So why Gibo?

**_Qwerty_** · March 2nd, 2010 11:26 AM

from The Vote 2010 : Philstar

MANILA, Philippines -To help voters make an informed choice in May, The Philippine STAR has started a series of interviews, in no particular order, with candidates for president.
Meetings are hosted by The STAR in the newspaper’s office, with the editorial staff asking the candidates questions on a wide range of issues.
The answers, recorded on tape and in video, portions of which can be viewed online in philstar.com, can later be used as references for campaign promises met or unfulfilled, goals achieved or changed.
The resulting write-ups will include personal information about the candidates, including declared assets and liabilities, as well as family, friendship and business ties that could affect policy making in the next administration.
A condensed version of all the write-ups will be put together and published on the eve of Election Day, for the guidance of voters.

Gilberto Eduardo Cojuangco Teodoro Jr.
Lakas-Kampi-CMD

Campaign slogan: Galing at Talino
Born June 14, 1964 in Manila; only child
Married to former model and Tarlac Rep. Monica Prieto Teodoro; son Jaime Gilberto, 11 years old
Elementary: Xavier School
High school: Xavier School
College: De La Salle University, BS Commerce (major in Financial Institutions), 1984; University of the Philippines College of Law, bar topnotcher in 1989; Harvard Law School, Master of Laws, 1997
Father: Gilberto Teodoro Sr. (deceased), former Social Security System administrator
Mother: Mercedes Cojuangco Teodoro, ex-Tarlac representative

Blood pressure:
130 / 100 (start of session)
125/95 (end of session, with medication)

Medications/vitamins.
Norvasc (hypertension medicine) and blood sugar medicine, plus one multivitamin a day.

Surgeries.
Minor, for removal of cysts.

Ever consulted a psychiatrist?
No.

Do you smoke?
Stopped August 2008. Used to consume two packs a day.

Children with other women?
None.

Advisers:
Economy: Joey Salceda, Chavit Singson, Peter Favila
Foreign affairs: I have some experience and constitutional knowledge on that.
Security/peace and order:I have a clear idea where we are headed.
Politics:Partymates.
Media: Mike Toledo and some others.
Health: Esperanza Cabral, Francisco Duque.
Education: Jesli Lapus is one of them.
Environment: Tony Oposa.
Fashion:Several, Nikki is one of them, also George Salud and Inaki Garcia.

Who’s running your campaign?
Basically it’s a whole team.

Undergone botox?
No botox. I just outgrew pimples.

How will you repay campaign donors/recoup personal funds.
My personal investment is small. I don’t want to accept personal donations. Must pass through party finance committee.

Role of first lady.
Up to her, something to do with child welfare.

Role of vice president.
He’s really strong on grassroots issues. I will also use him to monitor infrastructure projects.

Will any of your relatives serve as your confidential staff?
No, I didn’t (even) do that in the DND.

Do you watch pirated DVDs?
No.

Economy/trade/finance

How will you increase FDI and local investments.

Have long-term plans. Have peace and order. Clear, stable, easy to follow policies. Reward investor-friendly local governments.

What country is your model for economic development?
None. The Philippines is unique.

Lower power costs, improve energy security.
Firms be allowed to import generation units tax-free. Wave penalties on firms with own generation units. Discover alternative resources. Look into nuclear energy, but not BNPP.

Alternative energy policy.
In the long run, it can be pursued.

Infrastructure priorities and how to fund them.
Communications, all-weather roads in growth regions. More air and sea ports. All through BOT.

New taxes? Other priority tax policies.
Possibly excise, specific and consumption taxes, but not income and corporate taxes.

Economic sectors for priority development.
Agriculture. Post-harvest facilities as a complement to agrarian reform.

Are we ready for free trade?
We have no choice.

Sectors to be protected/subsidized?
Agriculture. Marine resources. Mineral resources.

Sectors to be liberalized.
Tourism. Education. Services like lawyering.

Should foreigners be allowed to own land?
Certain residential, some tourism, industrial, commercial land, but leave areas for low-cost housing. Definitely not agricultural, mineral and marine resources.

OFW deployment – problem or benefit?
It’s a reality. We should protect workers through country-specific pre-departure screening. Design attractive savings vehicles for OFWs.

Lack of skilled workers here due to brain drain.
Due to lack of long-term investment plans.

How will you expand the middle class?
Quality jobs and more services.

How do you make the benefits of growth trickle down to the grassroots?
Sustainability of growth.

Mining and exploitation of natural resources.
No open pit mining. Clear benefits to the community. The local community must agree.

Manufacturing and exports.
Make us an investment destination. Reduce cost of doing business. Improve communications and transportation facilities. High-quality workforce. Ease tax rates. Review tax incentives.

Agricultural production, agribusiness, tourism.
Subsidize farmers, establish post-harvest facilities, easier access to markets, irrigation. Do something about airports. Second runway at NAIA. Ports of entry should cater to cruise ships. Sell ourselves abroad. Peace and order.

Agrarian reform policy
Make beneficiaries agro-entrepreneurs. Go slow on acquisition. Mechanize. Dialog with stakeholders.

How will you improve corporate regulation?
Give as much leeway to corporations as possible as long as they disclose material information.

How will you stop smuggling?
Incentivize customs service.

Support for R&D in key industries.
Allow government employee-inventors to keep ownership of invention and to charge royalties.

Bank secrecy laws and money laundering.
Institutionalize role of AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council) and enforce the law.

**_Qwerty_** · March 2nd, 2010 11:29 AM

continuation....

National security

Peace in Mindanao.
Must be solved under local circumstances, like the local peace and order councils, because each area has distinct customs and traditions.

Policy on communist rebels.
Communism is now legal. They can advocate in many ways, but not with a gun.

AFP capability upgrade/modernization.
When we buy arms and equipment, we must also have additional funding to maintain them.

The revised National Defense Act, and president’s role in approval of promotions in AFP.
Not in favor. There must be minimum basis for promotions.

Fixed term for AFP chief.
No. Give the president the discretion.

Can private armies be dismantled?
Yes.

Will you retain the CVOs?
In certain areas but under the strict supervision of specially trained military unit...not the infantry.

Adopted member of a PMA class? Which one?
Yes. Class of 1976.

Importance of US military aid.
Very important. They grant $40 million annually in aid and we use it for training of troops and maintenance of military equipment.

With which other countries should RP have closer military alliances?
With as many countries as possible.

When the political leadership betrays the public trust, should the military intervene?
It should be discouraged. The military should not intervene in political issues and interpret the situation in their own terms.

Corruption in the PNP/AFP?
Have private watchdogs over the AFP. Notify AFP leadership of any incidence of corruption.

Foreign Affairs

RP’s most important ally.
Three countries are vital to the Philippines – China, Japan and the United States. But also vitally important are the Middle East, the European Union and Australia.

Is China a threat, a challenge, a friend?
View them on a macro level. Economically, they are a big trading partner, a big source of potential tourism and foreign investments. But in security, they have spent a massive amount on unlimited military build up, and they have not made their intentions clear on their foreign security policy.

Foreign trip in the first 100 days.
No travel for the first six months.

Should RP strengthen ties with any particular region?
The European Union. South America. Revitalize the BIMP-EAGA.

RP-US relations under your administration.
Continue to be principled, robust, strong and at arms length. Concept of “shared burdens.”

Philippine claim over Sabah.
Let the Filipino people decide through a plebescite, but with full information.

Stand on the Spratlys issue.
We have a claim to the Spratlys that is now institutionalized in the regime of islands in our baselines law and we will pursue that claim.

Education, culture, arts

Priorities in improving education.
Introduce literacy in preschool in the public sector, including literacy in the mother tongue. We need around P1.5 billion a year for teacher training. Set up special student loan fund under SSS.

Additional years in grade school and high school.
Difficult but there’s no choice. There’s a lot more to learn now, students cannot absorb all that knowledge in 10 years.

Free universal kindergarten.
If you can provide for that, okay.

Importance of English proficiency in national competitiveness.
It’s really important, but literacy also in the mother tongue. English remains the language of science, technology and diplomacy.

How to improve national competitiveness.
Do away with degree consciousness for promotions. One need not have a master’s degree for leadership skills and institutional knowledge.

Role of arts and culture.
We tried to ‘Filipinize’ everything, but we must be proud of our diversity. There’s still a lot of bigotry and prejudice in the country. Culture should be a tool for state building.

Healthcare

Priorities in improving public healthcare.
Universal participative healthcare. Everybody must be protected by some form of healthcare.

Family planning/reproductive health.
Respect moral choice, but government must help support that choice, even providing what is needed for that choice. Family planning preference must be private.

Keeping doctors, nurses and other health professionals home.
Mandatory coverage, so there could be more resources to provide better conditions of employment. Promote medical tourism.

Costs of medicine.
Dialogue with producers and provide incentives for local medical manufacturers.

Judiciary

Should SC powers be limited?
Put back the definition of judicial powers under the previous Constitution. Restore the old powers of the judiciary.

Should GMA appoint the next chief justice.
No. It will also be unfair to the appointee to have that cloud over him.

Will you respect the appointment if she does?
It will entirely depend on the circumstances.

Independence of the judiciary.
Providing the judiciary with more resources by appointing qualified appointees.

Will you invoke executive privilege, and under what circumstances?
Yes, but to the least possible extent.

Corruption

Transparency in government.
Full disclosure of any transaction, except on national security issues.

How will you deal with corruption.
Creating a culture and attitude against corruption in the bureaucracy.

Prosecution of GMA for corruption.
I am not the most credible person to answer that.

Marcos wealth recovery.
That should have been settled a long time ago.

Human rights

Murder of journalists and militants.
Focus on crime prevention and solution.

AFP/PNP respect for human rights.
Remove internal security from the AFP. Sustained deterrence against insurgents.

Is democracy working for RP?
Too early to tell, we’re a young democracy.

Is the Philippine press irresponsible?
Very responsible, but there are problems.

Have you been treated fairly by media?
You win some, you lose some. Would you have it any other way?

Economic rights over civil liberties.
No, pareho (they’re equal).

Environment

How to deal with extreme flooding.
First, relocate informal settlers in vulnerable areas. Second, provide employment opportunities in the sites. Most immediate is construct a Parañaque spillway to drain Laguna de Bay. More elevated mass transport systems like the LRT or MRT in case of evacuation.

Climate change policies.
Implement Clean Air Act. Institute lifestyle changes. Have solid waste management. No open dumpsites.

Logging/agroforestry.
Map the remaining natural forests in the country. Logging ban for natural forests, regeneration of trees in wooded areas.

Water management.
Implement an old law that each barangay should have rain water catchments.

Sports

Priority of sports development.
Of course, because it’s an occasion for national unity and pride.

First-ever Olympic gold under your watch? How?
That’s a quick win solution. Identify one sport, like boxing, and work on it.

Stand on the following:

Charter change.
Yes, if it is transparent.

Cha-cha mode.
Constitutional convention.

VFA/US troops in Mindanao.
We should continue it.

Freedom of Information Act.
Yes.

Right of Reply bill.
There should be some sort of a reply.

Divorce.
That’s already allowed under Muslim laws.

Marriage expiration.
That’s crazy.

Gay rights.
Should be talked about objectively. Sign of maturity of the country.

Death penalty.
I’m not for death penalty.

What can we expect in your first 100 days?
I will try to reach out to my political opponents.

**Autobeat** · March 2nd, 2010 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by 4wrider

Gibo, however, distinguished himself by remaining clean and untainted by the graft and corruption endemic in the government service.

Aside from supporters saying it is so, we really have yet to see if he is indeed not corrupt. In the contrary, if you recall his early campaigning TV ad, disguised as an NDCC infomercial, but was really featuring him, it really seems to be an indicator that gibo is corrupt, or at least tolerates corruption. There is something wrong with gibo's mindset if he really does not see anything wrong with what he did via that early infomercial of his. Imagine a really uncorrupt government official, would he have done something like that? It would have been better gibo just spent NDCC funds on rubber boats than that "NDCC infomercial" which was really gibo's early campaigning TV ad.

Originally Posted by 4wrider

Corruption is not really just in government, even in the private sectors, purchasing personnel and sales agents are usually in cahoot to bribe and get kickbacks from their transactions to the prejudice of their companies. If you've been in business long enough, you'll know that the same people cursing the government as being corrupt do the same thing in their private transactions. Hypocrisy is condemning others for acts you do yourself. The only difference is that in government it is both immoral and illegal in private it mostly immoral and unethical.

Yup, think about the ones getting kickbacks via anomalous transactions, both from the private and government sector, under the current government. Do we expect their kind to be the ones critical and complaining about the current government corruption? Nope. In fact, they are the few ones strongly supporting and campaigning for the administration presidential bet, which will allow them and their families to continue to benefit and live their lavish lifestyles gained from current corrupt practices. You only have to see which candidate corrupt trapos and their family's support for president, to see who they think will allow their corrupt practices to continue or to even increase. Isn't gibo the candidate the likes of Pichay (itanim sa Senado) is supporting?

**Autobeat** · March 2nd, 2010 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by rion

I find it hard to believe Teodoro has spent almost half of Villar's costs. 4 folds or more ata si villiar sa ads tv, radio and posters.

If what I heard was correct, the data shared was for spending for only the 3 months (Nov 09-Jan 2010) before the start of campaign period. So if you include all the ads Villar made as early as April 2009, you can extrapolate Villar to have spent even more than Php1billion. But for gibo, if you include his NDCC infomercial which aired a lot of times as well around July-Sep '09, he actually spent more than just the reported Php400million also.

**mikmik316** · March 3rd, 2010 12:03 AM

Oh my.......

Advisers:
Economy: Joey Salceda, Chavit Singson, Peter Favila

**oliver1013** · March 3rd, 2010 08:22 AM

Haha yan din sana ipo post ko naunahan moko Mik

CHAVIT!!

**4wrider** · March 3rd, 2010 12:45 PM

Originally Posted by Autobeat

Aside from supporters saying it is so, we really have yet to see if he is indeed not corrupt. In the contrary, if you recall his early campaigning TV ad, disguised as an NDCC infomercial, but was really featuring him, it really seems to be an indicator that gibo is corrupt, or at least tolerates corruption. There is something wrong with gibo's mindset if he really does not see anything wrong with what he did via that early infomercial of his. Imagine a really uncorrupt government official, would he have done something like that? It would have been better gibo just spent NDCC funds on rubber boats than that "NDCC infomercial" which was really gibo's early campaigning TV ad.

His refutation as clean is acknowledged not just by his supporters. In fact some in the military even grudgingly consider him as "masyadong maprinsipyo".

As to the NDCC infomercial, you can impute whatever you like. However, your "uncorrupt" standard might be too high and almost impractical. The infomercial did have a legitimate purpose and was part of the government's program to inform. Gibo appearing there might be a cost cutting measure saving talent fees.

To many Gibo should have taken advantage of the free publicity available to him as NDCC chair during Ondoy and Pepeng, he did not. To some this is an indicator of being "uncorrupt".

Originally Posted by Autobeat

Yup, think about the ones getting kickbacks via anomalous transactions, both from the private and government sector, under the current government. Do we expect their kind to be the ones critical and complaining about the current government corruption? Nope. In fact, they are the few ones strongly supporting and campaigning for the administration presidential bet, which will allow them and their families to continue to benefit and live their lavish lifestyles gained from current corrupt practices. You only have to see which candidate corrupt trapos and their family's support for president, to see who they think will allow their corrupt practices to continue or to even increase. Isn't gibo the candidate the likes of Pichay (itanim sa Senado) is supporting?

Corruption has been endemic not just under the current government. Do you think corrupt people will not criticize other corrupt people? There is much truth in the adage that "ang magnanakaw ay galit sa kapwa magnanakaw. A corrupt person really tend to be hypocritical too, which is another form of a depraved and corrupt mind.

As to corrupt trapos, you only need to open your eyes and ears and see that they are all over the place. They all support those who they think will will bring this country out of corruption. Unfortunately, there will be some who will support Noynoy not because he is clean but primarily because they can use the connection to get back to power and make more money. The same is true with some of those supporting Villar, Gordon, Erap, Gibo and even Bro. Eddie. The leader does not make the followers nor the followers the leader especially in a national election. Simply because Pichay supports Gibo does not make Gibo like Pichay. Oh my gulay, masyadong dadami vegan sa pinas the meat industry will collapse.

By the way, what political party which has been around for at least one election does not have trapos among them?