All posts by Pol Pinoy

Government, Politics

PHILIPPINES’ ELECTIONS COMMISSION (COMELEC) RULES TO DISQUALIFY ALL FIVE MAJOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

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L-R: Duterte, Poe, Binay, Roxas, Santiago
L-R: Duterte, Poe, Binay, Roxas, Santiago

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – In a move that’s unprecedented in the history of Philippine politics, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has ruled to disqualify all five major candidates for president from running in the 2016 elections.  For various reasons.

Polls frontrunner Senator Grace Poe has been disqualified on the grounds that she is not a natural-born Filipino citizen as required by the Constitution. She also appeared to lack the residency requirement even if she were a natural-born citizen. She was a dual citizen (U.S. and Philippines) at some point.

Vice President Jejomar Binay  has been barred because of pending corruption charges against him while he was mayor of Makati City.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was disqualified on technicality.  He filed his Certificate of  Candidacy (COC) after the deadline set by the elections body. His argument for being a substitute candidate didn’t convince the commissioners because the candidate he was substituting for had previously withdrawn his candidacy.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago was named a “nuisance candidate” by COMELEC because of her cancer diagnosis. “How can she fulfill the duties of president if she has terminal cancer,” the commissioners said.  Santiago, however, asserts that she has had a remission from her cancer, and the COMELEC ruling angered health and disability advocates.

As for former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas (the anointed candidate of the Aquino administration), his disqualification was based on violation of rules on early campaigning.  Roxas just released a music video which was obviously a campaign material to promote his candidacy and that of his vice presidential running mate Congresswoman Leni Robredo.

So where does the 2016 Philippine presidential elections stand?

Back to square one.  COMELEC will soon announce deadlines for new candidacy filing for president.

Politics

NEXT DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE WILL INCLUDE REPUBLICAN SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM

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L-R: Sanders, Clinton, O'Malley, Graham
L-R: Sanders, Clinton, O’Malley, Graham

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (The Adobo Chronicles) – When the next Republican presidential debate unforlds in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 15, Senator Lindsey Graham will not be among the top tier debaters, nor be included in the kids’ table or second tier debate.

But on December 19, when the remaining Democratic presidential candidates debate on stage in New Hampshire, Graham will be the fourth debater.

The Democratic National Committee recently decided to invite Graham to the next debate because he is the most democratic among the Republican candidates and is practically on the same side as Democrats on almost all issues. Nothing could be a better vindication of Graham than his speech before the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington, D.C. the other day.

In his off-script speech, Graham lambasted his fellow presidential candidates and others in the Republican Party for making such a big issue on immigration, abortion, terrorism, Obamacare and other hot-button topics.  He was specifically critical of Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. He said that the Republican Party will definitely lose the 2016 presidential election because the GOPers are focusing on the wrong side of the issues.

Graham reiterated his fuill support for Israel while assuring the audience that he will be the Republican U.S. president that will work with Democrats, or rather, the Democratic president that will work with  Republicans.

Beauty, Business, International

DONALD TRUMP BANNED FROM ATTENDING MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT IN LAS VEGAS

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Some of this year's contestants to the Miss Universe Pageant
Some of this year’s contestants to the Miss Universe Pageant

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (The Adobo Chronicles) – It would seem like a hoax story from The Onion, but the truth of the matter is that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump no longer owns the Miss Universe Pageant.  Just days after he bought NBC’s shares in the company in September, Trump sold the organization to WME-IMG Talent Agency.

This explains why many countries that have previously said they would boycott this year’s pageant have sent their representatives to the popular international beauty competition.  Earlier, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and other Latin countries said they would not be sending representatives to this year’s pageant in protest of Trump’s campaign statements against Mexicans and undocumented immigrants.

But being the beauty connoisseur that he is, Trump wanted a front row seat at this year’s pageant to be held December 20 at Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas.

Alas, the new owners refused to sell him a ticket to the pageant and has banned him from all pageant events. Trump will just have to content himself with watching the live telecast on FOX channel from his penthouse suite at the Trump Towers in Las Vegas.