The Presidential campaign has officially started so now all the Presidentiables have the license to mudsling, accuse, insult, defame or libel their fellow Presidentiables. In Philippine politics today, getting into Malacañang means destroying the reputation of rival candidates, that’s if they don’t self-destruct in the campaign trail. Elections is essential in a democracy, which we know is far from perfect. We can only wish we could have a more noble way of seeking public office.
More important than destroying their rival candidates, all the Presidentiables will promise, entice, sweet talk, exhort, beg, cajole, persuade then sing and dance before the voters from Aparri to Jolo. Then on stage they would show that they are no different from the showbiz or sexy bomb characters that they brought on stage, just in case those ignorant voters cannot see the difference between a politician and an entertainer.
When I was a young kid way back in 1969, the political campaign waged against the incumbent Pres. Ferdinand Marcos back then was no song and dance routine, but a ceaseless barrage of the sins of Marcos in his four-year stint as President. His rival then was the late Sen. Sergio “Serging” Osmeña Jr. While he supposedly lost in his Presidential bid, the stinging attacks they threw at Marcos made him damage goods before the eyes of the people and his revenge came in the form of Martial Law and all of us suffered!
Worse than ever, we are seeing a flurry of negative ads done by unscrupulous people trying to use YouTube or text messages to make believe that their rival candidates are quarreling or have abandoned their campaign. Of course, nothing of these is true. But with the easy access of such modern media facilities, we can expect more negative ads coming up.
Thanks to mainstream media, notably the print media, we can still bring some kind of sanity into this whirlwind 90-day campaign. I just hope that our voters would choose the right candidate for the job, the candidate that doesn’t buy their votes either directly, in kind or indirectly for the sake of our nation. Above all, we should remind the voters that we only have this power once every six years in choosing the right President for the job.
Let me end this piece with this joke that I’m sure that most of you have already read or heard, but with the political season in heat, it is the right time to bring it back. The story goes… that a man died and upon reaching the Pearly Gates of heaven, he was greeted by St. Peter who said that heaven was having a special treat, that a soul that comes in can choose between heaven and hell. But he must first look and experience both before he makes a decision. But when he makes that decision, it will be permanent.
So the man said he would like to see hell and St. Peter brings him down the elevator and when the door opened, a nice man greeted him and showed him off to all his golf buddies, his poker friends, his biker brothers and he played great golf, had all the food and fun at the country club and it was a great unforgettable party. Then afterwards St. Peter took him from hell and brought him to heaven where he also saw his friends, who were so nice, polite and friendly floating in the clouds in heavenly bliss.
Finally they went back to the gates of heaven. St. Peter asked the man on his decision. He said that heaven was nice, but boring, while hell was a great fun place to be. So he chose to say in hell. So down into the elevator shaft he went and when the door opened, there were only fire, smoke and desolation and the nice man was actually the devil with horns and tail. The man protested,”What happened? Where is the nice golf course, the country club and my friends and the great party?” The devil told him, “Yesterday, we were campaigning to win you over and our campaign worked as we convinced you to stay with us. So today you are seeing the reality called hell!”
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We attended the Holy Mass for our dearly departed friend, former Councilor Rogelio “Jing Jing” Osmeña at the Session Hall of the Cebu City Hall. Mayor Tomas Osmeña and the members of City Council were in attendance and the CITOM Board as there was no board meeting yesterday. Today, our group, the Sons of David (this is a branch of the Bukas Loob sa Diyos Charismatic Community) would be sponsoring the Holy Mass for Jing Jing at 5:30PM in Cosmopolitan Nivel. Interment will be at the Osmeña Mausoleum in the Old Carreta Catholic Cemetery. So once more, we request the pious reader to please pray for his soul.
I won’t be able to attend the funeral services because I will be in Clark, Pampanga today as the special guest of Capt. Joy Roa to attend the 15th Philippine International Balloon Festival, a trip that was already arranged months back.