First of all, congratulations on your apparent victory in May 10’s polls. By all indications, you will be my president for the next six years, and although I must say you weren’t my personal number one choice, I guess the results could have been a lot worse.

I must, however, make clear my apprehensions about your election, the chief of them being that many of those who voted for you voted not for Noynoy Aquino, but for Ninoy and Cory. Your campaign, after all, incessantly invoked the image of your deceased parents. Their faces figured prominently in your brochures and campaign posters. You drenched yourself and your partymates in yellow, just as your mother did in 1986. As I watched you and your Yellow Army during the past few months, I couldn’t help but think that the message you wanted to convey was, “vote for me because I am the son of a martyr and the woman who gave us back democracy,” when what you should have said was, “vote for me because I have the qualities we need in a president.”

But the campaign is over, and in the end, the people chose you to lead our country. As the day of your inauguration and the start of your term draws near, I hope you realize that although your parents helped you during your campaign, they won’t be there for you when you take on the daunting task of governing a country of 90 million (and counting). The difficulties that lie ahead are manifold: you will have to address the corruption that still pervades through our nation’s politics, answer the problem of a burgeoning population, and continue the fight to alleviate poverty—and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Admittedly, being Gloria Arroyo’s immediate successor is no easy job, but you signed up for it and made us believe you were up to the challenge. Now let’s see you prove it.

I hope you have fully understood the responsibilities of your presidency, Mr. Aquino. Succeeding the most unpopular post-EDSA (and maybe even pre-EDSA) government, your administration will have an especially difficult job to do. You will have to take on the gargantuan task of leading a people jaded and disenchanted by nearly a decade of self-serving and incredibly greedy politics. You have to make us willing to believe in promises again. You need to be able to assure us that our money will be safe with you. You need to prove that the Philippine government can work to the advantage of the masses, and not just to that of an elite few. I am part of the generation of Filipinos who grew politically conscious during the Arroyo regime and thus have a hard time believing that any of the above is possible. That will be perhaps the most important aspect of your presidency: you will need to make us believe again, not through the power of words, yellow ribbons, or Laban signs, but through deed.

You may not have been my number one choice during the campaign, Mr. Aquino, but all signs say you are going to be my president for the next six years, so I’m placing all my hope in you—my hope that you can make this nation great again, that you can make the future promising by the time I graduate college, that you can live up to the hype of your rise to power. I am not alone in this, I’m sure—countless other Filipinos are doubtless looking to you with the same hope as I. You have the burden of an entire hopeful country on your back. You promised a change from the previous administration. You, the son of a martyr and the woman who gave us back democracy, cannot afford to disappoint us as your predecessors did.

For the love of God, Noynoy, do not allow your term to end with this country in as dismal a shape as it is in today. Prove our distrust in government misplaced; prove to us that this country can move forward. Prove to us that the Philippines is still worth our sweat, tears and blood, that there is indeed still hope underneath the grime of corruption that blankets the country today. All of my life I’ve seen nothing but despair and hopelessness. I’ve seen nothing but the promises of food to the hungry, education to children, and justice to those who need it, go unfulfilled. I’ve seen nothing but the rampant abuse of power across government. I’ve seen nothing but the suffering of Juan dela Cruz under the whip of his own countryman. Mr. Aquino, prove that this is not what the Philippines is. Prove that we can feed our hungry, teach our youth, and make justice reign in the Pearl of the Orient. Show us what we have never seen—our country as it should be.

I wish you well as you assume the presidency, Mr. Aquino. Please prove that we were right in our decision to vote for you. Please do not let us down.

—Dean.

The flyer presents six reasons why Noynoy and Mar should be our next president and vice president. Let’s dissect it, just for fun! I will quote each talking point then offer commentary. (You can offer your own opinions, too—it’s called the Comments section for a reason.) I will quote everything verbatim, exactly as it is written on the flyer. If anyone’s interested the flyer says “Donated by: Andrew Tan and Carlos Pedrosa”.

Let’s look at the introductory text first:

APAT NA BUWAN MATAPOS MAGDEKLARA na tatakbo siya sa eleksyong pampanguluhan, halos isa sa bawat dalawang botanteng Pinoy ang patuloy na pumipili kay Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. Ito ang laman ng halos lahat ng surbey na isinagawa ng SWS at Pulse Asia, ang dalawang nangungunang survey outfits sa bansa.

Bakit kaya ganito ang pulso ng publiko? Bakit kaya napupusuan ng karamihan si Noynoy at Sen. Mar Roxas ng Partido Liberal na maging sunod na pangulo at pangalawang pangulo ng ating bansa?

This is what people in the advertising industry call the Bandwagon Appeal—everyone’s buying Havaianas, you ought to get a pair; the iPod is all the rage, why don’t you have one; Noynoy and Mar are leading the surveys, you should agree with popular opinion!

Interesting questions, too. Bakit kaya gustong gusto ng taumbayan na maging pangulo si Noynoy? Let me add my own questions: Hindi kaya na-inspire lang sila sa nakitang pagkakaisa ng masang Pilipino nung namatay si Cory at ayaw nilang mawala ang feeling na naramdaman nila noong August 2009? Sa tingin mo, tatakbo pa ba rin si Noynoy bilang pangulo kung kapiling pa natin si Tita Cory ngayon? Paano kaya kung Shamalamadingdong ang apelyido ni Noynoy at hindi Aquino—ano kaya ang magiging hitsura ng surveys?

All very interesting questions. Alright, now onto the reasons. Number one:

Cory's and Ninoy's face on a flyer for Noynoy Aquino.

Walang bahid. Subok na ang paglilingkuran ng mga Aquino sa bayang Pilipino. Ibinuwis ni Ninoy ang kanyang buhay alang-alang sa ating kalayaan. Ibinalik at pinatatag ni Cory ang demokrasya sa bansa. Sa kanilang paninilbihan, hindi sila nagnakaw ni isang kusing man sa kaban ng bayan kaya nanatiling walang bahid ang kanilang pangalan. kaya ibabalik ni Noynoy ang malinis at walang dungis na pampanguluhan sa Malakanyang.

HU-WHROAAAAAAA!!! NINOY AT CORY, LAH-BAAAAN, LAH-BAAAAN! This has always been my biggest problem with the Aquino campaign: they are all too eager to drop Ninoy’s and Cory’s name at every opportunity. I know Ninoy died for my freedom; I know Cory fought to give me democracy. Now tell me about Noynoy. I hope you read that first reason thoroughly: “Ninoy and Cory were a couple of top-notch Pinoys to whom we all owe a lot. Noynoy, by virtue of the fact that he is their child, will be a good president.” One need only look at Kris Aquino to question that logic. And besides, if you can believe that, you can believe that Gloria is, genetically speaking, a good president, too.

Next reason:

Walang duda. Walang kaduda-dudang mas maraming magagawa sina Noynoy at Mar laban sa kahirapan. Bilyon-bilyong piso— na dapat sana’y napupunta sa pagkain, trabah, pabahay, gamot at edukasyon ng mga mamamayang Pilipino—ang ninanakaw ng mga kurakot sa pamahalaan o nasasayang dahil sa kapabayaan ng mga nanunungkulan. Kaya makakaseguro tayo na hindi oonsehen nina Noynoy at Mar ang mga kapus-palad na higit kaninuman ay siyang nangangailangan ng tulong at pagkalinga ng pamahalaan.

This seriously made me go, “aneh?!” Basahin ulit upang maliwanagan. *reads* Wala pa rin, eh. Let’s condense the paragraph into one sentence: “Corruption and mismanagement have plagued our government for so long now, therefore we can be sure Noynoy and Mar will change that.” Oha, again: ayon sa flyer, dahil daw talamak ang kurapsyon sa gobyerno, hindi raw magiging kurakot sina Noy at Mar. Please, parang awa nyo na, explain the logic of that in the comments. PLEASE LANG.

Reason Number Three:

Tatanggalin ang tiwali. Sa nakalipas sa 12ng taon, ang Pilipinas ang kinilala bilang most corrupt sa buong Asya. Dahil dito, pati dangal ng Pinoy ay ipinanakaw na ng mga mapagsamantala sa kapangyarihan. Subalit likas na marangal ang sambayanang Pilipino, kaya hindi papayag si Noynoy at Mar na patuloy na maghari ang mga mandarambong sa ating bayan.

Truisms galore. Thanks for flattering the Filipino people by calling us “likas na marangal“, but I’d much rather see if you’ve already shown that you walk the talk.

Reason Number Four:

Itatama ang mali. Higit sa lahat, may takot sa Diyos at sa batas sina Noynoy at Mar. Kaya itatama nila ang mali. Pagkat wala silang bilyon-bilyong pisong isinusugal sa katakot-takot mga TV at radio ads —perang siguradong babawiin din sa atin kung maluklok na sa kapangyarihan. Dahil ang utang, dapat bayaran; ang puhunan, kailangang bawiin.

Oh my, who could they be referring to here? I would have expected Noynoy Aquino (the son of a martyr and a president, since they brought it up anyway) to be above mudslinging, but apparently I suck at expectations. In this regard Noynoy is no different from everyone else. And, what part of that paragraph supported their “itatama ang mali” spiel? WTF?

Reason Number Five:

Laban na tapat, laban ng lahat. Kay Noynoy at Mar, muling maibabalik sa sambayanang Pilipino ang kakayahang kakayahang umasa na may magandang bukas pang naghihintay sa ating bansa. Nakilala ang kanilang mga magulang sa katapatan sa sinumpaang tungkulin at sa Inang Bayan. Kailanma’y hindi nila sinubukang ipagbili o i-transaksyon ang pampanguluhan. Kaya sa isang labang tapat, hindi nila tayo bibiguin.

It’s the same drivel you’d expect to hear from any candidate, but alright, I’ll take it with a grain of salt. And please, stop with the whole “remember their parents” thing.

And last but not the least:

Tambalang subok, may kakayahan at paninindigan. Dalawang senador at dating mambabatas sa Mababang Kapulungan. Nanguna sa pakikibaka laban sa korapsyon at katiwalian ng rehimeng Arroyo, kasama na ang NBN ZTE, Hello Garci at GMA Fertilizer Scam. Isinulong ang pagpasa at implementasyon ng Cheaper Medicines Act na nagpapababa ng presyo ng mga gamot, at ng iba pang mga batas sa libreng edukasyon, pagnenegosyo, at consumer welfare and protection. May kakayahang pamunuan ang pamahalaan at itaguyod ang pambansang kabuhayan dahil sa kaalaman sa ekonomics at pananalapi.

None of the bills Noynoy Aquino crafted as senator passed into law (although the Aquino camp is quick to add that he did craft quite a few bills and make amendments to other senators’ bills), so it’s safe to assume that the credit for all those laws they mentioned go to Mar. Without taking that fact into account it’s easy to nod in agreement with this point. Also, take note that Mar has an economics degree from Wharton; Noy, from the Ateneo. Remember that the President does most of the hard work while the Vice President only really kicks in when the president dies, not the other way around. In view of that, I must once again forward the serious doubts I have about Noynoy’s ability to lead—doubts I sincerely hope the Aquino camp will clear for me and doubtless many other Filipinos in the coming weeks.

OK, teka, may konting epilogue pa:

Kinabukasan natin ang nakataya sa eleksyon sa Mayo 10, 2010.

Ito ay isang labang tapat; ito ay laban nating lahat.

Sa ating mga puso, dama natin kung sino ang totoo, tapat at karapat-dapat: si Noynoy Aquino at Mar Roxas, wala ng nang iba pa.

Hindi lang galing at talino, sipag at tiyaga o kakayahan ang kailangan para maiahon tayo sa kahirapan. Higit sa lahat, ang matapat at mahusay na paglilingkod.

KUNG WALANG CORRUPT, WALANG MAHIRAP!

Although I really do want to believe that Noynoy Aquino is our best bet for president, so far I’m still not sold. I’m sure many of our countrymen share this sentiment, and as we inch closer and closer to May 10 it is becoming more and more important to make a decision. The Aquino camp should begin fiercely advertising Noynoy and not his parents, and show us that he really is a capable leader by virtue of his own credentials. We continue to wait.

I haven’t decided on who I’d like to be president yet.

Noynoy

I wish Noynoy would learn to stand by himself and not constantly drop his parents’ names. I cringe whenever I see his campaign ad that reminds voters of the support the Filipino people gave Ninoy and Cory back in the 1980s, and seemingly tells us that if we supported them back then, we should support him now. His entire campaign itself—a campaign that has been defined by yellow ribbons, Laban signs, and chants of “ituloy ang laban!” (na sinimulan ng ama at ina ni Noy)—seems to thrive because of Ninoy and Cory. I cannot help but wonder whether it would stand any chance if Noynoy had a different family name, even if he had all the qualities he has now.

I’ve heard Noynoy’s supporters say that he cannot do anything about his identity being attached to his parents’, that Cory and Ninoy’s shadow is just too big for Noynoy to step out of. I say that while that may be true, it is also true that Noynoy can and should make the case that he is a competent leader on his own, that he can make his own decisions and his own name, that he has the capacity to effect such massive change that his children will one day find his name worthy enough to use in their campaigns, too. Noy has to say, “I am Noynoy Aquino. My dad, Ninoy Aquino, died for this country. f it wasn’t for my mom, Cory, we wouldn’t have democracy. But that should not matter in your decision to vote for me. I am Noynoy Aquino. As a senator, I’ve done this and that, and as president I believe we will be able to do this and that, through these and those means. That is why you should vote for me.” What Noynoy is saying right now (or at least what I perceive him to be saying right now) is: “I’m Noynoy Aquino. I’m a senator, and I’ve made these amendments to these bills other senators filed. As president, we need to  *insert things I already know*. I believe the best way to implement those policies is *insert vague proposals that leave many questions unanswered*. Anyway, my dad is Ninoy! My mom is Cory! Ituloy ang laban! YELLOW CONFETTI! Hurrah!” That doesn’t give me much confidence in him.

Erap

Erap’s campaign is just sad, really. Here we have a washed up movie star and politician, ousted by a revolution, imprisoned by a government headed by a petite woman who used to be his vice president, set free and made able to try to regain his glory only when he has lost all the energy he needs to. I’m guessing Erap is pleased rather than saddened by his unpromising performance in the surveys. After all, it’s clear to us that he’s not in it  to win, but to give one last performance before bowing out. He’s not looking to assure himself that we still want him to lead, only that he hasn’t already been completely forgotten.

Dick

Richard Gordon is running an admirable campaign. He’s marketing himself as a transformer not by dropping names or playing catchy jingles, but by banking on the assumption that the Filipino voter will make his decision carefully and meticulously and acting on that assumption by presenting a thorough platform and advertising what he’s already done in Olongapo (Olongapow), Subic (Zoobik), and as a senator. That in itself presents a problem, though—in the fora and debates he has attended, he has shown a tendency to think small. I vaguely recall him mentioning how color coding helped ease problems in Olongapo. I can’t help but wonder how such small-scale measures (and small-scale thinking) would help the Philippines. One should also take note of his interesting proposal to increase the salary of teachers to Php40,000 (right now there are teachers who only take home Php2,000 after loan payments are deducted from their salaries) and give 17 million students Amazon Kindles (public school students who enjoy a 1:1 person-to-textbook ratio are considered exceptionally lucky). Big questions: where will we get the funds? (Gordon says battling corruption is the answer; I say that’s a very tall order.) What if kids break the Kindles? Or better yet, wouldn’t the money used to buy them be better spent on other projects? Dick’s comprehensive proposals are something today’s political landscape lacks, but a dash of pragmatism wouldn’t hurt them, either.

Gibo

Gibo Teodoro seems like the perfect guy for president, if his performance in presidential debates is any indication. Many young voters are drawn to his thorough answers and determined personality. No less should be expected from a Harvard Law graduate whose life, in the words of Romany Sedona, “has been an arrow aimed at this run for the Presidency”. But if this election is the chance we have long been waiting for to do away with the shameful style of government the Arroyo regime has practiced for the past decade, Gibo cannot be considered a serious contender for the presidency.

The reason? In the first ANC Harapan presidential debates, Gibo was asked why he refused to sever his ties to Arroyo. A tough question to answer, certainly. The only valid reason would have been because Gibo believed in the president’s vision for the country and that her method of leadership, though unpopular, is mostly effective. (Of course I don’t believe that to be the case, but I don’t see any other even remotely sensible answer.)

Teodoro’s answer was bare and honest, but it also hammered the final nail in the coffin of his bid, at least for me. He said his alliance with the president remains solid because he cannot find it in him to turn his back on the person who gave him his big break. He put out a disclaimer right then and there, too: he maintained that nobody can dictate him or sway his decisions. Even if that were true, Gibo is still clearly beholden to Arroyo and to patronage politics in general. A Gibo Teodoro-led government would be no different from the status quo.

And then there’s his questionable performance as defense secretary—remember Ondoy and the surprising, almost comical lack of rubber boats? Remember the Ampatuan Massacre, which some people say could have been avoided had Gibo had the balls to act on the private armies that rule the south?

Have Gibo rest for a while. Allow him to build up more credentials. Give him time to lose his need to answer to Arroyo. Present him to the people again in one or two presidential elections’ time and then we’ll see.

Villar

I hate Manny Villar with a passion, but for some time now I’ve been unable to explain exactly why. The fact has frustrated me to no end and made me lose trust in myself—if I cannot effectively justify this strong opinion that I have, how can I trust anything I write or say?

Over the past few days, though, I think I’ve come to realize why I hate Villar as much as I do.

The events that really awoke my consciousness about politics were Erap’s impeachment trial and the Edsa Dos revolution that followed. I don’t really recall anything that happened before that. So for the entirety of my politically conscious life, I have been under the presidency of Gloria Arroyo. I have observed her and her vicious politics (throw money and influence at a problem to make it go away; political alliances are only as strong as one’s pocket; it’s perfectly fine to turn a deaf ear to public opinion; et cetera). It’s become such a pervasive aspect of my life that my consciousness of it has almost become second nature to me.

I think my instinctive awareness of Arroyo’s ways gave me such a repulsion to Villar. Many parallels can be drawn between the two. He’s not afraid to spend, spend and spend money on ads (one wonders how he plans to recover the massive costs of running such a big campaign) to drill into people’s minds that he, the billionaire businessman who happens to have grown up in Tondo, is truly poor. His promise to end poverty is his battle cry. He says it quite straightforwardly, too: “Tapusin ang kahirapan.” It’s not even a sentence—just a simple mission statement, if you will, that has sent many voters wearing orange shirts and LSSing on “Si Villar ang tunay na mahirap…” Behind the jingles and the deluge of orange is no definitive explanation of exactly how he plans to eradicate—not fight, not reduce, but downright finish—poverty in a nation of 92 million people (and counting), the majority of whom belong to the lower class. Villar’s is a bold, enticing promise. Too bad the past nine years have taught us that promises can easily mean nothing. “Tapusin ang kahirapan”, at the moment, seems no different.

Now, look back to the Arroyo administration: tarpaulins telling us that there is so much progress in the country that we can just feel it; scandals and anomalies solved by pure numbers and creatively interpreting the law; a promise not to seek reelection; lavish dinners in New York because after all, we are fighting poverty. It’s the same old thing tinged with a bright orange hue.

That’s why I hate Villar so much. It’s like a reflex action, like touching hot water: you don’t think about what’s going on, you simply jerk your hand away.

The others

Acosta, Delos Reyes, Madrigal, Perlas and Villanueva. Providers of background color to this year’s polls. A bit of “who that?” there, a dash of “hey, a chick!” here, and a sprinkle of weirdo all around, and you have the quintessential Filipino election season main event.

I have only one question for Acosta: hus dis pls?

Si JC Delos Reyes naman, EWAN KO. AS IN EWAN.

Jamby and Nick can’t expect to be taken seriously with the campaigns they’re running.

OK, so maybe Bro. Eddie’s campaign is a bit more, shall we say, viable than the others’, but he has a flock to lead and he should keep tending to his sheep. His dabbling in politics will do neither his church nor the State any good.

* * *

See? Lame commentary. But now that I’ve broken my silence, I can shut up.

“Panlilio eyes Presidency,” the Philippine Daily Inquirer headline read.

My first reaction to the news was simply to quip that Panlilio can find better use of his time than to run for an office he probably wouldn’t win given the nature of Philippine politics. The cleric-turned-one-term-governor of Pampanga—Gloria Arroyo country—was placed in office in a People Power election: he was chosen to lead not so much because he had the skills to lead, but because the electorate was tired of the other names on the ballot. He barely has funds to fuel a run for the Palace and his political clout simply wouldn’t be enough to catapult him to power.

But that reminds me of another politician’s improbable journey to greatness. We can all look back at Barack Obama’s historic rise to the pinnacle of power. The future for his campaign looked bleak—he had no idea how he could fund his bid for the White House and he was going up against the Ultimate Titan of his party, Hillary Clinton. All he had in his arsenal were his impressive curriculum vitae, the seven years he’d spent in the Illinois Senate and two years in the United States Senate, and the memory in many people’s minds of his moving address during the 2004 National Democratic Convention. Obama became president largely because of enormous community involvement. People knocked on doors on his behalf. Many, many donations of small increments were made to his campaign. And you could say that his entire campaign revolved around one goal: changing and reforming the broken politics of Washington.

You could compare Panlilio’s impending bid to Obama’s victorious one. Among Ed would have to depend on donations from benefactors to fund his campaign. He would be going up against many other political figures who have spent years, maybe even decades, building up clout and national visiblity—Mar Roxas, Chiz Escudero, Loren Legarda, to name a few—in the hopes of one day leading the Filipino people. He would run on the same platform of reform and change, citing corruption as the first priority of his administration.

Just like Obama. So will Panlilio be the next president of the Philippines?

I don’t think so and I hope not. Among Ed is swimming against the current. His battle cry of reform and change simply wouldn’t be heard over his opponents’ arsenal of integrity and experience. When a priest turned one-term governor says he can effectively lead a nation of 90 million, one cannot help but challenge that claim.

Imagine for a minute the possibility of a Malacañang with Panlilio at its helm. He would undoubtedly find it difficult to govern not as a priest but as an impartial president. The ease of forwarding religion-oriented agenda could possibly prove too much to resist. Think about it: a Philippines where condoms are a rare product only the very lucky (or very sneaky) have access to (population explosion will invariably follow); where the line between church and state is blurred even more; where secular moralism could give way to religious immorality.

And even if President Panlilio could resist using his position to revive the floundering Church in the Philippines, his political clout (or lack thereof) may not be enough to convince legislators to support his administration’s agenda. He could find it difficult to convince congressmen and senators to support his initiatives and proposals, no matter how well-meaning they may be. His goody-two-shoes anti-corruption thrust may rub many of our country’s governors and mayors the wrong way. If lawmakers and leaders refuse to or find difficulty in following what would seem like a weak president, you cannot expect much to happen. You cannot expect much to change.

The other options on the table seem qualified—infinitely more so than Among Ed, I must say. When the campaign season begins and the different candidates’ platforms and agenda begin to become clearer and more materialized, then the electorate will be able to weigh their choices and make their pick for president. Hopefully, they will realize that 2010 cannot be the year Panlilio ascends to the Palace by the Pasig. Maybe in the future, but not right now.

We can’t go with Panlilio. Not as a candidate. Not as a president.

[Photo credits: makeastatement]