Think about it
Orbos magic
By Jun Velasco
ONE lazy afternoon, a friend and a former “seminarista” were playfully making a gubernatorial survey somewhere in eastern Pangasinan, the political bastion of the Estrellas.
While refreshing themselves in a little store, our friend approached a group of young people who were mimicking the Beatles and, introducing himself as a mediaman, saying he wanted to get the feel of local politics in the area.
“Suppose you were of voting age and today were election day, whom would you pick from the following: Spines Espino, Oscar Lambino, Jamie Agbayani and Bebot Villar.”
The five teen-agers smiled, giggled and then mumbled to one another, “oy, kung makakaboto daw tayo, saan tayo?”
There was hushed silence, and then a girl who was holding the guitar, said, “bakit di nyo isinama si Orbos?” The mediaman who confessed to being related to Oscar Orbos felt embarrassed, “ay, oo nga, isama natin si Oca.”
Would you believe that much to many people’s casual reading that the man from Bani had been swallowed by oblivion, all the five kids said they would vote for Oca Orbos?
* * *
The ex-seminarian, who openly confessed his bias for his former classmate, Oca Lambino, said he was completely taken aback by the five young people whose ages ranged from l2 to l8, because they were probably five or seven years old when the popularity of Oca Orbos was at its peak.
How come? He wondered, scratching his head.
Most of our local pundits usually dismiss the Orbos magic as a thing of the past, but this story was repeated again somewhere in Central Pangasinan, and you can stretch your imagination if the random survey were conducted in West Pangasinan which considers Oca a superstar.
Well, the hero from Bani lost the vice presidential election in l998, but he ran as an independent aboard a creaking political machinery. But in that election, he beat Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a fellow Pangasinense, in the province.
We are advising our colleagues in the media and the ruling political establishment to ponder and factor in this hard nut: the Orbos magic is still intact. But the question rises: is he running? Or running away?
* * *
Jess Ora, our favorite barber, told us that pechay growers in Benguet and the Mountain are forming a nationwide association to support their favorite candidate, Pochero, rather, Prospero Pichay, the Surigao congressman who has recently donned the monicker “father of modern Surigao” for catapulting the province to stellar stature.
Jess says we, Ilocanos, will actively support him not because he is a fellow G.I. (Genuine Ilocano), but because he is one of the best lawmakers the country has produced.
The mediafolk will also go for him because he was a well-known Philippine publisher. Fact is Liezle Basa Iñigo of Calasiao and the Bulletin used to be Pichay’s top- reporters a few years back.
* * *
The congressional race in the fourth district began as a suspense thriller, with Benjie Lim keeping the public guessing if he was running for congress or for reelection. The anxiety was further worsened by the aborted entry of Art Lomibao who lately postponed at some future date his congressional plan.
We heard from unimpeachable sources at presstime that no bloody action would come to pass because sober heads the likes of FVR intervened which, if you ask us, would augur well for what’s best for the country.
Speaker Joe has excelled in the lawmaking field, and Benjie, in our book, has been an exemplary executive. Our fellow Rotarian Art, meanwhile, will have to review his world travels and plan how the country could modernize its transport and communications system.
(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/think-about-it/)
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