Catholic vote, police vote, SVS & ‘Ang Probinsiyano’ By Al S. Mendoza IS there a so-called Catholic vote? Seemingly, none. Otherwise, all those senatorial bets endorsed by President Duterte—notably Bong Go, Bato dela Rosa, Francis Tolentino and Koko Pimentel—should not have won on May 13. Reason?  Mr. Duterte had consistently…

Why Villar emerged as No. 1 senator By Al S. Mendoza HERE are some secrets sprouting immediately after the May 13 elections. They come mostly from the senatorial derby. First, Cynthia Villar. What was her chief weapon in topping the Senate race in a big rebound from her No. 8…

It was also a vote of confidence for Duterte By Al S. Mendoza THE Inquirer said it all. In its headline on Wednesday, May 15, the Inquirer bannered: “ADMIN BETS’ DOMINANCE SHOWS DUTERTE MAGIC.” The story said President Duterte’s allies took nearly all of the 12 slots in the senatorial race….

Voting is like buying a lotto ticket By Al S. Mendoza WE choose only 12 senators in tomorrow’s election, May 13. And yet, there are 62 candidates. Will the 50 losers sulk? Cry? That’s the trouble with most of us.  Election has become almost a magnet that it attracts people…

Villar topples Poe at No. 1; Go & Bato on the go By Al S. Mendoza CYNTHIA Villar is now No. 1. That’s the latest in the survey held from April 10 to 14—allegedly noncommissioned. If those surveyed were to vote one month before the May 13 senatorial election, Villa…

What voting for Lapid’s chicharon bulaklak mean By Al S. Mendoza I vote wisely.  Always. That I’d been doing since I started voting. In one of our drinking sorties, just very recently, Jake P. Ayson and I talked about it—voting wisely—for the umpteenth time. “Like you, I believe I always…

Stunningly, Inquirer gives Bong Go a free lift By Al S. Mendoza DID my eyesight deceive me? I guess not. There it was, as clear as day, the Inquirer story trumpeting Bong Go’s campaign sortie in Cagayan de Oro City. No, it was not totally about the campaign that got…

To be prayerful is to be friends to all By Al S. Mendoza WHAT is Palm Sunday again that we are observing today? It is a moveable feast preceding Holy Week and before Easter Sunday. It is, more significantly, a commemoration of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in…

Change Comelec to Coselec By Al S. Mendoza THERE is this new Comelec ruling riling one senatorial candidate no end. The rule, really, is as crazy as a rule preventing Steph Curry to stop firing threes because it is so easy for him to bury those shots. Of course, that…

Modernize agriculture, mechanize it even By Al S. Mendoza THE water crisis has not only hit Metro Manila but practically the entire agricultural sector. Look at our rice fields and vegetable plantations. Many of them, if not the vast majority of them, have practically dried up due mainly to the…