I’ve found out that many of my friends and colleagues shortlist their top presidentiables into two. If you happen to view poll results in the net, the "thinking" youth and electorate vote for Gordon and Gibo. If you happen to watch presidential debates and fora, you will come up with the conclusion that both these two are articulate, and gives best answers to difficult questions. Both are witty and brilliant.
Gibo has charisma, he's a ‘Mr. Nice Guy”. He is the only one who never slung mud at his opponents. He uses his platform as his campaigning tool, which is great. But his plans for me looks succulent on the outside, but is sure is untested on the inside. With LAKAS KAMPI-CMD on his side, I believe it is not impossible to make attractive platforms anyway.
His slogan is “Galing at Talino” which implies that he’s the only one with “skill and intelligence” among other candidates. I concur with “talino”. A bar top-notcher, got a master’s degree in Harvard Law School, it proves he is knowledgeable in fields that no ordinary politician will delve into. That’s exactly the reason that made me want to support him at first. Talino, check. Pero ang “galing” ng isang lider, kailangan pang patunayan ‘yan.
I’ve already posted why I chose Dick Gordon (Click here).This entry aims to examine the records and achievements of Gibo Teodoro and hopefully would make you think twice if he deserves your vote.
Let’s look into his achievements for us to assess if he really was a good leader. For three terms, he served in the Congress from 1998 to 2007. I tried to look for his legislations, this is what I found: Granting Provincial Airways Corp. a Franchise Act, Granting Radio Maria Foundation a Franchise Act, Various road conversion laws. As Congressman, he led the move to impeach then Chief Justice Davide which almost led to a constitutional crisis. It is also believed that he was acting in support of his uncle, Danding Cojuangco, who had pending cases with the Supreme Court.
For three-terms what has he accomplished as a congressman of Tarlac province? If the Cojuangcos (yes, I’ve included here my “ever-favorite to diss” Noynoy) actually improved the lives of the people in Tarlac or the Philippines as a whole we would have seen tangible results. But as of right now, I don’t see any improvements. He failed to clean his own backyard. Generations of Cojuangcos have lead the Philippines in one capacity or another, yet nothing has changed in this country. I don’t see pedigree changing the statusquo.
From 2007 to 2009, Gibo was the youngest person to be the Secretary of National Defense. As the Secretary of the DND, he had direct supervision over the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Under this, he also headed the National Disaster Coordinating Council, the lead agency when it comes to disaster management and relief.
Who would forget the gruesome Maguindanao Massacre last year? A massacre done by people who could have been disarmed by the security forces who was then headed by someone named Gibo Teodoro. Yes, you may say that the Mindanao situation is complicated enough that it cannot be sorted with simple black and white policies but he could have ordered the AFP to dismantle all private armies. Gibo did not.
Typhoon Ondoy and others had caught NDCC unprepared, and the general evaluation was that the NDCC just did not know what to do. In fact, the NDCC had abdicated from its role and instead contented itself spewing statistics. The NDCC, with him on the helm, under could have prepared for disasters by investing in necessary rescue assets. Good thing Senator Gordon, and the Red Cross was there to help people in need.
Even if Gibo says that he’s not the one that should be blamed (yes, some are fortuitous events) but given the following duties, he is accountable for negligence of the said duty to protect people’s lives by taking preemptive measure that would prevent massacres and disasters from happening.
Lastly, his statement that he would NOT actively push for the prosecution of his patron, Gloria Arroyo, is in itself a reason why I am not voting for him. Gibo said in HARAPAN: 2010 that he won’t turn his back on GMA but he won’t let her dictate or affect his decision (kuno). Arroyo should be prosecuted for all the crimes that she committed in all those years she spent as president. And for the dismaying part, Gibo has already exonerated her. With Gibo not going after GMA anomalies, we should expect GMA to still be at Gibo’s shadow. I’ve honestly learned a lot from Gibo, I learned na dapat hindi mapasama sa “masamang barkada” (katulad ng LAKAS KAMPI CMD).
Record-wise, Gibo is no match to Senator Dick Gordon. His very sister-in-law would vote not even vote for him. He has to go out from the shadows of Lakas and has to do a lot to prove that he deserves the presidency. He has a lot of potential, he is still young, and he is still “green”. ###
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