A moment of madness? Or just stirring a hornet’s nest? I had my GM download the one page certificate of candidacy for President of the Republic of the Philippines. I was just curious. I am so fed up with local politics that it seems bizarre to even consider a real run for elected public office. But think of the possibilities, I just want to attend 3-4 of the Presidential debates as a candidate and ask some of those intelligent questions that don’t seem to be asked nor answered. I have a graduate degree in management, when you don’t even need to have attended college. I am a natural born Philippine citizen and have never taken residency or citizenship of another country. So why not indeed? Nuisance candidate? Perhaps, but probably more qualified and articulate than most of the potential candidates currently in the running. Just as capable of studying/analyzing/dissecting any issue with logic and aplomb. It doesn’t specify that you have to be a winnable candidate, right?
As for continuing a legacy as some are won’t to claim, my paternal grandfather was a congressman from Bicol, my maternal grandfather was a congressman and/or governor of Bohol, and my father served selflessly in cabinet and other level positions for 4-5 Philippine presidents since we became an independent nation and he was considered the first “DILG” secretary before it was even called the DILG. And if I were to borrow a campaign slogan from him, it is definitely going to be “Hala Bira, Bina Mira!” Oh, but I have yet to consult with Mrs. MM if she will campaign beside me. :)
Hahaha.
36 Responses
You’ll have my vote Sir Marketman!!! I know agriculture(=>food) will be one of your priorities..haha
Honestly MM, you are more qualified than any of the current presidential aspirants. In education, experience, and most importantly – honesty.
Unfortunately in our country, election is a game won only by those famous with the ‘masa’; or those with enough ‘guns, goons and gold’ an undying legacy from the Marcos era. The reason why one candidate uses the name of her deceased father; without capitalizing on his fame with the ‘masa’, she knows she will never win. And another one illegally amassing billions to pay his way to the position. The rest are forgettable. Philippine politics remains in a very sad and sorry state indeed.
@phil, I agree 100%
Go, go, go MM!
Campaign slogan = so much WIN!
Run na, MM! I’ll vote for you!
you have until october 16 to decide MM
Oh no MM! Do you really want to get mired in pork barrel politics, with the 3, now 4 pork issues (restaurants) you already own? Ha! Ha!
Setting up your campaign headquarters – South Area :-)
Why not! Rather than vote for pigs who indulge in their pork barrel, I’d vote for a man who cooks a mean lechon and chicharon. If by divine providence should MM become the chief executive what are the chances of a Zubuchon branch opening in Metro Manila by June 30 2016?
Puede! Pero baka ka mapa-zubu!
Indeed, so far (though maybe it’s early) the election atmosphere is bereft of deep discussion of issues. We certainly need people who can ask the candidates the really meaty questions, so we can see who’s really capable.
Not a bad idea!
Where do I send my CONTRIBUTION!!!!! ????
I adore your blog, MM. But please, be careful what you wish for.
in my dreams, mm! hihi.
Go, MM! I would work with you as a volunteer!
Seriously, our inang bayan needed someone like you… will go home and volunteer to campaign. That will be the day… a better tomorrow for the Philippines.
GreAt idea! You have my vote!
oh no mm dont you dare enter politics, it is very costly! it would be better to focus on your business interests like zubuchon etc. other matters like your staffs. they need you better than politics.
YES!!! Among the things our country needs ( besides eliminating/controlling corruption and the culture of corruption and padrino system, population control, strengthening our educational system, dismantling established interests, forward looking and long term economic plan, a good industrial base, developing infrastructure, transportation and railway system, universal healthcare, alleviating poverty and living wages, job training and job creation, narrowing the gap between the super rich and the madlang people, etc. etc. etc. !!! the country needs a manager! A good and honest one.
It goes beyond daang matuwid and just being anointed. We need a good decent person with solid values. Between the corrupt, the opportunistic, the lack of political experience and the dark forces behind the throne who will position themselves as powers we have unsavory choices.
And yes, why don’t we have presidential debates so we know what these candidates are about? At least we can hold them accountable to what they promise or we can make ourselves ungovernable to the point they’d be driven out of office!!!
MM you may just be it! Sometimes great happenings come from mad or crazy ideas!
MM, PILIPINAS HAS NEED OF YOU!!!
HALA BIRA, BIRA MINA!!!
I’d vote for you.
“Anything is possible. Articulate that dream.”
httpss://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uCwoZbNap4g Very inspiring talk Marketman. Take it national!
How about mayor of Makati first. I heard somewhere that there’s a vacancy.
I love the slogan. So catchy it will be a home run.
MM, there is no doubt about your qualification, which I honestly believe is better than all of them. Not only in terms of education and experience but also of business savvy with honesty and utmost integrity. The way you run your company and treat your employees is a business template which should be considered standard. So if there is someone who can truly serve the needs of our country I believe you have all the traits and experience, as most comments put up earlier.
Can you be the LKY of the Philippines? Yes, and probably better.
But you can also start in Makati if the entire country is too daunting at this time.
You got my vote sir.
I say go for it, MM! Lord knows that what the Philippines needs are intelligent non-self serving government officials. Everything is already going downhill and it gets worse every year, change is what we need.
To answer your question, it is a moment of madness. The middle class, educated sector, those who have the country’s best interest in mind, the people you appeal to, already have their eyes open to the reality of politics here. Unfortunately, they are not the ones deciding the election. It is decided by the votes of the bakya crowd, those who listen to their favorite artista’s paid endorsement, those who like shows, singning and dancing at the campaign trail and those particularly vulnerable to the manipulation of the moneyed who have interests to protect. Spare yourself, MM.
Politics and running for office are not for the faint hearted but I would rather wish a good candidate runs even if he loses if only to raise the ante and get the real issues debated and brought to the fore. Still, electoral reform is badly needed so one can run independent of party endorsements or party anointing and will not need millions to lead a campaign.
Democracy is not built in a day. Every struggle along the way is a step in the right direction.
Filing for candidacy has commenced. Prepare for a deluge of photos of politicians brandishing and waving their COCs in public.
MM, if you’re going to make an appearance in the presidential debate, or if by some stroke of fortune, we, the Filipino people would be graced with you as our next president…
… I would like to see you make public appearances with a fishpan. :-)
I say go for it! You’ve got one sure vote here (from me!!).
I’m having a hard time choosing who to vote. There seem to be not much of a choice after all.
HI MM: With your permission, here is a statement from Dr. Walden Bello, former member House of Representatives who challenges the traditional politics as we know it. You may delete it if you deem inappropriate for your blog although I feel this courageous challenge by former Representative Bello, running for the Senate as an independent may inspire you and others:
Swearing in ceremony for my run for the Philippine Senate with Consul General Generoso D.G. Calonge at the Consulate General in Chicago, Oct. 12, 2015.
Statement on filing my candidacy for the Senate of the Republic of the Philippines
Madison, Wisconsin, Oct 13, 2015 by Walden Bello.
When I resigned from the House of Representatives last March in protest against President Aquino’s double standards in his good governance policy and his refusal to accept command responsibility for the Mamasapano tragedy, I thought I was saying “goodbye to all that.” I was looking forward to a quieter life devoted to researching and writing a book on one of my favorite subjects: the current crisis of the global capitalist economy
Over the last three months, however, an ever widening network of groups and individuals has snowballed into a movement to get me to run either for the presidency or the Senate. That draft has proven to be implacable and irresistible.
I have accepted their challenge to run for the Senate.
I am running to promote an electoral insurgency against politics-as-usual, injustice, inequality, and corruption. I am running because people demand a representative with high ethical standards, who’ll go to hell for them, and who won’t bullshit them like most politicians do. I am running because because I hate power and the only ones you can trust with power are those who hate power.
I am running because I can no longer stand by and allow our people to be constantly fooled, betrayed, and devoured by the very people they elect to public office. I am running because we need to dismantle this awful system of traditional politics in which our people are trapped.
I am running to oppose a foreign policy that makes our poor country hostage to the machinations of aggressive superpowers. I am running to help liberate our economy from neoliberal policies imposed by a global capitalist system that has condemned our people to greater poverty and inequality even as it enriches our greedy elite and foreign corporations. I am running to end the criminal debt slavery, to which our sellout elite is complicit, that turns over 34 per cent of the annual government budget to insatiable foreign and domestic banks and creditors.
I am running on a platform that will, among other things, promote security of tenure for workers; complete agrarian reform; promote and protect the rights of women, indigenous peoples, and the LGBT community; protect the rights and advance the interests of our millions of OFWs; create jobs and expand housing for the urban poor; bring peace to Mindanao by passing a Bangsa Moro Basic Law that truly promotes the autonomy and aspirations of the Moro people; expand educational opportunities for our youth instead of enriching the country’s greedy creditors; enhance rather than destroy the environment; and provide decent, adequate, and functioning mass transit for commuters victimized by plundering private monopolies and bungling technocrats.
I am running as an independent because I am my own man.
What makes me different from most of the others running for the Senate and the presidency? My record. I have promised and delivered. I have been arrested and imprisoned. I have been consistent in my advocacies. I have called a spade a spade. I have gone to the extent of breaking the law in order to expose and destroy those forces that oppress our people. I have gone after those who sexually exploit and traffic our women. I broke publicly with a hypocritical president who refused to dismiss his corrupt cronies. I resigned from Congress rather than support an administration that had ceased to live up to the reform agenda for which it was voted to office and turned itself into a self-serving college fraternity.
My bid is supported by a broad civil society network, progressive organizations, and individuals, including OFWs, that came together over the last three months to convince me to run. I said I would not run unless I had proof they would go to hell, 24/7, for my candidacy against politics-as-usual. The reason I took so long to decide is I was waiting for proof they were willing to do this. I am now convinced they are. I am confident their their enthusiastic support will infect the electorate and carry this candidacy to victory. The conventional wisdom is that this independent candidacy has little chance of winning. We are out to disprove the conventional wisdom by revolutionizing electoral campaigning in the Philippines. The guiding slogan of our campaign is: “Never, never underestimate the Filipino people.”
Upon hearing of my candidacy, a friend from the media said, “May the force be with you.” Yes, I will definitely need all the Force I can get from the Filipino people in this uphill struggle against the Darth Vader of money, ambition, and brazen power that is traditional politics. But like Luke Skywalker, I am not one to walk away from a challenge.
To those who today control politics with their money, power, and ambition, this campaign says, “May you rot in hell.” We will prevail.
You would be the perfect gadfly for Philippine politics.
You have my vote!!!
Got my dual citizenship recently…just registered to vote,you have my vote MM!
Haven’t voted in years but will do so if you run MM. My only request is for you to hit all those stupid and corrupt officals with a really sturdy fishpan! Isn’t the state of Phil politics so tragic?
I chickened out. Need to show lots of money or resources to “run a national campaign”… how do those politicians do it if they are running as independents and have no significant money declared in their SALN’s. Ridiculous how the only discriminator is money. That’s democracy for you.
Hi MM, I am not very well versed in politics and your father’s time was way before me (I’m in my early 30’s). But I got curious and googled “Binamira cabinet secretary” and came across this article from Philippine Star. I think I got the right person. :) You may have seen the article before, but just in case, here’ s the link to the article:
https://www.philstar.com/freeman-opinion/2015/09/30/1505559/atty.-ramon-p.-binamira-cebuano-cabinet-member
the country needs you Marketman!