Playing with Fire
Political surveys unreliable
By Gonzalo Duque
MOST Filipinos, including Dagupeños, in San Francisco are not in the pink of financial health. Many have acquired some kind of phobia against financing institutions due to sky-high loan interest.
Many we have talked to say “there’s really nothing like home in the Philippines” since out there, they say, a few hundred pesos will get you going.
The news headlines in the Philippines are a hot piece in the US, but we prefer not to talk about them in this column.
Suffice it to say that in spite of the much complained of hardship in our homeland, it is still a beautiful country.
Mahalin ang bayan natin, it’s the only one we’ve got.
* * *
Is Senator Loren Legarda sure of becoming the next president because she has been topping the surveys?
This seems to be the dominant speculation on account of the surveys. If you ask us, they are nothing but “sorbetes.”
We have written about this amusing feature of our democratic life to show that they (the popularity surveys) are misleading.
People, as a general rule, change their minds easily, fickle as the weather.
We remember all too vividly when GMA was topping all surveys for president. Our older brod Dr. Ado was alarmed because Dr. Eva Macaraeg – Macapagal (GMA’s Pangasinense mother) might be swayed. Alam nyo na ang mga babae, emotional.
So, big brod called up Dra. Eva, advising her to just let Gloria run as vice president to Joe de Venecia, who has the logistics and the Lakas machinery. You know what happened.
There was a time when GMA’s father, Cong. Dadong was also very popular and itching to run for president. The old Mac was circumspect. He settled for vice president of Jose Yulo – and won overwhelmingly. In the next elections, DM ran for president against Carlos Garcia and won.
History repeats itself?
OK, another case was the late Raul Roco who was topping all surveys for president in 2004. You know what happened – GMA won with FPJ as closest opponent. Roco was poor third and died later.
It is with this fact in mind that we reject speculation that Loren Legarda is president-bound because she is superstar in the surveys.
* * *
We don’t know how our friend, Speaker Joe de Venecia, will do it, but our view is that the scheduled barangay polls should be held this October.
Expensive? Manong Joe knows better than that. Many who have had too much of misfits in our barangay political system will not be too easy to placate.
We want the barangay polls held soonest.
* * *
Aha, well, if the planned resetting of the date for barangay polls, especially that of the Sanguniang Kabataan is desired to introduce reforms, probably, we could reconsider. But in the same sense, there are too many corrupt and incompetent barangay and SK officials who should be booted and replaced by better leaders. This is rub!
On with the polls, pwede ba?
* * * *
Before we left for the U.S., the headlines in Manila dailies were the NBN and the public’s reaction to Erap’s conviction.
We shall try to look around and hear feedback in the U.S. on these issues, and we’ll write about them.
See you soon.
(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/playing-with-fire/)
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