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NO doubt, Manny Pacquiao can very well-protect
himself.
But, can he be protected from
himself? That is the question.
We used to have congressmen who
answered to the names of Jovito Salonga, Ferdinand Marcos, Diosdado
Macapagal, Lorenzo Sumulong, Neptali Gonzales and other
congressional celestials.
How many in the current abysmal
crop measure up?
Today, mediocrity goes very deep
in that chamber, and elsewhere, in what has become the most-corrupt
country in the region in a few years. Tomorrow, the world, where our
workers save us through their remittances.
Manny is an excellent world-class
boxer who understands the Queensberry Rules. However, aside from
wanting the position of congressman very badly, what in his
background qualifies him to know and master the Robert’s Rules,
file bills and resolutions, conduct committee hearings, interpellate,
debate, amend and vote prudently for starters?
Courage is another way of saying
one may not know what he is doing. Thus, a Spanish jurist, told that
our lawmakers passed our Civil Code after a few months, said in
jest: “I admire their courage.” And that was a time when we had
the likes of Rep. Arturo Tolentino.
I admire Manny’s courage but he
insults the institution, its traditions, and himself, by treating a
lawmaker’s post as a sideline, while he pursues elsewhere the
time-consuming calling he is most fitted for at this time. He can
run for mayor or governor years from now but Congress is not for
everyone, no matter how it has been debased in recent times.
He registered in Manila less than
a year ago but now runs in his home province even if he clearly does
not satisfy the residence qualification. This scofflaw may choose to
fool around with his foes but not with the law, please.
Unless Comelec chairman Abalos
allows it.
Manny is like the Fil-Ams who
also believe they are above the residence requirement. Here I agree
with Ben, who was rebuffed however by a Supreme Court which, since
it can say that a Fil-Am voter abroad need not be a resident under
the Constitution, is capable of saying anything. If I move today
from Pasig (where I vote but have no house in) to Makati (where I am
but a star boarder), I cannot vote anywhere next month. A Fil-Am who
may not have come home for decades can vote.
For Manny, there is only one
thing worse than not getting what you want, and that is, getting it.
He continues to be used.
The authorities could have
planned the homecoming motorcade to pass through Pasay, Makati, San
Juan, Mandaluyong, Pasig and Quezon City. Instead, the Atienzas
sadly again monopolized Manila’s, not the People’s Champ, being
the trapos that they are. How cheap and ignoble. Manny does not
realize he is being manipulated by those who do not want him to
gladden other Metro Manila residents.
Statesmanlike restraint is not in
the vocabulary of the Atienzas whose Ali is running with only one
obvious qualification to be mayor, like Manny’s wanting badly to
be a congressman.
If Manny is serious about being a
lawmaker, he should retire forthwith from the manly art of modified
murder and prepare himself for the post. This is all too to the good
because the way he talks right big now, like Muhammad Ali, he may be
showing signs of decay or deterioration so prized in the House.
When Manny has a fight, he needs
to be away for months from Congress, where he won’t be missed.
Manny has no time for the job and will end up giving neither boxing
nor politics the time each deserves.
Since we may have Garci and now
Manny in the Bigger House, maybe it is time to go unicameral by
preserving the Better One. Mindanao deserves better.
Superbly conditioned Michael
Jordan moved to baseball from his core sport, basketball, even if he
seemed physically equipped for both. He bombed in baseball, which is
far more exciting than watching the lizards in the Batasan ceiling.
For Manny’s own sake, he should
withdraw now.
Hindi naman po siya likas na
masama, nabarkada lang. He is savvy enough to understand Clint
Eastwood’s sighing that some people do not know their limitations.
Why can’t Manny be just like
edentulous Bata Reyes or Ronnie Alcano?
We have no passion for
excellence. The Americans left the jeep. We have the jeepney. The
Japanese have the Lexus.
GMA has endorsed Manny for an
institution her father once starred in which she now leads deeper
and deeper into the abyss.
Manny wins, Congress and the
People lose.
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