon as the elections are over, the same might equally perish. It is therefore my fervent wish that if elected, such a scheme shall be made a law and continue to operate whether or not there is an election exercise. DRUG-FREE AND CRIME-FREE SOCIETY: We all read from the dailies and tv news reports of the continuing menace of prohibited drugs in the country and its companion crimes. This, despite the current government efforts to thwart the drug menace and arrest the upsurge of the commission of common crimes. It seems the government is helpless. Not at all. It is my perception that the campaign had not gained substantial headway because of lack of a collective effort from all government sectors and the public in pooling their efforts, talent and resources to once and for all bring about a drug-free and crime-free Philippines. Of course, any effort to solve them will not succeed if the first three specific platforms, the “FRE” I have pointed out above, are not achieved, namely FOOD, REFORMS, and EDUCATION. Addicts in the streets sniff rugby and take on shabu because they have no food to eat; they have no school to go to; and, no one has ever attempted to help them realize their folly and recover from their mischiefs. An ordinary pusher continues to peddle small quantities to squatter patrons and other small time buyers because they want to earn something for their living. We always hear an accused pusher confessing to drug pushing because that is his only means of living. But that is not all. The worst aspect is from the police itself. We hear of instances where it is the police official who is himself the peddler or user. This is ironical. The temptation of a police officer in indulging in shabu peddling is great because, his catch provides him the commodity to sell and the opportunity to milk money from the person form whom he apprehends the shabu. If elected Senator, I shall propose legislations geared to improving the drug-busting efforts of the government. First, in the matter of providing reward. We are told that the informant is entitled to a reward. But has he really gotten any? It is my view that rewards should be discouraged because they make people feel that the government buys information in order for its project to succeed. Is it always necessary to pay someone for what he provides the government? It seems, we no longer have concerned and patriotic citizens because everything is bought with money. For as long as we do not inculcate the virtue of patriotism, no amount of money can solve our problems. Second, why don’t we
involve the private sectors in getting information on drug peddlers?
For sure, of the proper information campaign by the private organizations
or associations desiring to eliminate drug addiction and peddling
is launched by the government, pointing out the evil effects and
results of such activity and stressing the importance of eliminating
drug menace, more and more responsible citizens will cone forward
and contribute their share in bringing about the arrest of such
menace. If elected, I propose the creation of an Office to be manned
by private citizens, with all the appurtenant benefits, to handle
programs to educate the public on drug menace, to encourage informants
to provide information on possible pushers and users and to establish
a system of scholarship to deserving students, be he an informant
or not, instead or rewarding him with cash. Fourth, stress on the serious implications of a
police officer being involved in peddling or using must be given
widespread publicity. And any police official who is suspected of
being involved and against whom a prima facie case is established
must be immediately relieved and incarcerated. No amount of leniency
must be extended to any unscrupulous police officer charged with
peddling or using prohibited drugs.
Mr. JUAN V. SARMIENTO, Jr. Editor “Talk of the Town” Inquirer
1. Charter Change and shift from parliamentary form of government If there is any charter change, it should be through a constitutional convention, not a constituent assembly. But, we must retain the presidential form as it suits our culture and tradition. Besides, it is not the form that counts most but the men running the government. 2. Pork Barrel I am not in favor of the pork barrel and will work for its abolition once elected as a senator. If it is not repealed for one reason or another, I will devote it for educational purposes, such as, establishing a national scholarship program for deserving poor students who cannot afford to enter college. 3. Repeal of law allowing automatic debt appropriation Yes, I am in favor of repealing such law because m the House and the Senate must always monitor the movement of our national debt which gets a big chunk of our yearly budget, leaving the vital and more important items without allocation to the detriment of public welfare. We should pay only what we can afford, not what we should merely to appease our foreign creditors.
Since we have already demonstrated our unity in war against terrorism, that suffices. So, we should pull out our contingent forces from Iraq and employ then for domestic security. Maintaining military forces in a foreign soil only adds unnecessary cost to our ballooning defense budget. 5. Legislated minimum wages Let us retain the regional level of fixing the floor wages of our workingmen since different regions have their particular and peculiar financial and labor standards and environment, such that, what serves as a minimum wage for a particular region might be too much or too low for another region, and vice versa. 6. Death penalty There are many crimes where I believe the penalty should not be death, such as, political crimes. But, I still favor retaining the penalty for the crimes of murder, robbery with homicide, brigandage, kidnapping, rape and large scale swindling and drugs. 7. Erap pardon Although this is the prerogative of the Chief Executive, I personally believe that Ex-Pres. Estrada is entitled to a presidential pardon. After all, he has suffered much from detention and deprivation of his liberty. 8. People power as a tool for political change I salute our people for regaining freedom through people power at EDSA 1 but I do not subscribe to its further use since there are mechanisms in our democratic form of government where political changes can be achieved without using people power, although the Constitution recognizes the same. Otherwise, if people power is to be used everytime we need changes, there will be no political stability and economic progress. 9. Legalization of Jueteng Any form of gambling is vicious and erodes the moral fiber of every individual. I do no favor legalizing jueteng since that will lead to further moral degeneration and impoverishment of the poor since jueteng caters to the poor but enriches gambling lords. 10. Population / family planning Because of the mercurial rise in our population, its growth must be controlled. However, I am not in favor of artificial birth control since it is against our moral and religious orientation. What the government should do is to continuously educate parents on the healthy effects of family planning and provide them incentives to attract them in doing so. 11. Legalization of divorce As a Catholic country and as what our Constitution declares, the family as a foundation of the nation must be preserved. Certainly, divorce will destroy the family’s solidarity and eventually lead to untold economic and social problems to family members. Efforts must be exerted by the State in further strengthening family ties, tradition and culture in order that our moral foundation shall become firm as a rock. 12. Abortion I do not believe in abortion. It must and should continuously be treated as a crime under our penal code. No one has the right to snuff out the life of an innocent just because he or she is unwanted by the mother. 13. Legalization of Prostitution Definitely, I am not in favor of legalizing it because it debases the dignity of women. The fundamental law guarantees decent, safe and healthful working conditions for working women. Prostitution, for sure, is outlawed under our charter. 14. Gay rights Humans as they are, gays have rights to be enjoyed as what normal beings possess. However, we should inculcate into the minds of the children and adolescents the benefits of healthy and normal living and discourage them from indulging in gay activities or becoming one. 15. Lifting of 40% equity limit on public utilities for foreigners We must retain the 60% Filipino ownership on all public utilities as mandate in the Charter since further reducing it will dilute Filipino control on them and open the operation and management of our public utilities to foreign domination or control thus detrimental to public interest since that will give them the license to dictate the cost and charges that they may impose on the consuming public. 16. Land ownership by foreigners We must continue to preserve exclusive ownership of our lands to Filipinos because, our history accounts for our staunch opposition to foreign control on our soil and any form of abdication will betray what our forefathers and gallant heroes fought for. I dread the day when aliens live in palatial homes but Filipinos wallow shanties and shacks. 17. Media ownership by foreigners Let us retain and preserve 100% ownership and management of mass media to Filipino citizens or corporations fully owned by Filipinos as mandated in our Constitution because, any attempt to cede even a miniscule aspect of it to foreign control will invite and encourage foreign intrusion into our political, social and economic life to the detriment of the Filipinos. Manila, April 5, 2004
BY THE WAY By Max V. Soliven January 4, 2004
This demonstrates that you just cannot get rid of those dreadful TRAPOS who want to grab another chance to gorge themselves at the feeding trough. Then there are the wannabes who hope to slide themselves through the door of the Senate by having FPJ kick the door ajar. A shining light in that roster is, needless to say, former Mayor, former NBI Director, and former Presidential candidate Fred Lim. Every party wanted Fred, but he chose to run with FPJ. The President’s Lakas party kept on announcing that Fred Lim would be on their Senate slate, but Fred never planned to join the ruling party. (Why should he? The President rejected him when he was proposed to head the National Bureau of Investigation anew, and later rejected him again when it had already been announced that Lim would lead the government’s Anti-Drugs Task Force.) Presidential Candidate Raul Roco’s Aksyon Demokratiko asked him to be on the “HOPE” coalition’s Senatorial ticket, but Lim replied that “you already have Gen. Romy Maganto”. Aside form his two-fisted, “Dirty Harry” record as a lawman – the kind of “protector” people seek in these desperate and dangerous times – Fred’s clean image was needed by the contending factions to give their pangkat a “crusading” aspect. Moreover, Lim has been within the top six of all the surveys of recent months. He told his writer two weeks ago that he preferred to run on the FPJ slate. This was confirmed last Friday when he went with Poe and Loren to register at the Comelec. Scanning the faces of the Senatorial hopefuls on the different party line-ups, there are, alas, very few fresh faces. If the current crop is “elected”, then there may be no need to abolish Senate. The Senate will simply self-destruct.
DIRTY HARRY OF MANILA RIDES AGAIN. THIS TIME TO FIGHT SEDUCERS OF THE YOUNG AND HOODLUMS OF THE MIND. By Mayor Alfredo S. Lim The Ad “Naka tikim ka na ba ng quinse años?” is a derogatory statement that offends decency and good customs and is considered a crime against public morals. The crime committed is punished as Grave Scandal under Article 200 and as an Immoral and Obscene Doctrine under Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code. The publication will serve no other purpose but to satisfy the market for lust or pornography. The word obscene means something offensive to chastity, decency or good taste. It has the tendency to corrupt and influence those whose minds are open to immoral influences. The seduction of a Virgin Fifteen (15) years of age is what is being conveyed in the ad-item. The law must not shut its eyes to what all the rest of the world can see and let the seducers of the mind disguise his language and wrap up his meanings in ambiguous lascivious terms. In this jurisdiction malice in law is presumed, and I find the ad-item an instrument in the continued perpetration of the crime. We must put an end to the cadavers or corpus delicti of the crime. I have put my life on the line against drug lords, gambling lords and vice lords. I will put again my life against seducers of the young and hoodlums of the mind. This journey of a thousand miles began fifty (50) years ago and there is no turning back. So today I will climb fifty (50) feet of steel to bring down the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah and may I ask those who love their mothers and sisters to do the same. What I am doing is an act of self defense against a continuing crime. We have been provoked and there is a presence of a continuing unlawful aggression against the virtue and dignity of our young women. The spray painting in red of the ad-item is a reasonable means of preventing or repelling aggression. PRESS RELEASE: March 25, 2004 – RMG, RGC & RLB
NAPOLEON BRANDY AD WHICH READS: “NAKATIKIM KA NA BA NG KINSE ANYOS” IS INDECENT, IMMORAL AND CONTRARY TO PUBLIC POLICY; THUS. SHOULD BE SUMMARILY ABATED AND DESTROYED BY WELL-MEANING CITIZENS
It is the declared policy of Republic Act No. 7610 otherwise known as the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act” for “the State (to) provide special protection to children from all forms of abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation and discrimination and other conditions prejudicial to their development”. Sec. 3 of the law defines “child abuse” among others as “2) Any act by deeds or words which debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic work and dignity of a child as a human being.” Child abuse of this nature is punishable by imprisonment of up to two (2) years. The ad promotes the prostitutions of children and abets adults to indulge in sex with children. The ad “nakatikim ka na ba ng kinse anyos” encourages unscrupulous men to try sexual congress with a child 15 years of age. No other interpretation is possible. The claim of Napoleon Brandy owners that it refers to the age of their product is hogwash and a brazen attempt to justify a continuing display of the ad that insults and indignifies children. It is obscene, prurient, revolting and grossly immoral and must therefore be slain at sight. No less that the Ad Board (self-regulating board on Advertisements) and the PANA (association of advertisers) condemned in no uncertain terms the offensive and obscene message that the ad sought and is seeking to convey or impart that they had urged for the withdrawal and removal of said ads from public view as may be read in the Inquirer and Philippine Star issues recently. Senatorial bet Lim asserts that despite the numerous public protest and objection to the continued exhibition and display of the ad, the owners of Napoleon Brandy continue and are even emboldened in defying public outcry for such indecent ad that constitutes an affront and destruction of the dignity of children which is detrimental and prejudicial to their development thus compelling him to tale immediate action lest further harm and injury is caused the innocent children and the public. The ad is a public nuisance per se as defined in Art. 694 of the Civil Code since it “shocks, defies or disregards decency or morality” such that, Art. 699 of the same Code empowers one to abate it without judicial proceedings. Furthermore, the act of Senatorial be Lim is considered justified under the penal code, hence, not constituting a crime as erroneously claimed by Napoleon Brandy and its lawyers because, under Art. 11 of the penal code, one does not incur a criminal liability when he acts in defense of the person or rights of a stranger. Certainly, defense of the honor and right of minor children under Republic Act No. 7610 is most salutary. He also points out that if there is such a “citizen’s arrest” under the Rules of the Court which empowers even ordinary citizens to arrest another caught in the commission of a crime, there is also such right to stop the further commission of the crime, such as the continuing display of the immoral ad of Napoleon Brandy.
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