Archive
RAM and the military action during the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution
‘We vied for honor to lead attack on Palace’
By Jose T. Almonte
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:50:00 02/26/2011(The author is a retired general and one of the lead theoreticians of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement [RAM].)
MANILA, Philippines—To kill the snake, you must aim for its head.’
Of the three senior leaders of the RAM, Lieutenant Colonel Victor Batac, who was then chief of the Research and Analysis Office of the intelligence division of the Philippine Constabulary/Integrated National Police, was the strategist, the planner-intellectual.
Lieutenant Colonel Eduardo “Red” Kapunan was the organization man, with wide-ranging contacts among the field commands. Lieutenant Colonel Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, baron of his class, the charismatic fighting man, was the movement’s leader.
Eventually, the three told me what they planned. They would ambush General Roland Pattugalan, commander of the Presidential Guards, whom the dictator Ferdinand Marcos was touting as his next Chief of Staff. Since General Josephus Ramas, the Army commander, also coveted the post (which was then being held by Marcos henchman, General Fabian Ver), Ramas could easily bear the blame for Pattugalan’s death. Marcos’ generals would begin quarreling among themselves—and RAM could then take advantage of the confusion in the Marcos camp.
I suggested that revolutionary politics did not work that way. Dealing with an authoritarian ruler was like trying to kill a cobra. Would-be regicides like us should aim for its head. We shouldn’t bother with the cobra’s tail or even its body. We did not have the luxury of a second strike.
The plan altered
After some debate, RAM decided to alter the plan: we agreed we would attack Malacañang Palace itself. In the process, it was likely the whole of the Marcos family would be killed. I insisted the Marcoses should be taken alive, so that they could face a people’s court.
Honasan pointed out, correctly, that capturing the Marcoses alive would require a larger attack force than the group we already had. (When the showdown came, we had a total of 770 men holed up at Camp Crame.) We would need to recruit more fighters. Not only would that risk the discovery of our plot: it would also raise the volume of casualties on both sides.
But I feared the fickle nature of history whose judgment of historical figures is never final.
In the end, we decided to build up a larger force. Meanwhile, we also made up a list of the personages who would compose our transition government.
The seven-person junta—called the Movement for National Unity (MNU)—was to be made up of Cory Aquino, Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, Jimmy Ongpin, Rafael Salas, Alejandro Melchor, Juan Ponce Enrile and Lt. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos.
Planning Palace assault
We vied for the honor of leading the attack on the Palace and on its Presidential Guards. At last, it was decided that the task would go to Honasan. On that occasion, I gave him as a keepsake a Russian AK-47 assault rifle I had used during my sojourn among the Vietcong, and which, in happier times, I had intended to present to Marcos.
Kapunan would lead the attack on the Presidential Guards on the south bank of Pasig. Batac and I would man the RAM command post at Nichols Field, where a battalion from Trece Martires, Cavite, would join us.
Maj. Avelino Razon, General Ramos’ aide, was with us. As soon as the action began, he would pick up General Ramos and escort him to Nichols, where Ramos would take over overall command of the rebel forces.
Civilian opposition links
While the young leaders of RAM completed the deadly business of organizing a coup, we all read up on Edward Luttwak (“Coup d’etat, A Practical Handbook,” London: 1968) and I passed around a copy of Anwar el-Sadat’s account of how the young Egyptian officers overthrew the dissolute King Farouk in 1952. I volunteered to get in touch with the civilian opposition.
All of us realized how the military’s collaboration with the regime had alienated it from the people. Yet we also knew that if our effort was to succeed, we would need the wholehearted support of ordinary Filipinos.
Early on, we had agreed that if we could get people out on the streets, we could deter the movement of the loyalist forces. In the early 1980s, we got in touch with Jose “Peping” Cojuangco and his wife, Tingting. When the action finally took place in February 1986, they blocked the roads from Tarlac to Manila, to stop loyalist troops from Marcos’ “Solid North” from reinforcing him. Tingting began organizing “flower brigades” similar to those the American youth movement of 1968 had used to disarm troops breaking up their demonstrations against the Vietnam War.
Plotting in Cory’s kitchen
In early February 1986, Peping set up an appointment for us with the opposition’s moral leader, Cory Aquino. She received Batac, Kapunan, Boy Turingan and myself, together with her brother Peping, in the kitchen of her house on Times Street, Quezon City. We told her we were going to bring down Marcos by force—and that we looked to her as our leader. We could not tell her the day and the time, but it was going to be very soon. And we needed her because, once the action began, she alone could rally the people to come down on our side.
Even at that late date, Mrs. Aquino was reluctant to take on the burden of the presidency. She did not think that the ruling generals—who all owed personal loyalty to Marcos—would obey her commands. Almost the first words she uttered were: “I do not want to be President because I am not capable of being President.”
As RAM’s spokesperson for that occasion, I pointed out that, in the life of a people, every historical period requires leadership of a certain character. And, at that period in our nation’s life—in the wake of the moral excesses of the Marcoses and their cronies—we needed more leadership of the kind she possessed.
‘My first general’
I told her that I had stood on the overpass connecting Nichols and Fort Bonifacio to see Ninoy Aquino’s funeral cortege pass underneath, and had heard her being interviewed on radio. Asked what she would do to seek justice for her murdered husband, the grieving widow had called not for revenge, not for revolution. She had not called on the millions of Filipinos accompanying Ninoy to his grave to storm Malacañang. Yet all she needed to do then was to give the word—and surely a sufficient number of those who were grieving for Ninoy would have done so. Instead she had quietly answered: “I will leave it to the authorities to give justice to my husband.”
I told her that I thought a person who could have that kind of faith in people—even in officials of a government that might have killed her husband—must have a high moral character. I added that the military would respect someone with moral character; and, of course, as President, she would command the Armed Forces on behalf of all the people. She answered, “Colonel, I never thought of it that way.”
In her delight at having her misgivings and anxieties relieved, she burst out: “Colonel, if what you are telling me happens, you will be my first general!”
Embarrassed by her effusion, I replied that we had pledged neither to seek—nor to accept—any rewards, promotions or positions of power. All we hoped for was that the new government we would help install would seek to actualize the yearnings of our people.
In the archbishop’s garden
Jaime Cardinal Sin was the second personage whose blessings we sought. Coming alone—our appointment set up by Charito Melchor—to the Archbishop’s Palace in Mandaluyong, I was met at the door by a young priest, who did not ask me in. The cardinal himself came out the door alone. He invited me to walk in the garden with him—a precaution against eavesdroppers that I appreciated. I told him we were ready to bring down Marcos and asked for his support and his prayers.
Saying our goodbyes, we both felt the emotion of the moment. He embraced me tightly as I took my leave: “Colonel, you do your duty, and I’ll do mine,” he said.
If we needed Cory Aquino and Cardinal Sin to mobilize the people, we needed Lt. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos, vice chief of staff and director general of the PC/INP, to help mobilize the Armed Forces and the national police.
I had known Ramos for a quarter-century. We had both been assigned to the Laguna-Quezon border during the dying years of the Huk rebellion. At the time, he led a company of infantry. I remember that, in our occasional conversations, we had both wondered why we were hunting down fellow Filipinos. I called on him at his headquarters at Camp Crame a few days before our planned action.
One last cigar with Ramos
Cool, discreet, deliberate, Ramos was the thinking soldier’s soldier. After finishing at West Point in 1950, he had fought at the 38th Parallel in Korea, served in the Huk campaign, and then in Vietnam. Throughout the years of martial law, he had stood for professionalism and dedication to duty. No desk-bound commander, he was often in the field, living with the soldiers where they were. He knew all the field commanders intimately. Only he could call them down on our side.
We talked for several hours. I tried to sketch for him the crisis the nation was in, and what we had decided we must do, even at the cost of our lives. At first he didn’t say much, though I felt he himself had gone through the same examination of conscience. I didn’t need to tell him the tactical details. How we were to act—where we were to strike—were clear to him. I told him we were counting on him to lead us. As soon as the action began, Razon would come for him.
When it came time for him to reply, he first pointed out that Marcos was his blood relation. For Ilocanos, betrayal of a blood relation was the greatest transgression: if he were to take up arms against Marcos, how could he ever face his people again?
By nature a moderate, fearful of the anarchy a revolution might set off, Ramos was also keenly aware of the consequences that his decision could set off. All that those of us in RAM would lose were our lives. We were responsible for no one else but our own selves. But once Ramos committed himself against Marcos—and his long-standing rival, General Ver—he would have also decided for the 90,000 Constabulary men under his command, as well as for many others in the Armed Forces, whom he knew would loyally join him in whatever he decided to do. Hence I understood why he could not pledge his support for our cause as blithely as we ourselves had done.
For the moment, we left it at that. But I was sure that, when the time came, we could count on him.
As I stood up to go, he grabbed a handful of his favorite cigars from his desk drawer. He lit one for himself, and gave the rest to me.
“Joe,” he said, as he let me out the door. “Whatever you’re planning, just don’t make it too bloody.”
(This article is excerpted from the author’s book, “My Part in the 1986 People Power Revoluton.”)
cory aquino’s honor guards, “the fantastic 4” now noynoy aquino’s presidential security
these are the four honor guards who stood erect around cory’s casket as it made it;s snail pace way from the church to the burial place. they started in the morning and reached the cemetery where cory was laid to rest in the evening. for more than 8 hours, they stood very much like the way they look in these pictures, with no drink, no food and not even time to relieve themselves on top of a moving van, through turns, bumps, inclines and declines through the sun and heat on them and rain as well.
they have volunteered to be noynoy aquino’s security team, the PSG and were promptly accepted.
congratulations and good luck to The Fantastic 4!
read here:
Cory Aquino honor guards volunteer to join PSG
By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:08:00 06/12/2010Filed Under: Benigno Aquino III, Security (general), Cory Aquino
MANILA, Philippines—The honor guards who escorted the late President Corazon Aquino in her nine-hour funeral procession have volunteered to join the security team of President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III in Malacañang.
“I understand seven of them [have] volunteered,” said Aquino in a text message to the Inquirer.
should kris aquino make good her promise to leave the country now that noynoy will be president?
yes, kris aquino did say she will leave the country should her brother noynoy aquino win the presidential election. she made this promise when a controversy with another actress, ruffa gutierrez erupted on her tv show “The Buzz”.
video where kris said she will leave the country if noynoy is elected:
that controversy started when on camera and live tv, kris ribbed ruffa about leaving abs-cbn for another tv station. we do not think kris meant to hurt ruffa, it was a joke lined with sarcasm in a nice way.
but the whole thing exploded into atomic proportions when ruffa’s mother, anabelle rama forced herself into the picture saying the things she usually say on matters like this and as always making thing even worse than it started. actually, we think anything that involves the gutierrez family, specially with rama should not be taken seriously by the country.
but this is one is upon us now, noynoy is set to be president of the country and we need to look back at what kris said.
kris should not leave the country – her statement was made more as flighty statement without any serious intent in it. these are the things we hear from kris every 17 minutes. kris has her job in the country ans she is one of the more bankable tv personalities that we have. it’s okay for kris to stay here.
kris should leave the country – noynoy won the presidency on the basis of honesty and integrity. with that, kris should make good her promise and leave the country to set an example to the whole nation and to be in keeping with the ideals by which her brother was elected president.
tell us what you think post your comments and vote.
also vote in this poll: is kris, president noynoy’s sister a liability or an asset?
read other posts:
- is kris aquino a liability or an asset to the noynoy aquino campaign? <— look at the poll results here
- gary olivar, malacanang spokesperson 5 thumbs down on kris aquino’s tears, will hurt teodoro
- the kris aquino drama – to leave The Buzz TV show?
- should noynoy aquino be happy or sad that he has kris aquino as a sister?
- for the sake of the philippines – ban annabelle rama from tv and the country!
should noynoy aquino be happy or sad that he has kris aquino as a sister?
there was some big drama at The Buzz last sunday when kris aquino shed monster tears in live tv talking about the tears of being the sister of noynoy aquino the presidentiable.
click here to view all the videos, we have also set up a poll, above in this link. find out the latest result and cast your own vote –> http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/category/kris-aquino/
major blow to teodoro – foreign affairs sec romulo supports aquino
romulo declaring he is supporting noynoy aquino and not gilbert teodoro,
LAKAS-KAMPI and admin presidential candidate is a major blow and embarassment to the administration and teodoro’s candidacy.
it is not as much as number of votes as romulo is not a politician nor do we think he has a political base but it is a huge psychological and morale disaster for the administration party. romulo is a senior official of the arroyo administration.
read in full here: sec. albert romulo supports aquino – a major blow to LAKAS-KAMPI and teodoro
Noynoy Aquino’s handling of survey results – first major tactical blunder of noynoy
the tactical blunder is that aquino has inadvertently set up his audience and supporters for disappointment. he may have set the bar of expectations way too high.
political campaigns is very much about image building. building an image of being a winner is certainly one of the things you want to have. you want to nurture an image of momentum if not greatness or at least always being on the right thing.
the safest and smartest approach is always to downplay achievements, or hit the lower side so that there is an automatic claim of success. raising the bar too high is a very dangerous thing as it does not leave room for failure which is what aquino has done.
read in full here: Noynoy Aquino makes his first major tactical blunder
aquino gets 50% in SWS september 2009 luzon poll in NCR – not a view of what is next to come, it is garbage data
it’s a strange survey. it is strange in many ways – in the choices of the areas and the listing of presidentiables , only the major candidates are listed and does not include the laggards. we also can’t figure out the reasons for the choices of the areas.
read in full here: aquino gets 50% in SWS september 2009 poll in NCR – not a view of what is next to come, it is garbage data
noynoy aquino to run as president
view more videos and articles here: september 9 – noynoy aquino declares candidacy for president
Maria y Corazon By Dan Rivero A poem dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Birthday and to the 40th day of Cory’s passing on September 8
Maria y Corazon
By Dan Rivero
A poem dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Birthday and to the 40th day of Cory’s passing on September 8
Christ’s only mother, is how we call her;
She gave birth to Jesus, our only Savior.
Upon her “Yes” to the Messenger;
God has sent us a Deliverer.
Today we celebrate her birthday;
To her we give thanks, honor,love and pray;
For being a mother to Christ and all who pay–
Respect and gratitude your children here say.
There’s another woman who’s so dear us;
Very close, her name means “Heart”
Devout, pious, faithful and true
To Jesus and Mary she only pursued.
She restored democracy to our land;
And freedom to our shackled hand;
Moral governance became her legacy;
From Ninoy to Pinoys, dying became worthy.
Very timely on Cory’s 40th day of death;
Mary’s birthday today we never forget;
Truly the Lady in Blue welcomes the lady in Yellow;
Like a blue sky radiated with the sun’s glow.
Two women with one common vision–
Prayer and peace has been their mission;
Both depend on God, our loving Father;
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Brother.
malacanang comments on noynoy aquino inappropriate & uncalled for. whatever noynoy does is none of their business
Palace brands Noynoy retreat as ‘gimmickry’
By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:13:00 09/04/2009MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang is sensing political “gimmickry” in Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s so-called spiritual retreat before he decides on whether to run for president next year.
Gary Olivar, deputy presidential spokesperson, Thursday said the senator should “not just ride on sentimental support” in heeding the supposed clamor for him to seek the highest office in the land.
“We respect whatever gimmickry, whatever ways on how he can arrive at a decision,” Anthony Golez, another spokesperson, said in a media briefing.
Golez was commenting on impressions that Aquino might only be playing hard-to-get before eventually announcing his presidential bid in the May elections.
read in full here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090904-223454/Palace-brands-Noynoy-retreat-as-gimmickry
frankly, whatever noynoy does is none of their business. everything and anything that noynoy does on the issue of his candidacy and even all the other presidentiables have nothing to do with the office of the president – it does not affect them in any way and should not affect them. someone should bitch slap olivar to make him understand what his true role is.
read in full here: http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/who-is-afraid-of-noynoy-aquino-answer-malacanang/
breaking news – mar roxas gives up presidential bid to support noynoy for president
in a news conference that just ended (6:45 pm manila time) as this is being written, – senator
mar roxas announces he is abandoning his presidentiable bid. senator roxas says he is supporting noynoy aquino’s presidential bid.
noynoy aquino has not announced if he will run for president. a news conference by noynoy aquino will be held tomorrow.
Roxas gives up presidential bid
By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 18:31:00 09/01/2009MANILA, Philippines – Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas is no longer running for president in 2010. The Senator himself announced this at the press conference on Tuesday.
Roxas has not yet officially declared his presidential bid but some of his colleagues in the Liberal Party have publicly endorsed his candidacy.
Roxas’ decision came amid the increasing clamor for Senator Benigno “Nonoy” Aquino III to continue the legacy of his parents – the late president Corazon “Cory” Aquino and martyred senator Benigno Aquino Jr. – by running for a higher post.
Senator Aquino has yet to decide whether or not to run for president or vice president.
Present at the press conference were LP officials: Chairman Emeritus Jovito Salonga, secretary general Neric Acosta, spokesman Erin Tañada; and other party members like Congressmen Rufino Biazon and Antonio Abaya; former Civil Service Commission chief Karina David, former social welfare secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, and former defense secretary Avelino Cruz.
Also seen was Roxas’ mother, Judy Araneta-Roxas.
why firing willie revillame from wowowee is a good business decision for abs-cbn
if they have not already, abs-cbn will at some point need to make a business decision on willie revillame’s future in the show wowowee. their action at “self-regulation” seem to indicate MTRCB’s decision on the complaint is against revillame. the self-regulation action is meant to preempt MTRCB’s adverse decision if not to delay it to buy time so that they can negotiate with MTRCB perhaps for a leaner punishment for revillame.
we think abs-cbn’s business decision on willie revillame should be to remove revillame from wowowee, based on the following:
- tv ratings show no change or no drop in rating when revillame was not hosting wowowee versus the period prior to the incident when revillame was hosting the show. that means the audience do not find revillame that important to the show. the audience do not mind revillame not hosting to show. the same audience watch the show even though
revillame is not there. - from the above, one conclusion is that people watch the show, its concept and not revillame.
- another conclusion is that the other hosts of the show who have taken over revillame’s hosting chores are doing a great job and can in fact hold their own in the show.
- with no change in tv ratings, abs-cbn does not face any risk of losing tv ad placements in the show. advertisers air their ads on the basis of ratings and audience profile. none of that is lost and none has changed. advertisers will continue to air ads at wowowee even without revillame in the show.
- based on the rating of the show versus eat bulaga, abs-cbn should also reconsider changing not only the hosts, removing revillame and looking for new ones, they should also look into changing show’s format and concept. eat bulaga’s ratings even when willie was in the who was at a high 25% to 28% while wowowee was at a low 12% to 16%. eat bulaga has almost double the audience size of wowowee. that says a lot fo things. eat bulaga is funnier, relatively more wholesome, relatively has less in your face sexy dancing and it does not have willie revillame in it. that says the lunchtime audience prefer eat bulaga’s relatively more wholesome, funnier and less sexy format and concept.
- the firestorm this latest incident has caused says wowowee has lost goodwill from its audience due to revillame. keeping revillame there will make it difficult for the show to gain this goodwill back.
- this is not the first time revillame has done something like this. it is time abs-cbn gets rid of a problematic tv host.
bottom line — abs-cbn stands to gain and regain a lot and lose nothing if it fires revillame from wowowee. in fact removing revillame from the show can give abs-cbn a good opportunity to reformat the show and finally beat eat bulaga in the ratings game.
we think these are compelling reasons for abs-cbn to do what is right- remove revillame from wowowee.
Darna
DARNA
Prof. Dan Rivero
This poem is written for tomorrow’s occasion of National Heroes Day (Aug. 31)
A fictitious heroine, Darna is her name;
Prowess, strength and grace made her to fame;
From comics to film and now in the tube;
Many follow her, even on YouTube.
Her villains now are ferocious as ever;
Of a snake, vampire or whatever monster.
A girl swallows a stone and shout’s aloud
The heroine’s name, Behold! Has come about.
But there are real evils and villains in this nation;
And not only those which are told in fiction;
Greed, corruption, indifference and apathy
From the government down to the citizenry.
Are heroes and heroines only tales to tell;
In this world of life that seem going to hell.
Who will rescue us from this slumber and fall;
To raise us up and make us proud and tall.
Why do we still look for a hero or heroine who flies;
Or found in books and on monuments of people died.
Heroism is in each of us, if only we open our eyes.
And work hard together to change our life.
A nation without heroes is truly such a pity;
But still searching for one is a shame of a country;
I hope and pray that all will stand and move;
To change ourselves and the country for the good.
a win for anti-revillame forces – ABS-CBN extends leave of Willie Revillame, sexy dance numbers removed
on this abs-cbn announcement – are the anti-revillame forces winning?
this tells me the anti-revillame forces have at least won partially – abs-cbn has removed the sexy dances at wowowee. while that is not exactly what the anti-revillame forces want directly, it is one of the things they do not like in that show.
revillame’s leave being extended to september 20 can be a good sign, if we like to think positive. that may indicate one of these two things, the second one being the negative:
- abs-cbn needs more time to think things through. maybe they know
they really need to remove revillame from the show but just needs time to figure out the best way to do it. there can also be legal and cost implications when they fire revillame. - abs-cbn is playing games with the public specially the anti-revillame forces. they could have made a descision not to fire revillame and will wait for 1 more month to allow things to cool down. they probably think 1 more month will get the issue to die down and will allow revillame’s return to wowowee easier, less controversial and less objections.
what do you think?
if it is #2, we should prove abs-cbn wrong then. let us keep the pressure up for them to finally do the right thing – get rid of revillame from wowowee, a disgrace to philippine television.
please also read: the business decision abs-cbn need to make on willie revillame and wowowee (click here: https://wawam.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/the-business-decision-abs-cbn-need-to-make-on-willie-revillame-and-wowowee/)
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 08/28/2009 4:55 PM
MANILA – Fans of popular TV host Willie Revillame will have to wait a little while longer before he returns on-air after ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. decided to extend his leave until next month.
A statement from the Kapamilya Network said the company will extend Revillame’s leave from his hit show “Wowowee” until September 20, 2009. It also ordered the removal of the sexy dancing segment of “Wowowee” mainstays Luningning and Saicy from the show.
The network said that in the interest of self-regulation, it availed of the conciliation process under the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) Rules of Procedure. It said the MTRCB has approved the sanctions imposed on the show.
Revillame, 48, has been on indefinite leave from his top-rating noontime show “Wowowee” after he drew heavy criticism when he ordered, on-air, the removal of procession footage of former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino’s funeral convoy on August 3.
The transfer of Mrs. Aquino’s remains from La Salle Greenhills to the Manila Cathedral was aired simultaneously with “Wowowee” through a small inset video. Revillame ordered it removed because he said it was disrespectful to the former president and dampened the show’s mood.
The full statement of ABS-CBN is as follows:
“In the interest of self-regulation, ABS-CBN has availed of the conciliation process under Section 6, Rule 7, of the MTRCB Rules of Procedures, regarding the incidents involving Mr. Willie Revillame in the program Wowowee. After having considered the facts, issues and terms of self-regulation to be imposed in the pertinent cases, the MTRCB has approved the same.
“Whereof, the ABS-CBN shall undertake to perform the following:
“1. Extend Mr. Revillame’s leave until 20 September 2009; and,
“2. Remove the present dance segment of Luningning and Saicy.“Further, ABS-CBN reiterates that it is fully aware of its legal and moral responsibilities as a broadcaster and shall undertake to continue to uphold the values and customs of the Filipino viewing public.”
read in full here: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/08/28/09/abs-cbn-extends-willies-leave-removes-sexy-dance-numbers
Fr. Ed, The Unlikely takes the high ground – will withdraw his candidacy to support noynoy for president if noynoy runs
while the announcement might cost fr. ed, the unlikely some
supporters and some momentum, it will also gain him supporters and admirers for taking such a principled stand. we applaud fr. ed, the unlikely.
read in full here: http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/fr-ed-the-unlikely-takes-the-high-ground-will-withdraw-his-candidacy-to-support-noynoy-for-president/
president noynoy aquino or vice-president noynoy aquino? help him decide
there is so much talk on noynoy aquino’s political plans this 2010. some are saying he should run for president. another set says he should run for vice-president. noynoy says he doesn’t know yet what he will do.one thing sure he has the aquino name. and that name is worth in multiple weights of gold in philippine politics now.
there is no question, people power was rekindled when the nation mourned and buried tita cory. it was across the board – you saw all genders and demographics even ages who were not yet born when tita cory was installed after the people power revolution.what happened and what we felt during the early part of august is excellent political currency for noynoy to tap. what do you think -should noynoy run for president? or should he run for vice-president?
willie revillame gives the BS during MTRCB hearing – it was just a “suggestion”
That was a show of “arrogance and great disrespect to the Filipino … tradition of paying respect to the dead,” said MTRCB chair Marissa Laguardia in a memorandum sent to the network on August 11.
Revillame came to the hearing with Star Magic (the station’s talent arm) head Johnny Manahan, legal counsel Armando Marcelo and “Wowowee” executive producer Phoebe Luz Anievas. ABS-CBN was represented by lawyers Cherrie Cruz and Mona Lisa Manalo.
During the three-hour hearing, Revillame pointed out that it was management’s call, not his, to insert the video. Cases told the Philippine Daily Inquirer: “When he asked that the inset be removed, he said, he was merely giving a suggestion. [He also] admitted that [it was] an emotional outburst and that he shouldn’t have spoken on-air the way he did.”
read in full here: http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20090823-221649/Willie-sorry-insists-it-was-a-suggestion
i don’t know how saying it was just a “suggestion” removes the guilt of being disrespectful and an over-all jerk on live national tv in a time of national mourning and sadness. having made the suggestion on live national tv is the first error. the second error is how he said it and the third was what he said.
based on the video, revillame was not concerned about the disrespect that he claims after the fact in showing the funeral procession during his show, he was concerned more about his performance. over and over again, revillame said seeing those footages on screen prevented him from performing his best as the superstar noontime tv host that he considers himself to be.
nobody can remove nor forget what he did and what he said on live national tv.
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read other posts on willie revillame and wowowee:
- no drop in tv rating while willie revillame out of wowowee – revillame is insignificant
- willie revillame and wowowee and what is wrong with philippine television
- willie revillame may leave tv show. internet citizens making a difference!
- Reasons why Willie Revillame must be banned from Television
- willie revillame apologizes for the wrong reason; takes a 3-week leave from wowowee
- Which is worth of respect? Which is rude?
- Letter of Complaint to ABS-CBN Against Mr. Willie Revillame
- Letter of Complaint to ABS-CBN against Mr. Willie Revillame
- willie revillame desecrates the memory of tita cory and finds the funeral a nuisance to his performance – also watch video here
- willie revillame gives the BS during MTRCB hearing – it was just a “suggestion”
- Anti-Willie Revillame Movement at facebook gains traction, now 10T members
- ABS-CBN backs Willie Revillame; says Wowowee host did not disrespect the memory of cory aquino
Monumento ni Cory ipinag-utos ni Gloria
Naglabas ng kautusan ni Gloria Macapagal Arroyo na magtayo ng monumento para kay Pang. Cory Aquino sa Rizal Park.
Magandang intensyon, pero may bahid ng malisya ang desisyon. Bakit? Isang kurap na Pangulo ang mag-uutos ng monumento sa taong ipinaglaban ang demokrasya na mismong si Gloria ang yumururak.
Parang insulto kesa parangal ang inihahatid nito sa atin.Ang taumbayan mismo ang magtatayo ng monumento para kay Cory, at hindi galing sa kaban ng bayan. Si Cory mismo ang maiinsulto sa kautusan nya, Dios por Santo!!!
Si Sen. Noynoy na ang nagsabi na ang tunay na pag-aalala kay Cory ay ang ipagpatuloy ang kanyang laban, laban nila ni Ninoy.
Baka gaya ng ibang monumento, lumutin at iputin lang ng mga ibon sa ulo ang rebulto at monumento ni Cory.
Isa pa, sa Rizal Park o Luneta? Ang dami ng mga monumento doon, labo-labo na nga kung tutuusin. Hindi na nabigyang layon ang Rizal Park sa sang damakmak na mga monumento doon. Baka dumating ang araw, si Manny Pacquiao may monumento na rin sa Luneta.
Kung seryoso si Gloria Arroyo na bigyang prangal si Pang. Cory, tumalima sya sa matagal ng pakiusap ni Cory sa kanya: mag-resign at aminin ang puno’t dulo ng “Hello Garci.” Kung seryoso si GMA, aminin na nya ang mga sakdal ng korupsyon g kanyang administrasyon. Kung sryoso sya, wag nyang lustayin ang pera ng bayan sa kanyang mga byahe sa ibang bansa at sa pag-kain nya sa mga mamahalin restoran.
Hay naku Gloria, itigil mo na ang kahibangan mo!
no drop in tv rating while willie revillame out of wowowee – revillame is insignificant
the tv show wowowee is a product of the business called abs-cbn, it yields for them revenues and profits and from the advertising loads that it has, the revenues and profits are huge.
wowowee is still airing but willie revillame has been out of the tv show for a week now. but the firestorm, loathing and protest by many has not stopped and in fact has grown in real life and in the internet world. at facebook, the Anti-Revillame Movement has now 11,956 members ( http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yellow-Ribbon-for-President-Cory-Aquino/100738003363#/group.php?gid=126156564264&ref=nf) while the online Petition To Oust Willie Revillame as of this writing has 57.771 signatures ( http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?badwilly). both continue to grow.
there is a nagging question that abs-cbn needs to answer, it is a business question – what is the business impact of removing willie revillame from wowowee? in answering that question, abs-cbn need to look at the tv rating of the program. tv ratings is THE key magnet for ad placements in any tv show. advertisers will place their ads in shows with high ratings. higher ratings mean larger number of the audience watching the show and the higher the ratings lower cost per thousand audience.
for me, i do not think removing revillame is really a problem. revillame as a tv host does not bring any unique talent or skill to the show. he sounds and looks like any other tv host. he does not have any strong singing or dancing talent as added bonus. all he has is really just emceeing.
we think what makes the show work or get a large audience is the show’s format and concept and not the host. put any host to the same concept and it will continue to get the audience.
but business needs to look at it with numbers, not conjecture. we have the numbers 
here.
we got the tv ratings from this blog, http://forums.mukamo.com/ from AGB Nielsen Philippines, the ad industry’s ratings company. admittedly the data points are few but we think it’s a good enough gauge for abs-cbn to base its decision on.
for 5 data points covering the period when revillame was still appearing in the show, wowowee had an average rating of 17.1%.
for 6 data points covering the period when revillame was no longer hosting the show, wowowee had an average rating of 16.2%.
a drop of only 0.9 rating points is not significant. drops of that magnitude happen often, due to normal day to day fluctuations.
from these numbers, the conclusion is —- the audience did not miss revillame at all, the audience continued to watch wowowee even though revillame was no longer hosting the show. not only that, revillame’s co-hosts in the show who took over the hosting role have done very well.
this means from a purely business standpoint, abs-cbn is not risking anything if it removes revillame from wowowee. but what abs-cbn will gain is goodwill from its audience where the large number of those calling for the removal of revillame from the show will now feel heard and contained.
removing revillame will win goodwill from its audience and risk no loss of business.
—
read other posts on willie revillame and wowowee:
- no drop in tv rating while willie revillame out of wowowee – revillame is insignificant
- willie revillame and wowowee and what is wrong with philippine television
- willie revillame may leave tv show. internet citizens making a difference!
- Reasons why Willie Revillame must be banned from Television
- willie revillame apologizes for the wrong reason; takes a 3-week leave from wowowee
- Which is worth of respect? Which is rude?
- Letter of Complaint to ABS-CBN Against Mr. Willie Revillame
- Letter of Complaint to ABS-CBN against Mr. Willie Revillame
- willie revillame desecrates the memory of tita cory and finds the funeral a nuisance to his performance – also watch video here
- willie revillame gives the BS during MTRCB hearing – it was just a “suggestion”
- Anti-Willie Revillame Movement at facebook gains traction, now 10T members
- ABS-CBN backs Willie Revillame; says Wowowee host did not disrespect the memory of cory aquino
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