System reboot

On May 10, Filipinos of voting age will once again troop to the polls to exercise their democratic right. This time and for the first time in an automated computerized elections.


Congratulations to the Liberal Party for turning this edition of the presidential fiesta into one issue, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Never mind unemployment, poverty, dying economy, climate change, Maguindanao massacre, etcetera, etcetera. Ironic, but the most unpopular president, who allegedly has never won the presidency shall once again be deciding factor who becomes the next president. 


Gibo Teodoro never had a chance. His “galing at talino” was rightly dismissed by the voting population. You claim “galing”, but “galing” in what? “Galing” to serve the blighted Gloria presidency? You are either a fool, or worse a willing participant, in the rape of our sacred democratic institutions then. From the Department of Justice, to Congress all the way up to the Supreme Court. As for “talino”, how can you claim that and be blissfully unaware that any association to Gloria is political suicide? JC delos Reyes and Nicanor Perlas, at least know they are not running to win the presidency but only to take advantage of the free media mileage to promote their advocacies. 


Talino? Anyone with half of Erap’s street smarts can take this kind of “talino” for all his money – and his mother’s too. Say what you will, but Erap NEVER lost an election… until now. And the man is only falling on his own sword to sabotage the other “mahirap” presidential candidate.


Manny Villar must be scratching his head. He has been eyeing that most coveted seat since he became Senate president, the next logical step-up in his so far bright political career. How did he suddenly become “Villaroyo”? Rightly or wrongly, the monicker stuck. Completely forgotten, though hard to ignore only for the sheer volume of it, is the catchy “langoy sa basura” jingles. Manny can still be president, if kids 6 to 13 are allowed to vote. There’s that 10% he needs to get over the hump. His campaign managers should be hung. They’ve made a catchy jingle but for the wrong target audience.


Sadly the one man that should be president is lost in the din of the jingles and the mudslinging between the warring camps. Dick Gordon has both the resume and the relatively clean record to deserve a six-year-turn of trying to run this country. This time around, however, Filipino voters would prefer to once again reboot the system. And it is not solely to keep in spirit with the “computerized elections” theme.


We need this purge.  We need to exorcise all traces of the nine- year cancerous Gloria presidency.  And it is not because she cheated. Everyone cheats. Every misplaced oversized tarpaulin poster is cheating. Now tell me who has not cheated?  


But ah, you see, the framers of our 1987 Constitution, in all their wisdom, foresaw the problems of an incumbent president running for the presidency. It is the very reason that that sacred document forbids presidential re-election. 


Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cheated with all the powers of the presidency behind her, and in doing so, sold the presidency to the cabal of the Garcillanos and the Ampatuans. And worse, she did not even cheat very well. She got caught. And the ensuing cover-up further indebted the presidency to congress and anyone willing to overlook the damning evidence. Hard to believe, but how can anyone ignore “Hello Garci”? I’ve seen many American B-movies where the rogue sheriff in some backwater town is finally done away with because the hero is able to catch him on tape. That the Gloria presidency survived is testament on how deep the cancer has spread. 


All the years after “Hello Garci” and the sole government policy is to keep Gloria in power. Never mind that the Ampatuans are stockpiling arms, or that Winston Garcia has the GSIS sponsoring his “scholars”, or that giving away free health cards is not a financially viable proposition. Gloria needs this. She has to stay in power – by all means necessary.


And so, on May 10, once again, it is up to the Filipinos to rid themselves of an unwanted president. Filipinos will vote their hearts out. Turn out will be high. Believing that that one vote, that one voice, long ignored and brushed aside by this perverse administration, is finally the indictment of the Gloria presidency we have all been longing for.


And so, we go back to 1986. We choose the “mediocre” over the “brilliant”. We choose Cory over Macoy. No grand plans. No bright ambitions. Just another cleansing. But as Macoy has made Cory necessary, so too did Gloria made Noynoy necessary. We cannot, as a nation, hope to move forward without righting this wrong. 


One thing though, Noynoy, upon his acceptance of the challenge to run for the presidency has made one promise; if ever he gets elected president, when his terms ends after six years, he will gladly turn over the reigns of power to the next president. And his presidency, like his mother’s, will be missed.   


I long for the day when we can elect a Dick Gordon to the highest office in the land. I hope he sticks around. And be the Ramos to Noynoy’s Cory.