I really love the TV commercial of presidential aspirant, Bro. Eddie Villanueva. It is entitled, “Palit” and was directed by Director Paul Soriano for free, together with his father, Jeric Soriano.

It is so apt in such a time as this that no matter who we put in office, there is really no change. One is just worse than the other. We can remember how government officials lambasted Erap Estrada even to the point of attacking his personhood. Then who replaced him in his position and those assigned in other government sectors have proven to be worse than the past administration.

Oh well, what goes around comes around. But I believe that if we make and vote not for our own personal gain but rather for the good of this country, we will also be able to elect a good leader. Honestly, my personal choices are:

President: Bro. Eddie Villanueva
My second choice would be Senator Richard Gordon

Vice President would be Jejomar Binay

These people have political will and have worked and proven themselves worthy. They have made changes wherever they were planted. As for Sen. Mar Roxas, I dunno, he has marketed himself too much with the masa that honestly, I doubt his intentions. And really, I would not want Korina Sanchez to become first lady. Do you really want her in Malacanang? I am scared. And I believe this blog would be in great trouble if Korina was placed in Malacanang.

I would rather have a person who has moral values and upholds integrity. We want a government that upholds the people and their welfare and is not corrupt? Then we should vote for people with integrity. We should vote for people who fear God and not people. Because these are the kind of leaders that our country needs. Those who fear the Lord follow God’s commands, especially the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.”

The coming Presidential Elections 2010 is fast approaching. Now, more than ever, is there mudslinging between candidates.

I will not make any tirades on candidates, but rather I would like to point out here the things that concern me regarding candidates.

I think that Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro is a very good bet. I think that he is a good leader and would be effective as the chief executive of the land. He is a leader with a sympathetic heart–that is what I see of him. One thing concerns me though, he is the official standard bearer of the administration. I don’t know what gratitude he has to pay President Arroyo and the possible favors that the latter might ask of him. And since he is backed by the admin, could he refuse President Arroyo’s requests?

I think two of the most fitting candidates would be Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and Senator Dick Gordon. We have seen how the two of them have worked and improved their areas of influence when they were chief executives. So I believe they can do the same for the country. They can just replicate what they had done and do it in a bigger scale.

As for Sen. Noynoy Aquino, I think his influence is more on his family name and his very famous sister, Kris, but not really for himself. I don’t think that he is going to be a strong leader, especially that of our nation. Maybe he has the integrity, but I am not sure of his political will. Legislative is so much different than the executive branch of government. But not too many people understand that.

I think that Mar Roxas would have been a good bet. But I am really afraid of when Korina Sanchez will become our First Lady. Honestly, she has the makings of becoming worse than former first lady Imelda Marcos. We had an inkling of her personality when Mar stepped down from the presidential race to give way to Noynoy Aquino. You know, I have the feeling that if the two of them will win, it will be Sen. Roxas who will have the greater influence on the major decisions for the country.

Manny Villar may present to be the savior of the masses, but really, he is a very good businessman. All the money that is being poured out on ads and campaigns, wouldn’t these be returned later on? These are investments. So how could Mr. Villar recoup his expenditures? Your guess is as good as mine.

In terms of integrity, I believe that Bro. Eddie Villanueva is still the best bet. Despite the protests of many Christians, I think it is still better to root for one of our own. There may be flaws, as nobody is perfect, but I would rather root for the person who fears God the most. The Jews before, as long as their leader feared God and worshipped Him rather than idols, the land prospered. But if their leader went the other way, they were punished.

God help the Philippines. Lord, may you install a righteous leader over us who can lead this nation to righteousness.

Oh

So many people and events made the news both in our country and internationally this 2009. There were many celebrity deaths, scandalous political alliances, sex scandals, celebrated marriages, babies, unwanted pregnancies, and of course, adulterous affairs.

The most recent affairs that whose elements were shredded by the media were that of two sports legends–both in golf and boxing. And that would be Tiger Woods and our very own Manny Pacquiao. Tiger Woods’ marriage to Elin Nordegren fell apart after the vehicular accident that he figured in near his home. Thankfully, Pacquiao and wife Jinkee has weathered the recent storm named Krista Ranillo in their lives.

The death of the King of Pop Michael Jackson sent the whole world into mourning. His death shadowed the passing of another Hollywood actress, Farah Fawcett. Patrick Swayze succumbed to cancer too, and in the local scene, Francis Magalona also passed away but his legacy of Francism lives on through his family and friends.

Freedom fighter former President Corazon Aquino also died because of cancer but with her passing came the birth of the Yellow Army and the political career of son Noynoy Aquino was catapulted to the presidential arena. The senator is now campaigning for the highest position in the land with Senator Mar Roxas as his running mate.

Perhaps the most talked about weddings this year are that of Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo and Senator Mar Roxas with Korina Sanchez.

There are the births of the babies of Vina Morales and Angelika dela Cruz whose babies were born around the time I gave birth to mine.

We also remember the death of talent manager to big stars, Douglas Quijano, and director Johnny Delgado.

This was also a big year for Marian Rivera, not only for her career, but for her love life, as she and leading man Dingdong Dantes finally hooked up together, leaving Karylle loveless. Karylle moved to ABS-CBN and found a new lease in her career and in her love life.

But of course, the biggest events are those that took the lives of many people, such as typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng and the Maguindanao Massacre.

I cannot remember everything. But so many things have happened. Looking back, we can only say that our lives are just a speck in eternity. No matter how famous or rich we are, our lives are meaningless without God because when we die, our lives just end there.

Live to the fullest. Live with God in our lives.