Malabor Snubs Gonzalez

News reports say that former mayor Mansueto "Mansing" Malabor snubbed Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez during a chance encounter in a coffeeshop in Iloilo City. The two accidentally met at the De Leonian, a coffeeshop located inside the Iloilo Central Market.

Long before Starbucks, Figaro or Seattle's Best, Iloilo City already had The De Leonian. The De Leonian coffeeshop has been standing for as long as I can remember and has been a favorite hangout of local politicians and mediamen for years. If you want to hear the juiciest gossip and the latest politicial developments in Iloilo, go to the De Leonian. The ambiance is not quite like Starbucks to say the least (it's inside a wet market!) but people don't go there for the gastronomic experience but mainly for gossip. At least after finishing your coffee and ensaymada, you have the option to buy a pound of pork or a kilo of chicken at the Central Market if you want.

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Seven months after the tragedy, Petron announced that it has hired the Singapore-based firm Sonsub to extract the remaining oil inside the ill-fated tanker M/V Solar I . The date of the extraction was set on March 14. But Guimaras Governor Rahman Nava is still waiting for the release of the P800 million relief fund that was promised to rehabilitate his province.

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It seems that Congressman Allan Peter Cayetano is not the only candidate having problems with another senatorial candidate having a similar-sounding name as him. I received this text message today: Question for COMELEC: If you write SONIA on the ballot, will your vote be credited to ROCO? ..... or to OSMEÑA?

Boom Tarat Tarat Mania

Campaign jingles can make or break a candidate, most especially in the Philippine senatorial race where name recall is the name of the game. A catchy campaign jingle can attract peoples' attention and help them remember your name come election day. Also, lively jingles can help boost the morale of your campaign troops and bring about a "fiesta" atmosphere during political rallies and out-of-town sorties.

During the last 2004 elections, Mar Roxas' Mr. Suave jingle no doubt contributed to making him no. 1. And he was not alone in capitalizing on that blockbuster novelty song at that time - countless other politicians running for local positions used Mr. Suave as their campaign jingle.

Now, candidates are falling over themselves to buy the rights to "Boom Tarat Tarat," the novelty song composed by Lito Camo and popularized by the noontime show "Wowowee" (of the ULTRA Stampede fame). It has been reported that senatorial candidate Miguel Zubiri acquired the rights to "Boom Tarat Tarat" to use as his campaign jingle. No less than the President, during one of her sorties, endorsed Zubiri by singing his campaign jingle which goes something like this: "Boom Tarat Tarat, Boom Tarat Tarat .... Zubiri, Zubiri .... Boom Boom Boom!" Aside from Zubiri, I am sure that a big number of congressmen, governors, mayors, etc. will be using the song as their campaign jingle, although I seriously doubt if they will be paying Lito Camo (or even pay him the courtesy of asking his permission) for using his composition.

I heard the song "Boom Tarat Tarat" for the very first time December of last year from my 3-year old son (of all people!). I was puzzled to hear him sing the bizarre, unfamiliar tune and I largely ignored him at first. But when I finally asked his yaya what song my son was singing, she told me it was "Boom Tarat Tarat" from Wowowee. I knew right there and then that "Boom Tarat Tarat" would be a hit - if my 3-year old (who still can barely speak) can catch the lyrics and sing to its tune, then "Boom Tarat Tarat" will surely appeal to most other children. And I was correct - during our office Christmas-cum-Children's Party, most of the kids knew the song and "Boom Tarat Tarat" was their favorite dancing music (apparently, the song has an accompanying dance move).

So brace yourselves for "Boom Tarat Tarat" mania this coming elections. But just a word of caution though for candidates who are thinking of using "Boom Tarat Tarat" as their campaign jingle. Just today, I heard someone sing the song with a new lyrical twist (and it really put a smile on my face). It went something like this: "Boom Tarat Tarat, Boom Tarat Tarat.... KURAKOT, KURAKOT.... Boom Boom Boom!"

Dagdag-Bawas

Dagdag-Bawas. I first heard the term "dagdag-bawas" from Senator Nene Pimentel back in 1995 when, having lost in that year's senatorial race, he complained of having been cheated of victory by certain "operators" in Comelec. Senator Biazon, who also failed to get reelected in 1995, likewise claimed to have been a victim of dagdag-bawas. I am not sure who between the two originally coined the term, but the word dagdag-bawas has been incorporated into our colorful and uniquely-Filipino lexicon.

I was always confused by the meaning of the term dagdag-bawas. As an Ilonggo, I've always thought that dagdag-bawas meant "to junk the candidate & to shave his votes." You see,"dagdag" in Ilonggo means "to fall" or "to drop" or "to junk" as in "nadagdag ako sa katre" ("I fell off my bed") whereas in Tagalog, dagdag means "to add." Thus, candidates should be afraid (be very afraid) of the Ilonggo politician who threatens to "dagdag-bawas" them for he might be planning to both junk and "decrease" their votes! When Pimentel and Biazon claimed that they were victims of dagdag-bawas during the 1995 elections, I honestly thought that they were complaining about their own partymates junking them and some unscrupulous Comelec employees cheating them of their votes (Pimentel at that time was especially unpopular among LGU officials because, as Cory's DILG Secretary, he spearheaded the unseating of Marcos-era mayors and the appointment of OICs. Biazon for his part, was said to be disfavored by FVR's trusted man, Joe Almonte -- so the prospect of them of being junked was quite real).

Now I understand that "dagdag-bawas" actually means shaving the votes of one candidate and counting it in favor of another. This method of "wholesale" cheating, I am told, is much harder to detect and more cost-effective than say, paying countless flying voters to cheat for you. For example, during the last 2004 elections, GMA campaign operatives supposedly developed an ingenious "algorithm" wherein they made GMA win overwhelmingly in provinces where she is popular and lose only slightly in the provinces considered to be her opponents' bailiwicks. For example in the Bicol Region, which has long been a Roco bailiwick, GMA lost by a very slim margin to Roco. Likewise in Mindanao, where the late actor Fernando Poe, Jr. was said to be immensely popular, election results showed that GMA lost by a slim margin and in fact even won over FPJ in some provinces there. But in the areas where she was perceived to be popular, GMA won by a wide margin. In vote-rich Cebu province alone, GMA supposedly won by more than a million votes over FPJ. Likewise in Iloilo.

The Garcillano Tapes have given the public an insightful glimpse of how candidates and shadowy election officers operate and cheat in elections. The Garci scandal almost toppled GMA, but the fractured opposition failed to rally public opinion to their side mainly because the people perceived them to be no better than the person they were trying to oust. Every Filipino knows that almost every politician in this country cheats and those few that do not, have to spend hundreds of thousands of pesos just to "protect" their votes from dagdag-bawas operators.

Sadly, not one among those mentioned in the Garci Tapes has been punished, with some of the personalities mentioned in the tape even flourishing under this administration. Ironically, the principal figure in the scandal Virgilio Garcillano is contemplating to run for Congress in Bukidnon and the "Garci generals" are all occupying high military posts.

As long as the "mechanics" in Comelec ply their dastardly trade with impunity and so long as politicians who benefit from it are not punished, I foresee that dagdag-bawas will continue to be a bane in Philippine electoral politics for many years to come.

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Migs & 'Tol. Administration senatorial candidate Miguel Zubiri may have scored brownie points with Ilonggo voters for adopting the campaign nickname "Migs." Migs is an abbreviation of the Ilonggo word "migo" (from the Spanish word "amigo") which means "friend" or "pal." The word "migs" is commonly used by young Ilonggos to connote friendship and/or familiarity with another person. Zubiri has been consciously courting the Ilonggo vote; he recently visited Iloilo City to join in the Dinagyang Festival merry-making and many were surprised that he can speak Ilonggo fluently. His advocacy for the Biofuels Act, which he claims will uplift the sugar industry out of its moribund state, will likewise add to his pogi points in Western Visayas especially in the vote-rich, monocrop-economy province of Negros Occidental.

As regards Mike Defensor, whose campaign monicker is 'Tol, I would caution him against using it in Western Visayas. 'Tol is an abbreviation of the street slang "utol" which means "brother" in English and is usually used by Tagalogs much in the same way Ilonggos use "migs" to connote friendship, familiarity or camaraderie. But "utol" in Ilonggo is a kind of dog flea - the big, round, grayish kind that loves to suck the blood of dogs. The "utol" is usually easy to spot because it "stands out" while another species of dog flea, the "bitik," is much harder to squash because it is smaller and harder to spot its dark, reddish color makes it blend well with the dog's fur (as a dog- lover who is a proud owner of four dachshunds, I have become an expert dog-groomer and flea-killer). If he likes to win in Western Visayas, Mike should utilize his surname Defensor and capitalize more on his kinship with Ilongga Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Iloilo Congressman Art Defensor.

Run Manny Run!

One news item that caught my eye today (aside from senatorial candidates trying to beat the Comelec deadline which is so old news) was Manny Pacquiao’s supposed candidacy for congressman of General Santos City and South Cotabato. GenSan, as it is commonly called by locals, is known as the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines.” I visited Gen San and the outlying towns of South Cotabato a couple of times in the past and was pleasantly surprised to find many Ilonggos not only in Gen San but even in Muslim-sounding towns like Surallah and Nurallah in the province. I surmise that long ago the province must have been dominated by Muslims until Ilonggo settlers from Panay, encouraged by President Quezon’s land resettlement policies, started arriving en masse in the 1920s up to the 1930s. Several years back, I visited a college buddy who used to live in DOLE (the pineapple company) located in Polomolok, South Cotabato which is about 30 minutes ride from Gen San. The DOLE compound, situated at the foot of Mt. Kalsangi, is an enclave complete with American-style houses (similar to the ones in Subic and Baguio), an international school for the children of DOLE expats, etc. And best of all, they have a wonderful golf course there.

Going back to Pacquiao’s impending entry into politics, it seems that not many Filipinos welcome the idea. Well-meaning fans fear that his boxing career will suffer if he becomes congressman and that he will be “eaten by the system” (lalamunin ng sistema) and eventually become a trapo (traditional politician) himself while detractors say that Manny lacks the education, intelligence and experience to serve in Congress.

On the contrary, I believe that Manny Pacquiao is the perfect person to lead his area.

At the height of their power, Britain was ruled by men who distinguished themselves overseas, whether it be thru war or commercial conquest. England’s greatest prime minister for example, Winston Churchill, started his career as a second lieutenant in the Fourth Hussars which saw action in Sudan and Egypt. He first gained national fame when during the 1899 Boer War in South Africa, his unit’s armored train was ambushed and Churchill was captured by the enemy. He managed escaped a few weeks later. He even left a note under his bunk for the Boer undersecretary of war saying “I do not concede that your Government was justified in holding me and I have consequently resolved to escape…Regretting the circumstances have not permitted me to bid you a personal farewell, believe me, yours very sincerely, Winston S. Churchill” (a word has been invented to described this impudent confidence - "Churchillian"). Another great leader, John F. Kennedy, distinguished himself during the Second World War as a US Navy officer and his war exploits was adapted into the big screen via the movie "PT 109. " Military service seems to be a big issue in American politics, and former President Clinton was perpetually hounded by his refusal to serve in the military at the height of the Vietnam War. Even incumbent U.S. President George W. Bush is being ridiculed for having served only in the National Guard as a fighter pilot. In most countries, international achievement is usually a sure ticket for a successful career in politics.

Since the Philippines do not engage in "foreign wars of conquest," the only way really for a Filipino to distinguish himself/herself internationally is thru sports and the performing arts. And Manny Pacquiao single-handedly made the Philippines a "boxing-superpower" and his victories brought tremendous honor and prestige for our country. How many of our politicians, even the intelligent ones, can claim to have achieved that for the country?

Just because Pacquiao looks like a houseboy and speaks Tagalog with an Ilonggo accent, it doesn't mean that he is "simple." Far from it, I believe Manny is a very intelligent and astute man; you have to be to become a good boxer. Judging your opponent, predicting his moves, parrying his thrusts and studying beforehand how to defeat him requires both mental agility and extreme physical conditioning. These are also the skills politicians use (or aspire to) to get ahead in the game. And more importantly, Manny has the self-discipline and willpower to achieve what he wants to achieve. If he applies that same singlemindness to his public career, I believe he can do wonderful things for his province. But most of all, he has the capacity to inspire our people, and that to me, is enough to qualify him to run for public office.