Edu is game na for VP

What was striking about the Lakas-Kampi-CMD national convention two days ago was not the show of force of the ruling party. That was to be expected. Nor was it the eloquence of presidential candidate Gilberto Teodoro who roused party delegates by departing from the podium near the end of his speech to deliver a facts-at-my-fingertips windup. The man was a three-termer Tarlac congressman well-experienced in working a crowd.

No, it was not Gibo, but vice presidential bet Edu Manzano, who pricked my interest, partly because of his thankfully short but well-laden acceptance speech. Not because he too was articulate - even in his previous professions, he has been lucid and outspoken - but because he spoke from the heart even as he laid down, though briefly, credentials that qualified him for the second highest position in the land.

And what, you may ask, eyebrows arched to the high heavens, are these credentials? Well, his last stint in public office as head of the Optical Media Board is well-known. Under his watch, the Philippines was removed from the Priority Watch List of the US Trade Representative (USTR) which names countries notorious for film piracy and violation of intellectual property rights. We were cited as being the only one of seven countries that significantly controlled their optical media operations.

His campaign against film piracy and illegal copying, distribution, and sales of optical media materials was recognized by global organizations like the Motion Picture Association of America, International Federation of Phonographic Industry and the Motion Picture Association International. In 2006, two years after becoming OMB Chairman, he received the Asia-Pacific Copyright Enforcer of the Year Award, the first ever to win it, during the CineAsia Convention in Beijing, China.

But then you may ask, how did he fare in an elective post?

His public service career actually started as Makati’s vice-mayor in 1998. He worked hard in that post until 2001, acquiring ambulances and farm implements for local government units as a matter of duty after being elected president of the Vice Mayors League of the Philippines as well as president of the Vice Mayors Foundation where he liaised with non-governmental agencies and donors from foreign countries. He also participated actively in the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) as chairman of its Special Projects Committee.

For all these accomplishments, he received an Outstanding and Unblemished Record award from the National Press Club and an award as Outstanding Vice Mayor during the 12th Annual National Consumer’s Conference of the Consumer Union of the Philippines.

So much for the claim that showbiz personalities know nothing and can do nothing in the field of politics. As Manzano pointed out in his acceptance speech, “My record in public service as Vice Mayor of Makati and Chairman of the Optical Media Board is open to public scrutiny. But beyond that, and more than the purity of good intentions, I also offer my honest labor, my personal integrity and dedication to duty, fortified by my experience in local governance and law enforcement.”

Manzano was head of the Quality Control and Evaluation Unit of the Missile Engineering Group of the US Air Force in 1973, where he worked in a missile silo of the US Strategic Air Command. He was also a bank teller in the Bank of America in San Francisco, California. This background together with his US birth, provoked his political opponents to challenge his Filipino citizenship when he campaigned and eventually won as Makati vice-mayor. However, the Supreme Court ruled that he was a natural-born Filipino because both his parents are Filipinos.

Edu’s military background probably prompted the Philippine Military Academy to adopt him as honorary member of Class ’82, a connection that facilitated coordination with his “mistahs” who had become police officers and members of other law enforcement agencies. Their assistance greatly aided OMB’s operations against film pirates and intellectual property thieves.

Critics notwithstanding, Edu was invited by several political parties to join their lineup. Yet he chose to stick it out with Lakas because, as he declared in his acceptance speech, “…the vision and platform of government of Lakas-Kampi CMD and of Gibo Teodoro are in perfect harmony with the principles I considered in evaluating the invitations I received from other political parties.” Again the insistence in principles, purity of intention and service to the people — platitudes mouthed by traditional politicians but exemplified in Manzano’s brief but sincere public career.

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On another front, The University of the Philippines Alumni Association, Inc. (UPAA) will stage Pagbangon, a grand musical-literary concert to raise funds for the rehabilitation of victims who lost their homes and have little means for recovery on their own. According to UPAA president Fred Pascual, the concert, which “will celebrate the power of hope in the face of catastrophe,” will showcase acclaimed UP artists and guest celebrities. It will be held on December 12 at the UP Theater in Diliman.

Directed by theater luminary and UPAA Second Vice President Behn Cervantes, Pagbangon will have two parts. The first half will feature prominent UP personalities: UP president Roman, UP Regent and UPAA president Fred Pascual, and UP Diliman Chancellor Gerry Cao — reading poems of courage, fortitude and sharing in lieu of speeches.

Well-known UP alumni such as Jessica Soho and Joonee Gamboa will also recite inspiring and uplifting poetry interspersed with songs ranging from popular to classical pieces and timeless melodies to be performed by classical guitarist Lester Demetillo and flutist Sonny Yangco, singers and performers Fides Asencio, Pinky Marquez, Bing Pimentel, Jonathan Badon, Bibeth Orteza, the UP Cherubim and Seraphim, and the UP Manila Chorale among others.

Performers for the second part, which will be emceed by UP professors Winnie Monsod and Edru Abraham, include popular artists and celebrities such as Sarah Geronimo, Celia Laurel and son Cocoy Laurel, Gina Alajar, Cesar Montano, Celeste Legaspi and Leo Valdez. UP alumni who will participate in the program are Senators Chiz Escudero, Loren Legarda and Manuel Villar.

In addition, several art pieces from the recent UPAA art exhibition featuring the UP Centennial Artists, aptly entitled “Kalikaran,” will be displayed.

According to UPAA president Fred Pascual, the show, apart from raising funds, will draw attention to the need to redirect the focus of donors and volunteers from relief to rehabilitation and promote greater sensitivity to the destructive effects of environmental abuse.

Tickets to the gala performance at 7 p.m. and set at P1,000 and P500, are available at the UPAA Secretariat, Ang Bahay ng Alumni, UP Diliman (tel. 9206871) and from TicketNet (tel. 9115555).

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