The United Opposition is set to meet this August to select their bet for president. This was revealed by Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay. Aside from the plan of naming the president, the party will also name its bet for vice president and their candidates for senators.

The Makati Mayor said that the party has a lot of choices to consider for its president slot. Leading names in the party include the former President Joseph Estrada, Mayor Binay of Makati and Senators Manny Villar, Mar Roxas, Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda. The mayor also added that he can cancel his quest for the presidency and slide down to the number 2 slot if the former president is chosen as the candidate of the opposition. In the opinion of Binay, he and Estrada are the genuine opposition partners who are not fooled by the many baits of the administration. Binay has earlier challenged the president to announce that she will step down on June 30, 2010. The Makati Mayor also issued a statement just before the president delivers her state of the nation address that any attempt of the Arroyo to extend her hold on power should be resisted. On that same statement released hours before the president will face the country for the last SONA, Mayor Binay said that eight years of President Arroyo is enough. And he added that it is clear that Mrs. Arroyo has no plans of retiring from politics. According to Mayor Binay, the president is acting as if she is not on her last few months in the office.

In another development, Representative Mark Cojuangco of the Nationalist People’s Coalition said that the negotiations on the possible coalition with the ruling Lakas-Kampi party have not yet started. He added that his party has no plans of joining forces with another party and he added that the party will also field its own lineup in next year’s presidential elections from president to local positions. And in the opinion of Representative Cojuangco, his party is a winnable party in the 2010 elections. He said that the party is looking at the tandem ‘Escudero-Legarda’ or Legarda Escudero.

When President Arroyo faced the nation for her last state of the nation address, she mentioned that she has accepted the invitation to meet President Barack Obama of the United States. Her acceptance of the invitation means that she will be the first leader of a Southeast Asian nation that will meet the US President. Now based on reports, the latest  development is that at least 28 members of the House of Representatives led by the speaker will join the president in her US trip. The president and her entourage have already left the country bound for Vancouver, Canada and from there the presidential party will take a charter flight to Washington where she is scheduled to meet the US president.

The list of representatives that will be joining the president is an interesting mix. Some of the personalities on the list are in their post for a long period of time, and some of the representatives are just warming up their seats having just sworn in to their seat. For example there is Representative Marcoleta who just took her oath of office Tuesday night. Other members of the party are bringing their wives. The members of the official family that joined the president were Secretary Alberto Romulo, Secretary Arthur Yap, Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Secretary Peter Favila, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde and acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera. It is expected that the focus of the meeting between Filipino and American officials will be on security and terrorism.

Other issues that are expected to crop up in the discussions and meetings include the greater market access for each other’s products, the climate change, Myanmar and other regional security issues. Some of the members of the president’s party will meet with their counterparts as well. For example, Secretary Arthur Yap will meet with US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Secretary Yap will seek US funding for the $120 million facility in the country that will back the International Rice Research Institute and the Philippine Rice Research Institute in their studies on climate-ready seeds. Though there are a number of issues that will be discussed on the table, the president said that terrorism is one important topic that will not be missed. The terrorism in the region has received another look following the blasts in the Indonesian capital this July.

The vice president answered a number of questions related to the advertisements and his plans for next year during the Senate hearing.  One thing that he clarified is the possibility of the president endorsing his candidacy.Vice President Noli De Castro will welcome the endorsement of President Gloria Arroyo even if the endorsement of the president may not necessarily work in his favor. The vice president also reacted on the latest take of surveys on his presidency. He maintained he still popular even though his survey rating is on a slump. Based on the latest Social Weather Stations survey, his ratings plunged from 27 percent in February and 21 percent in May to just 19 percent in June. In the latest survey that was conducted by SWS, Senator Manuel Villar leads the pack with the former president Estrada following as close second.

De Castro added that perhaps one reason for his poor showing is the lack of political plans on his part, and said that this could be the reason for the low marks. And he maintained that he will not reveal his political plans, but has already said that he will no longer run for vice president. When asked to comment on the administration party, the vice president admitted that the Lakas-Kampi-CMD is still the strongest party around. But when asked if he would join the party, he refused to answer it.Aside from his stint as the vice president of the country, De Castro is also the housing czar.

De Castro answered the questions on his possible candidacies and his falling ratings following the Senate hearing on the reported bad housing debt faced now by the National Mortgage Finance Corp. In the opinion of Senator Richard Gordon, the uncollected payments are a testament to the fact that the housing system is ineffective. The vice president said that he attended the Senate hearing thinking that the questions will be related on his Pag-ibig and other television advertisements. De Castro has already defended the advertisements of the Pag ibig Fund saying that the advertisements were successful and these advertisements have encouraged the members to avail of the different services of the agency. He added that he appeared on these advertisements to promote the services and the programs of the agency, and not to use these advertisements as a vehicle for his 2010 presidential campaign.

For those interested in contesting a seat in next year’s elections, the date to watch out for is November 20. This is the start of the filing of the certificates of candidacies. According to Commissioner Rene Sarmiento, the aspirants for party-list representation, the local and the national posts in the 2010 elections should declare under oath that he or she desires to run, and this can be done on November 20 to 30. There is a reason why the poll body scheduled the filing if the certificates of candidacies earlier. According to the poll body, this is to allow the body to design the special paper ballots for the country’s first automated elections. According to plans, the special ballots will contain at least 300 pre-printed names of the local and the national candidates.

The poll body has also set the time frame for the campaign period. The campaign period for the personalities running for president, vice president and party list groups will run from February 9 to May 8, 2010. For aspirants seeking local posts, the poll body has indicated that the campaign period will begin March 26, 2010 and this will end on May 8, 2010. For organizations that want to contest the party list elections, the poll body has said that they will have until August 17, 2009 to file their petitions for registrations.

The poll body has also listed some of the prohibited acts that should not be done on the election period which is from January 10, 2010 to June 9, 2010. According to the Comelec, the alteration of the territory of a precinct or establishment of new precinct is prohibited. Also the bearing, the carrying and the transporting of the firearms and other deadly weapons is prohibited. At this time frame, it is also prohibited to suspend local elective officials. And finally, it is also a prohibited move to transfer officers and employees in the civil service. The comelec also cited a number of restrictions that should be observed right after the filing of the certificates of candidacies. According to the poll body any form of campaigning is not accepted before the campaign period has started, and the appointed officials are also required to resign the moment they file their certificate of candidacies.

President Arroyo is set to deliver her last state of the nation address. This will be her ninth address to the nation, and this one will be delivered amid frustrations and sagging popularity. Classes in all levels have been suspended and national and local officials and of course the critics are all preparing to listen to what the president has to say. The state of the nation of the president today is special. Aside from the fact that this would be her last; she will deliver her address to the nation amid growing discontent and frustrations. Surveys have it that the president’s popularity takes a beating. And there is a growing opposition to the plans of the legislators to amend the constitution.

Every sector in the country will be closely watching the president, and almost everyone has its own take on what the president should say. According to Manila Archbishop Rosales, the president should tell the true state of the nation today when she faces the country. The cardinal said that President Arroyo should tell the truth not only about the accomplishments of her administration, but also her mistakes. He added that she has also done something good for the country and its okay if she mentions some of her mistakes. This same sentiment is also echoed by University of the Philippines professor and Inquirer columnist Randy David. Professor David said that the president should tell the true state of the nation and should stop boasting. David added that she is expected to mention the good news and everything that she has done for the economy. But in his opinion, it is best that she tells the real state of the nation than to speak about her accomplishments. Professor David has earlier indicated that he will challenge the president in case she runs for Pampanga representative. The point of the state of the nation he said is to be able to identify the right measures that should be passed in order to solve the many problems of the people.

According to her office, President Arroyo is expected to deliver a ‘fighting speech’. The president will paint a rosy picture of the performance of the administration. President Arroyo is expected to highlight the eight million jobs that she has created in her term, the $185 billion economy and the 98-percent village electrification project.

As of the latest count, there are around 143,659 overseas voters that registered for the next year’s elections. This data surpassed the total for the last national elections, but still this fall short of the record number that was recorded during the 2004 presidential elections. The latest figures were supplied by Nestor Padalhin, vice president of the Overseas Absentee Voters Secretariat or the OAVS. In the 2-month registration that was conducted before the 2004 elections, the office collected 361,457 registrations. This is not the first time that this government instrumentality is conducting the registration for the overseas workers.

The first time that this program was implemented was on August 1 to September 30, 2003 and this was based on the overseas absentee voting and the law on the dual citizenship. The second OAV registration was conducted from October 31, 2005 until October 31, 2006. Currently, the registration for the 2010 presidential elections is scheduled to run from February 1 to August 31 this year. And based on the initial records that are available, Hong Kong leads the list as it accumulated 14,259 registrants. For the whole Asia-Pacific, the number of registrants is pegged at 39,239. The office is targeting around 200,000 registrants before the August 31 deadline ends. The office is still optimistic that it can reach that number and they are counting at the common attitude of the Filipinos to participate in a program on the 11th hour.

As a whole, the Overseas Absentee Voters Secretariat or the OAVS is targeting at least 1 million registrants in time for the 2010 presidential elections. According to Ambassador Nestor Padalhin, even though the current number hovers around 143,000 plus he still believe that the 1 million mark is still possible. He cited their experience during the first year of the OAV registration wherein they managed to get 300,000 registrants in two months. If the latest count is added to the half a million OAV registrants that voted last elections, the total number of Filipinos that can vote in next year’s presidential elections is pegged at 650,000. The office is expecting to get more registrants from around 90 foreign diplomatic posts as the August 31 deadline looms.

Senator Villar continues to figure prominently on top of many surveys. The latest SWS survey placed the senator on top of potential leaders for the country. Villar got the nod of 33 percent of the respondents, and this was an improvement from the 26 percent that he got from the last SWS survey. The last survey was conducted in February.

This new survey conducted from June 19 to 22 produces some important movements. The former leader in past surveys, Vice President Noli De Castro fell to fourth place. This survey also shows that the former President Joseph Estrada still has a good following as he places second to Villar with 25 percent. This showing by the former president is an improvement from the 13 percent that he netted in the last SWS survey. Other personalities who ranked in the list include Senators Francis Escudero and Manuel Roxas II and they were tied at third with 20 percent of the respondents choosing them. The result by De Castor for this period is his lowest since September 2007. From a high of 27 percent, the approval for the Vice President dropped to 19 percent. The surveying organization said that this is the first time that the name of the Vice President is not the leading answer to the survey question. In the past months, the name of De Castro was always there on top of many surveys of different survey firms.

Another possible candidate that took a beating is Senator Legarda. The share for Legarda is now pegged at 15 percent, down from the 25 percent from the last survey. In this new survey that was conducted by the SWS, no names were offered as choices for the possible leaders that can succeed President Gloria Arroyo. Instead the respondents of the survey were given the liberty to name up to three candidates to their list. The surveying organization said that the survey is non commissioned and this survey makes use of face to face interviews of 1500 adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. Other possible candidates that garnered at least one percent include Senators Lacson and Gordon. The list also includes Mayor Binay of Makati. MMDA chair Bayani Fernando and President Arroyo.

Though Governor Panlilio of Pampanga is raring to go and determined to contest the presidency next year, reports have it that bishops and political personalities aren’t that interested and they only take the candidacy of the governor lightly. Speaker Prospero Nograles is one who thinks that the candidacy of Panlilio is weak. In the opinion of Speaker Nograles, Panlilio is dreaming in thinking that he has a chance of winning the presidency in the next year’s elections. The speaker added that the candidacy of Panlilio posed no threat to the administration’s bet for president. He said that popularity alone will not win the presidency; rather it will also take the backing of the good political machinery. And in the opinion of the Speaker, the political machinery of the administration will catapult the administration candidate to victory for next year’s elections.

He also said that there is no rush in naming the standard bearer of the party since it still four months before the deadline of the filing of the candidacy. The Speaker was commenting on the indecision of Vice President Noli De Castro, on whether or not the Vice President will join the administration party. The speaker said that they are not in the position to issue deadlines to anyone, and they will be there for anyone that will be selected by the administration.

The candidacy of Panlilio also got no support from the bishops. A number of bishops called on the governor to just finish his term as governor and to just return to priesthood. Sorsogon bishop Arturo Bastes who is a former teacher of Panlilio and Archbishop Paciano Aniceto advised the governor to turn his back on politics. Bastes also said that Panlilio will have a hard time competing with the other candidates backed with political machinery. He restated the fact that the governor only has a small chance of becoming a priest again the moment Vatican grants his dispensation from the Church. In the opinion of Bastes, the bid of Panlilio in the last elections is ridiculous and irregular adding that it is the role of a priest to preach the word of God and not to be involved in political activities.

This early, the demand for party-list accreditation is high. And this can be seen at the number of bids and applications received by the Commission on Elections. And in the words of the office, there is a ‘groundswell of petitions’ for accreditations and for the right and opportunity to participate in next year’s elections. And that is currently the problem facing the office right now. There are just too many bids for accreditation, and a great number of these applicants are not suited to be called a legitimate party.  Majority of these parties lack the track record in order to qualify and meet the requirements set forth by the office.

The track record will refer to the profile of the organization or the applicant in pushing for the advocacy of the marginalized sectors of the society. And the problem is that many of these organizations don’t have that track record. Once again, the office receives a number of organizations without regional constituency and offices and in the opinion of Commissioner Sarmiento these organizations have filed their applications hastily. In order to be considered by the poll body, the applying organizations must prove that they have a valid reach around the country. And this is just one of the many set qualifications of the office. It was noted too that some of the applicants carry the same platforms and advocacies, thus raising the issue of redundancy. Commissioner Sarmiento also added that there are some applicants that serve as fronts for Malacañang in order to get pork barrel allotments.

In order to weed out the legitimate from the non-legitimate ones, the poll body will look at the established criteria for the party list organizations. They will look at the track record, constituency and a few more. As of this time, the poll body reported that around 85 groups have filed for application to be included in the ballots for next year’s elections. In the last party list elections, around 90 organizations vied for the congressional seats. The poll body chair Jose Melo said that they will still trim the list since a large number may tire and confuse the voters. The office is accepting applications until August 17, and the approved organizations are given until November 13 to finalize their intent.

Here’s a four part video of Harry Tambuatco’s interview on Tony Abaya about Ronnie Puno, and the trapo and non-trapo presidential contenders of the upcoming 2010 Philippine elections.

Governor Ed Panlilio of Pampanga has hinted in the past that he might seek the presidency. And on Saturday, he finally ended the speculations and he revealed his intent that he want to contest the 2010 presidential elections. His announcement was made at the launching of a new political organization called ‘Kilos Na’, an organization that will support his candidacy.

The plans and the announcement that was made by Panlilio were met with opposition and some concerns coming from his superiors and his fellow priests. A member of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines reminded the governor about the need to rethink his position since the moment he contest the presidency and lost, then he can no longer serve his parish. The reminder for Governor Panlilio came from Tagbilaran Bishop Leonardo Medroso, who is also the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Canon Law chair. The priest added that the moment the Pope granted his wish, then he can no longer return to his vocation. Medroso cited the Canon Law and that the moment he desired to contest the elections, then he should resign as priest before he files his COC. Right now, Panlilio is still on a leave as a priest after he ran successfully in 2007. If Medroso of Tagbilaran offered a reminder to Panlilio, a denouncement came from San Fernando Archbishop Paciano Aniceto. And in the view of Archbishop Oscar Cruz, the parishioners of Panlilio will find it hard to approach him and make a confession the moment Panlilio decides to return to priesthood. And in the opinion of Archbishop Cruz, he cannot be a priest and a politician at the same time. Cruz also ventured into the chances of Panlilio in the national elections, just in case Panlilio officially throws his hat into the ring. Cruz sees that Panlilio will have a hard time in next year’s elections since he doesn’t have the required political machinery plus he doesn’t have the support of the local officials.

In the last elections, Panlilio won even though he did not carry the support of the local officials in the province of Pampanga. He was supported by just one mayor, but still he won the seat by a margin of around 1000 votes. His win in the 2007 elections is still in question though, since there was an order coming from the Comelec to recount the votes cast for governor in 2007 elections. According to reports, Panlilio will file for a motion of reconsideration.

The six major aspirants for the presidency next year signed a covenant yesterday to signify their support for the holding of the 2010 presidential elections. They were former President Joseph Estrada, Senators Richard Gordon, Loren Legarda, Richard Gordon and Governor Ed Panlilio of Pampanga. The six personalities also indicated that they are against the constitutional convention, constituent assembly and any efforts to amend the constitution before the 2010 elections.

The forum and the signing of the covenant were organized by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting or the PPCRV and the National Movement for Free Elections or the Namfrel. The event was held Thursday afternoon in Plaza Miranda. The rain did not stopped the aspirants from participating, and at one point Senator Roxas was applauded when he stepped out of the tent and said in his opening statement that ‘I don’t want you to be the only ones being drenched so I will join you’. The chair of PPCRV and Namfrel, Henrietta de Villa is happy about the outcome and the success of the forum despite the heavy rains. The forum was well attended, and the six major aspirants showed up. She added that the public really wants to know and head what the aspirants have to say on how they will lead the country from 2010 and beyond. The forum was attended by different sectors, from women to migrant workers to students. The forum allowed each member of the sector to ask the aspirants questions, but did not allow the aspirants to throw questions at each other.

Before the forum organized by the PPCRV and Namfel, the four aspirants namely Roxas, Legarda, Escudero and Gordon with MMDA Chair Fernando and Defense Chief Teodoro outlined their plans for peace initiatives in Mindanao. The forum was held at the RCBC Plaza in Makati City, and this was part of the 10th Ramos Peace and Development Foundation forum. The forum was called the ‘Sixth Years Socio-Economic Peace Program. The organizers of the forum invited nine aspirants, but the three did not show up. Senator Lacson has withdrawn from the presidential race, and Senator Villar and Vice President De Castro chose not to attend.

Here is one important news and announcement for those seeking to contest a seat in next year’s elections. The poll body announced that it will only give the interested persons 11 days to file their certificates of candidacies. For those trying to consider the pros and cons of running, this time frame should motivate them to finalize their decisions sooner or later. This piece of news is contained in the Resolution Number 8646, and to be more specific the poll body identified November 20 to November 30 as the dates where interested individuals can file their certificate of candidacies. This is the same time period that will be given for party-list groups to file their intent to participate in the 2010 party list elections.

In the past, the time frame for the filing of the COCs is a bit longer and it was a common practice for many political personalities to file their COCs at the last day of the filing. The shortened time frame is one way to ensure that the practice can at least be lessened, and the adjustment made on the time frame of the filing of the COCs was made in order to give more time for the printing of the ballots needed for the general automated elections next year. It was a common practice then to give national candidates 27 days to file for their COCs and the candidates for local posts are often given 2 months. The long time frame is now a thing of the past, and candidates will have to face the new deadline.

This new ruling that was promulgated July 14 also lists the calendar of activities and also itemizes the prohibitive actions in relation to the coming elections. This includes that rule that once the candidates have filed their COCs, the candidates are expected to follow the restrictions. For example, campaigning is not yet allowed before the official campaign period starts. Another rule is that the appointed officials should resign the moment they file their COCs. The election period will run from January 10 to June 9, and the campaign period for national level starts February 9 and will end May 8, 2010 next year.

There is still no official word on whether Vice President Noli De Castro will join the administration party or not. This is in contrast with the plans of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro who is expected to join the Lakas-Kampi-CMD before the month ends. This information regarding De Castro and Teodoro was relayed by Lakas-Kampi secretary general Gabriel Claudio. The report is posted on Inquirer.net.

Gilbert Teodoro who announced his plan that he will seek the presidency next year will be sworn in as member, according to Claudio. Claudio said that the entry of Teodoro has the support and the blessings of the top leadership of the party. And his entry will formalize his participation in the party’s selection process for the official candidate. De Castro, Teodoro are the major names expected to fight it out for the party’s nomination. Aside from the two, there are other party members that also signified its intent in seeking the party’s nomination. In order to facilitate its selection process, the Lakas-Kampi-CMD has organized a national executive committee and this is headed by the President. The committee is the one that will select the party’s candidates from President down to senators. A short list will be made available at the end of the month. The selection committee will take into account a number of important factors. Some of these factors include the chances of winning, the acceptability to party members, the vision and the program of government, the experience and track record and the performance of the person. The leadership is still deciding though, if an official membership in the party will be made as a factor too in the process.

If there are news reports about major personalities that keen on joining the party, there are also reports about impending transfer of some Lakas-Kampi members to other groups. Some say that the transfer can be expected and as a way to ensure political survival once they are not selected to be part of the official list of candidates. Pangasinan Representative Mark Cojuangco mentioned that there is a group of Lakas-Kampi members that have signified their intent and they will make the decision once the filing of candidacy nears.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, the current field of possible candidates is weak and there is no suitable presidential candidate just yet. This should upset and make some contenders uneasy, but the opinion of the collegial body of bishops may have some impact too in the population. The body also called for a new kind of participation during activities like the elections, and the body wanted the laity to move from passive participants to active participants in the process.

The body is critical of candidates and aspirants that make use of ‘vast amounts of money in order to be elected’. Though the body made this statement, it refrained from naming names. But is now an open secret that there are a number of presidential aspirants and personalities that are engaged in electioneering and engaged in massive advertising sprees that cost fortunes. The new statement coming from the body is a significant shift from the usual stand on political participation. The CBCP is now serious in making its participation count and even challenged the laity to go beyond voter education and the safeguarding of votes. The body wants to go beyond this, and to get into principled partisan politics.

In the past, the body was more interested in guarding the votes, and in educating the voters. This newest pastoral statement can be read as a major shift in the stand and policies of the Church. Though the Church and CBCP will be active in next year’s presidential elections, they still don’t see themselves as a body that will endorse a candidate. What it will do instead is to use its forces and resources in order to safeguard the sanctity of the elections. The statement released by the CBCP also calls on its all parishes and educational institutions to cooperate and to volunteer to work with credible election monitors. The collegial body also made reference on the recent actions of law makers on charter change through constituent assembly. The body is opposed to the charter change through the constituent assembly, and calls ‘as a betrayal of public trust any attempt to change the charter through a constituent assembly’.