The nation’s security is one of the major concerns the government should deal with. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at present is competent enough with regards with skills and intelligence. However, Philippine troops lack lots of things and advancements that will totally help in sustaining peace and order, and cementing the security of the country.

According to Lakas-Kampi-CMD frontrunner Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr., the AFP cannot “realistically” modify owing to its focal duty of giving internal security to over 7,000 islands in the archipelago.

Last Friday night, speaking to a large assembly of journalists, business and industry leaders, and top officials of the diplomatic corps held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Makati City, Gibo stated that Republic Act 8551 stresses for a major internal security role for the  AFP, limiting every transformation efforts to “capability upgrades” as a result.

‘If our prime mission is internal security, then it is people that we need, or else we’ll drain our resources. Doubling the defence budget is an option, but it is not doable,” explained the country’s former youngest defence.

“In situations where you, say, have a town, where a barangay is three or four hours from the town center, with only 30 policemen on 12-hour duty cycles, or 15 policemen, 10 of whom patrol the whole town…you don’t have any deterrence in that situation,” he said. “So unless we can invest in more people, we cannot expect long-term peace and order. For now, we continue to make do with creative means to stabilize the situation, and that’s what I advocate.”

According to 1989 bar topnotcher, the expenses for external defence equipment can only run to billions of pesos. Gibo also stressed out that the capability upgrade of the AFP means develop present structures for size.

“Of course there are some logistical capabilities that you need to fill, such as medium and light transports, our naval fleet, for example,” he added.

“Unless we amend   the Police Law, or RA 8551, I do not see ourselves spending 2.1 billion pesos on a single black hawk helicopter when our (modernization) budget is only P5 billion, and our main mission is internal security. I’d rather we spend money on people rather than on equipment.  Because you are fighting local phenomena,” he said.

The former chief of Defence raised two questions that require urgent answers if the AFP’s main mission were external:

“Can the police be built up to such a capacity and size that it can answer the need for internal security?  Number two, can we afford to increase our defense spending by 50, even a hundred times more than the P5 billion we receive each year for modernization? The answer to both is no.”

It was recently reported that a huge part of Ilocano legislators belongs to the compelling alliance in the House of Representatives called the “Northern Alliance”’ are backing the presidential bid of Lakas-Kampi-CMD frontrunner Gilbert ‘Gibo’ Teodoro Jr.

First district representative of La Union, Victor Ortega said that these House members have arrived at a agreement in their group’s conference to support Gibo’s presidential bid, an expansion, which, according to the congressman, is expected to tip the conclusion of this year’s presidential race with the advantage of Lakas Kampi CMD standard-bearer.

According to Ortega, a former governor and now provincial chairman of Lakas-Kampi-CMD, the Northern Alliance vote will bring the gigantic disparity in the concluding tally of votes

“Hopefully, we will be able to get all of them for Gibo,” Ortega said.

Ortega also disclosed that The Northern Alliance is composed of House members representing the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera Administrative Region as well as other Ilocano-speaking legislators. The trade display initiated weeklong festivities highlighting the 160^th anniversary of La Union.

“Definitely, definitely, this could spell the difference because there are many presidential candidates and their numbers are very close,” Ortega said.

“As of now, Gibo is still lagging in the surveys but wait when the campaign period for the local officials begin because that is when we will feel the surge… that’s when the local officials will start moving openly (for Gibo),” he said.

He said there would be a surge in the weeks ahead because most of the local officials belong to Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

Just recently, La Union’s first district representative stated that there will be a “blizzard of support” for Gibo when the campaign period for local candidates kicks off in a month’s time. “Gibo will win here (in La Union),” he said.

The congressman, governor and mayor are siblings.

La Union has about 360,000 voters, Ortega said.

“The congressman’s forecast about the surge of support for Gibo has also buttressed what we have been saying all along about the fresh wave of voter support that Gibo will get once the campaign period for the local elections kicks in later this March,” Toledo, a former press secretary, said.

According to Toledo, the awe-inspiring support for Gibo by young voters, who comprise the largeness of voters in the May elections, will be harmonized by the fresh wield of support from the ruling party’s campaign machinery at the onset of the local campaign period.

The controversial and enduring issue about the burial of the former president Ferdinand Marcos took another turn as the sons of political two political icons collides. Ilocos Norte Rep. and senatorial candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. shattered his silence about Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino’s current declaration that the late former president is not worthy to be rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) situated in Taguig City.

The former first-son criticized Aquino for flipping on the issue in a press conference last Wednesday for his product endorsement, “Blackwater” cologne and deodorant by Ever Bilena.

“Nagtataka ako dahil bago na naman ang (sinasabi niya). Dahil noong nasa Isabela siya at tinanong siya tungkol sa paglibing sa aking ama sa Libingan ng mga Bayani eh sinabi niya na he will put his personal feelings aside at magpapatayo siya ng komisyon upang mapag-aralan ang isyung ito,” the congressman said.

Marcos also stated that Aquino’s testimonial may have somewhat to do with his [Marcos'] statement that the EDSA 1 people power was a “failure.”

“Siguro, mayroon akong nasabi na hindi niya nagustuhan, nagbago na naman ang isip niya at sasabihin na huwag akong umasa na ililibing ang tatay ko sa Libingan ng mga Bayani, which is a little bit surprising for me because I thought that he has taken a position that he will put up a commission. So I’m just wandering kung ano ‘yong thought process niya. So siguro, kapag pinuri ko siya ay babalik na naman at sasabihin na ililibing ang ama ko sa Libingan ng mga Bayani,” Marcos said.

He explained: “So it’s dependent on whether you are nice to the position he makes, it’s dependent whether he likes what you say or he doesn’t like what you say… ito ay karapatan ng isang pangulo, isang naging bayani na sundalo na lumaban sa giyera, at kung anuman ang sabihin mo at ng ibang tao does not change the past that he was the president for 20 years, that he was a soldier who fought for his country and the most decorated soldier in World War II in the Philippines, and that is clear that that is the right na dapat ilibing siya sa Libingan ng mga Bayani. What other people say should not make a difference.

‘Don’t let your emotions rule’

Marcos also advised Liberal Party frontrunner Sen. Noynoy Aquino, to make policy decisions based on reason rather than emotion.

“If you are going to aspire for an influential and higher position in government, in any endeavor, you cannot allow your emotions to rule your mind, you have to use your mind, you have to understand the rational the objective, and it’s a little surprising for me that rationality and objectivity has left, parang umalis na doon sa usaping ito. I don’t know why he changed his position. Like I said, maybe he didn’t like what I said.

“The policy of a person in high office should not be determined by his own personal emotion. That is not the way to govern, and that’s not the way to find the best way to help the people.”

– Yahoo! News

Gibo Teodoro has envisioned a progressive nation that is visible on his political platform. The scope of his plans reaches out to every Filipino citizens that is in need of urgent assistance, the issues that should be given prior notice. One of Gibo’s brilliant propositions tackles about affordable medical coverage for every Filipino. This is among the biggest issues that we should provide immediate answers. Today, Teodoro carried out his goals on how to meet the realization of how to get low-cost medical coverage for our country.

A couple of days ago, Lakas Kampi CMD frontrunner Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr.,  urged that he has prioritize comprehensive developments in public health care that would grant Filipinos reasonably priced medical coverage. The former Defense secretary also stated that it needs a combination of supplementary resources and funds to develop the coverage of medical benefits while PhilHealth is a mass-based medical-care program paid out of government funds.

“Additional resources allocated by the government for PhilHealth will surely redound to the benefits of the Filipino masses,” Teodoro said.

He stressed the must for local governments to build their own hospitals and clinics to provide the needs of their communities.

“Our dream is for all municipalities to have their own modern hospitals that could dispense health care at less costs,” Teodoro added.

PhilHealth, managed by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., now has over 81 million members who pay an individual monthly premium of P100. Members get benefits such as financial support for room and board, drugs and medicines, laboratories fee, dialysis and cancer treatment procedures in accredited hospitals, operating room and professional fees for confinements and surgery and free-standing clinics to name a few.

The 1989 bar top-notcher also mentioned the need to have a specialized foundation of barangay health workers and said he will push for a program to advance professionalize them as accountable agents of public health care as well.

In a country where politics is as dirty as our sewers, it is refreshing to have a candidate who realizes the importance of a positive campaign strategy.

Before the start of his campaign, Gibo Teodoro has already envisioned a positive campaign strategy for his party. He wanted to veer away from the usual mudslinging and dirty campaign strategies used by most of the other presidential candidates. Gibo wants to have a positive campaign geared towards political reconciliation and the uplifting of the People’s morale.

In his campaign, Gibo does not want to let political bickering get in the way of his campaign strategies. He has been criticized for his association with the administration and has been questioned about his controversial families ties. He has been careful in dealing with these issues as he does not want to let controversies affect his chances of winning the elections.

In an interview, he said that while he and his uncle, Danding Cojuangco have different political views, his relationship with him will remain private and will not affect his political career and decisions.

He said, it will be a good achievement for every Filipino if we could go through the May 2010 elections with a positive attitude and as one country.

A president will have to lead the country after winning the elections. Gibo said, in order for the people to follow a president, the president should get the people positive and upbeat. He also mentioned that winning an election from a negative campaign only creates divisions in the administration that may be incurable. He does not want to have a divided administration. He wanted to have an administration that is united from the start so they all lead the country effectively.

Gibo’s positive campaign only speaks of how he plans to lead a country that has been divided for a very long time. He understands that being able to work as one nation is very important to be successful in any endeavor that we will take.

capability to pay for health insurance of every citizen. The former Secretary of Defense explained that this participative scheme, in which all Filipino citizens will benefit from Philhealth based on their ability to pay, is the better option than raising taxes to implement a government-subsidized expanded health care program.

Gibo pointed out during the presidential forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents of the Philippines, that” institutionalizing a participative health care scheme with universal coverage” would be among his first five priorities in his first 100 days in office if chosen to be the next President of country. The presidentiable also said during the presidential forum held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Manila that besides health care, educational reforms, which comprise the institutionalization of a student loan program; ensuring the continuity of long-term infrastructure initiatives with the end in view of seamless interconnecting the country’s ports and seaports; an honest-to-goodness assessment of the country’s peace and order agenda; and the strict and full implementation of pro-environment programs will be among his top priorities in his first 100 days as President.

According to Gibo, the first order of the day would be to name the members of his Cabinet to make his priority agenda possible. Health care is one major policy of Gibo’s “Sulong Pilipinas” program of government that also includes education reform, continuity of the public infrastructure build-up, environmental protection, food security and a non-compromising stand against crime and terrorism.

Gibo also said that besides implementing a participative health care system, the government should also modify the ability of the country’s barangay health workers and regularize proceedings for cautionary health care at the local level. World Health Organization (WHO) standards set the ideal spending for health care at 5% of a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which Gibo said couldn’t be realized in a developing country like the Philippines.

“Hence, our health care system should be participative, meaning to say, whether one is rich or poor, he or she should be covered based on ability to pay,” Gibo said during the anniversary program at the city gymnasium.

In his speech before a jam-packed Ynares Center, Gibo Teodoro extended his appreciation to the entire local officials who attended the administration party’s inaugural official campaign kick-off, stating that local government units (LGUs) are the “strength” of the national government.

“The nation would not be strong without the local government units. I want to given them the opportunity to flourish during my administration,” he said in Filipino.

“I believe in the importance of the LGUs in nation-building… It is time that we listen to the voice of our people expressed through the local government,” he added.

Lakas-Kampi-CMD’s vice-presidential bet Edu Manzano similarly acknowledged the significance of local government support in his speech in front of an estimated 15,000 green-clad party officials, local government officials and supporters inside the gymnasium.

“There would be no empowered national government without an empowered local government,” Manzano said.

Among the local government officials who attended the sortie were Pampanga Rep. and presidential son Mikey Arroyo; Buluan Vice-Mayor Ismael Mangudadatu, who lost his wife and two sisters in the Nov. 23 massacre in Maguindanao province; and Teodoro’s wife, Tarlac Rep. Monica Prieto. During the kick-off sortie, administration party officials were also present such as Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, and Lakas-Kampi-CMD campaign manager Prospero Pichay.

Ermita said he was “very happy” that local government executives showed their support to Teodoro and the rest of the rest of the administration party’s slate.

“I am very happy that everyone is so enthusiastic. I am thankful that the local executives from the Visayas and Mindanao took the time off and flew all the way here to attend the event,” he said.

After thinking back on the the presidential forum and searching about the candidates, I realized that there is only one candidate that suits my taste. I am voting for Gibo on the 2010 elections. Why?

My list of qualifications of a good president is short. I just want a president who is:

• Honest
• Confident
• Smart
• Capable
• Effective

Gibo Teodoro has everything that I want in a president. Unlike some presidential aspirants who need to have numerous celebrity endorsements, Gibo Teodoro focused on getting known by the voting public through the achievements he has. Unlike other presidential candidates who never fail to remind the public of his familial achievements and their rise from poverty to success, Gibo Teodoro focused on informing the public of his plans and goals for the country.

I appreciated the way Gibo answered the questions in the presidential forum, especially his honesty on a student’s question about his loyalty to the President. He could have easily just denounced his association with the president but he did not. Instead, he gave a straight forward and honest answer by saying that it will be un-Filipino to turn your back on somebody who has given you a break. He reiterated that while it was the president who has given him the break, he will not be dictated upon.

Gibo’s answers and his specific plans for the country made me admire him. He knows that for a country to be successful, everyone in it should be successful. He mentioned once that a president should be able to know how to listen to his people. A president should realize that while he is the head of the country, he needs his men and the people to steer the country forward.

These are all the reasons I am voting for Gibo. Have you found your presidential bet yet?

Mangudadatu, whose wife Gennalyn was among the victims of the ill-fated massacre in Ampatuan town, also reiterated his support to Teodoro’s candidacy in a press conference held at the Linden Suites in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

“Alam n’yo, ‘party man ako,’ at ang aking support kay Secretary Gilbert Teodoro ay hindi nababahiran yan at hindi maaalis ang aking support sa kanya (You know, I am a ‘party man,’ and my support to Secretary Gilberto Teodoro will never change),” Mangudadatu said.

“At yung mga sinabi Secretary Gibo noon ay pagmamahal bilang isang kaibigan (The advice given to me by Secretary Gibo came from a ‘true friend’),” he added.

Mangudadatu also wrote out a message with regards to the negative responses from several sectors when he disclosed during a hearing of the Maguindanao massacre case a few days ago that Teodoro advised him not to pursue Andal Sr. in the gubernatorial race because he well thought him out as “a violent person.” Mangudadatu’s statement generated critiques against the former defense chief for allegedly failing to render protection to his family, and as a result led to the most horrific massacre incident in Philippines’ history. Some gave their wrong interpretations about Mangudadatu’s claims as Teodoro was in favor of the Ampatuan over him in relation to the tense political intramurals in Maguindanao province.

“They should not blame Secretary Gibo because he does not have operational control over the military forces in our area. The military commanders in the field are the ones in charge in the operations,” Mangudadatu stressed out.

Last Friday, DLSU students went ”green” without a doubt in a mock election that gave Teodoro, whose campaign color is green that signifies hope, another runaway victory over survey front-runner Sen. Benigno Aquino III continuing his winning streak as the favorite presidential candidate of the youth sector on campus.

Teodoro came rushing to the top by winning 67 percent of DLSU voters’ support. he was trailed by Noynoy Aquino who earned with 20 percent, Sen. Richard Gordon with 13 percent and Sen. Manny Villar with 7 percent.  Teodoro, A DLSU alumnus, popularly known as Gibo, was the solid favorite as he had been very popular and the crowd-favorite in mock presidential polls at the University of the Philippines.

”We are seeing is a groundswell of support for Teodoro” that could reach its peak in time for the May presidential elections,” said Lakas-Kampi CMD national president, Sarangani Gov. Migz Dominguez

”Make no mistake about it-poll after mock poll in campuses, Teodoro is the runaway winner in a sort of meaningful and significant way,” Dominguez also said.

”Students are asserting and defining what good politics and what good leadership is, and they see in Teodoro the personification of good politics and excellent executive leadership,” Dominguez added.

For several weeks, Teodoro has been busy touring on several campuses tour with the vision of hope and change-that it is attainable to pump up economic progress and achieve national development through a combination of leadership, intelligence, experience and a vision of where to take this country within this decade.