Philippine Politics: Nonoy Aquino and Mar Roxas To Be Running Mates In 2010 Elections

Noynoy Aquino for Philippine President in 2010

Philippine Senators Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas looks to have joined forces in the campaign for the Presidential race. To what capacity is yet to be known, but what has been announced is that Mar Roxas is giving his aspirations to become the next Philippine President, and instead has vowed to support the candidacy of Noynoy Aquino, who has shared his intention to run for President.

Mar Roxas already has television ads regarding his campaign for the Phlippine Presidency in this coming 2010 national elections, but after discussions with Noynoy Aquino, he officially withdrew his candidacy. According to Mar Roxas, “Today I am announcing my support for the candidacy of Noynoy Aquino for President for 2010″ for reasons he stated as “putting country before self.”

It’s still unknown if Mar Roxas will be the Vice Presidential running mate of Noynoy Aquino, but he will certainly be supporting Noynoy Aquino.

Now, the decision of Noynoy Aquino to run for President may have certainly been affected by recent historic events, especially that of the death of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino. The millions who poured onto the streets during Cory Aquino‘s funeral cortege can be taken as a huge sign of voter turnouts for Noynoy Aquino, and probably influenced his decision to run for President. Whether the Filipino people will translate their fondness and respect for Cory Aquino to a vote for Noynoy Auqino for President remains uncertain. But then, it seems that both Mar Roxas and Noynoy Aquino recognize that the situaton could be a better gamble to win the Presidency, especially if it becomes a popularity contest. Because as it stands – the popularity contest is being won by Presidential aspirant and former Senate President Manny Villar.

And maybe – since the poll isn’t going the way of Mar Roxas, then his giving way to Noynoy Aquino is a prudent decision. However, it’s pretty difficult to imagine what kind of miracle strategy Noynoy Aquino is going to pull in order to become the next President. Other Presidential aspirants already have their campaign machinery mobilizing throughout the nation, and Noynoy Aquino has yet to put his foot on the starting block. But then, if there’s anyone else who is certain to make it happen – then perhaps Noynoy Aquino can, and Mar Roxas recognizes that.

After all Noynoy Aquino‘s father is national hero Ninoy Aquino and his mother is the iconic mother of Philippine democracy Cory Aquino. Noynoy Aquino actually carries the name Benigno Aquino III, which will look great on a Presidential sample ballot. And it might even actually help that his younger sister Kris Aquino is one of the most popular TV personalities in the country, despite the natural controversy that follows her around.

Philippine Travel: Friendship Kayak Will Go 3,300 Km In 100 Days Across The Philippines From Sarangani To Pagudpud

Toby Martin – my batchmate in Upsilon Sigma Phi and fellow adventurer – just recently introduced me to Friendship Kayak, which is an expedition team led by Singaporean kayaker Khoo Swee Chiow whose current expedition challenge is to traverse the entire Philippine Archipelago on a kayak.

Needless to say, this feat has never been done before, and Khoo Swee Chiow along with Filipinos Buzzy Budlong and Arnel Gabutero, will be undertaking this expedition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Philippine-Singapore diplomatic relations. They will have a support team of Singaporeans and Filipinos (friends of the two expeditionists), who will haul provisions and handle certain logistics during their stops.

Friendship Kayak Expedition and Support Team

Khoo Swee Chiow has climbed Mt. Everest twice, reached the South Pole and the North Pole and holds 2 Guinness World Records, one for the longest scuba dive done in a controlled environment, staying underwater for 220 hours. Khoo Swee Chiow is also the first South East Asian to complete the 7 summits – Kilamanjaro (Africa),  Everest (Asia), Mt. Aconcagua (South America), Denali (North America), Elbrus (Europe), Carstenz Pyramid (Oceania), Kosciuszko (Oceania) and Vinson Massif (Antartica). When he’s not doing expeditions or adventures, Khoo Swee Chiow is a motivational speaker and adventure consultant.

Meanwhile, Filipino Buzzy Budlong may not have such an impressive resume as his kayaking partner, Buzzy holds his own as a veteran sea kayaker and white water rafting guide. He finished culinary arts, and mixes his love of cooking and love of the outdoors with an outdoors shop and Mexican cafe in Bohol, where he is currently based.

Arnel Gabutero will be joining the expedition as they paddle around Mindanao, but I’m not certain if he will still be part of the expedition as it heads out to Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte.

The Friendship Kayak expedition has already started, and took to the shores of the Philippines on August 31st. Khoo Swee Chiow maintains a blog on his website where you can read all the documentation of what they endure. They even have an on-line tracker, so you can see where exactly they are at any given moment during the expedition.

I’m excited to see the wonderful pictures of the Philippines that the Friendship Kayak expedition will be coming up with as they kayak from Sarangani all the way up to the tip of the Philippine archipelago at Pagudupud in Ilocos Norte. I still haven’t really gotten word on where the last stop will be. Certainly, I would like to be there to congratulate the two of them and the entire crew of Friendship Kayak for their inspirational adventure.

Anyway, Friendship Kayak has some sponsors that will help them through this expedition, but from what Toby Martin said in his e-mail, the team still lacks some resources to complete the journey.  Based on what I read in the Firendship Kayak blog, I believe they underestimated the costs of the handling and release of their cargo, which included the huge kayaks among other things.

Toby Martin is helping the coordination efforts of Friendship Kayak, and I’m putting out a shout-out here for those who might be able to help them out for their expedition – like maybe a safe harbor to rest, and maybe some local delicacies to replenish – should they pass through your neighborhood.

Feel free to check out their blog and their Facebook page, where I’m certain there may be a way to donate.