Erap gaining ‘critical mass’ DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 03/15/2010

Erap gaining ‘critical mass’ DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 03/15/2010 This election will be decided, as it always is, by the D and E class plus a large segment of the C class. Together they constitute up to 95 percent of the population. The way things are going with the exposés on the Yellow dummy and Villarroyo, the masa have been allowed to see the bare facts — that the cacique aristocrat and the nouveau riche are no different from each other; that both are enmeshed in a case of the pot calling the kettle black, as the trails left by their wide-ranging anomalies versus the people and the Republic are there for all to see. Both companion travelers are creatures supported by one or the other faction of the oligarchy, whether it be the Makati Business Club, Gloria Arroyo’s cabal, or other powerful corporatists. To the masa, it is Erap who stands out as different — one who is truly independent of the “elite” and moneyed ruling class. As it is, all other major candidates had either participated in or supported the elite Edsa II insurrection. They went on with their merry ways as corrupt government bureaucrats and gambling lords a la Chavit Singson started to hold sway. They stood shoulder to shoulder with Arroyo during Edsa III when “the poor and unshod,” as these elitists branded them, marched toward Malacañang to protest the removal and persecution of the nation’s duly-elected president. They did nothing when scores of these Edsa III protesters were beaten or mowed down by Arroyo’s uniformed goons. Why, they even became party years later to the oppression of Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ), such that they rallied behind the late Ricardo Manapat when he forged a birth certificate claiming that FPJ wasn’t a natural-born Filipino. For months now, the masa have been regaled by a barrage of election rhetoric from the elite-controlled media. They watched silently as manipulated surveys created the illusion of a two-way fight between the elite’s candidates and marginalized the only real alternative to everything that has happened to the Philippines the past nine and a half years. President Joseph Estrada alone stands as THE major national figure in opposition to elite rule. He has consistently fought the corrupt Arroyo regime’s imposition of unprecedented hardships on the Filipino masa, from the doubling of the national debt to the gouging out by corporations of every last centavo of exorbitant public utility rates from Filipino pockets. True enough, after the novelty of the Yellow versus Gloria moro-moro has worn off, and with the privilege of hindsight, the masa now turn to the one true alternative, joyfully saying: “KUNG MAY ERAP, MAY GINHAWA.” Erap’s message is simple: No false promises (like the “no new taxes” spiel quickly withdrawn by the Yellow dummy) and no false claims (spawning the tongue-in-cheek retort that we will all swim in trash once Villarroyo wins). Erap’s message is of a past so well-remembered and sorely missed by the masa: Those short, few years when they felt they were the kings in the heart of a man in Malacañang who got the regal treatment in many big and small ways — from the Erap “rolling stores” (selling cheap sardines, rice, eggs, etc.), to the one cavan rice allowance for AFP soldiers in Mindanao, to the cheap medicines that started getting sold at regular boticas. It was a time when their president sought to delay oil, power, and water rate hikes, unlike the situation today where private corporations raise rates at will with nary a pip from government. Those were the days when Estrada ordered MRT fares lowered by half so that commuters could actually use the mass transport instead of it ending up as another white elephant; when efforts to legalize jueteng were initiated to save the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of kubrador families; when government salaries were raised and social spending of government registered the highest among governments since 1986; and when kotong cops became a thing of the past as Tsinoy families enjoyed security from kidnappings. In those days the people felt that somebody big cared for them — a feeling they haven’t had for a long time. The Erap TV ad’s depiction of a public servant who says that there were no anomalies to recall during Erap’s time; juxtaposed with a peasant who recalls the support for irrigation and palay; and a Muslim lady who recalls stability in Mindanao, all serve to reinforce the Ginhawa message. Election campaigns are all about evoking the best feelings that voters will bring to the voting booth on Election Day. Estrada has continued to hold his punches until this last stage of the game while the other two who claim to be ahead have already overspent and overexposed themselves. The Yellow dummy’s about-face on his “no new tax” declaration has now turned his “I will not steal” into an “I will lie” joke. Every additional Villarroyo ad, meanwhile, only elicits the “Babawiin niya ‘yan” quip from people. Gibo may now be rising slightly in public perception because like Erap, he, too, started late. But as soon as people discover the P10-billion “calamity fund” Arroyo will use to pay Aboitiz and Alcantara for two emergency power barges which they bought from Napocor, and which consumers will pay for in turn, Gibo will also suffer a similar backlash. Erap’s message is reaching the masa and a “critical mass” is fast building up. Watch out for the mushroom cloud and the fallout that will soon sweep the other candidates, not unlike that in a nuclear chain reaction. (Tune in to 1098AM, Suló ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Global News Network, Destiny Cable Channel 21, Talk News TV, Tuesday, 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on “The Power Crisis Hoax and Conspiracy”; also visit http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com) (Reprinted with permission from Mr. Herman Tiu-Laurel) Source:  The Daily Tribune ALTERNATE URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100315com5.html

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