"I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE ..."

The Comelec should not accept the candidacies of candidates who are U.S. Green Card holders, a.k.a. resident aliens. There are many of them. I will be furnished a list of these candidates soon and I am sure most if not all of our presidentiables are in that list. Check your candidates of choice, especially the more popular ones. I bet they're doing a disservice to the country by concealing their green cards. I suspect that quite a number must be US citizens too, and have not really bothered to give up their foreign citizenship. So young, and so traitorous. They should not be allowed by the Comelec to file their candidacies. The list should also include candidates who have acquired Canadian immigrant status or citizenship - and other countries for that matter.

Take the classic case of former Sorsogon Governor Juan Frivaldo and Baguio City Mayor Jun Labo who were both disqualified from public office even after they had been elected. Frivaldo fought the citizenship issue for many years when he was accused of being a US citizen, while Labo was accused of being an Australian citizen. There were at least three other provincial and municipal executives who were charged with non-eligibility to possess Philippine elective positions due to their holding foreign passports. One problem here is that some other countries like Spain, Australia, the UK and of course the US allow dual citizenship, a fact which several Filipinos, notably those in the upper echelons of society, have taken advantage of for prestige and convenience.

And one of the reasons why many of our prominent state officials and business leaders go regularly to the US is to renew their green cards while visiting family members abroad. Methinks even most appointive officials including the cabinet, the judiciary and the executive department are all green card holders, while some are 'dual citizens.'

We can determine which of these officials have family members, notably spouses and children, who are green card holders and who have latched on to their foreign papers as some sort of "insurance" in case of trouble in the Philippines. This way, these family members could easily fly to the US and to other countries in case of civil strife here or even economic crises such as a financial crunch or meltdown.

As one cabinet member recently said when asked what he would do in case of trouble here, "no sweat, my family can easily fly to the US," and that he would eventually follow if things grow worse here.

The time is ripe for these people to be exposed for who they truly are, and their much-proclaimed patriotism and so-called love for this country be put to the test.

(Image from http://www.bibingka.com/)