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Friday, February 13, 2004
Espinoza: Promises, promises as campaign season begins
By Fred C. Espinoza
LOW-KEY. Unlike her movie star rival, President Arroyo has opted for a low-key trip to the town of Cainta, Laguna where she heard mass, joined a town hall meeting and shook hands with supporters.
On the other hand, the first day of the campaign brought Raul Roco to a university, a wet market and a shopping mall where he was received by warm handshakes and hugs. But his second day began with a mass offering by former Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin and 12 young priests at Villa San Miguel.
The standard bearer of the Alyansa ng Pag-asa Coalition told reporters that he did not seek any endorsement from Sin and had no intention of getting one from Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales. Mr. Roco cited a pastoral letter saying that the Church should not be political, although he emphasized that Cardinal Sin is an “old friend.”
The other candidates took to the hustings on their own style. In Dasmariñas, Cavite, it took three hours for presidential contender Panfilo Lacson’s motorcade to travel from Diosdado Macapagal boulevard to Pasig City to the town of Dasma-riñas Cavite where he fired up his supporters with “promises to wipe out crime and corruption.”
In the case of movie king Fernando Poe Jr., the official candidate of the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino was greeted by the roaring applause of his fans at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City as he aimed for his biggest role as the next president of the Republic. So far, not much has been reported about Eddie Gil, presidential candidate of Partido Isang Bansa Isang Diwa, except for his promise to turn the Philippines into Asia’s new dragon economy and ensure a comfortable life for every citizen at a rally in Cagayan de Oro City.
I really hope the presidential aspirants will settle down to brass tacks by giving the Filipino voters a clear idea of their platform of government to substantiate their claims for a better Philippines.
If you ask the more perceptive among our local voters, they would prefer that each candidate explain and defend their respective agendas for good government before the people, just like what is happening in the presidential election in the United States. The people want to be assured that our next president knows what he or she is talking about, and has the right mix of development policies to lead our country out of economic difficulties.
Some sectors in the local business community have cited the possible extension of the P17-billion annual budget for the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (Afma) of 1997 until 2015. The perception of most people here is that the benefits envisioned by the law have not been realized.
I hope the Filipinos will realize that they, too, have a stake in the Afma, and not just the farmers, since the law also means food security for the country.
(February 13, 2004 issue)
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