Friday, May 10, 2013

May Ginawa. May Magagawa pa.


Dick Gordon

Mayor of Olongapo City

In 1980, he was elected Mayor of Olongapo City. During his term as mayor, Olongapo soon became a highly urbanized city by the year 1983. Under his leadership, Olongapo City was converted from being a "sin city" into a “model city” by raising police accountability through I.D. systems, proper health and sanitation, waste management and the strict observance of color-coding in public transport.
In 1986, Gordon and then San Juan mayor Joseph Estrada became two of the local executives who refused to vacate their positions after the government reorganization by President Corazon Aquino. Gordon gave way for the Aquino appointed Officer-In-Charge after a formal written directive from the Executive Secretary representing Aquino was issued. In the same year, he joined Philippine Vice President Salvador Laurel in reorganizing the Nacionalista Party around the country. They campaigned for a "No" vote on 1987 Constitution framed by the Aquino appointed constitutional convention. In 1988, he was elected as mayor with the help of theNationalist People's Coalition, a breakaway of the Nacionalista Party under Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco.
On September 1991, Gordon led a nationwide rally for the retention of the U.S. Bases in the Philippines. The U.S. naval base in Subic Bay was a major income generating client of Olongapo City. In the same year, Olongapo experienced the greatest volcanic cataclysm of the century when Mt. Pinatubo erupted and dumped 14 inches of wet ash on the City. However, on September 16, 1991, the Philippine Senate voted 12-11 to reject the extension of a bases treaty.

Chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority

Establishment and Development of the SBMA 

The looming withdrawal of the Americans from the U.S. naval base in Subic meant the loss of over 40,000 jobs for Filipinos who were employed in the said base. Also, $ 8 million worth of infrastructure left behind by the Americans in the base and was in danger of being looted from outsiders, as evidenced by the looting that occurred in 1991 at the Clark Air Base due to the aftermath of the Pinatubo eruption.
To address the problems beforehand, Gordon led the citizens of Olongapo to mobilize and lobby for the inclusion of a free port concept into the national legislation for the conversion of the U.S. bases. The effort was successful, with the inclusion of the establishment of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (also known as the Subic Special Economic Zone) in Section 12 of Republic Act No. 7227, otherwise known as the Bases Conversion and Development Act, which was approved on March 13, 1992. Section 13 of the same legislation also provided for the establishment of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which was tasked to administer the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
On April 3, 1992, Gordon was appointed as the chairman of the SBMA by President Corazon Aquino.By November 24, 1992, the U.S. Navy completed its withdrawal from the facility and its conversion for civilian and commercial use began.Volunteerism and the high civic spirit of the host community marked the pioneering efforts at conversion.
In the 1992 local elections, Gordon was reelected as mayor of Olongapo City by a landslide victory. In 1993, a citizen questioned Gordon's dual duty as mayor of Olongapo City and as chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. The Supreme Court decided that Gordon must hold one position. Gordon decided to vacate his position as Mayor and assumed the position of SBMA chairman in full capacity. In the 1995 local elections, his wife Katherine, a three term Congresswoman, was elected mayor of Olongapo. In the 1996APEC Summit, 18 world leaders were impressed with the facility and Subic became a new investment hub in Southeast Asia.Bluechip companies like FedEx Express, Enron, Coastal Petroleum now El Paso Corporation, Taiwan computer giant Acer and France telecoms company Thomson SA invested US$2.1 Billion in the freeport reinvigorating the economy and creating 200,000 jobs replacing those lost during the US Navy withdrawal.
In 1998, Gordon resigned as Chairman of the SBMA in order to run for president in the national elections held during that year. However, he eventually backed out from pursuing his candidacy. He was later re-appointed by outgoing President Fidel Ramos as chairman of the SBMA for a new six-year term.

1998 Forced Removal 

In the 1990s, Gordon was a fierce critic of Joseph Estrada due to their difference of opinions regarding the US Naval Base. This was seen as early as 1991, when Gordon refused to let then-Senator Estrada film inside Subic Bay for a movie that criticized American bases in the Philippines.
After winning the 1998 presidential elections on May of that year, newly elected President Joseph Estrada issued Administrative Order No. 1, which ordered the removal Gordon as Chairman of the SBMA.Estrada appointed Felicito Payumo, Gordon's critic and congressman of Bataan as new chairman. Gordon refused to step down, stating that his re-appointment from the Ramos administration gave him civil service protection. The removal process was not easy. Hundreds of volunteers and paid people barricated the gates of SBMA and Gordon locked himself inside the SBMA Administrative Office Building 229. After this, he was dubbed a dictator because of the fact that he rebelled against an executive order. The issue sparked the interest local and foreign press known as the Showdown at Subic.
Gordon filed for a temporary restraining order before the local court. The local court of Olongapo granted Gordon's request but Payumo's party filed an appeal before the Court of Appeals (CA). The CA reversed the local court's ruling and it was affirmed by the Supreme Court.With the Supreme Court decision, Gordon called Payumo and turned over the reins of SBMA at the Subic Bay Yacht Club two months later on 3 September 1998. Together with the Subic volunteers, they cleaned up the facility.

Secretary of Tourism 

On January 2001, Gordon actively participated in the second EDSA Revolution that led to the removal of Joseph Estrada from the presidency. Newly installed President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed Gordon as secretary of the Department of Tourism. With his experience as a former brand manager of Procter and Gamble Philippines and chairman of SBMA, Gordon placed the Philippines in the international tourism map by actively marketing the Philippines in several tourism expositions and road shows with the Wow Philippines campaign strategy winning awards at ITB and WTM. From 2002, after four years of negative growth and in spite of threats of terror post 9-11, Abu Sayyaf kidnappings, SARS, Oakwood Mutiny, tourism arrival increased heavily. He also encouraged domestic tourism by holding regional events and having provincial destinations showcased at Intramuros and the rationalization of Holiday Economics. He held the position until January 2004.

Philippine National Red Cross 

Since 1986, Gordon was elected as governor of the Philippine National Red Cross, taking active roles in rescue, relief and rehabilitation in various disasters from shipwrecks, typhoons, 1990 earthquake in Cabanatuan, 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, 2004 landslides in Aurora, Quezon and 2006 Ginsaugun, Southern Leyte mudslide and the PhilSports Arena stampede. He is currently the chairman of Philippine Red Cross.

Senator of the Philippines 

Election 

PANAY ISLAND, Philippines (June 29, 2008) U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, Kristie A. Kenney, speaks with members from the Philippine media. Kenney, Commander Carrier Strike Group Seven, Rear Adm. James P. Wisecup, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff, General Alexander B. Yano and Republic of Philippines Senator Dick Gordon, and other American and Philippine officials, met at Iloilo Airport to share their goals and show their support for Typhoon Fengshen relief efforts. At the request of the government of the Republic of the Philippines, Reagan is off the coast of Panay Island providing humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Reagan and other U.S. Navy ships are operating in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility to promote peace, cooperation and stability.
In the 2004 national elections, Gordon ran for senator of the Philippines under theKoalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (Coalition of Truth and Experience for Tomorrow) of President Arroyo. He won the election with 12,707,151 votes, which was the fifth highest number of votes from the electorate.

Senate Chairmanships 

During the 13th Congress (2004–2007), as Chairman of the Senate Committee of Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Laws, he upheld the supremacy of the Constitution at all times. Though he may not have voted for the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, he took an oath to preserve and defend it. He insisted on the lawful process of Charter Change only according to the process set forth in the Constitution. He opposed the method of Constituent Assembly or "con-ass" initiated by President Arroyo and House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., which was possible in the 1935 Constitution but unlawful in the current Constitution, as well as the dubiousSigaw ng Bayan People's Initiative and was one of the triumphant parties in the case of Lambino and Aumentado vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 174153, October 25, 2006.
He also preserved the separation of powers in government and asserted the Senate’s constitutional right and duty to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation against Executive Order No. 464 in Senate, et al. vs. Ermita, G.R. No. 169777, April 20, 2006, andExecutive Order No. 1 in Sabio vs. Gordon, et al., G.R. No. 174340, October 17, 2006.

Automated Election Law

He was also responsible for the passage of Republic Act No. 9369 — or the Automated Elections System to obviate cheating and post election controversies and protests that hound Philippine elections.

WWII Veterans Compensation 

On April 9, 2008, Araw ng Kagitingan or Day of Valor in Bataan, President Arroyo signed into law Republic Act No. 9499- Gordon's Veterans Bill.The Filipino World War II Veterans Pensions and Benefits Act of 2008 amends Sections 10 and 11 of Republic Act No. 6948, as amended, by removing the prohibition against our veterans receiving benefits from the United States government. Before the law was signed, the Philippine government benefits of veterans would be revoked once they were granted benefits by the United States government. Because of Gordon’s advocacy and persistence, this prohibition is now eliminated, and Filipino veterans will now be able to receive any form of benefit from any foreign government without losing the benefits given to them by the Philippine government.

National Tourism Policy Act of 2009 

He was the principal author of the National Tourism Policy Act of 2009 or Republic Act 9593, declaring a national policy for tourism as an engine of Investment and employment, growth and national development that was signed by President Arroyo in Cebu on May 12, 2009 and witnessed by the country's tourism private sector.

Loren Legarda 

Senate, 1st term (1998-2004) 
After becoming urged by the Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos, Legarda ran for the Senate in 1998 under the Lakas-NUCD-UMDPParty. She was elected with more than 15 million votes, allowing her to be the highest vote-getter in that year's election. During her tenure, she played crucial roles in the release of several hostages abducted as a result of the Insurgency in the Philippines. These include the release from captivity of five military and police officers and personnel (including General Victor Obillo of the Philippine Army) held by the CPP-NPA-NDF in April 1999, of Philippine Army Major Noel Buan in April 2001 from two years of captivity, and fellow journalist Arlene dela Cruz from her Abu Sayyaf abductors in Jolo.
During her first six years in the Senate, Legarda authored legislation benefiting women's and children's rights, such as the following:
·         Anti-Domestic Violence Act - seeks to uphold and protect the basic human rights of women and their children.
·         Anti-Child Labor law - limits the employment of children below 15 years old, restricts the hours of work of working children, expands working children's access to education, social, medical and legal assistance.
·         Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act - aims to protect victims of human trafficking.
She also authored the following laws:
·         Ecological Solid Waste Management Law - created the National Solid Waste Management Commission, which aims to establish segregation among garbage and wastes.
·         Tropical Fabric Law - prescribes the use of Philippine tropical fabrics for official uniforms of government officials and employees and for the purposes, which require the use of fabrics in government offices and functions.
Aside from these achievements, she has allowed dozens of former child laborers to enroll in school through the Libro ni Loren Foundation. She established regular medical missions to benefit breast cancer patients through the Bessie Legarda Memorial Foundation, which was named for her own mother. Loren Legarda played a crucial role in the 2000-01 impeachment trial of Joseph Estrada, and her actions eventually helped spark the 2001 EDSA Revolution. She was later chosen to be the Senate's Majority Floor Leader from 2001-2004.
2004 elections and ABC 5 (2004-2007)

Senator Loren Legarda during a 2007Philippine Military Academy ceremony.
In 2003, Legarda left Lakas-CMD (after Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo broke her pledge not to run again for president) and joined the KNP coalition of Fernando Poe, Jr. as an Independent during the 2004 elections.
On January 18, 2008, in a 21-page resolution, penned by Senior Justice Leonardo Quisumbing, the Supreme Court of the Philippines, acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), dismissed Sen. Loren Legarda's electoral protest against Noli de Castro. Three reasons supported the judgment: first, the PET approved the recommendation of Hearing Commissioner and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair retired SC Justice Bernardo P. Pardo that “the pilot-tested revision of ballots or re-tabulation of the certificates of canvass would not affect the winning margin of the protestee in the final canvass of the returns, in addition to the ground of abandonment or withdrawal by reason of Protestant’s candidacy for, election and assumption of the office Senator of the Philippines”; second, Legarda’s failure to pay the P 3.9 million ($1=P 40) revision of ballots (in 124,404 precincts) fee despite court extension under Rule 33 of the PET; and third, jurisprudence of Defensor Santiago v. Ramos, teaches that Legarda "effectively abandoned or withdrawn her protest when she ran in the Senate, which term coincides with the term of the Vice-Presidency 2004-2010".
Senate, 2nd term and 2010 elections (2007-present) 
In 2007, Legarda decided to run again for Senate under the banner of the Genuine Oppositioncoalition. She won, receiving more than 18 million votes, which allowed her to become the top vote-getter in that election. On January 10, 2008, rumors arose that Legarda would run for president after she topped a survey held during that period. Later that month, she donated 1 million pesos for 4-year-old deaf Filipino Raphael Angelo Provido’s cochlear implant at the Philippine General Hospital. She was instrumental in negotiating the release of ABS-CBN News journalist Ces Drilon from the Abu Sayyaf. On July 14, 2009, she announced her intention to run as president during the 2010 elections. On August 15, her bill, the Magna Carta on Women was passed. On October 23 of that same year, during the launch of her humanitarian program "Lingkod Loren in Luneta", she formally declared her intention to run for vice-president in 2010 under Nationalist People's Coalition with the platform of environmentalism. AfterFrancis Escudero, expected to run for president, left the NPC,she decided that it would be best to stick with the Nacionalista Party's presidential candidate, Manny Villar, as a guest-running mate.
So far in her second term as senator, Legarda has filed the following laws:
·         Expanded Senior Citizens Law - seeks to increase the discount granted to senior citizens to 32% on goods and services, impose stiffer penalties to establishments which refuse to honor senior citizen card, etc.
·         Climate Change Law - builds resilience to the impacts of climate change through the mainstreaming of climate change in various phases of policy formulation, development plans, poverty reduction strategies and other development tools by all agencies of government.
·         Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Act - requires lending institutions to allocate at least eight percent of their total loan portfolio to micro and small businesses.
·         Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act - fixes the maximum retail price of certain medicines and increases access of cheapermedicines in the country.
·         Revised Agri-Agra Law - mandates banks to devote 25% of their loanable funds to agriculture and agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Legarda lost her bid for the Philippine vice-presidency to Jejomar Binay placing third in the 2010 Philippine presidential elections. As a result, she continuedto serve in the Senate. In 2010, Legarda was given chairmanship for the Senate committees on climate change, cultural communities, and foreign affairs.She would later go to the United Nations to deposit the Philippines ratification for theInternational Criminal Court membership. As a result of Koko Pimentel's win in his case against Juan Miguel Zubiri, evidence about Legarda's cheating allegations against Noli de Castro and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have surfaced.



Teddy Casiño

In the 15th Congress, Casino became the chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development, where he champions the welfare of our micro, small and medium enterprises.As chairperson of the Committee, Casino also spearheads Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy! - a grassroots campaign promoting the consumption of Filipino-made products and the development of integrated, world-class Filipino industries.
He is also senior vice chairperson of the Committee on Higher and Technical Education, safeguarding the youth's right to affordable and quality education.

 

Authored Laws and Bills

Laws
Casino is the one of the principal authors of four laws that have benefited the poor and marginalized sectors, namely:
1.    The Public Attorneys Act of 2007 (R.A. 9406) which strengthened the Public Attorneys Office and expanded its free legal services to poor litigants;
2.    The Tax Relief Act of 2009 (R.A. 9504) which exempts minimum wage earners from withholding taxes;
3.    The Rent Control Act of 2009 (R.A. 9653) which put a cap on rent for low-income earners
4.    The Anti-Torture Act of 2009 (R.A. 9745) which penalizes torture.
Aside from this, he has authored a total of 178 authored and 376 co-authored measures, making him the 4th most prolific congressman in the 15th Congress.
Bills
Casino's main advocacy is the lowering of prices of electricity, oil and water as well as regulation in the price of education, healthcare, mobile communications, toll fees and other basic utilities and services. Towards this end, he has filed bills on:
1.    The removal of VAT on power (HB 2719), oil (HB 1630)[and toll fees (HB 5303)
2.    The regulation of oil prices (HB 4355), mobile phone services (HB 5653),tuition fees (HB 1961) and interest rates (HB 4917).
He has consistently opposed the budget cuts in our state colleges and universities as well as the privatization of our public hospitals and water districts.
As a relentless fighter of corruption and government abuse, Casino is also the principal author of
1.    The Whistleblowers Protection and Rewards Bill (HB 132),
2.    The Freedom of Information Bill (HB 133),the Anti-Dynasty Bill (HB 3413)
3.    The House version of the Anti-Epal Bill (HB 2309).

When Hagedorn was elected as Mayor of Puerto Princesa City in 1992, he also served as an Assemblyman of the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCD), a body created during the term of President Corazon C. Aquino which was tasked to oversee the establishment of an autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao and it included Palawan island.

He also served simultaneously as mayor and as a Representative of the League of Cities of the Philippines for Region IV and member of National Executive Board of Boy Scout of the Philippines.
Under his leadership, Puerto Princesa was transformed into one of the more famous eco-tourism destinations in the Philippines. The city is also a global model for environment protection, elevating the city into the Hall of Fame as the Philippines “cleanest and greenest” component city and winning several global recognition and awards in the process.

Edward Hagedorn


Based on the
 Philippine Constitution of 1987, Hagedorn was prohibited from running for a third three year term on January 30, 2001 but after an election recall led by Puerto Princesa’s Barangay leaders against the incumbent mayor who replaced Hagedorn, Victorino Dennis M. Socrates, the Supreme Court of the Philippines on November 12, 2002 issued a landmark decision allowing Hagedorn to run again as mayor of the city.
On September 2005, Hagedorn was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the “anti-jueteng czar”, charged to oversee the government’s efforts to clamp down on the proliferation of the illegal two-numbers gambling. Hagedorn was given the task of creating a legalized and government form of jueteng called Small Town Lottery or STL

Leadership Initiatives

·         Oplan Linis Program (Clean and Green Campaign) - Launched on August 1, 1992, the program aims to sustain cleanliness, beautification, and sanitation in the city through active and continuing partnership among government agencies, non-government organizations, the private sectors, and citizens. The program has earned for Puerto Princesa the coveted label of being the cleanest and greenest city in the Philippines.

·         Bantay Puerto Program (Puerto Princesa Watch) - Protect + Rehabilitate + Plan - These are the program’s key management thrusts. Protect what is there, rehabilitate what has been destroyed, and plan for the intelligent utilization of the city’s terrestrial and marine resources. This is the life cycle that the program envisions for the community to achieve sustainable development.
·         Comprehensive Housing Program - Puerto Princesa’s vast land area and its rich terrestrial and marine resources have become like magnets that attracted a lot of in-migration from all over the country. They came in droves and squatted in public and private lands whose owners either did not care or know. Majority of them, being fishermen, chose the coastal areas for being closest to their source of income.
·         Agriculture Program - Puerto Princesa City is primarily an agricultural economy. It is almost self-sufficient in food, except for a few varieties of vegetables. Metro Manila’s ten million population get their fish and other marine supplies from the city in particular and Palawan in general. To improve the farmer’s quality of life, however, there exists the urgent need to introduce productivity enhancement programs.
·         Education Program - To highlight the importance that the city government attaches to education as playing a pivotal role in the city’s future development, Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn launched the City Education Enhancement Program. The project intends to improve the standard of education within the service area of the city government by identifying and prioritizing the establishment of schools, and organizing a continuous training scheme for schoolteachers in the city.
·         Health Program – When illness strikes and there is no one to turn to for help, people are tempted to resort to illegal means for remedy. For farmers and fishermen, for example, the seas and the forests become attractive sources of fast buck. To dispel the temptation, the City Government has undertaken effective and efficient health services.
·         Infrastructure Program – Under the leadership of Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn, Puerto Princesa witnessed a boom in both horizontal and vertical constructions, implemented with the ultimate goal of boosting the economic development of the city, at the least possible cost.
·         Livelihood Program – “Kaunlaran” (Development) or economic development is the last of the three K’s (the first two being “Kalinisan” or cleanliness and “Kapayapaan” or peace and order) that Mayor Hagedorn has promised the people of Puerto Princesa. This is the most difficult and challenging task that the mayor has put before himself but has achieved a degree of relative peace in the city, making it one of the safest destinations in the Philippines.
·         Tourism Program - Puerto Princesa City was a place no one really bothered to know, except of course the Puerto Princesans. What little that people knew about Puerto Princesa were mostly conjured images of a not-so-wholesome place like being the abode of prisoners, and where malaria abounds, but Hagedorn has built an image for the city as a place to go for eco tourism, seeing a developing city yet maintains a balance with nature, a city in the forest.
·         E-tricycle - On January 19, 2007, Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn unveiled the environment-friendly and economicalelectric-powered “Trikebayan” (which does not emit any noise or carbon monoxide) at the Kapihan sa Sulo forum, Sulo Hotel,Quezon City. The Trikebayan costs only P 48 or $ 1.20 per day to operate, while a gasoline-powered tricycle operation would cost P 200. Rolly Concepcion, who conceptualized the Trikebayan, said that converting a tricycle engine to electric costs P 68,000. The 36-watt rechargeable battery under the passenger seat can run for 12 hours.

Vision 

·         “To see Puerto Princesa as model city in sustainable development.”

With the following concepts:
·         A park-like city demonstrating balance and harmony between development and environment;
·         A center for eco-tours, healthful recreation, applied research on ecology, ecosystem, marine and terrestrial flora and fauna and environmental management;
·         A home for disciplined inhabitants who are responsible stewards of the city’s ecological system and resources; their quality of life improved as they enjoy directly or indirectly the bounties of nature and the fruits of their labor; and;
·         Its major thoroughfares developed as boulevards, promenades and stretches of tree-lined and coastal highways interspersed with parks and resorts and provided with appropriate facilities for tourism, agriculture, commerce and environment-friendly industries.

In popular culture 

Hagedorn was the subject of a biopic movie titled Hagedorn in which his character was played by actor Fernando Poe Jr. in 1995.

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