‘Kiss of death’

“A healthy democracy requires a decent society; it requires that we are honorable, generous, tolerant and respectful.”

—Charles W. Pickering

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IF the angry emperor continues to tolerate graft and corruption in his administration, kill or order the police to commit murder in the name of law enforcement, curse and bully people he doesn’t like, including women, his endorsement of the administration candidates would be a “kiss of death.”

No candidate would be blessed in his political career if he was endorsed by a leader who didn’t even spare God from his embarrassing, unprovoked and dangerous curses.

It’s a malas or dimalas (a bad luck).

Basta bastos baba, bastos utok (he who is ill-mannered in his words is ill-mannered in his mind), the late former senator Roding Ganzon once remarked.

Even his own daughter is hesitant to run for the highest office because she must’ve realized that her father is a “heavy baggage” or a liability during the campaign.

He caused the destruction of a once-splendid political party with his interference and power play that pitted party mates against each other in a squalid skirmish. 

He “placed” a bunch of incompetent and suspected clowns in the upper and lower chambers of the legislature and made the Lower House a stamping pad by making the speaker kowtow to his dictatorial wishes.

 

-o0o-

 

In six years, he became known worldwide for sending fears to the hearts of the people with his unconventional iron-fist style that victimized mostly ordinary characters wearing the shorts and slippers.

He corrosively badmouthed enemies and weaklings left and right and received resounding accolades from his fanatics who seemed couldn’t distinguish what is right and wrong, what is legal and illegal, what is presidential and unpresidential behavior.   

To compound the matter, he appeared to have tolerated graft and corruption and defended the thieves and rascals who made billions of pesos at the expense of the taxpayers in various “sweetheart” deals while the people are losing their hopes and their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Filipinos aren’t stupid to endure and tolerate a bad leader for an extended period of time. 

Everything has its limits. Every bad behavior will not only be repudiated but should be dealt with accordingly. 

The right time is on election day.

 

-o0o-

 

THE TUNNEL I FEAR MOST. Untappedcities has just released a feature about Untapped New York, which revealed the 10 secrets of Lincoln Tunnel, the tunnel connecting New York City and New Jersey.

This is the same tunnel I mentioned in my past articles that gave me real goosebumps or the tunnel in the United States that I am so scared to cross since 2015, but, which I couldn’t avoid when I traveled from one state to another.

The article mentioned that the “opening to traffic for the first time in 1937, the Lincoln Tunnel connecting Weehawken, New Jersey to Midtown Manhattan was hailed as the next great engineering triumph.”

The New Deal’s Public Works Administration reportedly provided funds for its construction in 1934, fresh off the success of the northern Holland Tunnel, the first mechanically ventilated underwater automobile tunnel to be built under the Hudson River. 

“A second tube was built shortly after the Lincoln Tunnel’s first, with a third requested due to increasing traffic built in the late ’50s. 

To this day, the three tunnels service hundreds of thousands of cars and buses coming in and out of New York City,” it explained. “Many commuters today write it off as a nuisance, but like many old things in the city, the Lincoln Tunnel has its share of secrets.”

Untapped New York Insiders were invited to a special virtual talk at 12 p.m. on November 23, 2021 with Chief Experience Officer Justin Rivers as he drives them through the secrets and marvels of NYC’s infamous pieces of infrastructure.  

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

I did not endorse Manny Pacquiao

 

 “I'm not exactly the endorsement people are seeking.”

—Jack Abramoff

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

SOME of our friends misinterpreted the recent article I wrote entitled “Ingrato”, where I criticized Chavit Singson and Jayke Joson, two of Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao’s former bosom friends who turned his enemies, to be an endorsement of his presidential bid in the Philippine election on May 9, 2022.

One of them is Las Vegas-based Republican party factotum Raleigh, who ribbed me: “Didn’t I inform you only in August that Pacquiao’s campaign team was hard-pressed to raise funds for his candidacy here in Vegas because he’s hard to sell in the Pinoy community? And you are now endorsing him?”

“Your endorsement of Pacquiao means you have become his fanatic outside boxing?” bewailed a Sacramento-based Trump loyalist who fled the Philippines in 2001 as a political refugee.  

I never endorsed Pacquiao for president in that article. 

I wrote the article only to defend him from ingrates who badmouthed him because he was no longer active in boxing (and isn’t anymore a lucrative prizefighter); and it happened when he is running for president against the administration candidate.

I needed to express my own point of view as a moral obligation because I know both Singson and Joson benefited a lot from Pacquiao during the retired boxer’s heydays, and I thought they should be the last persons to mimic Cassius and Brutus when push comes to shove. 

 

-o0o-

 

I made it clear from the beginning or since rumors made the rounds that Pacquiao was eyeing the presidency of the Philippines (that was way back in 2008 when he was still active in professional boxing) that I was against Pacquiao as a boxing icon joining the dirty world of politics.

That stand still holds until today.

I have covered the retired boxer’s biggest fights in the United States since 2007 and met some of the most prominent and controversial characters who surrounded and bilked him, including some Good Samaritans whose intentions were purely to provide him moral and spiritual support and nothing else.

Some of them also became my good friends; in fact, many Team Pacquiao insiders became my sympathizers and even supporters during the turbulent moments of my legal tiff against Freddie Roach in California 12 years ago.

I was prompted to expose Singson and Joson in my recent article after watching their videos on Youtube where they separately impeached the former boxer’s reputation at the time when their former benefactor needed a moral support as a presidential timber, now being poleaxed by political tormentors in the mainstream and social media.

I thought it was inappropriate for the two to abandon a friend “when he needed them most” and to humiliate Pacquiao in public without taking into consideration their past joyful moments where they once literally ate on Pacquiao’s plates and benefited politically and financially from the former boxer’s popularity.

I just couldn’t keep silent.

 

-o0o-

 

AFTER Iloilo City mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Trenas, we expect Iloilo governor Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. to follow suit in the endorsement of Vice President Leni Robredo for president in the May 9, 2022 election.

It’s not really difficult to read between the lines. 

When it comes to decency, straight shooting and intelligent choices, we can always count on the Ilonggo leaders.

This is very possible judging from the recent statement made by former Iloilo governor, Arthur “Art” Sr., who expressed displeasure that the election law allows the last-minute substitution tactic, which is being exploited and employed by other political parties that field presidential aspirants.

We know which political party or camp has been a consistent advocate of last-minute substitution.  

We know who are the political allies of Robredo supporter, Senator Franklin “Frank” Drilon, in the city and province of Iloilo.

If this will materialize, Robredo and her pink phenomenon will be a force to reckon with in Western Visayas, not Bongbong Marcos.

We also expect the other Ilonggo constellation, the Bacolod and Negros electorate across the sea, to join forces with the solid Iloilo.

History is being made.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo—Ed)

 

‘Papa’s girl’

“Some people ask me whether I'm a 'mama's girl' or a 'papa's girl.' I'm nobody's girl. My brother clings to our parents; I'm the one shoving them out the door.”

--Hayden Panettiere

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WE will know whether Inday Sara Carpio is an independent woman or a “papa’s girl” on or before November 15, the deadline for the substitution of candidates in the May 9, 2022 Philippine election.

If she will substitute for PDP-Laban presidential candidate Bato dela Rosa as most political observers are anticipating, there will be no question that Mayor Carpio is also under the beck and call of her daddy Digong, just like Senator Bato and Senator Bong Go and other political duckpins in the Duterte administration.

If she becomes presidential candidate Carpio on November 15 after a repeated denial, daddy Digong’s face will be etched on her political face forever. 

If she will ignore the sirens, who charm the winds and lure nearby sailors with their enchanting music and singing voices, and continue with her “commitment” to run for reelection in Davao City, Mayor Carpio will not only gain my respect, I will also campaign for her if she decides to run for president in the future.

Credibility is non-negotiable.

And Mayor Carpio still has it now.

 

-o0o-

 

The Doubting Thomases, who think the Duterte father and daughter are only using Messieurs Bato and Go as smokescreens for their political zarzuela or the daughter’s presidential aspirations, will eat their words once Mayor Carpio will not show up in the Commission on Elections (Comelec)-designated area for the filing of substitution on or before November 15.

That means Mayor Carpio isn’t only credible but is also reliable and someone who has the palabra de honor.

But if she “changes her mind” in the eleventh hour (just like what daddy Digong did in 2016) because “only fools don’t change their minds” as her would be defense and substitute for Senator Bato as anticipated by most political observers, that splendid “credibility” will instantly burst like bubbles.

The voters can sometimes be stupid, but they don’t forget.

How can they forget Mayor Carpio’s heroic soliloquy that she “isn’t interested to run for president” because she is “more interested” to seek reelection for city mayor?

 

-o0o-

 

“Tops the survey” press release campaign tactic by some candidates will have no match versus the “trolls” or those who leave intentionally provocative or offensive messages on the internet or social media in order to get attention.

Trolls are reportedly being paid by moneyed politicians with more emphasis on destroying their rivals than to promoting the paying politicians. 

The use of trolls became effective when Mr. Duterte won the presidency in 2016.

Mr. Duterte became even more invincible and popular when he occupied the Malacanang allegedly because he had been buttressed by the trolls.  

While “(name of politician or candidate) tops the survey” press release has been a traditional election strategy to condition the people’s minds, trolls mislead and misinform the people.

More people nowadays are reportedly spending time in the social media platforms than those reading, watching, and listening to the news, music and entertainment in the mainstream media.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo—Ed)

  

 

Public office is a public trust, not a cookie jar

“No man should be in public office who can’t make more money in private  life.”

--Thomas Dewey

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

NO one will admit that he wants to be part of government chiefly because, if given the opportunity, he will enrich himself—especially if he holds a powerful elective and even appointive position.

They are always “motivated by a strong desire to serve the people and improve their lives.”

They always “hate graft and corruption in government and we will eradicate it and help the poor” if elected or appointed.

Any position in government can be a source of temptation. 

Many honest characters who enter the government service sometimes end up as rapacious grafters if not plunderers.

As the saying goes, no one walks a saint in public service. 

From sheep to wolves; from worms to snakes; from goats to elephants; from fish to crocodiles and sharks.

 

-o0o-

 

But most candidates in the election, in order to convince the voters, always pride themselves to be paragons of public service; that they are sincere and “willing to make an ultimate sacrifice for the people.”

They will keep their cards close to their chest and will not reveal their malevolent hidden agenda.

Once they are in power, they forget the fundamental reason why they are there in the first place. 

They steal left and right like there is no next lunar eclipse and demand 10 to 15 percent from shady contractors and suppliers.

From thousands, they are tempted to go higher in their money-making schemes at the expense of the taxpayers.

Once the opportunity presents itself, they will stop at nothing until they steal millions.

Let us remind them that a public office is a public trust, not a cookie jar.

That they cannot escape from the karmic justice.

 

-o0o-

 

 

IF there is a Poison Ivy, an allergenic Asian and Eastern North American flowering plant in the genus Toxicodendron, there’s also a “Poison Isko.”

The former is a plant, the latter is a politician—a traditional one pretending to be political rock star.

“Poison Isko” used to be an icon in the local government because of his head-turning and trailblazing track record as mayor of the country’s capital city. 

But this was before he shocked his admirers when he launched his presidential bid. 

People thought he was the Real McCoy in Manila City; that he will never abandon Manila after he has started to bring it back to its old glory step by step no matter how tempting was the prodding from the false prophets who had mesmerized him with misleading and obnoxious adulations that caused his head to swell.

As a result, he has been labeled as a poisonous object in next year’s presidential election.

He will “poison” the candidacy not of Vice President Leni Robredo, but of Bongbong Marcos because he admires Bongbong’s father, the late dictator President Ferdinand Marcos, and he had announced it for all the world to know.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo—Ed)

Vote for the lunatics

 

“What can you do against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?”

—George Orwell

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

DURING the filing of the Certificates of Candidacy (COC) on October 1-8 for the May 9, 2022 Philippine election, we saw how characters with terrible levels of mental deformity were allowed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to file their COCs like they were normal persons.

They grabbed headlines and were the center of attraction.

It’s because of the loopholes in our electoral system. 

In our decrepit system, even the bloodsuckers and voodoo practitioners can run for president—and “get away with it.”

While we laughed at the nuisance candidates who were in a mad scramble to beat the filing of COC, the world laughed at us.

People around the world monitored what’s going on in the Philippines with or without the election—and how we allowed rascals and weirdos to join the election.

The joke is actually on us normal people, not with the COC document-toting clowns and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-type poll applicants. 

It’s only in the Philippines where lunatics and characters with delusions of grandeur managed (or were allowed?) to join the electoral process as candidates.

We laughed while listening to them justifying their COCs before a national TV and other media platforms, but we haven’t done anything to correct this international shame, which had occurred like old TCM channel movies for several elections in the past.

 

-o0o-

 

We strongly push for a legislation to require every election candidate to undergo a thorough psychological evaluation or examination before their Certificates of Candidacy (COC) can be approved by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Those who are found to be unfit should be rejected right away.

The primary qualifications shouldn’t be just a college degree for higher offices, but more specifically stability of mental health for the candidates.

A person who holds a false belief has delusion. If he is an election candidate, he will contradict reality or what is commonly considered true. 

The strength of a delusion is based on how much the person believes it.

As we had emphasized in the past, no candidate thinks he will lose in the Philippine election.

If he loses fair and square, he thinks he was robbed. 

He doesn’t believe he will lose and his sick mind has conditioned him to only win. 

The caveat is he’ll be a pain in the ass for the entire nation if he loses. He will file a protest and create a mayhem once his followers believe his false fantasy hook, line, and sinker.

 

-o0o-

 

Health authorities admit delusions of grandeur can be difficult to identify “because the person having them believes the delusion to be true.”

Also, delusions can be hard to distinguish from what is called an “overvalued idea,” or a belief a person has that isn’t totally accurate, but isn’t exactly a delusion, either, according to Healthline.

A delusion of grandeur specifically is a person’s belief that they are someone other than who they are, such as a supernatural figure or a celebrity. 

A delusion of grandeur may also be a belief that they have special abilities, possessions, or powers.

Delusions are generally the result of a mental health disorder, explained Healthline.

However, not all people with delusions meet the full diagnostic criteria for any mental health disorder.

Many types of mental health disorders classified as psychotic disorders can lead to delusions. Healthline said these include: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, dementia, delirium, major depressive disorder with psychotic features.

 

-o0o-

 

Psychotic disorders can change a person’s sense of reality. 

They may be unable to tell what is real and what is not.

Healthline has identified four main characteristics of delusion:

The person having the belief believes it to be true, even when the existing norm and other people know it to be untrue.

The person having the delusion will not listen to any other viewpoints about the belief and will not consider change when evidence challenges the delusion.

The content of the delusion is reportedly impossible or implausible for the delusion impacts the person’s daily life.

We personally notice these abnormal characteristics in at least four presidential candidates and in two vice presidential candidates. 

We will be flooded with names here if we will include those running for senator and candidates for the lower house, governor, vice governor, mayor, vice mayor and local council.

If the Comelec, or the legislature for that matter, can’t correct the loopholes in the qualification of candidates, time will come the Filipinos will elect public officials or local and national leaders who should be in the mental hospital, not in Malacanang, Capitol, City Hall.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

They mock the electoral process

 “Isn't it the sweetest mockery to mock our enemies?”

—Sophocles

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

PRESIDENT Duterte is using his political sidekicks, Senators Bong Go and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, as chess pawns in the 2022 Philippine presidential election.

If it is an actual gun battle, they will be considered as sacrificial lambs or collateral casualties if they can’t come home alive.

They are being marshaled and degraded like Aztec puppets without any regard to their present position in the national legislature.

Because they cannot say no to the emperor, these sidekicks end up as jokers; in fact, one of them, Bato dela Rosa, thinks the presidential race is just a big Punch and Judy show.

It’s so obvious the former police general, notorious as alleged chief architect of the Duterte administration’s bloody war against illegal drugs, didn’t have any iota of sincerity when he beat the deadline for the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) on October 8.

 

-o0o-

 

The neophyte senator showed up smiling and “clowning” in the Comelec-designated area in the eleventh hour and filed his COC for president under the PDP-Laban (Cusi wing).

When asked by alert reporters if he was just being used to fill up temporarily the candidacy reserved for Mayor Sara Carpio, who is expected to file her candidacy as Senator Bato’s substitute on or before November 15, Senator Bato couldn’t even recite the correct script when he responded with a smirk, “eh di mabuti” (it is much better).

In other words, he was never serious when he accidentally gave himself away. 

He wasted the taxpayers’ money and resources, including the time of Comelec personnel who facilitated the filing of his COC.

Senator Bato and his fellow chess pawns in the Duterte administration think the presidential race is a children’s party, thus they openly mock the country’s electoral system by filing their COCs even if deep inside their hearts they are aware they are only apparently being controlled and manipulated to say “amen.”

They are also probably fully aware that in every scenario that they are—and will be— involved during the election period, it will all be a comedy show.

 

-o0o-

 

We know only the marines will believe that Senator Bato is serious about his presidential quest. 

If he is not master Digong’s protégé, some people might think he will run for president to confirm the satire and polemic that PDP-Laban, which used to be an illustrious party before the Davao boys’ grand invasion, is now sinking into the deep blue sea.

But we can’t blame the political clowns as they are only doing master Digong’s bidding. 

Without master Digong, Senator Bato knew he wouldn’t be in the senate. Sidekick forever?

Ditto with Senator Bong Go, Bato’s running mate, who thinks everything that master Digong touches turns into gold, thus he must remain a sycophant for his own political survival and otherwise.

Mayor Carpio or Inday Sara is also dancing in the same tune like Salome.

Didn’t we write here only recently that they are “like father, like daughter”?

That they will first deny they are interested to run for president, and deny once more like members of Milosevic’s execution squad during the war crimes trial, and “change our minds because it’s the will and insistent demand of the people that we run (for president).” 

If they are hellbent to service the public, they don’t need to hide their plans until the last day of the filing of COC.

Only fools don’t change their minds? 

But fools don’t become presidents unless the electorate is fooled once more.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Politics KO’d

 “If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve.”

—William Tecumseh Sherman

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

NO astute politician will openly unleash his rhetoric to woo the voters with barely nine months before the 2022 Philippine general election while the public is being besieged by the Delta variant.

It’s not only bad timing, it’s also irritating for the people especially when stomachs are empty and income is flat zero.

Not only did politics take a backseat while the pandemic rolled over our lives with a horrific sequel, the pandemic has knocked politics out.

Even the campaign funds from regular donors are no longer showing signs of life.

There is a possibility some election 2022 aspirants will crash out of contention when the goings get tough for lack of wherewithal.

Politics and politicking have become a taboo when the people don’t have food to eat and no longer see their public leaders as the sources of survival and inspiration.

 

-o0o-

 

In some other time and clime, politicians were already busy giving the rounds in the squatter colonies to mesmerize and condition the minds of the voters and tell them how “dear and special” they are to these politicians aspiring for higher public office even a year before the election.

A year before the election when there was no pandemic yet, political wanna-bes swarmed over every nook and cranny of vote-rich provinces, municipalities and villages like casts in the Raiders of the Lost Ark and promised the people the stars and the moon.

They will not and can’t do it today for heaven’s sake.

People in the villages who have suffered so much from the pandemic economically will lynch them.

The mental and emotional anguish the people incurred during the never-ending lockdowns shouldn’t be underestimated and taken for granted.

Many of them who now live abnormal lives because of the wrath of pandemic have developed short and bad tempers; the poverty and financial catastrophes they absorbed as a result of destruction wrought by pandemic has somehow affected their rational thinking and emotional stability.

 

-o0o-

 

Unless they bring food and cash, election 2022 aspirants will be derided and vilified the moment they step into the doors of residents to tell them “we care for you and we hope you are safe from COVID-19 blah blah blah.”

In the time of pandemic, the politicians’ words and lullabies have no more substance and don’t tantalize the hungry. 

The more the politicians express their “concern” or malasakit without giving any cash or goods to support their words, the more the people are tempted to wring their necks and push them in the nearest ravine for giving them false hopes and wasting their time.

Some quality but uncommitted leaders are also staying away from the forthcoming Philippine election for fear the next administration might inherit a king-sized problem even if the pandemic will subside.

Even in the local and national legislatures, we haven’t heard of any opposition firebrand exposing anomalies in government in their privilege speech these past months.

If billions of taxpayers’ money would be spirited away with gusto by the kawatans and rascals in government without being detected while everyone’s attention was in the pandemic, it’s also because some so-called “fiscalizers” and “graft busters” have become negligent and lazy.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)