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Tuesday, February 17, 2004
An Open Letter to the Filipino People (First Part)
By Rene Lizada
Papa's Table
"The only thing that stops God from sending another flood is that the first one was useless." - Nicholas Chamfort
LAST year, Fernando Poe, Jr. said he wasn't going to run for president; last December, President Arroyo said she wasn't going to run for president. I don't know how they make their decisions, but it sure sounds like they do it on a whim because today both of them are talking about their "sacrifices" - how hard the next six years are going to be for their families, how they have to give up their privacy, how they have to deal with the criticism and mud slinging and how much they love this country. Oh please. You're all beginning to sound like Kris Aquino.
When FPJ announced his intention to run, I panicked when I saw Susan Roces looking alarmingly like Imelda as she cried on TV and said that her husband was running because he just wanted to help the people, so why is everybody so mean to him? I kept thinking, oh my God, is she going to break into Dahil sa Iyo?
That scared the hell out of me. That and the clip where FPJ mumbled through his one-on-one interview with ABS-CBN wearing shades. Did he perhaps misplace a wristband? Or when he was asked about his economic policies and he said... what did he say? Nothing, that's what.
You'd think if you were going to announce your presidential ambitions you would have at least prepared something - anything - on how you were going to lead the country, aside from the overused line about being the savior the masses need.
Now showbiz people are complaining of the criticism FPJ is receiving. Their loyalty is fascinating. I can watch their display on TV all day and be alternately amazed and confused about whether part of their brain goes on autopilot when they're talking about FPJ.
It's the same kind of loyalty for Erap, which led Senator Tessie Oreta to do that little jig in the Senate during the impeachment proceedings. Look where it got Erap. You don't know whether their loyalty to FPJ comes from personally knowing he has the brains to lead the country or simply because they belong to the same profession.
There must be something about show business that creates this strong bond, this persecution complex that leads them to think that because they are actors people think they're stupid.
In this country that has elected showbiz people and made them mayors, councilors, governors and senators barangay captains, and hell, even president - why do they still complain of a bias against their profession? You don't hear electricians saying, "Oh they'll never elect us into office!" And you certainly don't hear economists fanatically defending GMA just because she is one. We all know there are many accomplished actors whose achievements go beyond their profession. You see their every move in newspapers every day, for God's sake.
The biggest bias against FPJ is not that he is an actor, but that he may lack the skills, temperament, and attitude to become a leader. People say he has such a kind heart, unquestionable sincerity and that he has helped a lot of people through the years - shouldn't this be enough? No, it's not.
(February 17, 2004 issue)
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