W ith due respect to William M. Esposo, this “Unsolicited Advice” column wishes to advise him to re-check his figures and where his chair revolves, if it were a revolving chair.

The first fallacy that Mr. Esposo commits in his Feb. 4, 2010, column is that Manny Villar is the richest presidential candidate, as he asks rhetorically if “Villar can buy the 2010 presidential election.” Why is it false? Gibo Teodoro is not only a Cojuangco but is also the candidate of the Arroyo Administration, which has a track record of using stolen and/or diverted government funds to bankroll its candidates in the 2004 and 2007 elections. Ergo, in the field of finances, Manny Villar is like Boston or Los Angeles and Gibo Teodoro is like the Big Apple and its Wall Street.

Perhaps Benigno “Noynoy” Cojuangco-Aquino, III, may even have more financial resources that Manny Villar, if all the Cojuangcos would evenly split their contributions to him and his second-degree cousin, Gibo Cojuangco-Teodoro. The Cojuangco branch to which Noynoy Aquino belongs has also ample resources that it accumulated by taking over many of the Romualdez-controlled firms after the 1986 EDSA Revolution. To read this author’s 1995 (1-9-9-5) indictment of the corruption done during the Cory Aquino Administration, readers may like to revisit these links,

Not Getting Mad at, But Getting Even With, Tita Cory

Revisiting Cory Aquino on Her Birthday: Should Son Noynoy and Nephew Gibo Teodoro Answer Alleged Corruption Involving the Cojuangcos?

And this writer has called the Filipino version of “Ali Baba and his 40 Thieves” the “Aling Gloria and Her 400 Thieves,” as can be found in this article, Are Overseas Filipinos Building Monuments Dedicated to Gloria Arroyo, Et Al? Manny Villar, therefore, does not have access to the Filipino version of “Ali Baba’s hoard,” to borrow Mr. Esposo’s words. Perhaps it is Gibo Teodoro who will “inherit” the hoard – that is, if Mike Arroyo and his children will permit it.

T he second fallacy that Mr. Esposo commits in his column, which is reproduced in its entirety at the end of this political essay, is his statement that “Won’t voters see that as a choice between Mr. Spotty versus Mr. Clean?” All of the 2010 presidential and vice-presidential candidates who belong or used to belong to the Senate can be dubbed “Mr. or Ms. Spotty,” as all of them availed of the pork-barrel funds. And Noynoy Aquino cannot be labeled “Mr. Clean,” as he did not utter any single word of protest when his blood relatives and in-laws committed the acts of corruption during the Cory Cojuangco-Aquino Administration and the continued pillaging of the Hacienda Luisita. In fact, Senator Noynoy continues to derive benefits from the loots accumulated by his kin and in-laws during the presidency of his mother.

T he third fallacy in Mr. Esposo’s column is his statement, “Villar has been extremely lucky in that his other rivals are all busy ganging up on Aquino and are hardly attacking him despite his vulnerabilities.” Actually, all the presidential candidates are ganging up on Manny Villar, who is the real frontrunner. This is the reason behind the “C-5” brouhaha, when all his fellow presidential rivals ganged up on him. The political adversaries of Noynoy Aquino have realized that the man has no political track record of accomplishments and his political handlers are merely camouflaging his candidacy behind the ghosts of his mother and father. Pundits and wags are now saying that Senator Aquino’s rivals for the presidency have only to employ a “Ghost Buster” to take him out of the race. And the public now realizes that for all the hoopla behind the Noynoy “phenomenon,” there is really no substance to it – for the man has no track record of solid accomplishment and no vision that he does not even want to participate in the coming presidential debate.

T he fourth misleading statement of Mr. Esposo is stated in this sentence: “The Senate Majority Report on Villar’s Ethics Case is very damaging to Manny Villar, especially in this election when voters fervently want to get rid of corruption and plunder. Winnie Monsod did a very good assessment of that report in her column last Saturday. Amando Doronila called it a damning report against Villar.” Obviously, Mr. Esposo did not read Sen. Nene Pimentel’s statement, as published in this report,

Senate Minority Bloc Stands by Its Position that Senator Villar Should Be Cleared of “C-5-road” Charges

This writer also pointed out at least five erroneous points in Winnie Monsod’s op-ed column in this article, Five Points that Solita Monsod Fails to Discuss in Her “C-5” Article Critical of Manny Villar. He has still to read Amando Doronila’s piece and will correspondingly review it, so as to level the playing field.

What this writer gave as an unsolicited advice to Conrado de Quiros may also be offered to Ms. Solita Monsod and William M. Esposo: Conrado de Quiros Must Start Writing About Noynoy Aquino’s Strengths and Not His Opponents’ Weaknesses

Perhaps all columnists in the Filipino Fourth Estate and the Overseas-Filipino press should stop becoming propaganda agents and start discussing the strengths and qualifications of the presidential bets. The Filipino voters, especially the Absentee-Overseas voters and their kin in the Philippines that may deliver the swing votes, want changes for the better. Writers, especially columnists, should perhaps start to discuss the presidential candidates’ vision, track record of even-average public service and the appropriate but doable platforms of government and socioeconomic plans and programs. It may be better than digging dirt.

As for me, I was ahead of many of the Filipino columnists in digging dirt that I found plenty during the Cory Cojuangco-Aquino Administration. Nobody can say that I am besmirching the reputation of a deceased person, as I did my exposé on President Cory in March 1995, when she was alive and kicking, to use an oft-quote cliché. Nobody among the Cojuangcos, the Lopas, Tanjuatcos, et al, ever disputed my report or sued me for libel. As Chicago-based Manila Bulletin correspondent, Joseph G. Lariosa, said in 2000, “Bobby Reyes has elevated muckraking to an art.”

OK, ngarud?

H ere is Mr. Esposo’s column, as reviewed:

Can Manny Villar buy the 2010 presidential election?

4 February 2010

AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR
by William M. Esposo
from The Philippine Star

T he January 21–24 SWS poll which was sponsored by BusinessWorld showed the top six presidential candidates with these ratings: Aquino – 42%; Villar – 35%; Joseph Estrada – 13%; Gilbert Teodoro – 4%; Richard Gordon – 2% and Bro. Eddie Villanueva – 2%.

The Pulse Asia January 22 – 26 survey which was released yesterday to media had a different tale to tell with the top six presidential candidates rating as follows: Aquino – 37%; Villar – 35%; Estrada – 12%; Teodoro – 5%; Villanueva – 2% and Gordon – 1%.

Despite the big drop in the Pulse Asia survey, Noynoy Aquino continues to be the man to beat. To appreciate this better, one must remember that when Joseph Estrada won as president in 1998, it was with a 38% vote total which was already considered a landslide victory.

Aquino will be expected to refocus his campaign. Even when playing cellar dwelling teams, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA encounter scoring dips in the course of a basketball game and are forced to adjust their game plan. It must be noted that it was only in mid-January when Aquino has really been defining his presidency. The effects of these inputs, especially his well received performance before the Captains of Industry at the Makati Business Club last month, should be reflected in the next surveys.

With over 48 million qualified and registered 2010 voters, we can expect that around 40 million will vote in the May elections. That is a safe assumption considering the intensity and excitement that this campaign has generated with the last minute entry of Aquino. With an assumed base of 40 million voters, a 1% winning margin translates to easily 400,000 votes. A 7% margin (SWS stat) over second placer Manny Villar translates to a winning margin of 2.8 million votes, an awesome lead.

Manny Villar has been spending since November 2009 as if he inherited Ali Baba’s hoard. A veteran ad man tracked Villar’s television ad spending by getting the number of placements from a monitoring firm and equating these placements with known airtime negotiated cost per spot. The tracking report showed that Villar already spent around P670 million for 2009 plus around P68 million for January 1-9, 2010 alone.

That is over P700 million that Villar had spent so far, per the ad tracking report. With that volume of TV advertising which was estimated to have generated over 30,000 gross rating points (GRP) in 2009 via around 2,500 minutes of advertising and around 2,500 GRPs via around 263 minutes of advertising for January 1-9, 2010 (in the ad world, we are ecstatic to generate 200 GRPs within a month) – it’s surprising that Villar has not overtaken Aquino.

What happens to Villar’s campaign, which is TV advertising propelled, when the official campaign period limits all presidential candidates to only a total of 120 minutes each for the entire campaign period? That effectively removes his advantage in advertising budget. Where he used to outgun Aquino by an easily 4 to 1 ratio, they will now be competing on an even playing field.

C an Manny Villar sustain his over 30% ratings in the face of the Ethics Case scandal hounding him? If the presidential race will narrow to a choice between Aquino and Villar, Villar would be extremely handicapped. Won’t voters see that as a choice between Mr. Spotty versus Mr. Clean?

There is no real corruption issue against Aquino. His rivals are trying to concoct some but people easily spot falsehoods, especially when these issues only emerge during an election campaign and are being leveled against a frontrunner.

Villar has injected extraordinary inputs that we normally see only during the final stages of the presidential campaign. His advertising spending since November must have easily surpassed the total campaign media spending of the other candidates.

He even had a questionable TV testimonial from comedian Dolphy – questionable because many doubt if Dolphy really knew Villar to say those things he uttered in the Villar TV commercial. When Estrada was asked how come Dolphy endorsed Villar instead of him (Estrada and Dolphy go a long way back in the movie industry), Estrada simply laughed it off and said that Dolphy was only making a living. With so many dependents relying on him, Dolphy is now on the tail end of his earning capacity.

Villar has been extremely lucky in that his other rivals are all busy ganging up on Aquino and are hardly attacking him despite his vulnerabilities. Attacking and getting points from one who is vulnerable to being perceived as Mr. Spotty is the much easier marketing endeavor compared to the previous attempt to get points from one already widely perceived as Mr. Clean. In such an equation, there is a better return on investment in attacking Manny Villar instead of Noynoy Aquino.

The Senate Majority Report on Villar’s Ethics Case is very damaging to Manny Villar, especially in this election when voters fervently want to get rid of corruption and plunder. Winnie Monsod did a very good assessment of that report in her column last Saturday. Amando Doronila called it a damning report against Villar.

Unlike the fabricated issues against Noynoy Aquino, there is a very well documented case of corruption against Manny Villar. And each day, many other Villar issues are beginning to surface.

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Chair Wrecker email and website: macesposo@yahoo.com and www.chairwrecker.com