Saturday, June 6, 2009

Updated June 06, 2009 12:00 AM
(by Rudy Andal)

MANILA, Philippines - Nagtampo si dating United Opposition (UNO) spokesman Adel Tamano sa naging pahayag ni da­ting Pangulong Estra­da na hindi siya kawalan sa ha­ nay ng oposisyon dahil isa lamang siyang ‘spokesman’.

Sinabi ni Atty. Tamano, kasalukuyang pangulo ng Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) at dating spokesman ng UNO, igina­ galang niya ang naging opinion ni dating Pangulong Erap dahil sa pag-alis niya sa UNO.

Nanumpa kamakailan si Tamano bilang miyembro ng Nacionalista Party (NP) ni Sen. Manuel Villar Jr.

“Medyo masakit marinig na parang balewala ang ginawa ko bilang spokesman ng UNO pero nireres­peto ko ang opinion ni dating Pangulong Erap. Now that I am with the NP, I hope they will appreciate whatever contribution I can make to the party,” paliwa­nag pa ni Tamano.

Naunang sinabi ni Erap na hindi kawalan si Tamano sa oposisyon dahil hindi naman ito opisyal ng UNO tulad nina Sen. Ernesto Ma­ ceda at Makati Mayor Jejo­mar Binay bagkus ay isang ‘spokesman’ lamang ito.

Read from http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=474832&publicationSubCategoryId=92


Friday, June 5, 2009

-- Rommel C. Lontayao, Cris G. Odronia And Francis Earl A. Cueto

Adel Tamano on Thursday resigned as spokesman of the United Opposition (UNO) and joined the Nacionalista Party of Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., one of the leading aspirants for president in the 2010 elections.

Tamano earlier confirmed that he would run for the Senate also in 2010, but in statement released by Villar on Thursday, the former opposition spokesman said, “I’m not entering Nacionalista Party with the expectation that I will be one of its senatorial candidates. If they believe that I have what it takes to be a good candidate, I will let them choose.”

He explained, “My family has deep roots in the Nacionalista Party and part of what I am doing is to honor my late father and continue his work as a Nacionalista.”

Tamano is the eighth son of the late Sen. Mamintal Tamano and civic leader Hadja Putri Zorayda Abbas Tamano. He is also president of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (University of the City of Manila) and the longtime lawyer of the controversial Dr. Vicky Belo, whose lover, Dr. Hayden Kho, is embroiled in a sex-video scandal.

Tamano, who hails from Lanao del Sur, was accompanied by his wife, lawyer Rowena Kapunan, and her parents, former Supreme Court Justice Santiago Kapunan and Angie.

The erstwhile UNO spokesman earned his economics and law degrees from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1992 and 1996, respectively. Then he took up Masters in Public Administration at the University of the Philippines, and later became the first Filipino Muslim to graduate from the Harvard Law School.

Villar for president

“I can speak for myself as Adel Tamano now. I am no longer a spokesman for somebody,” said the 38-year-old lawyer, who now backs Villar’s presidential bid.

He added that Villar has a big chance in being elected as the country’s next leader next year.

“Our biggest problem in the country is poverty, and it will take someone who has really experienced poverty to redeem us out of it. That is why I choose him,” Tamano said in the statement released by Villar’s camp.

The Nacionalista Party, founded in 1907, has produced six presidents—Manuel Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, Ramon Magsaysay, Jose Laurel, Carlos Garcia and Ferdinand Marcos.

Opposition’s reactions

Tamano also said he had informed the opposition leaders – former President Joseph Estrada and UNO President and Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay—of his decision to resign and join Villar’s party. And they reportedly accepted Tamano’s resignation.

Binay congratulated Tamano also on Thursday, saying their parting was cordial. “I just wish him all the luck in his political plans.”

He added that former Sen. Ernesto Maceda would be UNO’s new spokesman.

Mayor JV Ejercito of San Juan City (Metro Manila) also wished Tamano good luck but gave him a parting shot. “Sana lang napunta siya sa tunay na oposisyon at hindi sa mga nagpapanggap lamang [I wish he had joined the real opposition party, not the one that is just pretending to be one].”

Ejercito is also a director of the United Opposition and son of Estrada, who has repeatedly said he would again run for president if the opposition fails to unite behind a single candidate.

Event at Laurel house

Also sworn in with Tamano was businessman Arsenic Laurel of the illustrious Laurel clan. He will run for representative of the Third District of Batangas, a statement said.

The event took place at the Nacionalista headquarters, the historic Laurel House on Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City.

Also with Villar, Tamano and Laurel on Thursday were Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and wife, Taguig Rep. Lani Cayetano; Sen. Villar’s wife, Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar; Albay Rep. Al Francis Bichara; Caloocan Rep. Oscar “Oca” Malapitan; Laguna Rep. Justin “Timmy” Chipeco; Cavite Rep. Crispin “Boying” Remulla; Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rolando “Klarex” Uy; Quezon City Rep. Vincent “Bingbong’ Crisologo; Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos “Caloy” Padilla; former Negros Occidental Rep. Jerry Paras; former Pampanga Rep. Rimpy Bondoc; former Compostela Valley Rep. Roger Sarmiento; former Manila Representatives Joey Hizon and Rudy Tuazon; and former Casiguran Mayor Edwin Hamor.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/june/05/yehey/top_stories/20090605top2.html

By Allison Lopez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 11:35:00 06/05/2009

Filed Under: Politics, Elections, Eleksyon 2010

MANILA, Philippines—United Opposition (UNO) spokesperson Adel Tamano resigned the post Thursday when he joined the Nacionalista Party headed by Sen. Manuel Villar.

Tamano at the same time admitted he was interested in running for a Senate seat in 2010 under the party that counts his late senator-father, Mamintal Tamano, among its more illustrious members.

“My family has deep roots in the Nacionalista Party and part of what I am doing is to honor my late father and continue his work as a Nacionalista,” Tamano said.

He said there had been no falling out between himself and UNO stalwarts, former President Joseph Estrada and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.

“I joined the NP for two things—because my father, Sen. Mamintal Tamano, was a true-blue Nacionalista, and because it had become very difficult for me to speak on behalf of the opposition. In 2007, it was easy when it was still the Genuine Opposition, but now it had become very difficult for me,” he said in a phone interview.

Tamano was immediately replaced as UNO spokesperson by former Sen. Ernesto Maceda. UNO is composed of Estrada’s Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino and Binay’s PDP-Laban parties.

Tamano, who took his oath Thursday in front of NP president Sen. Manuel Villar, said he was “very nervous” when he went to see Estrada two weeks ago to tell him of his plans. But the opposition leader turned out to be kind and understanding.

“We talked for three hours. He told me that if that was what I had to do, he was not the type to stop me na gawin kung ano raw yung nakakabuti sa akin. Ganun kabait si Presidente (from doing what was right for me. That’s how nice the President is),” he said, adding that he also met with Binay, who gave him some advice.

In a statement, Binay said: “Adel Tamano has the right to join any organization. I just wish him all the luck in his political plans.”

The NP, Tamano said, was the “best fit” for him because its members, who include Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla, were his good friends, and he believes that Villar, a former Senate president, is the best bet to lead the country in 2010.

Villar is the declared NP standard-bearer in 2010.

“Of all the people who are ‘presidentiables,’ I feel that Manny Villar is the one I want to become president. He is a success story. It would take someone who has overcome it to help find answers to solving poverty in the Philippines,” he said.

Tamano, the first Muslim Filipino to obtain a masters of law degree with a scholarship to Harvard University, said he would resign from the presidency of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, a job he concurrently holds, before the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy in November.

Aside from Tamano, Villar swore in Arsenic Laurel as a member of the NP in rites held at the historic Laurel House on Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City that Villar had bought from the family early this year.

Laurel, a member of the well-known political clan, will run for representative of the third district of Batangas.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090605-208958/Tamano-quits-UNO-moves-over-to-NP

Thursday, June 4, 2009

CON. This word perfectly describes the actions of Team-GMA Congressmen who approved House Resolution 1109 at 11:20 P.M. last night. Let’s not get too mired in the legalese and the parliamentary maneuverings; essentially, the aim of Team-GMA congressmen in approving Resolution 1109 is to take the Senate out of the equation in changing the Philippine Constitution, which is absurd because even renaming a road would require the participation of the Senate. Team-GMA knows that they can never get the ¾ vote from the Senate to be able to change the Constitution, via a Constituent Assembly, because Team-GMA does not control the Senate like it does the Congress.

So why is it a mere con? Well because, as in any con or scam, the object is to deceive and divert attention in order to get the real prize: HOLDING ON TO POWER BEYOND 2010. Team-GMA understands that there is not enough time to amend the Constitution with elections happening in less than a year. So the object is NOT to alter the Constitution before 2010 but rather to LAY DOWN THE BASIS for amending the Constitution AFTER the 2010 elections. All Team-GMA needs now is for someone – maybe one of its minions or some well-intentioned individual who wants to stop the Congressional Cha-Cha train – to go to the Supreme Court and get a favorable ruling that says that Resolution 1109 is valid and that the Senate does not have to participate as long as ¾ths of the Congress vote to constitute itself into a constituent assembly.

See, Team-GMA has pretty much given up on winning the national seats, President, Vice-President, and Senators, but they still have a good chance in winning the local congressional seats. So they are willing to lose – what the layman might think are the more important positions such as President, Vice-President, etc. – as long as they have enough Congressmen to amend the Constitution.

So in July 2010, we will have a different President, perhaps an opposition President and new Senators. However, since Team-GMA still controls Congress, then all Team-GMA has to do is to have Congress constitute itself into a Constituent Assembly and propose changing our system of government from Presidential to Parliamentary. Now if the people approve this revision in a plebiscite, maybe a rigged one, then it is Team-GMA back at the helm. So while all of us are so focused on the 2010 elections, Team-GMA is looking beyond that.

Maybe you can dismiss all of this as conspiracy theory or an over-active imagination but nearly four decades ago Filipinos were caught off-guard when Martial Law was declared and the 1973 Constitution was approved in so-called “people’s assemblies,” which laid the groundwork for Marcos’ twenty-year rule. So I’d much rather be overcautious than be caught off guard. Eternal vigilance is indeed the price of democracy, particularly when dealing with Team-GMA.

UNO spokesman quits, joins Villar party
By Thea Alberto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 15:44:00 06/04/2009

Filed Under: Eleksyon 2010, Elections, Politics

MANILA, Philippines – The spokesman of the United Opposition (UNO) has bolted the coalition and joined the Nacionalista Party (NP) as he threw his support for NP President Manuel Villar’s presidential bid in 2010.

Lawyer Adel Tamano, who intends to run for Senator in 2010, took his oath before Villar on Thursday.

“My father, the late Senator Tamano is a founder of Nacionalista Party. To honor his memory I joined the party” said Tamano.

“I think Manny Villar is the man to beat… the biggest reason is this man was able to rise from poverty, the country's biggest problem. And it will take someone who has experience and who can find solutions for poverty,” he added.

Villar said Tamano would be a great asset to the NP. He said the NP was open to other candidates who wanted to join the party.

He said many mayors joined the NP last month.

Tamano said former president Joseph Estrada and UNO president Jejomar Binay accepted his decision to transfer to Villar’s party.

“Nagpaalam ako ng maayos kay Erap [I bade Estrada goodbye] and we talked for three hours. He respected my decision,” he said.

“Now I can speak as Adel Tamano and not just a spokesman” he added.

Earlier in the day, Binay said he was saddened by Tamano's decision.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090604-208803/UNO-spokesman-quits-joins-Villar-party

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