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| ‘There they go...’ |
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| Tuesday, 09 February 2010 19:22 |
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And so the May 2010 election campaign is on, with the major candidates launching their operations in as colorful and as stupendous (as one observer noted) a fashion as possible. The ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition led by the tandem of Gibo Teodoro and Edu Manzano chose to kick off at the Ynares Center in the sprawling grounds of the newly-inaugurated Rizal provincial capitol the better, according to the campaign spokesman of former Erap Press Undersecretary Mike Toledo, to emphasize their affiliation with the countryside where most Filipinos live and where they hope to gather enough votes to get them to Malacañang. Not that Antipolo, which is the official capital of the million-plus vote of Rizal (once the country’s biggest and most vote-rich province before many of its towns got absorbed into Metro Manila), is “rural-rural” but at the very least the ties that bind in this province and this city are such that its leaders led by Gov. “Jun-Jun” Ynares and his father, former Governor “Ito” and Mayor Leyble and his patrons, DILG Secretary Roni Puno and the Sumulongs, have the clout to move the voters to their preferred candidates as the old and powerful “politicos” of old have. The others are no less striking and symbolic. Former President Erap Estrada and his Partido ng Masang Pilipino will have their rally at the historic Plaza Miranda where the rallies of old were usually held. Aiming to get back to the Palace a second time around, Erap and his group, which includes the returning Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, are said to be mobilizing no less than 20,000 people to this grand kick-off. That should not only fill up the square but will definitely create a “sprawl” of people extending all the way to the Quezon Bridge, Villalobos, and even to the San Sebastian grounds on R. Hidalgo St. Judging from their proclamation rally in Tondo some weeks back, there is no question that they will be able to do so. After all this will also serve as their launch for their various candidates in Metro Manila, which includes the Makati team of Erap’s vice presidential candidate, Mayor Jojo Binay, whose son Jun-Jun hopes to keep City Hall in the fold. Leading presidentiable Sen. Noynoy Aquino and his team-mate, Sen. Mar Roxas, chose to have their kick-off in their hometown of Concepcion in Tarlac where his late father, Sen. Ninoy Aquino, once served as the country’s youngest mayor and where, as the legend goes, their political fortunes sprang from. This is definitely going to be a slambang affair for the LP team with the goodwill which the Aquinos and the Cojuangcos have definitely established through the years. The only problem is, this is as far as the Metro Manila area can be and the logistical problems for many supporters, especially from the urban areas and, of course, the press, will really be challenging. But just the same, the symbolism is apt. But what’s this we are hearing that the critics are all smiling with this choice as it will simply bring home the point (daw) that the Aquino-Cojuangco families have staked their claims and their lives even deeper in the heartland of their vast Hacienda Luisita holdings which is just a stone’s throw away, so to speak, from the rally site? Up to this point, Senator Aquino’s wooly stand on the many issues surrounding the Hacienda and its past, maybe even present and future, remains one big albatross around his neck. Then there is the choice of Calamba for the resurging NPs led by Sen. Manny Villar and Sen. Loren Legarda, which is also a first, like Antipolo and Concepcion, in modern-day campaign kick off history. I understand the party chose this urbanizing center of Laguna for its historical and, yes, political significance (it’s the birthplace of the national hero Dr. Jose Rizal) and for the NP the lynchpin of their drive to capture the country’s richest region (vote-wise). Not to mention the fact that the city is controlled by the Chipecos -- long-standing allies of Villar and most of the NP candidates. Of course, Bro. Eddie Villanueva and his Bangon party chose to have their kick-off at the Luneta where, not too long ago, in 2004 to be exact, they were able to muster more than one million followers to jampack their miting de avance days before the polls. There is no question that Villanueva and his group will be able to gather a respectable crowd but maybe not in the same magnitude as before. Just the same we should expect a lot of bomba from the gathering, especially since it may as well be a thanksgiving and prayer rally of sorts for most of those who will go. Then, we should watch out for the Imus (in Cavite) rally of the “transformers” (Gordon-Bayani) team of Sen. Dick Gordon and MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando. Although not expected to gather as many people as the rest of the kick-off rallies elsewhere we should expect even more drama and bomba from this tandem, what with their known flair for the unexpected and the push as some people have come to describe the duo’s character as go-go executives. We asked Gordon’s people why they chose Imus, and we are told that it is his second hometown (his grandfather, an officer of the revolution, comes from the town) and has associated himself with its glorious history. Considering the odds this must have been truly a push of sorts as the team aims to “transform” the political landscape with their brand of “go-go,” can-do leadership. The rest of the presidentiables, i.e., Sen. Jamby Madrigal, Councilor JC de los Reyes, entrepreneur Vitaliano Acosta, and environmentalist Nicky Perlas, have no plans, it seems, to have their own kick-off rallies. They, like the rest of us, must be praying that this election will be like no other in terms of its impact on the country and our people. For so long showbiz hoopla, not informed choices, have been the masters of the game, as it were, to the detriment of the vast masses of our people. While we welcome the campaign as part of our democratic rituals and, of course, our economic stimulus operations, we certainly hope that this time around we will come out with a better prepared citizenry and a better minded and accountable leadership class in this the second decade of this century. SANA NA NGA. |
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