‘Ghost candidates’

‘Let the games begin.”

This may have been the dominant sound bite that reverberated Monday as the senatorial candidates from both sides scrambled to beat the midnight deadline for the filing of their certificates of candidacy.

Political observers have noted the seeming dearth of materials that could be tapped for the Senate, the reason why there were a lot of maneuverings from both the administration and the political opposition as they sought to complete their respective slates.

In the end, both sides had to settle for an even split of four reelectionist members of the Senate’s Wednesday Group to fill up the void that threw the senatorial nominations into a tug-of-war for the four gentlemen.

I view this as our collective fault that we have failed to develop an adequate reserve of committed leaders who could not only serve in the legislature, but, through democratic processes that ensure a smooth transition of power, actually take over the reins of government at the appropriate time.

As the nation waited for the complete tickets of the administration and the opposition with bated breath, leaders of both sides struggled to come up with their full slates up to the 11th minute.

The opposition could only muster 10 bets. They are Reps. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Alan Peter Cayetano and Francis “Chiz Whiz” Escudero; Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson; former senators Anna Dominique Coseteng, Loren Legarda and John Osmeña; lawyer Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who is a son of incumbent Sen. Nene Pimentel; Aksyon Demokratiko’s Sonia Roco, widow of the late senator and 2004 presidential candidate Raul Roco; Lt. Sgt. Antonio Trillanes IV of the infamous Oakwood mutiny who is under detention and may thus be hobbled for the duration of the campaign.

To complete the ticket, the opposition decided to “adopt” two members of the Wednesday Group—Sens. Manny Villar, head of the Nacionalista Party, and Francisco “Kiko” Pangilinan, who belongs to the Drilon faction of the Liberal Party.

On the other hand, the administration unveiled a full complement for its Team Unity senatorial ticket when it sewed up the nominations of Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho Petilla and Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of the Royal Sultanate of Sulu.

The two joined Sens. Edgardo Angara, Joker Arroyo and Ralph Recto; Reps. Prospero Pichay of Surigao del Sur and Juan Miguel Zubiri of Bukidnon; former senators Tessie Aquino-Oreta and Vicente “Tito” Sotto III; Presidential chief of staff Mike Defensor; and Govs. Luis “Chavit” Singson of Ilocos Sur and Vicente Magsaysay of Zambales. Nah, actor Richard “Goma” Gomez is not part of the team—and further, I say naught, as lawyers love to put it.

The Team Unity is well balanced and is a blend of youth and experience, educators, economists and constitutionalists. Both the Executive and Legislative branches of the government are represented in the team.

Geographically, three of them come from Mindanao—Pichay, Zubiri and Sultan Kiram, who is a Muslim and should draw the Muslim vote for his team. On the opposite side, only Pimentel of Cagayan de Oro is from Mindanao.

The Visayas has only one representative each, Petilla for Team Unity and Osmeña of vote-rich Cebu for the opposition. Legarda has roots in Western Visayas but is counterbalanced by Sotto whose grandfather, the late senator Vicente Sotto of the pre-war Senate was also from Cebu.

The opposition has a three to one edge in women’s representation with Legarda, Coseteng and Roco theoretically drawing sympathy of the women’s vote as against Oreta for Team Unity.

It is in the representation of local government units where the advantage tilts heavily in favor of the administration, with the inclusion of Singson, Magsaysay and Petilla. This is one factor where the Grand Coalition may find itself being clobbered when voting time comes, as not a single one of their bets represent the LGUs. All politics is local, isn’t it?

Unfortunately for the Grand Coalition, the two bets they adopted as “guest candidates” kuno, Manny Villar and Kiko Pangilinan, have opted to remain independent and go their merry way. Both have been quoted as saying that they will not join the campaign rallies and sorties of the opposition.

So what does that make of them? Not guest candidates really, but ghost candidates. The opposition may well have drafted Casper into their slate.

To quote the favorite expressions of my high-school English professor at the Ateneo, lawyer-columnist Emil Jurado: “My gulay!” And mind you, I’m not even referring to Team Unity’s Butch Pichay—whom President Arroyo has referred to as “Ang gulay ng ating buhay.”

But come to think of it, this year’s election may give us a very sporting Senate.

For instance, Sen. Ping Lacson and Sen. Pong Biazon could give table tennis a great boost. Who knows, they could team up for the next Olympics and score smashing wins against the Indonesian and Chinese players who dominate this sport.

Nikki Coseteng used to manage the Mariwasa basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) some years back.

Sen. Pia Cayetano is into biking and running, and was a finisher in the last New York marathon. Butch Pichay is into chess although I don’t think he would welcome “Chiz Whiz” Escudero to his federation.

Three of them could land spots in the shooting team—Lacson, Trillanes and Sen. Fred Lim, who, as chief of the NBI and the former Western Police District, sent criminals scampering into their rat holes at the mere mention of his name.

As for boxing, we could field three senators who are experts in bakbakan, even if its only in the movies. They are Sens. Bong Revilla, Lito Lapid and Jinggoy Estrada—who else?

Somebody even said that during a basketball game of the movie and entertainment industry’s Star Olympics, a player who is now a senator even zapped an opposing player on the nape—binatukan was the colorful word used to describe the incident. Who was he? Nope, I’m not about to engage in tsismis.

Now, if only Manny Pacquiao would run for the Senate instead of the House, that should be perfect for a Senate boxing team.

So, the sound bite “Let the games begin!” is really most appropriate for the Senate race. It is a race, di ba?

NO question about it: climate change is here and it’s real. Those who say otherwise are merely contributing to noise pollution, emitting hot air and turning themselves into the best arguments for censorship or the death penalty.

The Wednesday clubbers have gone their separate ways. Ralph Recto and Joker Arroyo will run with Gloria Arroyo’s Team Unity while Manuel Villar and Francis Pangilinan will run as independents under UNO.

It’s that time of the year, so we might as well greet the president of the National Power Corp. (Napocor), Cyril del Callar, a Happy Valentine’s Day! But from the people of Mindanao and Eastern Visayas and their representatives in Congress who are also members of the Joint Congressional Power Commission (CPC), the same message of love would surely be delivered to del Callar with all the sarcasm they could possibly muster.

One can’t help but be disturbed and frustrated by the practice of the country’s leading drugstore chain when it comes to senior citizens paying with credit cards.

‘Let the games begin.”

This may have been the dominant sound bite that reverberated Monday as the senatorial candidates from both sides scrambled to beat the midnight deadline for the filing of their certificates of candidacy.

As the interest rate offered by banks continue to decline for deposits, other investment alternatives, outside of the stock market, are looming as pretty viable avenues for wealth creation or capital appreciation.