June 11, 2009, Thursday, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, I2 Tower, Asiatown IT Park, Apas, Cebu City

- When I first learned about this scheduled meetup with the Senator, I was quite hesitant about it because I don't want to add a political flavor to any of my blogs. But then, I asked myself again: Why not? This was a very rare opportunity to know more about the great senator, up close and personal.

- More or less, 30 members of the Cebu Bloggers Society converged at the venue to meet up and have a casual discussion with the senator.

- Some members threw their questions: ranging from questions about his political platforms and some interesting questions such as his views on the Hayden Kho Sex Video Scandal and the much-awaited KoriMar Wedding!

- Mar's platform focuses on four things; things which he says are the pillars for a better nation:
- - - FOOD on every table (contrary to the belief of many that the Philippines is highly urban, it actually isn't; majority of the country is still rural, particularly agricultural, so Mar plans to invest on our agriculture, on our own farmers so that Pinoys can feed fellow Pinoys)
- - - EDUCATION (whether you're rich, poor, tall, small, fat, thin, it levels the playing field for all)
- - - FAIRNESS and JUSTICE (corruption is undoubtedly one of the major problems that our country is facing today. We have a lot of laws, but unfortunately there aren't enough grinding teeth. Mar plans to improve the justice system for faster and fairer court decisions for every Filipino, and eventually bring back the high integrity of our country's justice system)
- - - ECONOMY (the overall balance of the production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of goods and services in the country)

- After the interesting discussions, the senator gamely posed for everyone's cameras! Click, click, clicks can be heard in the four corners of the venue.

- I'll be voting for the first time ever next year, and I'm still having a hard time picking my personal choice among 5 presidential aspirants (including Mar =D ) I'm currently choosing on. For now, I'm hoping that the other presidential aspirants could also come to Cebu and meet up, chill and chit-chat with the Cebu Bloggers Society.

- - - -
Feel free to grab any of the photos below but a linkback to this album would be very much appreciated! Muchos Gracias!
** Some photos in this album were taken by Jorich and Kai. Thanks guys! **