“Those who cannot understand how to put their thoughts on ice should not enter into the heat of debate.”
--Friedrich Nietzsche
By Alex P. Vidal
WHEN Rosa “Tita” Caram was appointed by President Cory Aquino as OIC mayor in Iloilo City after the 1986 EDSA Revolution, she became known as the “Cinderella surrounded by the seven dwarfs.”
One of the “dwarfs”, who became a village chief when Caram was no longer in city hall, had suggested to extend the route of the Dinagyang parade to the Fort San Pedro area.
Caram, wife of the late former Assemblyman Fermin “Nene” Caram nixed, the “crazy” idea.
When Mayor Caram learned that former senator Rodolfo “Roding” Ganzon, arch enemy of her husband, had been released from jail and helped campaign for the deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ reelection bid in the snap election, she was reportedly worried.
Fire-spewing Ganzon was rumored to be interested to run again for city mayor, and the news was a nightmare for Mayor Caram.
She bade goodbye to politics for good.
-o0o-
I covered the City Hall beat in 1989 when Ganzon became the city mayor.
He told reporters in jest, “Nahadlok si Tita Caram mag debate sa akon kayman gin isyuhan ako sang una ni Nene (Caram) nga putyong kuno ako. Ginpamangkot ko sia ngaa nga nabal an mo nga putyong ako? Gin pamangkot mo si Tita haw?”
Mayor Ganzon brought the house down.
One of the last remaining “dwarfs” (he really had a small frame and was already a department chief), who died during the administration of Mayor Mansueto Malabor in the 90s, told me “Mayor Caram was so nervous to debate with Mayor Ganzon (if ever they will face in the election)” thus she quit politics.
-o0o-
IT is during the political debates where the voters, especially the undecided, will have the opportunity to peruse the character, personality, and intelligence of the candidates running in the elections.
It is during the political debates where candidates with no prior or with insufficient media exposure will have the chance to prove their mettle without the assistance of any public relations (PR) expert; they will be on their own and they will advertise their own fortitude and capability as aspirants for a public office without the help of any prepared script.
A candidate participating in a public discourse can’t be rescued by the best PR consultant once he falters and scrambles with facts and figures.
Thus they need to be impressive; they need to look good physically, as well.
Even their body language and facial expressions must be guided accordingly with aplomb and collectedness.
Rule No. 1 actually is: Don’t join in the political debates if you are mad, or if your blood sugar is tottering.
-o0o-
The pre-debate checklist should include mental and emotional conditions, not just the cloths, hairstyle and make-up.
If you’re not in good mood, skip the debate immediately. No ifs. No buts. No second thoughts.
If your mood is on alert status and you engage a rival in a heated exchange of words before a huge audience that will last for an hour or two, it will have a catastrophic effect on your nerves; you will have no idea you appallingly look and act like Dracula.
Dracula has a poker face.
He owns one of the most untrustworthy faces in the known physical world.
The name evokes hostility and antagonism.
In fact, his aura has been dismissed with a dauntless disdain, fear, and scorn by any standard and imagination.
Don’t be a Darcula on stage.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
No comments:
Post a Comment