Unity or "ka-plastikan"?

Both local and national newspapers featured 13 aspirants for the presidency arm-in-arm as if in unity joining the “Unity Walk” for the 2010 elections vowing that they won’t be cheating in the coming polls. Say that again? Truth to tell, we can only cross our fingers that these candidates would keep their promises. Looking at their seemingly happy faces, unfortunately I do not see the future president of this country in that lineup.

No doubt, those 13 people want so badly to be the next president and they all hate Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) for the simple reason that she has stayed so long in Office, denying them a chance to be in control in Malacañang and consequently the nation. You want to know why can’t I see any of the 13 as president of this country? That’s because from either the Senate or the Cabinet, I couldn’t find a single quote coming from these supposedly illustrious individuals that would ring a bell and make me remember them. They’re non-performers!

Pres. Manuel L. Quezon (MLQ) is credited for saying “My loyalty to my party ends when my loyalty to my country begins.” These are stirring and unforgettable words. Of course, the same MLQ also said these unforgettable words “I’d rather see this country run like hell by Filipinos rather than run like heaven by Americans.” Call it the curse of Pres. Quezon, but just the same, it was said in eloquence and thus marked the love of country.

We also had a lot of quotes from the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. that we have remembered so well: “The Filipino is worth dying for.” But today, I can’t find a single quote that I can attribute to those people featured in the front pages of our local and national newspapers. Indeed, all of them want to be president, but can they bring change to this sick nation? I seriously doubt it. Nope, they just want to be the next president, that’s all!

Just like the splintered opposition of the past that had a difficult time unifying themselves to fight the Marcos Dictatorship, the opposition today is wracked with the same ugly and unwanted, “Me, Myself and I” attitude hoping that we would believe that electing them as President would change this nation. How I wish life were that simple. But it’s been 23 years since the EDSA Revolt ousted the Marcos Dictatorship. We have seen new presidents take over the country - from Pres. Cory Aquino, Pres. Fidel V. Ramos, Pres. Joseph “Erap” Estrada and now Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Look at us today, we are in a political limbo, stuck in a moral decay because no president dared to effect the needed changes to make this a better nation.

Again, I’d like to make my point very clear. We need to change the present system of governance because without it, we will always have politicians who use the name of the poor in vain, but enrich themselves from the people’s tax money. Four presidents after the fall of the Marcos Dictatorship and we still lack justice; worse, the majority of the Filipino people still wallow in abject poverty. So who can change this nation? So far, I don’t see it in the 13 presidentiables who were marching in that Unity Walk for photo op’s sake. It’s simply “Kaplastikan!”

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After a long wait, virtually a cliff-hanger, Mayor Tomas Osmeña finally decided to run for Congress in the South District of Cebu City, the seat that Rep. Antonio Cuenco will vacate on June 30, 2010. That means challenger Atan Guardo will have his hands full in this political battle, not to mention a huge tear in his pockets because in Cebu City, Mayor Osmeña is still the man to beat, more so that he’d only be campaigning on the southern half of Cebu City.

Now I don’t know why all of the sudden, there is talk that Mayor Osmeña would have to resign the moment he files his Certificate of Candidacy. I concur with the thoughts of Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano Commission on Election (Comelec) that there is no need for him to resign from his present position; only those appointed to government positions are the ones who need to resign.

How many Senators past, from Sen. Loren Legarda to Sen. Miriam Santiago have run for a higher post, yet they did not resign and kept their present positions, which they returned to when they failed to make their respective bids for a higher office. This should be the case for Mayor Tomas Osmeña. So the 2010 elections promises to be an interesting one for Cebu City. Can Mayor Osmeña win in a race for half of Cebu City? I believe he can. But what about Rep. Tony Cuenco who might run for mayor? Can he who once controlled half of Cebu City win the mayoralty race for the entire Cebu City? He might get the votes from the South, but I’m not sure about the North.

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