WHEN he first floated the idea of running for the presidency, former DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane was clearly trying to feel the political air in much the same way a golfer would toss up some blades of grass to see which direction the wind is blowing. People were somewhat surprised but did not pay his daydreaming spell too much attention. Many others, less obscure but equally short on personal qualities, were also trying the idea on for size.

When Noynoy Aquino, however, crashed the scene, the reasonable among those wannabes pushed the mute button and retreated into political limbo. They could see that the run to the presidency had come down to a three-cornered fight between Noynoy, with his parents’ believers and followers, Villar with his money and Gibo with the administration’s political machinery… and resources, of course.

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Erap, who can hardly be considered reasonable for being motivated by revenge, did not stand down. Chiz Escudero stepped back but people would have understood if he didn’t because they knew of his unabashed lust for the presidency. Ebdane was the big surprise when he came out with an even stronger resolve to run for the presidency. We know things are not what they seem but this one beats them all for being so hard to figure out.

He cannot be that stupid as to enter the political arena with the odds not in his favor by any stretch of the imagination.

So, he must either be seeing something we do not see or he has something up his sleeves we are clueless about. For just when it has become quite clear to all that this is going to be a fight between Villar, Gibo and Noynoy, here comes Ebdane boldly defying the odds and declaring himself a presidential candidate.

He is not exactly obscure since the infamous lamp post scam happened during his watch as DPWH secretary. His failure to accept command responsibility for it contradicts his claim to managerial competence and does not bode well for the level of transparency and probity in his style of governance. Moreover, he is currently being made to answer for the misuse of the road user’s tax, a huge sum that seems to have vanished into thin air during his incumbency as chairman of the road board.

Neither did anything extraordinary by way of improvement in efficiency happen to the Philippine National Police when he was its director. Finally, while his candidacy is carried on the wings of a peasant and labor party, he has so far mouthed nothing but abstract ideas like peace and order, unity and development, all motherhood statements that hardly mean anything to the peasants and laborers he claims to represent.

So, what gives with Mr. Ebdane? What exactly is his running for the presidency about?