I’m Bongit

“A happy childhood has spoiled many a promising life.”

—Robertson Davies

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

FOR those of you who aren’t familiar with me, in our family they call me Bongit, not Bongbong. 

There are associates and familiar characters who address me as Bongbong, but I’m still known as Bongit to most of them.

It’s not a lampoon when some pundits refer to me as Bongit; it is really how my close friends and family members call me.

It’s not really important actually.

You can call me Bongit or Bongbong while I am not yet the president. Once I have taken my oath as president next year, of course, call me Mr. President. Drop the Bongit.  

Let’s not beat around the bush here: I was the one being referred to by the Angry Man as the presidential candidate who allegedly used cocaine.

I chose the word “used”, a past tense, because “it’s a thing of the past” although I will not admit it—and, of course, I won’t dignify it.

I won’t waste my precious time defending myself when I have not been named in that unprovoked spiel, although it’s crystal clear I was the one being targeted by the Angry Man. 

Once he mentions my name, I will rise to the occasion and defend my dignity not only as a leading presidential aspirant, but as a human being. I will never allow any bully to besmirch the good name of my family.

 

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I would be hypocrite if I won’t admit I was hurt with the Angry Man’s fusillade; it’s very unpresidentiable. It goes to my nerves, to be frank about it. 

My friends and family, especially my beloved mom, Imeldific, were really hurt and utterly dumbfounded. The Angry Man’s attack was like a stray bullet that went straight to our ceiling and fell on my head but injured the bystanders, especially those who dearly love and respect me. 

In the first place, I am not running against the Angry Man; I owe him nothing. My family isn’t beholden to him. The last time I remember I haven’t crossed paths with him. We neither argued nor engaged in illicit affair.

I can not, for the life of me, recall having said or done something, at least in recent memory, that would ruffle the Angry Man’s feathers.

In fact, me and my family have been so careful not to antagonize the Angry Man knowing fully well his temperament and how awesome the power and influence he wields; he can ruin anyone’s political plans.

He knows how to use his authority to the hilt and is good at bullying the weaklings and those who refuse to toe his line. 

It’s obvious his daughter’s decision to run “only” for vice president didn’t sit well with his grand design, and this what triggered him to run amuck.

He wanted to twist her head and control her political life, but the daughter was firm and proved to all and sundry she was her own woman and rejected the Angry Man as a political stage daddy.

 

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She must’ve considered her dad as heavy baggage owing to all the scandal, corruption, incompetence, subservience to China, etceterata that has been rampaging the country.

She must’ve also detested her dad’s mind-boggling infatuation to an alalay who was “obligated” to file his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for president in the last minute, so that he could express his frustrations after realizing the daughter could not be the next president when he exits the Palace next year.

She didn’t want the Angry Man’s alalay to be her runningmate and the Angry Man felt she pulled the rug from under him and considered the seditious act as national embarrassment and humiliation.  

I noticed the Angry Man’s demeanor began to drastically change and he started badmouthing me and my good family after his daughter didn’t blink amid pressures for her to shoot for the presidency that would have dashed to pieces the dream Bongit-Daughter-Of-An-Angry Man tandem, which is really unbeatable and always leading in the surveys.

 

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What have I done to deserve the Angry Man’s demolition binge? 

I haven’t occupied the Palace yet, but he already reckoned I’m a weak leader? 

Is he so aghast and nervous that I did not commit to rescue him from being locked in the calaboose when the international criminal court convicts him and his criminal lapdogs once I become president?

By the way, don’t forget to vote for me for president. I’m confident this time I will beat Lady Gaga, who derailed my political plans when she beat me for vice president in 2016. 

I will beat the former macho dancer/call boy who thinks his brief fame as mayor of a sin city was enough to catapult him to the presidency. I will beat the 1. Illiterate; 2. The Closet Queen; 3. The Alalay; and the Labor Leader. I’m Bongit.   

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

Destiny or ignominy?

 

“One of the reasons people hate politics is that truth is rarely a politician's objective. Election and power are.”

—Cal Thomas

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IF Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao is destined to be the next president of the Philippines, who are we to question it?

In life there are infinite possibilities, and if fate and destiny have programmed Pacquiao’s life to where it appears to be heading, we must accept it with a grain of salt.

Destiny is a common synonym for what philosophers call teleology--the idea that events follow a set plan that has a purpose. 

Teleology is primarily defined as a belief in "final ends" or ultimate goals that constrain reality in such a way that those ends or goals will be reached.

Many people first laughed when the boxing icon ran for congressman in Saranggani province in Mindanao and won in 2010. 

They laughed once more when the ring superstar hinted he wanted to be a senator. He won in 2016.

Sometime in December 2008 in a press conference I attended at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum introduced Pacquiao as “the next president of the Philippines.”

As far as I can remember, Arum’s remarks became the unofficial launching pad for the succeeding announcements of Pacquiao’s possible presidential quest in 2022 when he would be 43.

 

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The wily septuagenarian even declared in jest he would be in the Philippines to campaign for his ward, who has collected eight world titles in eight different weight classes.

That was 13 years ago. 

Nobody took Arum seriously although reactions from the gallery were mix if not vitiated with demurral and pessimism.

In the Philippine presidential election set next year or 14^th year since Arum’s soliloquy, Pacquiao, who has announced his candidacy as standard bearer of the PDP-Laban in the May 2022 election, will be a step closer if he wins.

Arum’s prophecy may or may not happen, but the telltale signs are there: Pacquiao will run although he hasn’t yet filed his official certificate of candidacy.

Be it as it may, it’s also possible Pacquiao’s candidacy may turn out to be his date with ignominy especially if he is ill-prepared, ill-advised or misguided during and after the campaign period.

Sometimes if a candidate isn’t prepared for the big league, it’s when he wins that’s the hardest part of the matter, not whether he will run.

To borrow the late comedy king Dolphy’s famous quote when he was egged to run in the election: “Walang problema ang tumakbo. Paano kung manalo?”

 

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Although the constitution requires Pacquiao only to be at least 42 years old during the official filling of certificate of candidacy; he can read or write and born in the Philippines, a presidential derby isn’t like a boxing match where it’s not necessary to have the brains and brawn.

In boxing, the fists do the talking and decide the outcome. In politics or  public service for that matter, common sense, management skills and experience matter.

There will be a series of debates where the candidates are asked random and complicated questions meant to test their character and intellectual prowess.

It is during these debates where voters can scrutinize the candidates and place them on the hot seat.

If you spent your whole life cooking the best dishes and you suddenly competed in a hairdressing contest, it’s a huge embarrassment no one would want to experience.

There are many leaders in the Philippines who are more qualified to run for president, but the cat is out of the bag: PDP-Laban has officially fielded a popular and rich athlete to be its standard bearer instead of someone who’s articulate and scholarly when it comes to academic and professional backgrounds.

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