BF for Vice???

[CaMoTe!!!]

Bayani Fernando:'I need to be VP'
Posted: 0:10 AM (Manila Time) | Jul. 18, 2003
By Margaux Ortiz
Inquirer News Service


"I NEED to be vice president."

With these words, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando said Thursday he was thinking of running for the vice presidency in 2004 so he could "make people's lives better."


And if he wins, Fernando said he will do "something big."

He said he would be an active vice president, using his powers solely for the benefit of the Filipino people.

He refused to reveal what his "big" plan was, however, saying other government officials might copy it.

Before finalizing his plans, Fernando said he would seek feedback
from the people.

Militants were the first to express their opinion, however.

The fisher-folk group Pamalakaya urged the poor, vendors and tree lovers to campaign against Fernando's vice presidential bid.

"The idea of Fernando running in 2004 is nothing but a big joke,"
said Pamalakaya spokesperson Gerry Corpuz in a statement.

[CaMoTe!!!]

Overwhelming approval of Fernando's campaign
Posted:9:10 PM (Manila Time) | Sep.. 13, 2002
By Solita Collas-Monsod


NO doubt the Pulse Asia and the Social Weather Stations polling firms will be, or are already, asking Metro Manilans about what they think of the performance of Bayani Fernando as chairperson of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). There is nothing like a properly conducted and analyzed survey, with breakdowns by socio-demographic characteristics and complete with standard error, to enable us to determine with every measure of confidence what the public thinks.

But if the text messages that I receive in my daily radio commentary on dzMM, as well as the results of the GMA-7 "Debate" television program on Thursday evening that I co-host with Oscar Orbos, are any indication, the response will be overwhelming approval for what Fernando is doing.

Eighty-two percent of the "Debate" viewers who sent in their votes via cellular-phone text messages were of the opinion that Fernando was serving the people well, while 18 percent held the opposite view, a ratio of more than four to one. As far as the radio texts were concerned, the ratio was even larger: more like 19 to one.

That kind of support -- unsolicited, mind you -- that the people seem to be giving Fernando, most politicians would have to spend millions on PR handlers and image-builders to try to achieve. Yet, especially if they are "trapos" (traditional politicians), even if they give their eyeteeth to boot, they will get only a fraction of the popularity that BF (Bayani Fernando, as he is called) seems to enjoy.

What has BF done to merit such approval? Basically, as he himself has put it, he is just implementing the law. And therein lies a message that our political leaders would do well to heed. Therein also lies the strongest indication yet, as far as I am concerned, that there is indeed hope for this country.

The message is that people, specifically Metro Manilans, are sick and tired of the way rules and regulations are for the most part ignored, and the anarchy that this causes. They are no longer willing to look the other way when officials behave as if they were above the law, or when citizens who break the law are coddled for political purposes. A few examples will serve to show the sentiments of the text-message senders.

Jane Lim: BF we need your service. Huwag matakot sa (Don't be afraid of) illegal vendors. Thanks.

VPR of Poveda school: BF is doing the right thing. We admire his determination to clean MM unlike Congressman Syjuco et al. We want change -- BF is the answer. We hate his detractors. Since Mr. Syjuco is on the vendors' side, why doesn't he accommodate them and bring them to his district?

M. Angelo: Mayor Atienza takot mawalan ng boto. Politika ang solution niya na 40 na taon hindi ipektib (Manila Mayor Lito is afraid to lose election votes. His solution is political, which has been ineffective these past 40 years). We need drastic approach to change and get results.

Arturo: All my praises go to BF. He is a real hero for us here in Metro Manila. Gayahin at suportahan natin siya (Let us emulate and support him).

Ann Ramos: Wala na talaga disiplina mga Pinoy, kanya-kanya basta makakaisa (Filipinos really have no more discipline, they think only of themselves and how they can put one over others). If we can't observe discipline on the road, we can't move forward. Nakakapika na talaga (It really wears patience off).

These messages show that there is still hope for this country because one of the main reasons for our laggard development is that we are what Raul Fabella calls a "soft" and not a "hard" state. The basic difference between the two is that in the latter, the laws are obeyed strictly, while in the former, they are broken with impunity. It is heartening to know that more and more people express their support for "hard" leaders and their contempt for "soft" ones.

Another heartening sign is that people have not bought the "anti-poor" charges that have been hurled against Fernando to stir up anger against him. This indicates that more and more poverty is no longer accepted as an excuse for breaking the law, or that the "anti-poor" argument has very little basis. Which means that we might be beginning to have a discerning, rational public.

The logic of those who oppose Fernando seems to be that the sidewalk vendors are poor, while those that they inconvenience -- the pedestrians who can no longer use the sidewalks, the motorists who get delayed by traffic jams caused by the vendors' activities -- are all non-poor. And that the benefits derived from the vendors earning their living unimpeded are much greater than the combined costs of delay to the motorists moving to and from work and school.

Fernando claims that at most 10 percent of the sidewalk vendors are poor. But even if all of them are poor, it is ridiculous to think that those they inconvenience are all non-poor. Some crude calculations will show what the costs of this inconvenience are: For example, assume that one million (probably an underestimate) of our riding public on any given day -- experience 15-minute delays as a result of vendor-caused traffic. That is the equivalent of 250,000 person-hours, or over 30,000 person-days wasted daily (assuming an eight-hour day), with whatever attendant income or productivity loss that entails. Add the cost of increased fuel use for the vehicles (including jeepneys) stuck in traffic; as well as the increased pollution and its health effects on the riding as well as walking public.

As one text message said: I support BF 100%.

©2002 www.inq7.net all rights reserved

[CaMoTe!!!]

http://www.motorcyclephilippines.com...&threadid=4445

[bodick]

IF BF WON AS VP, SANA DEVELOPMENT N EMPLOYMENT NOT POLITICS.

SIGE MR ACTION MAN. GO AND DO WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT!

MAY THE MAP FORCE WITH BE WITH YOU...

[CaMoTe!!!]

we'll give BF the link so he can see for himself your comments... i sincerely hope he wins... this guy's got my full support!!!

http://www.motorcyclephilippines.com...&threadid=4526

[CaMoTe!!!]

Bayani Fernando is my hero
Posted: 10:51 PM (Manila Time) | Aug. 15, 2003
Inquirer News Service Street Smart by Mandy Navarro

I LIKE Bayani Fernando, and if he runs for Vice President of the
Philippines, he can have my vote.

I have taken photographs of the current chair of the Metro Manila
Development Authority and his wife. Having lunch with him and listening to the chairman only confirmed my liking for him. How can you dislike a man who has a sense of order and who has the guts to go against professional squatters and freeloaders?

We have heard it said the Philippines needs an iron hand to rule it, so we shouldn't balk at having a Bayani Fernando in higher office. As VP, Bayani says he wants to be put in charge of the railroads. Can you imagine taking a train ride as far south as Bicol, and Pangasinan in the North, the way people travel in Europe and in the USA? With Bayani, I believe this can happen.

He thinks he can duplicate nationwide what he has done for Marikina. The city even has a tree extraction and balling machine he is currently using to uproot and ball trees for relocation to a better place. I don't know why Bayani should take flak for removing trees that get in the way of progress.

We have to face the fact that, without road expansion, we won't be able to manage traffic better.

"You know, part of the reason why I have focused on trees and roads besides professional squatters in my road-clearing operations is because, when I was mayor of Marikina, all the drivers we apprehended said, 'Wala akong kasalanan, sir.'

"That made me think: Maybe it was sometimes the fault of our roads. They are not built the right way, there are blind corners or the traffic directions are not properly implemented."

Bayani confirmed Marikina is donating 100-million-peso worth of shoes to soldiers, which is really good news. He also wants to issue guns to psychologically-tested barangay tanod.

Asked why, Bayani replied, "Well, anybody can apply for a gun anyway, and not all applicants are psychologically tested. Do you know how many barangay chairmen and tanod are slain every month? They are first in the line of duty when trouble erupts in barangays!"

THE WAY chairman Fernando thinks is so logical, it's hard to imagine that people won't vote for him. And that includes the youth. More than the older generation, it is the young who are impatient for reforms.

And if you think he is politically naive, think again. The chairman has a formula for success. I believe he has a good chance to make it, even if he runs as an independent.

Many of us are tired of tradpols, traditional politicians who think only of themselves. Here we have a hardworking, honest-to-goodness candidate who only wants the best for the country.

It is time we think seriously about our country and stop jokers, gunrunners, tax evaders, drug dealers and the generally corrupt from being elected to public office. Bayani is my hero. He can be yours as well.

[Modular Overrev]

he's got my vote. and if he's elected VP things are going to turn for the better i hope, i'll pray for his success.

BF for President on 2010!!!

[littlebadboy]

My opinion -- BF as VP would be just a waste of his capabilites and potentials. His work would just be limited to certain things depending on what tasks would the President give him. I doubt if any President will allow himself to be overshadowed by his VP. I think BF would be more productive if he would stay in an important government position IF he won't run for president instead.

[bigfeather8888]

I am a man from Marikina! And BF is no non-sense! Let us vote for him incase he really pushes thru with his plans.----- BF(bigfeather)

[The Growler]

Originally posted by littlebadboy
My opinion -- BF as VP would be just a waste of his capabilites and potentials. His work would just be limited to certain things depending on what tasks would the President give him. I doubt if any President will allow himself to be overshadowed by his VP. I think BF would be more productive if he would stay in an important government position IF he won't run for president instead.

I hate to agree with you but you are 100% right.

[Frank Woolf]

I believe BF will stand by his words when he said to us at a meeting that "Motorcycles have the same rights on the road as any other vehicle." That should mean the end of the ridiculous life threatening tollway ban which would immediately end the boycott on tourism to the Philippines by nearly 1 million riders worldwide.

Mr. Fernando, I can count on one hand the number of people in Philippine governement that I respect and you are most definitely one of them. Motorcycles are about 25% of the vehicle population. That's a hell of a lot of votes if you continue to be against discrimination against motorcycles.

It is real pleasure to see someone working for the country instead of just for their own pocket.

[CaMoTe!!!]

please take time to vote on the poll

http://www.motorcyclephilippines.com...&threadid=4526

thanks

[CaMoTe!!!]

Fernando vows to remove squatters
from Metro if elected vice president
Manila Times
September 6, 2003

By Jefferson Antiporda, Reporter

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Bayani
Fernando believes that giving informal settlers in Metro Manila a
site where they can build their houses permanently will bring order to the whole metropolis.

Fernando in a television interview said there is a need for the
National Government to focus on the squatting problem of Metro Manila to improve the situation in the region as well as the lifestyle of squatter families.

But Fernando said no matter how determined he is in putting order back in the metropolis; he could not do it as the chair of the MMDA since it is not included in the agency's mandate.

Fernando said this is why he is running for vice president next
year "in order to focus my time in solving the squatting problem."

"Being the chair of the MMDA is not enough and I know I could do more when I become vice president," Fernando said.

The MMDA chair said no matter how much the National Government would spend on improving traffic; flood and clearing the street of illegal vendors the problem would still exist as long as informal settlers will not be given permanent lots for them to start a new life.

Squatters along rivers, canals and other waterways in different
cities and municipalities contribute to the flooding in Metro Manila,
he said. "If we will first find a relocation site for them, it would
be a big help in easing our flood problems."

"My dream is to someday clear Metro Manila of squatters. Not that I am antipoor, but I wanted to give them a more suitable place to live at the same time polishing the image of the Metro and I believed it is attainable," Fernando disclosed.

Fernando is scheduled to resign this December as MMDA chair as
preparation for his vice presidential bid in 2004.

[CaMoTe!!!]

i hear that marikina has no squatters... anyone from marikina care to confirm or deny this???

[littlebadboy]

I still think he can't do much as VP.

[patvil]

yes Camote, no more squatters in Marikina

those squatters who lived by the riverside few years back were relocated and were given housing projects..aren't they lucky?

[CaMoTe!!!]

BF pledges ‘practical solutions’ to RP’s problems once elected VP
By Nikko Dizon
The Philippine Star 09/24/2003

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila
Development Authority (MMDA) will offer "practical
solutions" to solve the country’s problems if he is
elected vice-president.

Speaking to veteran journalists at the weekly Tuesday
Group at the EDSA Plaza Hotel in Mandaluyong City,
Fernando said his 25-year achievement in the private
sector and 10 years in public service are his
"qualifications" to be the country’s second highest
official.

Present at yesterday’s forum were Tuesday Group
president, The STAR publisher Max Soliven, and members
presidential aspirant Raul Roco, presidential chief of
staff Rigoberto Tiglao, and STAR managing editor
Antonio Katigbak.

Although overshadowed by other more popular vice
presidentiables like Sen. Loren Legarda in the latest
surveys, Fernando remained confident that he has the
"stature, maturity, and suitability" to get him
elected next year.

Fernando said he needed to make people more aware of
his vice-presidential bid and thus has been "sneaking
out and going to provinces" during weekends to consult
with people and seek their support.

Despite having announced his plan to run for
vice-president last July, Fernando’s name was notably
missing from the latest surveys.

By making "noise" now, Fernando said he wanted to show
his winnability through the surveys and gain the
endorsement of President Arroyo and his party,
Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD).

However, Fernando said he has yet to talk with Mrs.
Arroyo about his political plans.

"All I need now is an endorsement or be the official
candidate of the party," he said.

"If you’re asking for my political maturity or
national stature, to have the guts to run for this
post, make me the official candidate of Lakas and
immediately I have that stature."

Fernando said his economic policy would focus on
addressing the low productivity of the Filipinos and
bring back dignity of labor.

"Nawawala na ang yabang sa ating trabaho, which does
not make us achieve excellence," he said.

"We (in government) should show leadership, that
everyone is responsible. For example, we must solve
problems at the plant floor level to address the
question of productivity."

Fernando said he was speaking from his 25 years of
experience as president of construction companies like
BF Metal Works in Pasig City.

If elected vice president, Fernando, a mechanical
engineer by profession, said he would assist the
national government in solving the country’s technical
problems.

"(The Philippines) being a young and poor country... I
find in my 10 years of government service that 80
percent of our problems are actually technical in
nature," he said.

"The things that our people are expecting of
government are basically technical and we are losing
money from these. ’Wag na yung corruption. But the
technical decisions have to be really attended to
because these (cause) the (financial) losses."

Fernando said he discovered P6.9 billion worth of
"unnecessary projects" during short stint as secretary
of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).


The amount is some 13 percent of the annual budget of
DPWH, he added.

Fernando held the DPWH post for three months and 10
days while being the concurrent MMDA chairman.

Fernando said he wants to focus on providing
"settlements" for people throughout the country.

"I want to establish 10 Marikinas, or manageable,
self-contained communities around Metro Manila and
other urban areas like Davao and Cebu that would each
accommodate one million households," he said.

"These would be cities that have the residential,
industrial, commercial, and recreational aspects of a
functioning community."

In his one year and three months as MMDA chairman,
Fernando has implemented draconian measures to set
order and discipline in Metro Manila, like removing
illegal sidewalk vendors and setting up an organized
bus dispatching system on EDSA to ease traffic and
installing urinals on sidewalks.

He has also tried to reduce floods in the metropolis.

Fernando is best known for transforming Marikina into
a bustling city, from being a crime-ridden and
laidback town, when he was mayor for nine consecutive
years.

[wrong wolf]

a vice-president's job is basically to be the president's replacement in case the president is unable to do his/her job. other than that, a vice-president will only be able to officially do projects or jobs that the president lets him/her to do. bayani may promise this or that when he becomes vice-president but it is ultimately up to the president. i wait with baited breath....