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mlq3: Friends have been asking me for information on the candidates and I’ve been sending them links. So I decided to reproduce them here, too, in case voters will find them useful. Here is the official Comelec list of presidential candidates; the official Comelec list of vice-presidential candidates. I. Background on the presidency I prepared this chart comparing the careers of past presidents of the Philippines. The list only applies to presidents elected directly by the people in a national election. II. Platforms Abroad, platforms, as U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich once said, are a statement of beliefs. Once elected an administration then unveils its legislative and policy agenda in the State of the Union (or in our case, State of the Nation) address. Here at home it seems voters want platforms to be a specific list of specific action items. Here are the platforms I’ve found. Aquino-Roxas Platform and Credo Gordon-Fernando Platform Madrigal Platform Perlas Platform de los Reyes Platform Aquino was the first major candidate to publish his platform. Neither Teodoro or Villar have published a platform, as far as I know (Teodoro’s opinions on issues are presented informally on his site). However, the Nacionalista Party and the Makabayan Coalition have a document of NP-Makabayan Shared Principles. Loren Legarda also previously released her own Plataporma. Estrada formally adopted a platform during his proclamation but to date no formal document has been published or made available. III. Comparative data on the candidates You can compare the candidates based on the following charts: 1. Senatorial attendance 2. Voting Records of the candidates 3. Comparison of their Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth IV. Their websites Aquino: Noynoy.ph Estrada: Erap.ph Gordon: Gordonbayani.com Madrigal: Jambymadrigal.com Perlas: Nickperlas.com delos Reyes: Angkapatiranparty.com Teodoro:   Gibo.ph Villar: Mannyvillar.com.ph

RJ Ledesma of the Philippine Star writes: What I am endorsing is that we vote with an informed conscience — if you have to pore through their credentials and platforms printed in the dailies; if you have to click through every page on their campaign website; if you have to struggle through another one of their radio interviews; if you have listen through another set of televised debates (if they ever do push through); if you have to force yourself to sit through another round of political advertisements; if you have to talk with their manicurists and gardeners to get a true measure of the candidates. That is the sacrifice we make for the next six years for our future, my future and my daughter’s future. Because commercials won’t make that vote. Endorsements won’t make that vote. Surveys (no matter how many of them are conducted) won’t make that vote. It is us who will make that vote.  On May 10, I will vote for a president who will restore a sense of dignity and humility to an office that has long lost is luster. I will vote for a president who insists that justice and fairness be of equal application both in his family and in his country. I will vote for a leader who acknowledges the mistakes of past administrations and is not afraid to do what is right by his people who have been wronged. I will vote for a leader who is not afraid to be held accountable for the values that must be upheld by the highest office in the land. I will vote for a president whom I can be proud to tell my daughter is the legitimate president of our beleaguered yet eternally beloved country.  But in the end, I just want to vote for a president who won’t screw us over — who won’t screw me over. Much. Because we’ve got to start some place.  You see, we of the ‘80s generation are a hardy bunch. But let us not be a foolhardy bunch. Or else we’re all back to That’s Entertainment. Jejejejeje. Read the entire article here