Thursday, April 26, 2007

Martin D Bautista for Senator

For the very first time, this blog is making a political endorsement: Martin Donato Bautista for Senator.

Uncompromised: Martin D Bautista is not a product of the corrupt political process that forms perfectly compromised candidates who are beholden to a wide variety of wealthy and powerful special interest groups. He can walk away from all this political spectacle in his own time and in his own terms but will not do so on account of the many serious problems of his country that he is willing to help solve.

Duty: Martin D Bautista understands that public service is a sacred trust and responsibility, it is not a means of making a living. He promises to serve for only one term of office.

Open Mind: While Martin D Bautista has strong opinions and is passionate about defending them, he is willing to listen and discuss and to continuously study all the critical and relevant issues of the day. He does not view an evolving mind as a sign of weakness.

Vision and Road Map: Martin D Bautista has a clear vision for the future. He has a clear-cut idea regarding which direction the country should take and more important, he has a realistic course of action that will unite the country towards common goals.

Capable: Dr. Martin D Bautista has been preparing for this opportunity to help the country for a long time. 12 years at the Ateneo de Manila, 9 years at the University of the Philippines, 6 years at the State University of New York, 10 years of private medical practice in a rural community, constantly adhering to a rigorous regimen of continued self-learning.

Character: Martin D Bautista is familiar with adversity. He welcomes challenges and stays in the struggle knowing that each day spent committed to his principles and ideals makes him a stronger person. He understands the enormity of the challenge but has a deep abiding faith in God and the Filipino people.

Conscience: Martin D Bautista has courageously followed his conscience throughout his life even when it entailed personal sacrifice.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you were to not get elected, I believe that the biggest reason is your belief that you can land in the country and in a few months of talking the talk, you can expect to win.
...
Your roots for the most recent decade is in US-of-A, and that is where they know if you go to church every Sunday, how much of your spare time is spent volunteering, whether you act like some hotshot when you interact with the poor, and whether or not you believe in dislocating the political process (either with Trillanes-type coups or EDSA-type marches).
...
The Filipinos do not know you, and it makes sense that a whole lot of citizens will not vote for you. The reason is simply this -- the Filipinos do not know who Martin Bautista is.

Anonymous said...

Dude, he was in rural Oklahoma dealing with Hispanic migrants as poor as Filipinos. Just watch the ABC feature film in Youtube about him. If nobody will start to challenge the system, WHEN is the proper time. I'm also skeptical about Martin but at least give him a chance. The other choices are too repulsive.

Unknown said...

Brief, concise exactly to the point and you get response like that one..... no wonder we are in a bind.

I wonder what makes people have this kind of attitude? Is it from eating too much Ramen or resentment and resistance to people who went abroad?

I think this is the best description of what you are trying to do Martin, unfortunately personality politics like a bad habit is hard to rid especially if some people are not aware they have it.

They curse and swear on the evils of personality politics but when given an alternative that comes along like Martin and AKP they revert back to the old stereotype of trapos trying to get them sucked in to the very muck of the sick practice.

Anonymous said...

nurse98... Ateneo graduate, so siguro naman, Katoliko si Doc at nagsisimba din naman.
Pero medyo tama ka. I have not seen his wife at all, and we all know sa Pilipinas, malakas ang influence ng asawa.
Pero ako ay maglalakas ng loob kay doc. Okay naman ang platform niya, so he gets my vote maski hindi ko kilala ng husto. [Si Trillanes, mas kilala... pero no way I vote for Trillanes.]

Anonymous said...

Hi!

I'm just curious about the statement "he promises to serve for only one term of office." Is this supposed to be a good thing?

Good luck to you.

Jan Robert said...

hello Dr. B! I will vote for you! in fact I'm campaigning for you through text messaging and word of mouth... hehehe... I've heard your platform duting the ANC Forum show. I'm convinced that someone like you is needed by our country. a medical doctor in the senate will give us hope that health will be one of the priorities of the incoming congress. i'm also from UP Manila, College of Arts and Sciences... i hope I can meet you personally!

God bless! and may the force be with you!

Anonymous said...

I can't vote for you because i haven't registered. I regret that 'coz i'll miss voting for you! So now, i just campaign for you. I'm a solid supporter of yours. Though sometimes you stutter on tv (sorry for bringing it up), we can see through that. Hope you will not be discouraged with the difficult times you're going through. You still have us and we have faith in you.

Anonymous said...

Conscience: Martin D Bautista has courageously followed his conscience throughout his life even when it entailed personal sacrifice.

Following his conscience all the way to the United States must have been a big personal sacrifice.

Why didn't you stick it out here, doc? Why didn't you choose to serve your poor countrymen in the barrios, instead of the poor hispanics in the US? What makes us Filipinos so sure that when you do get elected, you won't decide to pack up and leave the country again?

Nursing1988 is right. Before you run for public office, prove your dedication to your COUNTRYMEN first. At least Capt. Trillanes decided to stick it out here and tried to change things. Maybe next elections, doc. Maybe.

ian said...

md2b: serving just one term is a good thing. it means that he will finish as many items in his legislative agenda as he can in those three (or are there six?) years in office and work like crazy kasi that's the only term he has. yung iba kasi, Day 1 of their term in the senate is Day 1 of their campaign period for the next elections- iba tuloy ang inaatupag at priorities.

to the anonymous sir/maam who wrote about Dr Bautista not sticking it out here sa Pilipinas:

so... yung mga OFWs pala e dapat ituring na mga walang konsenysa kasi hindi nila pinili na tiisin ang buhay sa Pilipinas?

THINK, even for a second: isn't it a GREATER sacrifice to leave ALL whom you love behind, ALL your comfort zones, ALL your support systems in order to live and work in a country where you are (initially) treated as a second class citizen and when you do get "accepted" you still prove your worth day in and day out? because you're not blond or fair-skinned?

and it's not as if he kept all his earnings to himself in the united states!

at least si Dr Bautista, TUMATAYA sa bansa nya sa paraang constructive, sa paraang naaayon sa batas, at nakapagbibigay sya ng mabuting halimbawa sa mga mamamayan. lantad, naninindigan, hindi nagtatago.

what makes us sure that when he gets elected he won't pack up and leave?

pare/mare naman.

alam ko rhetorical ang tanong na ito pero hindi ko lang maiwasang mag-comment. N A M A N. nahalal na yung tao. mayroon siyang sinumpaang tungkulin. SURELY he won't desert us. nanligaw ka o niligawan ka. pagkatapos na sagutin ka o sagutin mo- AYAWAN NA? napapaisip tuloy ako kung saan ang pinanggagalingan mo...

Sabi nga sa Bible: mas mabuti ang taong nagdabog pero sa huli ay ginawa ang trabaho kesa sa taong umoo kaso hindi naman ginawa ang nakaatas. Mas gusto ko na yung taong umalis ng bansa tapos bumalik pata paglingkuran ito kesa sa taong nanatili ng Pinas pero wala namang pakialam o duwag.

Anonymous said...

I do not mean to diminish the contributions of our OFWs to our country, but let's face it, the primordial reason to work abroad is to earn a decent living for yourself and your family.

Running for office requires a certain number of years of local or Philippine residency depending on the position. This is why OFWs, no matter how good they are, no matter how selfless they are, no matter how nationalistic they are, and no matter how much money they donate to our poor countrymen, are barred from running for public office. This is but logical, for how can an OFW be in public service and serve our people if they're not around?

Dr. Bautista is a graduate of the University of the Philippines. He has been educated and trained and has earned his degree with the use of public funds. He owes it to his poor countrymen to remain here and help sick Filipinos, not sick Americans.

Dr. Bautista claims that "[h]e welcomes challenges and stays in the struggle," which is inconsistent with his behavior of leaving the country to work abroad. The struggle was not in the US. The struggle was right here. The struggle was to use his gifts as a physician to serve his poor countrymen.

I commend Dr. Bautista for coming back to our country, but I will not give him my vote.

Anonymous said...

This type of narrow-mindedness is setting us backwards. He did not even applied for a green card even if he was qualified. I will not sugarcoat my statement but the best medical training is for specialties is still in the USA and there is nothing wrong with working a few years in the US before coming back. It's even better than thousands of doctors who gave up and are now trying to leave the country.

ian said...

mister/miss/mrs anonymous:

i respect you and the position you are taking. at least somehow it goes to show that people do care. handang manindigan at makialam =)

regarding the rule on residency prior to elections: one year stay in the place you intend to run for office suffices. doctor baustista has ben home since 2005 (i believe) so his feet is wet in the muck so to speak.

and it is not as if he totally disconnected himself from the philippines. according to his posts, he has been home in the philippines yearly. may tfc at internet naman. so hindi naman niya na-alienate yung sarili nya.

yes ofws can run for office. and they are running for office. the iraqi hostage- si mr. angelo... his surname escapes me now- is running for councilor sa isang pampanga town.

wala ako sa mismong mundong ginagalawan ni martin bautista nang piliin nyang pumunta sa amerika nung 1989. baka magkakaiba tayo ng pag-intindi at pagkilala sa "struggle." ang alam ko lang, grade school ako noon. si cory ang presidente. paangat na ang ekonomiya ng pilinas. growth rate mga nasa 5, 6, 7%. hanggang nagkudeta si gringo ng december 1-7, 1989. nasadlak na naman ang pilipinas. si gringo na sinasabing Kuya nila trillanes. si trillanes na... you get the point.

sana mister/miss/mrs anonymous mabasa mo yung podcast transcripts ni dr bautista, mapanood mo yung video ng feature sa buhay nya sa america, mabasa mo rin yung mga blog entries nya para talaga maintindihan mo kung san ang pinanggagalingan nya.

sa kahuli-hulihan, sa palagay ko lang naman, yung pag-alis nya noon e dapat nang isantabi. ang dapat pagtuunan ng pansin ay iyong katotohanan na bumalik sya sa lugar na pilit tinatakasan ng marami. isang bagay na ikaw mismo ay kumilala bilang katangi-tangi.

if that does not prove his mettle, resolve, character, integrity, and genuine desire to be of service to his countrymen- i don't know what will.

Unknown said...

Allow me to post this from Fidel Umaga, a reaction from one of my postings in yahoo group. Let me just remind the disrespectful ones that you are not only disrespecting Martin but people like Fidel and the rest of us who believes in AKP.

Re: Fr. Ed Against All Odds

The rise of Kapatiran, Fr. Ed and many others of similar charater,
moral standing and courage has more to it than a mere expression of
non-conformity to that way of life being ingeniously induced for the
people to adopt through this regime's governance by deceit and
deception, violence and intimidation, corruption of public office and the rejection of human dignity for relative peace and properity. It is actually a symbol of the COMPLETE revulsion of our people to the way this regime manages the affairs of the nation THAT WE entrusted to them. Theirs is the light that will lead us back to decency and justice in our country.

This regime has been running rough shod our country. Our interest have
been relegated at the last as this regime satiates its own greed ,
salivating more while it thinks of other ways and means to empty the
national coffer. But as we have always said, SOME OF US can be fooled once or twice or even thrice as much by those who are in power and they could be successful most of the time. BUT ALL OF US CANNOT BE FOOLED ALWAYS, ALL THE TIME.

The dawn of a new day has come to us in the persons of Fr. Ed, the
candidates of Kapatiran and all other like minded candidates who have decided to stand on the plate and face the music for ALL OF US without regard to possible dire consequences that lay before them in the pursuit of their quest. IT IS JUST FITTING FOR US, who believe that there is more to life than life itself, that it is not right for us to live like human beings while many of our neigbors live the life of a dog that feeds from morsels that fell from the feasting table of the strong and the rich among us, TO STAND UP WITH THEM WHILE THEY FACE THE MUSIC FOR ALL.

And when we stand with them in this challenge , we also stand for
everything we hold dear in our hearts.

When we stand with them, we also stand for our own brothers and
sisters; we also stand for our own children and those that will come
after them, we also stand for our parents, both living and dead, who
gave us so much of themselves that we may be able to make out from
what we are the most of what we could be.

When we stand with them, we also stand for our own friends, our own
neighbors and our own community; our own schools and churches;our own people who have a part, big and small, in who we are now.

When we stand with them, we stand for the the weak, the old, the very
young, the frail and the least among us.

When we stand with them we honor ourselves and all those who have gone ahead of us but who prepared a future for all that everyone of us may live in freedom and peace.

We must stand with them least the torch they hold for all may fall on
the groud and casts darkness around us.

Without light, we know it is everyone for himself again and many more among us will become dogs that lie under the feasting table of the
strong and the rich in our land.

Anonymous said...

To the one asking why he did not stick it out in the Philippines, he has answered that question several times.

My comment is if he did stay in the Philippines, he may very well have become one of the many still struggling to make a living and therefore unable to make a big difference in Philippine poltics like what he is doing now.

Anonymous said...

to jaywalking... it is not disrespecting, it disagreeing. Sobra ka naman sa over-reacting.

You can vote who you want to vote for, be it Zubiri, Gringo, Joker or Doc. Now in your house, maybe everyone is forced to vote the same set of candidates, but hindi sa bahay namin. You have to be more mature, sir jaywalking. You have to allow others to vote who they want to vote for, even if it is Angara or Roco. And if you equate disagreeing with you to be the same as disrespecting you, malas mo na lang.

Take your cue from doc. Talo ka niya. He is doing better than you. If Doc only wants rah-rah-chuu-chuu-wah amuyong on this site, eh di binura na niya iyong entry ni nursing1998.

Unknown said...

No Delia, I don't think you understood what I posted, read it again.

I am not forcing anyone to vote for any particular candidate nor do I see anything wrong with people who disagrees with AKP and their candidates. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing but there is somthing wrong when it borders on disrespecting the person with "exclusionary" mindset of questioning the loyalty of those who went abroad. After all without us the 10% of the population slaving out of the country the Philippines would have been worse than what it is now.

Try and get the message will you.... and don't assume things because most likely you are wrong.

Anonymous said...

Quoting Mr. Anonymous:

"I commend Dr. Bautista for coming back to our country, but I will not give him my vote."

Yes! Let's vote for Sotto, Tessie Aquino, Trillanes, Honasan, Cesar Montano and their cohorts.

They are definitely better!

Anonymous said...

Enrico sta ana, thank your for exposing your logic, or rather, your lack thereof. Anonymous never said that he would vote for aquino oreta or trillanes or sotto or montano or honasan, and neither did he encourage anyone to vote for them.

Jaywalking pedestrian observer, thank you for noting that "[a]fter all without us the 10% of the population slaving out of the country the Philippines would have been worse than what it is now." Your arrogance is amazing.

Ian, thank you for your erudite and well-mannered posts. Dr. Bautista is fortunate to have you on his side.

ian said...

(uy. salamat po sa mabubuting salita hehe pero hindi po ako ang bida [o nagbibida-bidahan!] dito. masaya na akong makipag-cerebral sparring at mental gymnastics sa inyo at manatiling assistant ng assistant ng assistant ng assistant ni sancho panza ni doc martin hehe)

Anonymous said...

Anonymous,

Thanks for exposing yours. I suggest you stop throwing the word "arrogance" around lest it boomerangs and hit your stout head. Your "namesake" didn't mention he was voting for them but on the same breath, it doesnt mean he won't.

In any case, I was merely laying out a comparison of what some people would rather vote for. Sarcasm to underline the stark contrast of what Dr. Bautista from the rest is the point.

Tsk tsk tsk.

Anonymous said...

Opinion ko lang noh, hayaan nyo kung ano opinyon ng ibang tao. Kung gusto nya ba botohin si Dancing Queen Oreta o si Kuhdet Honasan o si Machete at ayaw nya kandidato nyo, pasensya nalang kayo. Kulang sa "convincing powers" kayo at yung kandidato niyo siguro. Baka kulang din kayo sa pagkampanya. Siguro bago niyo punahin yung opinyon ng ibang tao, tingnan nyo muna at baka may kakulangan din kayo.

Jan Robert said...

MARTIN BAUTISTA FOR SENATOR!

Anonymous said...

I commend Dr. Bautista for coming back to our country, and I will give him my vote.

Anonymous said...

md2b...

One term for a Philippine senator is six years.

Mahaba na 'yun KUNG magtatrabaho ka nang matino at maayos.

Pero kung gagamitin mo lang ang iyong term para magbayad ng utang sa mga nagbigay sa 'yo ng pera at pabor during election, very short nga lang naman lang ang six years.

Anonymous said...

I know of people from Doc Martin's Class '89 Medicine who did try to render medical service in the province. After 5 years of medical practice, they took up nursing and are now planning to leave for the US. It is not easy to be a doctor in the Philippines. Unless your parents are established physicians, it will be hard to sustain a practice and provide a decent living for your family.Doctors are people, too. They face the same financial challenges as you and I.

Anonymous said...

hi doc! it's sad that i'm not yet eligible to vote. if i am, i would vote for you.

it's sad that most of our countrymen think that ofw's are selfish people. my dad is an ofw and his purpose is to give us a better life here..and that includes giving us good education so that we could have good jobs here so we wouldn't have to go through being an ofw too.

with our present situation, i think that even with my good education, i cannot have an adequately paid job in this country.

bakit, nagawa ba ng mga kilala nating mga mambabatas na ilang taon ng nasa pwesto na mabawasan ang dami ng ating mga kababayan na umaalis taon-taon? hindi, di ba? kaya wag nating ibabase sa popularidad ang kakayahan ng isang kandidato.

knowing doc b's experiences, maybe he can help change what is wrong with our country..