Impossible dream

PERRYSCOPE
Perry Diaz

Folks, it’s election time and it’s time again to dream the “impossible dream.” Why not? To dream the “impossible dream” is better than not to dream at all. But there are also those who made their “impossible dream” come true. Diosdado Macapagal, the poor boy from Lubao, made it… and then screwed it up! Erap Estrada made it… and then blew it! Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made it… and then messed up everything! And there are still some people who wanna be president? They must be gluttons for punishment!

According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), there are 21 presidential candidates so far. Among the wannabes, maybes, and nobodies, the first to file his certificate of candidacy for president was 39 years old (he’ll turn 40 on Feb. 14) John Carlos de los Reyes who goes by the moniker of “JC.” He is currently serving as an Olongapo City councilman. I’m not sure if his moniker has something to do with it, but JC has the blessings of a Catholic bishop to run for prez. For his campaign slogan, JC should borrow from the song, “Impossible Dream,” this line: “To fight the unbeatable foe.” Who can beat Noynoy?

By the way, JC is a nephew of Sen. Richard Gordon who launched his presidential bid under the “Bagumbayan Movement” and composed his “Bagumbayan Manifesto” in blood. Well, it seems like he may have abandoned his presidential ambitions and might just campaign for his nephew. However, should he decide to run, his campaign slogan should be: “To try when your arms are too weary.” Getting old and nowhere to go.

Another presidential wannabe is Metro Manila head honcho Bayani Fernando. He truly believes that he will win notwithstanding his 1% approval rating. For his campaign slogan, Bayani (means “hero” in English) should borrow another line from the same song: “To run where the brave dare not go.” Indeed, Bayani is trying hard to live up to his name.

And there’s retired four-star general Hermogenes Ebdane who thinks that he had what it takes to win the presidential race. His campaign slogan should have been: “To reach the unreachable star.” A few days ago, Ebdane abandoned his presidential bid. He must have found out that the stars are much farther than the moon. Nice try.

And there’s Nicanor Jesus III Pineda Perlas. His nickname is “Nick.”

But the “III” after his middle name “Jesus” bothers me. I’ve never seen it used that way. Well, he woke up one day with a dream of becoming the president. He then created a website and spelled it all out, that is, his program of government. Very impressive. But his approval rating is a virtual zero. Well, people probably don’t have time to visit his website… or most probably, didn’t have a computer at home. His campaign slogan should be: “To follow that star no matter how hopeless.” Hopeless, indeed.

And there’s evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva who is confident that he will become the next president. In a recent press conference, he said: “Tuloy ang laban, wala nang atrasan” (The fight goes on, no retreating). He said it’s about time for the country to have a righteous and genuine leader. Hmm… I think his slogan should be: “To right the unrightable wrong.”

And last but not the least is Ernesto Ramos. Ernie is a Fil-Am dual citizen who resides in Florida (USA, not Pampanga). He organized the Democratic Party of the Philippines (DPP) and had it certified by Comelec which means the party can field candidates in all levels.

A few days ago, I received an email from Ernie which says, “Greetings! Just to keep you updated. I’ll be leaving for Manila Friday (Nov. 27) and we should be ready to file our COC before the Comelec on Monday, Nov. 30 -- at high noon.”

Ernie said that he’s running for president of the Philippines! Not only that, he said that “DPP will have a slate of national candidates from the president/VP to our 12 Senators, to the Congressmen, Governors and Mayors.”

Holy goat! Not even Gibo Teodoro, Noynoy Aquino, Manny Villar or Erap Estrada could put together a slate of 12 senators without sharing or borrowing “guest” candidates from other parties. I can tell Ernie is not dreaming. This guy is really serious. His campaign slogan should be: “NO GUTS, NO GLORY!” Attaboy, Ernie! Go get ‘em!

A presidential candidate that truly earned my respect is Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero. Chiz bolted from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) because he didn’t want to be “owned” by any groups or individuals. A few days ago, Chiz announced that he has abandoned his presidential bid. Had he decided to run, his campaign slogan would have been: “To fight for the right without question or pause.” Your time will come, kiddo.

Meanwhile, the Aquino-Roxas, Villar-Legarda, Estrada-Binay, and Teodoro-Manzano tandems are ready to roll. Well, I’m not sure about Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro with his 2% approval rating. He’s stuck at the bottom of the pit. And some of his party mates are abandoning him for Aquino or Villar. “Mga balimbing!” (Turncoats!) His campaign slogan should be: “To be willing to march into Hell for a heavenly cause.” I’m not sure though if Gibo’s cause is “heavenly” -- it looks more like it’s for “Gloria in excelsis Arroyo.”

Indeed, many believe that Gibo’s anemic approval rating is caused by Gloria’s “kiss of death.” He’s been warned but instead he let Gloria kiss him… on both cheeks. That’s what I call, “double whammy.”

A few days ago, at the national convention of Lakas-Kampi- CMD (LKC) Gloria stepped down as the party chairman and handed the job to Gibo who didn’t have a choice cuz nobody else would take the job! Now, I call him, “Tonto.” And as Tonto would tell the Lone Ranger, “That right, Kemo Sabe.”

But it was Gloria’s speech that says it all. She said that LKC is the party of the “future.” Yep, for once Gloria was right cuz she knew that LKC is not the party of the “present” and come June 2010, it will be the party of the “past.”

Hey, it looks like its’ going to be a colorful campaign season. Noynoy selected his mom’s color -- yellow -- as his campaign color. With the alliance of Manny Villar and Bongbong Marcos, they’d be using a combination of Manny’s orange and Bongbong’s red. Erap Estrada would use all the colors of the rainbow because his senatorial slate consists of politicians that changed colors all the time. If Gibo doesn’t have a color yet, I suggest that he use white so that he doesn’t have to change his color when he surrenders.
(PerryDiaz@gmail. com)