MUST WATCH: Senatorial candidate Cynthia Villar on Nurses

Breaking News: Cynthia Villar apologizes to nurses.

During an election-related TV program, Pagsubok ng mga Kandidato, Professor Winnie Monsod criticized her about her inaction, during her term as head of Committee on Education in Congress, on the closure of highly inefficient (low or no passing rate) nursing schools so as to save the nurses from future unemployment debacles. This was actually a shock since there was little news about such decisions being made.

The question was, "can you reconcile itong seeming disconnect  between your desire to help the poor at pagpanig niyo sa mga may-ari ng educational institution na gustong isara ng Technical Nursing Committee at ng CHED?"

Due to the lack of time, she failed to appropriately answer the question, and ended up saying she suggested to close or eliminate pre-nursing subjects in the syllabus regardless of the nursing school's performance, since "nakapag-invest na" ang schools prior the plan for closure. Yet, to date, no nursing school has been closed because of laggard performance.

Video Courtesy: Youtube channel GMA News

Prof. Monsod asked another follow-up question, this time pointing to the continuous unemployment of nurses, "bakit po hindi sila ma-employ-employ at bakit po nag-resign ang Technical Nursing Education Committee at tsaka nag-resign after 7 months in office? Do you they just did not understand?"

And she answered that the resignation of "Father" was due to "personal quarrel with an owner of a school". 

What surprised everyone was when she said, "actually hindi naman kailangan ang nurse ay matapos nung BSN, kasi itong ating mga nurses gusto lang nila maging room nurse or sa America or sa other countries, eh ano lang sila, yung parang mag-aalaga; hindi naman sila kailangang ganun kagaling, kasi sa ibang countries..." The timer stopped and her mic was muted.

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Opinion:

To Congresswoman Cynthia Villar, you just hit them (nurses) where it hurts. It only shows how narrow your level of thinking is, with regards to recognizing professions that help serve people who need medical help, especially the poor. Don't you think nurses need to be competent in their field so as to provide medical assistance to the needy? We're dealing with lives here!!

Huwag niyo po sanang ni-lalang ang mga nurses; being a nurse takes a lifetime of service. It seems like you're going the wrong direction, Madam Hanepbuhay.

To all eligible voters out there, if you want to educate other people, please share this on your Facebook walls.

ELEKSYON 2013: Of campaign styles and approaches

In a few months time, new leaders will be elected in highly contested seats from the municipal and city council members to the Senate and House of Representatives positions. New movers of people, new headers of change, new voices of the majority - they will be, at a defined period of time, here. And you, the public, will be asked of your support.

Amid all the campaigning, what stays in mind in some of us are not the promises (probably because "we're tired of all that..."), but the jingles (music), the campaign paraphernalia, and overall, the campaign styles and strategies that make every campaign period memorable.

Do you still remember one candidate's jingle of "Nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng basura?" Do you still find it funny nostalgic whenever you view videos of past senatorial candidates in their united stands and startlingly awesome mnemonics? Well, I do.

Video Courtesy: Youtube user chitetskoy, GMA 7

So starting today, I will be listing down some of the campaign movements I saw whenever I ride from place to place. May I also ask my fellow readers to share your thoughts and the campaign strategies, movements and styles that you've seen our candidates have planned well ahead of time (I hope so).

1. the EPAL (trapo) style  - Well, of course, there hasn't been any positive development yet with all the negative exposure that has been cast on these EPAL politicians who have already started subtle (though very obvious) campaigns a long, long time ago through their "Welcome to __________! Mabuhay!" tarpaulins with their names having fonts bigger than their "inspirational" message and photos largely eating up the space which should have been allotted for more substance.

2. the MMK (drama anthology) style - Some big, wise men of ours began branding themselves to the people by telling their true-to-life stories. There's nothing wrong that I see in it (as long as the story has not been exaggerated nor been faked).

3. the PAGTITIPON style - Usually done at the start of the campaign period, this campaign style has caused so much traffic especially along normally congested highways and passes. Irked and angered by such delay, public vehicle passengers try to calm themselves and sometimes rethink if they should vote for them or not.

4. the FIESTA style - I saw this while I was cruising the polluted lanes of Taft. One camp hired a rondalla band (complete with a majorette) to attract passersby and let them see that someone's sincerely running for a seat with all the sweet music it employs in the air defied by the beeping of jeepneys and buses. Well played.

5. the PA-ISSUE style - Bright and witty running mates do this to attack others while raising up their popularity status by saying that some threats of possible defamation have been discovered and that when asked of any evidences pointing to it, keeps mum . True or not, the performances of both the threatened and the threat-maker (noisy one) make this style very effective.

6. the CELEBRITY DUO style - One thing I learned about ensuring a win in politics, may it be for that reason or for not what you think it is, is to make sure you win the public's heart by falling in love with a cute, like-able personality. Hence, high-profile marriages as the election is approaching are a possibility.

7. the ROAM AROUND CONVOY style - Not the candidates themselves who travel long distances, but hired driver-supporters in various vehicle types with signages of a NUMBER and the party-lists they represent, are what describe this style which provides more time and space to influence the public and make them aware of who they are fighting for and representing.

8. the FLYING BALLOONS style - I have yet to see this one. Balloon-aided tarpaulins asking candidate support should be mainstream.

Do you know of any other campaign strategy? Comment it down below and see it posted here.

ELEKSYON 2013: Are you a registered voter? Verify it here.

Are you a registered voter in the forthcoming 2013 PH general election? Not sure if you are? Find out if you are in the voters list by visiting the Precinct Finder Form.

Upon clicking the link, you will be led to a page showing the image below:

All you need to do is key in your name and birthday details. Then, click on the Search button; a dialogue box will pop out asking you to continue. You will then be directed to another page.

What you see above are the details of your registry as a voter. Problems may arise if you have not printed your voters ID yet, so it's best that you check out the site to see if you could vote in order to avoid any hassle/inconvenience on the day of the Philippine midterm elections, dubbed as Halalan 2013.