Voters still mesmerized by actors
For tonight’s special presentation in Straight from the Sky, we bring you a talk with the top ranking officials of Cebu Pacific Air as we went to Makati Shangri-La for the formal launching of Cebu Pacific’s newest aircraft, the Airbus A321 NEO. NEO stands for New Engine Option.
Apparently, the A321 NEO has brand-new Recaro seats (you can only find these seats in expensive sports cars like Ferrari or Lamborghini) and has Pratt & Whitney engines. According to Pratt & Whitney, this engine gets a 15% fuel reduction, but according to Cebu Pacific it brought them an 18% drop in fuel costs.
So tonight, we shall show you the speeches of Cebu Pacific CEO Lance Gokongwei, COO Michael Ivan Shau, and Marketing and Sales Vice President Candace Iyog. So in a way, this is a Straight from the Sky episode-cum-presentation as we bring you the events of Cebu Pacific held at the Makati Shangri-La.
So watch this very important presentation tonight on channel 53 at 8 p.m. with replays on Wednesday and Saturday same time and channel. We also have replays on MyTV’s channel 30 at 9 p.m. Monday and at 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday.
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First off, last Thursday January 31 I learned of the sudden demise of a dear friend, Mariano “Tintoy” Perdices, husband of Maricar Perdices. He apparently had an emergency operation last Monday on his stomach and apparently, he didn’t survive this medical issue and died.
Tintoy is the father of Visayan Electric Company (VECO) Vice President for Operations and COO Anton Perdices. Tintoy was 82 and we were together when we joined the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority.
Tintoy was the big boss of the Cebu Oxygen & Acetylene Corp. and was its CEO for many years and many friends attest that he was the best manager any company could hire. Indeed, he was a very likeable fellow, but when God calls us we often don’t have time to prepare ourselves. But I do know that Tintoy is now in heaven with God and has become our intercessor. May we request our pious reader to please pray for the repose of his soul.
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While there are those who want survey results, like those from Pulse Asia or Social Weather Station, banned apparently this was not given any serious thought. So here is the SWS survey conducted from January 23 to 26, with Senator Grace Poe still in the lead followed by followed by Senator Cynthia Villar, former senator Lito Lapid, and Representative Pia Cayetano. Senator Nancy Binay is in 7th place, while former senators Mar Roxas and Bong Revilla are tied in the 8th-9th place. Completing the “Magic 12” are Senator Koko Pimentel, Senator Bam Aquino, and former senator Jinggoy Estrada.
Former special assistant to the president Christopher “Bong” Go apparently jumped into the Magic 12 in the 2019 senatorial race, landing in 5th-6th place. Go made a huge jump from his 15th-16th place ranking in the December 2018 SWS survey to secure a place well within the winning circle, tied with re-electionist Senator Sonny Angara. When asked how he was able to enter the Magic 12, Go said: “I’d like to change the mindset of people that a simple provincial man working as a staff, unpopular, not an actor, not from a family of politicians can dream of serving others in higher capacity.”
Bong Go also thanked his mentor, President Duterte, for endorsing his candidacy. In his recent sorties, Duterte vouched for the character and integrity of his former top aide, stressing that Go is an “extremely honest” man and a dedicated public servant. If there is anyone truly visible in most media outlets, it has always been Go. This is why I was surprised why the earlier surveys didn’t put him in the Magic 12, but apparently this has changed.
Looking intently at the names in the so-called Magic 12 shows to you that Filipino voters are still influenced actors or actresses. While Mar Roxas has appeared in the Magic 12, people easily forgot that he was the main actor in the Aquino Presidency and even bought those Mahindra jeeps priced much higher than the venerable Toyota Fortuner. On this alone, Roxas should not be inside the magic lineup. More so that he showed his incompetence during supertyphoon Yolanda!
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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.
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