by Ram Maxey
AS the 2010 elections frenzied campaigning lurches inexorably on all fronts Philippine style — (what journalists in the United States call “negative attack politics”) — there have been changes in the fortunes of a few presidentiables, notably that of Nacionalista Party bet Sen. Manuel Villar. His hitherto so-called “statistical tie” with Liberal Party rival Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino has dissolved overnight, according to the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey, and now lags behind the latter by several percentage points (and counting?).
Oh, well. That’s according to the SWS. Take it, or leave it. As of this writing (March 30) Villar’s support from among his “beloved” masa and the middle class has dwindled somewhat, says the survey. Which comes as a surprise on the heels of so many TV commercials showing Villar, the former poor boy (kuno) from the slums of Tondo being rubbing shoulders with swarms of his fellow countrymen, especially kids, who have so little in life, and even less in law for being so poor. What happened? It is beginning to look like his rags-to-riches ploy has spawned a growing number of disbelievers and has lost much of its magical ring.
I have often been asked what is in the presidency of this country that makes some people of diverse socio-economic and educational background covet the position. Sometimes at any cost. And what does it take to run for such a lofty office? Ask me no questions. It beats me. All I know is that any natural born Filipino who is of the required age and is able to read and write may run for president. It doesn’t say what level of sanity is required either. No wonder…
And there’s the suggestion from one highly-placed elective official to base a candidate’s competence on his/her bio-data. The one with less credentials, so goes his theory, does not deserve anyone’s vote. As simple as that? Not quite. We have had the sad experience of voting to Malacanang some presidents whose bio-data showed they could be potentially excellent for the job of leading this country out of the doldrums.
Ferdinand Edralin Marcos was one. He was a top lawyer out of the prestigious Univeristy of the Philippines. A war veteran with a breastful of medals, supposedly proof of his patriotism and heroism. It turned out that the medals were fake, so much for his courage under fire which was never documented as the gospel truth. He amassed great wealth under dubious circumstances, the original plunderer, no less. Another president with a potential to be a great one is none other than the sitting one. Daughter of that poor boy from Lubao, Pampanga who became president (Diosdado Macapagal), Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a touted economist (according to rumor), whose adept handling of the country’s economy amid the world economic crisis may have actually saved this country from the fate that befell others not so lucky. But the people’s trust in her as their president steadily dwindled from the time of the “Hello, Garci” case, the ZTE mess and all the others that followed, earning for herself the stigma of being even more corrupt than the Marcos Kleptocracy. That, of course, is debatable. Like, which comes first, the chicken or the egg?
In contrast, we had once upon a time a president whose bio-date was notable for not being in the level of a Ferdinand Marcos or a Macapagal-Arroyo. In fact he started out in life as a mere auto mechanic and somehow worked himself up the ladder of success in politics to become secretary of national defense and, ultimately, president of the Republic. As that old campaign jingle went, “Our democracy will die, kung wala si Magsaysay!” Ramon Magsaysay was our kind of guy. Too bad his plane crashed on Mt. Manunggal in Cebu to cut short his stint as head of his country. Despite his so-so bio-data, no other Philippine president was so loved and revered by his people. None.
So much for this thing called bio-data.
