If you can’t beat him, join him!

“If you can’t beat Binay – Join Binay.”

For the extreme anti-Binay or the extreme pro-Aquino followers, the suggestion that Vice President Jejomar Binay might be adopted or become a guest candidate of the administration for President may be utter heresy if not sacrilege. However, it is something that has been suggested, been brewing and reportedly currently being peddled and negotiated.

Readers might recall that a week or two after the Supreme Court declared the DAP unconstitutional, a politician source told me that Congress would soon cook up a law to overcome the effect of the SC decision. As predicted they are now trying to redefine the legal definition of “savings” to suit the P-Noy concept. The same source told me: “Don’t be surprised to hear or find out that Binay is actually the secret candidate or political Trojan Horse of P-Noy.” He then reminded me of how far back Binay served and remained loyal to the Aquinos, even willing to risk his life and die fighting for Cory, which earned him the moniker “Rambotito” during the coup-ridden years. This explains why VP Binay always deferred and honored the President just as David refused to attack King Saul in the Bible.

Last week, I was shocked when a senator told me that a high party official and a senator was negotiating a deal where no Liberal candidate would run against Binay and in return the Liberal senator would be listed as the vice presidential candidate. When I asked a member of the opposition, he confirmed such an offer and punctuated it with the remark: “ang kapal ng mukha.”

One thing I can confidently predict is that 2016 won’t be “ubusan ng lahi” (clan wars) it will be “tanggalan at gantihan” (removal and retribution).

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Will it be a real “Swiss Challenge” or will it be a “Mestizo Challenge”?

Just when we really, really need a big road on top of Metro Manila called the NLEX-SLEX Interconnector, here comes the Department of Justice with an insanely late opinion stating that the unsolicited offer of the MVP group must be subjected to a Swiss Challenge, meaning: give a previously uninterested party a chance to take away the project from the people who originally had the idea and was willing to spend their own money. The question is, will the DOJ recommendation actually lead to a “Swiss Challenge” or will it become another Mestizo project like the many other unstarted, unfinished, and lawsuit layered attempts of the P-Noy administration.

Given the ugly turn of events, it may be time to dig up or lobby for a law along the Anti-Red Tape laws that will provide for the imprisonment and stiff fines to be imposed on government officials who fail to deliver crucial decisions or who come up with opinions only after the President of the Philippines has cut the ribbon on a project.

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The power of suggestion grows stronger as the source of the suggestion gets higher in office. The higher the position or influence of the source, the bigger the impact on people, government and on the economy.

During the SONA, President Noynoy Aquino made mention that if his time were ended, he could at least say that he was content with what he had achieved in life and in his presidency. A few days later, his youngest sister, big time taxpayer and highly sought after product endorser Kris asked supporters for prayers for the President’s well-being and was quoted as mentioning the line “that he won’t die” or words to that effect.

Since it is difficult to establish context through a newspaper report, I can only share the reaction of many Filipinos who were affected or at least intrigued by statements of the siblings.

A number of people asked me directly: Is the President just “sick and tired” or is he sick and dying? Some mentioned that there were talks circulating that P-Noy was sick. My immediate reaction was that, yes, he seems to be sick…sick and tired of people chewing his butt everyday. But as far as real illnesses are concerned, I could only surmise that whatever he has, has something to do with the unrepentant ways of a heavy smoker like I used to be until 1991.

I am assuming that this issue will die down as quickly as it rose, but the Presidential family and the President’s advisers need to seriously address this lapse, if it is one, or clarify what needs to be clarified. It is a good thing that the President’s stock of goodwill is still above the red line, otherwise his critics would surely be sending up the rumors like fireworks.

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Closed circuit television did not stop crime in Quezon City or anywhere else in the Philippines, how can wearing a vest with your motorcycle plate number on it do any better? In Manila it’s single riders only, in Mandaluyong it’s relatives only. The only problem is there are more motorcycles that go around with “For Registration” than LTO issued plates!

The stupidity and laziness of some government officials in the Philippines is unparalleled. To stop illegal logging they banned chainsaws in many places and required permits for anyone buying one. When Typhoon Yolanda hit last year and then Typhoon Glenda followed through this year, all the illegal chainsaws suddenly saw action. The rest of us law-abiding people had to settle with lagareng hapon, machetes and axes.

Meanwhile, Senators and Congressmen have no problem and no shame redefining “savings” to accommodate the Giver of Pork in Malacañang even if it violates the Constitution.

As we say in the farm: “oink – oink.”

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