On the Campaign Trail

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
By: Leonor “Liling” Magtolis Briones
KAAKBAY Party List Nominee No. 151

SIGHTS, FLAVORS, SCENTS

Campaign sorties are often described as physically demanding, stressful , and nerve-wracking. The candidate has to put up with all sorts of challenging conditions—ranging from accommodations, transportation , food and health problems.

My own experience with-out-of-Manila sorties has been very enriching even as these were very exhausting. Aside from associating sorties with Team Liling, family and friends, I associate sorties with sights, flavors and scents.

I have been to Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, two provinces in Leyte, Samar, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Davao and Cotabato. Each destination has given me a special, unforgettable experience. They are similar and yet different in sights, flavors and scents.

Sights

The sights in the places I visited ranged from stunning to overwhelming. I associate the drive from Caticlan to Antique with intense, blinding light. Everything seemed to be bathed in gold as we whizzed through coastal towns lined with coconut trees, golden shores and shimmering seas. I remember also the cracked ricefields and the dried up river beds.

The quality of light in Antique, as compared to the wintry scenes in Europe was totally different. I love the pictures taken in Antique. The brilliant sunshine had a special effect on the fotos.

I cannot forget the visit to the Magtulis Elementary School in Barbaza, Antique, the birthplace of my paternal grandfather. The sight of children in their pink uniforms listening intently as I told them the story of a Magtolis who left Antique and settled in Negros. Imagine discovering not only a town but an entire barrio named Magtulis! And six hundred wide-eyed kids probably related to the Magtulises!

In Tacloban, the sight of my very dear friend, Dali Sevilla, her husband Oscar and her children and grandchildren was well worth the trip. Of course, the sight of U.P. Tacloban was like a homecoming. And San Juanico bridge never fails to take my breath away.

I love being surprised by joy. Joy at the sight of Southern Leyte which is probably one of the most beautiful provinces in the country. Coastal towns straight out of a postcard. A Ph2 billion bridge across a deep chasm. Well-built roads lined with trees and lush vegetation. And of course the sight of friends Lilies Mercado Kapili and her husband Arsenio, and Mike Udtohan and his wife Ann. The sight of Lilies’ house beside the sea. The sight of an unforgettable seafood dinner and unique breakfast.

The road to Kidapawan City in Cotabato is likewise very scenic. The highway is paved with fruit trees. I am told that during their fruit festival, the road is lined with fruit stands where you can eat all the fruit you want.


Flavors

Dinner at Don Julio with Dali, Oscar and the Liling Team in Tacloban. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at Alejandro’s also in Tacloban, in a period house transformed into a hotel.

Arroz a la valenciana, Sipalay style prepared by Manang Lina Magtolis. Fragrant langka from the trees in Valencia. Mangosteen and lanzones from Kidapawan. Varieties of suman from Leyte and Negros. And yes, soup of all kinds—sinigang, dinengdeng, tinola and even sotanghon! It is obvious I am a soup person.

I can resist lechon and humba any where else except Dumaguete! It is not only flavors. It is also memories, people and love.

Scents

So many scents to remember! The heady scent of flowers at Barbara’s in the orchidarium at Luneta. The restaurant was the setting for a dinner concert sponsored by Tony Tiu and performed with verve and gusto by the Manila Concert Choir.

The scent of durian

I will always associate the campaign period with the scent of durian. We had durian for breakfast in far off Maasin Leyte in Lilies’ house. The best way to eat durian is to use one’s hands and wash them later in a durian shell filled with water. I should have taken a foto of Nonnie of Team Liling feasting on durian ! A week later, I had durian with coke for merienda in Kidapawan. The next day, I breakfasted on two varieties of durian at the Kaakbay Mindanao headquarters with Ogie and his wife, Alice. Aahh, it is paradise to eat durian!

The scent of civet coffee

In Cavite it is called alamid coffee. In Kidapawan it is called civet coffee. After two radio interviews and two lectures, Joey brought me, Becky and Rachel to meet other NGO’S and have a taste of civet coffee. If you must know, it is coffee beans processed after being extracted from the “popo” or droppings of civet cats who feed on ripe coffee fruit.

I don’t know if the taste and aroma of civet coffee had something to do with it but certainly, we had a grand evening not just laughing but literally guffawing and roaring with laughter as we exchanged jokes and stories.

The scent of Cheyanna’s hair

My grandchild Cheyanna sits on my lap whenever she has something to tel l me. I always kiss her head and inhale the fragrance of her long, black hair. At the end of a long wait for me to finish interviews and meetings, she sleepily sat on my lap and whispered, “Lola hwag ka na mag congressman. Care giver of Cheyann ka na lang.” Choices. Choices.

Jun Quicho's Note re:MCC Concert at Barbara's in Orchidarium, Luneta Park, Apr 18

Dear All,

I was fortunate to have enjoyed the concert of Manila Concert Choir tonight at Barbara's Restaurant at The Orchidarium in Rizal Park. It was a benefit to support Mam LMB's candidacy under the KAAKBAY Partylist. What a night! LMB was singing her heart out as she had been for the past 48 years with the MCC! I wonder where she gets her energy when she sings! Must be the oxygen - the same oxygen that lifts us up whenever we sing on a bad day.Mam Liling - the singer - is La Diva no doubt - hitting the highs and the lows of such pieces as Rosas Pandan, Lupang Hinirang (by Dr. Navaro, not the national anthem), What a Wonderful World, As Time Goes By, and my favorite -

I'll be Seeing You!It's a pity you weren't there (nang-iinggit, hehehe). But am sure there will be more concerts in the future. Hopefully, one will be held in the House of Representatives, courtesy of CONG. Leonor Magtolis Briones.

have a great summer!

Jun!Quicho

My Speech during the Lugawan for Liling, March 11, 2010

RUNNING AGAINST TIME

By Prof. Leonor”Liling” Magtolis Briones
KAAKBAY Partylist Nominee

This is a gathering of people I love and who love me in turn—my family as represented by my daughter in law Babes Javier Briones and my eldest brother, Engr. Isagani M. Magtolis, my other family, the National College of Public Administration and Governance, my former colleagues in the Commission on Audit and the Bureau of the Treasury, Social Watch and Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI) colleagues led by Marivic Raquiza, Rene Raya, Jec Reyes Cantos and Janet Carandang, our friend and gallant champion, Cong. TG Guingona, my fellow singers in the Manila Concert Choir under the baton of Dr. Romy Pizana, my beloved students who support me without reservation, and my co-KAAKBAYS led by Alain B. Pascua.

I stand before you, surrounded by your love, support, and patience even as I announce that I have accepted the invitation of KAAKBAY to be a Party-List nominee in the coming 2010 elections.

From the purely personal point of view, there is no reason why I should join the electoral process. I have had a long and full career which will reach a peak when I turn 70 on October 2010. I have done many of the things I have always wanted to do: excel as an academician, join the revolution, go underground, fall in love with a look alike of Che Guevara, have two wonderful sons, a loyal daughter-in-law and a precious, precocious grandchild, lead two civil society organizations with national, regional and international renown, gain the loyalty and love of my students, write a book and two columns, and sing in countless concerts with the Manila Concert Choir. Lately, I have gone “birding” or watching birds—the kind that fly up to dizzying heights in the sky and zoom down with equal grace to the swamps of Candaba.

Yes, I have everything but money. Money does not matter. But then, why am I running?

I am running because the work of Social Watch/ABI, of which KAAKBAY is a part of, needs to be expanded and enhanced. For the past four years, ABI has chalked up an impressive record of increasing allocations for education, health, agriculture, and the environment. It is already going into budget tracking, mobilization of indigenous peoples into the budget process, local governments, and people’s participation in public finance.

Nevertheless, the effectiveness of its work is hampered by problems in the budget process—impoundment of funds, transfer of allocations, use of savings, and non-accountability in the use of Special Purpose Funds, to name a few. A strong voice is needed in Congress, especially since our budget reforms champion, Cong. TG Guingona is moving on to the Senate.

I am running because questions need to be asked and answers need to be sought in the halls of Congress. When the new President assumes office, how much will be left of the Ph 1.5 trillion budget for 2010 after the orgy of spending and electioneering? How much will the deficit be? Let us not forget that the 2010 budget deficit is projected at more than Ph300 billion. How much will the total debt be? Only in January, 2010 the Department of Finance borrowed $1.1 billion in bonds. In February, it borrowed $1.5 billion more. This already amounts to $2.6 billion borrowing in bonds for just two months. It does not include borrowing from other countries, the multilateral banks, as well as domestic borrowing.

How will the new president fund the expected deficit? From where will he get his expected revenues—from the high income groups who should be paying their taxes properly, or from the very poor who have to pay taxes for food, clothing and shelter?

I am running because Congress needs to review government expenditures, especially during the election period. Who are the beneficiaries of government expenditures? Whose poverty are we going to alleviate? The poverty of more than 29 million people, or the “poverty” of government officials? Only last Saturday, I went to a barrio in Antique and visited its elementary school. In that elementary school, there was not a single computer, whether for the use of the teachers or for instruction of pupils. Drawings of computer parts and keyboards were made on manila paper. In other schools, six year old kids lug expensive laptops to school while the children in this school have to be content with “pretend” laptops on manila paper! Where have the billions budgeted for information technology gone?

I am running because abuses in the budget process are rampant. In 2008, Ph140 billion in so-called savings were transferred to preferred areas of government, thus distorting budget priorities. Actual expenditures exceeded allocations in the appropriations

I am running because the President has vetoed the limitations on the powers of impoundment which Congress sought to put in place in the 2010 budget. I am running because the present president has vetoed the efforts of Congress to limit her nonstop borrowing activities.

Finally, I am running because Congress will be the center of national debates which will determine the continued survival of our country and people. With the entry of a Chief Executive and a former First Lady as members of Congress, the House will be the eye of many political storms and conflicts.

Running Against Time

I am not only running against presidential abuse of the budget, the murky negotiations in the Bicameral Committee, the surreptitious insertions in the expenditure programs and the impunity with which public funds are stolen, wasted and pocketed; I am also running against time.

With your help and with God’s blessings, I will win, not only against entrenched powers in Congress. but against time itself!

Letter to my Friends

Dear Friends,

I am writing to seek your support for my candidacy as party-list nominee of KAAKBAY in the coming 2010 elections. KAAKBAY is part of the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI) convened by Social Watch Philippines. The latter has a documented track record of increasing budgetary allocations for education, health, agriculture and environment for the past four years.

The platform of KAAKBAY is anchored on budgetary reforms and increased spending for these four sectors. These are consistent with the Millennium Development Goals.

A long life; many journeys

I have embarked on a number of journeys. My longest journey is that of an activist, which started during the Marcos days and continues up to the present with my advocacy of social development and public finance reforms, as Co-Convenor of Social Watch Philippines and the Alternative Budget Initiative.

My career in public service is another long journey. I have been Secretary to the Commission on Audit, Vice President for Finance of the University of the Philippines and Treasurer of the Philippines.

My journey as academic is equally long . I have been teaching in the National College of Public Administration and Governance of the University of the Philippines since 1970. I have written a book and several monographs on public fiscal administration.

Furthermore, I have rendered public service as Secretary to the Commission on Audit, Vice President for Finance of the University of the Philippines, and Treasurer of the Philippines.

I have made a decision to embark on another journey: the journey of politics. The Philippines is undergoing multiple crises: economic and financial crisis; environment and climate change; political and social crisis; and governance and moral crisis. Governance is linked to all these crises. If we want reforms in the political process, we have to participate actively in the process of reform. I look forward to your vote!


LEONOR “LILING” MAGTOLIS BRIONES
Nominee, KAAKBAY Party list
(Number 151 in COMELEC ballot)