HERE they are again, sipping their coffee and scrutinizing presidential aspirants in this country called Pilipinas. Their topic is world boxing champion Manny / Pacman.
***
“Pacman hails from the old Dadiangas town of South Cotabato now known as General Santos City. He comes from a very poor family but his ambition to succeed in boxing made him the world’s greatest fighter,” said the teacher who comes from Mindanao.
***
“Manny is a very generous personality. He doles out his fortune from his winnings in boxing to the poor people in his region. He became so popular that he became a senator of the land,” added the teacher.
***
“His being a philanthropist does not mean he would be a national leader. He is a good man. He has seen alleged corruption running in this country but does this mean he is qualified to become president?” asked the lawyer.
“It takes a lot of experience in management, political governance, legal knowledge and more to become a national leader. Look at the country when Cory the housewife ran this country. The problem with Filipinos is their being sentimental. Same with the leadership of PNoy,” added the lawyer.
***
“Manny promises to the nation there will be no squatters. He promises to eradicate corruption. He promises a lot of things that other national leaders failed to achieve,” said the teacher.
***
“Making promises is one. Making them happen is another. Even Digong admits the drug menace is something he could not solve in six months,” said the golfer. “How will Manny look at the problems of corruption, illegal drugs, smuggling? Of course he has a bundle of advisers who may just be possible crooks,” the golfer thinks.
***
“Yes, that is the biggest problem if Manny is our leader. He is a good man. He is generous. He understands the plight of the masses. But does he have the intelligence? This country has a lot of bastards and we need a strong leader with political will and strong determination. Manny has no government executive experience,” said the golfer.
***
“Very sad but this country has many ambitious personalities who believe they could be the problem-solver of this nation. Can we not bring back the two-party system like decades back? Just like the old political days when a voter only chooses between red or white,” asked the lawyer.
Yes, this country has too many ambitious leaders who are neither capable nor wise. The electorate is confused but they are happy because of the billions of paper bills circulating to their benefit. But will this kenkoy country called Pilipinas not go to the dogs?
***
This column greets Francis Chu, Panoy Gonzales, Ariston Minez Jr., Felix Tiu, Sandra Gomez, Natalie Lim, Peter Po, Lito Fonte, Rolando Dabao, and Mary Ann Matiling./PN
