Erap, FPJ & Noli

Recent Post

Think NATION!

---

First 100 Days and Political Capital

---

The "No-Proc" Scenarios

---

Political Correctness?

---

Why PUBLiCUS left Chiz Escudero (Part III)

---

“To level the playing field of enterprise, we must cut the networks of collusion that have allowed persons of influence to extract wealth without effort from the economy. And we must smooth the economic distortions that perpetuate jobless growth and uneven development.” These are the words of former National Security Adviser and resident ideologue of the Ramos Administration, Jose T. Almonte, in his latest book entitled We Must Level the Playing Field.

‘Di puedeng mamuno. Di kayang maging pangulo. Ano tayo papularidad na lang ang pagpili [They can’t lead. They can’t become president. Do we just choose on the basis of popularity]?  These were the same questions raised when the following personalities ran for public office: Joseph Ejercito Estrada, Fernando Poe Jr., and Noli de Castro. They were derided and laughed at but it seems history will be kinder to them than for others.

In the case of Erap, he surely rose from the ranks; it’s not as if he is totally zilch.  But the elite never identified with him and in fact was instrumental in putting him down.  Even while elected with the highest winning margin in the history of presidential politics, Erap was not given a chance to prove his worth.  Yes, the Sandiganbayan convicted him but it was not final and executory and owing to political fortunes, he was granted pardon by the powers that be.  Lady luck was not kind with Erap considering he had a Vice President who was overly ambitious and was willing to fire the bellies of the oligarchs against an elected president who does not behave like the elite do in this country.

Now let’s take a look at Poe.  A very popular guy thrusted into the rough and tumble world of politics, which he wasn’t totally used to.  He trusted politicians to help him in the campaign and the same key people were the ones who isolated him from the masses.  The same insults thrown to candidate Erap in 1998 became par for the course.  Walang alam, di marunong, artista lang [He knows nothing; he’s not bright; he’s just an actor].  Even his ability to talk and comprehend English became an issue since he is a son of an American citizen.  What was Poe up to in 2004?  He was surrounded with the same cabal who plotted the ouster of his friend, Erap.  He was assisted this time by so-called political supporters of Erap who were just baby-sitting the popular actor for the eventual “winner.”

Now here comes Noli de Castro, incumbent Senator, popular but without a pedigree.  His popularity was needed to make presidential candidate GMA win in 2004.  Noli was to bring the C, D, and E.  Candidate GMA would take care of her own class.  But more than that, the winning political move assured her of a less ambitious individual who will not plot, plan, and execute moves to weaken her presidential hold.

Noli is a candidate who never really bothered having a political party.  When he ran for office in 2001, he was an independent, campaigning with the opposition then, having been adopted by Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masa.  Noli had no political organization to speak of.  He banked on his 40 percent popularity rating and went barnstorming to several pockets of the country harping on the branding Kabayan.  His was a simple campaign but he landed No. 1 with 16,237,386 votes or a margin of 4,501,489 from the no. 2 winner (Juan M. Flavier).  This margin still remains in the record book as the biggest winning margin ever.  In 2004, candidate Mar Roxas ran for the Senate and landed No. 1 with 19,372,888 leading candidate Bong Revilla by 3,571,357. Sen. Roxas may have the highest number of votes but the highest winning margin is still with Noli.

In 2004, Noli ran as Vice President to Arroyo and garnered 15,100,431 votes or 49.80 percent. And political junkies will remember that the Senate slate campaigned separately from the presidential team.  And where is Noli in all these?  He was doing his own thing via his own style of campaigning.  Did you hear his voice and his name in the Garci tapes?  Would he benefit from it?  It’s sad that PET Case No. 003 did not prosper but we feel the same sense of regret as we felt in the Miriam Santiago case back in 1992.  We repeat history but we never learn from it.

Noli has remained quiet to a fault but he does his job, wherever he is assigned.  This value is important because despite all the attacks on him about his capability and capacity to lead, he is doing his job outside the radar screen.  He is not plotting to subvert the will of the people.  He is not scheming to secure the seat.  Shouldn’t the Vice President be just that? Be the spare tire?  Imagine if you have a Noli with the “virtues” of Gloria.  We could have had another EDSA and will that make us any better?  Imagine if all vice presidents would be like Gloria in 2000.

We saw what EDSA II did to our political lives: institutions prostituted and destroyed, parties split, transparency and accountability – the very virtues that installed the Arroyo Administration sacrificed in the altar of political expediency.  The saving graces have been the Senate (and thank you we are not a parliament) and the Puno Court.  And very recently, members of Generation X and Y.

If the administration cavalry and the opposition wagon do not see a leader in Noli, then they merely echo the social class they came from.  But is it really a class war?  Should it be a class war to rebuild this country? Indeed, the anarchy of families destroys the very political system we supplanted in 1986, rebuilt in 1992 and changed in 2000.  Would there be an ides of March in 2008?

Let me end by re-stating the parting words of Mr. Almonte appearing in Jemy Gatdula’s column in BusinessWorld in its February 29-March 1 issue: “A leader unattached to the oligarchy would do this country a whole lot of good.  A leader with vision, values and conviction.”  But I dare add Mr. Almonte, didn’t we had a leader unattached to the oligarchy such as Erap and FPJ?  Erap was given a chance but never completed his term while FPJ was shot at the gatekeeper’s corner.  Do you think the oligarchs would allow a Noli de Castro to succeed?  Would we ever see in our lifetime a Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the Palace?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions advanced in this article is the author’s own, and may not necessarily represent the views and opinions of THE LOBBYiST, its editors, or its publishers.

Factual Errors? Email us at editorial@thelobbyist.biz.

Copyright 2007 The LOBBYiST. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the expressed permission of The LOBBYiST.