FPJ disqualification will benefit Ping and Roco

Ironically, an FPJ disqualification will most likely benefit Ping Lacson and Raul Roco, not GMA as some would like to think. Supporters of FPJ and many others believe the administration is behind the disqualification case. Manapat and Fornier are known to be linked with Joe Almonte, a close associate of FVR. They were also behind the disqualification case against Manila Mayor Fred Lim during the 1992 presidential elections. Whoever thought of this political strategy to get rid of FPJ should be fired. FPJ’s disqualification will surely create a big political backlash. It may just take FPJ to tell his supporters, "A vote for Roco or Lacson would be a vote for me" and the game could be over.

Surveys clearly show that GMA is closing in on FPJ with a 9-point percentage margin. Assuming there are 30 million voters, that’s only a 2.7 million-vote lead. I am told GMA would be inching closer to FPJ in the next surveys. This is the reason why many analysts believe FPJ is not as invincible as he appears to be. I had lunch with Raul Roco a year ago long before GMA changed her mind about running, and I told him that in a three-way race, he would have a greater than even chance in winning without FPJ in the race, of course.

Without FPJ, it will be difficult for GMA to take the lead. Those who dread an FPJ presidency, most of whom are Roco supporters, have gravitated towards GMA, believing she has the political machinery and the resources to beat FPJ. This is similar to the 1992 elections when many dreaded a Danding Cojuangco presidency. Other candidates‚ supporters gravitated towards FVR who was the administration candidate then. With FPJ’s disqualification, Roco’s supporters who joined the ranks of GMA would most likely go back to him, while the masses would be divided, most of them going for Ping Lacson.

Ping Lacson, the known nemesis of GMA, will definitely benefit the most if FPJ gets disqualified. There are many who are taking a second look at Ping Lacson and his platform of government. Considering the situation of the country today, people are thinking we probably need a Ping Lacson – who is known for his iron hand – to get the job done. Many taxi drivers and public transport groups have supported him because he was able to stop "kotong" cops and scalawags from victimizing them during his stint as police chief and as senator.

In the Senate, Lacson called for the scrapping of the pork barrel. He has set an example by not only refusing to use his more than P200 million pork but by insisting that the amount be taken off from the budget to help alleviate the swelling deficit. Kidnappings and other heinous crimes were reportedly curbed during his tenure as Chief PNP, making him the "hero" of the Filipino-Chinese community. His platform of governance is simple: to restore justice, and peace and order through an effective implementation of the rule of law in all aspects of government and society.

If you go through his list of priorities, you’ll find Lacson as the most prepared among the candidates when it comes to addressing the condition of the country. He has definitive programs to develop tourism, infrastructure, education, food security, budget deficit, graft and corruption, servicing of debt payments, tax collection and overall economic recovery. Included also in the list are: the generation of more jobs, wealth creation for small- and medium-scale enterprises, the upgrading of the educational system and make it the most competitive in the world, the drafting of more investor-friendly policies, strengthening of the judicial system, and the making of quality and affordable health care not only as a privilege but as a right of every Filipino. What is impressive, according to the business community, is that Lacson will follow a time frame in addressing all these. As for social concerns and the bureaucracy, he’s planning on implementing policies within the first 360 days.

Lacson plans to disable criminal syndicates and bring lawbreakers to justice within the first 180 days. Lacson is strong on his stance against the moratorium on capital punishment for heinous crimes. Within 90 days in office, the country’s law enforcement agencies will undertake thorough and massive reforms to transform themselves into efficient, corrupt-free and professional organizations worthy of the respect of the public. In 12 months, the investigative capabilities of all law enforcement agencies shall be upgraded, especially forensics. In the first 100 days, Lacson will simplify the system by which businessmen and corporations transact with government agencies. What is most impressive is Lacson‚s stand on population management. He believes in cutting down the population growth rate to half or about 1.6 percent during his term of office as a long-term policy to address the country’s economic development.

Whatever happens, what is really important is for clear, orderly and credible elections to take place. The United States has made it clear that it is not siding with any of the candidates, although everyone is aware of the relationship Bush has with GMA. Just the same, the US is taking the initiative to safeguard the country’s democratic process, which Washington considers as a close ally in the region. They will be sending US Senator Richard Lugar, as sponsored by the National Democratic Institute, to be an observer and ensure clean and orderly elections in May. At the end of the day, we can only hope that the May elections will indeed bring a semblance of political stability to the country.

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