So I See... Konting Pananaw... LITO BANAYO: Ayaw umalis sa pwesto

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Ayaw umalis sa pwesto

Bilang miyembro ng FSGO, isang grupo ng mga dating hinirang at nanilbihan sa bayan sa matataas na posisyon sa pamahalaan, at bilang isang mamamayang sawang-sawa na sa baluktot na pamamahala na batbat ng katiwalian, minabuti kong ilathala sa ating pitak ang “official statement” ng Former Senior Government Officials, na nilagdaan din ng iba’t ibang mga organisasyon ng mamamayang Pilipino, na nagbababala sa masamang pangitain na mukhang isusulong na muli ng pamahalaang Arroyo, ang pag-amyenda sa anumang paraan ng Saligang Batas, o sa kasukdulan, ang paggamit sa kaguluhan sa Mindanao upang manatili sa panguluhang hindi naman pinanalo sa paraang marangal:

“Kailangang Maghanda ang Mamamayan para Kumilos laban sa Pananatili sa Malacañang ni Gloria Arroyo.

“Mga mamamayan kami, mga indibidwal at organisasyon, na nababahala sa kasalukuyang nangyayari sa larangan ng pulitika. Kahit na maraming tumututol na lider ng administrasyon at oposisyon, patuloy pa ring nababalitaan na walang balak umalis si Ginang Arroyo sa Malacañang sa 2010.

“Hindi na sana pinag-uusapan ang pagbabago ng Saligang Batas sa pamamagitan ng isang Constituent Assembly, dahil malakas na tinututulan ito ng maraming Senador. Hindi kasi matutuloy ang isang Constituent Assembly kung hindi sasang-ayunan ng 2/3 ng Senado. Pero patuloy na sinasabi ng Mababang Kapulungan, ayon sa Speaker at sa Tagapangulo ng Komite sa Constitutional Amendments, na tatanungin daw nila tayong mga mamamayan kung nais nating magkaroon ng isang sistemang federalista, o dapat na magkaroon ng isang parliament, o kung ano pang kunwaring dahilan na maiisip ng mga Kongresista para magmukhang makabayan at hindi makasarili ang pagbabago sa Saligang Batas. May mga Kongresista pa nga na nagpahayag na ni hindi kailangan ang boto ng mga Senador dahil, ayon sa kanila, magkasama daw bibilangin ang boto ng mga Kongresista at Senador. Dahil napakarami ng mga Kongresista, bale wala ang boto ng mga Senador.

“Papalit-palit ang isip ng administrasyon tungkol sa labanan sa Mindanao. Sa simula ay minadali nila ang pagpirma sa MOA sa MILF tungkol sa Ancestral Domain. Pagkatapos ay bigla nilang kinansela ang usapang pangkapayapaan. Binuwag nila ang Peace Panel ng gobyerno. Nagsinungaling pa na hindi naman daw alam ni Ginang Arroyo na may pipirmahang MOA. Para pa ngang sila ang nagpasimula sa bagong labanan sa Mindanao. Parang sinadya talaga ni Arroyo na magalit ang MILF at ang iba pang armadong grupo. Parang gusto nilang gumamit ng dahas at tuluyang makipaglaban sa gobyerno ang mga ito. Balak yata ni Arroyo na gamitin ang gulo sa Mindanao bilang dahilan para isuspinde ang writ of habeas corpus o, huwag naman sanang mangyari, na tuluyang magdeklara ng Batas Militar. Ayon kasi sa Saligang Batas, mayorya lamang o nakararami ng mga Kongresista at Senador, na sabay bibilangin ang boto at hindi hiwalay, ang kailangan para payagan at ipagpatuloy ang Batas Militar.

Lito Banayo

Lito Banayo’s involvement in Philippine politics began with a chance encounter with the late Benigno Aquino, Jr. in the spring of 1981, at the Washington Hotel in Washington D.C. Ninoy Aquino was then on exile, after having undergone heart bypass surgery. That started a series of week-end visits to Ninoy’s home in Boston.

In the fall of 1982, Lito decided to come home to the Philippines after two-year stay in the United States, and as he bade goodbye to Ninoy, he was asked to help the then fledging political opposition in the country.

Lito Banayo asked Ninoy who he would report to, and was told to see Doy Laurel. Banayo was quizzical, for the Laurels had been Marcos’ political padrinos in the past. Ninoy told him however that Doy Laurel and he grew up together and were almost like brothers. Thus did Lito Banayo enter the world of a political technician, his description for the kind of work he has been doing since.

He helped Doy Laurel and Eva Estrada Kalaw organized the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) which became the major coalition against the Marcos regime. At a time when media was controlled and Marcos’ monolithic political party, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) was all over, UNIDO put up a difficult but nonetheless successful struggle.

In the 1984 Batasang Pambansan elections, the UNIDO coalition won 60 of 180 seats, with an overwhelming majority in Metro Manila and key capital cities. Lito Banayo was deputy spokesperson and deputy campaign manager of that national campaign, working under Ernesto Maceda, who later became Senate President, and Alfonso Policarpio, Ninoy’s publicist.

When Ninoy Aquino returned to the Philippines after years of exile, it was Lito Banayo who, along with Erik Espina, coined the welcome slogan “Ninoy, Hindi Ka Nag-iisa,” a welcome greeting that eventually became a political battlecry after the latter was assassinated at the tarmac of the international airport.

When Cory Aquino, Ninoy’s widow, and Doy Laurel, his childhood friend, later challenged Ferdinand Marcos in the historic “snap” elections of February 1986, Lito was one of the major campaign technicians in an effort that drew many volunteers from all walks of life.

He was appointed Postmaster-General after the Edsa uprising that resulted in the downfall of Marcos and the ascent of Aquino. At the postal office, he initiated major systemic reforms, and initiated its transformation from a budget-dependent office under the transport and communications department into an autonomous government corporation now called Philippine Postal Corporation.

He has become political consultant to various names in Philippine politics – Senator Orlando Mercado, Senate President Marcelo B. Fernan, and now Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. He was consultant too of Speaker Ramon Mitra, Jr., Ronaldo Zamora, Manuel A. Roxas III and Hernando B. Perez, all congressmen at the time.

In 1992, he was campaign spokesman of the Mitra-Fernan presidential tandem. In 1995, he handled the campaign of Senator, later Senate President Marcelo B. Fernan. In 1998, he was in the campaign team that helped Joseph Ejercito Estrada become president of the land. His erstwhile principal, Mercado, was named campaign manager. During the term of President Estrada, he was Secretary-General of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino, the political party of the then President.

He served as General Manager of the Philippine Tourism Authority from June 30, 1998 to November 3, 2000. He was also concurrently appointed as Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs with cabinet rank, by President Joseph Estrada. Although he resigned from the Estrada cabinet earlier, he was with the deposed president until his last hours in Malacanang.

In 2001, he was campaign manager for then retired PNP director-general Ping Lacson’s difficult but highly successful run for the Philippine Senate. He also helped Ping Lacson as a contender for the presidency in 2004, as well as Manila Mayor Lito Atienza in administrative matters at City Hall during his term.

Lito Banayo finished Economics at Letran College, then undertook graduate studies at the Ateneo Business School, as well as the University of the Philippines College of Public Administration.

He is native of San Pablo City, Laguna, and Malolos, Bulacan, but his family has moved to Butuan City in Agusan del Norte since the early sixties, although he himself has lived in Manila throughout most of his life. He is married and is blessed with three children.

So I See... Konting Pananaw... LITO BANAYO

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Ayaw umalis sa pwesto

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Lito Banayo

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So I See... Konting Pananaw... LITO BANAYO

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Ayaw umalis sa pwesto

0 comments:

Lito Banayo

Blog Archive

Lito Banayo

Email

Web Links

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