Rep. Rolex Suplico, who works closely with Sen. Ping Lacson, is mum about the latter’s political plans for 2007. And much as I try to read between the lines of Lito Banayo’s weekly musings in the other opposition paper, I cannot get a whiff of which way Ping is going. But, when someone of Ping’s stature establishes residence somewhere in Tondo, speculations are bound to fly thick and fast. And one of these is that in 2007 Ping will be a smooth replacement for Lito Atienza, with actor Cesar Montano as his runningmate.
Ping does not seem to be happy being in the Senate. People close to him ascribe his glum countenance principally to the fact that he has to wrestle day in and day out with the hypocrisy of some who consider the Senate their fiefdom. And Ping obviously cannot stand the pontificating of others. So, the senator is pitching camp elsewhere?
But isn’t a jump from the Senate to the City Hall a downward move?
Not so, especially when one considers the romance — the potential for heroic achievement — that has always been attached to the mayorship of Manila. It’s almost saying if you could run this tough, brawling city you could run this fractious country. Ping’s namesake — the colorful Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson. — was enveloped with that aura. This hardbitten mayor had always been touted as presidential timber, except that death overtook him. To this day, political pundits maintain that Marcos could not have been president had “Arsenic” been around.
His unhappiness at the Senate notwithstanding, Ping, it seems to me, is not just about to sulk and mope like a dope in some obscure hideaway. Manila is a high-profile convalescent ward, as it were, for one who ran for and lost the presidency, where one could bide for more time, while regaining strength and girding one’s self for the next joust. With his respectable run for the presidency in 2004, Ping is definitely a hands-down shoo-in for mayor.
Consider: Ping chalked up more than three million votes in the presidential elections, but that does not even reflect the actual votes he got. I mean, the fraud was so widespread and Ping should have garnered more, but he, as much as anybody else in the opposition, was a victim. Ask the cab drivers around Manila — four out of 10 will tell you they voted for Ping. Where then did these votes go? Ask the Comelec people; they know Ping was a strong second despite the fraud.
These votes, to say the least, were an affirmation of the firm confidence Ping had shown in dealing with bad cops, bad bureaucrats and other slimy characters. Scrupulous with public funds, his “no-take” policy marked him as uncompromising when it comes to corruption. The cops during his time as the country’s top cop were the most disciplined after Ping had struck fear in their hearts: that it does not pay to be a crook and on the take, and it does pay to be honest straight. That should endear him to Manileños, many of whom have been, and still are, victims of bad cops here, there and everywhere.
The bureaucrats in government fear Ping. He filed a case against a member of his own staff, whom he caught skimming off the funds for a project. He also filed a case against a municipal mayor who had pocketed the funds given for the construction of a public market. And in abhorrence of the none too secret percentage arrangement between some legislators and contractors, Ping did away with the “pork” in his barrel. Big sacrifice there — since all other senators still partake of the rotten pork.
On the jueteng probe. Ping played his cards right, bearing the brunt of the counter attack of those exposed as receiving payola. His heroic stand, and firm resolve to get to the bottom of the jueteng racket, despite allegations against him, raised the stock of Ping.
Then there were the sacred cows and untouchables — Jose Pidal, Department of the Underground, FG, Mahusay, Rosebud, Toh, Corpus, M1, M2, JS6, and the various lords of the underground economy and the corrupt in our midst. Somehow, after having tangled with all of them, Ping remains standing and is still full of spunk.
Ping’s only drawback is his lack of a political party, but this could be remedied if he puts up one, now, or agrees to join one, like the Liberal Party of Atienza. That would make Ping a cinch for the mayorship, and also help to point out the clout of Atienza, who made mincemeat of political heavyweights in the last three elections. The fourth coming up, with Ping as his candidate, could silence forever all those opposing Atienza.
Ping had lost a lot of political ground in the last elections, but he recovered soon enough with his wise choice of issues to advocate. The surveys showing him to be the best alternative to the sitting president prove this. With the country awash in corruption and the public growing ever wary and weary of the usual boilerplate announcements that God is in His heaven and everything’s all right in the Philippines, it would be wise for Ping to stand up and be counted as the Sir Galahad who will slay the dragons of avarice and greed and make the streets safe for everyone. After the untimely demise of Fernando Poe Jr., the country has been aching for an icon of hope and deliverance, and Ping, with some sincere effort, could quietly maneuver himself into that leadership vacuum.
The people did not get Ping to be president the last time. Hopefully, they can wait for him after three years at the helm of Manila. Manila offers itself as a safe refuge for Ping where he could reprise the no-nonsense executive leadership he continues to forcefully exhibit.
The question though is: Sasali ba si Ping sa Drilon wing ng LP, o sa Atienza wing?
At hindi ba maka-Arroyo yang Atienza na yan? So paano niya tatanggapin si Lacson, na maka-opposition? Hindi ba si Ali Atienza na ang madalas kasama ni Lito sa mga ribbon-cutting ceremonies at mga high-profile events, at si Ali, anak ni Lito, ang grino-groom para tumakbo sa pagka-Mayor ng MayniLA?
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