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The Nationalist People’s Coalition is turning out
to be the foxiest political party today. Whether the Genuine
Opposition or the Team Unity wins on May 14, the NPC will share in
the political spoils. Lagareng Hapon? The NPC has two senatorial
candidates with Team Unity: former senators Tito Sotto and Tessie
Aquino-Oreta. It also has two candidates with GO: House Minority
Leader Chiz Escudero and former Senate majority leader Loren Legarda.
The party is having the best of both worlds. It is not leaving
anything to chance in making a dint in the election by giving party
nomination to all four senatorial candidates, even if they have
opposing political orientation regarding the administration.
A political party is supposed to
offer a definitive stand on issues of governance and public policy,
so as to set it apart from the rest. The NPC is slippery as an eel
on controversial issues. It straddles both political fences. It is
neither fish nor fowl. The party must have lost its direction (and
soul?) when industrialist Danding Cojuangco yielded his leadership
to others.
This lack of political backbone,
notwithstanding, NPC is reaping dividends courtesy of a trusting
Lakas-CMD. Lakas entered into a coalition agreement with NPC without
requiring the latter to support all Team Unity candidates and
sanctioning its party members who are on the slate of Genuine
Opposition. As it happens, the coalition agreement has served to
protect all NPC incumbents from any challenges by the administration
party under the equity-of-the-incumbent rule.
Incidentally, this rule has been
stretched by some as involving also the wife or the son of the
incumbent. The “equity of the wife” or “equity of the son”
is now being invoked by a “graduating” local officials in
picking the common candidate of the coalition.
Star graduation speaker
Angara’s quest for technical
excellence: Sen. Edgardo J. Angara is a much sought-after graduation
speaker, and for good reason—he is the author of most of the
education reform laws. Examples are the Free High School Education,
and the laws creating the Commission on Higher Education and the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. He also
authored the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in
Private Education law that allowed students who could no longer
enroll crowded public high schools to do so in private schools with
the government paying for their tuition.
He is now waging a virtual
crusade to make the Philippines more competitive by focusing on
math, science and technology, which he described as the foundation
of information technology. Technological advances are changing the
shape and nature of our economic process. Asia has been predicted to
be the center of innovation of the world, principally because of
technical advances in India and China. Angara does not want the
Philippines to be a technical laggard.
Angara has excused himself from
the senatorial campaign for the last two weeks as he sought to
spread the “gospel” of technical innovation. His wife, Gloria
Manalang Arroyo (the original GMA, he said), has taken his place on
the hustings. She said she is merely reprising her role when Angara
suffered a mild stroke in 1987 in the midst of the campaign. She is
well versed on the various laws and bills authored by Angara, so
that it was almost as if Angara were actually present.
GO will have more rallies
The Genuine Opposition had
canceled a number of rallies for lack of organization and funds. I
expect these problems to be partially solved with the start of the
local campaign. The reason is clear—GO will have an instant
organization in local politicians who are not fielded by Team Unity,
and they may be numerous.
Worrisome absence of trauma
Absence of trauma worrisome: I do
not share the elation or relief of many that the children held
hostage by Armando Ducat Jr. did not suffer any trauma. They have
been described as being in high spirits and oblivious of the danger
they were in, and I consider this worrisome. Why? Because this means
these children from the Parola compound in Tondo had already become
so used to the sight of guns and grenades that these no longer scare
them.
efrendanao2003@yahoo.com
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