WHEN the word “sinungaling” became the talk of the town recently, coffee makers and coffee drinkers in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental shared their thoughts on politics, national and local.
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“Leni has her own thinking of accusing Bongbong as a sinungaling. That’s the lady’s prerogative and it must be respected,” said an engineer, sipping his cappuccino.
“But who are the liars in politics? Listen to those TV ads. Politicos promise everything to fool voters. They are liars,” said a lawyer.
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“Imagine an old politico who has not done much and now promising of ‘trabaho para sa lahat’. I say this is a bastard promise,” the teacher murmurs. “It is the private sector that provides more employment to people, not the government. So how can this crazy politico promise such a lie?”
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“Oh, and there is another old politico promising a computer tablet for every student; is this politico a joker?” asked the golfer.
“Hay naku, you can see their fake smiles when they are campaigning. But after they win, it is impossible to see them; they all hide. Damn really,” said the engineer.
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“Some of them vowed to eradicate corruption. Corruption is a virus that is impossible to delete from this universe. If men live in Mars or in Venus surely there will be corruption there, too. Who says politicos can stop corruption? Corruption starts with many of them,” stressed the teacher.
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“Among the presidentiables, it looks like the fight will be between Leni and Bongbong although talks say Isko is also a good product for a national leader. If Bongbong were disqualified surely it would be a Leni-Isko rivalry. Ping has good intents but he lacks the aura to grab votes,” said the golfer.
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“Filipinos must be more worried not much on who is going to be the president but who will be in the winning president’s circle. How the president governs will depend on his circle of men and women. This country needs a strong and no nonsense leader the likes of Digong. It was him who ordered the removal of all illegal structures on the road and the mayors obeyed. We need a bastard, tough leader,” the golfer remarked.
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“Can we put an end to those old dogs in the Senate? They are coming back but not doing much to help the people. Let’s have new faces, please. It’s too tiring to listen to blind promises and lies. We are tired of names like Cayetano, Villar, Legarda, Ejercito, Estrada, Hontiveros, Zubiri, Escudero, Honasan, and more. There are new names like Eleazar, Belgica, Bautista, Diokno, Gadon, Marcoleta, Panelo, Pinol, Roque, Tulfo, to name some. Let’s try them,” according to the engineer.
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“In Iloilo City, incumbent Mayor Jerry Treñas is performing well so much so that he has no rival. In Bacolod, there is a battle royale between incumbent Mayor Bing and well-oiled gaming guy Albee Bantug Benitez. The mother of Albee is from Victorias City, Negros Occidental,” said the golfer.
“In Antique province, we heard the sibling of Loren Legarda is running for congressman. But Antiqueños better try a man of integrity and wisdom, lawyer Ade Santillan Fajardo from a down-to-earth clan of the province. He was previously the national president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines,” according to the teacher.
“Well, in Negros Occidental it’s David versus Goliath for governor. The race is between the ever-performing incumbent Bong Lacson and former Bacolod legislator Juan Orola Jr. Of course, we believe there is no contest in this rivalry,” added the teacher./PN
