Battle Royale: 2010

By Manuel Biason

CLAD in brightly colored shirts, they come like celebrities invading every inhabited spot of the islands. They talk, they smile, they shake hands and leave. They are the seven men and a lady dying and vying to become the chief executive of the nation. Their mission: to win votes for the most coveted job of the land, the presidency, a job which, if not handled properly and if abused, could oftentimes carry the license to kill and steal.

The good news is that only one of them will get it, and the other good news is that, after the elections, the other magnificent seven will hide in their closets for months before they start seeing their friends again.

But who among the eight will get the super job is no longer the 64-peso (not dollar) question because the pulse of the time which is clear as the rising sun can whisper to us the blow by blow account as to who may hide in the closets and the lucky one who may be handed the key to Malacanang.

Let’s do some quick analysis here: Jamby Madrigal is a quintessential public servant and an apotheosis of clean government. Aside from crafting laws, she is doing an excellent job as ombudsman. She is the only known public official so far who is earnestly pursuing the thieves and scumbag in government. To the hilt. Case in point that showed her grit and zeal on this issue was when she initiated and documented the senate investigation of the C-5 scandal that for sure rocked Barabas in his grave and made Judas restless for sometime. She may not win the presidency for lack of viable political structure but she has brought to many homes at least one very strong message which is:  anybody but Villar whom she indicted of using his power to influence certain rogue government men to alter, re-design and re-align the layout plan of the C-5 project towards his properties for his personal  benefit. Question: Do we want to see more C-5 like problems, if and when?  No. Hindi.  This is why my tribe and I will vote for Jamby.

A convicted (although pardoned) plunderer wants to come back to Malacanang. When can he learn to quit. His frequent pro-poor-already-hackneyed and obsolete mantra – ‘Erap para sa mahirap,’ which hoodwinked the votes of the ragamuffins, the dumb, the bums and the squatters that brought him once to Malacanang, is now low bat. Or dead. It worked like magic wand some few times before but not this time and ever. Not again, Erap.  We know better now. We do not want Barabas back in Malacanang. I suggest that Asiong Salonga should retire, relax and enjoy Mr. Velarde’s moolah because voting for him is like eating my grandmother’s shit.

Brother Eddie: here is a message for you:  you are okay but you cannot serve two masters at the same time. You cannot serve God and mammon while you are the President of the land.  Politics and religion do not mix.  They repel each other. You better go and preach Matthew 6:24, and the rest of the Bible.

Gibo Teodoro’s GMA connection is his greatest handicap, which will surely bring him defeat. Didn’t he listen to the tune of the times before he even considered being anointed by GMA? A smart guy like him should have known too soon that anything that bears the mark of GMA is anathema. She is a bete noire and a bugaboo. And this is why Gibo is languishing behind in the surveys. Unless his boss does another Hello Garci, for him, which I doubt she will, Gibo will just be another ex-presidential wannabe.

Dick Gordon can be a good president. Honest and with a string of commendable achievements as a public servant to boast of, why not. But he should watch his timing and should know how to size up his opponents, first and foremost.

Nick Perlas seems to be an astute and erudite individual. He is full of good ideas and problem-solving technics relating to mundane issues like eating green leafy organic vegetables, breathing cleaner air, changing the climate, and so on and so forth. I heard him made a promise to rid the customs bureau and the BIR of thieves and bandits if elected. Apparently, he also wants to stop the El Nino ASAP but he feels he can not  do this unless and until he becomes  the President. Let’s give him some credit.

Like Nick Perlas, JC delos Reyes is a new kid in the block. I like this gutsy young fellow whose big leap from a city council to the presidency almost defies the law of gravity. Like Andres Bonifacio and Lapu-Lapu, JC’s slogan should be: ‘walang atrasan, sulung sa bakbakan, sundang ay huwag bitawan, matira ang matibay.’ This is raw courage and very few Filipinos have it. He knows as we do that his fight is like that of a tiny, picayune ant racing with tigers and lions and pachyderms but this small ant has the biggest courage of them all. Hala bira, JC, I salute you

And now we come to the end of the line.  A death of a famous mother changed the course of history, as did his father’s. His famous parents’ names are etched in the heart of every Filipino. Some insignificant few may disagree with them but majority of Filipinos love and respect them. His parents are heroes in the mold of Rizal and Ghandi. He, Noynoy, is left to carry the torch. He is now the people’s man. He is an Aquino in his own right and at his own making. Don’t forget that he is a savvy senator, honest and with squeaky clean and neat record both as a public and a private individual. Like the other candidates, his program of government is super and he promised not to smear his family’s good name. Best bet.

And with the equally brainy senator, Mar Roxas, (the accidental vice-presidential candidate) who has a sparking resume and a respected pedigree as well, as his vice president, who can beat the duo.

Manuel Biason, Esq.
Mangaldan, Pangasinan
mannybiason@verizon.net

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