Jamby Madrigal declares she is running for President!

This blog said it first and said it best. Our GREAT SENATOR JAMBY MADRIGAL IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT!

‘I’m running for presidency’—Jamby Madrigal

By Maila Ager

INQUIRER.net

First Posted 12:14:00 07/31/2009

Filed Under: Inquirer Politics, Eleksyon 2010

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 3) Senator Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal has announced she will join the 2010 presidential race as she vowed to “faithfully serve” the nation.

“Today I cross the Rubicon. I am certain in my decision to run for the presidency of the Republic of the Philippines,” Madrigal said at a press conference in Makati Friday.

She said her goal was to serve the nation faithfully.

"To those of you who may question my personal motives, I have none,” Madrigal said. “My only goal is simple—to faithfully serve you.”

She said she would file her certificate of candidacy on November 30.

“It’s time for the nation to recover,” Madrigal said, adding she had no intention to settle for a vice presidential candidacy.

But her declaration was immediately met with criticism by former congressman Gilbert Remulla, spokesman of the Nacionalista Party being headed by Senator Manny Villar.

"She now joins the ranks of Eddie Gil and Atty. Ely Pamatong in making Philippine elections a colorful democratic practice," Remulla said in a statement.

"Her declaration is also a vindication for Senator Manny Villar. We have said all along that the C-5 issue is politically motivated. The candidacy of Senator Madrigal confirms that," he said.

Madrigal simply shrugged it off.

"It’s okay. I’m not spoil sport,” she said.

Madrigal has filed an ethics case against Villar, a real estate magnate, for allegedly benefitting from the construction of the C-5 road extension project in Paranaque City.

At the press conference, Madrigal said she has reached the decision to run for president after a month-long break of Congress and during "the silence of my two-week retreat."

"This I do, not out of personal ambition but to share a vision that has been honed by my family's more than 100 years of service to the country," she said.

"Many have asked me to be an agent of change. Although I find this daunting, I now face the challenge squarely," she said.

Madrigal said she has the resources to run a campaign without being indebted to interest groups.

"My goal is selfless service, pure and simple. I will pay my debt only to the country. This country has given me so much and my gift to our people is to change their lives for the better," she said.

But Madrigal, member of Partido Demokratikong Pilipino, could not say yet under which party she would run and who would be his runningmate.

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Jamby to file case vs Gov. Carrion for reopening of Marcopper Mines

Senator Jamby Madrigal's unrelenting fight for the enviroment may make it necessary to file a case against Marinduque Governor Bong Carrion for pushing for the re-opening of the Marcopper mines.

The destruction of the main river in Marinduque and six sub-river systems has been particularly deleterious to the livelihood of fishermen and farmers, many of whom have pending damage suits against Marcopper.

Two years ago, protesting farmers and fishermen supported by environmental groups demanded payment for the destruction caused by the 1996 calamity and reiterated they would oppose any move to reopen the mine, which operated for about 60 years and discharged more than 200 million tons of waste into the bay.

All riverine life in Marinduque has been slaughtered by the waste dumped by Marcopper and the levels of arsenic, cadmium, and copper are high, with agricultural land and sources of drinking water contaminated.

Local officials are also demanding quick reparation for the damage to the environment, along with more than a billion in taxes left unpaid by the shuttered company and its beneficial owner, Placer Dome Inc., a Canadian mining company.

It was under Bong Carrion's term as governor in 1996 that the Marcopper mine accident happened. The re-elected governor of Marinduque was said to have purposely neglected checking up on the operations of the Marcopper Mines in exchange for a generous donation to his campaign funds.

Carrion, who is a known womanizer who loves latching himself on to rich women, is going after the pipe dream of reopening the Marcopper mines just in time for the 2010 elections.

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Why Jamby doesn't want DENR Secretary Lito Atienza confirmed

In the Manila Standard column “In the line of fire” by Fel Maragay published on July 7, the columnist asks why Senator Jamby Madrigal has not called for a confirmation hearing for Environment Secretary Lito Atienza.

“Despite the inroads made by the Environment Department in performing its mandate tasks under his stewardship, why is Atienza’s confirmation still hanging at the Commission on Appointments more than two years after he was appointed to his Cabinet post? Are there complaints and objections to his appointment? You will not believe this, but do you know that the CA’s committee on environment and natural resources, chaired by Senator Jamby Madrigal, has not yet called or held any confirmation hearing on the Atienza appointment up to this day. Many are wondering why, including Senate President and committee chairman Juan Ponce Enrile. In view of this, it is wrong to say that Atienza has been repeatedly bypassed by the bicameral Commission. It is only when the concerned committee fails to endorse a Cabinet appointment after a hearing or series of hearings that the same can be considered bypassed upon the adjournment of Congress.”

I suppose that this is just as well as the country’s environmental conditions are definitely worsening.

Just today, the DENR is meeting with officials of Marinduque in a bid to re-open the Marcopper mines. The sweetener in the deal is that the DENR will not be averse to the clean-up of the 26-kilometer Boac River, which sustained the worst damage when the Tapian mine tailings pit collapsed on March 24, 1996 and discharged millions of liters of contaminated waste into the river system and then on to the Philippine Sea.

The destruction of the main river in Marinduque and six sub-river systems has been particularly deleterious to the livelihood of fishermen and farmers, many of whom have pending damage suits against Marcopper.

Two years ago, protesting farmers and fishermen supported by environmental groups demanded payment for the destruction caused by the 1996 calamity and reiterated they would oppose any move to reopen the mine, which operated for about 60 years and discharged more than 200 million tons of waste into the bay.

All riverine life in Marinduque has been slaughtered by the waste dumped by Marcopper and the levels of arsenic, cadmium, and copper are high, with agricultural land and sources of drinking water contaminated.

This, of course, is not to mention the state of the Pasig River in Metro Manila which reeks of the DENR’s incapability under Atienza’s leadership to clean up the environment.

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Jamby charges Villar

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Jamby launches Makabayan Party

Senator Jamby's is the secret dark horse in the 2010 Presidential derby.

Other candidates may tout billions of pesos in campaign funds, but Jamby has the largest grassroots based political party.

Called Makabayan, the party is made up of people from the CDE class which includes squatters or informal settlers and members of the communist movement of the Philippines.

This is already an advantage as the other candidates vying for the Presidency in 2010 will be immediately blocked from campaigning in squatter areas and territories held by the communist rebels.

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