INQUIRER.net Eleksyon 2007

Mikey not a chip off the old block

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Ramon Tulfo

ONLY the burial of martyred Sen. Ninoy Aquino and that of his wife, former President Cory, would equal the number of people that attended the burial and wake of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) executive minister Erano “Ka Erdy” Manalo.

Not even the attendance at the wake and burial of Jaime Cardinal Sin could compare with that of Ka Erdy whose remains were entombed in the INC main cathedral in Quezon City.

His followers so loved and respected him that they braved the rain and the heat to send him off.

All the INC members who attended Ka Erdy’s burial and wake were genuine in their grief.

The same cannot be said of most politicians who showed their faces and shed crocodile tears during Ka Erdy’s funeral.

Those politicians wanted to be seen so they would not be forgotten by the INC in the 2010 election.

* * *

Even President Arroyo, who didn’t attend the burial of former President Cory, was at Ka Erdy’s interment Monday.

If she shed tears during the interment, we can be sure they were not genuine.

GMA didn’t attend the burial of President Cory to whom she owes a debt of gratitude.

GMA’s springboard to politics was her position as undersecretary of trade and industry and chairperson of the Garments and Textile Export Board during the Aquino administration.

Of course, it’s understandable why President Gloria was at the wake and burial of Ka Erdy.

She’s no different from other politicians.

* * *

SuperFerry 9, a huge interisland ship, sank on Sunday a little more than a year after the sinking of MV Princess of the Stars, also a huge ship.

We are a country that’s always visited by sea tragedies.

Since we can’t help sea mishaps (it seems to be our collective karma as a nation), we should have a better equipped Coast Guard.

The government should buy more ships and rescue helicopters and modern communications facilities for the Coast Guard so it can respond quickly and efficiently to sea tragedies.

While the Coast Guard is doing well despite the lack of rescue ships and choppers and radios, the agency can do a much better job of saving lives at sea if the government allocates more money for it.

How ironic that a maritime nation like us should have an ill-equipped Coast Guard.

* * *

Obviously, Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo, the President’s eldest child, didn’t know how to answer difficult questions in the TV show “Unang Hirit.”

If he did, he would not be the butt of jokes and hate mail in the Internet and the subject of coffee shop talk.

Mikey painted himself into a corner when he told host Solita Monsod that his detractors could file a case against him in court.

He didn’t know that not declaring campaign donations and giving false information in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth are criminal offenses.

Mikey is not a chip off the old block when it comes to wriggling out of trouble.

* * *

Why does Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio want the Commission on Elections to stop the recounting of ballots?

His move is suspicious considering that Lilia “Baby” Pineda, a defeated gubernatorial candidate, is now leading him by more than a thousand votes.

There are still many ballot boxes to be opened.

If the lead of Baby, wife of alleged gambling lord Bong Pineda, over Panlilio continues, the priest-turned-politician can kiss his office goodbye.

It seems that during the counting of votes in the 2007 elections, ballots for “Nanay Baby” were invalidated, but are now considered valid.

Pineda is known to Kapampangans as Nanay Baby and the ballots having that name are countless.

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