Two days ago, GMA News conducted an online survey on Twitter regarding the Top 10 Pinoys Who Made Us Proud. These are people who made the news, brought honor to the country and had an impact on the national scene for the past year. So after that 10 seconds or so of self-gratification after seeing my Tweet on National TV as featured on GMA7's 24 Oras, I decided to put up my own list of the Top 10 personalities for the year 2010. This is a bit different from GMA's list. One may disagree or agree with this list. These merely reflect my opinion and biases.
10. MANNY VILLAR
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| Manny Villar: Unfortunate Mudslinging Victim |
"Nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng basura, nag-Pasko ka na ba sa gitna ng kalsada, yan ang tanong namin, tunay ka bang isa sa amin?" Thus said in his campaign jingle which also became a household tune as it was sung even by the little kids. Everyone was inspired by his rags-to-riches story until the Yellow Army and those no-good, ambitious opportunists at the Liberal party threw mud at him by questioning his poverty and by continuing to pound him with the "C5 at Taga" issue which he denied and was never proven true at all. He could have been our President if not for the baseless and shameless tirades of AbNoyNoy's troops and the conditioning against him by AbNoyNoy's ABS-CBN network. Somewhat, i pity this man because he spent a great deal of money for the past elections, for all those ads and all those supporters from showbiz. I may not have voted for him but he still has my respect.
9. HUBERT WEBB
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| Hubert Webb: Free at Last |
He is the latest newsmaker for 2010. After 15 years of languishing in jail for a crime he apparently did not commit, the wheels of justice turned into his and his co-accused favor by virtue of a 7-4 decision by the Supreme Court citing insufficient evidence for convictiong him beyond reasonable doubt for the Vizconde massacre. Though my heart also fell for Lauro Vizconde. I also found it inappropriate to jail an innocent man for life. Back in 2001, I doubted their conviction because I found Jessica Alfaro as an incredible witness. Now he's free and has enjoyed media and public attention ever since. The day after his release, he went to a popular mall to buy stuff, but for a while he felt oddly at the present items in stock and even ordered an already phased-out donut flavor. Seems he got stuck in the 90s.
8. GILBERTO "GIBO" TEODORO"
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| Gibo: He gave us hope |
The 2010 Elections was noted for 2 reasons: because it was the first automated elections and because it was the dirtiest elections in recent years. I have never seen this level of mudslinging among candidates before. But one man stood out, and refrained from joining the charcter assassination spree and instead focused on his platforms and what he can do for the country. Despite being backed by the disdained (not by me!) administartion party Lakas-CMD and forever unpopular President Gloria Arroyo, he never took it personally and went on to campaign the way a civilized campaign should proceed. He could have used large party funds to ameliorate his campaign by loading up on TV ads and getting the services of showbiz people; but because he believed in his principles, he chose to go directly to the voters. Never have we seen a politician like him. And because there were so many proto-humans in the Philippines who were influenced by AbNoyNoy's hordes and ABS-CBN, the former Tarlac lawmaker and Defense secretary lost. He had the most impressive credentials and yet he lost. It was not his loss actually, it was the country's loss. And as loyal Gibo supporters would say "We may have missed the flight, But he gave us Hope."
7. WILLIE REVILLAME
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| Willie Revillame: New Home at TV5 |
Willie's struggles this year started when he chose to support Manny Villar instead of the ABS-CBN backed AbNoyNoy camp. Then he got in a word war with showbiz columnist Jobert Sucaldito and threatened to resign if Jobert would not be removed. But because of his political affiliation, he was given nothing but a cold shoulder by ABS-CBN which made him take a leave of absence from his Wowowee show which he eventually left permanently. Along the way, issues between him and co-hosts Pokwang and Mariel Rodriguez were uncovered which made things a little bit more uncompromising. After few months of rest and legal battles with ABS-CBN, Willie re-surfaced and signed with TV5 to host the now popular Willing-Willie which i think is an exact adaptation of the now-defunct Wowowee show. In the end, Willie Revillame came out as winner because his daily show is giving ABS-CBN's TV Patrol a beating in the ratings game.
6. CARLOS CELDRAN
Carlos Celdran was a popular Manila Tour Guide, culture vulture, performing artist and Reproductive Health Bill advocate. He is best known for his lively and informative tours in the City of Manila, and also distributes condoms to promote his advocacy. His recent ascent to the national scene happened on September 3, 2010, when he, dressed as Jose Rizel (or Crisostomo Ibarra), attended a mass at the Manila Cathedral which was also attended by no less than the Archbishop and the Mayor of Manila. In the middle of the mass, Carlos Celdran bravely hoisted a placard with the words "Damaso" as reference to the influential friar from Noli Me Tangere, and shouted to the priests "Stop getting involved in politics" before he was escorted away by police. This stunt was a protest on the Church's negative influence on the State on the RH Bill, of which he advocates. While I disagree with this stunt, I still admire and believe in his advocacy. Thus I brand him my "Tunay na Lalake" of the Year.
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| Carlos Celdran: TNL |
5. PRESIDENT NOYNOY AQUINO
As one of the comments on Facebook said "The Yellow Army brought a knife to a gunfight, and yet this knife was not the sharpest they have." Until now I am still wondering why a previous lawmaker who was not able to pass a single bill during his 12-year stint got the vote of more than 10 million Filipinos? Or should I say, are more than 10 million Filipinos dumb enough to elect an inexperienced and indecisive free-rider? Now 6 months into his presidency, he has not achieved anything significant yet. In fact, his Trial And Error (T.A.E) government did nothing but errors and useless proclamations. He is quick to blame the past administration for the current state of the country and yet he is also quick to grab credit for anyhting good GMA had sown. Too many blunders to date, the Quirino hostage crisis, freeing of Morong 43 and the military adventurists like Trillanes, Querubin and Lim, the unconstitutional Truth Commission, incompetent and bickering staff among others. While I still respect Ninoy Aquino, I really don't like Cory Aquino who also did not do anything good during her term as a president. And this AbNoyNoy rose to the presidency because of the popularity of his hero Dad. mediocre Mom, who happened to have an Idiot Son and a Brat daughter. Besides what would I expect from someone who had no credentials and experience at all, and who was only urged by his opportunist allies. Weakest president yet. I hope his presidency is over by Easter Sunday.
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| NoyNoy: Your Trial And Error (T.A.E) President |
4. CHARICE PEMPENGCO
Though she was no. 1 in the GMA survey, I still don't consider her deserving of a top spot. Sure she has a good voice, but I find it already too common for a Filipino singer to be a Biritera. What should be lauded is her inclusion in the popular TV series Glee. It was quite an achievement for a Filipino to be included in a top-rating US TV show. But that's it. She's not even a regular in that show. However, her single "Pyramid" made it to the top of the charts. So, there goes another reason to be proud of her.
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| Charice: Pyramiiid! |
3. MARIA VENUS RAJ
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| Venus Raj: Major, Major gaffe |
The Philippines boasts of a lot of beautiful women but it seems they do not fit to international beauty pageant standards. For the past decade, the only things we can be proud of in this aspect would be Precious Lara Quigaman's winning of the Miss International and a few others who barely made it to the semifinals but eventually lost. There were pre-pageant hype among Filipina candidates and numerous Miss Photogenic awards (due to the Philippine's massive online population), but they never translated to victories. That was until Maria Venus Raj came. She almost did not make it to the pageant because of some citizenship issues. But during the pageant, she was able to prove that she was indeed deserving to represent the country. She impressed the local media in the US, the organizers and also the judges. She became an instant favorite to win the pageant. But like Miriam Quimabao, she had a "Major, Major" gaffe in the contest's final question and answer portion which sealed her fate. She finished only as the 4th runner-up, the best finish for the Philippines since Miriam Quiambao won 1st runner-up in 1999. And she also made the words "Major, Major" popular in local lingo competing with the Jejemons.
2. MANNY "PACMAN" PACQUIAO
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| Pacquiao: Pound-for-Pound king |
He could have been No. 1 in my list but come to think of it, his recent wins were not as impressive because he faced lackluster bozos. Sure he was able to bring pride to the country for recording the most number of titles a boxer ever had and for being the Pound-for-Pound king of boxing; but he is yet to face his toughest challenge yet, Floyd Mayweather. But not to take away from the Sarangani Congressman, he indeed deserved those titles and his place in boxing. I really hope Pacquiao vs. Mayweather would happen. That is the only fight I care about. I also hope he does well for his constituents in Sarangani where his help is needed.
1. THE PHL AZKALS
Consistent with my vote in the GMA poll, I still consider them No. 1 for this year. The Philippines was non-existent in the world football map. During the recent FIFA World cup, while the world was wide awake to the tune of Waka Waka and the Vuvuzelas, Filipinos were asleep tight and oblivious. Football was never given attention in this country until this bunch of previously unknown individuals started racking up wins and forcing ties at the AFF Suzuki Cup. And one of the wins came against prevoius champion Vietnam. They entered the semifinals and finally put Philippine football at the pedestal. They may have lost those semifinal games against Indonesia but their achievement was the best yet for the country and better still, they were able to rally a nation behind them. They told our neighbors that we can play Football too. And to think these guys are not your highly-payed, big-egoed brats. Though some of them are half-breeds, it does not matter because they proudly carried the name of the country. I really do hope Football starts to fluorish in the country. It's time to explore another sport aside from basketball, billiards, boxing and bowling where we had tough luck recently.
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| The PHL Azkals: Filipinos can play Football too |
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