Think about it
Father Orbos to do a Panlilio?
By Jun Velasco
IN separate occasions, we met with the famous Orbos brothers —Father Jerry and former Governor Oscar recently.
After the personals, the conversations shifted to the political, what with the fast approaching 20l0 elections? Unluckily, we couldn’t get a clear, unequivocal and plain statements from two friends if anyone of them has made up his mind to run for governor or congressman or senator.
These accounts about Father Jerry to do a Father Panlilio refuse to die down, what with a confidant like Budee Sison, a Rotary assistant governor, smartly floating the idea and not getting cornered at all. For his part, Oca would rather convert our conversations to a workshop on the kind of leadership and political process the country needs most in these perilous times.
Here are two gifted brothers with strong mass appeal who are being groomed to serve because of their unblemished reputations, and yet, one notes sadly their looming failure to have themselves drafted is their aversion to the worldly ways of politics. Their fans and sympathizers, however, are not giving up easily in their desire to send them to the world of service, as they cite Pampanga’s Panlilio, a devout Catholic, and Oca’s past successes as a politician.
Abangan ang susunod na kabanata.
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On another front, while youthful businessman Joey de Venecia III is gaining momentum as a possible candidate for senator in Erap Estrada’s stable, former Speaker Joe de Venecia intimated to us the other day that Joey has yet to impress him with more than the high ratings he is getting in the surveys, warning that it’s a different ballgame now, with the powerful administration ranged against them.
Because he can’t run anymore in the district, Joe de V is being rumored as a possible dark horse in the gubernatorial equation. But he, like Oscar Orbos, was elusive on the subject when we asked him.
In the 4th district, we could see three personalities on collision course — General Art Lomibao, who is oiling his spurs at the Land Transportation Office, former Congressman and Mayor Benjie Lim who is trying hard to be elusive, and Gina de Venecia who keeps everybody guessing for accepting speaking engagements beyond the geographical boundary of the 4th district. She was with Erap’s group in the Visayas and with Senator Johnny Enrile in Asingan lately — to which JdV, the proud hubby said, “she is also being eyed for a senatorial slot.”
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A niece of Isabela Governor Grace Padaca has sent us a copy of the proceedings of her televised interview detailing the multi million payola jueteng operators are appropriating for government officials. Her revelations are not new — except the enormity of the payola which shows the gambling syndicate can only be stopped by a super body led by Malacañang. Short of it, jueteng can’t be licked.
All the anti gambling campaigns waged by religious, reform and civic groups are bound to fail. Our colleagues who are planning to ask newly installed Regional Police Director General Ramon Gatan if he has any intention to scuttle this illegal — and, of course, immoral — activity should not expect anything. He is powerless to do it. It’s only Archbishop Oscar Cruz who is not running away from his moral crusade. It’s quite disturbing that many of our friends love to speculate on how much this and that public official is receiving from the jueteng payola, forgetting that they too are to blame for jueteng’s invincible triumph.
In the next issues we shall print Governor Padaca’s revelations. They will make you think less of your public officials.
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