WHEN coronavirus hyphenated 2019, owning it, many thought Covid-19 a passing global health anomaly, until China reluctantly admitted that the virus shared a genetic code with the dreaded severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that killed countless of its citizens in 2003. Surprisingly transparent, China shared laboratory findings with disease centers all over the world. More importantly, it locked down and quarantined Wuhan, from whence the virus originated, averting the spread of the contagion in China itself. This was year-end 2019 and beginning 2020. Happy new year!

Not in the United States. As usual, the world looked up to America for guidance with its vast resources, expertise and the technological muscle to defeat this contagion. But the world failed to consider America's president irresponsibly trivializing the contagion and downplaying the scourge despite the mounting numbers of Americans infected and dying. The US abdicated its leadership role, surrendering its prerogatives to China whose lockdowns and quarantines proved to be effective and became the template for impeding the spread of the pandemic, pending the introduction of a vaccine.

Trump took a different path, repudiating a federally authorized nationwide lockdowns and quarantines as business-averse, anti-democratic and impinging on the sacred constitutionally protected rights of Americans in their pursuit of life, liberty, happiness...blah, blah, blah!

Trump pursued "Operation Warp Speed" production of vaccine as America's deus ex machina that was to eradicate the scourge, aside from his demented idea of "injections of disinfectants and cleaning liquids and ultra-violet lights inside the body."

This trade-off for the cherished American concept of individual freedoms versus quarantines proved to be disastrous to American lives. Experts now agree that had lockdowns and quarantine been mandated while simultaneously accelerating vaccine production, more than two-thirds of American lives could have been saved. The vaccines were supposed to be available by year-end 2020. It didn't happen. Delays and bureaucratic hurdles pushed availability to the first quarter of 2021, though in limited quantities under an emergency use authorization (EUA). By this time, the pandemic had unleashed its fury, devastating the world's economies, causing 180 million infections and killing almost 4 million. Six hundred thousand of these were Americans, the greatest number of deaths globally. This was year-end 2020 and beginning 2021. Happy new year!

Year-end 2021

Today, I am ensconced with the American half of my family, for months isolated in a farming community, away from the big cities. We have all been vaccinated — including my grandchildren, 6, 8 10 years old. But we have this dark pall of dread hovering over us. We don't feel safe. The best minds in America foresee this highly transmissible mutation with mild symptoms to replace the much deadlier Delta variant. Like the common cold, people can't avoid catching this — but the top health and medical American guru, Dr. Anthony Fauci, declares that Omicron is much less severe and could peak by late January, no longer posing a fatal threat. I don't believe them! At year-end, a record-breaking daily average of 386,004 Americans were infected with a daily morbidity rate of 1,300 — mimicking similar figures in late 2020.

I see all around us even in this small community people oblivious to the peril. American media has been reporting that those seriously infected by Omicron are mostly the unvaccinated ones (38 percent), who boastfully call themselves in macabre fashion the "great unvaxxed." "They remain defiant as Omicron spreads among the 39 million adult population who have yet to get their first dose and 15 percent of these people (5.85 million) are at the greatest risk of illness and death overwhelming hospitals already full of Covid patients." (New York Times, Dec. 25, 2021)

Pandemic's legacy

But this column is not just about the pandemic per se. It is about how Covid impacts our lives from hereon in. The dominant leitmotif that Covid imposed was redefining the majesty of death and its associated rituals injecting the pre-eminence of fear, compelling a renewed appreciation of our own mortality. In the past two years, Covid and non-Covid morbidities took away more than two dozen of my intimates — classmates, friends and families. In the lingo of my septuagenarian peers, "...we are the venerable vulnerable, transitioning from the pre-departure area." And those temporarily left behind live with their terrors undiminished, condemned to adhere to a strict observance of Covid protocols, perhaps for the rest of our lives.

Wakes and funerals

Traditional Filipino death social gatherings particularly in the barrios are large and sometimes raucous complete with their own unique etiquette; the drama of bidding goodbye by loud public wailing and tearing out the hair; hovering over the remains with muttered prayers and soft tears; and reaffirming bonds with the immediate family with caresses. Now banned!

Reconnecting people one hasn't seen in decades requires close physical presence; enemies exchanging forgiveness for longstanding hurts, mostly "en pectore," the deceased as central alibi to correct such social negligence; these are essentials to expressing bereavement and loss. Today cremations are de rigueur, and funeral densities are prescribed, counter-intuitive to paying one's respects to ashes in a vase.

The nightly novena prayers are reduced to cold, antiseptic and impersonal Zoom internet apps substituting for what was intended to be a warm and intimate portrayal of shared sadness and sorrow with those left behind.

A bizarre Christmas 2021

But for my family in America, Covid cruelly restricted our Christmas celebrations. For one, we can't attend a Simbang Gabi as going to church exposes one to Omicron lurking somewhere. We are in a perpetual state of fear of infection.

Religious festivities are central to Christian countries, like the Philippines and America. Christmas is the birth of baby Jesus, our redeemer, but celebrated mostly for kids. Commercialized by the West, we brooked no expenses to make this one day, every year, a memorable and festive one. Enter Santa, who operates from the North Pole with his army of elves producing toys 364 days of the year and with his reindeer-driven sleigh delivers presents to only the good boys and girls on Christmas Eve. He doesn't deliver to Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu children.

My grandkids may have already convinced themselves that Santa will not be visiting this time due to the international Covid travel restrictions but will send presents via UPS. Santa may not have been vaccinated and could pick up Omicron in these travels. He could be anti-vaxx or worse, may already be quarantined somewhere. I'm afraid that by the time Covid goes away, my grandkids will have grown up discovering for themselves that Santa is fictional. This spells his death. And that a host of other narratives portrayed in the Christmas story were mostly fictional and have been embellished over the millennia. ("A politically correct Christmas story?" The Manila Times, Dec. 27, 2017). But I will not share this version with Max, Javier, Sylvie, Oliver, Claudie and Sabine just yet.

I couldn't remember a bad Christmas, ever. But with the Delta variant and now Omicron, 2021's was a bad one. With God's grace we will survive this latest mutation — hoping that 2022 will be better than 2021, 2020 and 2019.

Be safe, all!

WITH what is developing in the political scene President Duterte appears to be just a partial lame duck. His failure to field a presidential ticket, first time ever for a political party in power, caused chiefly by his own bumbling moves passing for a political strategy, although tragic, can still be salvaged.

He can still save the day by endorsing a presidential candidate, instruct his compliant PDP-Laban faction to adopt the chosen one and negotiate the continuance of whatever part of his legacy he wants perpetuated. Presidential endorsement with all the pelf, power and logistics behind it can influence outcomes. Some of the five presidentiables could be benefited, or it could spell a kiss of death to some. But it's no longer solely the President's play, the initiative no longer his – the way it could have been had daughter Sara acquiesced and not shown defiance against the wishes of Tatay and run for president and with surrogate son Bong Go as a spare. Political reality intervened distorting the Deegong's well-laid plans — if ever there was one. Still a serendipitous opportunity may have opened up for the President to still wield a modicum of influence in electing his successor. And again, the DDS-Fist Bumpers may attribute this to the President's political genius, deluding themselves into believing that this was Deegong's intent and strategy — ab initio!

Whom and when to endorse

BBM's is a no brainer, for several reasons. Duterte's own father was once in Marcos' Cabinet. His allowing the reburial of the patriarch defined these close family ties. But the more crucial factor is that BBM is currently leading in the polls with Sara's help. Nevertheless, Duterte's endorsement would prove to be marginal and will be perceived by the Marcos camp as simply a validation of an already "sure winner."

But the negative flipside of late is the declaration by the Deegong himself that BBM is a weak leader, a drug user, a cocaine head, and a scion of a family of "kawatans" — a harsh and hurtful indictment. But Bongbong and Imee, both accomplished politicians, may dismiss these remarks today as an understandable consequence of the Marcoses putting one over Sara, forcing her to slide down at the last minute as BBM's VP instead of the other way around. The same endorsement could be glossed over within the context of "politics is addition." But not after BBM wins, if ever. All bets are off. There will be hell to pay. And Duterte knows this.

He speaks with forked tongue

It is public knowledge that Isko Moreno is salivating for the Deegong's endorsement after the withdrawal of Bong Go from the presidential race. "Kung ako and mapupusuan nila, oi salamat..." (If I am the one chosen, thank you in advance. Rappler, Nov. 30, 2021.) But in the same breathe, it too is public knowledge that Isko Moreno has been badmouthing the President since his own declaration of a presidential run, criticizing Duterte's despotic tendencies, the drug war killings particularly in Manila where he is the "yorme," and belittling the President's pandemic response, at one time playing to the audience as he invited the President to come to his turf in Moriones, Tondo to prove his "tapang" (bravery or manliness) — or something to that effect in a scathing challenge in the vernacular in a video clip that went viral. "Hindi naman kayo nakikinig. Bungol naman kayo...'yung mga pasangano-sanganong sagot, nabili na 'yan, kumita na 'yan nuong 2016 (You don't listen. You are deaf. Your bravado and bluster in 2016 are passé...no longer sells)."

Isko is now singing a different tune. At one time, he boasted he would be appointing Duterte into his cabinet if he wins. Before Duterte's withdrawal from the senatorial race, he offered to adopt him in his senatorial slate.

This turnaround by Isko reveals the real image of the man — a profile in inconsistency of a traditional politician, a political chameleon changing his color at will, depending on the circumstances and opportunities that present themselves. What a waste for a young man whose narrative followed the winning classic plot of a poor man from the slums of Tondo to the mayoralty of his city and a stab at the country's presidency.

The verbal joust is not one-sided as PRRD also referred to Isko as a small-time actor, a bit player hinting at his sexy (pornographic) screen roles being degenerate. There seems to be no love lost between the two but the onus at reconciliation is on Isko as an opportunity has offered itself with the Deegong disparaging the frontrunning BBM.

The also-rans

If polls were the only guidelines, Manny the pambansang kamao and Ping, the crime fighter, will not rate Duterte's endorsement. Both are struggling with their single-digit numbers. And the former with a false pretense at nonchalance really needs Duterte's nod for him to cross over to the fighting column or face a TKO on his presidential ambition. With his recent mumbo-jumbo underscored by inane religious undertones, he declared "Kung ie-endorso ako, walang problema. Pagkakaisa naman ang isinusulong natin kasi biblical naman 'yan eh. ...[If] a kingdom is divided against themselves, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided, that house cannot stand" (ABS-CBN News, Dec. 1, 2021). Duterte's tiff with Manny is not that serious and easily repairable. It might even heal the wounds inflicted by the split of the majority party, PDP-Laban, and bring the two factions together. But this could prove to be an exceptionally long shot.

On the other hand, the Lacson-Sotto slate prefers to follow an independent path — explaining vaguely that the same "should be earned, and never demanded...and not asking for the endorsement of the President was [our] way of sustaining [our] 'self-dignity';" leaving ajar a possible testimonial of some sort, although anticipating that they will not get it, either which way. Their numbers are at the tail end and even a presidential endorsement cannot advance them that much — soiling the president's reputation as a political strategist.

The Leni factor

But the President has always operated mostly in unpredictable and shocking ways, mostly for dramatic effect. Endorsing Leni though mind-boggling may be one of these. The Deegong may be laying the groundwork with his reported recent pronouncement, appearing in social media, praising the vice president for her quick response to Typhoon "Odette": "'Pag sinabi kong weak leader, weak leader talaga 'yan, tingnan ninyo, where is Bongbong? Baka nag sisinghot singhot na naman. Mas isog (matapang) pa si Inday. Lupig (talo) pa sya ng babae. Speaking of [babae], I would like to thank the office of the Vice President and si Leni for setting aside our politics and helping our kababayans in Mindanao and Visayas." If not fake news, this could be the precursor of a tie-breaker — the Pinks would wish!

My conjecture is, like the Iglesia ni Kristo (INK) and even the appointed son of God, he might endorse the winning candidate at the last moment leaving a semblance of an image, the "king maker"!

Or the Deegong could just stay put, do nothing, and let the protagonists destroy each other — and he picks up the pieces after.

IN my Dec. 8, 2021, column, in the section "The rape of PDP-Laban," I anticipated the withdrawal of Duterte from the Senate race: "The Cusi-DU30 faction was stripped of a presidential and vice-presidential ticket, inducing similarly inclined candidates whose options may just be to withdraw, leaving DU30 by his lonesome as its senatorial bet. He may eventually have to withdraw, turning the scenario into a full-scale tragedy with the administration candidates in limbo, waiting for who the Deegong will support from among other political parties. This, in effect, is a virtual 'self-rape' of the PDP-Laban."

Thus, it has come to pass, but for the shortsighted diehard DDS and ignorant fist-bumping hordes who swear by the President's genius at political strategy, what was displayed as "strategic moves" was just political slapstick — clumsy attempts by a lame duck president at relevance. Perhaps he should have comprehended that this craving for relevance at the waning of his presidency — which is natural in exiting administration — will not be satiated by his continued presence either as a future vice president or even the president of the Senate. His significance to the political environment and more importantly to the life of Filipinos is best ascertained through the fruits of what he has planted over his incumbency. And history will be the sole and ultimate judge.

Conflicting concerns

The president's political initiatives at the closing episodes of his presidency were understandably meant to perpetuate his legacy through his own political dynasty with an eye to his own protection for the next six years — owing to the International Criminal Court's preparing human rights violation charges when he leaves office. PRRD was confident that things would fall in place and his family toeing the line by imposing primarily his paternal influence. Sara was there to succeed him with Sen. Bong Go (SBG) as the princeling-in-waiting (he failed), though he succeeded locally with his sons, Paolo and Baste.

As an initial gambit, the possibility of an SBG-Duterte ticket was circulated. It was meant to be a joke – and PRRD knew it, but only the DDS-fist bumpers bought it. With PDP-Laban's acquiescence, Pacquiao and Koko were first disposed of, leaving the party available for Sara. She didn't bite. This has always been the Deegong's dream team — Sara-SBG. When Sara filed her CoC for Davao City mayor, the s**t hit the fan. So, the strategist hastily installed another willing stooge, Senator Bato (Mr. Mockery), and SBG — just in case Sara changes her mind. With these puerile attempts, the political strategist may have eroded his legacy — for whatever it's worth. But in the end, his withdrawal from his senatorial bid signals, to me at least, the man after all and in the end has succumbed to his better judgment and to the interest of all.

A legacy

Further examination will conclude that the Deegong has done well by many indicators and will be remembered and, perhaps even more, appreciated in the coming years when the cobwebs of political trauma have cleared. No need to qualify his accomplishments now — from Build, Build, Build to articulating an independent foreign policy course — but simply to note that the greater majority of our people placed their trust in him. And this crucial metric hovering at an unprecedented 80 percent approval rating has been sustained. This is as obvious as any legacy he wishes to leave behind. 

vIt is just unfortunate, especially for us Centrist Democrats (CD) and many like-minded voters who were attracted to his candidacy in 2015-2016 by his advocacies on pursuing political reforms, that he did not follow these through. Our position has always been towards a long-term sustainable solution to the ills of Philippine society — not simply as panacea. I wrote these back then:

"Duterte was propelled to the presidency partly on his campaign commitment to a set of political reforms, including establishing a federal system of government. It was assumed that the President would keep his word, ushering all these under his promise of "pagbabago." But somewhere along the way he dropped the ball, degrading his agenda into mere motherhood statements — amounting to nothing.

"One paramount shared advocacy is federalism, a systemic reformatting of the political structures overarching most of the problems and perversions of our government and society. We reluctantly accepted a traditional politician possessing the political will to transform our cherished but dysfunctional democratic institutions, and even destroy the vestiges of his own kind. This is a paradox, a traditional politician, candidate Duterte vowing to dismantle traditional politics using traditional means. Parliamentary federalism through constitutional revisions was a battle cry we responded to from the presidential candidate from the very start."

This would invariably need the overhaul of the 1987 Constitution to dismantle the scaffolding upon which all these are braced. I draw heavily from the Centrist Democrats (CD) ideological perspective calling for systemic changes to the political, economic and cultural underpinnings of Philippine society.

The Senate proved to be the stumbling block to these changes to the Constitution. To be relevant, he can still use his influence and the full force of government to push for the presidential candidate and the potential senators who would fulfill his original advocacies for political reforms which should include the eradication not only of the oligarchy's political influence and political dynasties but for the other ills plaguing Philippine society. This despite his having created his own political dynasty.

A siren's call

Consequently, he need not be goaded by his minions into continued involvement in current politics, which is turning out to be akin to the clumsy and bumbling Keystone Cops-like burlesques and deadly to what he hopes to leave behind. He deserves to be above all this.

Admittedly, the Deegong was going to win hands down as a senatorial candidate. But this is at best anticlimactic to his four decades-long political journey, particularly to his stint as the country's strong man. He will not wield that kind of power and influence among 23 others in the Senate compared to when he was alone at the top of the totem pole. But it was a lonely place up there. A strong-willed despot is wont to make a lot of bad moves. And he did. Appreciating this fact and acting on it could be his ultimate class act. Now he has five months to "cross the T's and dot the I's" of his administration. He will of course still be subject to the temptation of politics — a siren's song. It is in his blood. It is the nature of the beast. But his withdrawal from the Senate race is a grand act.

And the lure of history and how he will be judged may prove to be too seductive even for this alpha-male. At the twilight of his reign, I am confident he will do the right thing. With that, the people from Davao, his old schoolmates and perhaps more importantly, his subdivision neighbor like myself, will welcome him with warm and open arms.

The man needs to rest, sit on his laurels and perhaps like me, cherish his grandkids.

Welcome back to Davao, Mr. President!

UNLESS more earth-shaking developments on the Philippine political front appear, this column will digress to chronicle life in and around suburban Baltimore, Maryland, where I am currently carving out the last leg of my professional career — grandfatherhood — not in the mold of a doting Filipino Lolo, hovering over Pinoy "tsikitings," but presiding over highly independent-minded American-born and -bred miniature versions of adults with proclivities of their own. Every day is an exercise in negotiations with 6-8-10-year-olds who fancy themselves your co-equals whose spaces into which one can't simply intrude. At 7:30 a.m. every weekday, the battle to get them off to school begins with Oliver's declarations: "I hate Monday mornings," and "I hate school" some other days. And "I hate Wednesdays" at mid-week. The middle child, Sylvie, is the hardest to rouse from bed. I don't see her smile in the mornings. Surprisingly, the eldest, Max, has of late been helpful, scraping the snow off the car's windshield, but his demeanor respecting the elders is left to be desired.

Philippine setting

God! I miss the mornings in the Philippines when the yayas do these chores, dressing the kids up, feeding them a hurried breakfast but conveniently driven off in the family van by a driver, a routine interrupted only by the year of online schooling in Davao at the height of Covid. Here at Reisterstown after school, one can barely communicate with them as they are all absorbed with their devices, IPads and cellphones doing "Minecraft," the internet application whose creator should have been arrested, drawn and quartered. During homework, bath and dinner times, the negotiations persist until lights out; only to resume the next morning captured in a time-loop — mimicking the movie "Groundhog Day."

In the Philippines, grandparents are with kids only for brief periods for fun and games, after which, tired but fulfilled, they are dispatched back to their parents and eventually to the yaya. Not in America! Lolo (that's me) and Momsie (Lola Sylvia) are the grandparents-cum-yaya taking the slack off the parents, who are both professionals working from home for corporate entities in the Philippines.

American suburbia

In my earlier Facebook postings and columns, still jet-lagged, I narrated the exciting first few days of life in an American farming community. With travel cobwebs cleared, we are settled on a regular routine subject to the rhythms of life in the semi-rural community of Reisterstown in Baltimore County, 45 minutes off the seaport metropolis.

This American county of 25,000 souls is equivalent to Calinan, a barrio where I grew up, now elevated to a barangay of Davao City with a population of 24,000. But the similarity ends here. The difference in the demographics between the two sites in economic, social and political metrics is equivalent to the gap between heaven and earth. Reisterstown is what I envision Calinan could be transformed into given the right type of political leadership and restructuring we should be allowed to choose.

By definition, American rural communities are expanded outside of populated urban areas with large open spaces containing few houses with neighbors far out of shouting distance. Primarily agricultural, its inhabitants work on farms and ranches, where wildlife is abundant due to a sparse population augmented by strict laws governing the preservation and protection of natural habitats. An example is the nearby county of Monkton — a horse- raising community where grand houses and estates still breed horses for racing. According to one blue-nose family who lived in that area dating back to the 1800s, six families only own one 2,000-acre (809 hectares) area.

On the other hand, some of these communities, not necessarily farming ones, are mixed-use or residential areas, encroached by a city -- an urbanized area within commuting distance of a metropolis where the inhabitants work. These are then called the suburbs — adjacent to urban sprawl. A little bit confusing, but people here know who they are and pay taxes to the right entity — a far cry from many Filipino urban, suburban, or rural dwellers who evade taxes, "kung makakalusot." These taxes are what fuel the better-than-average municipal amenities and local government services to its inhabitants.

Government subsidiarity

Philippine suburban growth follows a general pattern of middle-class migration from city centers, but the similarities with the American suburb would end there. Take Manila, the country's premier city. Currently, just one of the 16 cities comprising Metro Manila, the latter has grown to 14 million people today, swelling by another 3 million in the daytime by an influx of suburban population working in the cities. But one phenomenon attributable to Third World countries is that similar capital metropolises (provincial and regional hubs) bulged due to the constant migration from rural areas and other smaller cities in the country seeking jobs and economic opportunities, straining further the already burdened public services. Many of these people are constrained to live in the inner cities and "slums." The middle class are either driven toward an urban sprawl, or create enclaves within these metropolises called subdivisions or "gated communities," or simply live in expensive high-rise apartments.

Which brings me partly to the point of this column. We don't seek to mimic American suburbanization patterns. But the glaring differences are the political structures by which local governments and cities are run, impacting their overall growth — population, income and services.

Basically, this redounds to the ability of their political leadership to run their cities autonomously the way they see fit, limited only by the mandates of its citizenry and its laws. The Philippine political system is highly centralized with the decision-making process structured from top to bottom, with the locals not so much involved but simply assenting to the same.

Researching here in my "free library office," Reisterstown and most towns in America simply implement government subsidiarity and autonomy similar to what I have been advocating in my past columns.

Simply put, the US system first localized their concept of democracy to the neighborhood level, making it easy for its citizens to make small decisions; a bottoms-up approach precipitating ideas and concerns elevating the same to the next higher level. In our case, from our barangay to the municipio, to the ciudad and probinsya. These processes allow better understanding of local issues unique to that community-producing solutions that are more responsive to their needs. We, Centrist Democrats (CD) call this principle "Pinatubo — not Pinatulo"!

Central to all these is the granting of taxation authorities and disbursements of the same with strict proper accountability. The whole concept needs a restructuring of our political system focusing not only on a leap of faith for our people's ability to govern themselves but to coat these with legal articulations.

Back in the Philippines, I don't see any of the presidential candidates outline these concepts, advocating the methods necessary to implement the same when elected. The CDs have been labeling these as subsidiarity and autonomy towards an eventual federal Philippines.

So simple yet not propounded by Bongbong, Leni, Isko, Manny and Ping.

IN the weeks I have been ensconced in a sprawling farmhouse in a bucolic community with gentrified neighbors miles apart where horses are paddocked and cattle enclosed within corrals with wild deer roaming about freely, I find myself puttering around the estate, occupied with chores, which was why my daughter, Lara, had insisted that we spend the holidays with them in the first place. Since we have no yayas (nannies), Sylvia and I take turns hovering over our grandchildren, Oliver, Sylvie and Max, aged 6, 8 and 10, respectively, chauffeuring them to and from school — if their mom is not available. Their dad Matt is an excellent chef, concocting culinary wizardry to the delight of the children who have been taught to distinguish between coq au vin, pot-au-feu and tinolang manok. The couple work online from home with occasional sorties to NYC and the west coast as fintech for Philippine conglomerates where the time difference between Baltimore and Manila deprives them of much needed sleep.

Lolo the chauffeur

Thus, some days I drop them off at school at 9:05 a.m., picking them up around 4:05 p.m. The queuing at the school driveway is a study in military precision where each car is allowed only a minute in the drop-off zone where driving moms, dads and lolos frantically hustle their kids to disembark or board the vehicles. Between hatid and sundo, I spend a quiet time in a place I discovered near a Target store with a Starbucks inside for my regular dose of cappuccino grande. The Baltimore County Public Library, my "rent-free office," courtesy of the good tax-paying people of Baltimore welcoming temporary residents like me, boasts of an array of the latest computers with fast internet, all available to library card holders, allowing access to social media and all sorts of periodicals and books, a far cry from our public libraries in the Philippines. I had been to one years back, and that was it! And I pay my fair share of taxes regularly.

Which brings my thoughts back to our country, especially at this time when we are given the opportunity to pick the right people to govern us. In my semi-isolation in this quaint community, I seldom meet Filipinos, and those that I do, absent from home due to the pandemic, are curious about local happenings: the presidential elections for one and how the popular president has been messing it up as his strategy; of course, Covid-19 and how our country is coping; and surprise of all surprises — the fate of the appointed son of God, charged in the US for sex trafficking. These issues are interrelated but not necessarily in the order of importance.

Omicron

Last Thursday (Manila time), the first Covid-19 Omicron variant was detected in California on a fully vaccinated traveler from South Africa. Anthony Fauci, the eminence grise of US health, said authorities "knew it was just a matter of time" before this strain hit the US, reminding Americans that vaccination, boosters and the observance of strict anti-Covid protocol remains the best defense. On the other hand, many experts agree that the advent of the Omicron variant could signal the end to this deadly scourge.

Like the common cold infecting millions but killing none, Omicron causes mild symptoms that disappear in a few days, leaving the infected population with sufficient antibodies in their immune system. This is a good development, according to medical experts in the fight against mutating variants from Covid-19, with the Delta variant to Omicron eventually ushering in the pandemic's demise.

The wrath of Quiboloy

But not to the Philippines' disease polymath par excellence. The appointed son of God warned that the world will suffer a fate "much worse than the Omicron virus" if he is continuously "hurt and persecuted... on the sex charges filed against him by US authorities, using his influence as religious chief to entice or coerce girls and young women to have sex with him during what they termed as 'night duties'." (PDI, Nov. 29, 2021) These charges have been denied by Quiboloy who also happens to be PRRD's spiritual adviser.

With his direct heavenly connection, he will cause the appearance of "flesh-eating bacteria immune to any vaccine" that will descend upon his alleged persecutors who make a mockery of him. With his intercession, the Covid-19 D-variant, and now Omicron, are only introductory evidence of his power.

"The day of the Lord is here — do not ever play a joke or continue to pursue the persecution of the appointed son because the Father in heaven has already declared through the appointed son. No one can escape this." (PDI, Nov. 29, 2021) World, be forewarned!

For the skeptics they may be reminded that the good reverend stopped the earthquake from devastating a southern Mindanao province in 2019, by simply declaring "earthquake, stop!"

The rape of PDP-Laban

In the genre of politics as pornography, we have of late witnessed the travails of the dominant political party — the PDP-Laban. Founded in 1982 by the late senator 'Nene' Pimentel and Southern Mindanao colleagues, it reached its apex upon the Deegong's recruitment and consequent ascent to the presidency. Hoping to extend his influence and legacy, the President as the chief strategist choreographed the rise of daughter Sara as the heir-apparent with his surrogate son, Bong Go, as the princeling-in-waiting. But one did not get the memo. Sen. Koko Pimentel instead staged-managed the PDP-Laban presidency of Manny Pacquiao, who already salivated for the Philippine presidency, thus unraveling PRRD's not so well laid plans — a daughter-father tandem with the latter as VP. Pacquiao/Pimentel's initiatives provoked a party split. The schism further dampened Sara's already lukewarm attitude towards the PDP-Laban, prompting the Cusi-DU30 faction to craft a joke of a strategy — the Senators Bato-Go ticket — while still hoping for Sara would change her mind.

Sara boldly drove the last nail in the coffin of the Deegong's plan with her "last two minutes" move to run under Bongbong Marcos as his VP — enraging the President further to cause him to elevate Bong Go to president-designate, directing Bato to withdraw and he himself running for senator.

The last straw was Bong Go's complete surrender to the inevitable realization that he was never fit for the presidency in the first place, but for his loyalty to the badgering president who was "more than a father to me," he declared.

The Cusi-DU30 faction was therefore stripped of a presidential and vice-presidential ticket inducing similarly inclined candidates whose options may just be to withdraw, leaving DU30 by his lonesome as its senatorial bet. He may eventually have to withdraw, turning the scenario into a full-scale tragedy with the administration candidates from congress people to local executives in limbo, waiting for who the Deegong will support from among other political parties. This in effect is a virtual "self-rape" of the PDP-Laban.

As blood is thicker, he may have to swallow his words to advance his daughter's interest and go for one he has accused of being a cocaine dependent, from a "family of kawatans."

And this, from the genius of a political strategist! What a mess!

LAST week, I wrote about the mini saga of Sara Duterte-Carpio that started on Duterte's midterm when the intimations and the whispering of her succeeding the father as heir-apparent began to reverberate first among the political cognoscenti in Davao City; then spreading throughout the islands. The last few months witnessed the calculating Sara displaying what in hindsight, could now be considered as a feigned reluctance to go for the presidency, bolstered by the Deegong's statement seemingly with faux sincerity depicting a loving father's desire to protect a favorite child, asserting that the presidency is not for women. She had media eating out of her hands in the "on-again, off-again" moro-moro that dominated speculative politics for a good part of at least a year; until lured into what could only be deemed a gambit by the Marcos siblings, BBM and Imee, with the unwitting participation of GMA and the Lakas-CMD. Sara's "last two-minutes" move was a study in political timing – the seeming public denial hele-hele bago quiere, the CoC for mayoralty, the withdrawal of the same CoC, the last minute oath-taking with Lakas-CMD, a feather to GMA's cap, to the "almost-declaration" of her presidential candidacy. This game with the public's and her fans' emotional ebb and tide culminated in the one-week flurry of political masterstrokes. This one-week drama could rival that of any pandemic Korean telenovela except that Ferdinand Macoy's genius of a bloodline flows on the Marcos siblings. They saw or maybe even predicted Sara's last-minute moves, painting herself into a corner — ensnaring her at the end, perforce a forced VP run under a Marcos. The Marcoses came in with an all-in bet figuring Sara will not contest BBM on a MAD (mutually assured destruction) run for the presidency. This was Machiavellian at best applied to perfection.

Revival of a political divide

With these developments, the political divide has been somewhat defined. We now have the Marcos-Duterte firmly on one side tempting the opposition, if there is still one, to consolidate. This means the remaining presidential candidates may have to do some drastic recalibration and renegotiations. Offhand, Leni is now perceived to be the "true opposition," for whatever its worth as the rest are seen as "royal opposition" what with Isko promising the Deegong a cabinet post and Manny reportedly reconciling with the lame duck presidency. Perhaps, Ping can equate with Leni, but his campaign is in the doldrums. This state of disarray has principally been exacerbated by our arcane electoral laws encouraging last-minute substitutions.

With Sara, ignominiously sliding down to VP, she has surrendered the initiative to BBM and will settle down as a "spare tire." Her status has changed drastically, not necessarily for the better. She is not even assured of winning the vice presidency hands down now. Her long-running melodramatic performance may have been overplayed, stretching the play and the patience of both her fans and the general public, and in the end turning into a mere political satire.

Duterte playing his last cards

Duterte, playing a part in this overall moro-moro, advising his daughter "kunwari" at first to stay away from the presidency, penetrated the veil of deception and saw what for him was the Marcos subterfuge perpetrated on Sara forcing her to take second fiddle even as she led BBM in the polls from the very start. This precipitated a wild illogical reaction resulting in Bong Go, the son he never had, to give up his VP candidacy for the presidency and meet BBM head-on, while Duterte himself runs for senator.


As a digression, for the cinema aficionado, this reminds one of "The Devil's Advocate" where Al Pacino's character, John Milton, the devil himself, conspired with fate to have his daughter, Christabella Andreoli, portrayed erotically by Connie Nielsen, to procreate with her brother, Kevin Lomax, Keanu Reeves' character, to protect and perpetuate the Devil's legacy.

Political pairings

Now the political daggers are unsheathed. The fentanyl-using President has viciously attacked the erstwhile ally BBM as a cocaine-using cokehead and a weak leader. This singular character assassination attempt by the President himself has established BBM as the frontrunner. The other candidates must be salivating for similar assaults by an outgoing chief executive refocusing much needed media attention on them. More importantly, the Marcoses are now absolved from defending the Duterte administration as part of its "utang na loob" for allowing the reburial of the Marcos patriarch. All bets are off for the Marcos siblings and the Duterte père. This could prove to be complicated and embarrassing for Sara.

The first among many clichés in Philippine electoral politics is a historical anomaly imposed by our forefathers — that of splitting the president and vice president slate. Except perhaps for GMA and Noli de Castro, voters split their choices.

Putting on center stage again the Marcos name evokes old enmities and awakens fear among those martial law denizens now mostly in Leni's corner, opening the possibility of this election season's first permutation, derailing the BBM-ISD tandem with two women at the helm — a Leni-Sara partnership. This could be the recalibrated move of the "yellow cum pink" and a fanciful strategy. This effectively discards BBM and Kiko Pangilinan from the equation. Seemingly impossible, but in politics, nothing is, and the final arbiters are the voters. And the Filipino voters, sadly the masa, are driven more by gambling instincts — last two or jueteng syndrome — a popular number's game, and a predilection for the popular.

A second permutation is a subscript from the narrative of the DDS and fist-bumping loyalists, the Bong Go-Sara dream team. This is what the Deegong lusts for to still be in virtual control or at least be the major influence in the next administration. With him pining for the Senate presidency and GMA the speakership of the lower house; this would assure Duterte's protection from the clutches of international courts for charges against human rights violations resulting from the anti-illegal drugs initiatives.

A third permutation is the opposition's capturing the two top positions, a remote possibility: a Leni-Kiko or a Leni-Sotto — whose numbers are pretty much lethargic nonetheless a possible offshoot of the deterioration of Marcos-Duterte alliance forged from the time of Ferdinand Macoy's re-burial at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani. Now the Deegong going for broke has labeled BBM's family as "kawatan." A sad end to a once thriving "lust affair."

Other permutations would depend solely upon the partisans' perception of the political flux emanating from the mockery of this election process triggered partly by the November 15 deadline for candidate substitutions. Through the splitting of the slate, a case can be made too for a BBM-Sotto, Isko-Sotto, Manny-Sotto, Ping-Sara — all possibilities but as remote as the polls have shown so far.

On the other hand, these musings are probably borne of jet lag after my 16-hour direct PAL flight from Manila to New York. Meantime, I look forward to enjoying my Christmas holidays and a skiing vacation in the kiddie slopes with my American grandchildren. The convoluted election circus campaign in the 'Pinas and Covid-19 be damned!

I WAS totally wrong! That the substitution game no longer dominates the political conversation was erroneous as shown when Sara Duterte-Carpio withdrew her mayoralty bid, resigned from Hugpong and joined Lakas-CMD, all in the span of four days. And declared ___?

I am writing on board PR126 bound for the US to visit my grandchildren. By the time I enter US airspace (Saturday, Manila time), the political tectonic plate may have shifted in the Philippines. In whose favor, I can only conjecture as we still have until November 15 for candidates to change their minds — making a mockery of these elections.

Leaving PH airspace

(Dateline PR126, somewhere in the Pacific, Friday)

Still a columnist's compulsion to discern the implications are overwhelming. Everything is in a flux; realities may drastically change upon my arrival at JFK. Meantime I can merely speculate but will trim this column based on new developments — on the ground, literally.

With Sara taking her oath as Lakas-CMD, there is no way for her but to go for the big enchilada — the presidency. This indeed is a coup by the traditional politicians —Romualdez, Revilla and the master traditional politico of them all — Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA), who would most probably be speaker of the house in a Sara administration. But again, I could be wrong on both.

Bongbong Marcos (BBM) may have to redo their war plans if he goes head-to-head with Sara. Both could lose — canceling each other. This is a zero-sum game. But with the Marcos resources and their presumed "solid North" in the bag, this election could prove to be very heated — the South versus the North with hard pickings for either in between — but over-all a fatal one for the Marcos and Duterte forces and a boon for the opposition.

But if BBM slides down to VP now — which is very unlikely — then we have an heir apparent – conveniently and comfortably repairing the Marcos name with BBM firmly at the helm by 2028 — if he can wait that long. Such a script includes the collapse of the Duterte PDP-Laban faction with Bato and Go folding, leaving the Comelec to decide on the Pacman as the official PDP-Laban standard bearer — merely a consolation prize.

In all of these hullabaloo which at first was entertaining but now verging on the banal, one thing is certain. Sara has been playing her game all along keeping her intent and next moves only to herself undoubtedly following the father's playbook in 2016 — putting everyone on tenterhooks, pulling a surprise at a propitious moment, maintaining her place in the media's eyesight, perforce the voter's consciousness. This is the perfect playbook model for any political PR team to concoct. But this could solely be Sara's. Because it involves surreptitious moves which until now people believe her to be incapable of execution.

The other presidentiables would kill for this kind of media attention but Leni, Ping, Isko and Manny may not have the resources, save for BBM, whose family's fortunes intriguingly float around, confirmed in some bizarre way by their matriarch, Imelda, in one of her odd interviews.

This singular act of Sara, has placed her at the head of the pack, the cynosure, with the rest reduced to reacting, trimming their campaign strategies, and scrambling for whatever opportunities may come their way. But five months is an eternity for sustaining this Sara-centricity. She still has to establish herself as a real no-nonsense leader — interpreting her local achievement as mayor and communicating this effectively to the national stage — beyond the shadow of a maverick of a father. The next few polls will merely be a collective photograph of this week's act — propelling Sara to the top. But to sustain a trend, she has to go beyond the hype and do something extraordinary and more substantial. The 2016 presidential campaign serves as a case in point on how VP Jojo Binay led for months until the rest of the pack tore him to shreds. This is a template tempting to the current pack of wannabes who may likewise unsheathe their daggers — reverting back to the traditionally dirty politics practiced for generations. But I believe that the candidate who chooses to run a different campaign, extolling his or her qualifications, confronting the others head-on on issues on what the country needs and elevating the political discourse to a higher plane, may still have the time to reverse a trend in his or her favor. This is a gain for the country and the pattern of behavior that we hope will emerge will contribute to the continued emancipation of voters from ignorance and the sordid electoral practices imposed on them by the traditional politicians for generations.

Overtaken by events

(Dateline JFK, 11:30 p.m. local time Friday)

I was partly wrong! Upon landing at JFK my streaming service just announced Sara filed her CoC for vice president under Lakas-CMD, her new party, and forthwith adopted by BBM's Federal Party in its slate. Wow! She just did a "last two-minutes" — for someone who said she wouldn't. Could this augur well for her personally in terms of her credibility. Could her promises as a politician be trusted? Well, she could always say that a woman has the prerogative to change her mind — setting back women's lib and her trust rating. Be that as it may, she did indeed surprise everyone and warmed the cockles of BBM's heart — his campaign derisive of the tyros in her camp who must have been advising Sara all along.

But here, Sara is dead wrong! And too late to correct this terminal error. Leading in the polls over BBM, she must have thought the presidency within her grasp, confident that BBM would slide down to VP. She withdrew her CoC for Davao mayor, installed her brother in her stead, left her political party, Hugpong, and succumbed to the wiles of the tradpols at Lakas-CMD who must have massage her ego perfectly well — assuring her of the top post. She painted herself into a corner with no room to maneuver. Bongbong Marcos got her where he wants her with a Marcosian declaration: "May kilala ba kayong Marcos na umatras?" Thus, ending Sara's preeminence. BBM can now use her popularity, the Duterte clout and possibly her machinery and reduce Sara to a spare tire. I take my hat off to BBM — and sister Imee — who must have thought this scenario through. But I commiserate with Sara, who I truly like. But then, my conjectures may be proven wrong after my column's printing deadline.

Collateral damage

Another aftershock is with the Deegong's PDP-Laban faction — utterly left in shambles, particularly their presidential and VP slate. It has to be reconstituted, in particular discarding like a wet rag their presidential standard bearer — Mr. Mockery himself. They still have up to midnight of Monday, November 15, to conjure up something. But the tragedy here is this ideological party founded by Mindanaonons led by Nene Pimentel has been reduced to a shell of its former self. The man must be turning in his grave.

THE way things are shaping up, the political environment is in a flux and chaotic at best, but some blurred images are clearing up. The November 15 Comelec deadline, closing the window for candidate substitutions, no longer dominates the political conversation. Sara Duterte-Carpio's decision to remain local and the much-hyped Cebu meeting with Bongbong Marcos (BBM) have put a damper on the guessing game distorting the political scene thus far, favoring BBM's candidacy and touting a formidable Luzon-Mindanao combination crafted in Cebu purportedly sewing up the Visayan votes. But any one candidate's breakaway is still too early in the game. Recalling 2016, VP Jojo Binay was the early favorite. The final tally gave Binay the third place after a no-holds-barred exchange of ad hominems with Mar Roxas, who shot up to number two in the closing weeks — both candidates neglecting to keep track of Duterte, who sneaked in. The same scenarios could play out with Leni Robredo or the three others currently eating BBM's dust.

The daughter's exit

Sara's persistent refusal to enter into direct combat was a great relief to the BBM camp. With her numbers going through the roof, the game for now is to divine to whom these numbers will be awarded. BBM's camp has the edge as Sara's regional political party, the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), has thrown its support behind BBM. But then again, all politics are local, and with this dictum, some political analysts are speculating that HNP may not be that influential in regional politics. Sara's HNP was almost annihilated in the last midterm elections, losing to the former House speaker Bebot Alvarez's Partido Reporma (PDR). Ping Lacson is chair of PDR, giving the Lacson-Sotto ticket an advantage. On their bailiwick, Sara and the Duterte dynasty will win — hands down — with practically just a token opposition. It's a different story outside Davao City however.

Another factor that could prove a hindrance to BBM's dominance is Mindanao's own — the Pambansang Kama-o. Votes will be split which may not favor BBM. And the Visayan votes could go to the "Bisdak" (Bisayang Dako) — Manny Pacquiao. And the other Mindanaoan whom the PDP-Laban Cusi faction sought to impose on and insult the voters, may just siphon off some votes, the majority from his bailiwick — in the upscale residential subdivision of Monteritz. But the betting is that Bato dela Rosa is likely to withdraw by November 15, hinting at an eventual BBM-Go slate. But this is an unlikely combination. Among the cognoscenti, it is a known fact that la fille Duterte supporting the Marcoses loathes Bong Go.

It is unlikely too that the touted "Sara factor" is going to add substantially to BBM in Luzon. The other four presidentiables (BBM-Leni-Ping-Isko) all come from there with their own solid bailiwicks — Ilocanos, Manileños and Bicolanos.

The sidelined president

No lameduck president will admit this. But in this election, he is! The symptoms are there. A confusing slew of indecisions remarkably undermining the strongman image he has carefully crafted — from an intent to run as vice president to an underling; to his subsequent withdrawal and declaration of retirement from politics; to a hint of now throwing his hat in the senatorial ring. This ambivalence and vacillation could be a panic reaction to the ongoing telenovela of a Senate inquiry exposing collusion with his Chinese friends on the Pharmally corruption scandal, pushing him into a corner, and the threat of an international investigation into the human rights violations once stripped of his presidential immunity.

The DDS and his PDP-Laban faction have been complicit feeding the President's hunger for relevance with its absurd scheme putting up Senator Bato as president, oblivious of the inconsistencies and impact on the campaign of BBM — the candidate that Sara and even the Deegong show some preference for.

This is what happens when a despot knows not how to exit the stage gracefully in these closing months, bungling his way about passing on his legacy to an anointed successor. He opens himself to being vulnerable to sycophants. Such is perhaps the reason also why he has packed his PDP-Laban faction senatorial slate with his cabinet members to the exclusion of "branded" senators who were once in his pocket but are now guest senatorial candidates to two or three other political parties — a phenomenon exclusive only to Philippine politics.

But I won't count Duterte out yet! He still has the enormous resources of the presidency and government under his thumb to tilt the presidential race to where he will be benefited the most. And Marcos is where he owes allegiance to and vice-versa; and a joker card in the deck, Bong Go. If there is any argument gauging Duterte's desire to be relevant, it is his fielding his devoted alter ego. But God help him if Go wins as VP under a President Leni. Even a President BBM will not favor a VP Go.

BBM

Which brings me to the extraordinary campaign strategy conducted by the young Marcos. Having a family name vilified for over three decades, their toxic impact has somehow been diminished over time. One half of the population was not born then and cannot relate now to the narratives of martial law. And the other half are in their mid to twilight years. Time has burned out the passions of those who lived under that regime, and memories have dimmed. The political icons of those days have passed on. But more importantly, the Marcoses persevered, perhaps aware that the systemic defects underlying our concepts of governance, including the justice system, can be outlasted by a determined family with resources and the fanatical compulsion to redeem its name. And what has helped is that the seven administrations, including the present one, that followed Ferdinand's have not gone on to correct the systemic anomalies and live up to the promises of 1986. The Marcoses instinctively understood that history is not written by the vanquished nor by the flawed victors — and that it is continually being written. And they are surreptitiously part of the authorship. In the end, history in its unbiased, impartial, dynamic and dispassionate character will confer its own verdict. By then, we may longer care. We will all be dead and gone.

But what is really intriguing is the response of the family, eloquently expressed by the young Marcos — their resilience! Faced with these assaults to their name, BBM chose to occupy the high ground, remain cool and cloaked himself with an armor of positive ideals and universal values; fashioning a language that is unifying, encompassing the hopes of a people tired and angry at the mundane, portraying an image of a statesman refusing to dispense the pedestrian promises of a politician.

Although motherhood statements, still they resonate with people aghast at the vitriol capriciously thrown by the other candidates. Thus, the constant negative attacks against the Marcoses, particularly at BBM, are deflected like Teflon, with the unintended effect of making him the political David — the underdog. Perhaps Leni, Ping, Manny and Isko may have to rethink their political strategies. Or, we will have the ghost of Ferdinand Macoy back.

But if the son can draw us all together and heal the wounds — why not?

Leni

I have never met Leni Robredo. I know little about her politics as a congresswoman and as a vice president where for six years Duterte made sure she would fail. She was a social activist, the darling of civil society. She grew into prominence after the untimely death of her husband, inheriting his populism mantle. Jesse Robredo was President Noynoy's Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, plucked from the provinces where he gained a legendary reputation as the much-loved tsinelas (flip-flop)-wearing mayor of Naga. Leni's scant legislative agenda centered on "empowering people," creating partnerships between local governments and nongovernment organizations and more transparency in government dealings. Having defeated a political dynasty in Camarines Sur, she supported an anti-dynasty bill, which was peremptorily killed in Congress.

In the Philippine personality-oriented politics, it was logical that one carries on the public role of a next of kin, as it were an inherited heirloom, as Leni did similar to PNoy after an iconic mother. Bongbong Marcos is, likewise, replicating the Ferdinand Marcos brand.

I worked with PNoy's mother in her cabinet and was one of the original Cory yellows in 1986 until it was hijacked by the son and converted into the "dilawan." ("Revisiting old forces," The Manila Times, Oct. 6, 2021). I have never met PNoy personally and was excluded from his administration in the six years that he was president.

Manny

I was never introduced to Manny Pacquiao. But I admire him as the "pambansang kama-o," proud of his achievements, burdened with a pedigree that in most societies would have guaranteed him failure. Despite the odds, he reached the heights never before attained by any Filipino in his profession. A billionaire boxing icon. Using his popularity, he cashed in to "serve the public" as congressman. Then proceeded to establish the dubious honor of being the top absentee with no bills or laws of note to his name. His constituency in Sarangani province was duped of representation in Congress.

Again, using his inventory of goodwill as an international athlete, he won a Senate seat, next salivating for the Philippine presidency, a position he believes is attainable solely by popularity and heavy pockets. Knowing his lack of formal education, he corrected this with all sorts of gimmicks to obtain an academic degree — which was not necessary, as presidents in the Philippines by law need only know how to read and write; and the Pacman had more brains and intellectual capacity than many of his peers. His political rise was fueled by prostituting himself as a member of seven or eight political parties. He became Duterte's attack dog, defending EJK on the war on drugs, protecting the President's son in a Senate smuggling hearing while quoting inanities from the bible, establishing his reputation as an ignorant evangelical. Having his plans for the presidency belittled by the President, he proceeded to ineloquently criticize Duterte's China policies and other programs provoking Duterte to label him an ignoramus.

Isko

Isko Moreno is not aware of my existence. I never met him. But his rise from the slums of Tondo to Metro Manila's mayor is admirable. He is seen as a no-nonsense local executive comparable to the Deegong, speaking the language of the masa with nary the expletives. Having been an actor, he understands the psyche of fans and has command of the crowds, toying superbly with them.

Another populist in the mold of his predecessor, the failed President Erap, he introduced an off-the-cuff economic program to revive the Philippine economy through a two-point mini-Marshall plan rehabilitating the MSMEs. Copied as a miniature version of the US reviving Europe after World War 2. A compendium of initiatives will be introduced relying on "creative financial engineering" applying a 5o percent tax cut on fuel and electricity; introducing a regime of LGU partnerships with national agencies to draw up economic rehab plans, giving out low-interest loans to LGUs. He grandiosely labeled this mumbo-jumbo of a menu of goodies as ISKOnomics.

BBM

I have not had the pleasure of meeting Bongbong. He doesn't know me from Adam. And that's fine. Nor have I met Ferdinand "Macoy," the father. But the Marcoses have been a feature in my political life since the mid-1960s. Macoy first came into my consciousness when he ran for president in 1965. I was enamored with his opponent, Raul Manglapus, who came in third after incumbent President Diosdado Macapagal. Raul recruited me to the Christian Social Movement where my political philosophy took root, anchored on the papal encyclicals and morphing into a body of thought under Christian Democracy.

The Marcos administration was initially welcomed, positioning the Philippines toward a type of growth that was in step with our Asian neighbors. Until his second term in 1969 when Philippine debt skyrocketed, social unrest became pervasive, corruption unbridled and effectively ending his second legal term on Sept. 21, 1972, when martial law was declared.

Ping

But I met Ping Lacson some months back. In 2004, he ran against the incumbent, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo disagreeing with his party, the dominant LDP, and causing a split. Some blamed him for siphoning off the votes from the second placer, Fernando Poe Jr., giving the win to GMA.

But what impressed people is that Ping Lacson refused to access the corruption-laden pork-barrel funds and returned his allocation of P2.4 billion back to the National Treasury. As such, he was not tainted with corruption scandals and served the Senate well.

Where do they stand?

In my six decades dabbling in politics, I participated in some ways in nine presidential elections from Carlos Garcia's time, tailing my father who was campaigning for Dadong Macapagal, who won. I learned about presidents' promises proffered to get votes, then do whatever pleases them once in power. Only the reluctant President Cory Aquino fulfilled a pledge — to bring back democracy. Which she did! The tragedy was that being a child of the elite from whence her family sprung, she merely revived that which Marcos killed. She could not provide a follow- through on the democratic concepts — being only "a housewife."

Matched against expectations and purged of my long-held biases, this column will attempt to scrutinize the candidates' promises. I want this election to be a fight between the principles of good and bad governance, not one between political families with the rest of us merely supporting actors. The potential victor must be able to unite all of us, despite ourselves.

Will Leni shed whatever color she has concocted to masquerade the "dilawan" image and live up to the unfulfilled promises of the once formidable Liberal Party? Will Ping go beyond the image of a corruption-free bureaucrat and capture the imagination of voters as a leader who has at last come into his own? Will Isko and Manny elevate themselves from their populist roots, their youth and become leaders for all? Will Bongbong fight his own battles and tread his own path away from the father's. Can Bongbong heal the deep wounds brought about by the martial law years and the resultant effects of the people power revolution?

My next few columns will mine the five wanabees' actuations hopefully reconciling my own post-1972 biases!