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This senatorial election is producing contrasting
ways of how to win the votes needed for victory. The contrast is
seen in the styles favored by Eastern Samar governor and Team Unity
media director Ben Evardone and that of Sen. Serge Osmeña of the
Genuine Opposition.
In a briefing to managers of the
campaign last week, Evardone unveiled the administration’s plan to
adopt a “customized campaign” strategy for its senatorial
candidates.
This strategy holds that the
senatorial candidates under the TU should capitalize and maximize
the strength of each candidate in areas where one is already strong
and build up more support in places where one is perceived to be
lagging behind.
Applying this Evardone theory, TU
senatorial Chavit Singson should consolidate his base in Ilocos and
get a fair share of the other bailiwicks. The same would be true for
candidate Kiram, who is strong in the south but is perceived to be
weaker in Luzon.
The strategy, which will be
adopted as the campaign reaches the crucial last 30 days, aims to
further reinforce the support pledge by political bigwigs at the
local level for Team Unity.
On the other hand, GO campaign
manager Serge Osmeña appears to be the exponent of dispersed
campaign for the senatorial candidates. What Serge did was to issue
a guide to every candidate on how to win and allow that candidate to
carry it out. In short, kanya-kanya.
Serge, it seems to me, is a
product of his own experience. He won in his senatorial bid
single-handedly, and now seeks to have GO candidates implement his
limited experience. Serge’s style of allowing the candidate to do
his own thing has triggered a conflict within the GO. Candidate John
Osmeña has called the GO headquarters the “coordinator” instead
of being the lead group in the campaign.
The coming election will decide
on which is more supreme—the survey results versus the command
votes. TU believes that while the GO bets may be leading the
senatorial race on paper, the reality on the ground is different. We
don’t see much GO organization at the grass-root level.
Alert for DOTC’s Leandro
Mendoza
Businessman Nathaniel Sauz,
president of the Amsterdam Holdings Inc. (AHI), has written a
complaint to DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza. Sauz is complaining
about the preferential right given to a Chinese firm on the
installation of a national broadband network (NBN).
Sauz argues that the AHI’s
proposal came ahead of the Chinese proposal. Ergo, AHI’s proposal,
according to the rules, should be evaluated first. Crying
discrimination, Sauz cited the rules on bidding followed by other
government agencies and local governments.
In December last year AHI filed
an unsolicited proposal to the DOTC to build a national broadband
network, which includes landline, cellular, Internet services under
a build-own-operate scheme. Project cost is $240 million to be
financed privately.
Under AHI’s plan, government
can use 50 percent of their proposed network’s capacity, while the
private-sector component uses the other half to subsidize
government’s use. The AHI proposal also states that the company
will operate the network and will charge a percentage below the
lowest price of local telcos, specifically a range of 50 centavos to
75 centavos per call. The proposal aims to cut government’s
communications cost by 25 percent per year.
In February 2007 China’s ZTE
filed an unsolicited proposal with the DOTC to build a national
broadband network costing US$262 million. The money will come from a
loan from China.
“We ask that DOTC strictly
comply with the rules on unsolicited proposals and, accordingly,
immediately commence evaluation of AHI’s proposal as befits the
first complete proposal submitted for the national broadband
network,” Sauz said.
GMA campaigning for TU
senators
At the Palace on Tuesday, the
President met with Kampi candidates. In that brief meeting the
candidates were impressed by the President’s familiarity with
local issues and political history.
The President surprised, regaled
(and also embarassed) Romblon delegates and leaders when she cited
in which town she won and lost in 2004. “O, nanalo ako sa Sibuyan,
pero talo ako sa Odiongan.” The President called on everyone to
work for the victory of TU senatorial candidates.
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