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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| No Dancing for Ping By Antonio C. Abaya May 15, 2003 There was no dancing in the streets last April 29 when ?leaders of opposition parties? endorsed Sen. Panfilo Lacson as their standard-bearer in the 2004 presidential elections. And no wonder. A cursory look at the photograph of those ?leaders of opposition parties? will explain why. There is Juan Ponce Enrile, an embittered old man perennially sour-pussing after his many failed attempts to capture the presidency through fair means and foul, mostly foul. There is San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito, son of the disgraced and deposed Joseph Estrada whose climb to the presidency on the shoulders of the squealing masa is the best argument against democracy, Philippine-style. There is Congressman Didagen Dilangalen, motor-mouth apologist and defender of the functionally inarticulate and illiterate Erap. Then there is Congressman Butz Aquino whose career in politics can be said to have dragged the family name into the muck of expediency just as the martyrdom of his elder brother Ninoy had lifted it to the high altar of self-sacrifice.. With supporters like these of dubious character and renown, could Ping Lacson possibly have even less attractive endorsers of his presidential ambitions? Let me see. There is Mark Jimenez - currently out of US federal prison on a $500,000 bail for a string of criminal charges filed by the FBI - who, according to Lacson himself in June 2000, gave P100 million to the PNP Foundation, Lacson?s thinly veiled campaign vehicle for the 2004 elections. There is the taipan Lucio Tan, who gave P50 million, and there is the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce which gave another P40 million, according to Lacson as quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. (See my article ?PNP-Ping Next President? of December 12, 2000, and succeeding articles.) And then there is Jinggoy Estrada, owner of Millennium Productions which produced his biopic ?The Ping Lacson Story,? with Rudy Fernandez in the lead role to sucker in the squealing masa. I have always believed that Lacson was/is the designated successor of Erap in 2004, designated as early as the year 2000 by no less than the power brokers of the Erap imperial court: Mark Jimenez, the Chinese Mafia and the Estrada-Ejercito extended families, and that belief has been borne out by subsequent developments. My point is, if these are the only kind of people whom Lacson can find to endorse his candidacy, he should be running for the presidency of the Mafia or the Yakuza, not that of a sovereign state trying to maintain a respectable place in the family of nations. ***** Unfortunately for Lacson, he is doing relatively poorly in public opinion polls, albeit still within striking distance of the top. One should never underestimate the power of money and overwhelming ambition and the cupidity of media manipulators in this country. In a nationwide Pulse Asia presidential survey conducted from March 29 to April 12, the leading contenders were Noli de Castro (20%) and Raul Roco (18%). Lacson came out a poor third, tied with movie actor Fernando Poe Jr., with 12%. President Arroyo, who had announced last December 30 that she was not running in 2004, was fourth with 9%, followed by Juan Flavier (4), Loren Legarda (3), Hilario Davide Jr. (3), Ramon Magsaysay Jr. (3), and Edgardo Angara (2%). Vice-President Teofisto Guingona, the only wannabe with a distinctly nationalist perspective, seems to have sunk below the horizon. Of course, it is way too early to read much meaning into these numbers. But my esteemed colleague Amando Doronila was correct in noting that the low percentages garnered by even the top contenders show ?no one among the listed names has captured the public?s imagination ?.and the public is waiting for a dark horse with a heroic appeal?.? The fall of Raul Roco from his former top 30-ish rating to a mere 18 points, in second place, should be a cause of concern for him and his supporters. He may have peaked too early and he could not sustain the lead position in the absence of anything dramatic, inspiring or earth-shaking emanating from him. He is, by far, the most attractive candidate for the middle class because of his brilliance and experience in government. But people do not know where he stands on the issues of the day: the war on terrorism, globalization, birth control, peace talks with communists and secessionists, relations with the Americans, the budget deficit, how to combat corruption, how to generate jobs, etc. The problem of Ping Lacson is how to emerge unscathed from the court cases he is facing and will soon face, not only on the Kuratong Baleleng but also on perjury, wire-tapping and unexplained dollar accounts of his wife with ?large balances? (according to the FBI). Former Supreme Court Justice Isagani Cruz has been nagging the Senate, in eleven columns, to make public their investigation of Lacson, which had been concluded on September 5, 2001?..to no avail. The senators are protecting their own., which is the best argument for abolishing this over-rated debating club.. The problem of Noli de Castro is to show that he is capable of anything more taxing than reading the news on television. But this is the Philippines where such problems often have a way of disappearing from the public consciousness without ever being confronted or resolved, in which case Doronila?s ?dark horse with a heroic appeal? will have to wait, perhaps another presidential election, another decade, another century, another millennium, before finally emerging from the womb in which he/she has apparently been stuck for at least the past 50 years. Can the middle class wait for this deliverance? ***** This article appears in the May 24, 2003 issue of the Philippines Free Press magazine. |
| OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �No Dancing for Ping� I agree with you, Tony. The real leader of the Filipinos has yet to be conceived and born. That is probably why the idea of birth control seems to be lost on them. But the problem is where to get the right semen and egg. For if they come from the present population, chances are that the embryo could develop just like the average Filipino at present. Gras Reyes, [email protected] May 23, 2003 MY REPLY. Good leadership is not biologically determined. It is culturally or environmentally determined, by education, upbringing, moral values imbibed from his/her milieu, political opportunities, challenges met and overcome, etc. ��������������������������� Maybe the parliamentary option is best. What's wrong with De Venecia? He's a CROOK like nearly everyone else. At least his crookedness will not yet turn us into a narcostate. Ross Tipon, [email protected] Baguio City May 23, 2003 ���������������������������� Dear Mr. Abaya, Thank your for regularly sending me email copies of your well-written articles which I enjoy reading. I would appreciate it if you can send the succeeding articles thru my new email address to wit: [email protected]. Thank you; keep up the good work. Sincerely in Christ, Fr. Bel San Luis, SVD, [email protected] May 25, 2003 ���������������������������� Tony, Do you remember in the early days of the PACC�s creation when Teresita Ang Sy exposed on Channel 7 the 50 million that Erap and Ping asked from the Chinese Community as �contribution� to buy radio equipment? Why not pressure Channel 7 to re-run that show. Those were very grave charges from that Ang Sy who soon after was �won over� by the PACC to shut-up; and was absorbed by the group as collector of protection money from the Chinese community in the amount of 5 million a month ����������������................................... Keep me out, but I am sharing this important information given me by a Colonel friend inside the PACC then. Thanks for your very good columns. I read them all. (Name and email address withheld on request) May 25, 2003 ��������������������������� dear mr abaya, congratulations on a good column! ethel, [email protected] May 31, 2003 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |