Gwen, a P-Noy billiard ball

THE blogger Raissa Robles likened President Noynoy Aquino’s problem-solving style to that of a billiard player of the Bata Reyes caliber. This means P-Noy goes from one objective to another in the manner that a good billiard player does. When he goes after ball number one, he is already preparing the ball arrangement to get ball number two.

Anol Mongaya

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This is a departure from talks that P-Noy is somebody who does not know anything, or is just wasting time (Noynoying or playing Angry Birds), or is plain incompetent.

I read Raissa’s post and the comments. And I thought, perhaps, the President’s detractors should consider the possibility that all these moves against people perceived to have been close to former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo are part of a deliberate strategy.

Thus, Rassia wrote that after the formation of the so-called Truth Commission (borak), the President went after ball Merceditas and eventually the ball CJ Corona. The blogger stopped there.

If we continue the narrative, we can also say that last December 2012, it was time for the ball named Gwen Garcia. With the changes at the Supreme Court, it would be doubly difficult now for GMA allies to get favorable court actions.

But how about the role Rep. Tomas Osmeña played? Many believed he was actually behind the suspension of Governor Garcia. That I am not privy to until insider friends tell us the real score.

Still, I contend that the suspension was deftly carried out. At the very least, it leveled the playing field by taking out the Capitol card from the Garcias. On the other hand, the Liberals only have limited time to take advantage of the situation, if they can.

Initially, I thought Gwen’s refusal to step down without a fight was a wrong move. By saying “over my dead body,” she painted herself into a corner. A card player said, “All in.”

But I am giving it a second look today. Gwen effectively placed herself in the media limelight every day. Both supporters and critics are making it a point to check on whether she has stepped down each morning that passes. Meanwhile, Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale cannot order the police to drag Gwen out of the Capitol and lose the motherly image she has effectively projected. Yet, somehow media always poses the threat of harsh police action.

As this is happening, the Liberals are losing time and momentum in taking the Capitol advantage for campaign purposes. As I pointed out in a previous column, Gwen is not the candidate for governor. She is confident of winning the congressional race at the third district while Congressman PJ Garcia continues to campaign.

Magpale is not the Liberal candidate for governor. With the way the media war is shaping up around the Capitol building, one media friend joked that many province voters might actually vote for her to become the next governor.

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Some party-list groups campaigned that Akbayan be stricken off the Comelec list. As a result, they could not access their funds since November 2012. However, Akbayan became the caretaker of Dinagat Island and has control of fugitive Rep. Ruben Ecleo’s pork barrel. All is not fair in politics.

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Though our record went down to only six reporters killed in 2012, sadly the Philippines still landed in the global list of most dangerous countries for journalists. Syria was number one last year with 37 dead, followed by Somalia with 19. Three Latin American countries were included–Mexico (11 journalists), Brazil (11) and Honduras (6).

Does this mean the Philippines is more dangerous for journalists than other Asian countries like China, Burma, and North Korea?

Journalists in the Philippines will just have to be assassins riding motorcycles in tandem and hiding their faces behind helmets. The problem is: the law requires all those riding motorcycles to wear helmets.

But can we ban guns instead? Hmmm, are we not regularly banning guns every time there is an election? But the good senator Tito Sotto himself asserts that banning guns would make it more dangerous for us non-criminals in the Philippines. I can already see the smiles on P-Noy’s kabarilan and the killer of Stephanie Nicole Ella.

(politika2013.wordpress.com)