Punchline
1,000 days as payback time
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
It’s showtime, folks!
Watch out for the singing, dancing, baby-kissing clowns with their toothpaste smiles, their campaign vests stashed with P20, P50 and P100 bills, all hoping to lure voters with their “caring” stances.
But after the lowliest of the lowliest shall have been king for 44 days, comes the back-breaking payback time for all of us.
The clowns shall be king once again for another 1000 days!
***
LOSING MY BET. Now, I’m really very, very disappointed in my favorite mayor.
Not only did he make me lose my bet with my friend Gonz Duque but Dagupan City Mayor Benjie Lim did what he had hoped not to do to himself and worse, even bungled the political future of his fair-haired boy Brian.
Gone was the calculated, cold-blooded persona he impressed everyone with since he became general manager of the Duty Free Shop in the early 90s, then as congressman and now as city mayor. His decision to go up against House Speaker Joe de V despite his miserable 20% rating in his own survey compared to Speaker JDV’s 80% is like doing an 80% discount sale in all his Magic outlets.
Worse, his son Brian who could not even hold a candle to Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez’s popularity at this stage, is being pitted against Alvin’s tested and more popular father-mayor Al.
It was plain and simple hubris on his part, if not downright foolish and stupid, for having opted to do all these in 24 hours. He clearly panicked after JDV shot down his gameplan that resulted in the mass exodus of his erstwhile allies.
***
My bet was Mr. Benjie would not run and would back down soon as JDV bites his bait for a series of “give-me”. But my favorite mayor decided to run out of sheer excessive pride and arrogance just because the Speaker decided to be a spoil-sport by refusing to agree to Mr. Benjie’s terms. (My mole inside Mr. Benjie’s circle told me Mr. Benjie wanted P30M up front and for Brian to inherit his post as city mayor, unopposed).
Like the shrewd businessman that he is, Mr. Benjie was, from the very start, clearly open to negotiation and a “win-win solution” that he knew Mr. JDV was familiar with. (But after obviously doing his homework, effectively boxing in Mr. Benjie, our droopy-eyed political giant chuckled, Ano ka siniswerte?).
The opposition in Manila wanted to see him fight Mr. JDV for the right reason and a gallant purpose, i.e., new brand of politics and reform-oriented advocacy. But unknown to them, he had a personal agenda. It was not about reforms but about doing high stakes in the business of politics. I do know that a good number in big business who wanted to see the Speaker bumped off his throne were prepared to help bankroll his battle. Alas, they, too, have seen through his agenda.
I guess Mr. Benjie’s dictum is – “Business-for-profit and public office are one and the same, so make the most while the sun shines.”
***
BSL’S RAGTAG TEAM. Three months ago, my favorite mayor was confident he would have the “A” team to beat come May elections. He was even so dead sure he would end the political careers of three councilors whom he considered pesky and a nuisance.
But in a sudden twist of fate, it was he who found himself scrambling and settling for a ragtag team last Thursday to help propel the political career of his son Brian.
Worse, foisted to run as his son’s vice mayor at the last minute was Onor-onor Vlad Mata. This is the same guy who took time off to pursue studies for personal advancement at the National Defense College and yet convinced Mr. Benjie to make the city pay his monthly salary as councilor without attending the sessions.
Vlad is the same guy who shamelessly acted as chief Onor-onor Jojo Guadiz’s sidekick in facilitating the anomalous contracts crafted by city hall that ripped off the city bigtime and lined city officials’ pockets. He played a pivotal role in the approval of the overpriced sanitary landfill that never was, the overpriced streetlights, the overpriced dredging machine, etc. If you want more of the same tainted activities in the city, then you have the right guy! Early on, people saw in him a young upright self-motivated public servant but I guess it was much easier for him to join the “system”. Sayang!
Then, leading the wannabes for the council is Mr. Benjie’s “collector-cum-accountant- cum-auditor” Nic Aquino. This is the onor-onor who was most efficient in running the city fiesta and the Bangus Festival for the benefit of his patron – my favorite mayor! He only accounted for the collected donations and expenses to nobody else but Mr. Benjie. To this day, both refuse to account for these funds to the city. Definitely, Nic is perceived as Mr. Benjie’s favorite wingman after Onor-onor Guadiz.
Another “reliable” in my favorite mayor’s entourage is SK’s Charise Perez. She’s another absentee councilor, in the tradition of Jojo Guadiz and Vlad Mata, who had no difficulty being present during special sessions when it was time to approve anomalous contracts. Charise is definitely one great young “Yes sir” girl – for the wrong reasons.
With a team like this, is Brian being tutored to continue what his father started? Kawawang bata!
***
THE BATTLES FOR THE PORK BARREL. The districts worth watching for interesting sidebars in the next 42 days are the 4th, 3rd,, 2nd, and 1st in that order.
In the 4th, watch keenly if candidate Benjie Lim will spend to win, or just plainly coast along and lose; and if candidate Joe de V will assume the “take-no- prisoners” stance.
In the 3rd, will the billing “Battle of the Giants” live up to its name? Philanthropist Baby Arenas considers this as her own battle. In her book, Rachel cannot lose. The Sorianos, who are no push-overs, are perceived to view this battle as an opportunity to redeem the family’s lost influence in the district. Mayor Leocadio de Vera is banking on the huge De Vera clan all over the district to provide the political muscle. Cong. Generoso Tulagan as the incumbent congressman boasts of a network that can back his junior’s quest.
In the 2nd, will candidate Vic Agbayani be over confident as he helps out in his wife’s sorties for the governorship? Will Jose Bengzon III and Kim Lokin manage to exploit this?
In the 1st, it’s a one-on-one between the popular retired army general Alberto Braganza and the incumbent congressman Arthur Celeste. Neither is expected to give an inch to the other. A fight to the finish?
The most boring elections will be in the 5th and 6th where Congressmen Mark Cojuangco and Conrado Estrella III are unopposed. But as vaunted supporters of gubernatorial candidate Amado Espino, expect to see them sharing their reserves for the latter.
These battles promise to be anything but friendly. After all, there is a P100M pork barrel awaiting each of the winners!
(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/punchline/)
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