Greetings from the Philippines. My deep apologies for some mistakes printed in my last column- the April was supposed to be March- the last week of which was designated start of campaign for local election candidates. So sorry po.
Well, the carnival which is Philippine 2010 elections ay tuluy- tuloy pa rin, makapigil- hininga, makabagbag damdamin, at punung- puno ng aksyon.
Makapigil- hininga ang pag- aantay ng lahat sa mga lipatan ng mga kandidato from one party to the other. In Cebu, Pres. Arroyo’s bailiwick (she garnered so much votes here in the last presidential elections at mukhang walang kumwestyion na nagkaroon ng dayaan, take note!), may mga former Lakas local politicians na sumumpa na for Villar’s Nacionalista Party. Contro- versial naman ang declaration ni former Lakas stalwart and Speaker Prospero Nograles ng Pag-lipat sa Liberal Party ni Noynoy. Imbyerna si Nograles- in total disarray and very disorganized daw ang campaign operations ng Lakas, now being harnessed by Cong Villarosa after Gibo Teodoro resigned as partyhead so that he could concentrate on his own presidential campaign and not sacrifice the equally important aspect of insuring that Lakas bets nationwide win in this election (DAW). Meantime, halos kasabay nito, lumipat Liberal party bakod na rin si Cong Boyet Gonzales ng Mandaluyong (anak ni Neptali Gonzales Sr). from his perch in Lakas. According to Cong. Boyet, personal naman daw ang kanyang dahilan- Father was a Liberal through and through kaya type nya na sundan ang yapak nito- bakit ngayon lang, tanong ng marami? How demoralizing naman considering that he was the one daw who nominated Giboon the floor pa naman to be the Lakas Presidential bet. So, less than a month to election day, we await with bated breath, ang marami pang expected paglilipat- bakod, abandoning a sinking ship, and flight of the political butterflies attendant to the coming Philippine election.
Mudslinging meantime is now concentrated between the two top contenders for the Presidency. Bogus daw ang claim ni Manny Villar that he rose from a genuinenly dirt- poor existence to where he now comfortably conducts his political campaign. Naka private hospital naman daw ang kapatid nyang si Danny nang ito ay magkasakit at tuluyang namatay. Villar had to explain that a relative volunteered to shoulder expenses for his brother’s hospital confinement. Pinakaka diin- diin nyang tunay na nakaranas sya ng hirap sa buhay.The alleged source of the intriga is the Liberal Party camp.
Isa pa ring intriga na kumalat and I think created a negative effect for Villar was his being linked with the Arroyo admin- he is daw the ‘secretly’ anointed of the Madame President. Doon nai- coin ang bagong salitang VILLAROYO. Inang ko, para daw ‘kiss of death’ ang maendorso ni Mdme President. Talo ka sigurado!
Eto naman, may kumalat na balita, purportedly emanating from the Nacionalista camp that Noynoy is mentally unstable. May topak daw si Noynoy at walang karapatang mamuno at mangasiwa sa pamahalaan at bayang Pilipinas. Of course, Nacionalistas denied that they were the source of the news. Realizing the importance of the health of whoever wins as President, Villar naman said nakahanda syang magpacomplete medical exam including a check on his mental health. This was seconded by Bro. Eddie Villanueva, another Presidential candidate na nangungulelat sa survey, who dared all Presidential candidates to undergo a lie- detector test upang malaman ang katotohanan ng kani- kanilang claims about themselves
.Of course, in retaliation sa pagkalat ng Villaroyo intriga din siguro, the Nacionalistas coined the panlaban nilang new word AQUIRROYO or ARROQUINO, ehe, ano na nga ba yon – para sa Aquino- Arroyo secret understanding. E sino nga ba daw ang may maraming kamag- anak working for the current dispensation, di ba yung mga kamag anak ni Noynoy? Aunt Tessie Oreta ,Lupita Kashiwahara, Tingting Cojuangco, and another uncle are all in Arroyo’s working team in government. Kita nyo na? Takot na takot ang sinumang Presidential candidate (except Gibo who is remaining loyal to Pres Arroyo) na ma link kay madame.
Hay naku, only in the Philippines yata talaga. Pati si Ate Vi (Vilma Santos, the star for all seasons) had to deny on- air that she was not backing out of the race as what her detractors have been spreading around in Batangas province. Handang handa daw syang harapin ang kalabang mga partido na ngayon yata have banded themselves together in a coalition whose sole objective is to topple her from her governorship.
Di muna ako babanggit ng mga survey results- di daw dapat na maging standard yun because the respondents are not truly representative of sectors they are supposed to belong to. Oo nga naman, ano? Syempre, somehow, bawa’t isa sa atin may konti- konting kaibahan, sariling pag- iisip at katopakan kung magkaminsan- ang mga ito will determine final decisions of each and everyone come election day. In the past, we saw decisions change overnight.
So, let us say it is anybody’s guess. WHO WILL BE THE NEXT PRESIENT OF THE PHILIPPINES?
Puspusan ang intensity ng kampanya these remaining days of campaign. Dami pa tayong maraming maririnig na pasabog. Dami pang isasampay na mga tarpaulin sa kawad ng telepono at koryente sa MetroManila. Sala- salabat din ang tugtogan ng campaign jingles na todo volume sa mga kalye- basta ang sa akin, yung nagpapatugtog ng sobrang lakas at nakakakulili ng tenga ay di ko iboboto. Dami din sigurong ibubuhos na kaperahan- marami pa rin kayang masisilaw despite the campaign to develop an intelligent voting populace? Sana, di na gaano, dasal ng marami.
Let’s all pray for a peaceful and truthful election day!
Thanks, everyone!
Greetings- to my sis, Tessie who is now visiting us from Houston, Texas. I keep busy these days cooking her favorite Pinoy dishes.
