yes, you are riight A. i know that there is some good and bad in communism or in any other systems for that matter. in many cases, it is how these "isms" are practiced by its followers  that will make it/them looked bad. i am just frustrated of the long war waged by the NPA. i am sure that war is ongoing and it has not delivered as yet any good results. on the contrary their fight has caused so much sufferings to the filipinos. so many lives lost, sluggish economic progress just to name a few of the bad things communism has brought to our country. i can't blame some of our brothers and sisters who have taken to its (communism) cause due to reasons of which some are very obvious to us. corrupt practices and abuse by government officials, poverty are just some reasons why some of our brothers and sisters are pulled to the "left". as far as the next election goes, i am not sure if it can bring some improvement to the lives of the filipinos.

the kind of democracy we have nowadays even in the USA and especially in the Philippines is so much influenced by money. whoever got the most money during elections have more chances of winning. and i'm sure this May election is not an exception.

i am a bit surprised by a low traffic on this thread. election is just around the corner and yet not so much discussion is going on here. i guess it is the opposite what is happening on the streets. i am sure the campaign is heating up more and more as the day of election is coming closer. i even read every now and then, election related killings, evidence of how others are taking the election so seriously. and of course, this shows how immature many of our people in dealing with their political opponents.

in this forum i would like to express my support to presidential candidate Gordon. although i know little of him, hearing of his track record, i think he can make a good president. i also like Brother Eddie. in the past elections, movie stars had been elected in public office and i don't think they have made substantial positive impact in terms of improving the lives of most of the filipinos. we all know that corruption is endemic within the government, giving Brother Eddie a chance to lead our country maybe will help reduce the level of corruption in our society as a whole.

the ongoing issues in the Hacienda Luisita, tell me that Noynoy is not capable of solving a much bigger problem the philippines is facing. Gibo's connection with the current government/president, i think will inhibit him to function effectively as president.

Roaming around Butuan City is really disappointing, because of the sight of campaign paraphernalia on walls, bridges, buildings, vehicles and... yes, everywhere!!! Without any exaggeration, the city seemingly becomes a "common" poster area and the Comelec is playing blind about this.

The PNP still could not implement Oplan Baklas due to Comelec's non issuance of a directive, but last week PCS Lino Calingasan issued a memo directing the city/provincial police directors to coordinate with the Comelec to obtain information of the designated common poster areas in their respective AOR and coordinate with NGO's, students and the media for the Oplan Baklas before May 26


At Ong Yiu Elementary School

we can compare the position of a president to that of a ship's captain. the captain has the most important job on a ship. being the ship''s captain, he or she is responsible of the entire ship, including crew, passengers and cargo. an inexperienced and incompetent captain can be the source of trouble for the entire ship thus putting the lives of everyone and the safety of the cargo and the ship itself at risk. the true captain therefore must possess all the necessary qualifications in order to do his job properly.

the philippines is currently sailing in treacherous waters and in unfavorable conditions. some of these unfavorable conditions are caused by outside forces which are beyond its control but other conditions are caused by the people themselves running the ship (government) and to some degree, the passengers (the public). the ship's captain has the major task of selecting a qualified crew to assist him in sailing and keeping the ship in good order and everything in it. therefore, without bias or favoritism,  the captain must select its crew based only on merit and qualifications.

for a person to be made captain, he/she must possess the qualifications earned by hard work (school studies) and practical experience. this is also true for a president of a nation. the president or any wannabie must have the proven track record of his/her ability to run an organization successfully and most of all he or she must be HONEST and a leader by example. he or she can talk the talk and walk the walk.

Representative, 1st District (Butuan City & Las Nieves, Agusan del Norte)


Mayoralty Candidates


for Vice Mayor


Candidates for Councilors (elect 10)

The Jijil that I Know

I was born and raised in Butuan – in that part of the city where close to everything was within walking distance – the church, the school, the police and fire stations and the fruit stand across the plaza. As a child, I walked to school every day and felt like I knew every branch of every tree that lined the street. I knew every fruit vendor, every manang who sold candles and flowers in front of the church, every manong who made tambay at the plaza. And they knew me.

The city was small (still is) but it never felt like confined space – for the young people I grew up with had big dreams and limitless imagination. And the city that raised us – nurtured us in its warm embrace yet gave us the space to spread our wings and soar.

Living in Butuan, and being a Butuanon, you grow up feeling like you belong to a village, a community, a family of like minded, caring individuals who know you, your family, and your family’s roots. That’s the Butuan that raised me and many of my generation.

That’s also the same Butuan that raised and nurtured Jijil Azura-Jimenez. I knew him as a child for he is the older brother of my dear friend and classmate, Renzi, thus I grew up calling him Manong Jijil.

He was only a year ahead of me in school and so our paths often crossed. Even in grade school and high school he was already a leader among our schoolmates and was often looked upon to head our student government. He had lofty dreams and often spoke of these – in words so long that we had to scramble for the dictionary to get their meanings. And so we used to kid him – simplify please, Manong Jijil - and he would patiently do so. And when we did get the meaning of his words, more often than not, we ended up believing in him all the more and joining him in his stand.

He was also a boy scout, another interest that brought us together for my family is a family of scouts. As scouts, we were taught to love our environment, to be - mapagkakatiwalaan, matapat, matulungin, matapang, and most of all to be laging handa. These traits we imbibed as young scouts and were taught to us in words and in practice by our scoutmasters. These are the same traits that you can see in the Jijil of today.

He has worked hard all his life for the causes that he believes in and has remained true and loyal – as much to his ideals as he has been to his friends. He has remained humble in spite of all the honors that he has attained and has always been prepared to face the challenges that confront him – even going to the extent of braving the deserts of Iraq for 8 long months to negotiate and win back the freedom of a fellow Filipino, Roberto Tarongoy of Davao, who had been kept hostage by Iraqi militants.

Even as we moved to the University of the Philippines for our college education, he carried these traits with him. When he became a councilor of the University Student Council, the Butuanons in UP (forty+ strong at that time) rejoiced in his victory. When he ran for the USC chairmanship, in true Butuanon spirit, each of those 40+ closed ranks, rallied behind him and together, we carried our Butuanon hearts on our sleeves for the entire campaign period. And when he won – we took great pride in having a Butuanon sit as USC Chairman and UP Student Regent.

And he did not fail us. Jijil’s term as USC Chairman (1991-1992) coincided with the end of the RP-US Military Bases Agreement. Under his leadership, the University Student Council led the nationwide student action to pressure the Senate to vote not to renew the Treaty, which paved the way for the dismantling of the US Bases in the Philippines.

Closer to home, he also successfully pushed for Butuan City to be made into an UPCAT testing center so students won’t have to travel far just to take the UPCAT exams. As Student Regent, Jijil also supported the establishment of a UP in Mindanao which became a reality in 1995 and is now a flourishing campus located in Davao City.

As a lawyer, labor attaché and later Deputy OWWA Administrator, he continued to take an interest in workers’ welfare and pitched in his support for OFW causes and environmental issues that affected (and continue to affect) our country, and especially our city and province.

As an old friend, I have seen Jijil in various lights – as our Manong Jijil, a fellow scout, a schoolmate in Urios and UP, as a student leader on campus, as a young lawyer and labor attaché, as a young man falling in love with a fellow lawyer and talking about the thrills and fears of deep love and commitment, as a groom (a bit dazed by the hundreds of guests who came to his wedding), as a father looking out for his kids frolicking in a playground, and as a son who is protective of his elderly parents.

Jijil is once more seeking to represent the district of Butuan City and Las Nieves in Congress and I am hopeful that this time, the Butuanons and the people of Las Nieves will choose the right person who can best represent their interests in Congress. This man certainly can do that, and more.

This lawyer knows his law and has a heart that beats for the city that raised him.

This man is a champion debater who can put forth the interests of Butuan City and Las Nieves in the hallowed halls of Congress, and win.

This man has the experience and the global network to put Butuan City and Las Nieves in the radar screen of potential investors and policymakers.

This man carries with him the values imbibed from his Urian education and the scouting movement.

This man was raised by the City of Butuan and is Butuanon through and through.

All these make him the most suitable person for the job.


~ Myle Macalam
188 Silongan Street
Butuan City

I found this video on youtube only today. Although it had been posted a year ago and some of the faces included in the clip are not in the presidential race, its message remains important as ever.

Our vote is very precious. We should not exchange it with just a few hundred dollars. We should tick the names of the right candidates in our ballots come this May elections. Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZCMn3USk6w

most filipinos are just  living on hope -  living on hope that the next election will bring some improvements in their lives.  many elections have passed, most filipinos have had only experienced disappointments. most filipinos are pulled more and more deeper into poverty. if bisdak is correct, it doesn’t really surprise me how this billion of pesos will be used to win votes especially by those in power.

i guess it will take many generations to remove the culture of corruption and nepotism deep-rooted in our society as a whole.  by nature, man has a number of defects. one is, he/she has the propensity to cheat. it will be too naïve on my part to believe that corruption can totally be eradicated especially in the public sector. but the level of corruption existing in all levels of government in the philippines is very high. this is the reason why the Philippines as a country is not moving forward. in fact, it is moving backwards – on reverse gear.

the promise by Gordon (if elected) to increase the salaries of teachers is a good investment to keep the culture of corruption in our society in check. the teachers have a very important role to play in molding the minds of our young. currently our teachers are paid peanuts and many have opted to work overseas to work as maids. those who are left behind are struggling to survive with their meager salaries. i know a friend of mine who works as a teacher at BCES who sells snacks to her students to supplement her income and she and her family are living in a house standing on squatted land. i would also think the same with one of my siblings who also is a teacher. she is the only one in my family who has a degree. i know she is also in a hand-to-mouth existence.

perhaps this may elections is our chance to make a change, a change for the better. a change that can make our country move forward.  to those reading this thread, i humbly beg to you all to please vote wisely. thank you.

recent polls indicate that noynoy is leading the presidential race by a big margin. i am a bit surprised that villar, despite the money he's got, is not on the top spot. there is still a month to go before the day of elections and i think it is just right to think that things can change. just like in chess, either player can make a a surprise and brilliant move that can change the game dramatically. in professional chess however, cheating is impossible to do. in philippine elections, anything can happen and cheating can come in various forms. the new automated system that will be introduced for the first time can be manipulated and we can only guess what the consequences will be if this happens. there is no man-made system that is fool-proof and this new system is not an exception. we know how viruses can infect computer systems/networks and cause too much damage resulting to loss/corruption of data and ultimately money. i know that there had been mock elections done to test these machines and it seems, the results are satisfactory. we can only hope that when the d-day comes, the machines can deliver what they are expected to do.