Pampanga’s pride today is no longer Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who, for a growing number of Filipinos, represents everything that is decadent in Philippine politics. It is its newly-elected governor, the priest, Father Eddie T. Panlilio, whose campaign for the governorship against Ms Arroyo’s two well-funded candidates brought out the passionate volunteerism of Pampanga’s young professionals, entrepreneurs, … Read more
In a survey conducted shortly before the May 14 election, 40% of the respondents said they expected the administration to cheat, while 56% said they did not believe the administration would do so. It is clear by now that a climate of pernicious distrust attended and shaped the conduct of the last election. This explains … Read more
In the campaign leading up to tomorrow’s election, political platforms or programs of government – the basic ingredients of a functioning democracy — predictably took a backseat. This sad reality not only mirrors the relative immaturity of the country’s politics, it also explains the lack of coherence in the nation’s governance. As in previous elections, … Read more
Pampanga is Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s bailiwick, the only province in all of Luzon where she actually won in the 2004 presidential election. GMA did not grow up here, nor does she have a good command of the language, but the province regards her as its most illustrious daughter. Her father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal, a … Read more