Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III tells why he’s not yet married at the age of 49

It was an ambush interview and therefore the question – “Why are you still a bachelor?” – understandably caught him by surprise.


The Philippines has had only one wifeless president - Elpidio Quirino - but he was a widower grieving over his wife Alicia and three of his five children who were murdered by Japanese soldiers during the Battle of Manila in the Second World War.

Some politicians (and perhaps Sen. Noynoy himself) probably thought my question impertinent and an invasion of privacy. Let me explain. When Sen. Noynoy's name started popping up as a viable presidential candidate I started asking around and was surprised at some of the answers I got.

Some said they would NOT vote for him because he has never married and has never shouldered the responsibilities of raising a family. They argued that this shows he has shirked from taking on any responsibilities. Therefore, how could he be responsible for an entire nation.

Others even doubted his manhood because unlike Senator Mar Roxas he has never even sired anyone out of wedlock. The second point, I thought, was not relevant to the presidency.

But the first one certainly was.

And so I asked the senator why he has remained a bachelor all these years, in the presence of fellow journalist Dana Batnag of Jiji Press.

Sen. Aquino's answer was most unexpected.

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Pssssst, will President Barack Obama waltz with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo next year?

In the same way that the late US President Richard Nixon once waltzed with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos?

This waltz, which culminated in Marcos' declaration of martial law, is detailed in the once top secret but now declassified presidential papers of Nixon.

Why rake up events of almost 40 years ago? Because those events are uncannily repeating themselves again today, such as the stubborn moves to change the constitution, the threat to impose martial law, and the bombings in Metro Manila.

And because the US government continues to act to this day as an overlord or superior of the Philippine government. Here's proof. Remember last year when the Philippine government was about to sign the controversial MOA-AD (Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain) with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last year?

The US Ambassador, Kristie Kenney, was there to witness the signing which was scuttled by the Supreme Court.

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Thanks,
Raissa

I've transferred my blog to raissarobles.com and I hope you'll all join me there

I'm a digitally-challenged person and so transferring to a Wordpress blog for me is like jumping into the deep end of the pool for the first time.

I'm the person my hubby would like to hide in the closet should his peers come around and start talking about the web, the internet and all sorts of electronic stuff. You see, he teaches online journalism at the International Institute of Journalism in Berlin.

He urged me to start a blog two years ago. I signed up for one but did not put up a site. Just looking at the Dashboard or command page of Wordpress made my head spin.

Then middle of this year I finally signed up for Facebook and Tweeter upon his prodding, then stumbled on Blogger and started blogging by trial and error. Lots of errors, but I learned.

And I met Japan-based Farah Trofeo on Facebook. She encouraged me to put up a Wordpress site. And so I took another look at Wordpress, with lots of help from Lynda.com tutorials.

I realized that my frustrations using Blogger could be addressed by Wordpress. For instance, I could upload documents as PDF files to back up what I say in my blogs. I could change the color and size of the text easily to emphasize certain parts of the entry.

This is my latest adventure into virgin land. I'm learning everyday and making mistakes everyday. Hope you'll all join me. - thanks, Raissa

Psssssst, Senator Chiz Escudero, is it true you've turned down ONE BILLION PESOS offered to you just to withdraw from the race?

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero has reportedly turned down ONE BILLION PESOS offered to him in exchange for withdrawing from the presidential race, two sources have just now told me separately. Wow.

I tried phoning his cell but he's not answering. I have no reason not to believe my two sources because both are highly reliable and IN THE LOOP.

I was told Senator Chiz will announce today at the earliest that he will push through with his candidacy but leave the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) of businessman Eduardo Cojuangco. He has nothing to lose. He will look good and even if he loses, he is still a senator with a mandate till 2013.

The sources both said the NPC founder had forged an agreement to pair off NPC official, Senator Loren Legarda, with Senator Manuel Villar, chair of the Nacionalista Party who is running for president.

Doesn't this smack of an arranged marriage? They mentioned Senator Eduardo Angara as the marriage broker.

Anyway, Ms. Loren, who professes to be single right now, is the happy bride.

Wonder how much her dowry will cost Cojuangco who is still trying to wangle total control of San Miguel Corporation.