If winning the Presidency will have to be based on debates, I’d say, Gibo wins it hands down. In the past debates and forums, he’s always been prepared, well-spoken and knows what he’s talking about. I’ve always admired Gibo in terms of his credentials. But see, he’s got a baggage I don’t like. And at the Presidential Forum in DLSU, he was toasted, grilled and barbecued. Not his day. Here’s what I gathered from the news: (GMA News) and Inquirer)

Failon asked:
“Is there something for which President Arroyo should be held …

Inquirer reported that:
Nearly half a billion pesos had been spent by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the construction of roads, drainage canals and municipal buildings in her home district in Pampanga just 12 months before she runs as its representative in the House in May.
This was disclosed on Wednesday by Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros, who said the P459 million lavished in Pampanga’s second district was nine times the allocation granted to each of the members of the House for their annual infrastructure projects.
Then,
In 2009 alone, Ms Arroyo made around 50 visits …

Photo Credit: Daylife
The Lakas-Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) officials have finally spoken:
Gilbert ‘Gibo’ Teodoro will be their standard bearer for the Presidential Elections in May 2010.
The Defense Secretary won the party’s standard bearer against Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metro Manila Development Authority when he got an overwhelming 42 committee members vote. Fernando only got 5.
Teodoro, though not a common household name is no stranger to politics as he belongs to one of the most powerful political clan in the Philippines – the Cojuangcos.
He is also a second …

Photo courtesy of Lalaine (Taken from Baseco compound in Tondo, Manila)
Imagine yourself, dining at Le Cirque in New York, expensively classy, for the rich and famous, absolutely uber but apt for people who have “been there”. In fact, here’s one New York Times review said of the resto:
At Le Cirque you will indeed eat too much food, of a kind that neither your physician nor your local Greenpeace representative would endorse, in a setting of deliberate pompousness, at a sometimes ludicrous expense. The ravioli, all three of them, are …

Hehe alam ko, mukhang misleading yung title diba? Di bale misleading naman talaga palagi ang mga Statements ni Glory at ng kanyang mga megaphone na sina Lorelei Fajardo at Anthony Golez…
Ganito kasi yung nangyari. Sa sobrang dami ng updates about kay Cory Aquino, nalito tuloy yung mga mamamahayag. Sa halip na pangalan ni dating pangulong Cory Aquino ang nasasabi, nababangiit o naisusulat eh pangalan ni Madame Glory ang naiilagay. Sabi ng iba subconcious desire daw yun hahaha. Baka gusto talaga nila katayin si Glory dahil sa malawakang pag salungat ng …

Akala tuloy natin eh talagang inimbitahan si Madame Glory sa White House. Pati naman ako nagulat sa pinagsasasabi ng mga Puppet sa Malacanang. Kesyo “Honor daw ng Bayan”, “kesyo inimbitahan daw”, “kesyo Kailangan daw kasama si Lito Lapid para makapagpapicture kay Bam-Bam“ hahaha
Pero ang totoo pala naman ay Malacanang ang tulo laway sa pagpupursige na mameet ni Glory si Bam-bam kasi nga daw, kung matatandaan nyo, inisnab ng lolo nyo ang lola nyo noon sa US hahaha Akala kasi ni Tita Glory eh ang appointment kay Bam-bam ay by Height. …

Photo Harbat: Inquirer
Gloria flies to Washington DC kasama ang pamilya nya pati na isang batalyon nang langaw. At ang sabi nung junakees nya, “It’s an honor to the country!” Huh?! What country?! Pampanga?!
Washington DC is about 2.5 hours away from my Barrio Siete, Philadelphia. At kung andun ako sa Philly, I would have driven para masilayan ko si Glory, sa kanyang visit ki Oby, in Washington DC. Konti lang naman ang tanong ko ki Gloria and she does not even have to call a friend para sagutin.
Question Number 1: Ba’t …

Gulantang ako kanina before I headed to work. There was this email I received about Chiz Escudero. It said:
Reynz, ang pers lab mong si Chiz is social climbing in the dark!

HUH?! Social climbing in the dark?! Ano yon?! Latest version nang social climbing?! So, I called up the the person who emailed me while driving. What he told me was enough for me na isalpak ang preno sa tapat nang pulis! Waaaa!!!
What’s the buzz?!
Ang chorva was that, si Chiz Escudero pati na si Mike Manuel (pala! hahaha! thanks to …

Cartoon Courtesy of PCIJ
I will never forget Ninoy Aquino’s memorable anecdote about Ferdinand Marcos’ visit to the National Center for Mental Health during his dictatorship. He delivered this witty and funny story in front of hundreds of people in Los Angeles during a convention while He and Cory was still in Boston in exile. He said and let me re-tell it in my own words in Tagalog:
“Kinontak ng malacanang ang direktor ng Mental Hospital para ipaalam na dadalaw si Marcos at Imelda dun upang tingnan ang kalagayan ng mga baliw. …

Yes, 51% of what Gloria’s SONA 2009 were buladas!
As the nation and us Overseas Filipinos as well as Overseas Filipino Workers listened to the State of the Nation Address ni Gloria, what in the world was she trying to tell us nga ba? Typically, when the head of a state delivers a State of the Nation Address, eto ang report nya sa sambayanan na mga ginawa nya or ang sinasabing accomplishments for the good nang sambayanang Pilipino. Yan ang kanyang Annual Report bilang pag-tatalaga nang lipunan or sapilitang pagnakaw nang …

If you’re a regular at reyna elena dot com, you must have noticed that I love to dissect SONA and do my analintek review. Over the years, ga-wait sya nang mga students. Para kopyahin. Ang mga leche, pati ako ako napasubo sa isang titser nang isang universidad sa Manila. Pero, kiver! Typically after I digest and organize my SONA Summary, then I follow it up with my Reaction Paper.
Im fak, this morning pag-gizing ko, ganito karami ang tambay sa palasyo. Waiting for my Reaction Paper. Pwes. Eto na sya.

And …

In my SONA 2009 Summary, I offer no comments, unless napapahagikhik lang talaga ako. What I was doing was trying to understand kung ano ang sinasabi saken nang spikir. Are these all rhetorics? Spins? Chorva? Me chenalyn ever ba ang mga to o puro chika lang? And so, I must understand the speaker kung ano ba talaga ang ka-eklavuhan nya. So, here’s my 1st pass of Gloria’s SONA. This is not my reaction chorva. No worries mis estudiantes, but I will write a reaction paper. Or… i-drowing ko na lang …

Note: Mga ka-barrio! Eto na ang totoong SONA! Salamat kay Mel Beckham na kinalabet kaming dalawa ni Silver dahil dun sa naunang post namen na SONA na 2008 pala! Leche! Hindi na pala SONA yun, kungdi, CHONA!
Without any further delay whatsoever, heto na ang totoong SONA 2009 full transcript. Pwede nyo pa ring magamit ang previous 2008 SONA post to compare with this one. Tingnan natin ang differences – kung meron bang nagbago, natupad o napako sa mga pinagsasabi ni PGMA. Ihanda ang yellow pad at kelangan ipasa ang ating …