Who needs leaders like these?

I don’t know about you but when I saw the picture of FPJ, the actor who would be president crooning All the Way with reporters milling around him pushing their microphones nd tape recorders, I was de-vastated. Surely Filipinos deserve better than this. It may be the fault of the cameraman who took the picture but the dark glasses and the stretched hands made him look like a moron. I know of thousands of Filipinos who are better, more capable than this actor who are aghast with a system that would foist his leadership on us. Who needs "leaders" like these? It was as if there had been no Erap government to learn from. FPJ is being touted as another would-be savior of the country. How this would be done, no one is saying, least of all, the candidate himself. Farther afield, in Ecuador, the people were also fooled into voting for Abdala Bucaram, an actor-comedian who promptly put the country in a worse condition than he found it. The challenge facing a Filipino president is so daunting it requires more than sincerity or – to be more precise – declarations of sincerity. It is the duty of those who know better to spread the word that FPJ cannot and will not be able to run this country. We should use our hindsight on how Bucaram in Ecuador and Erap in the Philippines, both popular actors turned presidents, performed. That’s how FPJ will fare, if not worse.

Erap may be a notch better, having been a mayor, senator and vice-president knew his local politics but he was lost in the international scene. The candidates think of the presidency for its perks and privileges, not of its obligations and functions. Those who continue to promote his candidacy knowing how Erap governed must be such cynics. I do not hear even a peep of concern when the comparison is staring before our faces. His movie-star popularity simply cannot make up for his ignorance. Nor can a song, foreign at that, take the place of a platform of governance and a comprehensive understanding not only of the Philippine condition but how to maneuver in the contemporary world.

The Court has spoken. Those disappointed with the decision on FPJ might look into what Americans, who were unhappy with the Rehnquist decision that made George W. Bush president, said. While Americans accepted the Supreme Court decision, they were also dismayed. My favorite about the American supreme court decision comes from Thomas Friedman, the respected New York Times columnist who said that in accepting the verdict Al Gore took a bullet for the country even if the shot was fired at the heart of the nation. "The five justices essentially said that it was more important that Florida meet its self-imposed deadline of December 12 for choosing its slate of electors than for the Florida Supreme Court to try to come up with a fair and uniform way to ensure that every possible vote in Florida was counted – and still meet the real federal deadline for the nationwide Electoral College vote on December 18. The judges ruled that the sanctity of dates, even meaningless ones, mattered more than the sanctity of votes, even meaningful ones." The Rehnquist court has its legacy: "In calendars we trust". Analogies can be found with our own Supreme Court decision on FPJ but thoughtful political watchers should be glad – the decision has taken away the sails from pro-FPJ troublemakers. It returns the campaign to its proper arena – a contest of competence and experience – for the selection of a president.

The Ibon survey, here we go again. Yet another survey promoting its sponsor’s cause and agenda. I am not saying pollsters are dishonest but it is true that information can be massaged according to the conclusion desired. Ibon’s claim to be more academic does not alter the limitations of survey. The independent (perhaps not sponsored by any of the candidates) pollster can also have an agenda. Its concern for the poor as its political agenda and Bayan Muna as a political party reveals the leftist hand. So Ibon says most Filipinos are uncertain over May elections. That’s a great revelation. I don’t think Filipinos will be certain even after elections whether they did the right thing. What is more interesting to me is the conclusion that of the 1,315 respondents in the survey, 50.04 percent said that they think the elections will not be honest and peaceful, only 12.02 percent said it would be honest and peaceful while 40.68 percent were uncertain. It helps neither the candidates, the voters or even the country; so of what use was the survey? It seems less a survey than a projection of the survey group’s own views.

Kamay na bakal. There is no question that a strong rule of law is important for a well-ordered society. But democracy prospers only in an environment where those with power are themselves subject to law. It does at all mean that a candidate once elected can ride roughshod against people he or she considers obstructive to government agenda. Indeed those who assume power must be reminded that in a democracy power is limited not only by law but by competing interests. That is why I got goose pimples with the Panfilo Lacson campaign promise of kamay na bakal. Until the Dacer murders are resolved (two close aides of Lacson have escaped to Canada) and the Kuratong Baleleng out of the hands of Judge Yadao, kamay na bakal is more frightening than convincing. I know that the Kuratong Baleleng may have been "despicable criminals" but the rule of law should ensure fair treatment before the law even to the worst of us. That is what democracy is all about.

Other messiahs. By the way, kamay na bakal isn’t new politics or an alternative, at all. There have been other messiahs in the world, including our home-grown Marcos strongman. It must be said that messiahs never proclaim violence to promote law; they do the opposite and talk only about saving the country. Hitler understood that lesson well and never showed his violent streak. He knew the way to the top of a democracy is to work within the system, build popular support and not to confront police or military power. He was able to mobilize the masses with propaganda that appealed to their feelings, not their reason. Pol Pot regarded himself a reformer and visionary when he brought Cambodia to ground zero in his quest for change. By the time Pol Pot’s reform drive was over, about 1.7 million Cambodians, or about 20 percent of the population, were worked, starved, or beaten to death under his regime.

Media spin. Gov. Mandanas of Batangas assures this column that his supposed support for Lacson was nothing more than a media spin. As governor he is hospitable to all but to say that this is support for the candidate is a media spin. It was not just Gov. Mandanas who got hit by the spin. Also Sen. Manuel Villar who was said ready to adopt Lacson as the the Nacionalista Party candidate but later said that although the latter is a friend, it does not mean he will be the NP presidential candidate.

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