2007年VOA标准英语-Celebrities, Guns Catch Headlines in Philippine

By Douglas Bakshian
Manila
10 May 2007

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Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Personalities², money, families and violence are dominant³ features of the May 14 elections in the Philippines where nearly 18,000 positions in local and national government are up for grabs.  The main focus is on the congress, where President Gloria Arroyo has defeated two impeachment⁵ bids, but a major power shift appears unlikely.  Douglas Bakshian reports from Manila.
 
All 220 districts are up for grabs in the House of Representatives, plus dozens of so-called party-list seats that are elected nationally. Despite fielding 144 candidates, the opposition⁶ does not expect to win a majority.

Adel Tomano is an opposition spokesman.
 
"About 40 of the candidates are sure winners … all our other candidates are winnable candidates, but we don't like to boast, to give an overly optimistic outlook," Tomano says.
 
President Arroyo's allies control the House.
 
In the Senate, the opposition dominates. Twelve seats, half the Senate, are up for election. A poll commissioned by the Philippine Daily Inquirer shows the opposition taking six seats, the administration four, and independents two.
 
Beneath the numbers, Philippine politics remains⁷ a free-for-all of personalities with athletes, military men, priests and others in the race.

Super featherweight boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, known as Pacman, is running as a pro-administration House candidate. While Pacman has scored knockouts in the ring, it is unclear how much punch he carries in politics. 
 
On the opposition, a former navy lieutenant⁸ facing charges for taking part in a coup⁹ attempt is running for Senator. Campaigning from a military jail, Antonio Trillanes says the country needs fresh reforms by a new government, and that being in custody¹⁰ will not prevent him from serving the people.
 
Several priests are running for positions around the mostly Catholic nation. One, Father Ed Panlilio, is running for governor of Pampanga province, President Arroyo's home turf.
 
Tonypet Albano, a spokesman for a group of pro-administration candidates called Team Unity¹¹, says the variety is a healthy thing.
 
"Politically it shows that we are a very democratic nation," Albano says.  "That anyone, as laid out in the constitution, is qualified¹² to run. … We are not barring anyone, whether or not he is a boxer¹³ or even a person in jail, (he) could run for public office and even senator of our land, just as long as they are not yet convicted of any crimes."
 
More established politicians from powerful political families also are in the race. For instance, Francis Escudero, a prominent opposition member of the House, is going for a Senate seat. He says the country, which only emerged from the Marcos dictatorship two decades ago, is going through a learning curve.
 
"We are going through the process of a child learning how to walk or ride a bicycle," Escudero says. "The Philippines is a relatively¹⁴ young democracy and we have to go through such growing pains of a young democracy to be able to learn the ropes, so to speak. But as each election goes by I think it slowly but surely being more issued-oriented than previous elections."
 
Money is another prominent element of elections here.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez offered a $211 prize to district officials in his home province who deliver a victory for all 12 administration Senate candidates.

He says this is legal because he is not a candidate. While this appeal is public, money is circulated in other, less visible ways. 
 
Ramon Casiple, of the Institute of Political and Electoral Reforms, says it lubricates the political system.
 
"Money is given not on the party level," Casiple says. "It is given basically on the level of the candidate on the higher position. For example, I am a governor. I may give money to a mayoral candidate who has the constituency to give the votes for me in that particular place. That mayoralty candidate may not be of the same party as the governor. It may even be from the opposing side."
 
Violence remains a nasty feature of Philippine politics. Candidates and their supporters across the country have been killed in bold, public attacks. Officials say the flagrant nature of the attacks is alarming, and the military has been called out to help ensure safety and order. 
 
Behind the personalities and the violence, there are political issues. The opposition accuses President Arroyo of corruption¹⁵ and cheating in the 2004 presidential election. But that position apparently¹⁶ has not gathered large public support so far, and analysts¹⁷ say the opposition is not likely to win enough House seats to impeach⁴ the president.
 
The economy plays a role. The Arroyo administration says it has presided over a period of relative prosperity, with rapid growth, a strengthening currency, a falling budget deficit¹⁸ and a growing call-center business.

But critics say the success is due mostly to the $12 billion a year that Filipinos working abroad send home, while local investment, which is required to for sustained growth, remains weak. 

1 arroyo   

n.干涸的河床，小河

参考例句：

• She continued along the path until she came to the arroyo.她沿着小路一直走到小河边。
• They had a picnic by the arroyo.他们在干枯的河床边野餐过。

2 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

3 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

4 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

5 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

9 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

10 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

11 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

12 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

13 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

16 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

17 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

18 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。