Accents
Will you vote for Pacquiao?
The question is focused on the voters of Sarangani, the adopted residence of Manny Pacquiao, the country’s boxing hero. Will they or will they not send the Pacman to the congressional ring come the May elections? Will the Saranganis prefer Roy Chiongbian, scion of the old oligarchy? Bystanders see a see-saw of contenders’ strengths, poll-wise. Childish to mention strength of the gloves’ variety. As to brain power, we don’t know business mogul Chiongbian well enough to make an assessment. But we do know that our boxing hero will be a square peg in the Philippine Congress’ round hall.
Mga kababayan, whether you are a voter or non-voter, whether Saranganensi or not, a Pinoy residing in native or alien land, will you vote for Pacquiao if you have to? Easy enough to answer Yes or No. What takes time is to reason out why. Interesting questions pop up.
Will the money of Manny tilt the see-saw in his favor? The boxing champ is a billionaire now. But the Chiongbians are moneyed, too. Is it going to be votes to the highest bidder? Votes-for-sale has always been the curse of Philippine politics that results in corruptions of tsunami proportions. Unless this curse is banished from the 7,107 islands of Perlas ng Silangan, our hope for a better Philippines will just get dimmer and dimmer election after election. Sigh…
Being far from the homeland, I can only imagine the political merry-go-round now ongoing in the run-up to the May elections. At most, I indulge in musings and make-believe. Take this column I wrote prior to the 2006 elections. Make-believe with me that it is America’s returning welterweight title holder Floyd Mayweather that Pacquiao had beaten to a pulp instead of Erik Morales I wrote about four years ago.
In the highly hyped “fight of their lives,” Pacquiao sent comeback kid Mayweather to ultimate retirement. A true-blue Pinoy that you are, you are oozing with pride, you’ll gonna vote for Manny at that very moment—in any position at all including the presidency! No questions need to be asked. Talaga? Nonetheless, my column below reiterates a barrage of questions apropos these frenzied times. Read on:
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Will you vote for Manny Pacquiao? For senator, mayor, vice mayor or whatever political position he has ambitions for or wheedled to run for? Will you really, really vote for Pacquiao? Think it over. My answer you’ll deduce when you read till the end.
Euphoria was at its peak after the Erik Morales rout [replace the name to that of challenger Floyd Mayweather], and we Pinoys were flushed with the Pacman victory. How proud to be Pinoy we were, though inside I harbored kind pity for the defeated opponent. The TV showed a weak Mexican as he walked to the ring, prompting my husband Rudy to predict Morales’ defeat as a “foregone conclusion.” (My own hubby’s exact words.)
The morning after, early Monday, the radio host was bursting with high praises for the Pinoy hero of the hour, finally ending with the question, Pacquiao best bet for senator? Topnotch! Lay a wager ten to your one! Thus went the blah, blah, blah laced with the trade-mark Pinoy humor.
On the run-up to D-Day, the Pacman was already bruited about to be vice mayoral teammate of Mayor Atienza’s son (talk of another political dynasty in the offing with the father having already “graduated”—meaning Lito Atienza has finished all three terms as Manila mayor and is no longer qualified to run for another term.)
I asked Marlon, our household help, if he will vote for Pacquiao come the senatorial elections. “Of course!” was the crisp answer. Wonder that if elections were held then and there after the Pacquiao victory, the boxer would have certainly TKO-ed all comers. Wannabes to both Houses, Upper and Lower, better be forwarned. A formidable candidate to top it all is gonna prove who is who. Look for somebody influential in the boxing world to tell the Pacman to resist and desist all titillations to show his mettle in the political arena. Throw in the towel in the political ring, could be the best advice yet his manager Freddie Roach could give.
“Manny Pacquiao is a rich man now. And I think he is an honest man nga indi ko masiling sa madamo nga politico nga nagmanggad sa ila pwesto (which I cannot say of many politicians who have enriched themselves in office),” the househelp continued.
At this point, the hubby closed all possibilities of a Pacquiao candidacy. The champ is only 27 years old and is therefore “age-challenged” or disqualified to run for senator. He has to be 35, the minimum age for senatorial candidates. Or 40, the minimum age for presidential wannabes in the remotest possibility of his dreaming to become a Malacanang occupant. (Gosh, laugh you don’t!) Moreover, the hubby added, you have to be a registered voter and a resident for at least six months of the place where you are running.
I think political ambitions are dominant in movie stars rather than in the likes of Manny Pacquiao and billiard pool champ Efren “Bata” Reyes. Reader Magnolia, a Filipina now residing in California, wrote asking my take on the “proliferation of movie stars running for public office…They might be well-intentioned people, (but) most of them are unqualified and under-educated to globally pursue the country’s betterment. They might be successful in their region but they too have to step out of that comfort zone and meet the world, no? I have heard several of these movie stars attempt to speak English–or something that they believe to be the English language–and they are embarrassing.” Be they movie stars or not, celebrity or not, I say fluency in English is no obstacle to good governance. We’ve witnessed in UN conferences how translators are on the ready to provide ease in communication to promote world harmony. (Some things might get lost in translation, but that’s another story.)
The attributes I look for in a candidate for public office? I go for the composite of three: integrity, nationalism, competence. Sterling honesty that shines atop a high moral ground, nationalism that burns in the heart to promote the interest of country and people, and competence in governance springing from intellect and education recognized and respected by the international community. These attributes were enshrined in the late staunch nationalists Claro M. Recto, Jose P. Laurel, Jose Diokno, Lorenzo Tanada, and Ninoy Aquino, and venerable old man Jovito Salonga. We are still on the watch whether our present crop of young leaders will fit in their mold.
When comedian icon Dolphy was asked to run for senator, he refused and answered with questions: “Anong gagawin ko do-on? Magpatawa?” (What will I do there? Make people laugh?) Perhaps boxing champ Manny Pacquiao will also answer by asking, “Anong gagawin ko do-on? Mag-boksing?” (Comments to lagoc@hargray.com)
