THERE was ex-Comelec commissioner Virgilio "Garci" Garcillano---it's perfectly acceptable for him to be called that since he did use "Garci" as his campaign slogan in the elections---admitting defeat at the hands of Malou Acosta in the congressional district race in Bukidnon province.
Which isn't unexpected of course even with the leaflets being distributed in the first district of Bukidnon declaring Garci as an election cheat and Palace lackey and the scores of counterfeit money with Garci's face plastered on the face of the late Senator Benigno Aquino in the P500 bills--though they may wind up as collector's items in the election season of 2007 to show just how low some politicians can go down in ruining their opponents.
Even with those propaganda props, Garcillano is expected to be headed for defeat because of his notoriety in the "Hello Garci" scandal that still leaves a bad aftertaste in the mouths of voters.
If Garci still wins it would only intensify the public suspicions of how the election is conducted. Garci expecting to win? Hello?
Almost the same can be said of Manny Pacquiao though the public views him as a victim rather than a heel of the Palace concerning his election race against incumbent Representative Darlene Custodio.
From Day One, the public urged him to focus on boxing instead rather than politics since they don't want him to be ruined by the Palace and their conniving political lackeys.
Hopefully the early lead mounted by Custodio would somehow not disrupt Pacquiao's planned fights with champions like Juan Antonio Barrera or else the country may lose a champion.
Life goes on for Pacquiao, who has more than earned his keep and then some and doesn't deserve to be thrust into public service on the say so of Palace politicos.
While people like Garci deserve to be barred from public office, people like Pacquiao ought to earn their wings first from the bottom up.
Maybe he should start as a town official then move up to mayor and then governor. Some of them started at the bottom and so should Pacquiao.
Or if he does refuse to learn from his experience, he may wind up like Richard Gomez, who still believes in himself enough to launch what may appear to be his latest failure at a Congress seat or Cesar Montano who got shell-shocked at being admitted to the Team Unity lineup only to figure miserably in the ongoing election counts.
